"Um... this is common knowledge where we're from. While a single spiritual root allows for faster cultivation in the early stages, it presents a significant hidden danger in the later stages. Of course, this danger isn't a problem for ordinary cultivators, as the vast majority don't even reach that point. That is, those with incomplete spiritual roots cannot advance to the Void Refinement Realm. It's just that others don't know this, but you, Senior, are already at the Nascent Soul stage, so why don't you know this common knowledge? Logically speaking, you should be trying to complete your missing spiritual root now. Otherwise, it's impossible to take the next step."
Xiang Zhili was completely bewildered, yet deeply shocked. He vaguely felt that what Lu Xuan said made a lot of sense. At his level of cultivation, that vague feeling wasn't just a sensation; it was a special kind of spiritual intuition. His spiritual intuition told him that this was extremely important and beneficial news for him.
Xiang Zhili was immediately excited. He had originally thought that after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, he would have nothing to do but aimlessly search for shortcuts to ascension. But now, he vaguely realized that he seemed to have something important to do. Although he didn't know what would happen if he replenished his spiritual root, a deep intuition told him that this matter was extremely important to him.
Xiang Zhili almost immediately turned around and left to go back and collect information on this topic, in order to begin preparing to complete his spiritual root.
Chapter 483 Exploiting Freebies
The meeting with Xiang Zhili was intentional on Lu Xuan's part. After all, as a Nascent Soul stage cultivator who was almost extinct in the mortal world, the other party's views and opinions basically represented the highest standard of cultivation in this world.
Xiang Zhili himself was equally astonished. He had never heard of replenishing one's spiritual root before. Due to the great war of the ancient times, most of the top cultivation secrets of this generation had been lost. What exists now are the summaries compiled by the cultivation world that rose to prominence in later generations.
Technology is always better the newer it is. However, for cultivators, while the latest techniques and supernatural abilities are exquisite, the truly top-tier techniques, abilities, and even magical treasures are still those from ancient times. This is because while the concepts have progressed, the environment of heaven and earth is constantly deteriorating. Therefore, many exquisite supernatural abilities are actually tricks and shortcuts used out of necessity.
Xiang Zhili's years of searching for ancient sites were essentially an attempt to uncover clues to secrets from ancient times, hoping to find a way to ascend to the Spirit Realm. However, ascending to the Spirit Realm is far more complex than that. In the original story, Xiang Zhili ultimately seems to have failed.
However, just as the two were talking, Lu Xuan's expression changed slightly, and he turned to glance at the stone palace not far away. Xiang Zhili naturally sensed it as well. The forbidden area they were in was actually not of a high level. The restrictions couldn't block Lu Xuan and Xiang Zhili's divine senses.
"Hehe, it seems that this young Han you've taken a liking to not only has amazing luck, but also top-notch luck with women. That little girl is exceptionally beautiful. But aren't you afraid that she'll get angry and, after waking up, grind Han to dust?"
"If that's the case, then it's his destined calamity. But I don't think it's that bad. Their fate is intertwined, and they are destined to have a love affair. It's just that the road ahead is full of hardships, so they can be considered a pair of star-crossed lovers."
"Fellow Daoist is also proficient in divination?" Xiang Zhili was genuinely surprised. Divination, for cultivators, neither enhances cultivation nor prolongs lifespan. Only a very few cultivators would study it. Crucially, using this technique usually comes at a price. This makes higher-level cultivators look down on it.
After all, most high-level cultivators understand that cultivating immortality is about defying the heavens. Divination, on the other hand, is about calculating the heavenly way. The two are fundamentally contradictory.
"I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I do have some knowledge of marriage and destiny."
This wasn't just idle talk. Although he was a player with cheat codes, Lu Xuan, having lived several lifetimes, did indeed understand some methods of divination and face reading. While he hadn't devoted much effort to studying it, he still had some basic knowledge. The facial features of Han Li and Nangong Wan did indeed suggest a karmic entanglement.
Inside the stone hall, Han Li, who had just finished dressing, stared blankly at Nangong Wan, whose face was frosty. Nangong Wan was also furious, and several times she tried to grind Han Li to dust. But for some reason, she eventually withdrew her supernatural powers.
Not far away, Xiang Zhili, who was watching all this with Lu Xuan, couldn't help but glance at Lu Xuan. He had actually been right.
"What, Fellow Daoist Xiang? Would you be interested in meeting these two?"
"...Very well, then I'll go and meet the person Fellow Daoist Lu values." As he spoke, a faint light flashed around Xiang Zhili, revealing that he had changed his clothes and appearance.
Lu Xuan smiled slightly, his expression also changing. The two of them flashed and appeared in the stone hall.
This scene startled Nangong Wan and Han Li, causing them to shudder. Both were utterly astonished by Lu Xuan and Han Li's silent appearance. This forbidden area was riddled with restrictions, and the stone hall could only be entered and exited via passageways. Yet these two had appeared directly using some kind of teleportation technique, which was truly astonishing.
Xiang Zhili looked Han Li up and down as if he were seeing him for the first time.
"Aside from his temperament, I still can't see what it is about this kid that you value. No, there's something different about him. This kid has probably taken countless pills, and the medicinal properties accumulated in his body far exceed normal levels. Ordinary cultivators don't receive this kind of treatment."
Xiang Zhili immediately saw through Han Li's unusual nature. This startled Han Li, who almost fled. However, remembering the supernatural abilities these two had displayed, he knew he had no power to resist and could only lower his head and play the ostrich.
Lu Xuan, watching from the side, found it amusing; he naturally knew. Old Demon Han was also a cheater, carrying a replica of the Heavenly Palm Bottle. But even a replica was an unimaginable treasure in the mortal realm. It was far superior to the ancient Heaven-Reaching Treasures. After all, the original of this thing was an ultimate treasure pointing directly to the Great Dao.
"This is his good fortune. With four spiritual roots, it would indeed be quite difficult for him to begin cultivating without any special opportunity."
Seeing the two talking as if no one else was around, Nangong Wan finally couldn't hold back any longer. As a Golden Core cultivator, Nangong Wan had naturally met Nascent Soul cultivators before. However, even those Nascent Soul seniors didn't exude the same oppressive aura as the two before her. But what angered her most was that these two were only talking about the silly boy next to them, without mentioning her at all. This made her extremely unhappy.
"Two seniors, what brings you here?" She didn't believe the two old monsters were just here for sightseeing. Although that was closer to the real answer.
"Hehe, just browsing around. I saw you two interesting little ones, so I thought I'd drop by."
At that moment, Lu Xuan suddenly made his move. With a wave of his right hand, Han Li felt his storage bag at his waist move. Something actually flew out on its own.
This move even drew a sidelong glance from Xiang Zhili. It's important to understand that while storage bags aren't completely isolated from the outside world—some secret techniques can directly expose them—it's incredibly difficult to influence the contents directly through a storage bag. Otherwise, controlling someone's storage bag with a single thought would make any magical duel pointless.
"These are just some minor tricks. These basic storage bags are extremely crudely made. The partitions and restrictions are not very strict, and if one's divine sense is strong enough, one can penetrate them from a distance. However, this trick is useless against slightly better storage bags. As long as the partitions and restrictions are tight enough, even the most powerful cultivator cannot directly manipulate the inside of the storage bag."
Aside from Xiang Zhili, the other two looked completely bewildered. Lu Xuan, however, had already obtained the item from Han Li. Han Li was also taken aback, because the item wasn't the small bottle he had imagined, but rather a golden page.
At this moment, Xiang Zhili also realized what was happening.
"Fellow Daoist has excellent eyesight; this item should be a relic of an ancient cultivator."
"That's right, if I'm not mistaken. This thing should be some kind of ancient cultivation technique."
As Lu Xuan spoke, a flame ignited in his right hand. The golden pages in his hand instantly melted. However, only the surface melted. The golden outer shell dissolved, revealing the silver true form within. It was indeed a silver page. However, it seemed to only contain a few rudimentary spells.
Chapter 484 The Most Useful Cultivation Technique
Lu Xuan naturally knew the secret of the silver pages. He brought two fingers together and channeled a burst of sword energy into them. Instantly, the silver pages flashed with dazzling light. At the same time, countless ancient characters, seemingly tangible, flew out from the pages, heading towards Lu Xuan's head.
However, Lu Xuan did not directly receive this information. Instead, he took out a jade talisman and sealed all the information inside. Only after the transmission was complete did he begin to view it.
As expected, the information on the silver page was exactly what Lu Xuan wanted: the Great Geng Sword Formation and the forging method of the Azure Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword. As for the other page, which recorded the complete version of the Azure Cloud Sword Manual, it should still be in the hands of Li Shutong in Yellow Maple Valley.
Lu Xuan glanced at it casually and then handed the jade talisman to Xiang Zhili. Xiang Zhili examined it curiously for a moment, then remarked with a touch of emotion.
"If I had possessed this supernatural power back then, I wouldn't have had to narrowly escape death several times. But unfortunately, it's probably impossible to master this sword formation technique in the mortal realm today."
The Great Geng Sword Formation is Han Laomo's trump card from his mid-stage cultivation. It requires seventy-two Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords to unleash. Moreover, these are flying swords forged from Golden Thunder God Bamboo and Geng Metal.
Both Golden Thunder Bamboo and Geng Metal are extremely rare materials in the mortal realm, some even unseen for many years. Forging one flying sword might be possible. Forging seventy-two, even Xiang Zhili thought it unlikely. However, Lu Xuan knew that this was nothing difficult for Han Li. After all, no matter how strong Xiang Zhili was, he was only at the level of a professional player. Lu Xuan and Han Li were players using cheat codes; they were on completely different levels.