Chapter 86: Subsequent Methods for Enhancing Spiritual Roots

Divinity is untouched by external things. Spirit enlightenment point +1.

...

The state of sitting in forgetfulness was elusive to Shen Lian; it felt profoundly mysterious. He sensed his mind was emptied, yet his thoughts continued to stir. The ethereal voice that signaled the increase of spirit enlightenment points echoed within his sea of consciousness. Though the sound was faint, it rang in his perception like a great bell, deafening and resounding.

Since the first spirit enlightenment point appeared, the voice sounded nine times in total. Then, it fell completely silent, and no further movement occurred.

Shen Lian awakened from the state of sitting in forgetfulness. Extending his spiritual sense, he found the cave outside shrouded in darkness; it was the deep quiet of night.

“Nine spirit enlightenment points.”

He quietly recalled the mystical state he’d just entered. Previously, after forging a gold-edged jade talisman, as long as he carefully nurtured it, advancement to the third rank of talisman-making was within reach. Then, even if he encountered a Golden Core cultivator, he would have means to counterattack.

His thoughts had further diverged, considering whether nurturing his second-rank low-grade spiritual ink with fire spiritual power could enhance the power of ordinary second-rank talismans. With these methods to ensure his safety and progress, his heart grew calm, and in that ease, he triggered the sitting in forgetfulness state.

Shen Lian remembered the first time spirit enlightenment points appeared—it was only after he found a turning point in the midst of a crisis.

“Nine spirit enlightenment points and then it stops. Does this mean the maximum number of spirit enlightenment points one can gain each day is nine?”

Recalling that he awoke after the nine mysterious sounds, Shen Lian formed a speculation. To verify this, he would have to wait until next time.

He did not dwell further on the matter. A sudden radiance flashed in his eyes.

[Shen Lian: Foundation Establishment, First Layer]
[Five Element Spiritual Roots: Fire 100, Earth 31, Metal 31, Water 31, Wood 31]
[Fire Technique: Heaven’s Evolution Fire Domain]
[Spiritual Sense: Six hundred and ten zhang]
[Pill Master: Second Rank Low Grade (1/20000) Cannot Break Through]
[Talisman Master: Second Rank Low Grade (1109/20000) Cannot Break Through]
——Expand——
[Comprehension Points: 14,112]
[Spirit Enlightenment Points: 9]

Nine spirit enlightenment points.

This was the first time he had gained so many at once.

Additionally, his talisman-making experience had increased by over a thousand, not through spending comprehension points but as a bonus from crafting the jade talisman. This was confirmed when he previously crossed ranks to craft a second-rank low-grade talisman.

“It seems that the experience bonus isn’t just determined by the number of times one crosses ranks when making talismans—it also relates to the difficulty of the talisman crafted.”

Shen Lian speculated silently. If he continued to make jade talismans, perhaps he could advance to second-rank mid-grade talisman master without consuming comprehension points.

Those saved comprehension points could instead be used for early cultivation of puppetry and formations.

Looking at the nine spirit enlightenment points, Shen Lian once again fell into deep thought.

This time, should he improve the remaining four spiritual roots together?

Or, as before, focus on raising one to perfection in a single effort?

Advancing all together would keep fire spiritual power from dominating, allowing the five elements to circulate more steadily.

Focusing on one root might trigger the manifestation unique to perfecting a spiritual root, letting him awaken its divine ability earlier.

After much consideration, Shen Lian left the choice to his spiritual roots.

The five elements generate each other—fire produces earth, earth produces metal, metal produces water, water produces wood, wood produces fire. He decided to invest his spirit enlightenment points into his earth spiritual root.

If, during the process, the five element spiritual power remained stable, he would continue investing until he comprehended the great divine ability of the perfected earth root.

If any upheaval occurred, he would halt and distribute the points evenly among the other four roots, comprehending their divine abilities together.

Whichever path, he would win.

...

“Mm…”

An uncanny sensation rose from his dantian. Shen Lian instinctively pressed his hand a little below his abdomen.

This time he did not lie sprawled in a ‘great’ character, but sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, circulating Five Qi Returning to Origin technique. Spiritual power coursed through his body, converging again and again in his dantian sea.

Within the five-colored spiritual power, the earth element began to shimmer with a mysterious glow.

[Earth Spiritual Root Index: 35]
[Earth Spiritual Root Index: 36]
...
[Earth Spiritual Root Index: 40]

After Shen Lian had invested all nine spirit enlightenment points into his earth root, a streak of earth-yellow spiritual light emerged in his dantian sea.

Yet within the five-colored dantian sea, the gold-red hue still held dominance, and soon the earth-yellow light subsided into the spiritual power.

When his cultivation ended, Shen Lian sensed no disturbance in his spiritual power.

If perfecting the earth spiritual root led to the awakening of its divine ability, the power of his earth talismans would be greatly enhanced.

“Whew—”

He let out a long breath and rose to walk toward the cave’s entrance.

Soon, Shen Lian appeared outside a forest of towering reefs, where the waves ceaselessly battered the rocks.

Even mundane prisons sometimes let mortals out for fresh air; as a cultivator, he felt stifled after being cooped up in an underground cavern for too long.

This island was notorious for its fierce winds and turbulent waves—fishermen never came here.

In the distant thickets of rocks, Black-Horned Demon Ants scuttled back and forth.

Stretching further out, the nearby archipelago was dominated by these ants.

Aside from the necessary workers maintaining the ant colony, the rest of the Black-Horned Ants perched atop mountain peaks, nestled in crevices, or floated along the beaches...

Without exception, their black eyes, countless hexagonal compound lenses, reflected the sky and sea, scanning for any sign of movement.

The more demonized and powerful a Black-Horned Demon Ant, the greater the number of compound lenses in its eyes, allowing it to see farther.

Some served as lookouts, others as messengers. Around every lookout ant, one or more ant nests assisted.

At regular intervals, the lookouts would convey their observations to the messenger ants in their nests, using methods unique to the ant tribe.

The messengers would then report to higher-ranking Black-Horned Ants.

Each island was overseen by a demon ant of the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Refinement, commanding dozens of demonized ants.

The messenger ants’ reports were consolidated by the demonized ants and delivered to the island lord ant.

The island lord ant would then take out a messaging talisman and contact Big Black with a hiss.

If the distance was too great, intermediary demon ants would relay the message.

Outside the reef forest.

“Master, all is well!”

Big Black, bristling with messaging talismans, stood beside Shen Lian in a proud pose.

The talismans hanging from its body flashed incessantly, emitting hissing sounds.

Shen Lian paced along the reefs, fiddling with the Heaven’s Might Thunderfire Jade Talisman. He seemed to be surveying the vast ocean, but his mind was occupied with thoughts of cultivation.

Hearing Big Black’s words, he withdrew his distant gaze.

“Still stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refinement. Do you need your master to help you out?”

Big Black, initially so proud, instinctively retreated, his pincers waving nervously.

“Master, I’d like to try harder myself.”

“If you wait to work hard, Three Thousand’s strength will soon surpass yours.”

Seeing Big Black loaded down with messaging talismans, Shen Lian pulled him closer.

“Your bloodline is much weaker than Three Thousand’s. If you don’t break the shackles of your lineage, no amount of Spirit Beast Pills will help.”

He gently patted Big Black’s head and placed him on his shoulder.

Even without improving, Three Thousand’s bloodline had a decent chance of advancing to a second-rank demon beast.

Big Black...

Well, he had a chance too... except he was still stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refinement for now.

“In a few days, I’ll help you and Three Thousand awaken your bloodlines.”

Glancing at the jade talisman in his hand, Shen Lian sighed.

The one hundred thousand spirit stones spent on resources had really stretched things thin.

The upgraded gold-edged jade talisman could be directly merged into his body for nurturing, which would save some ordinary second-rank talismans.

Now, he needed a way to balance cultivation and nurturing the jade talisman without hindering either.

He also only had three pieces of Profound Spirit Jade Marrow left, now exhausted; he needed to find more.

Besides the jade talisman, he had to stock up on ordinary talisman materials. The kind of jade talisman that could unleash third-rank power was best acquired in quantity.

He was alone. Even if he relied on his own spiritual power to nurture jade talismans, he might only manage one or two at most.

To nurture a large number of jade talismans, he’d have to use ordinary second-rank talismans as energy feed.

After resting outside the reef forest for half a day, Shen Lian returned to his cave.

“It’s time to cultivate puppetry.”

By learning puppetry and crafting a puppet avatar for himself, he could remain hidden in the shadows, using the puppet as a stand-in to buy resources, accelerating the nurturing of jade talismans and the stockpiling for overwhelming attacks.