Java 21 required for 1.20.1

The fabric loader throws an error at startup saying this mod requires java 21 to run, but I'm on a 1.20.1 instance that uses java 17.
I can indeed run 1.20.1 with java 21 too, but I sometimes get crashes... can the mod use 17 instead?

By the way I have another question, if this mod is installed alongside particle core, will it have any effect? Will the patch "throw out" particle core's optimizations ? Thanks:)