Innate Spiritual Root

Zhao Gongming's gaze burned into the system light screen as he sank his mind into it. A brand-new deduction option had quietly unlocked along with the consolidation of his realm.

[Spiritual Root Deduction Options Unlocked:]

[One, Low-grade Innate Spiritual Root: Nurtured from the host's current foundation, optimizing the root of spiritual energy affinity. Requires 1000 Primordial Points.]

[Two, Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Root: Traces the host's origin of pure wind, condenses a Dao Mark of Wind Law, and transforms into an Innate Wind Spiritual Root. Requires 5000 Primordial Points.]

[Three, High-grade Innate Spiritual Root... (Insufficient authority, cannot view)]

Gazing at these two options, Zhao Gongming did not hesitate.

"One thousand points... Low-grade Innate Spiritual Root!"

Though the effect of the Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Root was undoubtedly stronger, the consumption of five thousand points was something he could not yet bear. This one-thousand-point Low-grade Innate Spiritual Root, however, was the most cost-effective choice at present!

Foundation determined the upper limit of cultivation and affinity with the Great Dao.

Cultivation methods determined the efficiency of practice and the quality of one's dharma power.

And the spiritual root directly governed the absorption speed of specific attribute spiritual energy and the ability to comprehend the laws!

The three complemented each other; none could be lacking.

His current foundation was already "Innate Being (Extreme)," and his cultivation of the Innate Level Shangqing Immortal Method had been advancing by leaps and bounds.

If he added even a Low-grade Innate Spiritual Root—even if only low-grade—it would be enough to explosively increase his cultivation speed on the existing foundation!

By then, the speed of accumulating points and the foundation for breaking through to higher realms would be incomparable to before.

"First, deduce the spiritual root to further solidify my potential, then, in the most perfect state, shatter the Golden Immortal barrier in one go!"

A surge of heroic ambition swelled in Zhao Gongming's heart. Once this thought was born, it could no longer be suppressed.

What he sought was never simple breakthrough, but to reach the current extreme with every single step!

Zhao Gongming's mind trembled, and without a shred of hesitation, his will landed on the system light screen like an invisible command.

"System, consume one thousand Primordial Points to deduce the Low-grade Innate Spiritual Root!"

[Command confirmed... Primordial Points -1000... Deduction commencing...]

The moment the cold prompt sounded in his mind, Zhao Gongming felt a crisp crack from the depths of his soul, as if an ancient shackle had been blasted open!

Boom!

An indescribably profound aura erupted from the deepest recesses of his limbs and bones, from the ethereal source of his very fate!

This aura was neither dharma power nor soul force, but a more primordial, more ancient power.

It carried a hint of chaos's first opening, of all things being born anew—ancient, vast, yet brimming with endless vitality.

This was the aura of the innate!

Zhao Gongming's physical body trembled uncontrollably in that moment. He could "see" that within him, the ordinary acquired root, which had only a common affinity with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, was undergoing a heaven-shaking transformation!

It was as if an invisible great hand, using Primordial Force as a carving knife and his body as raw jade, was performing a creation-defying sculpting.

Countless dense, dust-like mysterious runes materialized out of thin air, branding themselves into every fiber of his spiritual root.

The impure marks left by the acquired world, under the scouring of Primordial Force, melted and purified like snow under a blazing sun.

What replaced them was a purity, an inborn nobility!

His spiritual root was reversing from the acquired back to the innate!

Within the Cave Abode, the spiritual energy storm that had already been concentrated to the extreme by the gathering array suddenly found an outlet. No, not an outlet—a frenzy of worship and influx!

If before, the spiritual energy had been forcibly "dragged" in by the cultivation method, now these Innate Spiritual Energies were like subjects meeting their sovereign, like fledglings returning to the nest, carrying an instinctive closeness and longing, actively and madly burrowing into Zhao Gongming's body!

He didn't even need to deliberately circulate the Innate Level Shangqing Immortal Method. The mere wisp of innate Dao rhythm naturally emitted during the spiritual root's transformation turned his body into a spiritual energy black hole more than ten times more terrifying than before!

The surrounding void trembled. The dense Innate Spiritual Energy on Jin'ao Island was torn into visible white air currents that pierced through the Cave Abode's stone walls and formations, pouring into his crown.

"So... this is an Innate Spiritual Root?"

Zhao Gongming's mind was shaken. He could clearly feel that his connection to heaven and earth had become unprecedentedly close.

Before, when he looked at the world, it was like seeing through a thin veil—clear enough, yet still separated by a layer.

Now, that veil had been torn away completely. The threads of the Great Dao's laws, the flowing trajectories of spiritual energy—all became incomparably clear in his perception!

Every breath felt like inhaling and exhaling the essence of the Great Dao.

The deduction process did not last long. When the last wisp of Primordial Force merged into the depths of his spiritual root, the transformation born from the source finally settled.

Zhao Gongming looked inward. His spiritual root had been reborn, its entire body crystalline and translucent, like a divine tree's root carved from flawless jade. A faint clear light lingered around it, exuding a pure and authentic innate aura.

[Deduction complete!]

[Spiritual Root: Low-grade Innate Spiritual Root.]

[Effect: Perception of, absorption efficiency of, and conversion efficiency of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy increased tenfold. Affinity with the Great Dao's laws slightly increased.]

It was done!

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Zhao Gongming immediately began circulating the Innate Level Shangqing Immortal Method anew.

Boom!

The moment the technique began to circulate, the Immortal Essence liquid within his body instantly erupted into a boil!

The surging river of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy from the outside world, almost without needing any complex refinement, was transformed by the Innate Spiritual Root into the purest energy and poured into his Dantian Sea of Qi.

The feeling was like a narrow irrigation channel, originally only a finger's width wide, suddenly widening into a roaring river ten zhang across!

His mind sank once more into the system's light screen, and he saw that the Primordial Points, which had just been zeroed out, had begun a new round of explosive growth that made his heart race.

[Absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, converting...]

[Primordial Points +1]

In just a single breath!

Previously, it had taken over a dozen breaths to accumulate a single Primordial Point. Now, one breath was enough!

This meant his rate of point accumulation had surged more than tenfold!

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!"

Zhao Gongming's heart swelled with soaring ambition—this was the cultivation he truly desired! One step ahead, and every step follows. With this Innate Spiritual Root, his speed of accumulating points would far surpass the past. Whether it was deducing techniques or elevating his foundation, he would now have far more solid capital.

He could even sense that the unyielding barrier of the Golden Immortal realm, under the impact of this newfound power, seemed to have loosened slightly.

As long as he was willing, he could draw upon this vast force at any moment and achieve success in one fell swoop.