She wasn't upset. Looking up to meet Elder Chen's gaze, she said righteously, “Not having a spiritual root doesn't stop me from being studious. Master said I can browse any of the books in the pavilion as I please.”
Chen Huaizhi glanced at her. He probably felt there was no point in bickering with a little girl who lacked a spiritual root, and didn't bother to waste any more words.
With a casual wave of his hand, a surge of spiritual energy guided another ancient book off the shelf. It flew out, landed steadily in his palm, and he tossed it into Xue Mingzhao's arms.
Xue Mingzhao looked down at the book in her arms—《A General Overview of the Tianyan Continent》.
Well, well. Elder Chen clearly thought she lacked even the most basic common sense, and that trying to find some alternative method without even understanding the basics was pure wishful thinking.
She didn't bother to explain. Carrying the two stacks of books, she found a table by the window and sat down.
So what if she didn't have a spiritual root?
She kept telling herself that she had to look. Who knew, maybe she could find a different answer.
She spent the entire afternoon buried in the books, finally grasping the general layout of this world.
The entire world was divided into four landmasses: the Tianyan Continent, the Qingyun Continent, the Hanhai Continent, and the Luoxing Illusionary Ruins.
The Qingyun Continent had the most abundant spiritual energy and the best conditions for cultivation, making it a blessed land.
The Hanhai Continent ranked second. Its spiritual energy was slightly inferior, but not by much.
The Tianyan Continent ranked third, though there was a line of small print underneath.
【Note: In the past, the fortunes of the Tianyan and Hanhai Continents were equal, and their strengths were evenly matched. However, the spiritual energy in the Eastern Territory suddenly plummeted, and the spiritual veins within its borders dried up year by year. Its foundation took a massive hit, and since then, it has fallen far behind Hanhai.】
She kept flipping through, arriving at the section on the Luoxing Illusionary Ruins.
There was only a single line on the entire page: "An illusionary realm of breathtaking beauty; none who enter ever return alive."
That was it? Nothing else?
Xue Mingzhao frowned.
Even in the original novel, this illusionary realm was barely mentioned, as if someone had deliberately erased all records of it.
She had a faint premonition that she would likely have something to do with this place in the future. However, since she couldn't even manage drawing Qi into the body right now, worrying about it was just borrowing trouble. She simply kept it in mind for now.
The Tianyan Continent had a total of fifteen cities. The premier capital city was the Yunque Heavenly Capital, where the Flowing Cloud Sect and the Heavenly Origin Sect were rooted.
Both the female protagonist and the female supporting characters were gathered here. The upcoming plot was bound to be lively whether they liked it or not.
The Dongcang Heavenly Capital, where she currently resided, was located on the easternmost coast—the land of the rising sun.
The book included an old illustration depicting Dongcang during its peak.
It showed abundant spiritual energy, cultivators everywhere, and numerous sects of all sizes. Its glory was not in the least inferior to the Yunque Heavenly Capital.
Seventeen years ago.
The Dongcang Heavenly Capital had plummeted from its peak to rock bottom, its spiritual energy drying up. Something major must have happened here.
However, there were too few clues at the moment. She kept this in mind and continued reading.
Sects on the Tianyan Continent were divided into seven grades:
A Grade One sect must have no fewer than one hundred thousand members, six high-grade spiritual veins, and one supreme-grade spiritual vein.
A Grade Two sect must have no fewer than fifty thousand members and three high-grade spiritual veins.
A Grade Three sect must have no fewer than ten thousand members and six mid-grade spiritual veins.
A Grade Four sect must have no fewer than five thousand members and three mid-grade spiritual veins.
A Grade Five sect must have no fewer than one thousand members and ten spiritual mines.
Small sects below Grade Five were not even registered in the records.
At the end of the page, a blunt truth from the Bureau of Sects was copied down: "If you don't have resources, don't establish a sect. Are you going to have your disciples live off the wind?"
Xue Mingzhao clicked her tongue in amazement. It turned out running a sect in the cultivation world was such a money-draining endeavor.
She had flipped through all the ancient books on hand over the course of the afternoon, yet not a single page recorded how a cultivator without a spiritual root should practice.
Closing the last book, she smiled at Elder Chen and said, “Elder, I still want to look at some books on drawing Qi into the body. Could you help me get some?”
Chen Huaizhi said nothing. He merely lifted a finger, and a few books were carried by spiritual energy, landing steadily in front of her.
Xue Mingzhao thanked him, picked up the books, and returned to Cloud Listening Peak.
Returning to her small courtyard, Xue Mingzhao sat cross-legged on her bed and flipped open the first book.
《Tianyan Qi Drawing Scripture, Volume One》: "To draw Qi into the body, one must first calm the mind, sit cross-legged in meditation, and focus on sensing the free-flowing spiritual energy between heaven and earth. At first, the spiritual energy will resemble a faint firefly, gradually gathering into a stream. The spiritual energy will enter the body through the Baihui point or the palms, complete a full circulation, and settle in the dantian. Once this is achieved, one is considered to have entered the path."
Xue Mingzhao was utterly speechless after reading this.
How was she supposed to sense spiritual energy? Where was the firefly? Where was the stream? Was this book really a cultivation method, or was it just some philosophical chicken soup?
Refusing to give up, she opened the second book.
《The Qingwei Ancient Qi Drawing Scroll》 was completely shrouded in mystery, filled with phrases like "The Dao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Dao." After reading it, she had no idea how to "Dao" at all.
The third book, 《Cloud Breath Spirit Absorption》, was even more ridiculous. The very first line read: "Drawing Qi into the body is the foundation of cultivation. Those with exceptional talent can achieve it in three days; those of average talent can achieve it in three months; those who are foolish may not even achieve it in three years."
Next to it, someone had written a comment in cinnabar ink: "Nonsense. I have a high-grade spiritual root, and it took me a full ten days."
Judging by the handwriting, it had been written a very long time ago.
The fourth book, 《Drawing Qi into the Body: From Beginner to Giving Up》, was quite straightforward. The main heading read: "Simply put, drawing Qi into the body is just inhaling it, circulating it once, and storing it." Beneath it were dense notes detailing the author's own tearful history of over three hundred failures.
Xue Mingzhao actually understood this one.
A spiritual root was like a channel for spiritual energy. As long as one could sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and calmly operate the technique, the spiritual energy would follow the spiritual root and meridians to enter the dantian.
She closed the book and looked around the room.
Specks of grayish-white spiritual energy drifted everywhere. A few wisps floated between the pillars, by the window frame, and above her teacup, all clearly visible to her eyes.
Sensing? She didn't need to sense it. She could see it directly.
What others had to close their eyes and bitter-cultivate for half a day just to capture a wisp of was like a glaring spotlight in her eyes, with nowhere to hide.
But seeing was one thing; this spiritual energy simply refused to enter her body.
Resting her chin on her hand, Xue Mingzhao stared at the few wisps of spiritual energy drifting slowly through the air, and an idea suddenly popped into her head.
Drawing Qi into the body had "drawing" as its core. Others relied on passive attraction, letting the spiritual energy pour inside along the channels on its own.
What if she didn't rely on a spiritual root?
Instead of waiting for the spiritual energy to find her, what if she actively used her mind to grab it?
Taking a deep breath, she sat cross-legged again. Staring at the nearest wisp of grayish-white spiritual energy, she focused all her attention and roared in her mind—Come here!
A miraculous sight occurred. That wisp of spiritual energy actually began to drift slowly toward her, gradually entering her meridians through her palm.
However, just as it reached her dantian, it suddenly stopped as if blocked by a barrier.
Xue Mingzhao could see through her own flesh that her dantian was completely empty. That wisp of spiritual energy lingered around her dantian, unable to enter no matter what.
Just then, something flashed deep within her dantian.
A spiritual bead.
It was transparent, colorless, formless, and shadowless, and its size was a full circle larger than the two spiritual beads inside Su Ye.
It flashed and vanished, so quickly that it seemed like a mere illusion.
But Xue Mingzhao was certain she had seen it.
It had none of the attributes of gold, wood, water, fire, or earth. It was completely clear and clean, like a piece of natural crystal.
Xue Mingzhao's heart was in absolute turmoil.
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