"Just as you said, most immortal cultivators have the most common five-element spirit roots. A few may be lucky enough to condense variant spirit roots such as wind, ice, or lightning, but they are few and far between. As for me, I have water-wood-earth three spirit roots, but all three are low grade, with nothing particularly outstanding about them."
"There isn't much you need to watch out for when condensing spirit roots. But once you reach the third layer of qi refining, your spirit seed will automatically begin transforming into spirit roots, so you should prepare for it before breaking through the bottleneck of the second layer," Yin Linglong replied after some thought.
"I know a little about variant spirit roots, but what are spirit root grades?" Wang Yu scratched his head. He recalled the contents of Daoist Chongyun's notes, but remained somewhat puzzled.
"Spirit root grades classify how well a spirit root matches cultivation methods of the same attribute and how much it enhances them. There are four grades: low, middle, high, and supreme. Most immortal cultivators have low- or middle-grade spirit roots. Very few have high-grade ones, and perhaps only one or two out of ten thousand immortal cultivators have supreme-grade spirit roots.
"With spirit roots of the same attribute, the same cultivation method, and the same spell, the difficulty of cultivation and the power unleashed by people with different spirit root grades are as far apart as heaven and earth."
"Still, while spirit root grade determines the upper limit of the cultivation method you practice, the number of spirit roots is also extremely important. It determines how quickly an immortal cultivator progresses."
"Generally speaking, the more spirit roots you have, the more mixed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth you draw in, and the slower you cultivate. The fewer spirit roots you have, the purer the spiritual energy you can draw in, and the faster you cultivate."
"But just as with spirit root grades, most people have four or five spirit roots. A minority have two or three, and only those favored children of heaven possess the legendary single spirit root, also known as a heavenly spirit root."
"Those with a heavenly spirit root are said to cultivate more than ten times as fast as those with four or five spirit roots."
"Those with three spirit roots already cultivate very quickly among rogue cultivators. Only three or four out of a hundred rogue cultivators have them, and they cultivate two or three times as fast as other ordinary rogue cultivators. That's how I managed to reach the fifth layer of qi refining at my age." Seeing that Wang Yu really seemed unfamiliar with some basic cultivation knowledge, Yin Linglong explained everything in one go, taking considerable pride in her three spirit roots.
"Which matters more, spirit root grade or the number of spirit roots?" Wang Yu frowned after hearing her explanation.
"Naturally, having fewer spirit roots and higher grades at the same time is best."
"If you insist on asking which matters more, the great cultivation sects can always find one or two disciples with dual spirit roots when they recruit, but they often go twenty or thirty years without encountering a single disciple with a high-grade spirit root."
"The minimum requirement for those sects is three spirit roots or better, with at least one spirit root reaching middle grade. Of course, if you have dual spirit roots or a variant spirit root, they may lower their standards a little." Yin Linglong hesitated before answering somewhat reluctantly.
"So, Linglong, you never joined a cultivation sect because your spirit root grades weren't high enough." Understanding dawned on Wang Yu.
"Hmph. I've always felt that the number of spirit roots should matter more."
"No matter how high your spirit root grade is, an opponent a whole major realm above you will still crush you outright. Even if you cultivate your method to great power, unless you can perfect your cultivation and break through the bottleneck into the next realm as soon as possible, you'll die early when your lifespan runs out. In the end, won't you still be nothing but a mound of yellow earth?" As though he had touched a sore spot, Yin Linglong snorted and grew displeased.
A thoughtful look appeared on Wang Yu's face, and he could not help wondering what kind of spirit roots he would condense.
"All right, let's stop talking about this. Elder Cui used to be a foundation establishment cultivator, but his cultivation realm fell after he suffered severe injuries. Now he's only at half-step foundation establishment, so he probably isn't a match for the other three of the Four Fiends of Misty Mountain working together.
"Once those three succeed, they'll definitely return to look for Qian Kunzi and scour the entire surrounding area with magical artifacts and secret techniques. We don't have much time left." Remembering something, Yin Linglong's expression grew grave.
"Linglong, you mean..." Wang Yu glanced at the stunning woman.
"Of course we should leave as soon as possible-the sooner, the better," Yin Linglong said decisively.
"Neither of us has enough dharma power to fly on an artifact, and we don't have a flying magical artifact anyway. If we simply set out on foot, I'm afraid we'll be caught before we get very far." Wang Yu had clearly considered this as well, and shook his head repeatedly.
"Traveling openly like that certainly won't work. But I have a treasure left by my ancestor that can completely conceal our figures and auras for a limited time." Yin Linglong gave a confident chuckle.
"If you have a treasure like that, what are we waiting for?" Overjoyed at her words, Wang Yu immediately rose to his feet.
Several hours later.
A small, pale yellow wooden boat glided silently down the center of the Redwater River. Wherever it passed, the water remained calm, without the slightest splash.
A man and a woman stood side by side at the bow. They were none other than Wang Yu and Yin Linglong.
A small white cauldron sat at the stern, emitting pale purple mist that gathered without dispersing, enveloping the entire boat.
Wang Yu was looking down at the wooden boat beneath him, seemingly fascinated by the thick black nails studding its bottom under his feet.
The black nails were exquisitely made. Their size, thickness, length, and surface smoothness were all identical. At a glance, they clearly could not have been made by hand.
They set his imagination racing.
"It's only a standard Mechanism Self-Propelled Boat produced by the Heavenly Craft Sect, not a magical artifact. What's there to study?" Yin Linglong asked irritably when she saw how engrossed Wang Yu was.
"I find it fascinating. There aren't many spirit inscriptions engraved on it, yet it can move by itself using nothing but mechanisms and spirit stones. I've never seen anything like it before," Wang Yu replied without lifting his head.
"Hmph, making a fuss over nothing. The Heavenly Craft Sect is renowned throughout the world for its mechanism arts. This is just one of its most common standardized products. Once spirit stones are installed, even ordinary mortals without dharma power can use it. It couldn't be more commonplace. Almost every larger market sells them," the stunning woman said dismissively.
Just then, a sudden whistle of something cutting through the air came from the sky behind them. A streak of white light shot from the horizon and reached the sky nearby in the blink of an eye.
Wang Yu's expression shifted slightly, and he hurriedly focused his gaze on it.
Within the white streak of flight light, he could faintly make out another boat, a rectangular iron vessel thirty to forty feet long. Its surface had sharply defined edges, while its stern was oval and fitted with a silver cylindrical component that spewed a jet of white radiance several feet long.
The white light gave a faint, shrill whine. With a flicker, it shot straight over Wang Yu and Yin Linglong, vanishing beyond the opposite horizon in the blink of an eye.
Watching this, Wang Yu's mouth fell open, and for a moment he could not close it.
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