Upon hearing Xu Qingtong's question, Lu Mo hurried to explain.
As it turned out, the Biluozong was a major cultivation sect in the Western Tomb Kingdom. It lay in Qingzhou, within the Biluō Mountain Range, five hundred li southwest of Xu Qingtong's hometown, Bluestone Town.
A thousand li northwest of the Biluozong stood the Azure Sea Gate, nestled between mountains and water amid splendid scenery.
Eight hundred li southeast of the Biluozong stretched an unbroken expanse of mountains. Within them lay a valley called Gloomwind Valley.
Each of the three great sects had a Golden Core patriarch presiding over it, and their strengths differed little. Though occasional friction had arisen over the years, they had largely coexisted in peace.
The Biluozong, to which Lu Mo belonged, was surrounded by abundant mineral deposits and specialized in artifact refining. Gloomwind Valley was encircled by mountains, with lush vegetation and a pleasant climate well suited to growing spiritual herbs and medicinal plants, so its disciples mostly excelled at pill refining. The Azure Sea Gate, meanwhile, had the sea at its back and fought sea demons year-round. Its members were mostly sturdy, hot-blooded types who relished a fight.
Scattered around the three great sects were a few second-rate sects. Every year, they had to pay a certain amount of wealth and goods to the three great sects, living at their mercy and never amounting to much.
Cultivators and mortals formed two relatively separate groups that rarely crossed paths. Cultivation sects were situated in remote, perilous places rich in spiritual energy and shrouded in formations, making it almost impossible for mortals to enter. Even if someone stumbled inside, the formations would kill them.
Aside from visiting the mortal world to recruit disciples at designated times, members of those Immortal Sects rarely ventured there. This was the main reason ordinary people knew nothing of cultivation. Moreover, cultivation sects imposed extremely stringent requirements on prospective disciples, the most basic of which was possessing a spirit root.
After listening to Lu Mo's explanation, Xu Qingtong finally understood a little about cultivation. He asked another question. "What exactly is a spirit root?"
"To put it plainly, a spirit root is a type of human constitution," Lu Mo said. "Once a person possesses one, they can sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, then absorb and refine it into magical power. Only with magical power can they cast spells."
Xu Qingtong continued, "What did you mean by four spiritual roots, dual spiritual roots, and a single spiritual root?" Lu Mo replied, "The spiritual energy of heaven and earth comes in five types: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, corresponding to the five elements. Whichever type you can sense indicates that you possess a spirit root of that attribute. If you can sense only one type, you have a single spiritual root of that attribute. If you can sense two, you have dual spiritual roots."
"Then a five spirit root should be the best, shouldn't it? You could sense and absorb spiritual energy of any attribute. Why did you ask me to help you find someone with a single spiritual root or dual spiritual roots?"
"No, no." Lu Mo could only patiently continue explaining the basics of cultivation to Xu Qingtong.
As it turned out, a person's spirit roots had a measurable capacity. This varied from person to person, though not by much. The highest could reach a hundred, while even the lowest stood at seventy or eighty. The more types of spirit roots someone possessed, the smaller the share of that capacity allotted to each. If someone possessed all five types, the capacity of each would not exceed twenty.
If someone had only one spirit root, however, its capacity would be at least seventy or eighty. The capacity of a spirit root determined how quickly it could absorb spiritual energy. Thus, someone with a single spiritual root cultivated at least three times as fast as someone with a five spirit root.
When a person possessed a water spirit root and an earth spirit root, and their capacities met a particular ratio, they would undergo a mutation and become an ice spirit root. Wind spirit roots and thunder spirit roots likewise arose from mutations involving two different spirit roots. These three types were collectively known as mutated spirit roots.
People with mutated spirit roots could absorb two types of spiritual energy at once and refine them no more slowly than those with a single spiritual root. Combined with their unique abilities, this made mutated spirit roots superior to a single spiritual root.
"What is an immortal? If you look at the character, it is a person who has gone into the mountains. But can someone become an immortal simply by entering the mountains? Of course not. They must cultivate ceaselessly, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, drawing in the pure and expelling the impure, refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit back into the void, and refining the void to unite with the Dao. Then the Great Dao will be within reach. Young brother, as long as you release me and help me find a good body, I will teach you this method of cultivation. How does that sound?" Like a man selling houses, Lu Mo tirelessly explained the mysteries and benefits of cultivation to Xu Qingtong, rambling on for nearly an hour.
One of Xu Qingtong's primordial spirits kept watch over Lu Mo while the other sank into contemplation. Truly, listening to a wise man's words was worth ten years of study! He recalled the words of a Buddhist master: life was so wondrous, and the human journey so glorious!
Only after pondering for a long while did Xu Qingtong collect himself. "I more or less understand what you've told me, but there's one more thing I need you to explain. What is that little bag you mentioned? Why can't I open it?"
"That is called a storage bag. Cultivators use it to hold their belongings. Don't be fooled by its size; there is plenty of space inside! Storage bags come in high, middle, and low grades. Mine is middle-grade, with only about one zhang of space inside. A high-grade storage bag has five zhang of space. You cannot retrieve the things inside by hand; you must use your Divine Sense. Once you learn how to cultivate, you will be able to put things in and take them out at will. Everyone's storage bag bears their own Divine Sense imprint. It acts like a lock, preventing anyone else from opening it," Lu Mo explained.
"Can that Divine Sense imprint disappear?" Xu Qingtong asked.
"As long as the owner lives, their Divine Sense remains," Lu Mo replied. "There is one other possibility: someone whose cultivation far surpasses the owner's can forcibly erase the Divine Sense imprint on the Storage Bag."
After hearing this, Xu Qingtong secretly weighed his options. I've asked everything I wanted to ask and learned most of what I wanted to know. This old bastard is heartless and ungrateful, repaying kindness with malice. Even setting aside whether I can find him a body with a single spiritual root, he might not teach me cultivation even if I do. Whether he'll give me that storage bag is uncertain too, and even if he does, I can't open it. Besides, only one in ten thousand people has a spirit root, and those with a single spiritual root are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. If I can't find a suitable person soon enough and this old bastard loses patience, he might catch me off guard and try to possess me again.
Looking up at Lu Mo, Xu Qingtong thought, So be it. Since you showed me no kindness, don't blame me for showing you no loyalty. Heh, "as long as the owner lives, their Divine Sense remains." If you die, won't your Divine Sense disappear? At that thought, Xu Qingtong hesitated no longer. Both of his primordial spirits lunged straight at Lu Mo's primordial spirit and began tearing into him with their teeth.
"Wait, young friend! Young friend... we can talk this over! Young friend, aaah..." Lu Mo screamed. "You have no honor... you aren't playing by the rules... you'll die a horrible death... I won't let you get away with this... the Biluozong won't let you get away with this... I'll be back..."
At that moment, in a great hall on the mountain behind the Biluozong, a disciple was staring blankly at a jade token whose radiance had dimmed. Suddenly, with a pop, the token shattered without warning. Alarmed, the disciple hurried outside, shouting as he ran, "Third Elder, something terrible has happened! Senior Brother Lu's Life Jade Token has shattered!"
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