Chapter 448: Chapter 446: Repairing Heaven’s Creation (Makeup Chapter 24)_1
"According to the intelligence gathered, there is a way in The Nine States to enhance a top-tier Spiritual Root to that of an Earth-grade level... but it’s very immature and the cost is too great, recently it’s just some data sealed away in a few high-end research institutions..."
"Next, we’ll try to obtain these research materials..."
"There’s also the Primordial Energy Particle Research... Heavenly Earth Primordial Energy, huh? This angle is quite innovative... Once successful, it would be of great assistance to my Transcendent God transformation. After all, in the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm, it is similarly affected by the contamination of ’Sky Demon Qi’..."
"Wait... If the research in The Nine States has come to a standstill in this area, could it be due to the lack of a crucial piece of research material—’Sky Demon Qi’?"
Fang Xi’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Considering the current power struggle among the human race, Demon Clan, and Monster Clan in the Earth Immortal Realm, ’Sky Demon Qi’ must also be a very important component of Heavenly Earth Primordial Energy!
But within The Nine States, there is only Immortal Origin Energy and True demon qi, and no ’Sky Demon Qi’!
Those Nascent Soul academicians could only painstakingly simulate and adjust the particle combinations one by one... just like the ancient alchemy, trying over and over by the method of exhaustion, which is extremely time-consuming.
If the parameters of ’Sky Demon Qi’ were to be obtained, research would inevitably make rapid progress!
"The problem is, I don’t have ’Sky Demon Qi’ either!"
Although Fang Xi has Land Mountain Turtle and Daqing, Xiao Qing under him, they only cultivate Demon Qi.
The difference between regular Demon Qi and ’Sky Demon Qi’ is like that between charcoal and diamonds.
Even for the Monster Clan, obtaining a strand of ’Sky Demon Qi’ would bring tremendous benefits and a rapid advancement in cultivation.
"The Heavenly Phoenix Clan should have ’Sky Demon Qi’ in their possession... It looks like in this battle of the South Wilderness, I have no choice but to take action personally, right? I must also try to exert a bit more effort... to seize the most purified ’Sky Demon Qi’!"
The Heterodox Nascent Soul now needs to continue cultivation in The Nine States and cannot afford to clone itself to go to the battlefield frontline.
Fortunately, with the Mountain Sea Pearl, moving the Demon Tree isn’t too much of an effort.
"It’s not easy to manage an identity well in The Nine States; is this identity too easily exposed?"
Fang Xi looked at the expressionless Zhang Huohua with some hesitation.
"However, this identity can utilize the resources of both the human race and Demon Clan, and even gain the Demon Skills from the ancient demon clan, which would help the Heterodox Nascent Soul take another step forward..."
"Moreover, as long as the killings are swift enough, no one will discover my identity as an infiltrator..."
After thinking it through, he nodded slightly to the Heterodox Nascent Soul.
The reintegrated Heterodox Nascent Soul formed a hand seal and returned to Zhang Huohua’s body, whose expression immediately became lively.
"Go!"
With a wave of Fang Xi’s sleeve, the Heterodox Nascent Soul returned to The Nine States.
He sat cross-legged and suddenly gave a bitter smile, "I have to craft another Soul Lamp again..."
The Heterodox Nascent Soul was preparing to take action, and eliminating the Dark Moon Sect in The Nine States would not be easy.
The most crucial thing was the need for an ’alibi’.
If a Soul Lamp were placed somewhere in The Nine States and the Treasures of All Heavens were used for precise transferal, it would be quite convenient.
"And this Spirit Root Optimizing Liquid needs to be thoroughly checked, after all, it’s a product handled by the Demon Path..."
Fang Xi looked down at the two vials of liquid, his eyes filled with an indescribable light...
...
Several months later.
In the Void Hall.
Zhong Hongyu was immersed in cultivation, sitting cross-legged with a mystical aura around her, and faint celestial music seemed to play, very mysterious.
This woman possessed a ’Void Spirit Root’, incredibly rare and scarce, and so were the cultivation texts suitable for it.
Despite Fang Xi having killed so many Nascent Souls and Core Formation Cultivators... in their Storage Bags, he astonishingly never found a single cultivation method suitable for a ’Void Spirit Root’.
There were, however, fragmented texts of the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages of ’Mixed Origin Skills’...
Alas, this cultivation method was very similar to ’Mysterious Sound Skills’, both being attribute-less skills—while the Mixed Origin Skills were slightly better, considering the losses involved in switching cultivation methods, Zhong Hongyu still gritted her teeth and chose to continue practicing the Ruan Family’s secret ’Mysterious Sound Skills’ from Peach Blossom Island!
After reaching Core Formation, it becomes even harder to change cultivation methods.
Unless she later found an apex cultivation method that perfectly fit the ’Void Spirit Root’, Zhong Hongyu would probably continue following the path of ’Mysterious Sound Skills’.
After all, while this method was not a top-tier one, it was still quite good among the upper-tier methods, and its sound wave attacks were extremely rare and hard to counter.
"Sigh..."
A long while later, after completing her practice, Zhong Hongyu gave a deep sigh, "After Core Formation, to advance even a small step is extremely difficult... Should I tell the young master that there’s no need to keep searching for subsequent methods? With my aptitude, to wish to advance to late-stage Core Formation in my lifetime is already highly difficult."
’Mysterious Sound Skills’, being an attribute-less method, could be practiced by any Spiritual Root, and initially, Ruan Xingling had regarded Zhong Hongyu as almost a disciple, imparting the full text, with sufficient techniques to practice up to the Perfect Core Formation.
If she did not aspire to condense a Nascent Soul in this lifetime, this method was already enough for many Core Formation Cultivators to practice.
Zhong Hongyu knew full well her own limitations; with her mid-grade Void Spirit Root, it was already cause for gratitude to have reached Foundation Establishment.
The fact that she could form a Core was entirely due to the young master’s full support, who even gave her the exquisite Core Formation Spiritual Objects ’Mysterious Water Crystal’ and ’Liuli Celestial Fire’ for refining the Golden Pill with water and fire.
Even then, she almost failed. It was by Fang Xi’s aid through a Secret Skill at the last moment of Core Formation that she avoided a bitter loss.
If these two Spiritual Objects were given to Taishu Hong or Zhang Zhusheng... perhaps they could have achieved the Grand Accomplishment of Golden Core right away, without having to miserably refine a third rank Inner Core and sever their own future prospects.
For many cultivators in the three realms, there’s not much difference between a Jia Dan and a Golden Core.
For Zhong Hongyu, this was even truer.
If she was not cultivating above a fourth rank Spiritual Vein, she wasn’t confident about advancing to the mid-stage of Core Formation—at that point, it was practically the same as a Jia Dan.
"Aptitude..."
Zhong Hongyu gave a bitter smile; the higher the cultivation, the clearer the limitations of innate talent became.
’I’ve heard from Master Ruan before that your Spiritual Root aptitude does not appear to be excellent...’
In her heart, a thought suddenly emerged, then she shook her head, forcing herself to forget it.
For Immortal Cultivators, the opportunities each had obtained were their greatest secrets.
Even beloved family and friends, or even Taoist Companions, would cause a fallout if they dared to pry.
Zhong Hongyu composed herself, shaking off the dejection from her slow Cultivation progress, and stepped out of her Dongfu.
Then, she saw a Voice Transmission Talisman buzzing around outside the door.
With a graceful hand, she grabbed the talisman, and a voice as smooth as jade flowed from it:
"Hong Yu, come to Evergreen Hall!"
...
"The young master has summoned me, but for what matter?" Zhong Hongyu was somewhat puzzled.
To her knowledge, the young master had always been dedicated to arduous Cultivation, both on Dragon Fish Island and Jade Island.
He would not summon people without a significant matter.
Upon arriving at Evergreen Hall, Zhong Hongyu saw Fang Xi standing under a Peach Blossom Tree with petals falling onto the youth’s shoulders.
The young man was like an orchid or a jade tree, occasionally sipping fairy wine from a yellow-skinned gourd, exuding a carefree and unrestrained demeanor.
"Greetings, young master!"
Overwhelmed by his imposing aura, Zhong Hongyu lost focus for a moment before hastily offering her respects.
"Enough... Hong Yu, would you like... to enhance your Spiritual Root?"
Fang Xi suddenly spoke, catching Zhong Hongyu off guard with his question.
"Spiritual Roots are determined by heaven. Can they really be enhanced?" she murmured.
"We Cultivators are born to seize the celestial mechanisms and defy the heavens... Naturally, Spiritual Roots can also be changed."
Fang Xi smiled and presented a jade bottle that he had tested multiple times to confirm its safety—it contained ’Spirit Root Optimizing Liquid’.
"This is the ’Heaven-Repairing Creation Liquid’ I’ve concocted, which can purify a Cultivator’s innate Spiritual Root... With your medium-grade Spiritual Root, should you receive its aid, you might well advance to high-grade."
"However, this spiritual liquid has only just been concocted, and I have yet to fully grasp its pill toxicity and medicinal properties... Do you dare to try it?"
...
Zhong Hongyu was profoundly shaken; the young master could actually concoct a pill that purified innate Spiritual Roots. If word got out, who knows what waves and covetous glances it would provoke.
But when she considered the strength of the Yuan Ying True Monarch, the young master, Zhong Hongyu was reassured.
Most Cultivators who were able to solidify a Nascent Soul had quite superior Spiritual Roots and didn’t need Heaven-Repairing Creation Liquid.
As for those Individual Cultivators with inferior aptitude, their realms were also uneven; even if they coveted it, what could they do? She could dismiss them with a wave of her hand...
Only the direct descendants of other Yuan Ying True Monarchs who might have subpar Spiritual Roots would have some demand, but that too could simply be traded.
Besides, she would never reveal this matter to others.
"Hong Yu... am willing to test the medicine for the young master!"
Zhong Hongyu bowed deeply.
"Good... Rest assured, I am ninety-nine percent confident in this medicine. Even if ineffective, it should not pose a significant problem,"
Fang Xi briefly smiled and said, "However, the effects of this medicine are a bit peculiar; it’s not taken orally..."
"If not orally, could it be that..." Zhong Hongyu, thinking of something, blushed slightly...
...
"What is this girl thinking?"
After giving Zhong Hongyu an injection, Fang Xi asked her to return and slowly refine the medicinal properties on her own. Watching her retreating figure, he stroked his chin.
In truth, he was already certain that the ’Spirit Root Optimizing Liquid’ posed no problems, and with the ’Indestructible Yi Wood’ Secret Skill, even poisons at the level found in the Cultivation World would hardly be deadly to him.
Should anything go awry during refinement, he could immediately use his skills to force the medicine out of his body.
So, there was little to worry about.
The reason he prepared two doses was just to be extra cautious.
Over the following months, Fang Xi closely monitored the changes in Zhong Hongyu’s body.
According to her description, ever since the injection of the ’Heaven-Repairing Creation Liquid,’ her efficiency in absorbing and transforming spiritual energy had been slowly improving.
After a hundred days, this increment gradually slowed to a halt, indicating that the medicinal properties had been exhausted and the enhancement had reached its limit.
Upon examination by Fang Xi himself, Zhong Hongyu’s Void Spirit Root had indeed barely reached the high-grade level!
Zhong Hongyu, struck by this unexpected boon, visited Evergreen Hall several times at night to thoroughly thank Fang Xi.
Of course, Fang Xi was more than welcoming...
When the Heterodox Nascent Soul returned once more, having extensively refreshed his knowledge of the Nine States’ pharmacology and pharmacokinetics, Fang Xi re-examined everything and finally began to confidently use the ’Spirit Root Optimizing Liquid,’ entering deep closed-door cultivation...
More than three months later.
In the closed-door cultivation room, Fang Xi silently cultivated, drawing in the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi, then suddenly opened his eyes, feeling deeply moved, "After so many years... has my Spiritual Root aptitude finally reached high-grade?"
He found his Wooden Spirit Root to not only be high-grade but also quite a good one within that category, even more astounding than the enhancement Zhong Hongyu experienced!
This must have been due to the role of the ’Yi Wood Magic Body,’ which provided a significant boost.