Clarifying Doubts in the Immortal Cultivation World II

Qin Fengming felt a wave of dizziness just thinking about a sect history spanning tens of thousands of years. A mortal life is only about seventy to eighty years; ten thousand years is an eternity, a hundred lifetimes.

Qin Fengming skimmed over these details. With his current cultivation, all he could think about was the present.

As he continued reading, he learned more about the Luoxia Sect.

The sect leaders of past generations were not necessarily the strongest cultivators within the sect. Instead, they were Foundation Establishment cultivators who, feeling they could no longer advance their cultivation, voluntarily gave up further cultivation to focus on sect affairs.

The current sect leader is a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Wang. The various managers throughout the sect are also Foundation Establishment cultivators who have voluntarily given up cultivation. For example, the middle-aged man surnamed Feng, who brought Qin Fengming here, is responsible for managing all the Spirit Stones in the sect. This also applies to everyone in the Cloud Peak main hall, such as the old man surnamed Wei and the middle-aged man surnamed Ma.

If a Foundation Establishment cultivator successfully enters the Core Formation stage, they automatically become an Elder of the Luoxia Sect, enjoying sect benefits and a highly respected status. This includes the old man Ximen with his sharp features.

The sect has a Grand Elder position, responsible for the entire sect. This individual typically does not manage day-to-day affairs but focuses solely on cultivation, aiming to achieve Nascent Soul formation. Currently, the Grand Elder of the Luoxia Sect is a cultivator surnamed Chen, who is at the late stage of Core Formation, just half a step away from the Nascent Soul realm.

There are also cultivators who, while not giving up cultivation, are intensely passionate about specific areas. For instance, Martial Uncle Fei is obsessed with artifact refining, and Uncle-Master Lu is devoted to alchemy. These individuals enjoy high status within the sect, and even elders of the Core Formation stage treat them with great courtesy.

Other disciples, like Senior Brother Su in the Merit Hall, are at the peak of the Qi Gathering stage but have no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. They often take on roles as stewards in important departments.

The Luoxia Sect has the most disciples in the Qi Gathering stage. These disciples must perform a few days of miscellaneous labor each month, with the remaining time free for their own cultivation. Once they reach the ninth level of Qi Gathering, they are no longer assigned any chores and can focus entirely on their cultivation, preparing for Foundation Establishment.

Those who successfully achieve Foundation Establishment are then eligible to find a place with abundant spiritual energy within the Haoyue Mountain Range and establish their own cave dwelling. Generally, they are left undisturbed, but they must return to the sect to serve if the sect faces danger.

Interpersonal relationships in the immortal cultivation world differ from the secular world. Cultivators of the same realm address each other as peers. Those a realm higher are referred to as seniors, and fellow sect members are called Martial Uncle or Martial Aunt.

Generally, high-level cultivators focus solely on their cultivation and rarely take disciples unless there are special circumstances. Cultivators tend to be detached from familial bonds, generally centering their lives around themselves. Qin Fengming found this aspect particularly difficult to understand.

The "Chronicles of Luoxia Sect" also introduced the current state of the immortal cultivation world in the Great Liang Kingdom.

Currently, the Great Liang Kingdom has three first-rate major sects: Zhui Feng Valley, Wang Ting Mountain, and Xiao Yao Sect. Each sect has elders of the Nascent Soul stage overseeing it.

Zhui Feng Valley is the strongest, with a Nascent Soul couple and another Nascent Soul cultivator residing within it. Wang Ting Mountain and Xiao Yao Sect each have two Nascent Soul elders. All three of these first-rate sects have over ten thousand disciples.

Zhui Feng Valley is located in the central-southern part of the Wanqiong Mountain Range, the largest spiritual vein in the Great Liang Kingdom, placing it in the heartland of the kingdom. Wang Ting Mountain is in the Taiyue Mountain Range, located in the eastern part of the Great Liang Kingdom. Xiao Yao Sect is in the Yanling Mountain Range, situated in the northwestern part of the Great Liang Kingdom. The three sects form a triangular formation.

Besides these three major sects, the Great Liang Kingdom has five smaller sects. Although they do not have Nascent Soul cultivators, their strength should not be underestimated. These are: Wuhu Mountain, Luoxia Sect, Spirit Driving Gate, Blood Refining Gate, and Taixu Gate.

The rest are even smaller sects and immortal cultivation families, all dependent on these larger sects. Apart from these sects and families, the largest group in the immortal cultivation world is the vast number of rogue cultivators. All of these elements constitute the immortal cultivation world of the Great Liang Kingdom.

When the Luoxia Sect was founded, it had Nascent Soul cultivators and controlled five prefectures and counties around Yingzhou Prefecture. However, it has since declined to a second-rate sect and no longer possesses its former strength. Consequently, it now jointly controls a few southern prefectures with Wuhu Mountain.

After finishing the "Chronicles of Luoxia Sect," Qin Fengming did not delay. He spent two days thoroughly studying the "Introduction to Immortal Cultivation."

The "Introduction to Immortal Cultivation" systematically explained the differences between cultivators and mortals, detailing who can cultivate and why others cannot.

The world is densely populated; Yingzhou Prefecture alone has tens of millions of inhabitants, yet very few can cultivate. Even fewer can cultivate and enter the immortal cultivation world.

Speaking of cultivation, one must mention "Spiritual Roots." The book states: All things possess the Five Elements of heaven and earth: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Whether it be people or other beings, none can exist independently of these five attributes.

Humans are considered the spirits of all creation. From birth, they possess the Five Elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Cultivators refer to the Five Elements within the human body as "Spiritual Roots." Therefore, humans possess the five Spiritual Roots of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

The Five Elements complement each other and also restrain each other. For example, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, and Earth generates Metal, which is called mutual generation. Metal overcomes Wood, Wood overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water, Water overcomes Fire, and Fire overcomes Metal, which is called mutual overcoming.

The "spiritual energy" that cultivators speak of is the Five Elements' power contained within heaven and earth. Cultivation is the process of absorbing this Five Elements' power from heaven and earth.

If a person possesses all five Spiritual Roots, due to the mutual overcoming nature of the Five Elements, their sensitivity to the Five Elements' power in heaven and earth will be extremely poor, and absorption will be incredibly slow. This is what cultivators refer to as having no Spiritual Root.

Conversely, if a person lacks one "Spiritual Root," for example, if they lack the "Earth Spiritual Root," their body requires the attributes of the Five Elements and must absorb "Earth spiritual energy" from heaven and earth to compensate.

This makes them extremely sensitive to "Earth spiritual energy," and absorption will be relatively quick. However, due to the mutual overcoming of the Five Elements, other attributes will also restrict their absorption of external "Earth spiritual energy." Therefore, although they absorb faster than someone with all five Spiritual Roots, it is still not very fast.

If two or three Spiritual Roots are lacking, they will be very sensitive to two or three types of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, absorbing it two to three times faster than someone lacking only one. If four Spiritual Roots are lacking, it will be even faster.

In the immortal cultivation world, people lacking "Spiritual Roots" are considered capable of cultivating immortal cultivation techniques. The Spiritual Root they lack is referred to as possessing that "Spiritual Root attribute," distinguishing them from ordinary people.

When Qin Fengming first entered the Luoxia Sect, Sect Leader Wang and the various Martial Uncles tested his Spiritual Root attributes by channeling the Five Elements' power into his body to see which spiritual energy he responded to, thereby determining which Spiritual Roots he possessed. Unfortunately, they were unable to test any.

However, the number of people with Spiritual Roots among humans is extremely small, and even fewer can cultivate. Therefore, despite tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of mortals, the number of cultivators appears very scarce.