Chapter 112: Hollow Spirit Root

“Senior, please take your time!”

At the edge of the sea of clouds, He Pingsheng bowed respectfully toward the flying vessel that had already launched.

On the flying vessel sat three people.

Qiao Huizhu, Qiao Dao Gu, and a male disciple.

Qiao Dao Gu smiled warmly at He Pingsheng and said, “You’re already betrothed—why still call me Senior?”

Yu Ning pinched He Pingsheng’s arm hard.

He Pingsheng quickly corrected himself: “Auntie, take care on your way!”

“Good, good, good…” Qiao Dao Gu nodded with a laugh. “Young man, work hard in your cultivation!”

“Even though you and Huizhu are betrothed, if you can’t break through to the Golden Core realm in this lifetime, this engagement is nothing but a reflection in water or a flower in the mirror!”

“I shall remember, I shall remember!”

“We’re off!”

The old woman waved her hand, and the flying vessel beneath her rose automatically, slowly drifting toward the sea of clouds.

Qiao Dao Gu opposed the marriage between her niece Qiao Huizhu and He Pingsheng.

Not only did she oppose it—every senior of Tianfu Mountain opposed it.

Why?

Our family has such an outstanding disciple, a prodigy of Tianfu Mountain, even known as the Number One Beauty of the Daoxuan Alliance—why should she marry some obscure, ordinary little cultivator?

Worse still, this fellow is plain-looking and mediocre in talent.

But what can we do?

Who knew that when our niece broke through to Foundation Establishment, she encountered a heart demon?

Though He Pingsheng himself doesn’t care, his presence is a major issue for the niece’s heart demon.

The senior elders of Tianfu Mountain once considered killing He Pingsheng to completely eliminate the heart demon.

But they were afraid.

First, though He Pingsheng is insignificant, he is still a disciple of Grand Void Gate.

Casually offending a major sect brings no benefit.

Second, what if killing He Pingsheng makes the niece’s heart demon worse?

Who can guarantee that killing someone will remove a heart demon?

They dared not gamble.

So after several rounds of deliberation among Tianfu Mountain’s senior elders, they settled on this solution.

First, arrange the betrothal—but impose a condition he can never meet.

Golden Core?

Hehehe…

On the flying vessel, Qiao Dao Gu’s lips curled into a cold smile: someone who took three years to advance from Qi Refining seventh level to eighth—how could he even manage Foundation Establishment in this lifetime?

And to break through to Golden Core?

Forget it.

Let him die of old age naturally—then the niece’s emotional tribulation will pass.

It doesn’t matter.

It’s just a piece of paper, an engagement contract.

“After returning, can you now cultivate in peace?” Qiao Dao Gu asked Qiao Huizhu.

Qiao Huizhu nodded.

…

Xiuzhu Peak!

Yu Ning’s warmth instantly turned icy.

“Hmph…” she snorted.

Beside her, He Pingsheng asked, “Master, what’s wrong?”

Yu Ning said, “Old Nine… do you think they truly came for this betrothal?”

He Pingsheng looked confused: “Why… wouldn’t they be sincere?”

“You’re foolish!” Yu Ning jabbed He Pingsheng’s head hard with her finger. “If this were a real betrothal, why demand you reach Golden Core before marrying?”

“Isn’t this just playing you?”

“Do you think you’ll ever reach Golden Core in this lifetime?”

Golden Core…

It was a dream beyond reach for countless cultivators.

Most prodigies within sects couldn’t even enter Foundation Establishment.

Some barely made it to Foundation Establishment, only to vanish into obscurity, unable to advance a single level for decades.

To enter Foundation Establishment, you need talent.

But to reach Golden Core, you need talent, perseverance, luck, and opportunity.

One missing, and you’re done!

Otherwise, why does Grand Void Gate have thousands of inner disciples and tens of thousands of outer disciples, yet only a handful of Golden Core cultivators?

The difficulty is unimaginable.

“I think…” He Pingsheng scratched his head. “I probably can!”

“Huh…” Yu Ning laughed bitterly. “You’ve got some confidence, kid… fine, fine—you’re young, you don’t know how hard cultivation is!”

“Once you reach Foundation Establishment…”

Here, Yu Ning realized it wasn’t right for a master to burden a disciple with such thoughts, so she changed course: “I hope you can. I hope you ultimately win the beauty’s heart!”

“Thank you, Master!” He Pingsheng smiled brightly.

But in an instant, he asked seriously: “Master, I have a question—I beg you to enlighten me!”

Yu Ning said, “Go ahead.”

He Pingsheng asked: “Master, do you know what a Hollow Spirit Root is?”

Qiao Huizhu had said that Xiao Xuan of the Ice Pole Immortal Sect possessed a Hollow Spirit Root.

So He Pingsheng went back and looked it up in the [Miscellaneous Records of Cultivation].

He did find mention of a Hollow Spirit Root—but the description was extremely brief: just one sentence, saying it was exceedingly rare and highly malleable, a spirit root appearing once every ten thousand years.

Nothing more.

After reading that, He Pingsheng remained utterly confused, so he asked Yu Ning.

Yu Ning looked up and said, “Hollow Spirit Root? Why suddenly ask me about this?”

He Pingsheng said: “I heard the Ice Pole Immortal Sect has produced a Hollow Spirit Root!”

“Yes,” Yu Ning nodded. “I heard about it recently. They say he reached Qi Refining tenth level in just three years, starting from nothing.”

“But what exactly is a Hollow Spirit Root?”

“Let me put it this way!”

Yu Ning paused to organize her thoughts, then said: “‘Hollow’ means ‘empty.’ Under normal detection methods, a cultivator with a Hollow Spirit Root appears as a common mortal—no spirit root at all.”

“But they aren’t truly without a spirit root—they simply have one you cannot detect.”

“So this disciple of the Ice Pole Sect, at first everyone assumed he had no spirit root—he remained an ordinary mortal until he turned twenty.”

“Even he himself didn’t know he had a spirit root!”

“Then, at age twenty, he happened upon a cultivation scripture, tried it out, and discovered he could cultivate—he broke through to Qi Refining first level in half an hour. Only then did the Ice Pole Sect realize the truth!”

He Pingsheng nodded.

Qi Refining first level simply meant drawing spiritual energy into the body.

For a genius, that’s easy.

But half an hour? That’s too easy.

I spent days just finding the sensation of Qi.

“‘Hollow’ doesn’t mean truly empty!” Yu Ning continued. “It means formless and shapeless!”

“All formless, shapeless things share one trait: they can take any form.”

“Take the Hollow Spirit Root: when he cultivates a fire-affinity scripture, his spirit root becomes a single Fire Spirit Root; when he cultivates a wood-affinity scripture, it becomes a single Wood Spirit Root—and so on.”

“He can mimic every spirit root in the cultivation world.”

“And not just the Five Elements—any spirit root, whatsoever.”

“And when mimicking other spirit roots, his efficiency matches—or even exceeds—that of true single Fire or Wood Spirit Roots!”

Hiss… hiss… hiss… hiss…

Hearing Yu Ning’s explanation, He Pingsheng sucked in a sharp breath: This thing is insanely strong!