bookbashuk Chapter 54 Where does the spiritual root come from?
Chapter 54 Where does the spiritual root come from?
Chapter 54 Where does the spiritual root come from?
As soon as the leaf entered his throat, Fang Shi immediately activated his magic to wrap it up.
As soon as Falip made contact, he released bursts of icy cold energy. Fang Shi once again activated his magic power, which was wrapped in the icy cold energy, and slowly pushed it along the meridians of the "Little Water Cloud Technique".
Wherever the frost-white medicinal power passed, a thin layer of frost appeared on the inner wall of the meridian, making the entire meridian feel as if it were immersed in ice water, so cold that it became stiff.
But at the very moment the chill seeped in, his vital energy seemed to be stimulated, suddenly becoming active and rushing towards the spiritual energy flowing through his meridians. Upon colliding with it, it transformed into strands of new magical power.
However, the medicinal power of the Frost Grass was ultimately too domineering. His cultivation level was low and his meridians were weak. He swallowed it raw before refining it into a pill. The frost energy could promote fusion, but it could also freeze his meridians.
If Fang Shi wants to continue, he fears he will not be able to.
However, this attempt yielded considerable results.
Fang Shi sat cross-legged on the ground, slowly dispelling the cold energy in his meridians while muttering to himself.
He has now come into contact with three methods to promote the improvement of his cultivation.
One type is the Frost Grass, which uses external pressure to force the essence, energy, and spirit to actively merge, resulting in the fastest effect but also the greatest loss.
One type is the Qi-Nourishing Pill, which uses gentle medicinal power to nourish the meridians, slowly promoting integration and progressing steadily, although the progress is slower.
Another method is to master the "Small Water Cloud Technique" to transform spiritual energy into mist, increasing the contact area between spiritual energy and essence/spirit, thus doubling the speed of fusion.
Each of the three methods has its own strengths and weaknesses.
If you want to break through the barriers, the Frost Grass is a powerful tool.
If you want to cultivate for a long time, the Qi-nourishing pills and mastering the techniques are the right way.
However, the first method is not entirely unusable.
The Lesser Water Cloud Technique is inherently gentle, making the second type difficult to improve. But what if it could be transformed into something dangerous?
Water can be gentle enough to nourish things silently, but it can also be turbulent enough to destroy cities and split rocks.
What would happen if the fine mist of the "Little Water Cloud Technique" were transformed into great rivers and even giant waves at sea, and its essence, energy, and spirit were forcibly incorporated and merged?
[Small Water Cloud Technique Proficiency +1]
Fang Shi's gaze shifted slightly.
The moment the thought crossed my mind, before I could even put it into action, the panel had already given me a notification.
This indicates that this route is feasible.
Once the thought arises, it's hard to suppress.
In the past, he cultivated diligently at the Sanpan Temple, fearing even the slightest damage to his meridians. Once his meridians were damaged, he would be unable to draw talismans, earn spirit stones, and be evicted from his rented room. Without a rented room, it would be difficult to improve his cultivation. Therefore, he dared not overexert his body even for a single day.
But things are different now.
In the illusion, if the body is injured, then so be it.
If one can use this to figure out the limits of the "Small Water Cloud Technique" and measure the upper limit of the meridians' tolerance, it will be a free bonus of experience after leaving.
Fang vowed not to hesitate any longer.
The residual effects of the cold medicine in the body have not completely dissipated, and there is still lingering cold in the meridians.
Instead of dispelling the lingering chill, he urged the "Small Water Cloud Technique" even faster, causing the spiritual mist to gather thicker and thicker, pushing it faster and faster.
The spiritual energy, which was originally as gentle as a stream, gradually became turbulent, surging and colliding in the narrow meridians.
[Small Water Cloud Technique Proficiency - 5]
Fang Shi frowned.
The rapid flow of spiritual energy, instead of promoting fusion, caused the essence, energy, and spirit to scatter, and even the originally stable magical power was disturbed and became unstable.
If it is too turbulent, it loses the gentle way of "Little Water Cloud Technique" and fails to achieve the effect of a great river enveloping all things, thus failing to achieve either goal.
He steadied himself and gathered his spiritual energy back into focus.
We cannot rush things, nor can we go back to square one.
Water can destroy cities and split rocks, not by brute force, but by layers upon layers of surging waves, one wave after another, amplifying its power.
Fang Shi stopped driving the spiritual energy straight up and instead divided it into several streams. As soon as one wave passed, another wave came, one after another, wrapping the essence, energy and spirit in layers.
[Minor Concealment Technique Proficiency +1]
[Small Water Cloud Technique Proficiency +6]
However, this method is extremely taxing on the mind and spirit.
Every rise and fall of spiritual energy must be precisely controlled; the residual momentum of the previous wave and the initial force of the next wave must be perfectly synchronized, otherwise the slightest deviation will cause them to cancel each other out.
Fang Shi persisted for a moment, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Such delicate control could be sustained for a while, but after a long time, even normal cultivation efficiency could not be maintained. It was simply picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons.
[Small Water Cloud Technique Proficiency - 1]
He stopped what he was doing and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
The approach of first increasing and then decreasing proficiency proves that this idea is correct, but it's just missing a few hurdles.
Using the method of surging waves to promote the fusion of essence, energy, and spirit requires extremely high precision in controlling one's mind. He currently lacks a method for refining the spirit, and his mental strength cannot keep up, so this approach is temporarily unfeasible.
Therefore, he needs a method that does not require extra mental effort but can still bring out the efficiency of the fusion of energy and spirit.
Fang Shi tried different approaches, dividing the spiritual mist into three, five, and seven streams. He tried alternating between flowing with and against the current, and he also tried letting the spiritual mist surge spontaneously within his meridians, attempting to find a rhythm that could spontaneously form waves without requiring precise control.
With each attempt, proficiency increases and decreases, sometimes jumping up two or three points, sometimes plummeting back down. The meridians are repeatedly subjected to impacts and tears in these attempts.
Normally, he would have stopped long ago.
Meridians are the lifeblood of cultivators; each day of injury means one less day of spirit stones earned.
The slightest carelessness could result in a hidden wound that will last forever, leaving the path to enlightenment crippled.
But now, he felt a kind of numb pleasure—the more exhausted and injured he became, the more he could touch the true boundaries of the "Little Water Cloud Technique" in this extreme state.
In the past, I carefully protected my meridians. I never had the chance to test each meridian to its limit like this, to see how much spiritual energy it could withstand, to see under what pressure my essence, energy and spirit would merge the fastest, and at what critical point it would begin to disintegrate.
"What are you doing!"
Fang Shi opened his eyes and said, "I'm fine."
The manager had returned sometime earlier and was standing at the entrance of the herb garden. He said, "You call this nothing? Look at your own eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth—cold air is seeping out, and your blood has frozen into ice shards!"
Fang Shi raised his hand and wiped his face.
A cold, scarlet stain touched my fingertip, and upon closer inspection, I could see tiny ice shards embedded in the blood.
He casually wiped his hand on his shirt and said, "It's nothing, I'm perfectly fine."
[Minor Concealment Technique Proficiency +1]
[Small Water Cloud Technique Proficiency +1]
【Small Water Cloud Technique (Proficient): 138/200】
Before entering the illusion, Fang Shi's proficiency in the "Little Water Cloud Technique" was 118.
Qi Xueyi personally taught him for two weeks, and his score rose from 83 to 118, an increase of 35 points.
And right now, after a short period of intense activity in this medicinal garden, it has risen by another 20 points.
Two weeks for a short period of time.
35 o'clock versus 20 o'clock.
The efficiency was more than ten times worse.
He suddenly remembered something he had heard in his previous life.
To build the most powerful fighter jet, the world's largest wind tunnel had to be built.
Only by placing the aircraft in a wind tunnel at wind speeds several times higher than those of actual flight can all design flaws be exposed in the shortest amount of time.
In this illusion, he finally had the chance to create a wind tunnel.
The steward said, "You call this nothing? You look like you're about to die!"
Fang vowed, "I am cultivating."
The steward said, "Cultivation? I asked you to do chores, not to commit suicide! Besides, this isn't how you cultivate."
""
Fang Shi asked, "Then how do you repair it?"
The steward was taken aback and said, "A balance of tension and relaxation is the way of both literature and martial arts. Cultivation without rest will lead to exhaustion, and training without stopping will lead to injury. But you've gone too far, chewing on white-veined grass and freezing your meridians like ice caves. This isn't cultivation; this is courting death."
Fang Shi said, "The White-veined Grass can stimulate the integration of essence, energy, and spirit into magical power, accelerating cultivation. If I practice according to this principle, what's wrong with that?"
The steward said, "How utterly foolish! To increase even a trace of magical power, one must absorb ten times the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. What does one rely on to absorb and exhale spiritual energy?"
"Your spiritual root! The white-veined grass damages your meridians. When the meridians are damaged, the spiritual root becomes sluggish. When the spiritual root is sluggish, the absorption and expulsion of spiritual energy becomes difficult—you destroyed the very foundation of your spiritual energy absorption and expulsion in pursuit of that slight fusion effect. Isn't this killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, or burning the forest to hunt the prey?"
Fang Shidao: "Spiritual root?"
Xuan Ge said, "Your story is utter nonsense! The Dao Ancestor took the Dao Seed from the Nine Heavens, absorbed the pure essence into the Purple Palace, refined the essence into qi, and refined the qi into spirit. This is the eternal and unchanging orthodox method of the Xuanmen. Your claims about disemboweling oneself to plant the root and turning impurity into sweetness are completely heretical!"
Chu Qianfan said, "The legends of the Dao Ancestor have spread across the land, and have long since been distorted beyond recognition depending on the region. How can you say it's nonsense?"
Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Xuanqing spoke up: "Please wait, both of you. Senior Brother Xuange is fixated on the theory of Dao Seed and Pure Qi, while Wuyun Sanren is fixated on the theory of disembowelment and root planting. But do you two know how the various sects and schools have interpreted the eight characters 'Dao Seed is the foundation, Pure Qi is the source'?"
Solution?
Neither Xuan Ge nor Chu Qianfan answered.
Xuanqing continued, "The Dao Seed of the Void and Harmony Cave Heaven resides within the body; it need not be sought externally." The Gushe Mountain Abode said, "The Dao Seed is neither internal nor external; it arises spontaneously from the interaction of pure and impure." The Xuanpu Ruins said, "The Dao Seed is conceived by Heaven and Earth; it must be received through sincere devotion."
"The *Dongxuan Lingbao Zhenxing Benqi Miaojing* of Mount Luofu states—'The seed of the Dao is not inherent in the human body; it must be received by cutting open the abdomen.' The Dao Ancestor cut open his own belly, planting the impure root within, using the body as a field and the impurity as soil. Isn't the story that the Five Aggregates Hermit just told a footnote to this branch of the Dao from Mount Luofu?"
Xuan Ge sneered and said, "Since it is a footnote to Mount Luofu, can Mount Luofu itself explain it clearly? How many generations has their 'True Nature Origin Wonderful Scripture' been passed down and how many times has it been revised?"
Chu Qianfan said, "So what?"
Xuan Ge said, "Spiritual roots are nothing more than a trace of the Dao seed remaining in your bloodline. You won't even cultivate that trace yourself, you only know how to test whether it exists—is this what you call cultivation?"
Chu Qianfan chuckled and said, "Never mind, never mind. Rice roots and rice seeds are just things in a story."
Xuanqing said, "Kongtong emphasizes inner observation and cultivates the spirit. Gushe emphasizes the interaction of purity and turbidity and cultivates the qi. Xuanpu emphasizes feeling the connection with heaven and earth and cultivates sincerity. Each of the three schools focuses on one aspect, has its own achievements, and also its own bottlenecks. Furthermore, Luofu Mountain has opened up a different path and achieved spiritual roots. In the end, each interpretation has produced its own cultivators, and each cultivator believes that their own interpretation is the right path."
"And what about us, the Three Plates Temple? Don't we also think we are the righteous path? We think that the Dao Ancestor took the Dao seed from the Nine Heavens and gathered the pure essence into the Purple Palace, which is the eternal and unchanging righteous method."
"Therefore, let's stop arguing. We've been arguing for so many years about whose Dao Ancestor is the true one, and we still haven't reached a conclusion. Right now, the remnant spirit of the Forgetful Water Lord has broken through the Five Elements Heart and reappeared the second level of the Seven Emotions and Desires Realm outside the Five Yin Demon Realm. If we don't eliminate her remnant spirit, once the Seven Emotions and Desires Realm completely merges with the earth veins, everyone will return empty-handed."
Xuan Ge said, "Give me that rice stalk."
A moment of silence followed.
Xuan Ge said, "Give me a rice root, and I will make Junior Brother Xuan Mu's Green Wood Flower deflect three inches. If you want to break through the Seven Emotions and Desires Realm, you cannot bypass him."
Fang Shidao: "Spiritual root?"
The steward said, "It's just a spiritual root, what's the big deal? Absorbing and refining spiritual energy—without a spiritual root, what are you going to use to draw it in? With your reckless attitude?"
He looked Fang Shi up and down, then suddenly chuckled and said, "Oh, I forgot—you're just a useless person with mixed spiritual roots. It's not surprising that you don't understand. Mixed spiritual roots are one thing, but for someone with mixed spiritual roots to chew on white-veined grass is just adding insult to injury. You can't even absorb much spiritual energy to begin with, and if you damage your meridians, you won't even be able to do menial work anymore. You might as well go down the mountain and farm in the mortal realm."
The steward concluded, "Alright, if you're going to die, don't die in a task I've assigned. Get back to your cave and fend for yourself. Don't cause me any more trouble."
After saying that, he turned and left without even glancing back.
Fang Shi pondered for a moment, then stood up as instructed. As soon as he stood up, a surge of energy welled up in his chest and abdomen.
A metallic sweetness shot straight to his throat, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Blood splattered on the soil, mixed with fine ice shards.
Just as the steward had said—he looked like he was about to die.
[Minor Concealment Technique Proficiency +1]
[Minor Breath Concealment Technique (Beginner): 80/100]
He looked at the numbers on the panel that had jumped up a little more, and suddenly burst into laughter.
This illusion, this ordeal, has actually increased the Lesser Concealment Technique by another 6 points.
After laughing enough, Fang Shi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, took a deep breath, and slowly began the starting stance of the Seven Steps of Spirit Invocation.
Purification and purification.
The remaining frost is like ice, and the scraping continues endlessly.
Dingyuan.
They struggled to gather together, but were on the verge of collapse.
Zhen pulse.
Old wounds haven't healed, so tear them open again.
Summoning spirits.
When impurities enter the five internal organs, all six bowels tremble.
Step on the bucket.
His steps were like hammer blows, his joints resounding.
Recite the mantra.
The voice was hoarse and the words cracked; blood flowed with the incantation.
Absorbing Qi.
When turbid qi enters the meridians, extreme pain causes mental disturbance.
The bleeding that had just stopped from my ears, nostrils, and mouth started seeping out again.
Blood beads trickled down her cheeks from the corners of her eyes, dripping onto her clothes and creating a small dark patch.
[Minor Concealment Technique Proficiency +1]
[Seven Steps to Summon Spirits Proficiency +1]
【Seven Steps to Spirit Invocation (Proficient): 44/200】
The damage to the meridians worsened.
Blood was flowing continuously from his facial features.
But Fang Shi didn't care at all.
It was right after all.
The injury is severe; under normal circumstances, there would be absolutely no damage.
Since the Seven Steps of Inviting Spirits is to draw out turbid qi and restore the meridians, why not incorporate it into the "Small Water Cloud Technique"?
Like the method of surging waves, turbid air is mixed into the spiritual mist, and the turbid air is used as mud and sand to increase the force of impact, forcibly engulfing the essence, energy and spirit and integrating them into the magic power.
In this way, he would no longer need to rely on the purity of spiritual energy and suffer the hardship of renting a house.