Yue Country, Dongning County, Great Green Mountain.
In the evening, the sun hadn't completely set, but the moon was already out.
On a cliff with an extremely wide view, Lu Chang'an sat on the edge of the cliff, with a yellowish-brown gourd beside his hand.
“Cultivating Immortality is indeed Heaven-Defying; only a lucky chosen one can achieve eternal Immortal Dao. As for me, although I am a Transmigrator, I am not a chosen one.”
Lu Chang'an picked up the gourd and took a sip of spiritual wine, then relaxed and lay on the stone cliff, with his hands behind his head, gazing at the bright moon and falling into reminiscence.
Eighteen years ago, he Transmigrated into this world as a fetus and was named Lu Chang'an.
Not long after his Transmigration, while still an infant, Lu Chang'an discovered that this world was not an ordinary ancient world, but rather a Cultivation world like those in web novels—one could Cultivate Immortality!
But not everyone could Cultivate Immortality!
The only factor determining whether a Mortal could Cultivate Immortality was whether they possessed a Spiritual Root within their body!
Lu Chang'an was unsure if he had a Spiritual Root.
But he could be certain that he possessed a peculiar bead that had Transmigrated with him!
This bead was hidden in his Sea of Consciousness, and he could retrieve it with just a thought.
Unfortunately, Lu Chang'an could not figure out the mysterious properties of this bead, only being able to confirm that it was impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire.
Based on this, Lu Chang'an had a guess: this bead was related to Cultivators!
If he couldn't Cultivate Immortality, this bead would be of no use to him.
However, Cultivating Immortality required a Spiritual Root, and Lu Chang'an began to worry about whether he possessed one.
This anxiety continued until he was ten years old!
Heaven did not disappoint his heart that yearned to Cultivate; during the Family Spiritual Root detection, Lu Chang'an was found to possess a Spiritual Root!
In this world, Spiritual Roots have attributes such as Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice, Dark, Wind, and Lightning.
Lu Chang'an's Spiritual Root possessed five attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
Normally, the fewer the types of Spiritual Root attributes, the purer the Spiritual Root, the easier it is to sense the corresponding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and the faster the Cultivation speed.
Lu Chang'an's mixed Spiritual Root with five attributes had the slowest Cultivation speed and was called a miscellaneous Spiritual Root!
It was the worst grade of Spiritual Root!
However, Lu Chang'an's Spiritual Root was indeed poor, but the Lu Family he belonged to was just an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivation Family; as long as a Family member had a Spiritual Root, they would receive Cultivation!
Lu Chang'an was brought to Great Green Mountain, the gathering place for the Lu Family's Cultivators.
In this world, Cultivators must Cultivate in an environment with Spiritual Qi; these places are what Cultivators refer to as Spiritual Veins and Blessed Lands.
These good places were occupied by Sects, Cultivation Families, and powerful Yao Beasts.
It was precisely by occupying Great Green Mountain that the Lu Family had been passed down for three hundred years to this day, now boasting thirteen Cultivators.
Lu Chang'an received Family Cultivation, and as soon as he embarked on the path of Cultivation, he began to study the mysterious bead.
He discovered that the bead could absorb Spiritual Qi.
But it only absorbed Spiritual Qi!
The bead was like a bottomless pit; all the Spiritual Qi Lu Chang'an transferred to it was accepted without refusal.
However, once the Spiritual Qi was absorbed, the bead acted like a Pixiu, only taking in and never giving out!
Lu Chang'an realized he couldn't rely on the bead, so he began to Cultivate diligently.
In the first three years, Lu Chang'an's Cultivation progressed normally, and he broke through to Qi Refining Stage 3 in one go, reaching the peak of the early Qi Refining Stage.
However, from the age of thirteen to his current age of eighteen, a full five years, Lu Chang'an had not made any further progress!
It wasn't that Lu Chang'an wasn't diligent!
He was extremely diligent, Cultivating much more seriously than he studied in his previous life, dedicating at least six hours a day!
It was because Lu Chang'an's Five Spiritual Roots Aptitude was too poor, and his Cultivation speed was very slow.
Breaking through from Qi Refining Stage 3 to Qi Refining Stage 4 is a step from the early Qi Refining Stage to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, considered a small threshold in the Qi Refining realm; a Five Spiritual Roots Cultivator truly struggles to cross it without external aid.
“Alas, Cultivators with poor Spiritual Root Aptitude are truly miserable; they can't even Breakthrough to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining on their own.”
Lu Chang'an sighed, picked up the gourd, and took another sip of spiritual wine.
As things stood, he could only plan to use external aid to Breakthrough Qi Refining Stage 3.
According to his understanding over the years, there was a First-Order High Grade Medicinal Pill called a Qi Gathering Pill that could help Cultivators Breakthrough Qi Refining Stage 4.
Even a Qi Refining Stage 3 Cultivator with the worst Five Spiritual Roots Aptitude could easily Breakthrough to Qi Refining Stage 4 by taking a Qi Gathering Pill.
The effect was indeed Heaven-Defying.
But such a good item was expensive!
A Qi Gathering Pill cost one hundred Spirit Stones on the market!
Spirit Stones are a type of stone in the Cultivation world of this realm that contains a large amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and can be used to assist Cultivators in their Cultivation.
They are also the mainstream currency used by Cultivators in this realm for various transactions involving Cultivation resources.
One hundred Spirit Stones were too expensive for Lu Chang'an!
Because Cultivators like Lu Chang'an, who were at Qi Refining Stage 3, had very few ways to earn Spirit Stones.
Without taking risks, his income consisted only of Family stipends and Family missions, amounting to about ten Spirit Stones a year.
“All the stipends and mission rewards I've saved since my first year of Cultivation only amount to seventy-two Spirit Stones.”
“How am I going to get the remaining twenty-eight Spirit Stones? Save for another three years? But I'm already eighteen.”
Lu Chang'an felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
If he hadn't even entered Qi Refining Stage 4 by the time he was twenty, his Cultivation for this lifetime would be clear at a glance!
Because after the age of forty, a Qi Refining Cultivator's Qi and blood would begin to decline, and the difficulty of breaking through would increase with age, with the decline accelerating after seventy.
Typically, if a Qi Refining Cultivator failed to Foundation Establishment before the age of seventy, it would be impossible for him to Foundation Establishment in this lifetime.
“Who knows how much Spiritual Qi this broken bead needs to absorb before it undergoes a qualitative change? Can I even wait until that day?”
With a thought, a bead appeared in Lu Chang'an's hand.
The bead was the size of a peach pit, round, and had an icy smooth texture, yet its material was neither metal, jade, nor stone.
In fact, when he first discovered that the bead could absorb Spiritual Qi, Lu Chang'an had a guess.
The bead wouldn't exhibit any mysterious properties until it had absorbed enough Spiritual Qi.
Based on this guess, he would transfer some Spiritual Qi to the bead every day throughout these years.
“Alas, overthinking is useless. I should just go back and feed the bead obediently.”
Lu Chang'an cheered up, stored the bead in his Sea of Consciousness, and followed the mountain path back to his courtyard halfway up the mountain before the sun completely set.
Lu Chang'an returned to his room and, as usual, sat in meditation to Cultivate, circulating the Heavenly Cycle to refine Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and then transfer it into the bead.
Suddenly—
Lu Chang'an's Divine Sense felt a tremendous suction coming from the bead!
Lu Chang'an inwardly cried out in alarm and, with a thought, took the bead out of his Sea of Consciousness.
A bizarre thing happened.
Lu Chang'an himself was attracted by the bead, shrinking instantly and crashing into the bead's interior.