Chapter 490: Archipelago of Flying Boats, New Overseas Methods, Transplanting Spiritual Roots

The Flying Boat Sea Market is a grand market that opens once every sixty years, yet even on ordinary days, sea merchants reside here.

This market is not just one or several islands, but a territory spanning a thousand miles, a cluster of islands formed by floating flying boats and reef islands. Tens of thousands of cultivators pass through or reside here.

Because many of these islands were formed by sea-merchant cultivators filling dilapidated flying boats with earth and stone and sinking them into the sea, they are known as the Zhoushan Archipelago.

There are many Central Lands and overseas cultivators traveling through the archipelago, and major sea merchants have opened many cave dwellings for rent to passing rogue cultivators.

Qian Chen decided on a small island near the outer sea, spanning several miles, to serve as his temporary cave dwelling. This sea area has many reefs, and the sea merchant had managed to dredge the water veins, drawing in a spiritual spring, and then excavated cave dwellings into the reefs to rent out to rogue cultivators like him.

Qian Chen has now recovered his original cultivation base; mingling among them as a cultivator of the Penetrating the Law realm, he is entirely inconspicuous.

The cave dwelling has seven or eight stone rooms, all equipped with seal arrays. Although they seem quite crude to Qian Chen, they keep the interior dry and warm. They are paved with the furs of sea beasts, which are quite soft, and the ceiling has a seal that draws in sunlight, illuminating the room through a large pearl. Although it is only a rented cave dwelling, the furnishings are complete, not inferior to those of ordinary wealthy families in the Central Lands.

There is even a stone room set up as an alchemy chamber, with a red copper furnace inside, several baskets of silver-thread charcoal placed beside it, as well as a study, a medicinal herb garden, a meditation room, and a beast pen—the facilities are fully equipped.

Qian Chen nodded slightly and said, "Not bad, it didn't waste those two Three Mountains Talismans of mine."

Years ago in the Wuling market, one Three Mountains Talisman could be exchanged for a thousand letter talismans, enough to buy four bottles of Grain-Grain Bigu Pills most needed by Foundation Establishment cultivators. Now, Qian Chen only rented it for three years and had to spend such a 'huge sum.' It shows that no matter which world one is in, real estate is more reliable than industry!

This reef island rises ten zhang above the sea surface, and an open entrance has been excavated on the cliff facing east.

Standing in the hall, one can see wave after wave of sea water constantly crashing against the cliff below, creating white foam.

Looking into the distance, the line between sea and sky is magnificent. The deep blue sea is like a mirror, rippling only slightly, which broadens the mind and suddenly evokes a sense of heroism.

In such a scene, even Qian Chen, who has an entire blessed land as a cave dwelling in the Samsara Realm, could not help but exclaim, "This must be the sea-view luxury mansion of this world!"

"The scenery overseas is indeed different from the Central Lands. Thinking back to when I traveled to Hainan in my previous life, I couldn't afford a sea-view hotel either!"

He thought for a moment and suddenly sighed, "It's just that most cultivators in this world can't afford this kind of cave dwelling. Two Three Mountains Talismans for three years—if one wanted to buy it..."

Qian Chen calculated the price and sighed, "Except for daughters of financial magnates like Ning Ning Shimei Si, most Penetrating the Law cultivators would probably go bankrupt just trying to settle into such a cave dwelling. Among the rogue cultivators I've seen, probably only Daoist Zhen could afford it if he were ruthless enough to sell a few magic treasures."

"Even Ning Ning Shimei Ning couldn't afford it before!"

The spiritual energy in the Zhoushan Archipelago is not particularly abundant; it is only slightly better than on land because the sea spiritual energy is pure and the area is sparsely populated. However, it is far inferior to the manors, villas, or even the cave dwellings and spiritual peaks of the immortal sects that aristocratic families open up in spiritual mountains and blessed lands. Even though the sea merchant dredged the water veins and created a spiritual spring in the cave dwelling, it can only supply the cultivation of two or three Penetrating the Law cultivators at most.

A big consumer of Qi like Qian Chen could exhaust it in one go!

The reason the cave dwellings here can sell for such a 'huge sum' is entirely due to the prosperous maritime trade and the Flying Boat Sea Market nearby.

Therefore, most of the rogue cultivators who come here to reside and cultivate are not those who avoid the world to cultivate in seclusion. Instead, they either call upon friends to hunt sea demons, collect spiritual herbs from the sea, or even rob sea merchant fleets; or they possess a special skill, such as being a talisman master, alchemist, or artifact refiner.

Social interactions are very frequent. When Qian Chen settled the cave dwelling with the sea merchant, he revealed a bit of his skill.

However, it was not his signature alchemy skill. At Qian Chen's level of alchemy, he could refine top-grade spiritual pills for rogue cultivators just by pinching a handful of water! Even if he drank fake wine, he wouldn't be able to refine pills with less than eighty percent medicinal efficacy. Unless he deliberately ruined the pills, it would be too conspicuous.

Therefore, the identity Qian Chen disguised himself as is a rising profession in the overseas cultivation world—a Heavenly Heavenly Linggen Master!

The number of overseas cultivators is a hundred times greater than in the Central Lands. Although most are low-rank cultivators, this number is truly terrifying. If one counts the population overseas, which is slightly lower than in the Central Lands, the ratio is even a thousand times different.

In fact, the Central Lands are more outstanding in terms of talent and spiritual energy than overseas.

The reason for such a large difference, besides the fact that rogue cultivators in the Central Lands are suppressed by aristocratic families and immortal sects and constantly flee overseas, and that the class structure in the Central Lands is solidified, the cultivation world is intensely involutionary, and the path of cultivation has not been widely disseminated, is also because the overseas cultivation world has developed a path different from the Central Lands by now.

Overseas cultivators call it the 'New Method,' while Central Lands aristocratic family and immortal sect cultivators contemptuously call it the 'Clumsy Method' or 'Lower-Grade Method.' It does not require high cultivation aptitude and focuses on cultivating a single attribute.

From Qian Chen's perspective, if the ancient method practiced by Central Lands cultivators is the Yin-Yang Method, which emphasizes seeking the Dao through methods, where Yin and Yang are complete within one method and evolve into the Great Dao.

The New Method practiced by overseas cultivators is the Five Elements Method, which specializes in cultivating one element and seeking the Dao through techniques, paying more attention to the realm of cultivation than Central Lands cultivators!

Qian Chen killing a Yang Spirit with Penetrating the Law, and Wang Longxiang being able to fight a Yin Spirit with a Golden Core, is certainly because Qian Chen is essentially an Innate Spiritual Treasure and Wang Longxiang has a deep foundation, but it also has to do with the characteristic of the ancient method that only values Dao practice and not the realm.

After all, everything before the Nascent Soul is just a ladder to climb the Great Dao! As long as the Dao practice is sufficient, what is wrong with stepping from Foundation Establishment to Nascent Soul in one step?

However, the 'New Method' cannot!

Because it lowers the requirements for aptitude, one must take it one step at a time; a single wrong step is a chasm.

But because of this, one can push the tempering of temperament and Dao practice to the later stages. Before the Nascent Soul, as long as resources are sufficient, one can move forward slowly without needing too much insight into the Great Dao.

The Heavenly Heavenly Linggen Master is a profession that appeared after the rise of the 'New Method.'

Unlike alchemists and talisman masters who gain insight into the Great Dao and use external paths to reach the Great Dao, this method is not for seeking the Dao, but only for earning cultivation resources such as True Talismans, spiritual pills, and Origin Pearls.

Because the New Method only cultivates a single attribute, although the requirements for aptitude are low, there is still a threshold. Therefore, some cultivators take materials such as the meridians of sea demon clans and the roots of spiritual herbs, and transplant them into the human body, using the innate ability of demon clans, spiritual plants, and spiritual objects to breathe spiritual energy to help cultivators change their aptitude.

These transplanted meridians and organs are called 'Spiritual Roots'!

The ancient method is complete with Yin and Yang, and the requirements for aptitude are more complex. Transplanting bloodlines, organs, and meridians cannot replace the whole body!

But the New Method only cultivates a single attribute, so it can use transplanted external objects to take root and establish a foundation, and the requirements for aptitude are simpler than the ancient method.

Qian Chen looked at a Heavenly Heavenly Linggen Master classic he had bought and nodded slightly, "This method has quite a bit of ingenuity. Although there are not small hidden dangers, for cultivators with poor aptitude who use this method to enter Foundation Establishment, the benefits far outweigh the harms."

"After all, after Foundation Establishment, the requirements for aptitude will become lower and lower. As long as one takes it one step at a time, before the Nascent Soul, there are naturally various ways to make up for previous hidden dangers..."

"So overseas cultivators also divide spiritual roots into grades. Those with perfect fusion, pure attributes, and powerful spirituality are 'Heavenly Spiritual Roots'! Besides that, those with relatively perfect fusion and slightly mixed attributes are 'Earth Spiritual Roots,' and there are also distinctions of superior, middle, inferior, and miscellaneous spiritual roots..."

"The best spiritual roots are Heavenly Spiritual Roots with all five elements! Interesting..."

"There are even great cultivators who have cultivated to the Yang Spirit—uh! Overseas it's called the Division Spirit realm—who can perfectly pass on their fully fused spiritual roots to their descendants. Now, many overseas cultivator families have spiritual root inheritance!"

"Spiritual roots must be fused before Foundation Establishment..."

"No wonder it's not as profitable as alchemists and artifact refiners. After all, the resources of the world are still concentrated in the hands of high-rank cultivators. This kind of method, which is only useful for those below Foundation Establishment with poor aptitude, just earns some hard-earned money!"

Qian Chen glanced at it and understood the various methods of the Heavenly Heavenly Linggen Master. As long as there were materials, it was not impossible to customize a Heavenly Heavenly Heavenly Linggen on the spot, but unfortunately, he couldn't find anyone to practice on.

To say this method is profound, it may not have any mystery, but it is simple and easy to learn, which is consistent with the idea of the overseas New Method lowering the threshold for cultivation.

Qian Chen has many methods for those with poor aptitude to enter the Dao, and even the External Alchemy method of the Supreme Dao was created by the Dao Sect specifically for those with poor aptitude.

Even if the aptitude is like grass, wood, or stubborn stone, as long as the comprehension is sufficient, one can refine an external alchemy, possess the magic power of a Golden Core through the external alchemy, and then conversely establish a foundation for oneself. When one refines a first-rank external alchemy, it is not difficult to cultivate a first-rank Golden Core.

As for those with insufficient aptitude and poor comprehension, if they still lack great opportunities and great perseverance, the Dao Sect has never considered them.

From this point of view, the New Method is destined to prevail.

"Opening the door to cultivation for all living beings like this is a great merit, and also a great karma!" Qian Chen closed the book and sighed, "This grand wish is consistent with the Shangqing Dao lineage. I wonder if it is a path opened for all living beings by the seniors of the Shangqing Dao."

Qian Chen calculated with his fingers, "In three years, it will be the sixty-year market. By then, Senior Brother Yan and Ning Ning Shimei Ning will both come to the Flying Boat Sea Market to meet me. Before that, I will try to form a Golden Core to deal with the tribulation thirty years later!"

"If I don't form a Golden Core and achieve a Yang Spirit, I may not be able to deal with the Nascent Soul pursuit in the Samsara Realm."

Those who can cultivate to the Nascent Soul in the Samsara Realm are definitely not soft persimmons; they are much trickier than the Nascent Souls of the Earth Immortal Realm.

After thinking, Qian Chen waved his hand, released the three little demons—the Golden and Silver Boys and the Ear Dao God—and sent the Ear Dao God to inquire about news nearby, while the Golden and Silver Boys guarded the cave dwelling. At the same time, he spread out the Flying Cloud Cloak, which turned into a strictly regulated array, connecting with the cave dwelling's seals, protecting the entire reef island.

Gradually, a cloud and mist rose on the sea, covering the reef island, making it disappear from the sea surface.

Seeing this, the surrounding cultivators knew that the cultivator inside had closed the cave dwelling and did not welcome visitors...

Qian Chen came to the meditation room in the center of the cave dwelling and began to close his door to sort out his path to Golden Core formation. ===== CHAPTER 491 =====