Chapter Thirty-Four Lost on Life's Journey

  Xian Fan distinct paths, this is the ancient saying that has been passed down for thousands of years in the nine states. Mortals without a predestined affinity with immortals can only look up to the immortal path. And mortals cultivating immortality is something that has only happened in recent thousand years. What allowed the breakthrough between the two paths was a miracle created by someone from the immortal path over a thousand years ago.

  It is also known as Liuhe Linggen (Six Harmonies Magic Root).

  The so-called Liuhe Linggen is the invention of the late Six Harmony True Man, the ancestor of the Shengjing Xianmen sect over a thousand years ago. Using a unique mental method combined with heavenly and earthly treasures to refine into powder, taking it continuously for 45 days will allow even ordinary people to possess a spiritual root for cultivating immortality, breaking the iron law that only one in ten thousand can cultivate immortality.

  Unfortunately, the Six Harmony Spiritual Root is inferior to the Five Elements Spiritual Root. Even if one practices the most basic techniques with the Five Elements Spiritual Root, they can still establish a foundation after fifty years of practice. However, even if someone with the Six Harmony Spiritual Root cultivates for a hundred years, they often struggle at the eighth or ninth layer of Qi Refining and are frequently ridiculed as having a "trial version spiritual root", "castrated spiritual root", or an "Acala spiritual root".

  This artificial spiritual root broke the common sense that had lasted for tens of thousands of years, causing a huge sensation. However, the spiritual root itself was ultimately unable to take the stage, and even if the immortal cultivation world could gain tens of thousands of new people because of this, what's the point of letting in a group of useless waste who can't even build their foundation? It's not worth it when even slaves are more efficient. So after the initial excitement, people gradually put this matter aside.

  But Liuhe himself did not let go, the spiritual root of Liuhe had just begun, and the great opportunity hidden behind was enormous, which others could not see, but as the founder of Liuhe, the ancestor was crystal clear.

  At that time, Liuhe Zushi had a cultivation base at the peak of unity, only one step away from Mahayana, and the Xian Dao Mahayana had an almost infinite lifespan. With just half a foot, he was about to enter the immortal door, but Liuhe Daoren did not take this step until his death and the disappearance of the Tao. He dedicated the last hundred years of his life entirely to the artificial spiritual root.

  Thus, there were the Seven Treasures Spirit Root, Eight Treasures Spirit Root, Ninefold Spirit Root, Ten Directions Spirit Root... with increasingly stronger effects, until they could rival the naturally occurring dual-attribute composite spirit roots - second only to the Heavenly Spirit Root, Earthly Spirit Root, and a few rare heterodox spirit roots, making them top-grade. With these, artificial spirit roots finally gained a foothold in the cultivation world and gradually spread, eventually transforming the entire cultivation world. Liuhe Zushi also became famous throughout the ages for this, alongside the ancient Xianqin Emperor who unified the Nine Provinces, and the victorious Taizu of the Xianmo War, becoming the only "True Immortal" in the cultivation world to never ascend.

  Then, a thousand years passed, and the artificial spiritual root had become the most ordinary thing in the immortal cultivation world. Among ten cultivators, eight or nine of them were artificial spiritual roots. Golden Elixir and Nascent Soul cultivations were not uncommon, and even the Realm of Demigods had seen many people cultivate to that level over the past thousand years.

  But it's not like the cultivation of immortals has become a common thing, the Shengjing Xianmen has been leading the immortal world in reforming artificial spiritual roots for over a thousand years. However, the cost of high-quality spiritual roots is still astronomical, and artificial spiritual roots have only solved the problem of whether ordinary people can cultivate or not. Of course, after a thousand years of development, the production cost of artificial spiritual roots has decreased significantly compared to the beginning, but it's still not possible to buy one with just a few hundred thousand taels of silver that guarantees a bright future. This price is only for the Six Harmony Spiritual Roots.

  No, Wang Lao Ye Zi's treasured Sheng Xian San is of course Liu He San. Once taken, Liu He Ling Gen will be finished and can say goodbye to Xiū Xiān forever - except for the Qi Xing Men wild chicken mountain stronghold, any decent orthodox immortal gate would not accept Liu He Ling Gen as a disciple, even if they were desperate!

  Moreover, the Lingjian Sect is a rare ancient sect in the current cultivation world. As the name suggests, it follows the ancient method to cultivate, and the interpretation of this ancient method is very complicated. To put it bluntly, artificial spiritual roots are not allowed.

  That's right, the Lingjian Sect does not accept artificial spiritual roots. Even if it is a legendary twelve-story tower spiritual root that can be compared to a composite spiritual root or an earthly spiritual root, it will not be accepted. The sect members must be naturally born with heavenly endowments and have a predestined affinity for cultivation, commonly referred to as having innate talent.

  To put it simply, the reason is that artificial spiritual roots are inherently flawed and inferior to natural spiritual roots at the same level. Nowadays, in the nine continents, there are many masters of artificial spiritual roots, but top-notch masters are extremely rare, so many high-end sects have some reservations about this.

  However, the Lingjian Sect's obsession with this has become a laughing stock in today's cultivation world. The reason is simple: quantity makes up for quality! Even if the strength of a cultivator with an artificial spiritual root is slightly inferior to that of someone with a natural spiritual root at the same level, having ten times the number can make up for any qualitative deficiencies. In the cultivation world, only the strong survive, and the power of artificial spiritual roots is evident here. If others use them but you don't, then it's self-destruction. Within a sect, there can be systems in place to distinguish between organic and inorganic cultivators, but to reject artificial spiritual roots outright? That's fundamentalism.

  The decline of the Lingjian Sect in recent years is not unexpected. Although it is one of the five major sects, its actual influence may be weaker than that of the Wansi and Liuyun Sects, which are considered to be of a lower level. If it weren't for the fact that there are fewer and fewer sects opening their mountain gates these days, the Lingjian Sect's Ascension Conference wouldn't have been so popular.

  However, among the young talents gathered in Lingxi Town today, more than half of them possess artificial spiritual roots. This is because when the Lingjian Sect held its grand assembly, it explicitly stated that those under 12 years old would not be allowed to cultivate, with no other restrictions applying. As a result, many people are speculating whether the Lingjian Sect has finally come to its senses after being stubborn for over a thousand years?

  But Wang Lu didn't think it was that simple, if the Lingjian Sect really had a shortcut, why would they need to hold an Ascension Conference to select disciples, just find a few with decent character and intelligence, give them some spiritual elixirs and medicines, and one by one, new stars of the sect would rise up.

  And...

  "When did I say I was an ordinary person?"

  Shu Tong Wang Zhong is no fool, having heard Young Master say it himself, no matter how hard to believe, he should understand...

  "Young master, you... have spiritual roots?"

  Wang Lu snorted and turned away in disdain.

  Wang Zhong was completely stunned, smelling the strong and pungent aroma of Peigen Ling in the room, he felt that he was simply foolish to the extreme.

  ——

  At the same time, in the lobby of the inn, the young masters from all over the world were subdued by the boss's mighty power and finally had a rare peace. However, at this moment, a creaking ox cart stopped outside the door, and the old man driving the cart walked into the inn with a smile: "Boss, the firewood you wanted."

  The boss's wife, however, was cold and unresponsive: "Alright, I know. Move the goods to the back kitchen, we'll settle the account at the end of the month." She then waved her hand dismissively, chasing him away with a gesture that truly warmed his heart.

  The old man walked up to the counter with a nonchalant air: "Shopkeeper, warm up two bowls of wine and serve a plate of pickled beans."

  The landlady glared at him, her fierce gaze making many onlookers in the hall shiver. The old man, however, smiled as if enjoying a spring breeze and then laid out nine large coins on the counter.

  Staring at the nine tattered copper coins, the landlady did not kick the old man out. Instead, she took the coins and brought over two bowls of wine and a plate of pickled beans. The prices made Wen Bao, who had spent 1,000 taels of silver on a jar of wine, feel heartbroken and indignant.

  The old man and the landlady were apparently familiar with each other, the old man drinking wine and chatting about family affairs, nothing more than trivial matters in the town. The landlady, although looking unhappy, was still listening quietly. And the attentive people in the hall, having experienced Wang Lu's accommodation voucher incident, also perked up their ears, trying to dig out new clues.

  But until the old man finished drinking, wiped his mouth and was about to leave, no one in the scene found any inspiration. Hai Yunfan's face sank like water, Wen Bao had a bewildered expression, and some people showed a thoughtful expression trying to muddy the waters.

  "Huh?"

  The old man turned around and was about to leave when he suddenly twitched his nose, looked up at the second floor: "This smell... whose bear child is it? Really dare to eat anything!"

  The boss's wife also furrowed her brow and sniffed: "Peigenling? Strange, why is it him?"

  "Huh? Who is it?"

  The landlady glanced at him: "A certain noble guest living upstairs."

  "Hmm, which upstairs room?"

  The landlady snorted disdainfully: "How many rooms do I have upstairs?" Then she frowned, "No, I'd better go up and take a look..."

  The old man was shocked: "So serious? ...Not to that extent?"

  The boss's wife hesitated for a moment: "That's right, going up like this would be unseemly and might be mistaken for harassment... Alright, I'll go promote our daughter Red instead."

  After finishing speaking, the landlady stretched out her slender fingers, steadily lifted up the huge wine jar, and went upstairs with a thud. The old man was stunned for a moment, then followed behind.

  In the hall, a crowd of diners looked at each other in dismay, but no one dared to make a move and chase after him.

  That half-person-high wine jar smashed on his face would absolutely kill him.

  ——

  "There is indeed only one way for ordinary people to cultivate immortality, but when did I ever say that I am an ordinary person?"

  "Young master, you...you have spiritual roots?"

  The landlady walked out of the door and had already heard the conversation from upstairs, her slightly furrowed eyebrows relaxed, and she smiled to herself.

  It seems that everything was just a misunderstanding. The strong man who broke through the 12-linked task chain would not fall for a mere Pei Genling, and I had overreacted.

  Since it's a misunderstanding, there's no need to sell that five-thousand-tael jar of girl's red wine at the door... Hmm, might as well sell it to Hai Yunfan downstairs, with a face full of deep and profound gloom, not a bad deal!

  The landlady turned around and was about to leave, but she heard the conversation in the room continuing.

  "Young master, may I ask, what is your... spiritual root?"

  Her footsteps slowed down, and the boss's wife became curious.

  "Of course it's Tianlinggen."

  His hand shook and the wine jar almost fell on his foot.

  Ginseng!？

  He turned around abruptly, and the old man behind him also heard it with a look of astonishment. The next moment, the old man looked deeply forward, his turbid eyes shining with a hint of starlight, and then chuckled: "The talent is indeed not bad, but... Tianling Root?"

  "He thought it was a big white radish!"