Chapter 444: Spirit Root Compendium

The Sea of Consciousness is the dwelling place of a cultivator's soul, the core of awareness, a place more profound and more private than the dantian.

Manifesting the Sea of Consciousness is far more difficult than manifesting spiritual roots or the dantian.

This is not only a test of control over the "Hand of Creation" technique but also an ultimate challenge to the caster's mental strength and divine sense intensity.

Although Hua Changxi had already cultivated her divine sense, she had not yet opened her Spiritual Platform or Sea of Consciousness, so her divine sense was not particularly strong. Therefore, she dared not rashly manifest others' Seas of Consciousness, afraid of sudden uncontrollable situations.

Upon learning that Hua Changxi could not yet display others' Seas of Consciousness, Tong Yao felt a bit regretful: "Next time you manifest someone's Sea of Consciousness, you must call me."

Hua Changxi: "Of course, I'm still counting on you to refine my lifebound artifact."

Tong Yao smiled: "Then I'll head back to the Artifact Saint Palace first. I'll find a way to refine the lifebound artifact you need as soon as possible."

Hua Changxi thanked him sincerely: "Many thanks! Come on, I'll see you out."

As soon as the two walked out of Qi Huang Hall No. 10, they noticed many covert probes.

Hua Changxi found this somewhat annoying.

Seeing this, Tong Yao smiled: "I thought you'd be used to it by now."

Hua Changxi hummed in query: "Used to what?"

Tong Yao said as they walked: "You're a high-profile figure in the Alchemy Saint Hall; attracting attention is inevitable."

Hua Changxi snorted: "I dislike this sneaky, underhanded way of prying. If they came out in the open to inquire, I might think a bit more highly of them."

Tong Yao also preferred to handle matters openly. Since it wasn't his place to comment on internal affairs of the Alchemy Saint Hall, he just smiled and quickly changed the subject.

After that, the two chatted and laughed all the way to the main gate of the Alchemy Saint Hall.

Hua Changxi watched Tong Yao leave, then returned to Qi Huang Hall No. 10. From a distance, she saw Gu Jinfan waiting at the hall's entrance.

Gu Jinfan: "I heard the specialized content of Qi Huang Hall No. 10 has been unlocked. May I enter and study?"

Hua Changxi looked at her: "Of course, you're the vice hall master." She paused, "Regarding affairs within Qi Huang Hall No. 10, I only handle matters related to medical skills. As for other matters, they're all up to you."

Seeing Hua Changxi fulfilling her previous promise so readily, Gu Jinfan's face lit up with joy. Smiling, she followed Hua Changxi into Qi Huang Hall No. 10, and along the way, she briefed Hua Changxi on what had happened in the Alchemy Saint Hall recently.

"The news that Qi Huang Hall No. 10 specializes in spiritual root matters has already spread throughout the Alchemy Saint Hall."

"Right now, the hall masters of Qi Huang Halls No. 11 to No. 18 are all experimenting in this direction, testing the specialized content of the halls they manage."

After hearing this, Hua Changxi gave an indifferent smile.

She didn't think the other hall masters could really unlock the content of Qi Huang Halls No. 11 to No. 18.

For one thing, most of the later hall masters didn't even possess Qi Huang Tokens; even if they did, judging by the "price" she paid to unlock Qi Huang Hall No. 10, unlocking the halls after No. 11 would definitely be even harder.

Moreover, the eighteen Qi Huang Halls, from No. 1 to No. 18, progressively tackle more advanced content.

Take herself for example: if she hadn't mastered the "Technique of Observation, Listening, Inquiry, and Palpation" taught in Qi Huang Hall No. 9 and cultivated the "Eye of Truth-Shattering," then when she performed the "Hand of Creation" to manifest spiritual roots, she would definitely have faced countless difficulties.

The other hall masters haven't even fully mastered or specialized in the knowledge of spiritual roots. How could they possibly delve deeper into the study of dantian, golden core, nascent soul, or even the Sea of Consciousness?

Gu Jinfan watched Hua Changxi's disdainful demeanor that seemed to look down on everyone else in the Alchemy Saint Hall. Instead of feeling annoyed or resistant, she surprisingly felt a hint of admiration.

In the past, she thought Hua Changxi's flamboyance was a bit overbearing, but now, having become allies, she had come to like that flamboyance, feeling a sense of honor in "standing with her."

The disciples of Danyuan Peak were the most "protective of their home" in the Alchemy Saint Hall. The sense of belonging and identity they displayed surprised all the various factions.

Previously, she had thought this situation was caused by Hua Changxi's willingness to invest the resources of Danyuan Peak into them.

But now, she felt that perhaps Hua Changxi herself was someone worth following for the disciples of Danyuan Peak.

After manifesting a hundred spiritual roots, the "sword" on the Qi Huang Token had become very lifelike and three-dimensional.

The range of the white radiance emitted by the "sword" could now cover several walls at once. Any stone wall illuminated by the sword's glow would reveal murals introducing spiritual roots.

Hua Changxi carefully studied the content on the murals. Only after reading the introductions and explanations of spiritual roots did she truly feel she had gained a comprehensive understanding of spiritual roots, no longer as superficial as before.

A spiritual root is the "Heaven-Earth Interface" that a cultivator builds upon their physical body, spanning between the dantian and the Sea of Consciousness.

The murals detailed the types of spiritual roots, their attributes, and the criteria for judging the purity of spiritual roots.

At the same time, the murals gave a clear definition: the emergence of spiritual roots marks the leap of life from "mortal fetus" to "spiritual body."

It not only allows cultivators to communicate with heaven and earth but also reshapes the underlying logic of life—the physical body becomes the "vessel" for the spiritual root, the dantian its "furnace," and the Sea of Consciousness its "divine court." The three work together to form the "Spiritual Body Life System."

All of these provide a more intuitive understanding of Spirit Roots.

Afterwards, the mural also listed various treatment methods and techniques categorized according to the type of Spirit Root damage.

"Jia Lu, have someone transcribe the content from the stone wall and compile a 'Spirit Root Illustrated Handbook' based on the Spirit Roots you've seen before."

After giving Jia Lu his task, Hua Changxi returned to Danyuan Peak. Because she lacked a Life Artifact, even though she could manifest the dantian, she couldn't remove the ghost qi from the Vermilion Bird Army's dantians. She could only suppress her anxiety and focus on refining fourth-grade pills to upgrade her alchemy grade.

[Fourth-Grade Alchemist (Upper-Grade Pill): Alchemy 101 Furnaces 101/1000]

"Peak Master."

A few days later, just as Hua Changxi finally managed to raise the quality of the fourth-grade pills she was refining to upper grade, Wan Feng suddenly arrived at the bamboo house.

"What is it?"

Wan Feng: "Just now, Steward Wen of Nine Streets Hall came to me, saying he wants to arrange for physicians from Nine Streets Hall to enter the No. 10 Qihuang Hall to study medical techniques related to Spirit Roots."

As if afraid Hua Changxi would disagree, Wan Feng quickly added: "Steward Wen said that Nine Streets Hall once came across a set of Life Artifacts and is willing to offer them to the Peak Master."

As he spoke, he quickly took out a white square tray.

Placed on the tray were nine transparent tools such as knives, needles, tweezers, and other silver instruments.

Hua Changxi's eyes brightened. She wanted to pick up the transparent knife from the tray, but found that she couldn't touch it. "Is this really a Life Artifact?"

Wan Feng had never even heard of Life Artifacts before this, so naturally he couldn't judge. He could only say, "That's what Steward Wen of Nine Streets Hall said."

Hua Changxi thought for a moment, then used the 'Creation Hand' divine ability. Subsequently, with the illusory 'Creation Hand', she picked up the instrument from the tray.

At this point, she could confirm that what the people from Nine Streets Hall had sent was indeed a set of Life Artifacts.

"Alright, I agree."

It was unknown how long she would have to wait for Tong Yao to forge the Life Artifact. Hua Changxi was still thinking about the Ghost Fire Well and wanted to resolve the matter of the Ghost Fire Well as soon as possible.

Because she didn't know how long it would take to occupy this blessed land of the Ghost Fire Well, she had to first heal the Vermilion Bird Army soldiers who had been corroded by ghost qi.