In the blink of an eye, it was already dusk. Lu Qian asked Jiang Qingfeng to buy some items to conceal their appearances, such as a conical hat or face veil. Once prepared, they would change inns to stay in the center of the marketplace. After all, when they checked in, Jiang Qingfeng had brought Taotao and his unconscious self, attracting attention, so it was better to be cautious.
Meanwhile, Lu Qian took a Healing Elixir and sat cross-legged on the bed, channeling energy to regulate his breath, both healing and cultivating.
"Hidden Cloud Scripture" is the cultivation technique Lu Qian practiced, and it's also the inherited method of the Yunshan Sect Leader's branch. The technique is divided into ten levels, precisely from the first level of Qi Cultivation to Perfection. It's upright and stable, advancing step by step, making it excellent for solidifying the foundation.
Lu Qian calmed his mind, entered the "Void" state, and absorbed the surrounding Spiritual Qi, circulating it in the fifth level's route.
The Spiritual Qi in the air was rapidly absorbed through his acupuncture points, guided into the Dantian Spiritual Root.
The five-inch spiritual root, shimmering with white and black light, emitted radiance, absorbing Spiritual Qi, converting it to unstable Spiritual Power, which Lu Qian's Divine Sense guided through a circulation, transforming into pure Spiritual Power, stabilized in the Dantian by the spiritual root.
As it went back and forth, the dual-color spiritual root glowed even brighter.
Dantian cultivates the spiritual root, known as Qi Cultivation.
The spiritual root blooms into a Spirit Bud, known as Foundation Establishment.
The Spirit Bud forms a Spirit Fruit, and after tempering the Celestial Tribulation, it naturally becomes a Golden Core!
Golden Core, Golden Core!
My body and fate align with the heavens, but acquiring the Golden Core is to be free. Heavenly essence resides in the Jade Hall, the sacred fetus steps onto the cloud ladder!
A Golden Core Master, revered by so many, remains an unattainable dream for Lu Qian, who is currently at the fifth level of Qi Cultivation staging.
White represents the Metal Element, and black represents the Water Element. His dual-color spiritual root represents the gold and water dual attributes, absorbing relatively pure Spiritual Qi with minimal interference, leading to a faster cultivation speed.
People of the world are born with Spiritual Roots, and only one in ten thousand can become a cultivator.
Among cultivators, those with single-attribute spiritual roots are called Single Spiritual Root, and those with dual are Dual Spiritual Roots, and so forth.
The fewer the spirit root attributes, the purer the absorption of Spiritual Qi, and the faster the cultivation speed. Hence, a Single Spiritual Root is also known as a Celestial Spiritual Root, legendary for its rapid cultivation speed; among ten thousand cultivators, it's rare to find one.
The longer the spiritual root, the more robust, converting and storing more Spiritual Power.
The absolute geniuses have a spiritual root of six inches. A six-inch spiritual root can convert and store double the Spiritual Power of an ordinary three-inch spiritual root.
Lu Qian's spiritual root is five inches long, not the ultimate, but still quite rare.
At this moment, his heart and breath interdependent, he operated his Heart Method with full force. After an hour and nine circulations, he felt his Spiritual Power replenished. With the help of elixirs, his injuries lightened significantly, having little trouble walking, estimating another three to five days for full recovery.
Lu Qian opened his eyes to find twilight had set outside, and the marketplace was lit with lanterns.
Has Senior Sister returned?
With his Gold-Water Spiritual Root, relying on the sect's Spirit Vein, cultivating for another ten years might lead to Qi Cultivation Perfection. Senior Sister Qingfeng and Taotao, both with Three Spirit Roots, would need twenty to thirty years even with Spirit Veins.
Fortunately, everyone's aptitude wasn't poor. With Five Spirit Roots, known as Pseudo-Spiritual Roots, one could only reach Mid-Stage Qi Cultivation at most in their lifetime. Four Spirit Roots, or Residual Spiritual Roots, without chances, find it hard to break into Foundation Establishment.
Cultivation requires the right method, location, companion, and wealth. While the cultivation method isn't a concern for now, finding a treasure land with a Spirit Vein remains urgent.
But after the True Immortal Calamity, the Cultivation Realm developed for 20,000 years, and cultivators left no stone unturned across the realm, with various sects dividing every corner of the continent, making it extremely hard to find an unclaimed Spirit Vein.
What should I do?
As he pondered, there was a gentle knock on the door, and Jiang Qingfeng softly said, "Sect Leader, I'm back."
Lu Qian quickly got off the bed, opened the door, and welcomed Jiang Qingfeng inside. He earnestly said, "Senior Sister, you don't need to call me Sect Leader now. Firstly, there are just the three of us depending on each other; there's no need for such formality. Secondly, it's too conspicuous and could attract unwanted attention."
Jiang Qingfeng agreed with a nod and a smile. Suddenly, a ghastly ghost face popped out from behind Qingfeng with a shout, startling Lu Qian.
Before the ghost face could do anything further, Jiang Qingfeng smacked it on the forehead, exclaiming in annoyance, "Taotao!"
Having succeeded in her prank, Jiang Baitao pulled off the ghost mask, revealing a mischievous grin.
Lu Qian chuckled heartily, "Taotao, where did you get your mask?"
Taotao happily held up the mask, ready to boast, but Qingfeng pulled her back and took out several white items from her Storage Pouch, handing them to Lu Qian.
Lu Qian unfolded one with a flick of his hand. It was an extremely thin, soft, semi-transparent mask.
"A human skin mask?" Lu Qian exclaimed joyfully, "Where did you get this?"
Jiang Qingfeng laughed, "It seems like my junior brother is as inexperienced in venturing out as I am. These disguise tools are commonplace in this marketplace. I noticed that many loose cultivators here wear masks to conceal themselves."
Lu Qian nodded. He walked to a copper mirror, aligned his features, donned the human skin mask, smoothed any creases, tweaked the details a bit, and a strange face appeared in the mirror.
Originally in the prime of his youth, the mask transformed him into the appearance of a man in his thirties.
Jiang Qingfeng also put on a mask, instantly becoming an ordinary-looking girl-next-door.
Taotao, being too young, had no suitable mask, and though initially upset, Qingfeng placated her with the reasoning, "Adults wear big masks, and kids wear small ones," buying her several differently patterned toy masks, with the ghost face being her favorite.
These human skin masks weren't particularly realistic; upon closer inspection, the features appeared stiff and facial expressions odd, easily revealing that one is wearing a mask. However, with so many wearing masks in the marketplace, there was nothing unusual about them donning one.
After examining for a while, Lu Qian nodded with satisfaction. They packed their bags, returned the room key to the innkeeper, and headed out towards the center of the marketplace.
By then, the night was deep, shopfronts on both sides lit colorful lanterns, with their glow mingling with the moon and starlight, creating a hazy, dreamlike scene. The cobblestone streets were alive with small groups of people strolling together. A few small stalls on the roadside had their owners animatedly chatting with customers, excitedly gesturing with spittle flying.
Such a warm scene momentarily gave Lu Qian the illusion of being back in modern times, but then he noticed the wide robes and long sleeves of passersby, along with the faintly glowing magical artifacts at their waists, bringing his thoughts back to reality.
Baitao bounced happily, peeking curiously at each stall they passed, but was tightly held by Qingfeng, leading to the little girl pouting in dissatisfaction, vigorously shaking Qingfeng's arm.
Jiang Qingfeng, too busy to pacify her, asked Lu Qian, "Junior Brother, should we head straight to the inn at the center?"
Lu Qian chuckled, shaking his head, "No, let's go spend some money first."