Chapter 25: Qi sea
“The Primordial Yang Spiritual Root is also very popular among the Heavenly Spiritual Roots. After all, our school is full of virgins, and the Primordial Yang Spiritual Root can refine the primordial yang essence within a virgin’s body into magic power. Its effect on magic power growth is incredible.”
Zhao Tianxing said proudly, “This is especially true for our high school’s Primordial Yang Spiritual Root, which has been passed down for nearly twenty years. It has been handled by generations of upperclassmen and has absorbed the primordial yang essence of thousands of students, granting it even more profound qualities.”
Zhang Yu’s brow furrowed as he listened. This Primordial Yang Spiritual Root sounded rather sordid to him, and besides…
“Hasn’t everyone been sterilized? How can this virgin spiritual root still be used?”
“It’s the Primordial Yang Spiritual Root,” Zhao Tianxing explained. “The sterilization procedure only temporarily removes certain organs, but the primordial yang essence in our bodies still flows continuously from our kidneys; it just no longer stimulates our emotions or spirit.”
“Otherwise, how would it be possible for each graduating class to undergo restorative surgery and regain what they’ve lost?”
As they walked, Zhang Yu continued to ask, “Among the school’s Heavenly Spiritual Roots, are there any that are particularly helpful for magic power growth?”
Zhao Tianxing’s interest was piqued upon hearing this. Recalling Zhang Yu’s recent activities, he thought about how dedicated the other boy had been to increasing his magic power.
Could it be for the Magic Power Competition?
Zhao Tianxing thought for a moment and said, “There are many spiritual roots that can aid magic power growth. The most effective one at our school is probably the Qi sea Spiritual Root. It’s just rather expensive, but since you’re getting it as a free reward, the price doesn’t matter…”
The Qi sea Spiritual Root, nicknamed the ‘King of Phasing,’ had its greatest advantage in its vast coverage area. It could penetrate all kinds of walls, buildings, and even the earth itself to gather spiritual energy over a wide range, thereby increasing the efficiency of magic power refinement.
After listening to Zhao Tianxing’s description, Zhang Yu had already decided to try this Heavenly Spiritual Root.
Arriving at the spiritual root rental office beside the meditation rooms, Zhang Yu didn’t immediately state his purpose, instead picking up an informational brochure from the desk to look it over.
The administrator on duty was a female teacher with a baby face.
Seeing his hesitation, she seized the opportunity to ask, “Student, are you a member here? Do you have a spiritual root you’re familiar with?”
Zhang Yu answered without looking up, “I’m not, and I don’t.”
The administrator quickly pitched, “We’re running a promotion for new members: deposit ten thousand and get one thousand free. Would you like to try it?”
Zhang Yu said, “I’m here for the Heavenly Spiritual Root rental, my reward for achieving a 0% distraction rate. I’m only here for the reward and nothing else, so you don’t need to give me a sales pitch.”
The administrator gave a helpless smile and stepped back.
“Well then, student, let me know if you need anything.”
Hearing his words, she silently labeled Zhang Yu as stingy and lost all interest in making a sale.
Zhang Yu, however, didn’t care what she thought. He simply lowered his head, quickly scanning the brochure, and found that its contents matched what Zhao Tianxing had told him.
He then said to the administrator, “I’d like to rent the Qi sea Spiritual Root.”
“Scan your student card,” she said.
Zhang Yu took out his student card and handed it to her.
This Songyang High School student card was proof of his identity, the essential credential that allowed him to legally practice cultivation and access various related services on the Immortal Dao.
A moment later, the administrator returned with a jade box and presented it to him.
“The Qi sea Spiritual Root is inside. Go to meditation room number two, open the jade box, and consume the spiritual root.”
“Your rental period is one hour, which starts the moment you enter the room. If you go over by even one minute, you’ll be charged for a full hour, so keep an eye on the time…”
After reminding him of a few more details, the administrator urged Zhang Yu to go on in.
Zhao Tianxing, who had been waiting nearby, said, “Well, I’ll let you get to it, Zhang Yu. I should be going.”
Zhang Yu nodded to him. “Thanks.”
Watching Zhang Yu turn to leave, Zhao Tianxing replayed his expression and tone in his mind.
Our relationship should be a little closer now, right?
Meanwhile, inside meditation room number two.
The room was about twenty square meters. A meditation cushion sat in the center, and the surrounding walls were covered with a layer of soundproofing material, which in turn was covered with sprawling, distorted talismans of various sizes.
These talismans were said to accelerate the gathering of spiritual energy, which had some effect on improving the efficiency of one’s breathing exercises.
However, Zhang Yu only had one hour from the moment he stepped through the door, so he had no time to concern himself with the room’s decor. He sat directly on the cushion and opened the jade box.
Inside the palm-sized box lay a delicate, translucent crystal shimmering with a faint cyan light.
The crystal floated in the center of the box, encircled by swirling wisps of smoke-like motes of light.
This was the spiritual root he had rented: the Heavenly Spiritual Root known as the Qi sea.
Zhang Yu carefully picked up the Qi sea Spiritual Root. The moment it touched his lips, he felt a coolness in his throat as the Heavenly Spiritual Root flowed into his body like a ball of ice water, sinking into his lower abdomen and entering his dantian in a single breath.
Once inside his dantian, the Qi sea Spiritual Root seemed to sprout, extending crystal-like tendrils that took root in the surrounding magic power.
Zhang Yu understood that, just as the manual and the administrator had instructed, the Heavenly Spiritual Root had now been successfully planted in his dantian.
Now, all he had to do was perform his breathing exercises as usual, and the Heavenly Spiritual Root would naturally do its work.
With this in mind, Zhang Yu took a deep breath and began to circulate the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method.
Boom!
A great roar seemed to erupt within his mind.
Zhang Yu felt the surrounding spiritual energy swarm toward him, pouring into the Heavenly Spiritual Root inside his body.
Two times?
Three times?
So fast… It’s still increasing!
Feeling more and more spiritual energy flooding his body, Zhang Yu quickly centered his mind and operated his level-six Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method at full capacity.
As the circulation of magic power throughout his body accelerated, wisps of spiritual energy were refined into magic power.
His dantian, which had felt bloated from the initial surge of spiritual energy, returned to normal.
But as if sensing the speed of Zhang Yu’s refinement, the Qi sea Spiritual Root in his dantian pulsed once and again increased the rate at which it gathered spiritual energy.
This time, it wasn’t just the spiritual energy immediately around him that surged; even the spiritual energy from outside the room was drawn in.
The hallway… outside the window… the sky… even the ground beneath…
The Qi sea Spiritual Root matched the efficiency of Zhang Yu’s refinement, steadily increasing its gathering range until it finally stabilized at a fifty-meter radius.
He felt a massive tide of spiritual energy, like a great river, pouring ceaselessly into his body. It was then guided into his magic power circulation channels and, strand by strand, refined into his own power.
In that moment, Zhang Yu felt a thrill at the explosive growth of his magic power.
So this is the true efficiency of a level-six Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method?
Zhang Yu finally understood that during his normal breathing exercises, he had never come close to unleashing the true power of his level-six technique.
Now, with the aid of the Qi sea Spiritual Root, he was truly pushing the refinement efficiency of the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method to its absolute limit.
Not daring to waste a single second, Zhang Yu focused wholeheartedly on his breathing exercises, drawing in spiritual energy and refining his magic power.
Meanwhile, back in the rental office, the administrator who had assisted Zhang Yu looked at her computer screen in surprise.
“Hm? The spiritual energy concentration has dropped?”
The school’s meditation rooms were not merely quiet; they were also arrayed with spirit-gathering talismans that controlled the ambient spiritual energy concentration to enhance the effects of breathing exercises.
The administrator carefully examined the monitoring parameters and discovered a significant spiritual energy convergence centered on meditation room number two. It was drawing in so much of the surrounding spiritual energy that it was causing the concentration in the adjacent rooms to drop.
“Meditation room two… I remember that was the first-year student from just now, wasn’t it?”
“To think a first-year could achieve this level of spiritual energy convergence.”
The administrator was increasingly surprised. In her memory, only second-year students or higher could utilize the Qi sea Spiritual Root to such a degree.
“Zhang Yu, was it?”
Recalling the name and class the student had registered with, the administrator committed them to memory, completely reversing the “stingy” label she had mentally applied to him.
“To be this powerful as a first-year, he must have spent a fortune on his pursuit of the Immortal Dao.”
As she activated more spirit-gathering talismans to restore the spiritual energy concentration, the administrator thought to herself, I’ll get his contact information later. If I can convince him to sign up for a platinum membership, my sales quota for the next few months will be taken care of.
She decided not to tell anyone, intending to cultivate this promising client all by herself.
In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed.
Immersed in the thrill of the wildly surging spiritual energy, Zhang Yu’s magic power had risen from 9.4 to 9.5 without him even realizing it. This single hour was clearly equivalent to half a day of his usual ascetic training.
Just then, a woman’s voice came through the room’s intercom.
“Student Zhang Yu, your hour is almost up. Would you like to extend your time?”
For some reason, the administrator’s voice sounded much gentler to Zhang Yu.
Relishing the satisfying feeling of the spiritual energy surging while his Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method ran at full power, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but ask, “How much to extend?”
The administrator replied quickly, “The rental price for the Qi sea Spiritual Root is five thousand per hour. However, we have a special promotion today for new users. If you deposit one hundred thousand at once, you’ll not only get an extra ten thousand, but also a twelve percent discount on all rental fees.”
Zhang Yu sighed inwardly and slowly ceased his breathing exercises.
“I have other things to do today, so I won’t be extending.”
As he returned the spiritual root, Zhang Yu noticed the administrator was being exceptionally courteous, and he happened to have a few questions of his own.
With a reluctant glance at the Qi sea Spiritual Root as it was placed back into the jade box, Zhang Yu asked, “If this spiritual root were for sale, how much would it be?”
The administrator’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. “The price of a Qi sea Spiritual Root is sixty million.”
Zhang Yu inwardly drew a sharp breath, though his expression remained unchanged.
“That expensive?”
The administrator smiled. “It is. We don’t generally recommend buying one, in fact. Renting is far more cost-effective. After all, obtaining a Heavenly Spiritual Root so early in the Qi Refinement realm is quite extravagant. Most cultivators don’t even consider buying a spiritual root until after they’re accepted into a university.”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. He knew that the final hurdle in breaking through from the Qi Refinement realm to Foundation Establishment was to plant one’s own spiritual root, and that was indeed a concern for university-level cultivators.
Whether one implanted a Heavenly, Earthly, or Human-grade spiritual root, however, depended entirely on the cultivator’s financial resources.
As for the even higher-grade Divine and Immortal Spiritual Roots, one could only hope to be granted a transplant after joining a special government department or being accepted into a major sect.
A useful Heavenly Spiritual Root… is really… damn expensive.
He took one last, long look at the spiritual root as it was put away, thinking that one day, he would buy one for himself.
Before he left, the administrator took the initiative to exchange contact information with him, and it was only then that Zhang Yu learned her name was Wei Xin.
Wei Xin, for her part, silently changed the contact name for Zhang Yu in her list to “Zhang Yu (Prospective Platinum Member).”