Chapter 127: The Earth Spirit Root Reaches Perfection, the Heaven-Evolving Earth Domain

The completion points for the Earth Spiritual Root scale were finally gathered.

Shen Lian slowly exhaled.

He did not rush to apply the enlightenment points. Drawing from his previous experience, he was now considering how to prepare himself so that he could linger in that marvelous scene for a longer duration.

The power of divine sense was paramount; during that brief moment last time, he had only caught a glimpse of a scene before feeling completely drained. However, his divine sense had not been very strong back then. Now, at two thousand zhang, it was over ten to twenty times what it had been.

After much deliberation, Shen Lian realized there was not much he could actually prepare. He possessed the formulas for pills that could restore divine sense, but lacked the necessary medicinal herbs.

Sigh... speechless.

The next morning, the door to the Peace Grocery Store opened.

Shen Lian stepped out slowly, locked the door behind him, and piloted a spirit boat toward the depths of the ocean.

As he left the city, several figures lurking outside quietly followed, pretending to be travelers heading in the same direction.

Such was the nature of the cultivation world.

However, after circling the sea for a while, those figures returned, cursing under their breaths.

"The person vanished."

"Are we really that terrifying?"

...

Shaking off a few small-fry was an easy task for Shen Lian. These individuals, who waited outside Cape Immortal City to prey on strangers, were backed by organizations and forces. Otherwise, they would never dare to act so brazenly. Fortunately, they were shrewd enough; as long as one paid a few spirit stones, they wouldn't resort to killing, much like highwaymen collecting tolls.

After leaving Cape Immortal City, Shen Lian headed south. Once he was a thousand miles away, he plunged into the water and veered toward the east.

Cape Immortal City was so prosperous that the surrounding waters were bustling with cultivators. It wasn't until two days later that he surfaced near an island inhabited by mortals.

"Go and scout the situation."

He released Da Hei, who quickly burrowed into the island to seek out its descendants.

While Da Hei investigated, Shen Lian began to inspect his cave dwelling. The entire perimeter was riddled with Black-Horned Ant nests, appearing indistinguishable from natural burrows. There were many such ant holes on the island, each of varying sizes. After a thorough inspection, Shen Lian chose one near the center of the island.

"Master, I have checked. Few cultivators appear on this island, and those who pass by usually fly overhead without stopping."

"Understood."

With a wave of his hand, spirit light flickered in his palm. Array disks quickly merged into the surrounding earth and stone. A flash of five-colored light vanished as the Small Five Elements Prohibition Array began to hum with activity. He then repeated this at two other locations on the island.

Returning to the main dwelling, he manifested the five-colored light in his palm and cast the Small Five Elements Mutual Generation Talisman Array into the foundation of each formation. Suddenly, the formations flickered with light, and their aura surged from the second-tier high-grade to the third-tier. If anyone were to come, they would be forced to choose between breaking one of the three formations.

"Go."

With the arrays set, Shen Lian flicked his fingers, dropping three jade talismans. As spirit light shimmered, the figures imprinted on the talismans came to life. After landing, they stiffened, moved their limbs, and began to hop around. Soon, the three figures grew more flexible, donning loose dharma robes, their auras stabilized at the Foundation Establishment level.

"Go."

The three figures swayed toward Shen Lian before burrowing into the earth. These were the new, magically modified version of the puppet jade talismans that Shen Lian had spent great effort to craft. Each could last for nearly a month without combat. If forced to fight, it depended on the intensity, usually lasting three to five days. Each puppet held a trace of his divine sense, acting like a simplified version of an external avatar. The flaw was significant: if one were destroyed, that trace of his divine sense would be severed, which could damage his own sea of consciousness. But for now, it was the best he could achieve.

Prepared, Shen Lian sat down to regulate his essence, energy, and spirit. Without external pills or artifacts, he had to rely on his own mental willpower.

He hoped he could hold on longer this time. At the very least, he wanted to see what else existed within that mysterious space-time. Furthermore, he had obtained the Fire Element divine ability instantly last time; he was eager to know how it had been channeled into his body.

Three days later, all preparations were complete. Shen Lian, refreshed and alert, had spirit light flickering in his eyes.

[Earth Spiritual Root: 69]

"Add, add, add."

"Hum—"

"Hey, hey..."

With a sound of surprise, before he could feel the mysterious fluctuations in his dantian, he found himself plunged into a slurry.

Mountain ranges rose from the ground, piercing the clouds. Or perhaps they were clouds; the sky above was a hazy yellow, and he couldn't tell where he was. Amidst the mountains, a giant peak of indescribable grandeur stood, connecting heaven and earth, supporting the hazy space-time. This mountain was heavy, ancient, and vast, bracing the firmament.

With every breath, the yellow hue of the mountains dimmed, giving birth to spots of green that rapidly spread across the space-time where the mountains resided. Hazy light shadows emerged from the greenery—some large, some small, some like towering mountains, others like three-foot-tall hunchbacks. Countless changes evolved with every breath.

Shen Lian was completely overwhelmed. He felt as if he were buried in a pit, with only his head exposed, watching the evolution of a world.

He felt sleepy. The shifting light shadows drained him with every breath.

One breath... two breaths... five breaths... nine breaths...

Finally, his eyelids grew heavy, his divine sense was completely depleted, and he uncontrollably sank into unconsciousness.

"Hoo..."

Back in the cave, Shen Lian jumped up as if pricked by a needle.

However, his divine sense was so exhausted that the shock caused him to suffer a passive shutdown, and he collapsed backward, sprawled out.

"Earth... sustains all living things..."

"It turned green..."

"The Heaven-Deriving Earth Domain, just as I thought, it traces back to the source."

"Perhaps one day I will know the origin of spiritual roots."

...

Seeing Shen Lian collapse, Da Hei crawled over to stand guard, pulling a Heaven-Deriving jade talisman from the collar around its neck. The master had said that even if he died, he wouldn't let the bad guys have it.

Two days later, Shen Lian awoke. He looked inward: the divine sense in his sea of consciousness was like a dried-up fish pond, having only regained one-tenth of its capacity.

[Fire Element Divine Ability: Heaven-Deriving Fire Domain]

[Earth Element Divine Ability: Heaven-Deriving Earth Domain]

As he spread his palms, five-element spirit power flowed from his meridians, manifesting as a five-colored spirit snake. In the blink of an eye, the fire and earth power within the snake surged, doubling its aura.

As the spirit power dissipated, Shen Lian fell back onto his cushion, his body glowing with a yellow light, merging seamlessly with the earth and stone beneath him.

"Earth movement is much faster than before."

"Right, the mountains turned green, full of vitality; this proves that my approach of using the Mutual Generation of Five Elements to raise the spiritual root scale is correct."

"According to the cycle of Mutual Generation, the next priority is to raise the Metal Spiritual Root."

"Hmm... if I complete all five elements, will there be a qualitative change?"

"Divine abilities... upon forming a Golden Core, a master can condense divine abilities onto it, allowing them to be unleashed instantly during combat like a trump card."

"Could it be that these two Heaven-Deriving divine abilities will only fully manifest once I reach the Golden Core stage?"

Holding a ball of earth, Shen Lian pondered. Previously, his use of the Heaven-Deriving Fire Domain was limited to channeling fire energy to reinforce spirit ink or remove tracking marks. It seemed the Heaven-Deriving Earth Domain was similar. He couldn't manifest the ability itself; he could only realize it through his own spirit power. Was his cultivation too low, or did these abilities, born from the source of spiritual roots, require the practitioner's mana to function?

After much thought, he reached no definitive conclusion. He would have to wait until he reached the Golden Core stage.

"I must be more respectful toward Golden Core masters in the future, lest I get wiped out by their great divine abilities."

"Once I form my Golden Core, I will first condense the Five Elements Movement into a divine ability. Being able to instantly teleport away would be wonderful."

A Golden Core cultivator could condense three great divine abilities—offense, defense, and protection were the most common. Sword cultivators, however, often condensed all three for slaughter. They were the most dangerous to provoke.

"Legend has it that in the ancient era, there was a great Five Elements divine ability called the Five-Colored Divine Light. I wonder if it can be cultivated."

...

"Thinking too much."

...

While Shen Lian was in secluded meditation, explosive news broke in Cape Immortal City. The Supreme Elder of the Profound Sea Sect, Master Fu Hai, had been dispatched to personally wipe out the Heaven-Supporting Alliance.

A Golden Core Grand Completion master—the only great cultivator in the entire Ten Thousand Star Sea with a chance at reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Yet, for two or three hundred years, Master Fu Hai had never taken that final step.

Inside Cape Immortal City, beneath a mountain shrouded in spirit light, a waterfall cascaded down, splashing like stardust. Below it sat a simple cave dwelling. In the pool outside, second-tier high-grade Luoshui Spirit Lotuses swayed. Beneath the leaves, golden-backed carp with whiskers and golden lines on their backs swam greedily for food. In the South Sea Region, a single one-foot-long Golden-Backed Heavenly Carp was worth tens of thousands of spirit stones. There were eight or nine in the pool.

A path paved with second-tier warm jade led through the pool into the reception room. It was furnished with cushions, screens, and curtains, and in the center hung a painting of the vast ocean and jagged rocks. This painting contained the artistic conception of water, a rare treasure for water-root cultivators worth at least three to five hundred thousand spirit stones. The entire dwelling appeared simple, but every material was extraordinary.

Lin Qianzong stood in the hall, looking slightly restrained, bowing with a jade box in his hands.

Soon, footsteps echoed from the corridor, and Master Hei Xuan, dressed in a black water-patterned robe, walked in.

"Inner sect disciple Lin Qianzong pays respects to the Elder."

"Qianzong, sit. No need for such formality here." Master Hei Xuan, with a firm face and vigorous spirit, looked at him with a smile.

Lin Qianzong sat on a cushion, feeling a refreshing spirit power course through him. A third-tier ice-wood cushion—even his own family wasn't this wealthy.

"Elder, I accidentally acquired a spiritual item recently. My eyes are untrained, so I brought it for you to identify."

Master Hei Xuan’s eyes lit up with interest. "Qianzong, you have good luck. Let me see what this item is."

Lin Qianzong handed over the jade box.

"Click."

When Master Hei Xuan opened it, green light poured out like a waterfall, turning even his black hair a shade of green.

"Long-Spring Longevity Bamboo!"

Seeing the contents, Master Hei Xuan’s eyes flashed with excitement. Excellent! This was the main ingredient for the third-tier Long-Spring Longevity Pill, which could grant a Golden Core master ten to twenty years of life, and thirty years to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if one had taken other longevity pills, the Long-Spring Longevity Pill would not trigger drug resistance.

Lin Qianzong had hit the nail on the head. Master Hei Xuan’s eyes flickered as he thought. He was over five hundred years old and stuck at the late Golden Core stage. At this rate, even if he reached the Grand Completion, he would only have one chance to attempt the Nascent Soul. A dozen more years of life meant a longer period of peak vitality, increasing his slim chance of success. Such a precious item was rare even in the sect. What was Lin Qianzong’s intention in offering this?

"Click."

The box closed. Master Hei Xuan smiled lightly. "A rare item indeed. I will need time to study it carefully."

"Then I shall trouble you, Elder." Lin Qianzong observed his expression and replied with a smile.

"Qianzong, how is your small business in the south going?" Having accepted the gift, Master Hei Xuan began to show concern for his junior.

"With your care, Elder, sales are quite good." Lin Qianzong spoke carefully. "With our sect stationed in the South Sea, the sea tribes dare not act recklessly. But I heard the Profound Sea Sect's Supreme Elder is coming out of seclusion. Once the so-called Heaven-Supporting Alliance leader is..."

Master Hei Xuan looked at him with an inscrutable smile, causing Lin Qianzong to lower his head.

"Qianzong, your ancestor and I have been friends for years. No need to be so restrained."

"Master Fu Hai of the Profound Sea Sect has been at the Golden Core Grand Completion for a long time." Master Hei Xuan changed the subject. "Sigh... in the entire South Sea Region, the sea tribes are restless, and only our Cloud-Above Sect's Ancestor Mo Long stands as a pillar of stability. It is truly difficult."

Hearing this, Lin Qianzong’s eyes lit up. It was done! The business could continue.

His goal today was to gauge Master Hei Xuan’s attitude. As an outer sect elder, Hei Xuan had deep connections and access to secret information. Everyone thought the conflict would end now that Fu Hai was involved. But he had just received a batch of resources from the sect, and he was collecting more from the black market in Cape Immortal City every month. Pills, talismans, and artifacts were all in high demand in the war-torn south. For years, the Profound Sea Sect had implemented a war merit system, rewarding cultivators with spirit stones and items. Cultivators used those stones to buy supplies. Such a profitable business, with such convenient conditions—it would be a shame to stop.

Having confirmed his suspicions through Hei Xuan, he realized his thoughts aligned with the unspoken will of the sect. It seemed the spirit stones would keep flowing.

"Qianzong, I haven't asked in a while, how is your business? Any real difficulties?"

Hearing this again, Lin Qianzong cursed inwardly. Could a Long-Spring Longevity Bamboo not satisfy your appetite?

Seeing Lin Qianzong silent, Master Hei Xuan’s smile remained. During his years in Cape Immortal City, the sect had tried to recall him, but he had refused. The reason was simple: this place was too lucrative. Too many people in the sect coveted this wealth. Cultivation required resources; without spirit stones, how could one advance? A Purple Star Extreme Pill to reach the Grand Completion cost millions of spirit stones. Nascent Soul pills were priceless. Spirit treasures, pills—everything required wealth. If he stayed as an inner sect elder, would spirit stones fall from the sky? How could he progress?

Suddenly, Lin Qianzong gritted his teeth. "Elder, I am just an errand runner. To be honest, this bamboo was sent by Senior Brother Yuan Feng."

"Junior Nephew Yuan Feng?" Master Hei Xuan’s eyebrows arched, then he laughed heartily. "I see. In that case, I won't ask further. It seems Junior Nephew Yuan Feng intends to compete for the position of True Disciple?"

The Cloud-Above Sect, a Nascent Soul sect, had nine True Disciple positions. Each True Disciple had to be at the Golden Core level, nurtured as a future Nascent Soul seed. Every Supreme Elder in their history had risen from the ranks of True Disciples. Master Hei Xuan understood now. If he were already a True Disciple, he wouldn't need to probe; he would already know the sect's will. But a disciple aspiring to that position, lacking status, would offer such a treasure to ensure his supply of spirit stones wasn't cut off. Without spirit stones, how could one compete?

After consideration, Hei Xuan decided to do this rising star a favor. As long as the war escalated, the spirit stones would keep coming.

...

Outside Cape Immortal City.

Shen Lian returned on his spirit boat. With his Earth Spiritual Root complete and the Heaven-Deriving Earth Domain derived, he could expand his talisman crafting beyond just the Fire element. Cape Immortal City was truly a paradise; in just over a year, he had earned over two hundred thousand spirit stones and purchased hundreds of spiritual items, including herbs, ores, and poisons. His plan to earn stones quietly while cultivating was going smoothly. Of course, cultivation was his primary profession; earning stones was just a side hustle.

...

Six months later.

In the second floor of the Peace Grocery Store, Shen Lian was busy packaging refined pills. Recently, the war in the center of the Ten Thousand Star Sea had intensified. Rumor had it that even the Profound Sea Sect's ultimate weapon, Master Fu Hai, had been deployed, yet the Heaven-Supporting Alliance had held their ground. It was said—just said, mind you—that as Master Fu Hai was about to crush the Alliance, a mysterious person appeared and repelled him. Some said this person was a helper hired by the Alliance. Others said Master Fu Hai was injured.

Master Fu Hai had taken a small step back, but it was a giant leap for the Profound Sea Sect. The Heaven-Supporting Alliance expanded, absorbing countless small forces, and one-third of the Profound Sea Sect’s territory now fell under their control. Since then, a fifth first-tier Golden Core force had emerged in the Ten Thousand Star Sea. It was also rumored that all major sects in the central region had been dragged into this conflict.

Shen Lian had no chance to verify if this was true. Regardless, his pills were selling better than ever, double the volume of the previous year and still rising. Any pill that appeared in the Ghost Market was bought up regardless of quality, tier, or type. His puppet talismans were busy every day, just changing identities and locations.

(End of chapter)