134: Top-grade Earth Spirit Root

"It's not easy for you Loose Cultivators to seek the Dao. Keep this Spirit Ginseng for yourselves," Lin Yan said with a wave of his hand.

He even felt like providing some relief to these old Qi Refiners.

Seeing that Lin Yan would not accept the gift, the group did not know what to do for a moment.

At this moment, Do Not Regret took a deep breath, as if he had made a certain decision.

He took out a roll of yellowed parchment from his sleeve and handed it to Lin Yan:

"My Lord, we truly have nothing else to offer. This Water Vein Map might be of use to you... Please accept it!"

"Water Vein Map?" Lin Yan took the parchment.

Opening it, it looked like an ordinary map, except it specifically marked a vast, dense network of water systems.

With a quick glance, he could see familiar locations like the "Jian Ge Mountain Range" and "Jianghan Plain."

That was not the main point.

The main point was that it specifically marked locations where water-based treasures might have been born or were once found.

Lin Yan understood that this might be something accumulated over the era of Loose Cultivators, something they relied on for their livelihoods.

"Alright then, I'll accept it."

Without thinking much, Lin Yan accepted the old man's kindness.

Seeing this, Do Not Regret also breathed a sigh of relief; he was truly afraid Lin Yan would not take it.

"After I leave, I'll have to trouble you all to look after the owner of this Wine Workshop for me," Lin Yan instructed them.

"The distiller's grains in the workshop are yours. Consider it payment. I might come back to visit in the future."

"Certainly, certainly!"

"Qingshi City will always welcome your presence, My Lord!"

The group quickly replied.

Lin Yan nodded slightly. "If you encounter any trouble you cannot solve, you can find me at the Sword Pavilion Spirit Herb Hall."

After saying that, he stood up to leave.

Hearing this, Do Not Regret and the others could not suppress the joy on their faces.

"May I ask your name, My Lord?" Do Not Regret asked hurriedly.

"Chief Disciple of the Sword Pavilion Spirit Herb Hall, Lin Yan."

Leaving behind his name, Lin Yan did not delay any longer. He rose into the air and flew south... "As expected of a Talented Disciple of the Sword Pavilion! And a Chief at that!"

"Brother Li, what is a Chief?"

"I don't know either, but it is certainly no ordinary Disciple!"

Standing in the alley, Do Not Regret and the others were all full of pleasant surprise.

They had found a powerful backer.

"The world hasn't been peaceful lately. With this lord's promise, we have an extra layer of protection!"

"Yeah, I must say, Brother Li's judgment of character is truly spot on!"

"This time it's all thanks to Brother Li."

Do Not Regret smiled and said nothing.

This move was not based entirely on luck.

The Demonic Cultivators killed outside the city, as well as Lin Yan's previous actions of coming to exchange gold and silver, all indirectly proved Lin Yan's character.

Who could understand the value of an old Loose Cultivator's experience in the Jianghu... After leaving Qingshi City, Lin Yan headed south all the way until he found a remote mountain in the wilderness.

The mountains here were not high, and the Spiritual Qi was not particularly dense, but it was remote enough to be undisturbed.

With a thought, he used the qinggang sword to cut through the brambles, set up a simple Isolation Array, and carved out a temporary Immortal Cave in the mountainside.

Having just achieved the Awakening of his Fire Spiritual Root, he could not wait to awaken his Earth Spiritual Root.

Wood generates Fire, and Fire generates Earth; there were no longer any obstacles in terms of the Five Elements' mutual generation and restriction.

The four earth treasures he had accumulated over the years—two earth spirit pearls and two wu tu crystals—could finally be put to use.

Both types of treasures contained dense earth essence, each comparable to a ten-thousand-year spiritual item, capable of Awakening or improving the grade of a Spiritual Root.

Lin Yan sat cross-legged in the Immortal Cave and took out an earth spirit pearl.

The pearl felt warm in his hand, with an earthy yellow spiritual light flowing inside, as steady as the pulse of the earth.

Holding the spiritual pearl, his breathing slowed down unconsciously. Between his breaths, the yellow sand in the Immortal Cave billowed slightly, as if the entire mountain was breathing with him.

Such a treasure was extremely rare.

He took a deep breath and swallowed the pearl directly.

Upon entering his body, the earth spirit pearl instantly transformed into a heavy and gentle earth essence, surging toward his limbs and bones like a warm current.

Within his limbs and bones, a pale yellow root shadow emerged from the void, like a nascent vine, struggling yet firmly rooting itself into his Dantian.

The dense earth essence continued to be released from the earth spirit pearl and was absorbed by the Spiritual Root.

The pale yellow root shadow became more and more solid, finally completely penetrating Lin Yan's entire body and transforming into an intricate root system.

Earth Spiritual Root, Awakening!

At the same time, the willow-shaped Seventh-Grade Dao Foundation in his Dantian trembled violently.

The originally somewhat slender willow trunk solidified and grew taller at a speed visible to the naked eye. The texture of the willow leaves became clearer, and the roots spread slightly, echoing the newly born Earth Spiritual Root.

On the surface of the Dao Foundation, pale yellow Spirit Patterns faintly emerged like the veins of the earth, adding a sense of "steady as Mount Tai" weight to the willow tree.

With a thought from Lin Yan, a surge of Earth Element Spiritual Power flowed through his Meridians, and his entire aura became steady.

"Awakening all the Five Elements Spiritual Roots will bring some unexpected benefits!" Lin Yan faintly realized this.

Theoretically, there was no difference between a single Peak-Grade Wood Spiritual Root and all Five Elements being Peak-Grade Spiritual Roots.

But in reality, that was not the case.

When he awakened his Fire Spiritual Root, he could feel that the Fire Spiritual Power could temper his own Wood Spiritual Power, making it even purer.

Yes, the addition of Fire Spiritual Power would not make the Wood Spiritual Power mixed and impure, but rather purer.

Earth Spiritual Power had a similar effect.

With a more stable Foundation, the benefits were self-evident... Without stopping, Lin Yan took out the second earth spirit pearl and swallowed it again.

This time, when the earth essence entered his body, it was no longer as awkward as the first time. Instead, it intertwined with the existing roots to form a net, slowly spreading along his Meridians.

After an hour, the root shadow in the Dantian turned from pale yellow to ochre yellow, the roots became thicker and tougher, and the spiritual aura became deeper and steadier.

Earth Spiritual Root promoted to Medium Grade!

The changes to the Dao Foundation followed.

Another set of yellow Spirit Patterns was added to the willow-shaped Dao Foundation. The patterns on the willow trunk shifted faintly, showing the layout of mountains and rivers.

As the Earth Spiritual Root improved, his affinity for the Dao of Earth grew.

Lin Yan felt his perception of Earth Spiritual Power and earth qi become clearer.

With a thought, he felt the Earth Spiritual Qi within a ten-zhang radius flow like streams into the sea, merging into his Dantian more smoothly. The "steadiness" and "thickness" of his Foundation both moved up a level.

"Improving the Earth Spiritual Root will also be beneficial for farming in the future!"

After refining the earth spirit pearls, Lin Yan turned his gaze to the two wu tu crystals.

The earth essence contained in these crystals was of a quality no less than the earth spirit pearls, and it was even more domineering. He had to be more careful during refinement.

Precisely because of this, Lin Yan scheduled the wu tu crystals for later.

He took a deep breath and first took one to swallow.

As the yellow crystal entered his stomach, the violent earth essence instantly exploded, like ten thousand mountains pressing down!

Lin Yan used the Azure Emperor Longevity Art to steady his mind. Wood overcomes Earth; he used the "toughness" of his Wood Spiritual Root to stabilize his Foundation, forcibly guiding the earth essence to fuse with the roots.

An hour later, the root shadow transformed from ochre yellow to sunken gold, and the roots formed an earthen net, penetrating his Dantian and limbs.

Earth Spiritual Root surged straight to High Grade!

Immediately after, the second wu tu crystal entered his body.

This time, the violent earth essence was completely accepted by the previous Foundation and thoroughly merged with the existing roots.

In an instant, the root shadow in the Dantian solidified like the veins of the earth.

It could be clearly seen that countless minute roots were completely connected with the Dantian's Fire Spiritual Root, forming an "Earth-Wood-Fire triple-system cycle."

Peak-Grade Earth Spiritual Root, achieved!