Chapter 444: Catalogue of Spiritual Roots

The sea of consciousness is the dwelling place of a cultivator's divine soul, the core of awareness, a realm more mysterious and private than the dantian.

Manifesting the sea of consciousness is far more difficult than manifesting spiritual roots or the dantian.

This tests not only one's mastery of the 'Hand of Creation' divine ability but also pushes the practitioner's mental strength and divine sense to their absolute limits.

Although Hua Changxi had cultivated divine sense, she had not yet opened her spiritual platform and sea of consciousness; her divine sense was not particularly strong, so she dared not rashly manifest another person's sea of consciousness, fearing unpredictable and uncontrollable situations might arise.

Upon learning that Hua Changxi could not yet display another's sea of consciousness, Tong Yao expressed some regret: "Next time you manifest someone's sea of consciousness, you must call me."

Hua Changxi replied, "Of course; I am counting on you to refine my life-bound artifact."

Tong Yao smiled and said, "Then I shall return to the Artifact Sage Palace first; I will do my best to refine the life-bound artifact you need as soon as possible."

Hua Changxi thanked him sincerely: "Thank you! Come, I will see you out."

As soon as the two stepped out of Qihuang Hall No. 10, they sensed numerous subtle probes watching them.

Hua Changxi felt somewhat annoyed by this.

Seeing her reaction, Tong Yao smiled and said, "I thought you were used to it by now."

Hua Changxi uttered a questioning "Hmm?" and asked, "Used to what?"

Walking alongside her, Tong Yao explained, "You are a prominent figure in the Pill Sage Hall; attracting attention is inevitable."

Hua Changxi snorted, "I dislike this sneaky, furtive behavior of hiding and peeping from the shadows; if they came to investigate openly and honestly, I would hold them in higher regard."

Tong Yao also preferred handling matters openly; since he could not interfere much in the internal affairs of the Pill Sage Hall, he merely smiled and quickly changed the subject.

Afterwards, the two chatted and laughed as they walked to the main gate of the Pill Sage Hall.

After watching Tong Yao depart, Hua Changxi returned to Qihuang Hall No. 10; from a distance, she saw Gu Jinfan waiting at the hall's entrance.

Gu Jinfan asked, "I heard the specialized content of Qihuang Hall No. 10 has been unlocked; may I enter to study it?"

Hua Changxi looked at her and replied, "Certainly; you are the vice hall master." She paused briefly before adding, "Within Qihuang Hall No. 10, I only oversee medical matters; all other affairs are for you to decide."

Seeing Hua Changxi fulfill her previous promise so readily, Gu Jinfan's face lit up with joy; smiling, she followed Hua Changxi into Qihuang Hall No. 10, updating her on recent events within the Pill Sage Hall along the way.

"News that Qihuang Hall No. 10 specializes in spiritual roots has already spread throughout the Pill Sage Hall."

"Currently, the hall masters of Qihuang Halls No. 11 through No. 18 are experimenting with the specialized content of their respective halls based on this direction."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi smiled indifferently.

She did not believe the other hall masters could truly unlock the content for Qihuang Halls No. 11 through No. 18.

Leaving aside the fact that most of the subsequent hall masters lacked a Qihuang Token; even if they possessed one, judging by the 'price' she paid to unlock Qihuang Hall No. 10, unlocking the halls from No. 11 onward would surely be even more difficult.

Moreover, the eighteen Qihuang Halls, from No. 1 to No. 18, cover content that progresses layer by layer.

Just as with herself, had she not mastered the 'Observation, Listening, Questioning, and Pulse-Taking Technique' taught in Qihuang Hall No. 9 and perfected the 'Eye of Truth Piercing Illusion,' attempting to use the 'Hand of Creation' to manifest spiritual roots would have been fraught with difficulties.

Since the other hall masters had not even fully mastered or understood knowledge regarding spiritual roots, how could they possibly delve deeper into researching the dantian, golden core, nascent soul, or even the sea of consciousness?

Observing Hua Changxi's domineering attitude that seemed to look down on everyone else in the Pill Sage Hall, Gu Jinfan felt no annoyance or resistance; instead, a sense of admiration arose within her.

Previously, she had found Hua Changxi's boldness somewhat aggressive, but now, having joined the same camp, she found herself liking this boldness, feeling a sense of honor in 'standing alongside her.'

The disciples of Danyuan Peak were the most 'protective of their home' within the Pill Sage Hall; the sense of belonging and identity they displayed surprised various factions.

Before, she thought this situation resulted from Hua Changxi's willingness to invest Danyuan Peak's resources into them.

But now, she felt that perhaps Hua Changxi's very existence was, in itself, worthy of the Danyuan Peak disciples' following.

After manifesting a hundred spiritual roots, the 'sword' on the Qihuang Token had become very realistic and three-dimensional.

The range illuminated by the white light emanating from the 'sword' could now cover several walls simultaneously; wherever the sword's light shone upon the stone walls, murals introducing spiritual roots would appear.

Hua Changxi carefully studied the content of the murals; only after reading the introductions and explanations about spiritual roots did she truly feel she had gained a comprehensive understanding of them, rather than the superficial knowledge she possessed before.

Spiritual roots are the 'Heaven and Earth Interface' that cultivators establish based on their physical bodies, bridging the dantian and the sea of consciousness.

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

Furthermore, the murals provided a clear definition: the appearance of spiritual roots marks the transition of life from a 'mortal fetus' to a 'spiritual body.'

They not only allow cultivators to communicate with heaven and earth but also reshape the underlying logic of life—the physical body becomes the 'container' for the spiritual roots, the dantian serves as their 'furnace,' and the sea of consciousness acts as their 'divine court'; together, these three form the 'Spiritual Body Life System.'

All of this gave people a more intuitive understanding of spiritual roots.

Afterwards, the murals categorized and listed various treatment methods and techniques for damaged spiritual roots.

"Jia Lu, have someone transcribe the content from the stone walls and, based on the spiritual roots you have seen previously, compile a 'Catalogue of Spiritual Roots'."

After assigning the task to Jia Lu, Hua Changxi returned to Danyuan Peak; lacking a life-bound artifact, even though she could manifest the dantian, she could not clear the ghostly qi from the Zhu Que Army's dantians, so she suppressed her anxiety and focused on refining fourth-grade pills to upgrade her pill refining rank.

[Fourth-Grade Pill Refiner (Superior Quality Pills): Pills Refined 101 Furnaces 101/1000]

"Peak Master."

A few days later, just as Hua Changxi finally upgraded the quality of her refined fourth-grade pills to superior grade, Wan Feng suddenly arrived at the bamboo hut.

"What is it?"

Wan Feng reported, "Steward Wen from Nine Streets Hall just found me, saying he wishes to arrange for physicians from Nine Streets Hall to enter Qihuang Hall No. 10 to study medical techniques regarding spiritual roots."

As if fearing Hua Changxi might disagree, Wan Feng quickly added, "Steward Wen mentioned that Nine Streets Hall accidentally obtained a set of life-bound artifacts and is willing to present them to the Peak Master."

Speaking thus, he swiftly produced a white square tray.

Inside the tray lay nine transparent tools, including knives, needles, tweezers, and other silver instruments.

Hua Changxi's eyes brightened; she reached to take one of the transparent small knives from the tray, only to find she could not touch it: "Are these truly life-bound artifacts?"

Before this, Wan Feng had never even heard of life-bound artifacts, so he could not judge for himself and could only reply, "That is what Steward Wen from Nine Streets Hall said."

Hua Changxi thought for a moment, activated the 'Hand of Creation' divine ability, and then used her illusory 'Hand of Creation' to pick up the instruments from the tray.

At this point, she could confirm that the items sent by Nine Streets Hall were indeed a set of life-bound artifacts.

"Very well, I agree."

It was unknown how long Tong Yao would take to refine a life-bound artifact, and Hua Changxi was still concerned about the Ghost Fire Well, wishing to resolve that matter soon.

Since she did not know how long it would take to occupy the Ghost Fire Well, this blessed land of caves and heavens, she first had to heal the Zhu Que Army members who had been eroded by ghostly qi.