Chapter 422: Refining Spirit Root

Inside the Luolong County government office, Meng Yifan exchanged a few pleasantries with his father, Meng Dayong, briefly explained his experiences in the Secret Realm World and the predicament he currently faced, and then announced he would go into seclusion to cultivate and contemplate the secret technique inherited from He Dongliu.

Three days later, Meng Yifan had sorted through He Dongliu's memory fragments. He carefully studied the Refining Spirit Root Secret Technique and discovered it was not as simple as he had initially thought.

First, the Refining Spirit Root Secret Technique does not conjure a Spirit Root out of thin air; rather, it refines the dross and selects the essence, refining the Spirit Roots already present within a cultivator's body.

This secret technique is suitable for cultivators who already possess Spirit Roots in their bodies, similar to a cultivator like Meng Yifan with a Nine-Element Mixed Spirit Root. Originally, it was destined to be very difficult to make progress in Immortal Cultivation, but through this secret technique, one could refine away other Spirit Roots and strengthen the remaining few.

This secret technique is also heaven-defying. Theoretically, it can refine a Waste Spirit Root into a Heavenly Spirit Root. One must know that within the Immortal Cultivation world of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty, those with Mixed Spirit Roots who enter a sect are treated as Miscellaneous Servant Disciples; their status is very low, just like a laborer, and they must perform a great deal of work to be eligible to receive even a tiny bit of cultivation resources.

As for Heavenly Spirit Root cultivators, upon joining a sect, they are immediately Core Disciples, cultivated with priority. They do not need to perform menial labor, and resources are supplied openly; as long as they cultivate with peace of mind, their cultivation level will rise step by step.

If those Immortal Cultivation Sects were to find out that the Heavenly Spirit Root cultivators they view as precious treasures could be mass-produced by Meng Yifan's secret technique, these sect bigwigs would certainly move at the first sign of trouble to snatch this secret technique.

Meng Yifan already knew that the National Teacher of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty originated from an Immortal Cultivation Sect.

These sects are very mysterious. Usually, apart from sending some disciples to join the Astrological Bureau for training, the experts of the sixth grade and above from the sects are like dragons that only show their heads but never their tails, rarely appearing in the secular world. It is unknown whether they are living in seclusion or are no longer in this world.

Linking this to what the Creator of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty World said during his tribulation, Meng Yifan felt that the Immortal Cultivation world was filled with a layer of fog, possessing too many secrets unknown to the world.

Although Meng Yifan is now a Sixth Grade High cultivator, he is not invincible under Heaven. A Ninth Grade expert like Qiu Shenji could kill him in a single move.

"The secret technique must absolutely not be leaked," Meng Yifan muttered. It seems he can only refine a small number of people into Heavenly Spirit Roots; for others, he can refine them into Mixed Spirit Roots suitable for their cultivation based on their attributes.

In fact, this is already enough. If he were to really refine everyone into Heavenly Spirit Roots, not only would it be too eye-catching, but it would also require consuming a massive amount of World Source energy, which Meng Yifan simply could not afford.

"Call Zhang Shagen over," Meng Yifan said.

Soon, Zhang Shagen was summoned in by a messenger. He held his head high and chest out, gave Meng Yifan a military salute, and then asked, "Lord Meng, what did you call me for?"

"Shagen, do you want to become an Immortal Cultivator?" Meng Yifan checked Zhang Shagen's Loyalty and found it had already reached 94 points, making him a Dead Loyal Subject. This indicated that Zhang Shagen was trustworthy; even if he were told to go die immediately, he would execute the order without hesitation.

"I do, I dream of it," Zhang Shagen's eyes lit up, and he answered very excitedly. When he was a child, he had heard the storyteller tell stories of Immortal Cultivators flying through the sky and escaping the earth, subduing demons and eliminating devils. Even then, he had longed to become an Immortal Cultivator.

Later, a Daoist priest with the bearing of an immortal came to the village to recruit disciples. All the children in the village went to test their aptitude. Zhang Shagen was an Eight-Series Mixed Spirit Root. That Daoist said that with such Spirit Root attributes, although it was not a Nine-Element Waste Spirit Root, it was still very difficult to cultivate; even entering the gate was hard, and he was destined to find it difficult to break through to the Second Grade realm in his lifetime.

That Daoist was very strict in recruiting disciples; he only wanted those with fewer than three Spirit Roots. In the end, the whole village selected one child who had a Three-Series Spirit Root. That child was named 'Zhang Lanhua', and she was Zhang Shagen's childhood friend.

The two children grew up together from a young age, running around bare-bottomed; they could be considered childhood sweethearts. Both sets of parents also had a very good relationship and even agreed that when the two children grew up, they would become husband and wife.

No one expected that Zhang Lanhua would actually have the aptitude of an Immortal Cultivator, with the hope of becoming an Immortal Cultivator who could roam the North Sea in the morning and the Cangwu Mountains in the evening.

That Daoist gave Zhang Lanhua's parents one hundred taels of silver, then took Zhang Lanhua away, and never returned to the village again.

To tell the truth, when Zhang Lanhua was taken away, Zhang Shagen felt very sad in his heart. He hid in a place where no one was around and secretly shed tears. He knew that the two people who were once innocent childhood friends had become different from that moment on: one was a mud-legged peasant who could only scratch for food in the dirt, and the other was an Immortal Cultivator who could perform Immortal Arts. Those were Immortal Cultivators even more noble than the county magistrate; how could Zhang Shagen be worthy of her?

Zhang Shagen had also thought about going to find other Immortal Cultivators to ask if he could cultivate Immortality and seek the Dao. However, as he slowly grew up, the hardships of life made him realize that being able to fill his stomach and survive was already not easy, so he stopped thinking about cultivating Immortality and seeking the Dao.

"Shagen, you may take me as your master, and I will pass on the Great Dao of Immortal Cultivation to you," Meng Yifan said.

Zhang Shagen was incredibly excited. He bowed down like a collapsing mountain and toppling jade pillar, performing three kowtows and nine prostrations to Meng Yifan, and then called out, "Master."

"Shagen, I will help you check your Spirit Root attributes." Meng Yifan pressed his right hand on Zhang Shagen's back, sent out a wisp of World Power, and let it wander through Zhang Shagen's body for a cycle. He then understood: except for not having a Fire Spirit Root, Zhang Shagen possessed all the other eight Spirit Roots.

Among them, the Thunder-type Spirit Root was the strongest, while the other seven Spirit Roots were relatively weaker.

After pondering for a moment, Meng Yifan said, "Shagen, you are most suited to cultivate Thunder-type Cultivation Methods. Next, Master will help you with Cleansing Marrow and Cutting Bone. It will be very painful; you must endure it, otherwise, all previous efforts will be wasted, and your path of cultivation will be severed."

"Master, please rest assured, I can endure it," Zhang Shagen answered very firmly. Now is the end of the dynasty, with war and chaos everywhere. Only the strong can control their own destiny and take good care of the family around them. He has experienced too much suffering and is too eager to possess powerful strength.

As long as he can obtain powerful strength, and as long as he does not die, no matter how painful it is, Zhang Shagen is willing to endure it.

Next, Zhang Shagen followed Meng Yifan's requirements and lay on the wooden board in front of Meng Yifan. Then, Meng Yifan channeled the power of the World Source and performed the secret technique to refine Zhang Shagen's Spirit Roots.

At first, Zhang Shagen felt his body was warm and comfortable, just like soaking in a hot spring. But not long after, he felt as if his body had been thrown into a furnace, with raging flames burning his body. It was so painful that his whole body trembled. He wanted to struggle, but he discovered that Meng Yifan had already cast a spell, making him unable to move.

After a while, Zhang Shagen felt as if his body had been suddenly thrown into an ice hole. It was bone-chillingly cold, making him unable to stop shivering.

Just like this, one moment cold, one moment hot, it was truly a double heaven of ice and fire, torturing Zhang Shagen until he even had the heart to die.