Chapter Fourteen: The Body of the Four Spiritual Roots

  "Wait for me to greet the guests." Hao Ren stood up and greeted the customers in the teahouse, then came back and briefly explained to Shi Dong.

  It turns out that cultivating immortality requires a spiritual root, originating from the Lingxiao Sect's lineage of Taoist practitioners.

  The spiritual root is divided into five elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Therefore, the Taoist cultivation uses the spiritual root of the five elements to absorb the corresponding spiritual energy of the five elements into the body.

  But Mo Xie Men is a demonic path that cultivates evil energy and yin energy, this kind of primordial energy does not need spiritual roots as its foundation, but instead relies on the seven major meridians of the physical body.

  If, when opening the meridian wheel, some disciples only open one spiritual root (Tian Ling Gen), or two spiritual roots (Di Ling Gen), or even three spiritual roots, it doesn't have a big impact. This is because the mixed spiritual energy that enters the body won't be too messy. Additionally, if the meridian wheel's quality is better, such as being of A or B grade, it will be easy to separate out the spiritual energy.

  But Shi Dong is the four spiritual roots of the five elements lacking in gold, and the spiritual energy mixed into his body is too complicated. Moreover, the quality of his pulse wheel is very poor, which makes his speed of practicing qigong even slower. In this regard, Hao Ren's words are true.

  Shi Dong listened and his heart slowly sank, dejectedly muttering to himself: "So it seems, am I really a useless person, should I...should I be eliminated?"

  "Hey! How can you say such disheartening words, junior brother? You just don't have the right aptitude, that's all. It takes more time for you to cultivate compared to others. Although your Four Spirits Root physique can't be changed, you can take elixirs to increase your cultivation speed! For example, for new disciples like you who are just starting out, the Cultivation Elixir is very effective and can be used until the third layer of Qi Refining. There's also the Slaughter Spirit Stone, which can absorb yin energy and accelerate your cultivation."

  "Can Ling Stone be used directly for absorption?" Shi Dong's eyes lit up.

  "Of course! The Ling Stone contains the purest yin energy, which can accelerate cultivation speed by five to ten times. However, relying solely on the Ling Stone for cultivation is too extravagant. Breaking through to the Refining Qi stage requires at least 50 Ling Stones, and even more are needed later on. Therefore, ordinary cultivators usually only use the Ling Stone when breaking through bottlenecks or during intense battles to recover their true energy."

  Shi Dong shook his head, he only had two pieces of spiritual stones left, and he still needed to buy Nourishing Blood Pills to repair his meridians. Even counting the monthly interest he could receive in a year, it was only 12 pieces. These few spiritual stones had to be carefully calculated, how could he afford to practice lavishly?

  "Seventh Brother, I don't know if you can..." Shi Dong looked at Hao Ren with difficulty, wanting to ask him for a loan first.

  Hao Ren shook his head repeatedly, "Forget about borrowing money or buying on credit! This isn't a charity, and besides, the rules set by Master are meant to test new disciples. As for how to reasonably utilize your resources, I can only provide some reference opinions here, but you'll have to come up with the specific ideas yourself."

  "Hey, Seventh Brother, can I help out here? I used to be a waiter at the Si Shui City teahouse, I can help you attend to customers!" Shi Dong hastily pleaded, feeling somewhat anxious at this moment. If he didn't have enough cultivation resources, he would definitely be eliminated in a year's time.

  "Alas... it can't be done! The rules set by Master are that new disciples must focus on their cultivation and cannot take on any sect tasks before breaking through the first layer of Qi Refining. Otherwise, everyone will come to grab tasks, which is unfair and will also delay their cultivation."

  Here is the translation:

  "Up to here, Hao Ren hastily smiled apologetically and said, "Alright, Master has told you enough already. Think carefully about what to do yourself, I still have to attend to the guests!" After finishing speaking, he stood up and left."

  The stone statue sat there like a deflated balloon, knowing that Hao Ren was telling the truth and he was willing to say so much because of the one Ling Stone he respected. At this point, it seemed that only one path was left in front of him, which was to grit his teeth and spend 2 Ling Stones to buy a bottle of nourishing blood pill from Hao Ren, then work hard to cultivate until he had enough Ling Stones to buy more medicine.

  This approach will definitely affect one's cultivation speed, but there is indeed no other way out.

  After some deliberation, Shi Dong gritted his teeth and was about to go find Hao Ren when someone suddenly coughed beside him.

  Shi Dong Xun Sheng looked over and saw a slightly chubby young monk winking at him, getting up and walking to a secluded corner, with his hands behind his back, looking at a ghost fetus. It seemed like he was waiting for Shi Dong Xun to come over.

  With a movement of her heart and mind, she pretended to be nonchalant as she strolled around the casino, then intentionally or unintentionally stopped beside him.

  That person quietly stretched out his hand, with two porcelain bottles in the palm of his hand, and said in a low voice: "I've heard all about your difficulties, little brother. These are two bottles of nourishing blood pills, only selling for two spirit stones, take them!"

  Shi Dong's heart skipped a beat. This medicine is at least half cheaper than Hao Ren's. Is it real or fake? Why did this person go out of his way to find him with such kindness?

  That person seemed to have anticipated Shi Dong's doubts and explained with a smile: "Hehe, little brother doesn't need to worry, I'm from the Qidao Peak Pi Laozu sect. We're all from the same school as Master Ancestor, studying the art of alchemy. Many of my fellow disciples didn't succeed in refining their elixirs, like these two bottles of nourishing blood elixir you bought, which only have 70% of the genuine effect. Hehe... My own cultivation talent isn't high either, so I can only do some small business selling second-hand elixirs to make a little extra money."

  Shi Dong listened with astonishment, his eyes fixed on him, and saw that the man had a smile on his face, his eyes were clear and straightforward, and he should be telling the truth based on intuition.

  Shi Dong thought for a moment before asking in a low voice, "What's your surname, senior brother?"

  "My surname is Wang."

  "Wang Shixiong, by doing this job, aren't you snatching away Hao Ren Shige's business? Aren't you afraid he'll find out?"

  "Heh heh, I can appear here naturally with the tacit consent of Master Hao. As for why, it's not convenient for me to tell you."

  He glanced unintentionally in the direction of Hao Ren, Shi Dong also looked over and saw that Hao Ren was ignoring them, not even looking this way, it seemed he had indeed given his tacit consent.

  "Wang Shixiong, then... are there any more elixirs that I can use?"

  "Ah, yes! For example, the most commonly used Qi-refining Pill for your new disciples, I sell it for only one Spirit Stone per bottle. The effect is almost as good as the authentic product. Because this Qi-refining Pill is the starting point for learning alchemy, my fellow disciples and I have refined it the most and are most skilled at it, so naturally the effect is also better. How about it? Do you want some Qi-refining Pills too?"

  Shi Dong furrowed his brow in thought, considering this to be a great opportunity for himself. The medicine provided by Wang Shixiong was more than half cheaper than Hao Ren's, and even if its effectiveness was only one-third of the original, one bottle could last a month. By the beginning of next month, after receiving the monthly Ling Stone stipend, he would be able to buy new medicine again. This way, there wouldn't be any interruptions, which would greatly benefit his cultivation.

  "Brother Wang, if I want to buy medicine from you again in the future, what should I do?"

  "Don't worry, I come here almost every day. If you have an urgent matter to find me, you can use this communication jade token." He took out a thin jade token and placed it in Shi Dong's hand, "You just need to hold it with your hand and infuse your true energy into it, then I'll be able to sense your summons."

  He demonstrated it several times for Shi Dong until he learned how to use it.

  Seeing how considerate the other party was, it seemed they were aiming for a long-term business relationship. Shi Dong's last bit of worry also dissipated.

  But with the intention of killing the price, he still said with a difficult expression: "Wang Shige is sincere in doing business, and I naturally want to make friends with you, but... I'm really poor, can you give me a discount? Two bottles of nourishing blood dan, plus one bottle of practicing qi dan, all for two ling stones, how about it?"

  At this point, Shi Dong took out two Ling Stones and looked at him with a pitiful gaze.

  He shook his head and said, "I understand the difficulties of a young brother like you, I've been through it myself! It's not easy being new! However, selling three bottles of medicine for only two spirit stones is too low a price, I'd be losing money!"

  When he heard the other person say this, Shi Dong smiled secretly in his heart. In the past, the vendors in Suzhou City were all like this, with a pitiful expression on their faces, but actually leaving a lot of room for price reduction. If the buyer had thin skin, they could be fooled into agreeing to the first round of prices.

  He beamed with a smile, and made a fist at the other person: "Brother Wang, you're obviously a good man. Seeing that I'm in trouble, you've come to help me out. It's really got me at a loss for how to repay you! Brother Wang, why don't you do me another favor and give me an even better deal? I only have 2 spirit stones on hand, I'm really poor!" He said this with a pat on his chest, his face full of sincerity: "You can rest assured, if you help me out with this big favor, whatever you need in the future just let me know and I'll do my best to make it happen!"

  Seeing the stone move, he said sincerely and gave himself a comfortable compliment. Wang Shige's heart softened and said: "How about this? I'll still sell you two bottles of medicine, but I'll give you a free copy of 'Breaking through the first layer of Qi refining in nine months'. The booklet records many people with low qualifications, how to reasonably arrange resources and practice methods, so that they can break through the first layer of Qi refining within nine months at most.

  "This book is especially practical, and the recorded experiences and insights will be of great guidance for your cultivation after the first layer of Qi refinement!"

  Shi Dong's eyes lit up, this little booklet summarizing cultivation experiences was extremely helpful for him to break through his current cultivation predicament, its value was even more than buying a few bottles of medicine.

  If this book is as useful as he says it is, I'll be able to take a shortcut and reach my goal quickly, and the first year's test will be passed smoothly.

  He glanced at the other party and King Shige narrowed his eyes slyly, as if waiting for him to continue haggling.

  "Good! Deal!" he readily agreed.