Chapter 48: Spiritual Roots

The obese man seemed to enjoy the awe-struck gazes surrounding him, saying with a beaming smile, "It's no trouble, no trouble at all..."

Led by Princess Dongyang, the obese man followed behind. Just as he was about to enter the rear hall, he suddenly stopped and turned around. His small eyes, squeezed into slits by his facial fat, swept over the crowd as he said indifferently, "Who is Qin Sang?"

In an instant, every gaze in the Pilgrimage Palace locked onto Qin Sang.

Princess Dongyang raised her eyes slightly.

Qin Sang had thought the young man surnamed Han had broken his appointment and was filled with disappointment. He hurriedly bowed in greeting, "Reporting to the Immortal, I am Qin Sang."

The young man sized Qin Sang up, gave an "hmph," and pointed a finger at him, saying, "Come find me after the enthronement ceremony is over."

With that, he turned and walked into the rear hall.

The great hall fell into dead silence.

Qin Sang could feel the shock and envy in those gazes, as well as the jealousy from the Prince Regent. Even King Dongyang, who was about to become the sovereign, was staring intently at Qin Sang.

Commander Mu leaned in and whispered, "The rumor that you saved an Immortal Master's life... it's actually true?"

Commander Feng knew a bit more clearly. "I remember, he seemed thinner than this one, right?"

Still immersed in joy, Qin Sang ignored the two men. Since the young man surnamed Han had not forgotten him and had specifically sent someone over, didn't that mean there was a high possibility he would grant his request?

After a moment of silence, the Master of the Pilgrimage Palace whispered a reminder to King Dongyang, "Your Majesty, the auspicious hour is nearly passing."

"Oh? Oh!"

The monarch and his officials finally snapped out of it. King Dongyang hurriedly held the jade seal, took a step forward, and carefully placed it between the jade registry and the jade scroll. The enthronement ceremony began.

The ceremony was elaborate and involved many rituals. Later, the procession moved outside the hall for the conferment of titles upon the officials. It lasted for nearly three hours. Fortunately, the mountain wind was not strong and the winter sun was warm, making it bearable.

Ultimately, King Dongyang ascended the throne as Emperor, establishing the era name "Wude."

Qin Sang was enfeoffed as the Auxiliary State General and Marquis of Jiangzhou.

Qin Sang accepted his title with a calm expression, waiting until the ceremony concluded. As the new Emperor led the officials down the mountain to return to the Jade Universe Palace, Qin Sang remained at the Pilgrimage Palace, led toward the rear hall by the Palace Master.

Princess Dongyang—who should now be called the Grand Princess—was nowhere to be seen.

In the great hall, only the obese young man remained. He sat in a grand armchair with his eyes tightly shut, motionless. He appeared to be sleeping, but in reality, he was cultivating.

As soon as they entered the hall, the obese young man opened his eyes. He waved his hand to dismiss the Palace Master and said lazily to Qin Sang, "To make a long story short, Senior Brother Han asked me to tell you something. The path of immortality is difficult to seek. This is reflected not only in the countless dangers after becoming an immortal, but also in the fact that to practice cultivation, one must possess a spiritual root. Among mortals, those with spiritual roots are one in ten thousand. In other words, if you choose the path of cultivation, your chances are extremely slim. If you choose to remain in the secular world, the Pilgrimage Palace will protect your descendants for three generations so they may enjoy wealth and honor. The choice is yours."

Qin Sang was momentarily stunned; he hadn't realized that possessing a spiritual root was a requirement for cultivation.

Immediately after, he thought to himself that since he had already cultivated the *Netherworld Sutra* to the fifth level, he must possess a spiritual root, so there was nothing to worry about.

However, Qin Sang still asked a few more questions, "What exactly is a spiritual root?"

"How should I know what it is?"

The obese young man curled his lip, wondering why Senior Brother Han was so concerned with a mere mortal that he required such a detailed explanation. "Spiritual roots are categorized into the five elements: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, which correspond to the five elemental spiritual energies of heaven and earth. Only those with spiritual roots can comprehend the Heavenly Dao and cultivate spiritual energy and True Essence within their bodies. In short, without a spiritual root, you cannot even sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, let alone cultivate. Furthermore, just because you have a spiritual root doesn't mean our Han family will take you in. If you possessed a pure Heavenly Spiritual Root, forget the Han family—the great cultivation sects would be fighting to claim you. But if your spiritual roots are mixed—such as four or five elemental roots—and you cannot reach the Foundation Establishment stage by the time you die, even with Senior Brother Han's recommendation, it would be impossible to enter the Han family's inner sect."

Hearing this, Qin Sang, who had previously felt certain of his success, became anxious again. He asked several detailed questions, pestering the obese young man until the latter looked thoroughly impatient, before finally gaining a shallow understanding of cultivators.

It turned out that the realm after entering cultivation was called the Qi Refining Stage, which involved refining essence into qi, nourishing the primordial spirit, and transforming the physical body, allowing one to live several decades longer than a mortal.

There were thirteen levels in the Qi Refining Stage. Upon reaching the tenth level, one could prepare for Foundation Establishment.

Cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage possessed great combat power and were considered true cultivators in the cultivation world. Those unable to reach Foundation Establishment were of little use to a sect.

Whether one could reach Foundation Establishment depended on luck, but more importantly, it depended on talent—the spiritual root.

Those with single, double, or triple spiritual roots (True Spiritual Roots) had a good chance of reaching Foundation Establishment. However, those with four or five elemental roots (Pseudo-Spiritual Roots) had very slim hopes.

The obese young man explained clearly that those with spiritual roots were one in ten thousand, and True Spiritual Roots were even rarer; a single spiritual root was a once-in-several-decades occurrence, so Qin Sang should not harbor delusions.

If Qin Sang possessed a Pseudo-Spiritual Root, he could still join the Han family, but he could only be an ordinary person in the outer sect. Perhaps he would live a few years longer than a mortal and live without want, but it would be inferior to being a lord in the secular world with the protection of the Pilgrimage Palace to enjoy a lifetime of wealth.

But how could Qin Sang be willing to give up now?

Qin Sang did not know if the levels of the *Netherworld Sutra* corresponded one-to-one with the Qi Refining Stage. He had reached the fifth level in only five years; surely that speed wasn't slow?

Did this not mean his talent was not bad?

"Immortal, I have decided," Qin Sang said in a heavy voice. "Please test my spiritual root."

The obese young man had long been losing his patience with Qin Sang. Hearing this, he said huffily, "Do you think the path of immortality is that easy to seek? You're the type who won't turn back until you hit a wall. Hold out your hand."

Qin Sang nervously extended his hand, fearing that his talent was insufficient, and also fearing that the obese man would discover he possessed a demonic technique.

Unexpectedly, while Qin Sang was still inwardly worrying, he suddenly heard the obese man say coldly, "No spiritual root, no destiny for the immortal path. Fine, you may leave."

Qin Sang froze. He had thought testing a spiritual root required some sort of immortal method.

The obese man had merely placed his hand on Qin Sang's arm and immediately pulled it back, reaching the conclusion that Qin Sang had no spiritual root.

"Impossible!"

Qin Sang cried out in shock. Without a spiritual root, how could he cultivate the *Netherworld Sutra*, how could he cultivate spiritual energy, and how could he command the Purple Soul Bell and the Ice Silkworm Treasure Armor?

"How is it impossible?"

The obese young man barked angrily, "I warned you long ago! Those with spiritual roots are one in ten thousand in this world, and even among cultivation families, they are a tiny minority. If you have no spiritual root, you have no spiritual root. Stop being so unreasonable!"

Qin Sang's eyes turned cold. He didn't know how he had offended this Immortal; the man seemed to find him quite disagreeable.

Seeing the obese young man turn to walk out the door, Qin Sang quickly darted forward to block the entrance. "I want to see Immortal Han!"