Volume 2: Phantom Traces of the Demon

Volume 2: Phantom Tracks, Chapter 7: Even Earth Mother Is Just Your Thermal Weapon

"Heaven and Earth were naturally generated from chaos, and from them, all living beings evolved. Within the bodies of these beings, there exists a small world composed of blood, bones, muscles, organs, and meridians, which corresponds to the world at large. The so-called cultivation is the act of absorbing the primordial energy between Heaven and Earth to propel the internal world to evolve from chaos into a structured world, allowing living beings to break through the limits of life and death, achieve a lifespan equal to the heavens, attain freedom, and perhaps even transcend this world." Bai Qiuran found a rock on the mountaintop to sit on, drew an immeasurable surge of True Qi from his Qi Sea, and poured it into the ground while saying to Tang Ruowei, "Ruowei, how much do you understand about the realms of cultivation and the attributes of spiritual roots?"

"You've really become obsessed with training to the point of no return... If Jueyun had your level of perseverance back in the day, he might have already ascended to the heavens in broad daylight."

Bai Qiuran stood with his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow. "If you keep training like this, what is the point of learning to alter your physique before your lifespan runs out? When your time comes, you'll just be lying in a coffin with that pair of large, white, and soft breasts you just grew."

Bai Qiuran raised a palm.

One morning three months later, Bai Qiuran dragged Tang Ruowei out of the training room.

"This mountain peak hasn't been polished yet, so I will teach you while I polish it."

"It is merely a level of compatibility, which means a person's spiritual root does not determine everything."

"People without spiritual roots simply have low compatibility; it does not mean they cannot touch the Great Dao and the rules of the world."

Bai Qiuran thought for a moment and replied, "Metal represents the path of change, the power of reform and progress; Fire represents the release of energy, the process of heat dissipation; Water represents changes in temperature and the transformation of states of matter; the Wood attribute I first practiced represents the endless cycle of life. If you are interested in the future, I can teach you the divine abilities and techniques of the other five elements, but one must walk the path one step at a time. You should first practice the technique I gave you."

"Master, where are you taking me?"

Bai Qiuran looked straight at Tang Ruowei and said, "When you reach a profound level, you will be able to manipulate gravity freely. By then, even Earth Mother will be nothing more than a thermal weapon in your palm..."

Tang Ruowei thought about it and realized he was right, so she stopped talking and obediently followed Bai Qiuran, crossing a stone bridge that had been built just last night, and arrived at the mountain peak made of black stone.

Tang Ruowei answered honestly, looking exceptionally well-behaved.

When she was dragged out of the training room by her collar by Bai Qiuran, she was still complaining, "What is it, Master? Can you not disturb my training?"

Bai Qiuran replied, "Furthermore, there are countless Great Daos and rules in the world. Even after all these years of the Cultivation World's frantic searching, not all of them have been understood. The five-element spiritual roots exist only because our ancestors could only measure a limited number of rules in the world and categorized them into five types. In fact, the Cultivation World has recently discovered many other attributes of spiritual roots, such as lightning, poison, wind, and so on. Although I used the Heaven Mending Pill to complete all the spiritual root attributes known today, there must be rules and principles in this world that I do not know, and I have always been trying to explore them."

"Whether it is soil, stone, mountains, or the dragon energy hidden within the earth, these have all been classified by our ancestors under the Earth attribute. As long as you manipulate the gravity that affects all things, you can freely manipulate everything. Why can't humans fly freely? Why do objects fall without external force? These are all due to the fundamental power of this Earth attribute."

"That is merely the surface appearance."

"I am taking you to your future training ground to pass on the methods of cultivation to you."

Tang Ruowei showed a look of longing and asked curiously, "Then Master, what are the Great Daos represented by the other five elements?"

"I only know about the five elements for spiritual roots."

"I've digressed. In any case, the reason I say these things is, first, to keep you from being proud of your talent; guarding against arrogance and impatience is the standard for a true Cultivator."

"The Great Dao truly represented by the Earth attribute is the gravity known in the Cultivation World as Primordial Magnetism. Watch closely."

Tang Ruowei pouted, looking as if she were still dwelling on the Fortune Body Forging Technique that could help her change her fate.

Bai Qiuran sighed, "Alright, alright, come with me. This Fortune Body Forging Technique of yours cannot be mastered in a day, so don't be too impatient."

Tang Ruowei listened, mesmerized.

"The other five elements?"

He drew a breath of True Qi, and a magic incantation appeared in his palm. Tang Ruowei suddenly felt the earth shake and the mountains sway. Looking into the distance, the vast land beneath the mountain surged like ocean waves, with endless soil and stone rising and falling, as if countless Great Dragons were gathering beneath the mountain peak where they stood.

"The technique I wrote blindly that night... the one I created for you, has the characteristic of focusing on manipulating this power of Primordial Magnetism."

Tang Ruowei thought of the scene from that night when Bai Qiuran carried a mountain back: "Moving mountains and filling seas? Manipulating earth and stone?"

Bai Qiuran continued, "Secondly... I want you to understand the principle of seeing the essence through the phenomena. The division of cultivation realms is most importantly based on the degree of a person's perception and understanding of the internal and external worlds. From Qi Refining to Golden Core, and then to the cultivation of the Nascent Soul, it is about forming another you within your body, where the Nascent Soul and the physical body correspond to each other. As for the attributes of spiritual roots, take your Earth attribute spiritual root as an example. What divine ability do you think you can achieve after practicing Earth attribute techniques?"

"This technique is a summary of the Earth attribute techniques I have thought about and learned over three thousand years. Its only drawback is that it is weak in the early stages because your cultivation is limited and you cannot manipulate enough Primordial Magnetism to affect other things, resulting in limited combat ability. However, this situation will improve once you reach the Foundation Establishment Stage and obtain a Flying Sword..."

"I have only heard of the names of the realms. The Martial Arts Grandmaster realm is equivalent to a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, and after that, there is Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and so on."

Bai Qiuran handed a scroll, thicker than the Fortune Body Forging Technique, to Tang Ruowei.

"But the only problem is, Ruowei, can you really reach the Foundation Establishment Stage by practicing my technique?"

"Oh."

After several seconds of continuous shaking, Bai Qiuran lowered his palm. At this moment, Tang Ruowei keenly sensed that the aura on the mountain peak seemed more gentle and intimate toward her.

"This..." The girl's black hair was a mess, her eyes were bloodshot, and her sweat-soaked clothes clung tightly to her body. It was clear that she had either gotten up very early or hadn't slept at all.

Speaking of this, he hesitated for a moment.

Bai Qiuran was multitasking, changing the terrain while saying, "And what the spiritual root represents is the degree of compatibility between a person and the various Great Dao rules in the world."

"Yes, that is why I told you and that other child with the Heavenly Spirit Root not to be smug about your spiritual root attributes. Nowadays, Jueyunzi of the Azure Nether Sword Sect was just an ordinary disciple with no aptitude or spiritual roots when he first entered the sect. Moreover, there is a pill in this world called the Heaven Mending Pill, which can improve a person's compatibility with a certain attribute."

Tang Ruowei was also a very clever girl and immediately understood the intention behind Bai Qiuran's words.