106: Chapter 106 Immortal Artifact Spirit

"Dung pit." You finished its sentence, your tone calm. "And I intend to build the largest one in the entire world for you, three zhang deep and ten zhang wide, specifically for your use."

The Artifact Spirit's voice choked off.

"...Are you serious?"

"I never joke when I speak." You turned your head and called out, "Someone, go notify the Directorate for Palace Buildings. I want to, in the backyard of the imperial villa..."

"Wait wait wait wait!" The Artifact Spirit's voice changed pitch, its youthful tone tinged with panic. "I... let me make this clear, I am not unwilling to accept you, it's that you truly do not meet the criteria! Without the Pure Yang Physique, forcing a Fusion will cause you to explode and die instantly. I am saving you!"

You didn't say a word.

"Really," the Artifact Spirit's voice grew more urgent, "If you die, I'll have to lie dormant for who knows how many more years. I don't want that either, and I don't really want to be buried in... just don't build that pit, okay?"

Only then did you withdraw your gesture of calling someone, looking back at the pendant on the table.

The pendant's red light dimmed, looking... a bit aggrieved.

You stared at it, silent for a moment, then sighed.

It seems I really don't have it.

You muttered under your breath, the last shred of hope in your heart completely dissipated:

"Why did I have to be reincarnated into the wrong body."

If not for being reincarnated into the wrong body, I wouldn't have to worry about the Spiritual Root at all. Even if my Lifespan was halved, I wouldn't be afraid; the simulator equals infinite Lifespan, I'd basically be making a fortune.

You rubbed your brow and looked up:

"Then tell me, without a Spiritual Root, is it possible to cultivate?"

"No." The Artifact Spirit answered crisply.

"Then, is there any way to obtain a Spiritual Root later on?"

This time, the Artifact Spirit didn't answer immediately.

The red light flashed a few times, as if searching through its memories. After a moment, the Artifact Spirit spoke, its tone carrying a hint of uncertainty:

"There are, but none of them are simple."

You sat up straight.

"First, a Nascent Soul Cultivator can use their Divine Sense to actively condense a Spiritual Root for someone, which requires draining three to five years of their own cultivation Foundation. Furthermore, the host's own Qi and blood must be pure, containing not a single bit of Impurities, and the entire process requires continuous breathing exercises for forty-nine days without interruption, otherwise the condensation will fail." The Artifact Spirit paused. "Can you find a Nascent Soul Cultivator?"

You didn't speak.

A Nascent Soul Cultivator? Where am I supposed to pull one of those out of?

"Second, the lotus heart of a Creation Green Lotus, if consumed, can spontaneously generate a Spiritual Root. The grade depends on fate; it can be as low as a mixed Spiritual Root or as high as a Heavenly Spiritual Root. But the Creation Green Lotus is a spiritual item of the Golden Core Stage, and even major powers would fight until their heads break without necessarily obtaining one."

"Third, when an extraterrestrial meteorite lands, there is occasionally Star Essence left behind. Using Star Essence for Body Tempering has a tiny probability of opening the spiritual aperture, which can then stimulate the growth of a Spiritual Root. The price is that the Body Tempering process is a thousand times more painful than that Great Thunder-struck Wood of yours, and the survival rate..." The Artifact Spirit paused, "...is less than one in ten."

"Fourth, the ruins of the ancient Demon Emperor's altar contain Earth Vein Spiritual Breath. Soaking in it continuously for a hundred years can transform a Mortal body. During this time, one cannot cultivate any Cultivation Technique, cannot use any Internal Energy, and must just honestly soak in it. But whether the person soaking can survive a hundred years is another matter entirely."

"Fifth..."

"Alright, no need to continue." You interrupted.

You went over these four options in your mind, your expression sinking further with each one.

Nascent Soul Cultivator, Golden Core Stage spiritual item, extraterrestrial meteorite Star Essence, ancient Demon Emperor altar.

You leaned back into your chair, looking up at the roof beams, and exhaled after a moment.

Gave up.

"Alright," the Artifact Spirit saw you seemed somewhat dejected, and suddenly its voice turned soft and milky, as if it had switched modes. "Don't be unhappy. Let me tell you, this Cultivation World is a hundred, a thousand times crueler than you imagine. Look at that old man Master Qingling; with me in his hands, he messed around for over two hundred years and didn't even touch the Purple Mansion. You, as you are now, ruling the world, reigning over the four seas, above ten thousand people—why bother wading into those muddy waters?"

"Besides," the Artifact Spirit's tone turned a bit more serious, "I have lived for who knows how many years, and I've seen at least eight thousand female Cultivators, if not ten thousand. Someone with your looks could rank in the top three, and that's even without you cultivating or using Spiritual Qi to nourish your body. If you ask me, in this life..."

"A little kid knows nothing." You interrupted it.

The Artifact Spirit was stunned for a moment, then exploded.

"Who is a little kid! You are the little kid! Your whole family is little kids! I was born during the peak of the ancient Immortal Realm; at that time, the territory of your entire Great Li was still a wasteland. All your ancestors combined don't even amount to a finger of mine, and you call me a little kid! I am at least..."

The Artifact Spirit paused.

"...I have at least been around for a very long time."

You: ?

"Did you forget how old you are?"

"I just can't remember clearly for the moment," the Artifact Spirit's tone sounded a bit guilty. "Sleeping for too long makes one's memory bad; this is normal. In short, I am very, very old. It wouldn't be an exaggeration for you to call me Old Ancestor."

You couldn't help it and chuckled softly.

In the Imperial Study, the light of the oil lamp flickered.

The Artifact Spirit watched your smile and was silent for a moment.

Then, its voice also softened; for some reason, it felt an inexplicable stir in its heart.

You are so beautiful, so beautiful that it wanted to stuff itself into your body and never be separated from you again.

Unfortunately, you do not have that Aptitude.

For the next half an hour, you asked it many more questions about the rules of the Cultivation World, the classification of Spiritual Roots, the origin of the red emperor heart pendant itself, and what exactly happened during the ancient war that shattered it.

But the Artifact Spirit's memory was like a bronze mirror that had been shattered and haphazardly pieced back together; most of it was blurry. Only the memories after meeting Master Qingling were clear. As for things before that, it knew the beginning, but would often get stuck halfway through, mumble a few times, and say somewhat sheepishly, "I can't remember clearly."

Classification of Spiritual Roots?

"There are five grades in total, from low to high: Inferior Grade, Low Grade, Medium Grade, High Grade, and Top Grade."

What is the ancient Immortal Realm?

"I can't remember clearly, it seems it was very big."

Who is the Red Emperor?