Five Phases Spirit Root

He picked up the velvet bag, untied it, and emptied its contents. His eyes widened immediately... Holy crap!

He recognized this thing. There were more than twenty Spirit Stones spread out on the table, something he had been dreaming of finding all this time.

He picked up the beads one by one and counted them once, then put them down and counted them a second time, not because he didn't trust himself, but because he just liked counting. There were a total of twenty-one.

He caressed the warm, smooth Spirit Stone with his fingertips for a moment, then, remembering the sleeping Xian'er in the Ring's space, he reluctantly put away his thoughts and decided to send the Spirit Stone to her.

But then he remembered how radiant the Ring had been when it absorbed Spirit Stones last time. Now that it was late at night and everyone was quiet, he worried that if it shone through, it might arouse suspicion. So he quickly tucked his left hand, which was wearing the Ring, into his clothes and pressed it against his chest. With a thought, he sent ten Spirit Stones into his spatial storage.

The moment the Spirit Stone entered the space, within two breaths, he sensed a faint fluctuation of Spiritual Qi emanating from the Ring, yet it emitted no light whatsoever.

He wondered to himself: Could it be that he had been depleted for too long last time, and that's why the first absorption caused such a huge commotion? Now that he's recovered, he's behaved himself?

He silently sensed it through his clothes, and in just a moment, the Spiritual Qi of the ten Spirit Stones was completely drained, turning into fine stone dust. He quickly called out in his mind:

"Xian'er? Xian'er?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a lazy, soft moan echoed through the space. It was a girl's ethereal and clear voice, still groggy from just waking up.

A few breaths later, a faint light slowly condensed in the space, gradually outlining the silhouette of a graceful young woman with an exquisite face, like a celestial being. It was none other than Xian'er, whom we had not seen for a long time.

Seeing Xian'er's figure slowly solidify within the Ring's space, Shen Jingchuan felt a sense of relief and sent a message through his mind. "Xian'er, you're finally awake."

The girl's ethereal voice then echoed in his mind, still carrying the languid softness of someone just waking up. "Hmm... we meet again."

"It's not appropriate to always call you by your first name," Shen Jingchuan said thoughtfully. "How about I call you Sister Xian'er from now on?"

Xian'er immediately burst out laughing:

"Sister? I've lived for countless millennia. By seniority, your ancestors for dozens or hundreds of generations should all call me 'senior.' What, do you want me to look like a decrepit old woman?"

Shen Jingchuan subconsciously imagined that scene, then quickly rejected it:

"No, it's fine as it is, it's pleasing to the eye. Just call me 'older sister,' it sounds nicer too."

Xian'er didn't dwell on the form of address, and suddenly paused, a hint of surprise in her voice. "Eh? You've already reached the Qi Refining First Layer?"

Shen Jingchuan was taken aback, then overjoyed. "First Layer of Qi Refinement? Could it be that I...?"

"You've already reached the Qi Refining stage and didn't even know?"

Xian'er was both annoyed and amused:

"Did you practice the 'Everlasting Spring Breathing Instruction' from that space?"

"Yes, I practice breathing exercises according to the method described above whenever I have free time. I thought it was Cultivation Method for cultivating one's character and temperament."

Shen Jingchuan calculated the time, but couldn't remember:

"I've been practicing for over a month, almost two months now. Just the other day, I suddenly felt a warm, soft sensation in my chest and abdomen, and a lot of black sludge came out of my body. I know something seems to have changed, but I don't really understand it."

"Your progress is too slow,"

Xian'er clicked her tongue:

"If you were a cultivator with Higher Vehicle Spirit Roots, you could draw qi into your body and enter the First Layer of Qi Refinement a few hours. But I can't entirely blame you; I feel the Spiritual Qi here is thin, so it's already quite remarkable that you've managed to cultivate to that level. Come, let me examine your Spirit Roots."

Before she finished speaking, a warm, gentle force spread from the Ring, silently sweeping across her entire body along her meridians. In just a few breaths, Xian'er's voice carried a hint of a sigh:

"No wonder the progress is so slow. It turns out it's the worst of the Five Spirit Roots, also known as Pseudo Spirit Roots in the cultivation world. It has all five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, making cultivation twice as difficult and half as efficient."

She paused, then added:

"Fortunately, your five Spirit Roots are all solid and robust, not the weak and feeble kind of Defective Spirit Roots, so you're not the worst off."

"Not the worst? Okay."

Shen Jingchuan wasn't discouraged; being able to cultivate was good enough, it wasn't the worst situation.

He then inquired about the ingenious use of the Ring's space:

"By the way, Sister Xian'er, you told me last time that this Ring space can nurture items? The food I put in before has definitely changed after a while. Could you explain it to me in detail?"

Xian'er's tone carried a hint of pride:

"This space can nurture all things. Ordinary objects placed here will, over time, absorb Spiritual Qi, which is more than enough to strengthen the body of mortals."

"Items that inherently possess Spiritual Qi — spirit medicine, Spirit Stones, Law Artifacts, and talismans—can all be upgraded by one grade, but no more than that, and items that have already been upgraded cannot be upgraded again."

"Spirit medicine can age and increase their potency, Low-Grade Spirit Stones can be transformed into Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, and Law Artifact artifacts and talismans can be refined to become more powerful. However, one cannot change the type of a herb out of thin air; herbs cannot be turned into ores—that's impossible."

"If you put those Spirit Stones in, they'll be absorbed by the space. How can you improve your abilities then?" Shen Jingchuan recalled how Spirit Stones he had put into his space turned to dust in an instant.

"That's because you had the intention of having it make up for the deficit, and it acted based on your will."

Xian'er explained:

"The first time was when it was so severely depleted that it could barely sustain this space, so it automatically drew Spirit Stones to tide it over. It won't use your Spirit Stones unless it's at its wit's end."

"Ordinary objects placed inside will automatically absorb a small amount of Spiritual Qi to improve their quality, but they will never undergo a fundamental transformation. For example, an ordinary fruit can never become a celestial fruit. Only spiritual items for cultivating immortality, such as spirit medicine, Spirit Stones, and Law Artifacts, will require you to actively command them with your consciousness to improve their grade or extract Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Stones. Without a command, they will simply be stored away normally."

Shen Jingchuan's eyes lit up:

"If I upgrade all the Low-Grade Spirit Stones to mid-grade, wouldn't I be able to get rich just by lying down? I wouldn't have to do anything, just trade Spirit Stones."

"You've got a good plan."

Xian'er chuckled:

"In the cultivation world, one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone can be exchanged for ten low-grade ones. But if you want to upgrade one low-grade Spirit Stone Low-Grade Spirit Stone to a mid-grade one, you'll need ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Even if Mid-Grade Spirit Stones have a premium, you can only exchange one or two more at most, making a small profit, and it's time-consuming. You can't make a fortune at all."

She added:

"Upgrading a spiritual item requires Spirit Stones. The nurturing effect on ordinary items is almost negligible, but the advancement of spirit medicine, the improvement of Spirit Stone quality, and the tempering and enhancement of Law Artifacts all require a continuous supply of Spirit Stones."

"I see."

Shen Jingchuan suddenly realized, and then smiled:

"I have eleven Spirit Stones left outside; I'll bring them all in to store them."

"So you dare to keep secrets from me!"

Xian'er frowned and said, "Hurry up and hand them all over!"

Shen Jingchuan smiled and agreed. With a thought, he sent the remaining eleven Spirit Stones into his spatial storage.

As soon as the eleven Spirit Stones were sent into the space, a flash of light appeared, and ten of them were instantly drained of their Spiritual Qi, turning into stone dust and disappearing without a trace, leaving only one spirit stone alone in the empty space.

Shen Jingchuan's mouth dropped open, and he couldn't close it for a long time. "Didn't you say...?"