Spiritual Root Test

Wang Hong spent the whole day wandering the streets before returning to the rented compound and gathering everyone. He took out a disc-shaped magical artifact from his storage bag and announced loudly, "This item is called the Spirit Sensing Disc, and it can test spiritual roots and their attributes. I'm guessing everyone has been wanting to test their spiritual roots for a while now. Everyone line up, and we'll go one by one."

Everyone below cheered in unison. In the past three months, everything they had seen and heard in the cultivation world had filled them with admiration for cultivators.

Testing spiritual roots cost ten spirit stones, which was an astronomical sum for ordinary mortals. If they had enough spirit stones, they would have tested them long ago.

Today, the general had actually bought a Spirit Sensing Disc specifically for them. They couldn't help but sigh that they had followed the right person, and each of them excitedly lined up.

They all hoped to possess excellent spiritual roots, cultivate the great Dao in the future, fly through the sky and burrow through the earth, and be capable of anything.

However, ideals were plump, but reality was bony. Wen Lan was the first to test, but the Spirit Sensing Disc showed no reaction. Wen Lan, like a deflated ball, retreated to the side.

The second was Xu Lun, and the Spirit Sensing Disc still showed no reaction. The third was Luo Zhongjie, still no reaction. Just as everyone was wondering if the Spirit Sensing Disc was broken.

When the fourth person, Zhang Chunfeng, placed his hand on it, the Spirit Sensing Disc actually emitted three colors: red, yellow, and white.

Wang Hong's eyelids twitched. There was actually another Three Spiritual Roots. Back at Qingyang Academy, among so many people, besides Wang Yi's Heavenly Spiritual Root, only one Three Spiritual Roots had appeared. Although not too good, it was still considered average aptitude.

Then, he continued to test over twenty more people, all of whom had no spiritual roots. It wasn't until the twenty-seventh person that another person with Four Spiritual Roots aptitude appeared. No one else after that.

A total of forty-five people, with two possessing spiritual roots, was considered very lucky.

Wang Hong stared at their dejected expressions below and said, "Do you feel very disappointed? Before arriving at Qingxu City, weren't you all living quite comfortably? Eating what you should eat, sleeping where you should sleep.

What's wrong with being a mortal? There are tens of millions of mortals in the world, and they also live wonderfully, creating brilliant and splendid civilizations. Just a few days ago, a cultivator at Qi Refining Layer Four was stabbed into a hedgehog by your spears. Cultivators aren't that amazing."

"Actually, martial artists and cultivators are just two different paths of cultivation. Cultivators absorb spiritual energy through their spiritual roots to nourish their primordial spirits, with the primordial spirit being the main focus.

Martial artists, on the other hand, cultivate by opening up meridians and acupoints, mainly absorbing the essence of heaven and earth from food to supplement themselves, focusing on physical cultivation.

The strength of an Innate Stage Martial Artist is not much different from a cultivator at the early stage of Qi Refining, except for magical artifacts and talismans. In terms of close-quarters combat, martial artists are even stronger. If we can find a way to use or resist magical artifacts and talismans, we can definitely defeat them one-on-one."

"Has a martial artist's cultivation really reached its peak after reaching the Innate Stage? I don't think so; it's just that our predecessors didn't advance further."

"Just because our predecessors didn't walk this path doesn't mean we have to stop moving forward. If there's no path, we'll forge one. If there are no cultivation methods, we can create them ourselves."

"I will collect various secret manuals from the cultivation world and martial arts cultivation, establish a library, and set up a contribution point system. As long as there are merits, everyone can earn contribution points, and in the future, everyone can borrow them with contribution points."

"Anyone who can provide a reliable suggestion for the next step of martial artist cultivation will be rewarded with one hundred contribution points and one hundred spirit stones. If anyone can create the next cultivation method, they will be rewarded with ten thousand contribution points and ten thousand spirit stones."

The group, who had been dejected, now clenched their fists, their eyes bloodshot, and their expressions were passionate. They were all battle-hardened soldiers, naturally possessing an indomitable spirit. They had only been unable to bear the immense psychological gap due to their excessive hopes just now.

Moreover, the general had clearly pointed out a way forward, and there were also enticing reward schemes. For a moment, they wished they could create the next cultivation method for martial artists.

Wang Hong let the excited crowd disperse, keeping the two who had tested with spiritual roots. Zhang Chunfeng was a tall, dark-skinned man. He was usually taciturn and handled matters with composure.

He had been Wang Hong's soldier since Wang Hong became a Centurion. In one battle, he was shot multiple times, and both his legs were shattered. Wang Hong had saved him with a White Jade Life-Extending Pill. After that, he had stayed by Wang Hong's side, and Wang Hong had offered him promotions several times, but he refused.

The other person was the opposite. He was small and thin, and everyone usually called him "Skinny Monkey." His real name was Yang Youwen. Wang Hong had found him. During a march, he had collapsed by the roadside from hunger, so Wang Hong gave him some food and put him on a cart carrying grain.

When the kid woke up, he saw that there was food and drink in the army and stubbornly refused to leave. Wang Hong saw that he was nimble, clever, and young, so he took pity on him and kept him.

Wang Hong reached into his storage bag, and two books appeared in his hand: the "Earth Thickening Art" and the "Metal Firming Art" that had been captured two days ago.

"You two can take a look at these two cultivation methods to see if they suit you. If you don't like them, you can choose and purchase them yourself, and I'll reimburse you for the spirit stones."

After thinking for a moment, he threw the "Comprehensive Guide to Cultivation" to the two of them as well. "You two should read this book first before deciding which cultivation method to choose."

The two bowed deeply to thank Wang Hong and turned to leave.

Wang Hong returned to his room, closed the door, and entered the Mysterious Space.

The various medicinal herbs that had been growing densely in the space had become much sparser after continuous harvesting and exchanging for spirit stones over this period.

Wang Hong planted the Spirit Gathering Grass seeds he had bought, along with the seeds for the other ten or so auxiliary medicinal herbs for the Qi Gathering Pill, filling the extra half-mu of land next to it.

Spirit Gathering Grass only took a year to mature, and the demand was high, so there was no worry about sales, and it could be quickly converted into capital. He desperately needed a large amount of spirit stones to expand the space, as it was still too small.

After planting them, he looked at them with satisfaction. Then he went to the ginseng patch to observe it carefully. A few months ago, he had discovered that several ginseng plants had mutated, with some of the veins on the plants turning red, like blood vessels. After these few months, there were more red veins on them.

He cross-referenced it with the "Spirit Medicine Illustrated Record" and felt it was somewhat similar to Crimson Blood Ginseng, except that Crimson Blood Ginseng had more red veins. Wang Hong guessed that the mutation might not be complete and still required time.

Crimson Blood Ginseng was a very rare spiritual medicine. They had been in that market for several months and had never seen it.

It was said that Crimson Blood Ginseng was extremely picky about its growing environment, and ordinary medicine gardens could not cultivate it. It was also difficult to collect it in the outside world. As for its specific effects and uses, Wang Hong's realm was too low to know yet.

After inspecting various areas, he floated over to a pile of wine jars. This wine was the Lingzhi Wine and Ginseng Wine he had brewed before. It could now be considered aged for a hundred years.

He slightly opened the seals of a few jars, and the aroma of the wine wafted out, extremely mellow and containing abundant spiritual energy.

Wang Hong took ten small bottles, filling each with half a jin of wine, preparing to sell them at the shop outside. In addition, he also bottled ten bottles of wine brewed with raspberries.

Wang Hong guessed that this should also be considered spiritual wine. Anyway, Wang Hong had tried it himself; his Qi Refining Layer One spiritual power could be replenished with just one sip.

He planned to sell them at the shop for ten spirit stones a bottle and see if they would sell, but he wasn't sure. Anyway, it didn't matter if they sold or not. After doing this, he also picked some spiritual herbs and took them out of the Mysterious Space.

The next day, after tidying up the small shop, Wang Hong found a piece of spirit wood board and carved the words "Pioneering Spirit Medicine Pavilion" on it, taking the meaning of pioneering and creating.

He placed a few pots of flowers at the entrance and bought a few Thunderclap Talismans. Thunderclap Talismans were very low-grade and cheap talismans. Once activated, they would emit crackling sounds. They had no offensive power and were generally activated during celebrations to make noise and add a festive atmosphere.

After the Thunderclap Talismans crackled, the small shop officially opened. On the first day, neighbors from the vicinity came to congratulate them, giving gifts worth about ten spirit stones and symbolically buying one or two spiritual herbs. Wang Hong reciprocated each person with a bottle of spiritual wine, and everyone was happy.

As expected, the shop was deserted after opening, selling only a few items a day. Wang Hong didn't pay much attention to it and arranged for one person to watch it. Every day, he still sent two teams to set up stalls, buying and selling at the same time.

Wang Hong, on the other hand, locked himself in his room to cultivate diligently. While cultivating, he would dive into the Mysterious Space to read. As a rookie in the cultivation world, there were too many things he didn't understand and too many things he needed to learn.

At the same time, he arranged for Zhang Chunfeng to implement the contribution point reward system. Each person would receive thirty to one hundred contribution points based on the number of years they had joined the guards and the merits they had earned on the journey through the Qingxu Mountain Range to Qingxu City. After that, each person would receive two contribution points per month.

As for the merits earned in previous battles, they had already been rewarded and would not be repeated. Wang Hong had no habit of withholding rewards.

Wang Hong went to buy more than a dozen books. Currently, his financial resources were limited, so he could only buy these. He would expand his collection later when he had more spirit stones.