Chapter 6: The Hidden Root
After settling briefly, Lin Daofeng went straight to his assigned residence in the spiritual field. The room was simple—bed, table, meditation mat. Nothing special. But the quiet here felt different from the clan courtyard. Deeper. Cleaner. Even the air felt… alive.
He closed the door and sat down cross-legged without hesitation.
This time, he didn't start cultivating.
He focused on that strange feeling—the one he had sensed the moment he entered the field.
At first, nothing happened. Only the familiar flow of qi circulated through his meridians—steady, smooth, controlled.
"…Was it just my imagination?" he muttered.
But he didn't stop. He slowed his breathing, calmed his thoughts, and waited patiently.
Moments passed.
Then—
There.
A faint trace.
So subtle it almost slipped away again.
Daofeng's eyes sharpened instantly. "I caught it."
This time, he didn't let it go. His awareness moved inward, deeper than before—past the flow of qi, past the surface of his meridians… toward his spiritual roots.
And then—
He froze.
"…What is that?"
Wrapped around his spiritual roots… was a vine.
A faint, translucent vine. It looked fragile, almost unreal, as if it could disappear at any moment. Yet it remained, quietly coiling around his roots, unmoving but undeniably present.
For a brief second, Daofeng's heart skipped. Then it started beating faster.
"This… this wasn't here before."
He was certain.
His calm broke. Excitement surged.
"Is this… my cheat?"
A faint laugh almost escaped him. In his past life, he had read countless stories like this—hidden abilities, heaven-defying opportunities… and now it was happening to him.
"Don't rush… observe first," he muttered, forcing himself to stay focused, though his breathing had already quickened.
He looked closer.
The vine wasn't interfering with his qi. Instead—it was absorbing something.
Daofeng's expression changed. "…That's not qi."
It was something else. Finer. Thinner. Almost impossible to detect. His perception sharpened further—and then he realized—it was coming from outside, from the spiritual plants. A faint stream drifted through the air, so subtle that normal cultivators would never notice it. But the vine absorbed it steadily, continuously.
"…So that's why I felt that connection."
Even more shocking—part of that energy flowed back into his spiritual roots.
Daofeng's breath hitched. "It's strengthening my roots?!"
The effect was extremely small. Almost negligible. But real. And more importantly—it never stopped.
A grin slowly spread across his face. "This is… insane…"
Spiritual roots determined everything in cultivation—talent, speed, potential. And yet they were almost impossible to change.
"Even in the clan… no one has ever mentioned improving spiritual roots."
His expression slowly turned serious.
"This… shouldn't be possible."
He had heard elders speak before—spiritual roots were fixed at birth. At most, rare heavenly treasures could purify them slightly. But true improvement? Evolution? That belonged to legends.
"Heaven-defying…"
The words surfaced naturally.
And then—a chill ran down his spine.
His excitement didn't disappear, but it changed.
"If someone finds out… they won't protect me. They'll study me. Experiment on me. Break me apart if needed."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"To them… I wouldn't be a person anymore."
"A rat…"
He exhaled slowly, forcing his thoughts to settle.
"Then I just need to make sure no one ever finds out."
His expression steadied again. Careful. Hidden. Controlled.
That would be his path.
He focused again on the vine. "Let's understand it first." As his awareness deepened, a fragment of understanding surfaced—not learned, not remembered, but directly known. "This energy… is spiritual plant essence." Not qi, but something deeper. A fundamental layer of existence. "Every living being is formed from the essence of heaven and earth." The realization became clearer. Plants, beasts, humans—all were composed of this essence. Spiritual plants released a trace of it naturally. "This is the energy of creation." His heartbeat quickened. It wasn't just rare—it was everywhere, yet unreachable. "In the outside world, no one can access it." It existed in all things, but couldn't be absorbed. Not by cultivators, not by techniques. But spiritual plants released a tiny fraction—and the vine could absorb it. Daofeng's breathing grew heavier. "This… goes beyond cultivation." He tried to guide the vine again—nothing. It remained unaffected. He laughed softly. "Fine… grow on your own." A passive ability. Hidden. Silent. That was even better.
Then another change occurred. At the center of the vine, a faint light appeared. His focus snapped back instantly. "…What now?" The light slowly condensed, gathering the absorbed essence, refining it until a tiny droplet formed—clear, pure, floating silently.
The moment it appeared, understanding flooded his mind again. "This can accelerate growth." Not his cultivation directly—but life, plants, herbs, even evolution. His eyes widened. "This… is perfect." Everything aligned. Spiritual plants, essence, growth. He clenched his fist slightly. "With this, I can nurture plants faster… improve quality… maybe even evolve them." His thoughts raced. Resources, pills, cultivation—everything connected. "This isn't just an advantage… this is a path." He observed the droplet carefully. "…Only one." And from the process, it was slow to form. "Limited… for now." But that didn't reduce its value. It only made it more dangerous if exposed. Daofeng exhaled slowly. "This changes everything."
After a while, he opened his eyes and stepped outside. The spiritual field stretched before him, plants swaying gently. This time, they felt different—closer, connected, alive. He approached one plant and observed it. Its qi was slightly unstable. Before, he could only see it. Now, he could feel it—a deeper imbalance within its essence, like a faint distortion hidden beneath the surface.
"…So this is what Daoxin meant." A faint smile appeared. "Respond…"
He didn't act yet. His father's words echoed—don't rush. So he didn't. But inside, excitement burned steadily, stronger than before, no longer wild but controlled, like a flame that would not go out.
Deep within his spiritual roots, the vine remained silent, hidden, continuously absorbing, growing, waiting. The tiny droplet floated quietly at its core, holding a potential far greater than its size suggested.
And without anyone noticing, Lin Daofeng had stepped onto a path that should not exist—a path that, if revealed, would turn him from a cultivator into nothing more than a secret to be dissected.
But for now—
It belonged only to him.