Chapter 38

"Just as you said, most cultivators' spirit roots are the most common five-element spirit roots. A few may luckily condense variant spirit roots such as wind, ice, or lightning, but the proportion will not be too high. As for me, I have water, wood, and earth three-element spirit roots, but the grade of the spirit roots is low-grade, with nothing particularly outstanding."

"There aren't many things to pay attention to when condensing a spirit root. But as soon as you enter the third level of Qi Refinement, the spirit seed will automatically begin to transform into a spirit root, so it is best to prepare for condensing the spirit root when breaking through the bottleneck of the second level of Qi Refinement," Yin Linglong thought for a moment and replied.

"I know a little about variant spirit roots, but what is the spirit root grade?" Wang Yu scratched his head, recalled the content of Master Chongyun's notes, and was still somewhat puzzled.

"Spirit root grade is the classification of the spirit root's matching amplification for cultivation methods of the same attribute. There are four types: low-grade, mid-grade, top-grade, and supreme-grade. Most cultivators' spirit roots are mid-to-low grade, and only a very small number of people have top-grade ones. As for supreme-grade spirit roots, perhaps only one or two might appear among ten thousand cultivators."

"For spirit roots of the same attribute, the same cultivation method, and the same technique, the difficulty of cultivation and the power displayed by those with different grades of spirit roots are worlds apart."

"However, although the spirit root grade determines the upper limit of the cultivation method practiced, the number of spirit roots is also very important, as it determines the speed of a cultivator's cultivation."

"Generally speaking, the more spirit roots one has, the more mixed the heaven and earth Qi inhaled, and the slower the cultivation speed. The fewer spirit roots one has, the purer the heaven and earth Qi that can be inhaled, and the faster the cultivation speed."

"But just like spirit root grade, most people have four or five types of spirit roots, a small number have two or three, and only those favored by heaven will have the legendary single spirit root, which is the Heaven Spirit Root."

"The cultivation speed of a Heaven Spirit Root is said to be more than ten times that of a four or five spirit root cultivator."

"The cultivation speed of a three-spirit-root cultivator is already very fast among rogue cultivators. Only three or four out of a hundred rogue cultivators possess this kind of spirit root, and their cultivation speed is more than one or two times faster than other ordinary rogue cultivators, which is why I was able to cultivate to the fifth level of Qi Refinement at this age." Yin Linglong saw that Wang Yu really didn't seem to understand some common cultivation knowledge, so she simply said it all in one breath and was quite proud of her three-spirit-root status.

"Between spirit root grade and the number of spirit roots, which one is more important?" After listening, Wang Yu frowned.

"Naturally, the fewer spirit roots, and at the same time the higher the spirit root grade, the better."

"If you have to say which is more important, disciples with dual spirit roots can always appear one or two when major cultivation sects recruit disciples, but disciples with top-grade spirit roots often won't be encountered for twenty or thirty years."

"The minimum standard for those sects to recruit disciples is also three spirit roots or more, and one of the spirit roots must reach mid-grade. Of course, if you have dual spirit roots or variant spirit roots, you can also lower the standard appropriately," Yin Linglong hesitated for a moment before answering somewhat reluctantly.

"So that's it, Linglong, your spirit root grade is not enough, which is why you haven't joined those cultivation sects." Hearing this, Wang Yu was somewhat enlightened.

"Hmph, this young lady has always felt that the number of spirit roots should be valued more."

"No matter how high the spirit root grade is, when facing an opponent who is a major realm higher in cultivation, one will still be directly crushed. Even if you cultivate the cultivation method to be very strong, if you cannot reach perfection in cultivation and break through the bottleneck to the next level early, you will still fall early due to insufficient lifespan, and in the end, it will just be a pile of yellow earth." Yin Linglong seemed to have been poked in a sore spot, hummed, and became somewhat unhappy.

Wang Yu revealed a thoughtful expression and couldn't help but start guessing what kind of spirit root he would condense.

"Alright, let's not talk about this. Although Elder Cui was a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the past, he later fell in realm due to serious injuries and is now only a half-step Foundation Establishment, so he is likely not the opponent of the other three of the Four Fiends of Lanshan working together."

"Once these three succeed, they will definitely come back to look for Qiankunzi, use magical artifacts and secret techniques to search every area nearby, and the time left for us is not much," Yin Linglong remembered something, and her face became solemn.

"Linglong, you mean..." Wang Yu looked at the stunning woman.

"Of course, leave here as soon as possible, and the faster the better," Yin Linglong said decisively.

"You and I don't have enough magic power, we can't fly by controlling artifacts, and we don't have flying magical artifacts. If we just walk out like this, I'm afraid we won't get very far before we are caught up with," Wang Yu had obviously thought about this matter and shook his head repeatedly.

"Just walking on the road openly like this definitely won't work. But I have a treasure left by my ancestors that can completely cover our figures and aura for a certain period of time," Yin Linglong smiled confidently.

"With such a treasure, what are we waiting for!" Hearing this, Wang Yu was overjoyed and immediately stood up.

Several hours later.

A small light yellow wooden boat was moving silently forward in the center of the Chishui River. Wherever it passed, the wind was calm and the waves were still, and not a single splash of water could be seen.

At the bow of the boat, a man and a woman were standing side by side; they were Wang Yu and Yin Linglong.

At the stern of the boat, a small white tripod was placed, emitting a pale purple mist that did not disperse, covering the entire small boat.

Wang Yu was lowering his head, examining the wooden boat beneath him, and seemed very interested in the thick black nails scattered all over the bottom of the boat under his feet.

These black nails were very exquisite; regardless of their size, thickness, length, or the smoothness of their surfaces, they were all identical, and at a glance, it was clear they were definitely not handmade.

This made him unable to help but let his imagination run wild.

"This is just a standard self-propelled mechanical boat produced by the Tiangong Sect, not a magical artifact. What is there to study?" Seeing Wang Yu's obsessed expression, Yin Linglong said unpleasantly.

"I think it's very interesting. It doesn't have many spirit patterns inscribed, but it can make the boat move automatically just by relying on mechanisms and spirit stones. It's truly the first time I've seen it," Wang Yu replied without raising his head.

"Hmph, making a fuss over nothing. The Tiangong Sect is famous for its mechanical arts. This is just the most common series of standard products. After installing spirit stones, even ordinary mortals without magic power can use it. It's really too ordinary; almost all larger markets sell them," the stunning woman said dismissively.

And just at this moment, a sound of breaking through the air suddenly came from the sky behind them, and then a white light shot over from the horizon, reaching the high altitude nearby in the blink of an eye.

Wang Yu's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly focused his gaze.

He saw that in the white light, there was vaguely another rectangular iron boat, three or four zhang long, with distinct edges and corners on the surface, and an oval-shaped silver cylindrical component at the rear, from which a white glow several feet long was sprayed out.

The white light emitted a slight sharp sound, and after a sway, it shot directly over the heads of Wang Yu and the other, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared at the end of the sky on the other side.

Wang Yu watched this scene, his mouth opening wide, unable to close it for a while.