47: Chapter 47 Spiritual Root Enhancement

Five hundred years of memories, five hundred years of cultivation, five hundred years of master-Disciple camaraderie, five hundred years of solitude and perseverance...

At this moment, they slowly settled in his heart.

He did not immediately choose the inheritance option; instead, he closed his eyes and let those realizations flow through his heart.

Uncle-Master Fang's words still echoed in his ears:

"Cultivation is like planting a tree; only with deep roots can the leaves flourish."

"Do not forget why you Cultivate the Dao."

After a long while, he opened his eyes, which were filled with clarity.

[Select Inheritance: 1. Complete Legacy of the Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture and 3. Essence Mark of the Cyan Mysterious Dao Body]

[Warning: Inheriting both items simultaneously will consume all 20 points of Mental Energy and place a significant burden on the host's Divine Soul. Do you confirm?]

"Confirm."

In an instant.

A massive amount of Cultivation Technique mantras, Spiritual Qi circulation paths, cultivation secret techniques, and pharmacological insights...

Like a celestial river pouring backward, they surged into his Divine Soul!

At this moment, a wisp of emerald green Origin mark quietly merged into the center of his eyebrows.

It resonated, entangled, and fused with the long-dormant Longevity Dao Body mark!

The violent impact made him let out a muffled groan.

Veins bulged on his forehead, and he gritted his teeth tightly, preventing himself from making a sound.

Outside the warehouse, his roommates' snoring continued; no one knew what was happening in this dark corner.

He did not know how much time had passed—perhaps an instant, perhaps an hour—but the impact finally subsided.

Li Changsheng opened his eyes.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands.

They were still those same hands, covered in dust, with rough knuckles.

But at this moment, he could clearly perceive the changes occurring within his body.

That slender, pale green Spiritual Qi that had always struggled to grow was now like a seedling encountering sweet rain after a long drought; it was automatically circulating along the path of the introductory chapter of the Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture with an unprecedented sense of joy.

That was not just Spiritual Qi; it was his accumulation of five hundred years, a gift left behind by the Soul Transformation Immortal Master Changqing.

More importantly, it was the Dao of Longevity.

It had changed.

Originally, it had only passively provided a slow vitality restoration ability, but after merging with the Cyan Mysterious Dao Body mark, it seemed as though some dormant potential had been activated.

He could feel his Wood Spiritual Root being quietly tempered and purified.

His affinity for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was slowly but firmly increasing.

He seemed to no longer be just a "Medium Grade Wood Spiritual Root."

He took out a Spiritual Root Testing Stone, which had been distributed upon his entry, and which he had kept.

He pressed his hand onto it.

Inside the Spiritual Root Testing Stone, an emerald green light slowly brightened.

It was brighter and purer than what he had measured a month ago.

Medium Grade... Medium-High Grade... High Grade?

The light finally stabilized at the brightness of a High Grade Spiritual Root.

Compared to when he first entered the Sect, it had increased by a full major Realm!

Li Changsheng looked at that Spiritual Root Testing Stone, remaining silent for a long time.

He remembered what Uncle-Master Fang had said.

"Spiritual Roots are innate and extremely difficult to change."

"Every treasure capable of enhancing Spiritual Root Aptitude is a celestial rarity that would make Nascent Soul old monsters break their heads fighting for it."

Yet he, after five hundred years in the simulation world, using the accumulation of the Cyan Mysterious Dao Body and top-grade Wood Spiritual Root, had only managed to raise his Medium Grade Spiritual Root to High Grade when fed back into his original body.

The difficulty of cultivating immortality is evident from this.

[Aptitude Enhancement: Significant Aptitude improvement for the first time. Rewarding 20 points of Mental Energy; remaining Mental Energy is 20 points.]

He tucked the Spiritual Root Testing Stone into his robes and began to circulate the Qingyuan Formula issued by the Sect.

This time, the Bottleneck that had previously troubled him seemed non-existent, and he broke through instantly.

Qingyuan Formula: Introductory Level.

Li Changsheng felt neither joy nor sorrow.

He was already at Qi Refining Level 1, but he had not used the Qingyuan Formula to induce Qi for entry.

At this moment, cultivating the Qingyuan Formula served two purposes: first, to complete the assessment, and second, to expand his own knowledge and insights.

Li Changsheng calculated.

He was currently a High Grade Wood Spiritual Root, and with his diligent practice of the Small Heavenly Cycle Qi Induction Mantra, the soon-to-begin introductory practice of the Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture, and the accelerated cultivation speed after the Fusion of the Longevity Dao Body...

His cultivation efficiency would be several, or even over ten times, what it was in the past.

What he needed was to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

Outside the window, the horizon began to turn pale white.

The hour of Mao was approaching; the new day's labor was about to begin.

Li Changsheng stood up, washed his face with cold water, and straightened his clothes.

He pushed open the creaking wooden door of the warehouse.

The morning breeze carried mist and felt somewhat cold.

However, his gaze was completely different from yesterday.

It was no longer the silence of forbearance, but a deep calmness rooted in his five hundred years of Dao Heart.

From this day forward, he would no longer pay attention to any mockery or harassment.

"I will temporarily improve my cultivation at the General Affairs Hall; I will consider joining other peaks when the time draws near."

Li Changsheng circulated the Small Heavenly Cycle Qi Induction Mantra again; the aura of the Qingyuan Formula vanished, and his aura remained at Qi Refining Level 1.

Unless someone with a cultivation level far higher than his investigated, they would not be able to detect it through mere observation.

"After all, no one disturbs me here, and I can Cultivate in peace."

"If I go to other peaks, the probability of my secrets being discovered will increase greatly."

Li Changsheng already had a plan in mind.

At this moment, in his eyes, there was only that long and firm path of the Dao.

And this path had only just begun.

Time slipped away unnoticed, and the daily routine of the Sect continued as repetitive as ever.

Li Changsheng had been at the Qinglan Sword Sect for over two months.

On this day.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated when the door to the West Courtyard's miscellaneous goods warehouse was pushed open.

Li Changsheng carried two buckets of water and began the first task of the day—cleaning.

This was a rule he had set for himself; no matter how late he cultivated, after getting up at the hour of Mao, he would first clean the inside and outside of the warehouse.

It was not to please anyone, but because of the first sentence in the opening chapter of the Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture.

"To plant is to have deep roots and flourishing leaves, which begins with clean soil."

"Junior Brother Li, cleaning again?"

Ding San walked over carrying a food box, his face wearing his habitual simple smile.

"I brought you two steamed buns; they are still warm."

"Many thanks, Senior Brother Ding." Li Changsheng took them and, without standing on ceremony, ate them with some fresh water.

Ding San leaned against the door frame, watching him, hesitating to speak.

Li Changsheng noticed his gaze: "Senior Brother, please speak your mind."

"That..."

Ding San scratched his head.

"Last night, Wanqi Peak sent over another batch of items, specifically requesting you to sign for them. I signed for you and placed them under the shed on the east side."

"That guy surnamed Zhao... didn't give you a hard time, did he?"

Li Changsheng's chewing paused.

The guy surnamed Zhao, Zhao Yan, was an official Outer Sect Disciple of Wanqi Peak at Qi Refining Level 7.

His uncle was the official Artifact Refiner of Wanqi Peak, Zhao Guangyuan, who had a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation and held quite a bit of influence at Wanqi Peak.

Over the past month, the number of times he "passed by" the miscellaneous goods warehouse was more frequent than the number of times he went to Wanqi Peak for Artifact Refining.

Each time, he would always find some excuse to make things difficult.

Either he would deliberately mess up the registration logbooks, or he would force waste that should have been sent elsewhere to be piled at the warehouse entrance, and then rebuke him on the grounds that the "General Affairs Hall is inefficient."

It seemed he took pleasure in this and never tired of it.

The words from the day before yesterday were nothing more than routine humiliation.

"No."

Li Changsheng finished the last of the water.

"I wasn't there when he went."

Ding San breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good."

"We can't afford to provoke that guy surnamed Zhao; it's better to avoid him."

Li Changsheng did not reply.

He washed the bowl and chopsticks and put them back into the food box.

He expressed his thanks and walked toward the shed on the east side.

Under the shed was a pile of messy miscellaneous items, most of which were damaged remains of Magical Artifacts that could no longer be used.

Li Changsheng squatted down and examined them one by one.