Chapter 14: The Purity of Spiritual Roots

It is well known that in the world of cultivation, spiritual roots are the essential key that determines whether one can embark upon the path of immortality. The quality of these roots reveals how far a person may travel on their journey of cultivation.

While this is not an absolute rule, it is undeniable that those blessed with superior spiritual roots are born with an advantage; their progress at the beginning of cultivation is swift and remarkable.

Generally, spiritual roots are divided into the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, with their quality judged by the purity and composition of these attributes.

A single-element spiritual root is known as the Celestial Root, the finest and most coveted. Dual-element roots are next in quality, followed by triple roots. After that come four and five-element roots, which, though still capable of cultivation, struggle greatly in the present age where spiritual energy is scarce. Those with four or five-element roots may spend a lifetime lingering in the Qi Refinement stage, with little hope of advancing to Foundation Establishment—unless, of course, they encounter a stroke of fortune, such as the Daoist Yanhe of Pine Crane Temple.

Spiritual roots are not limited to the five elements; there are also variant roots derived from elemental mutations, such as ice, wind, and lightning—like Situ Jing.

There is yet another, spoken of only in legend: the Primal Chaos Root. Such a root is so rare that it may not appear even once in millions of years. Though it embodies all five elements, these are perfectly balanced—mutually engendering and restraining, harmonious and complete. If one with such a root achieves mastery, their power would surpass even those with the Celestial Root.

Balance refers to the emphasis among attributes within the spiritual root. Imagine the root as a circle, each attribute occupying a portion. The greater the share, the stronger the affinity; cultivating techniques of that attribute will be far swifter and more effective, and their power correspondingly greater.

Speaking of mutual engendering and restraining brings us to Ji Yao’s particular problem. It is said that water and fire are incompatible, and so it is with spiritual roots. At first glance, possessing both water and fire roots seems advantageous, but the two attributes hinder each other, allowing for cultivation, though at a painfully slow pace.

To put it plainly, the two roots within the body vie for spiritual energy, each dragging the other down—inner discord among the roots themselves. How could anyone cultivate quickly in such a state?

If Ji Yao’s roots were gold and earth, or fire and earth, it would be ideal; earth engenders gold, fire engenders earth—mutually supportive. Yet she is fated to possess three roots: sharp gold, thick earth, and blazing fire.

Gold and fire are powerful offensive attributes, while thick earth excels in defense. The trouble lies in the relationship: fire engenders earth, earth engenders gold, but fire restrains gold—a deadlock of mutual counteraction.

This means that even if Ji Yao manages to overcome her slow progress, her offensive capacity will remain limited, and her defense will be mediocre at best. In the end, she will find herself in an awkward predicament: neither formidable in attack nor impenetrable in defense—caught between mediocrity and inadequacy.

Ling Ru’s concern is not without reason; all that remains is to hope for a high degree of purity in Ji Yao’s roots. The higher the purity, the stronger the root; in a contest of equals, the purer root dominates.

For instance, with a gold-earth dual root, if the gold attribute is eighty percent pure and earth is thirty percent, focusing on cultivating the gold root will yield twice the result with half the effort. Such dual roots are not inferior even to a Celestial Root of seventy percent purity.

Therefore, Ling Ru fervently hoped that, among Ji Yao’s three roots, at least one attribute would be weaker, its purity lower. Since mutually restraining attributes slow cultivation, it is best if either attack or defense stands out.

After listening to Ling Ru’s explanation, Ji Yao finally understood there was far more subtlety to the appraisal of spiritual roots than she had imagined, and she felt rather overwhelmed.

Could her luck truly be that poor?

Ji Yao’s confidence faltered; all her experiences since her rebirth had shown her to be singularly unlucky. Even now, a sword hung over her head, and the poison devouring her vitality within had only been suppressed, not cured.

Yet, reflecting on her journey from Pine Crane Temple until now, she realized she had also encountered some good fortune; perhaps her luck was not entirely ill-starred. A sliver of hope flickered in her heart.

“Does Senior Ling have a way to test the purity of spiritual roots?” she asked.

Ling Ru shook her head. “My father can only determine the attributes. The spirit-testing disks used by minor sects can at most indicate the dominant attribute. Only the great sects possess special disks that offer a more comprehensive analysis.”

It seemed Ji Yao would have to wait for the entrance trials of the Seven Great Sects. Her heart filled with the anxious anticipation of a lottery draw—there was still a year to go!

In the half-year spent awaiting this in Northpeace City, Ji Yao advanced her cultivation to the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

When she set out for Northpeace City, she was at the fourth level. After meeting Ling Ru along the way, more than five months had passed, and the journey had taken nearly a year in all.

In sum, it took a year and a half to progress from the fourth to the fifth level—Ji Yao now truly felt the difference her spiritual roots made.

Previously, she had cultivated in her private space, with no one for comparison, so she never sensed her pace. After meeting Ling Ru, she rarely entered her private space, choosing instead to cultivate outside.

Certainly, the thin spiritual energy of the Northern Wastes played a role, but with Ling Ru as a benchmark, Ji Yao realized how much slower she was than others.

Ling Ru had grown up in Northpeace City. Her father, Ling Siyuan, doted on his only daughter, setting up a dedicated cultivation chamber for her in the City Lord’s residence, imbued with a spirit-gathering array. The spiritual density there rivaled even that of the central sects.

She began cultivating at age seven, and in less than seven years, Ling Ru had advanced from initial Qi absorption to the ninth level of Qi Refinement. She had just turned fourteen this year; clearly, her spiritual roots were exceptional.

Indeed, Ji Yao’s suspicions were soon confirmed.

Five months after their arrival in Guangqiong City, a special guest arrived at the courtyard Ling Siyuan had rented nearly a year in advance.

After meeting this guest once, Ji Yao did not return, for at a single glance, she understood the visitor’s purpose.

She had no wish to trouble others, nor herself, and so she chose to enter seclusion.

The Daoist Master Zhaoming’s eyes shone with excitement, especially when looking at Ling Ru, as if he had discovered a rare treasure. Ji Yao knew he had come for Ling Ru—a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage traveling all the way to this remote corner of the Northern Wastes before the sect’s recruitment, expressly for her.

Ling Ru’s talent was no surprise, though it exceeded even Ji Yao’s expectations. She possessed dual roots of fire and wood, with fire as the dominant and wood as the auxiliary, the purity of her fire root reaching eighty-eight percent and wood at seventy.

Such roots could be considered no less than a Celestial Root.

Half a month later, Ling Ru departed, personally escorted by Daoist Master Zhaoming, the head of the Blazing Flame Peak of Lingyun Sect—a rare honor.

Everything that needed to be said had long been discussed between Ling Ru and Ji Yao. After bidding farewell to Ling Siyuan, Ling Ru set off with Daoist Master Zhaoming.

Before leaving, Daoist Master Zhaoming finally glanced at Ji Yao, his eyes filled with admiration, and handed her a protective sword talisman.

Ji Yao understood that this was given solely for Ling Ru’s sake. Ling Siyuan returned to Northpeace City, and once more Ji Yao was alone in the spacious courtyard.

The lease was for a year; Ling Siyuan had said she could stay until the recruitment of the Seven Great Sects concluded.

Yet Ji Yao no longer wished to remain in the courtyard and so wandered out alone.

Unwittingly, she discovered she had walked beyond the city limits. A gust of wind carried a faint scent of blood, which her keen senses instantly detected.

Something was wrong! Ji Yao’s heart leapt, and she turned to flee.

Yet as she turned, she saw, not far ahead, a girl of sixteen or seventeen dressed in black.

In the girl’s left palm rested a small black cauldron of unknown material, dark vapor curling openly from its surface, and the faint iron tang of blood drifted out from within.