Cultivation and spiritual roots

After putting away the two Swift Speed Talismans, Xu Yan exchanged a few pleasantries with the Du father and son, then returned to his room.

The furnishings were simple: a bed, a square table for eight, and four chairs. There was nothing else.

After entering, Xu Yan carefully inspected the entire room. Once he confirmed that nothing was amiss, he took a palm-sized Jade Slip from his Storage Bag.

Then Xu Yan sent a stream of magic power into the Jade Slip.

"Hum!"

After a faint tremor, a pale green membrane appeared before Xu Yan's eyes. Like a great bowl turned upside down, it completely enveloped his room.

"So this is the Composite Formation the innkeeper mentioned!"

Curiosity appeared on Xu Yan's face as he looked at the sight before him.

According to the innkeeper, every room in the inn was equipped with a small Composite Formation, combining a first-tier Defensive Formation, a first-tier Attack Formation, and a first-tier Trapping Formation.

It could withstand attacks from cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even against a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, it could hold out for roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, giving the innkeeper enough time to respond.

Xu Yan reached out to touch the pale green membrane, but the instant he made contact, he was violently flung back. Caught off guard, he fell to the floor. Yet rather than becoming angry, he looked satisfied.

Only then did he finally feel completely at ease.

Afterward, Xu Yan sat cross-legged on the bed, took A Guide to Cultivation from his Storage Bag, and placed it before him.

Recalling the circumstances in which he had bought the book, Xu Yan felt a little uneasy, but the feeling flashed through him and quickly vanished.

Perhaps I'm overthinking it.

Xu Yan soon put that uneasiness behind him and began leafing through the book before him.

No one knew when the concept of Spiritual Roots had first arisen, but over countless years, the Cultivation World had reached a consensus.

Those without Spiritual Roots could not cultivate. Spiritual Roots seemed to be the key that allowed cultivators to connect with heaven and earth. Yet Spiritual Roots did not arise readily; often, only one person among tens of thousands of mortals possessed them.

For this reason, many cultivation sects went into the mortal world to select disciples and test their Spiritual Roots.

Spiritual Roots differed in their attributes. The most common were the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. A cultivator might possess one or several of these attributes. There were also Spiritual Roots with other attributes, such as ice, lightning, and wind, all of which were considered Variant Spiritual Roots.

Since Spiritual Roots were an innate endowment, they naturally varied in quality.

This was because, beyond their attributes, Spiritual Roots were also linked to the upper limits of cultivation, affecting both a cultivator's cultivation speed and the heights they could ultimately reach.

By this measure, they were divided into Low-Grade Spiritual Roots, Mid-Grade Spiritual Roots, High-Grade Spiritual Roots, and the legendary Supreme-Grade Spiritual Roots.

Within the same grade, a single-attribute Spiritual Root was superior to one with multiple attributes. For example, a low-grade Wood Spiritual Root was superior to a low-grade wood-and-earth Spiritual Root.

This was the experience cultivation sects had accumulated over countless years: within the same grade, the fewer attributes a Spiritual Root possessed, the faster its owner could cultivate.

Thus, the Cultivation World had an accepted saying: a Low-Grade Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root was a trash Spiritual Root. Cultivating with one was incomparably slow, with limited prospects, and the vast majority of those who possessed one never broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in their entire lives.

Having read this far, Xu Yan had finished the book's account of Spiritual Roots.

Comparing it with his own experiences while cultivating, Xu Yan silently judged that his Spiritual Roots were probably not very good.

Without the Mysterious Green Pearl between his brows feeding energy back to him, he reckoned it would have taken him three to five years to reach his current cultivation at the peak of the first layer of Qi Refining.

At this thought, Xu Yan instinctively reached up and touched the space between his brows.

He felt nothing. There was not the slightest abnormality there.

The Mysterious Green Pearl was his greatest secret, and he could sense that it was probably an extraordinary treasure.

Could the Mysterious Green Pearl be inside my Sea of Consciousness?

Xu Yan lowered his hand and fell into thought.

According to the book in his hands, cultivators could only develop Divine Sense and enter their Sea of Consciousness once they reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining.

It seems I'll have to reach the Third Layer of Qi Refining before I can determine exactly where the Green Pearl is.

Qi Refining had ten layers in total: Early Qi Refining comprised the first, second, and third layers; Middle Qi Refining comprised the fourth, fifth, and sixth; Late Qi Refining comprised the seventh, eighth, and ninth; and Qi Refining Perfection was the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining.

Only upon reaching the Third Layer of Qi Refining and beyond would a cultivator's wondrous abilities gradually begin to emerge.

Above Qi Refining came foundation establishment, Golden Core, nascent soul, and spirit transformation. The book did not record any realms beyond those.

Xu Yan continued turning the pages, examining the contents that followed.

"Cultivators' weapons come in many varieties, with differing levels of power. By grade, they are divided into Magic Artifacts, Spirit Artifacts, Magic Treasures, Spirit Treasures..."

The book likewise contained no record of anything above Spirit Treasures.

These Magic Artifacts, Spirit Artifacts, and the like were each divided into nine tiers, from weakest to strongest.

After reading these introductions, Xu Yan gently closed the book and casually tossed it into his Storage Bag.

Only now did he have a preliminary understanding of the Cultivation World. It also made him appreciate the hardships faced by rogue cultivators. Without a sect's guidance or a lineage's inherited teachings, they could rely only on themselves.

At this thought, Xu Yan felt a growing sense of danger. His current cultivation was far too low; even among rogue cultivators, he ranked at the very bottom.

"I'd better cultivate hard."

Xu Yan sighed softly and took a Qi Gathering Pill from his Storage Bag.

He was already at the peak of the first layer of Qi Refining, so he could take a Qi Gathering Pill and attempt to break through his current realm.

Xu Yan had another consideration in choosing to attempt his breakthrough now.

Staying at this inn offered some assurance of safety, allowing him to devote himself fully to cultivation. Three days would also be enough for him to break through.

Having thought it through, Xu Yan swallowed the pill in his hand, then slowly began circulating his cultivation technique.

As soon as the Qi Gathering Pill entered his stomach, it dissolved into a surging hot current. Following the instructions of his cultivation technique, Xu Yan guided that current toward his Dantian.

Perhaps because Xu Yan's Spiritual Root was poor, only a tiny amount of energy remained before the hot current even reached his Dantian. As the qi vortex within his Dantian revolved, this energy gradually transformed into streams of magic power.

Looking inward, Xu Yan discovered that although the Qi Gathering Pill's medicinal potency had been converted into magic power, his Dantian had not been completely filled. He was still a sliver short of a breakthrough.

Seeing this, Xu Yan could only grit his teeth and take another Qi Gathering Pill from his Storage Bag. Without another word, he opened his mouth and swallowed it.

Soon, this Qi Gathering Pill had also been converted into magic power, but Xu Yan still felt that he was the tiniest sliver short of completely filling his Dantian.

Why aren't even two Qi Gathering Pills enough just to break through to the Second Layer of Qi Refining? An ominous suspicion had already formed in Xu Yan's mind, but matters had come this far. He could only grit his teeth and press on with the breakthrough.

After swallowing the third Qi Gathering Pill, he finally felt his Dantian fill up. Looking inward, he discovered that it was now completely full.

At the center of his Dantian, the qi vortex billowed like smoke from a signal fire, surging straight upward. It no longer drifted and swirled as before; it was as though an active volcano were erupting within it.

I'm about to break through!