But Zhao Gongming still managed to hold himself back.
His gaze fell once more on the option to evolve his spiritual root.
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[2. Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Root: Trace the host's Qingfeng origin, condense a Dao Mark of Wind Law, and transform it into an Innate Wind Spiritual Root. Cost: 5,000 Primordial Points.]
Even a Low-grade Innate Spiritual Root had such astonishing effects. What about a mid-grade one? A high-grade one? Or even... the higher levels that the system said he lacked permission to view?
Zhao Gongming's heart burned with unprecedented fervor. It was as if he could see a whole new world, brimming with limitless possibilities, slowly unfolding before him.
"Five thousand points... At my current rate, even if I went without sleep or rest, I'd need five thousand breaths. That's about half a day..."
He calculated silently, his longing for greater power growing ever more urgent.
"No, this still isn't fast enough!"
Zhao Gongming's eyes opened and closed, a Divine Light flashing within them. His spiritual root was now innate, like fertile soil, but the concentration of spiritual energy around him had become a bottleneck limiting his efficiency. Though his cave abode was on Jin'ao Island, it was in an area where Outer Sect Disciples lived, and the spiritual energy there was limited.
If he wanted to accumulate Primordial Points faster, he had to go somewhere with a higher concentration of spiritual energy!
A place quickly came to mind, one his senior brothers and sisters had mentioned in passing after he joined the Interception Sect.
Jin'ao Island was an overseas immortal island, itself formed from an immense ancestral spiritual vein. Deep within the island, near Biyou Palace, lay a place called the "Myriad Laws Return to Origin Pool."
It was not a pond, but a naturally formed gathering place for spiritual veins, one of the core nodes with the densest spiritual energy on the entire island.
Ordinarily, only disciples who had rendered meritorious service to the sect or received their master's special permission could enter and cultivate there for a day.
It was said that the spiritual energy there was so dense it had turned to liquid, and that crystals of spiritual energy even formed at its core!
"Myriad Laws Return to Origin Pool..." Zhao Gongming murmured, his eyes gleaming with a brilliance he had never shown before.
If he could cultivate there, he could likely take his rate of accumulating points up another level!
Then, reaching a Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Root would be nothing. Even striving for an even higher-grade spiritual root would no longer be beyond his reach!
With that thought, he no longer hesitated.
His figure blurred, transforming into a breeze as he slipped silently out of his cave abode.
He didn't dare turn into a streak of light and alert anyone. Instead, he used the wind-escape technique, skimming along the ground as he followed the route his senior brothers had mentioned, stealthily making his way toward the depths of Jin'ao Island.
The farther he went, the more luxuriant the surrounding plants became. A faint spiritual glow even lingered around them.
The spiritual energy in the air also grew denser, changing from a thin gas to something almost viscous. It seemed that one breath would immerse his lungs in sweet dew.
Now and then, disciples on patrol passed by. Zhao Gongming avoided them in advance each time, concealing his aura to the utmost.
Now that he had an Innate Spiritual Root, his affinity with the plants and trees of the world far surpassed what it had once been. Hidden among the mountains and forests, he was like a drop of water merging into the sea. Even if a Golden Immortal stood right in front of him, they would struggle to detect him unless they deliberately searched.
Before long, he reached a mountain valley shrouded in mist.
An invisible formation covered the entrance, radiating a vast and imposing aura. It was the work of a Saint, and none could enter without a token unless they were an inner disciple.
Zhao Gongming had no intention of forcing his way in. His target was merely the area surrounding the Myriad Laws Return to Origin Pool. This place was the heart of the converging spiritual veins, and even its outskirts had far denser spiritual energy than the cave abodes of Outer Sect Disciples.
His divine sense spread out like quicksilver, and soon he found an extremely concealed cave on a cliff beside the valley. Vines hid its entrance, and had his senses not become so keen, he would hardly have noticed it.
He darted inside. A surge of spiritual energy, so dense it was nearly tangible, rushed toward him. All thirty-six thousand pores on his body opened at once, greedily welcoming it.
"What a place!" Zhao Gongming's eyes blazed.
The spiritual energy here was at least dozens of times denser than in his cave abode! Even more astonishing, strands of exceptionally pure Innate Spiritual Energy were mixed in with the dense acquired spiritual energy. Though sparse, they stood out like cranes among chickens, carrying a noble Daoist aura from the dawn of World Creation.
He didn't hesitate. With a wave of his hand, he set up a simple spirit-gathering formation and a concealment formation, then sat cross-legged and sank completely into cultivation.
"System!"
At his mental command, his Innate Spiritual Root began operating at full power!
Boom!
It was as if an ancient, primordial beast had awakened! A terrifying vortex of spiritual energy formed around Zhao Gongming. The viscous, liquid-like energy in the cave was instantly stirred into motion, transforming into visible white streams that poured into his body like countless rivers flowing into the sea!
The strands of Innate Spiritual Energy mixed among them seemed to answer the summons of a sovereign. They surged forward without the slightest hindrance, racing and rejoicing as they became the first to enter his spiritual root.
[Absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, converting...] [Primordial Points +35] [Absorbing Innate Spiritual Energy, converting...] [Primordial Points +38] [Primordial Points +41] ...
On the system's display, the number of Primordial Points began to climb with unprecedented frenzy!
It jumped with every passing instant! Dozens of Primordial Points poured in with every breath!
This rate was more than a hundred times faster than when he had cultivated in his cave abode!
Half of Zhao Gongming's attention was immersed in his rapidly surging cultivation, while the other half calmly watched the system panel change. His confidence blazed like oil-fed fire.
This was the cultivation he wanted! This was the means to defy fate and change his life!
Time seemed to lose all meaning.
Zhao Gongming completely forgot everything outside. His world held nothing but the river of spiritual energy surging into his body and the rapidly climbing numbers on the system panel.
One thousand points... Two thousand points...
His Dantian Sea of Qi had long since filled with pure liquid Immortal Essence, which continued to compress and condense.
Under the relentless impact of this unceasing power, the once impregnable Golden Immortal barrier began to crack. Fine fissures spread across it one after another.
He was just one step away!
The moment his Primordial Points reached three thousand, the power he had accumulated inside himself finally burst forth like a world-ending flood breaking through a dam!
"Break!"
With a furious roar in his heart, he focused his will and guided that vast power toward the Golden Immortal barrier, now riddled with cracks, slamming into it with all his might!
Rumble—!
A thunderous boom, as if it had come from the depths of the Great Dao itself, erupted within his soul!
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