Lost at Dawn, Gained at Dusk

Rooting was the first step into the path of immortality, and also the most important one. For this, Elder Chu had spent two whole days explaining every possible situation that might arise during Rooting.

An immortal root consisted of one primary root and one hundred tiny lateral roots. Rooting an immortal root was far more than simply plunging it into the dantian—it was no small field of study. Whether each root suited the dantian after taking root, whether its compatibility was perfect or merely one-tenth, all mattered. If the compatibility was poor after rooting, one's future achievements would be correspondingly limited.

If the dantian were compared to the earth and the immortal roots to various plants, some plants grew in dry regions with little water, while others grew in moist places rich in water. Some plants faced the sun, while others favored shade. Rooting was the same: according to the differing traits of each lateral root, they had to be planted in the corresponding positions within the dantian.

Thus, when Rooting, most people worked hard to pour spiritual energy into their immortal roots, clearing and guiding them. After guiding them again and again, they would choose what they believed to be a highly compatible spot in the dantian and plant the roots there. The greater the compatibility between immortal root and dantian, the greater one's future achievements. Yet even purple seed disciples with the highest aptitude and comprehension could not make every root perfectly compatible with their dantian. There would always be some degree of deviation.

Elder Chu had also said that while Rooting, one should do one's utmost to guide the spiritual energy within one's body, feel carefully, and strive to choose the place most compatible with that immortal seed. If the first root was not planted well, there was no need to lose heart; one could redouble one's efforts with the second.

When Xu Yu rooted his immortal seed, as many as ninety roots achieved perfect compatibility. Murong Chao, meanwhile, had only sixty immortal roots achieve perfect compatibility, but that was already an exceptionally good result. Compared to ordinary weak seed disciples, having ten immortal roots achieve perfect compatibility during Rooting was already remarkable.

From the moment Rooting began, the advantages of special immortal seeds and weak seeds began to emerge and widen.

But whether it was a special immortal seed or a weak seed, their immortal roots emerged from the immortal seed one after another during Rooting. Only after one root had been planted would another appear. Who had ever seen a hundred roots emerge all at once like his?

Even if he used spiritual energy to clear and guide them, he could at most make one or two immortal roots perfectly compatible with his dantian. The other ninety-odd roots would inevitably be planted in a complete mess. If that happened, then his road of immortality would end here.

No! He had to think of a way. He had worked so hard to reach Rooting—he could not just watch himself be ruined before his own eyes. He absolutely could not resign himself to spending his whole life as the lowliest Menial Disciple!

The method Elder Chu had taught for guiding immortal roots flashed rapidly through his mind before being swiftly rejected. The Rooting experiences Xu Yu and Murong Chao had shared with him were equally useless. The situation he faced was something neither Xu Yu nor Murong Chao had experienced. Indeed, no immortal cultivation expert in the entire cultivation world had ever seen or heard of it.

Wasn't the usual order to plant the primary root first, followed by the lateral roots? And who had ever seen one hundred lateral roots arrive simultaneously?

Qin Haoxuan was facing a problem unprecedented in the cultivation world. His mind was a tangled mess, and he could only watch as the hundred lateral roots slowly approached, unable to figure out how to guide them. If he guided any one of them, the other ninety-nine would fall into chaos. But if he guided none, all hundred immortal roots would plant themselves wildly. What was he supposed to do?

Just as he was at his wits' end, a bold thought surged into his mind.

Divine consciousness could be used in alchemy, formations, talismans, and even to attack enemies or seek out Spirit Springs. Could it also be used to find the most compatible rooting spot for immortal roots?

He did not have much time. Qin Haoxuan acted the moment the thought came to him. He closed his eyes and concentrated with all his strength, mobilizing his divine consciousness as he attempted to straighten out the hundred lateral roots that had become a hopeless tangle.

Very quickly, Qin Haoxuan controlled his divine consciousness and dispersed it across the tiny lateral roots. Treating divine consciousness as spiritual energy, he guided those lateral roots in search of their most compatible places.

A miracle happened. As Qin Haoxuan used his divine consciousness to smooth them out, the immortal roots that had originally not known where to plant themselves were illuminated by his divine consciousness, and their perfectly compatible spots on the dantian appeared directly before him. All he needed to do was guide them there with spiritual energy.

For Qin Haoxuan, who moments ago had been treating a dead horse as if it were alive, this was like finding life in the midst of certain death. He immediately calmed his mind and swiftly guided each immortal root toward its perfectly compatible spot.

With Qin Haoxuan's divine consciousness guiding them, he completed all the work of directing the lateral roots in such a short time. The hundred lateral roots, guided by his spiritual energy, sank deeply into the dantian the instant they touched it. Qin Haoxuan felt the immortal seed communicating more closely with the spiritual energy in his body. Even each breath seemed to fit more naturally, and his five senses became sharper. It perfectly matched the changes Xu Yu and Murong Chao had described after Rooting.

But something was wrong. Those tiny roots had entered the dantian, but where was the primary root?

Where was the primary root Xu Yu and Murong Chao had spoken of? Shouldn't Rooting mean the primary root entered the dantian?

As Qin Haoxuan's hundred lateral roots took root, the Undying Witch Demon in Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley sensed it as well. His murky eyes slowly opened, and in a weak voice, he muttered to himself, "How... how is this possible?"

The Undying Witch Demon had lingered in a half-dead, rigid existence for countless years and had seen much of the world. Yet this was the first time he had encountered an immortal seed that produced a hundred lateral roots before the primary root—and all of them at the same time. What shocked him even more was that every one of those hundred lateral roots had rooted flawlessly!

How was that possible? Even a Supreme Purple Seed could not root so perfectly, much less when all hundred lateral roots had surged forth at once. How had he done it? The hundred lateral roots had been planted—then where was the primary root?

Just as the Undying Witch Demon and Qin Haoxuan were both worried, Qin Haoxuan suddenly felt the immortal seed that had just rooted tremble again.

An immortal root far thicker than the hundred lateral roots extended from the crack and plunged straight into Qin Haoxuan's dantian. The hundred lateral roots and one primary root had all completed their Rooting.

The instant the primary root took hold, the spiritual energy in the dantian no longer needed to be poured down from the immortal seed in the manner of enlightenment through initiation. Instead, the immortal roots and dantian began the most direct exchange of spiritual energy. Streams of spiritual energy passed through the immortal roots and were absorbed by the immortal sprout still within the immortal seed, an effect far better than watering the immortal seed.

Having completed Rooting without danger despite the scare, Qin Haoxuan let out a long breath. Xu Yu and Murong Chao had both rooted their primary roots first, and only after the primary root was finished had the hundred lateral roots appeared. Perhaps because his immortal seed had mutated, the hundred lateral roots rooted first before the primary root appeared. Fortunately, the Rooting had been completed safely and smoothly.

A satisfied smile flashed across the Undying Witch Demon's face. He sensed that Qin Haoxuan had succeeded in Rooting. Though the order in which the roots had emerged was somewhat strange, he had at last completed the immortal seed portion. Next should come the demon seed!

If he could make the five hundred demon seed lateral roots root as flawlessly as those hundred immortal seed lateral roots, then he had truly found a treasure—a peerless treasure unlike any before!

Just as Qin Haoxuan was about to finish his cultivation and return to share this good news with Xu Yu and Murong Chao, the immortal seed suddenly began to hum and tremble again.

What was happening? Had Rooting not been completed yet?

To his astonishment, several more slender lateral roots emerged at the same time from the crack in the immortal seed.

Qin Haoxuan had no time to think. He hurriedly explored them with divine consciousness, then guided them with spiritual energy to their perfectly compatible spots. Yet these inexplicably appearing lateral roots numbered a full five hundred. It took Qin Haoxuan half an hour before he completely guided them all into place.

The Undying Witch Demon in Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley nearly leaped to his feet!

Six hundred immortal roots—every one of them had indeed rooted perfectly!

A perfect Immortal-Demon Seed, a perfect Immortal-Demon Seed that belonged to him! The day it sprouted would be the day he performed Body Seizure. After taking over the body, with a perfect Immortal-Demon Seed combined with his own abilities, what would that mean in the current cultivation world?

After those five hundred tiny lateral roots had finished rooting, the immortal seed seemed to fall silent once more. But at this moment, Qin Haoxuan's immortal seed had one primary root and a full six hundred lateral roots. The number of lateral roots was six times greater than anyone else's. Moreover, Qin Haoxuan's flash of inspiration and his risky use of divine consciousness to guide the immortal roots had allowed all six hundred lateral roots to root perfectly.

Across the vast cultivation world, over its boundless hundreds of thousands of years, no genius had ever been heard of who could plant one hundred lateral roots perfectly. More astonishing still, others had only one hundred lateral roots, while Qin Haoxuan had a full six hundred—and every single one was perfectly compatible with his dantian!

What was going on? Qin Haoxuan was utterly stunned by the sudden development. His mind raced as he recalled Elder Chu's lectures from the notes he had read, but no matter how he searched his memories, there had never been any mention of a cultivator possessing six hundred immortal roots.

"Six hundred immortal roots? Six hundred perfectly compatible immortal roots?"

Even Qin Haoxuan was astonished by his six hundred lateral roots. Having carefully read through all the foundational knowledge on Rooting, he knew even more clearly that his situation was unprecedented and would never be seen again. Setting aside the perfect compatibility, the sheer number of immortal roots alone surpassed those purple seeds!

"Lost at dawn, gained at dusk? Heaven did not give me peerless aptitude, so it compensated me by this means instead?" he thought silently, yet he could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Still, he could not say what it was.

To be safe, Qin Haoxuan sat within the thicket for most of the night. Only after confirming that the immortal seed had undergone no further mutation did he quietly return to the dormitory. Then he possessed Little Snake and cultivated his divine consciousness until dawn.

The next day, everyone who saw Qin Haoxuan felt that compared to yesterday, he had gained an indescribable quality. If they had to put it into words, it was high-spirited vigor and refreshing clarity. His eyes, which had already held a trace of uprightness, now possessed an indescribable purity. Every breath he took was orderly, steady, and long.

If he had once given others the impression of being merely strong and martial, he now seemed to combine martial might with scholarly elegance, yin and yang complementing each other.

Standing there, he seemed rooted into the earth, blending into his surroundings. He was such a large figure, yet somehow he felt both easy to overlook and impossible to forget—a contradiction.

Could Qin Haoxuan have rooted his immortal seed? The other disciples secretly speculated, yet none dared believe their own conclusion. Then Elder Chu saw him and was so shocked that he stood speechless. After a long while, he finally said, "You... actually rooted your immortal seed!"

An uproar erupted at once. The gazes all the weak seed disciples cast toward Qin Haoxuan were thick with jealousy.

A weak seed had rooted his immortal seed in twenty days? He had matched the Rooting speed of the current sect leader, True Lord Huang Long! True Lord Huang Long had been a Gray Seed back then, but Qin Haoxuan was a genuine weak seed. How could this be possible?