Chapter 692: Solar Energy

"Solar... energy?"

Leader Chi stood frozen. As the Grand Master of the Radiant Sun Sect, he understood everything pertaining to the sun, yet what on earth was this "solar energy" the young Sect Master Lu spoke of?

"Taking it literally, does it mean the power inherent within the sun?" "In a superficial sense, yes, that is precisely what it means."

Lu Yang suddenly shifted the topic. "You mentioned just now that the Sun Ascension Project has met with constant failure. I presume this is a venture embarked upon only in recent years, whereas previously you conducted your studies on the power of the sun from a great distance."

"Such being the case, why persist in ascending the sun for your research?"

Leader Chi let out a heavy sigh. "Young Sect Master Lu is unaware, but our research into the power of the sun has recently struck a bottleneck. The radical faction then proposed ascending the sun to study it at close quarters. Yet how could the sun be so easily approached? Several cultivators of the Body Integration Stage have already been burned alive by its fires."

Lu Yang leaned lazily against the back of his chair, picking at non-existent dirt beneath his fingernails. "Your noble sect possesses no small measure of audacity, to actually dare ascend the sun."

"Are you aware that the canopy of stars was originally nothing but illusions, until over a century ago, a being of supreme dharmic potency used earth-shattering means to fill the positions of those phantasmal stars?"

How could Leader Chi not know? The previous Sect Master had been offered as a sacrificial tribute to heaven precisely because of that affair.

"That being of supreme dharmic potency is an existence that even we of the Heavenly Court Sect find exceedingly troublesome to deal with. Your Radiant Sun Sect actually dares ascend the sky and probe the sun, entirely unafraid of breaching that being's taboos and having your entire sect wiped out in a single breath?"

Cold sweat drenched Leader Chi upon hearing this. An existence that caused even the Heavenly Court Sect tribulation meant that the being of supreme dharmic potency was an immortal.

The Radiant Sun Sect's attempt to ascend the sun was akin to stirring up trouble right beneath an immortal's eyelids; perhaps a single careless action would displease the immortal, inviting utter destruction upon the Radiant Sun Sect.

When the Sun Ascension Project was first formulated, he had opposed it, but the upper echelons were dead set on seeking their own doom. Now, well, they could only await the immortal's arrival to exterminate their clan.

"Then, in Young Sect Master Lu's estimation?"

"The purpose of the Radiant Sun Sect is to propagate faith, rather than to ascend the sun, is it not?" "Indeed."

"Leader Chi should be aware that the power of the sun encompasses both light and heat; light can illuminate, while heat provides warmth."

Leader Chi nodded. This was written within the *True Exposition of the Power of the Sun*, something every member of the Radiant Sun Sect knew, and a mandatory topic on the year-end examinations.

The *True Exposition of the Power of the Sun* was an internal text of the Radiant Sun Sect, with every member required to possess a copy.

Lu Yang produced a magnifying glass. "This is the cheapest variety of magnifying glass. So long as it is placed beneath the sun, the power of the sun will converge upon a single point. At its mildest, it can burn ants to death; at its most severe, it can spark a conflagration. This is the rudimentary manifestation of solar energy."

Leader Chi continued to nod. Everything Lu Yang spoke of belonged to the foundational arts, and moreover, the magnifying glass was his own invention; he was more than familiar with the object.

"Since the sun possesses such energy, why not utilize this force?"

"We have already utilized it, through researching cultivation methods for the power of the sun and devising ways to increase the efficiency of absorbing it."

Lu Yang shook his head with serene composure. "Not in that fashion. Why should cultivators practice the methods you have penned? Simply because they are arts concerning the power of the sun?"

"Between the Lunar and the Solar, the Three Powers, the Four Emblems, and the Five Elements, cultivation methods are as numerous as the hairs on an ox. Is it truly necessary for a cultivator to choose yours?"

"If cultivators do not choose your methods, your belief in venerating the sun cannot be propagated, and it will fail to win the recognition of the world."

Leader Chi reflected upon the deeds of the Radiant Sun Sect over the past sixty thousand years, and indeed, it was so. The cultivation methods of the world mostly took spiritual energy as their core. They had expended immense heart and labor to research methods for the power of the sun, yet barely anyone looked at them, making the propagation of faith exceedingly difficult.

"I entreat Young Sect Master Lu to grant his guidance."

"The method is one I have already stated: utilize solar energy. Not by composing cultivation methods for the power of the sun, but by allowing solar energy to enter the homes of ordinary citizens. For instance, storing solar energy to use it for illumination?"

"Allowing ordinary citizens to utilize solar energy? How could such a thing be possible?" Leader Chi blurted out, losing his composure, for he had never once considered this proposition.

Lu Yang smiled with careless nonchalance. "How could it be impossible? Even the 'Phantasmal Bubble' researched by Tao Yaoye of the Asking Dao Sect is affordable to common folk. If you use formations to accumulate solar energy and release it when night falls, could that truly not work?"

"As for the propagation strength of the Phantasmal Bubble, Sect Master Mu is the most qualified to speak on the matter."

Mu Baiyi nodded in agreement. The wider the Phantasmal Bubble spread, the greater the renown of their barbecue shops became, and the more prosperous their business grew—a reality directly reflected in their profits.

"Even a mere disciple of the Asking Dao Sect could research such a thing; can it be that the Radiant Sun Sect is incapable of it?"

"Should this research prove successful, candles will be superseded, and every single household will possess an invention of your Radiant Sun Sect. Why then would you worry over the inability to spread your teachings?"

Lu Yang looked at Leader Chi with deep meaning. "If you wish for the world to believe in the sun, the first step is to allow the world to profit. Leader Chi, you ought to understand this principle."

Leader Chi suddenly felt a sensation of profound enlightenment, as though a veil had been lifted. Truly worthy of an ancient, grand power; their level of perception was an entire tier above his own.

"Of course, using solar energy for illumination is not a matter accomplished in a single stride. How to collect and store solar energy, how to release it, how to streamline the mechanism, how to reduce the cost, and so forth—all of these are questions requiring deep study. Your noble sect can take it one step at a time."

"Furthermore, this is merely a casual example I have raised. There is far more that solar energy can achieve; Leader Chi may return and study it at his leisure."

Research was Leader Chi's forte; it was precisely because he had invented the telescope that he had risen into the upper echelons of the Radiant Sun Sect.

Moreover, this proposal was vastly more reliable than the Sun Ascension Project, and would surely secure the approval of the higher-ups. If results could be researched, wealth and fame would undoubtedly pour in like an endless torrent.

This was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for the development of the Radiant Sun Sect!

He had to spearhead this research himself and hold the results firmly in his own grasp; that way, the upper echelons would not dare offer him as a sacrifice to heaven the moment they encountered difficulties.

An affair that yielded multiple benefits at a single stroke!

The agitation in Leader Chi's heart was beyond the power of words to describe.

Was this the wisdom of an heir to an ancient, grand power? In the span of a mere few sentences, he had not only resolved the crisis of the Radiant Sun Sect, but had also extricated him from his own predicament!

If even the heir was thus, then what manner of earth-shattering, wondrous wisdom must the legendary Heavenly Venerate Dou possess! Lu Yang turned his gaze upon Mu Baiyi, remaining silent, imparting a faint, pressing weight upon him.

After a long while, Lu Yang spoke.

"As for the matter of the barbecue shop taxes, Sect Master Mu might consider entering into a cooperation with the Radiant Sun Sect."

"Cooperation?" Mu Baiyi was exceptionally astonished. Setting aside the fact that their two sects represented the Yin and the Yang, inherently incompatible by their very attributes, even if they were naturally aligned, where would one even begin to speak of cooperation?

Beholding Mu Baiyi's astonished countenance, Lu Yang knew the man had failed to grasp his meaning. "Sect Master Mu, your understanding of the Great Xia's policies is not even equal to that of an ancient person like myself."

"Are you aware that the Great Xia offers tax incentive policies for research-oriented industries? That there are high tax reductions or even exemptions for the development of novel technologies? That there are likewise high tax reductions or exemptions for utilizing energy sources outside of spiritual qi?"

Lu Yang looked at Mu Baiyi with an expression one might use for a fool. To think he was a sect master, yet understood less than he did.