Chapter 43: Forming The Heaven-Earth Root
The more Li Fan read the Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method’s descriptions of the immortal path, the more deeply unsettling he found them.
The stages before Golden Core seemed relatively normal—drawing upon the spirit of heaven and earth, borrowing the Curios of heaven and earth, peering into the laws of heaven and earth.
But after the Nascent Soul stage, the tone gradually shifted toward madness.
Seizing the essence of heaven and earth, extracting the marrow of heaven and earth, sacrificing the soul of heaven and earth... all the way to the final stage, defying the principles of heaven and earth.
Merely reading these lines was enough to make one’s heart pound with dread.
The Heavenly Dao stood above all, nurturing and giving life to all things. For cultivators to practice in this manner was no different from turning against heaven itself, an ultimate act of treachery.
What did this represent? Were cultivators truly unaware of the consequences?
Yet this method of cultivation offered progress far too rapid to ignore.
The text recorded that after the Immortal Venerable spread the teachings of this path, great numbers of ordinary mortals, who previously had no hope of cultivation, suddenly rose to prominence within decades.
Cultivators at the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and even Spirit Transformation realms emerged one after another like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
The cultivation world at that time flourished so brightly that Golden Core cultivators became as common as dirt, and Nascent Soul experts were barely more remarkable than stray dogs.
Faced with ordinary mortals effortlessly surpassing their own hard-won cultivation, how many of those who adhered to the ancient methodology could stay true to their path and resist trying the Immortal Venerable’s method?
And so, the ancient methodology gradually declined, replaced little by little by the new methodology.
A thousand years after the new methodology spread, the cultivation world reached the peak of its prosperity.
But alas, the principles of heaven were clear and manifest—what flourishes to extremes must eventually decay.
Countless cultivators greedily plundered the resources of the world like wolves and tigers, without the slightest restraint.
Not even the increasingly frequent heavenly tribulations could suppress the exploding numbers of cultivators.
And so, the day that the Heavenly Dao struck back finally arrived.
The Great Reformation began, and a great calamity descended.
From that day forward, the thriving cultivation world was struck by a devastating blow—each immortal technique could only be practiced exclusively by a single cultivator!
Cultivators fought endlessly amongst themselves, slaughtering each other for the slightest chance of survival.
For a long time, the cultivation world seemed withered and desolate.
It took thousands of years for it to recover.
The cultivators of the present age had grown accustomed to the hostility of heaven and earth.
Learning from past lessons, they established a new order of cultivation atop the ruins left behind by the great calamity.
***
After this introduction to the origins of the modern cultivation world, the book moved on to the practice method of the Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method.
If an ordinary person could not easily draw qi into their body even after dispelling their miasma, they could nurture their own five spirits and forcibly absorb spiritual qi from the world. After refining the qi, they could then break through to the Qi Refinement realm.
These five spirits referred to the five innate human emotions: greed, fear, rage, hatred, and self-absorption.
These five emotions lay hidden within the human heart, inexhaustible and self-renewing.
The Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method showed the way to use these five spirits as fuel to cultivate a Heaven-Earth Root within the dantian.
This root connected a cultivator’s dantian to heaven and earth. Once formed, the cultivator could use it to draw spiritual qi forcibly from the world and make it their own.
Compared to the ancient methods, which depended entirely on natural talent, the Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method emphasized stability.
Those with exceptional talent could develop their Heaven-Earth Root in a single day and night, setting foot on the path of cultivation.
But even those utterly lacking cultivation talent could, through daily effort, form their own root within ten years at most.
Having learned this method of drawing qi into his body, Li Fan began secluding himself at home, cultivating the Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method day after day.
Li Fan had already steeled himself for the possibility that his path to immortality would be far from smooth.
Yet even after three full years of daily effort, Li Fan still hadn’t succeeded in drawing in qi.
Li Fan was well aware of his own cultivation talent—average, not a genius, but certainly not poor either.
Something else was clearly behind his current predicament.
The Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra is truly a mixed blessing. Li Fan thought with some resignation.
The Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method used five specific emotions as fuel to catalyze the formation of the Heaven-Earth Root.
However, due to Li Fan’s practice of the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra, these five emotions only accumulated in minuscule amounts.
Even when he wasn’t actively operating the Heart Refinement Sutra, it functioned almost instinctively, spontaneously grinding down any negative thoughts in his mind.
It was like trying to run while carrying a heavy weight, resulting in his agonizingly slow progress.
Li Fan had also tried to draw qi into his body without relying on the Heaven-Earth Root, but he clearly lacked the natural talent of someone like Xiao Heng. The ambient spiritual qi outside his body seemed utterly indifferent to him, paying him no heed.
With no one to guide him, Li Fan had no idea how long it would take to draw in qi if he relied solely on trial and error.
Therefore, Li Fan decided to stick to the Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method to break through to the Qi Refinement realm. It was slow, but stable. And time was the one thing Li Fan did not lack.
At the beginning of these three years, He Zhenghao had occasionally sent people to inquire about Li Fan’s progress. But after Li Fan showed no advancement for a long time, the visits gradually ceased.
As for the Tianbao Pavilion, thanks to the presence of Li Fan and Xiao Heng, their operations on the surrounding islands had actually improved even though they had lost the backing of the Wanhua Trade Association.
No one wanted to offend a trading company potentially backed by an Immortal Master, so they avoided conflict with the Tianbao Pavilion whenever possible.
Consequently, over these three years, the Tianbao Pavilion had aggressively expanded its market share. It now emitted a vibrant atmosphere of flourishing prosperity.
Yin Yuzhen’s confidence grew immensely, and she was eager to make a move. Thus, she began sharpening her tools and preparing to return to Yelan Island to reclaim control of the Tianbao Pavilion’s headquarters.
***
Li Fan only paid occasional attention to these external matters. The vast majority of his energy was focused on nurturing his Heaven-Earth Root.
Unfortunately, this was a matter that simply couldn’t be rushed. Li Fan estimated that, barring any accidents, it would still take him about two more years to succeed.
Having been cooped up at home for so long, Li Fan eventually grew restless and decided to go out for a walk. Without alerting anyone, he changed his clothes, put on a felt hat, and went to the market on Liuli Island.
Compared to three years ago, the place seemed completely unchanged. The sounds of haggling, vendors hawking their wares, and playful banter rose and fell in a constant cacophony.
Here, Li Fan felt a long-absent sense of “human vibrancy.” Thoughts sprouted in his mind like parched seedlings finally receiving rain, emerging in great numbers.
In that single moment, progress on his Heaven-Earth Root advanced more than it had in three days of secluded, arduous cultivation at home.
Li Fan suddenly understood something: for most cultivators, seclusion and dedicated cultivation were necessary because ordinary people naturally had no shortage of the five emotions used as fuel.
But Li Fan’s situation was special. The Heart Refinement Sutra constantly operated in his mind, transforming these scattered thoughts into nourishment that strengthened him.
The Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method was clearly inferior to the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra; it didn’t stand a chance in the competition for fuel and could only scavenge the leftovers.
Li Fan couldn’t change this reality yet. To accelerate the formation of his Heaven-Earth Root, Li Fan needed to increase the number of distracting thoughts born within his mind each day.
Secluded meditation alone wouldn’t suffice; he had to immerse himself in the world’s affairs.
Understanding this truth sparked a surge of excitement within him. Perhaps he wouldn’t need another two full years to break through to the Qi Refinement realm after all.
“Elder Li?” A vaguely familiar voice called from behind him.
Li Fan turned, studying the man’s face for a moment before recognition dawned.
It was Zhang Haobo, captain of the Cangyuan.