Chapter 34

It's really convenient that magic exists; Li Xian no longer needed others' help and easily made several simplified versions of electric lamps. Of course, such simplified versions had many, many problems.

For example, not only were they rather ugly, but the air inside the light bulbs couldn't be completely removed.

"Fortunately, using stainless steel for the filament, it can last for a few hours, which is enough for experiments. It's just to show these country bumpkins something rare. With the jade lamps, electric lamps will be hard to sell for now."

When Li Xian returned to the laboratory with a few electric lamps, he was stunned. What did Li Xian see? Two thick cables as wide as a person's arms! Yes, Li Xian could confirm they were cables, but they were wrapped not in the cheapest hemp cloth, but in the finest silk.

The two thick "cables" extended from a one-meter-sized "Four Symbols Generator" and were buried in two large pits—or rather, mines—one to the south and one to the north.

The cables were even thicker than the "generator," and Li Xian had a real eye-opener!

Even so, these "researchers" stayed far away from the cables, not daring to get close.

I... I'm speechless! Li Xian felt as if crows were flying all over the sky, blocking out the sun. When it came to fear of lightning, cultivators were definitely the top. But to be this afraid was truly bizarre.

"Everyone, come over, come over, I'll give you a lesson on electricity!"

Next, Li Xian began explaining the basics of electricity, including electromagnetic induction, eddy current heating, voltage, safe voltage, current, and resistance. Of course, he didn't forget about electric lamps.

However, Li Xian encountered a problem: what units should be used for voltage, current, and resistance? Clearly, he couldn't directly copy these units, and the definitions of voltage and resistance were also different.

In the end, Xu Ren proposed a suggestion that was勉强 (barely) acceptable to everyone. Voltage would be represented by 'Lei' (thunder), resistance by 'Shan' (lightning), and current by 'Dian' (electricity).

It was decided that the voltage of the first successful Four Symbols Generator would be set at 100 volts, the current output equivalent to one horsepower would be 100 amperes, and the resistance would be 100 ohms; the rest would follow this pattern. (These two paragraphs can be skipped)

With electricity, everyone immediately started making a simple model of an electromagnetic induction heating furnace, using it to heat a piece of iron for an experiment; the result stunned everyone.

"Amazing! There's no spiritual energy fluctuation at all, and the iron block actually melted!"

"Is this electromagnetism? No wonder Young Master made us swear to keep it a secret."

"These electric lamps are also amazing. Electricity is truly incredible. Young Master, can electricity replace spiritual energy for cultivation? And if we cultivate using electricity, will we no longer fear heavenly punishment?"

That's a good question! Li Xian couldn't help but admire the person's imagination. Everyone looked at Li Xian again, their eyes full of anticipation: Yes, if we could cultivate directly using "electricity," we wouldn't have to worry about lightning punishment or other heavenly tribulations; and lightning punishment almost accounts for 70% of heavenly tribulations.

Li Xian smiled bitterly, "Don't look at me, I don't know either, but I'm also looking forward to it. When you have time, research it, but be careful, don't encounter 'heavenly tribulations' prematurely."

Li Xian's teaching session lasted for more than five days. After everyone understood the basic issues, they prepared to start researching the first "ultra-high-temperature, imitation heavenly fire melting furnace." Everyone's work enthusiasm was exceptionally high, and their expectations for the future were stronger than ever. The idea of cultivating directly using electricity was thus planted!

For a time, the entire Qingyun Valley was filled with a joy like colorful clouds.

"Overcome the cable problem within 30 days!" This was the slogan hung on the wall of the laboratory.

While everyone was researching the cables, Li Xian finally found time to think about gunpowder—or rather, Li Xian had thought about gunpowder long ago, but he had been busy with cable research and hadn't had the time; now he finally had the time and was ready to put gunpowder on the agenda.

Although the Immortal Realm had cultivation and magic, the power of gunpowder was still not to be underestimated. At least, sniper rifles posed a fatal threat to the Foundation Establishment stage and a significant threat to the Golden Core stage; flying with a sword and killing from a distance were the abilities of the Golden Core stage, but they couldn't match artillery shells. Therefore, after repeated calculations, Li Xian felt that if he had a gun and artillery unit, he could almost dominate the Great Xia Kingdom, or even the eastern part of Yingzhou.

Gunpowder was simple, and Li Xian quickly completed it, with a considerable explosive power.

But Li Xian always felt something was off, though he couldn't pinpoint what. After much thought, he finally asked Xu Ren for advice, even bringing some of the finished products he had made.

"This gunpowder technology must not be developed!" Xu Ren immediately cut off Li Xian's idea. "Think about it, how long did it take for someone to copy your colored lights after you made them?

And the components of your gunpowder are obvious. A Foundation Establishment cultivator can easily figure out the components with a little research. Once they understand the components, your guns and cannons will be quickly copied. After all, the components of gunpowder are everywhere!

What will you do then?"

"Ah!" Li Xian finally realized, damn, I forgot about that. Yes, gunpowder technology is easy to copy, so it must not be developed. The world of cultivators still has some troubles!

But Li Xian didn't give up on the idea of sniper rifles; if gunpowder wouldn't work, there were still TNT, C4, and other chemical explosives. However, this would have to wait until the current industrial system was complete, and then he could develop the chemical side more freely.

But Li Xian's mind was full of ideas, and besides gunpowder, there was...

"Sir, I have another thing called concrete, which is developed from the dust at the volcanic vent."

As he spoke, Li Xian explained the situation of concrete.

Finally, Li Xian asked, "Sir, I see everyone using magic to build walls. Do you think concrete has a future?"

This time, Xu Ren's face lit up with joy, "What a great thing! Young Master, think about the walls of Wuyang City and Anyang Border Fort. What are their characteristics? What about the walls built with magic?"

"Characteristics? Hmm..." Li Xian tried hard to think and finally realized the difference; the city walls and military fortresses were very "ancient," all built with huge rocks. In contrast, the walls built with magic were smooth and seamless, and looked very new.

One was very old, the other very new, clearly showing a difference and a problem.

Seeing Li Xian's enlightened expression, Xu Ren smiled, "Got it! The walls formed by magic have a short lifespan and are easily destroyed by magic. Once the magic power is exhausted, the walls will collapse.

It's just that magic construction is fast and low-cost, so it's widely used, but only for low-level construction.

For important buildings, such as border forts and palaces, they are still built with huge stones. Moreover, walls made of huge stones can be equipped with defensive arrays, while walls built with magic cannot.

If you can really make concrete, it will definitely be very popular. Not to mention, just the fact that concrete can be poured freely can embed many defensive arrays directly into the walls, making the arrays more solid.

Moreover, concrete can be reinforced with steel, fill gaps, repair old walls, and bond stones, and can be used anytime, anywhere.

I can confidently tell you that concrete will definitely sell well. It might even cause a lot of trouble!"

Li Xian's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he finally said, "The components of gunpowder all exist in nature and are easy to crack; but concrete is fired, with mixed components that are hard to crack!"

"Right. So, hurry up and get to work."

"Okay!"