"That's the first time I have ever been asked that question in my life."
"How do I explain this?"
Elder Meng was in deep thought for a moment. Then, suddenly, he began to speak with a stern voice once more.
"In simple terms, spirit roots are the innate talent and compatibility for one to begin cultivation. Think of it as the foundation of a cultivator's potential. In this world, spirit roots are measured by six elemental natures: water, air, fire, earth, thunder, and metal."
"In some rare cases, some may even have dark or light attributes, like Gu Changsheng. Also, spirit roots are graded by length, which can be as long as nine inches. The longer the spirit roots, the faster the cultivation potential. However, if you have too many spirit root elements, this could become a flaw, as you need to cultivate those elements to your innate cultivation Realm before progressing to another realm."
Jang Yue heard everything, but he understood nothing.
It didn't help him at all.
Then Jang Yue asked his last question.
"Where do spirit roots come from, Elder Meng?"
"Is it not obvious?"
Jang Yue shook his head at the Elder's retort.
"Spirit roots come from the Heavens and the Earth. It is the basic connection we mortals have with the heavens. Just to put it simply, if your connection is low, you won't cultivate fast enough, and some people are only connected to the earth, hence, those kinds of people don't awaken spirit roots."
"They're pills meant to strengthen your connection with the heavens. These pills are called spirit root pills. By taking them, you can awaken at least a two-inch spirit root of an Innate element. But some people seem to be immune to these pills."
This logic made sense, but it didn't create a path for Jang Yue to create blood roots.
Jang Yue walked into the spirit farm and began working hard with the old Elder. Then he forced himself to ask further questions.
"Elder, I read about spiritual beasts and demonic beasts in the manual you gave me, but what is really the difference between these two, apart from demonic energy? And how do they cultivate?"
Elder Meng chuckled. Truly, this was the first time he was being asked these questions, yet deep down, he understood them.
"Spiritual beasts are born from pure benevolent energy. They become stronger as they age. While demonic beasts, as you can guess, are born from violent demonic energy. Unlike spiritual beasts, which grow stronger with age, demonic beasts grow stronger by devouring another demonic beast…"
"Hmmm… as for how they can cultivate without waiting for age or eating cores," Elder Meng stopped what he was doing and glanced at the blue sky, its clouds drifting lazily above, then continued.
"I'm not quite sure of that myself. I think they all have innate cores and bloodlines, which allow them to absorb Qi freely according to their nature. What I do know is that they progress in Tiers of one to eight, just like we have realms one to eight…"
That was it, the answer Jang Yue was looking for. With this, he could find a way to create a blood root for himself.
However, the Elder concluded:
"This is just my speculation, child. Don't go about doing silly things. Here, help me with this foundation spirit plant. Hold it gently, otherwise the spiritual residue will escape."
Jang Yue held the spirit plant upward with gentle care. The old man used his Qi to cut its stem.
"Quickly, put it in the box."
Jang Yue gently dropped the plant in the box, then closed it with haste.
"That's a spirit plant holder. Putting a spirit plant in one of these is the safest choice. The spiritual residue can still remain intact even after thousands of years."
"It's precious," the Elder concluded.
Then the Elder asked:
"Yue, do you know why we're called demonic cultivators?"
Jang Yue replied in a gentle, respectful voice.
"Is it not because we are from the evil faction?"
Elder Meng laughed.
"That's one of the reasons, alright. But it doesn't mean we're evil. It's just one of the more efficient ways to eternal life. However, we're called demonic cultivators because the techniques we cultivate go beyond the normal standards of heaven."
"Righteous cultivators also defy heaven. However, our path is more brutal. We do not need things like love to hinder our progress. Our techniques are all based on devouring, illusions, and destruction. That's why we're demonic cultivators."
Jang Yue bowed and thanked the Elder.
Soon, other spirit farmers arrived, some mortals, others sect-out disciples, and finally disciples by trial.
They worked until afternoon. While working, Jang Yue was lost in thought.
"If demonic beasts all have cores and bloodlines that act as innate spirit roots, why don't I remove the core and use the blood to condense it into a blood root? Phew… it's more complicated than I thought."
But other problems came. He needed to kill a demonic beast with a different attribute. He also had to make sure they weren't too strong, if they were, he wouldn't be able to kill them. He also had to do this at night, especially when the full moon was out.
Yesterday's Hellhound he killed was pure luck. The Hellhound was a Tier 1 baby who had not absorbed any Core, and that was the only reason he won, or else he would have died.
***
Moments later, Jang Yue was sweeping the halls and the important parts of the sect with other disciples by trial.
Suddenly, Gu Changsheng walked in, his posture filled with confidence. This time, Jang Yue thought he was more powerful than before, and it was only three weeks before he went into seclusion.
Jang Yue wondered what length Gu Changsheng's spirit roots were.
"Oh! You're here. How's your cultivation journey going?"
Gu Changsheng said while walking closer. However, he didn't even wait for Jang Yue to respond. He added:
"I can see you're eating very well. There's some color in your pale face. Hehe, this is the power of spirit rice."
Jang Yue smiled in disbelief.
Only if he knew that it's the work of blood and not rice, he thought before finally responding. Since he knew Gu Changsheng's flaw of miscommunication and detachment, he didn't want to ask questions that would make him think too much.
"Heh! Changsheng, I'm lacking a breathing technique. Can you help me with one?"
"What happened to the Demon Library? Go get one yourself."
"My points aren't enough to purchase a technique," Jang Yue sighed. He had been thinking about going there too. But in the demonic library, two sect points could only buy thirty minutes of time. In thirty minutes, he wasn't sure he would get a great technique, because he would need to rush.
However, to purchase a technique, you actually needed ten sect points.
"You're hopeless," Changsheng said, removing a blue note from his spirit ring.
"This is an Azure Breathing Technique that I'm currently using. It's a divine technique and hard to master on the first try. Remember to return it to me when you've broken through bone tempering. I'm not giving it to you for free though, I'll get something from you later, only if you prove useful."
Jang Yue dropped his broom and rushed to collect it with haste.
"Thank you, man! You're the best," he said happily. He knew exactly how great divine techniques were.
As he had once read, techniques in this lower world were divided into: Spirit, Human, Earth, Sky, Divine, and Immortal.
And mastery of these techniques had four levels: Low, Medium, High, and Great Perfection…
With this, all Jang Yue needed was to form a blood root, and he could begin his path to immortality.
Jang Yue gave Gu Changsheng a happy stare, but he was sure he saw a smile—or was it just his imagination?
***
Time flew by. It was now night, the moment of truth had arrived.
Jang Yue had prepared himself to go to the outer sect mountains and search for a Tier 1 demonic beast. His goal now was to get at least six cores from six different beasts and form a nine-inch blood root to inject into himself.
But whether this would work or not, Jang Yue didn't know.
He still had to try. And maybe BA might show itself again, who knows.
He quickly wore his sect uniform, a simple white robe with a red crest on the left chest, evident that he was a disciple by trial.
A two-edged sword rested well on his back.
Looking at the full moon, he clapped his hands and bowed.
"Dear Dracula, please protect me as I go on my hunt today."
With that, Jang Yue left his hut, his mission clear: to hunt several Tier 1 beasts.