Inside the Mountain Lord’s cave dwelling, the tiger-eared woman sat cross-legged.
Humans are born with all five elements within them; where did this talk of "spirit roots" come from?
When mortals cultivate, because they are born different, the five elements of qi within their bodies vary in strength. Therefore, when they breathe in spiritual energy, they naturally favor certain elements among the gold, wood, water, fire, and earth qi drifting through the world.
If one must consider cultivation efficiency, some people are naturally deficient in water compared to others, making it easier for them to grow close to water spiritual energy. They become skilled at accumulating it, so when choosing a cultivation technique, they lean toward the water system.
Others are deficient in fire, making their fire nature stronger. Their speed in absorbing fire spiritual energy is faster than others, so it is no surprise they choose to practice fire-attribute techniques.
With the Five Elements of heaven and earth and the five attributes of man, if one insists on classifying them by spirit roots, then in a strict sense, everyone is born with five spirit roots.
In the traditional cultivation theory of Great Xia, the Five Elements generate and overcome one another; not a single one can be missing. Only through the harmony of yin and yang and the rotation of the Five Elements can one achieve the Great Dao.
Cultivators are different from demons and witches. If a cultivator exclusively absorbs one attribute of spiritual energy for a long time, the rotation of the Five Elements within their body will become deficient. This leads to an imbalance of yin and yang, which can easily cause meridian reversal and a depletion of both qi and blood.
Ultimately, they either become like a water bag that only takes in and never lets out—exploding and dying because the sea of qi cannot withstand a single type of spiritual energy—or their dantian becomes like a stagnant pool of dead water, where spiritual energy is sluggish and casting spells becomes difficult.
When Nan Zhi first entered Bianjing, she had debated this very issue with Xu Zi.
At that time, Xu Zi had also sneered at the concept of spirit roots and explained the true meaning of "True Cultivation":
The essence of True Cultivation is a mortal’s continuous exploration of themselves and the world through practice.
Why is Foundation Establishment considered the official first step onto the path of cultivation?
Qi Refinement is a mortal's internal investigation and tempering. Its purpose is to open all the meridians in the body, enhance human potential, and raise the constitution to its peak. This allows the cultivator's body to endure the pain of opening the sea of qi in the dantian to store spiritual energy.
To put it bluntly, it is the creation of a new organ under the influence of spiritual energy, actively allowing more of the Five Elements' qi to circulate within the body.
As for a cultivator practicing spells, they are borrowing laws from heaven and earth and contending with all things for a chance at life. They accumulate spiritual energy in the sea of qi within the dantian, converting the power of the Five Elements for their own use.
The process of cultivation is one of gradually expanding the sea of qi through constant breathing of spiritual energy and the rotation of the Five Elements.
Simply put, it is slowly increasing one's maximum mana.
Therefore, excluding those rejected by heaven and earth—those destined to be forsaken—everyone possesses the aptitude for cultivation. It is simply a matter of who can fight until the end, who can act against the heavens, and who can seize the vitality of the world.
Even if someone truly cannot open a sea of qi in their dantian, the path to cultivation is not completely blocked.
Talismans, formations, sword arts, martial arts, witchcraft, gu arts, alchemy, music... the paths of cultivation are myriad. If one can use external objects to convert the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for their own use, how could there be a rule that says "those without spirit roots face a dead end"?
It’s like taking out a loan; if the five major banks won't work with you, are you not allowed to borrow from other banks?
Perhaps some people are indeed gifted with extraordinary talent, able to focus without distraction so that their efficiency in breathing spiritual energy is much higher than others. But that is not the merit of some "Heavenly Spirit Root" or "single spirit root."
Cultivation is about "True Self." It is acting against the heavens and fighting with the world. One goes against the heavens but does not destroy them. What matters is one's original heart, comprehension, and perseverance.
However, as stated in the 《Great Freedom Joy Spirit Absorption Art》, it extensively praises a cultivator's aptitude. It describes those with comprehension and talent as top-tier geniuses and favored children of heaven, destined for a smooth immortal path. Meanwhile, cultivators without spirit roots or those who practice slowly are viewed as insects or pigs, belittled as mere dust and mud—
Such a theory seems to naturally divide people into different ranks, which subtly aligns with the bloodline theories of the demon race.
Cultivation is about being free and unfettered, much like the magnificent and strange myths: Magu proffering longevity, the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, Mazu's ascension, or an immortal stroking one's head and binding their hair for longevity.
Regardless of status or position—whether beggar, prime minister, scholar, or farmer—as long as one's thoughts are clear and they accumulate merit through good deeds, they can all ascend in broad daylight.
All things compete for freedom under the frost-covered sky; that is what a normal cultivation world should be like.
Yet the 《Great Freedom Joy Spirit Absorption Art》 believes that if one's talent is insufficient, they can artificially create a top-tier spirit root. By skipping the Qi Refinement stage, they can manually create a sea of qi in the dantian.
The method is quite bloody:
Find the corpse of a healthy young person between eighteen and thirty-five years old, regardless of gender. Deaths by drowning, burning, burial, swallowing gold, or wooden interment are preferred. Extract the spinal column, take the spinal fluid, and store it in a copper pellet. Swallow it before breathing in spiritual energy for the best results.
In this way, cultivation efficiency can advance a thousand miles a day, reaching Foundation Establishment in ten years, Golden Core in a hundred, and the Nascent Soul Great Dao in a thousand.
“So when Li Dapeng killed those people, besides venting his anger, he must have also taken the victims' spinal fluid.”
Nan Zhi couldn't help but feel disgusted at the thought of Li Dapeng's face.
“What exactly is the origin of this Great Freedom Joy Auspicious Holy Mother? This technique is even more depraved than beast-craft sorcery. Those who believe in this art... thinking one cannot become an immortal without a spirit root is a top-down perspective, a theory imposed by those on high. If you can't even escape the rules others give you while cultivating, you'll eventually just become cannon fodder.”
The tone in the book was indifferent, describing the extraction of spinal fluid as simply as digging up herbs or taking an elixir, which was chilling.
If this technique were truly spread, it might actually cause a major catastrophe.
Focusing on her own cultivation was one thing, but not wanting to see her motherland turn into the dark cultivation world of some novels was another.
Therefore, it was better to destroy such a technique.
“I just don't know the background of this Joy Holy Mother. The name sounds a bit intimidating at first, but upon closer look, the titles are all borrowed from Bodhisattvas.”
Nan Zhi exhaled, knowing that sinister techniques like this would only become more common. She only hoped that the growth of Great Xia's official forces could be faster.
It would at least make her previous intention of gifting techniques to the Demon Suppression Division worthwhile.
After Nan Zhi burned the manual, she felt her mind clear. She then took out a bright, glowing spiritual energy cluster.
【Spiritual Energy Cluster (Large): A large cluster formed from concentrated spiritual energy. It can be used for alchemy or artifact crafting. When used during cultivation, it increases the concentration of surrounding spiritual energy and improves cultivation efficiency. (Single-use consumable, exclusive drop from killing red-named monsters in the real world.)】
With a gentle wave of her hand, the cluster of spiritual energy floated above the hollow of a stalactite, emitting a soft and bright light.
This round of grinding had yielded quite generous rewards from the red-named monsters. The greatest harvest was the fifteen large spiritual energy clusters and forty-five small spiritual energy clusters in her inventory.
Nan Zhi had experimented; according to her current cultivation, practicing within a small spiritual energy cluster was equivalent to three days of her normal meditation.
Practicing within a large spiritual energy cluster was equivalent to the efficiency of seven days of meditation without eating or drinking.
The former lasted for six hours, while the spiritual energy in the latter would dissipate on its own after twelve hours.
In this way, Nan Zhi could cultivate anytime and anywhere. It was equivalent to carrying an abundant and continuous spiritual pulse with her.
If this news got out, let alone the cultivators of the real world, even Xu Zi would be deathly envious.
Nan Zhi closed her eyes and began a new round of cultivation.
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