Choice of Variant Spiritual Energy

Li Mo stared at the glass jars containing spiritual roots and spiritual energy, the fragments of memory surging from the Book of Fortune making his head throb dully.

As he digested the memories, he learned a great deal about spiritual energy.

To be precise, it was about the spiritual energy of the Ancient Immortal Cultivation World.

Seven thousand years ago, spiritual energy was colorless and formless, an extremely pure power that only took on a misty appearance when its concentration reached a certain level.

Spiritual energy existed in every corner of heaven and earth.

Cultivators back then could not bind spiritual energy; even with the aid of a Spirit Gathering Array, they could only slightly increase its density.

Only naturally formed Spiritual Veins could yield crystalline spirit stones.

Cultivation sects were generally situated around Spiritual Veins, using large-scale Spirit Gathering Arrays to draw in the spiritual energy leaking from the veins, forming Blessed Land Cave Heavens.

Spirit stones were graded by their spiritual energy concentration into Low-grade Spirit Stones, Mid-grade Spirit Stones, High-grade Spirit Stones, and Top-grade Spirit Stones.

From the perspective of the Heart Beast Sect, the system of the Ancient Immortal Cultivation World was entirely built upon spiritual energy, whose properties were limited to the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

Spiritual roots were the organs cultivators used to absorb spiritual energy, primarily consisting of Five Elements Spiritual Roots, which served as a measure of aptitude.

A cultivator's spiritual root resided in the Numinous Palace, shaped like a root system.

The purer the spiritual root, the higher the cultivation efficiency. A Single Spiritual Root was called a Heaven-Born Dao Seed, facing no bottlenecks before the Golden Core Stage, while a Mixed Five Elements Spiritual Root could barely break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Li Mo looked at the numerous glass jars before him.

In one jar, the spiritual energy appeared as a thick, purple sludge, and the Five Elements Spiritual Root soaking inside was covered in a layer of coral-like keratin.

There were roughly over sixty jars in the room, with almost no two types of spiritual energy the same. Some resembled magma, others ice shards, and the most bizarre was a spiritual energy composed of a swarm of writhing worms.

Clatter, clatter, clatter...

Metallic scraping sounds came from upstairs, as if some massive creature was slowly crawling over.

Li Mo tapped the wall. Though it was covered in a layer of wood on the outside, the interior was forged from metal ore, making it exceptionally sturdy.

He hadn't heard that the mountains near Smelting Town were rich in iron ore. Why would the Medical Hall use several tons of metal to build a house? Was it just to contain spiritual energy?

Li Mo swallowed hard.

He felt that the glass jars holding the spiritual energy were extraordinarily dangerous, as if each one contained drops of liquid explosives on the verge of detonation.

"Cough, cough, cough."

"Little brat, who told you to come looking for This Old Man?"

"Steward Hu sent me to choose a cultivation method..."

A deep, aged male voice echoed down the staircase, and then a figure over three or four meters tall appeared, supported by eight spider-like limbs that served as arms.

Li Mo backed up several steps, and the door behind him suddenly slammed shut on its own.

At the same time, hundreds of oil lamps in the room lit up one after another, making the glass jars hanging from the ceiling shine like brilliant stars in the night sky.

"Interesting, very interesting!!"

Han Cai's head emerged. His face was that of an ordinary middle-aged man, with an unkempt beard hanging down to his chest.

But his torso was at least two meters long, a bizarre, oval-shaped mass supported by eight long, skinny, withered human arms.

Han Cai only had an upper body, covered by a tattered Daoist robe that hid his bloated form.

Palm-sized spiders kept crawling out from under his robe.

Li Mo's scalp crawled. Could excessive cultivation of spells turn a person into a non-human monster like Han Cai?

A dozen physicians anxiously chased after Han Cai, clearly with unfinished surgeries.

The leading One-eyed Physician hesitated and said, "Doctor Han, but the time..."

Han Cai glanced at them, and the physicians quickly hurried back to the second floor, leaving Li Mo alone to bear the suffocating pressure.

"Little brat, you haven't even started your training yet. It's rare for Hu Wen to push you over here."

"The Childhood Stage is the process of nourishing the five viscera with Variant Spiritual Energy, transforming them into a Corpse Spirit Root. Choose your spiritual energy yourself."

Li Mo steadied his mind. He didn't know why the spiritual energy of later ages had become so strange, but it was clear that the ancient cultivation methods were no longer applicable.

He clasped his fists and said, "I ask Doctor Han to enlighten me on the strengths and weaknesses of the spiritual energy."

"Hahaha, you have good eyes."

"This Old Man's collection of spiritual energy types is the largest in all of Smelting Town."

Han Cai stretched out an arm, and his joints let out a series of strange popping sounds before elongating several meters to rummage through a cabinet against the wall.

"Found it."

Han Cai took out a Bone Scroll.

"Thank you for your trouble, Doctor Han." Li Mo took the Bone Scroll and pressed it to his brow.

Seven thousand years of time had changed not only the grass, trees, and mountains, but even the spiritual energy itself had undergone inexplicable transformations.

Spiritual Energy was no longer pure, giving rise to a vast number of Variant Spiritual Energies with distinct characteristics.

Clouds, mist, swamps, volcanoes, lightning, plants, bones... all could nurture Variant Spiritual Energy.

The cultivation methods of today were all founded upon Variant Spiritual Energy.

Innate Spirit Roots no longer existed, so during the Childhood Stage, one had to transform the five viscera into Corpse Spirit Roots.

Corpse Spirit Roots would take on the traits of Variant Spiritual Energy, hence their varied forms.

No wonder cultivation combined both spells and techniques.

Spells and Variant Spiritual Energy had to align; otherwise, it was difficult to unleash a spell's full power.

Han Cai picked out a jar of red-and-yellow interwoven Spiritual Energy from the Glass Jar. The five viscera inside were also made of rock material, their surfaces covered in cracks.

"This is Mountain Spiritual Energy. I excavated it from deep within a vein. Its characteristic is that it suits all defensive spells."

"Doctor Han, it's not for me."

Li Mo hesitated for a few breaths before refusing.

Paint Green Clothes was an ancient protective spell; Mountain Spiritual Energy should have been a decent match.

But given Steward Hu's level of attention, Paint Green Clothes couldn't possibly be that ordinary.

Li Mo wanted a jack-of-all-trades Variant Spiritual Energy—one without obvious weaknesses or drawbacks, and capable of accommodating most spells.

"Mm."

"What about Nectar Spiritual Energy?"

He picked up a jar of milk-like Spiritual Energy.

"Nectar Spiritual Energy is extracted from the heartwood of a thousand-year-old ancient tree. After refinement, it sustains the vitality of the five viscera. When the Coming-of-Age Stage brings the Death Sickness, relying on Nectar Spiritual Energy can delay it by at least fifteen years."

"Or this Filth Spiritual Energy. Its origin... ahem, let's not mention its origin for now."

"Filth Spiritual Energy isn't hard to find, so cultivation efficiency is guaranteed. As for power, no need to mention it—the Spiritual Energy itself carries potent poison."

While Li Mo dealt with Han Cai, he himself paid attention to the various types of Variant Spiritual Energy.

To him, with the Book of Fortune in hand, he would certainly not refine only one type of Spiritual Energy in the future. Imprinting multiple organs would increase the number of Dantians.

For the first refinement, it was better to play it safe.

Han Cai kept chattering on beside him. Li Mo fully utilized his powerful thinking ability, pushing his multitasking to the extreme.

Li Mo occasionally asked Han Cai questions, trying his best to understand the characteristics of each jar of Spiritual Energy.

His gaze fixed on a smoke-like Variant Spiritual Energy, then shifted away.

Cloud Mist Spiritual Energy fit Li Mo's jack-of-all-trades idea fairly well, but unfortunately it was suited for illusion-type spells; otherwise, both offense and defense would be mediocre.

"Doctor Han, this is..."

Li Mo pointed to a corner. It was another jar of cloud-mist-like Spiritual Energy, but this one was pale yellow. The Corpse Spirit Root inside resembled Swamp Poison Spiritual Energy—both looked like organs soaked in wax oil.