Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 38: Fire Spiritual Root

With his breakthrough in cultivation, Gu Mo's physique also underwent a thorough cleansing and refinement. Previously, he had been using a perfected-level Cleansing Technique to purify himself, which had already made his body stronger than the average cultivator. Now, with the breakthrough, his physique had been further enhanced.

"Still three times the norm."

Three hours passed, and the effects of the breakthrough-induced refinement faded. Gu Mo assessed his condition—after advancing to the second layer of Qi Refinement, his spiritual power and physique remained three times that of others at the same level. This meant that his current combat strength was at least equivalent to someone at the third layer of Qi Refinement.

Being three times stronger at the first layer and maintaining that ratio at the second layer didn't mean he hadn't improved. On the contrary, it demonstrated his ability to sustain this exceptional advantage, which was an impressive feat.

If there had been no improvement, then after reaching the second layer, his foundation from the first layer should have only given him double the spiritual power and physique of his peers. The fact that he maintained the threefold advantage, despite practicing a relatively ordinary Qi Gathering Technique, proved that his consistent use of perfected-level Cleansing Technique had significant benefits.

"I was a bit reckless just now."

Having successfully reached the second layer of Qi Refinement, Gu Mo stood up and stretched, feeling a slight tingling in his meridians. He reminded himself to be more cautious in the future.

After mastering Breath Concealment, he had chosen to directly open a minor circulation in one go. This allowed him to advance to the second layer in an extremely short period, but it also placed immense strain on his meridians.

Fortunately, due to the strengthening effects of the perfected-level Cleansing Technique, his meridians were far more robust than those of other cultivators. This allowed him to break through successfully. Had it been someone else, their meridians would likely have torn apart, causing spiritual power to rampage through their body and result in severe injuries.

Though his strong meridians prevented any major harm, the sudden surge of pressure did cause slight damage. However, this minor injury would heal quickly, so there was no need for concern.

After familiarizing himself with the power of his new realm, Gu Mo activated his Breath Concealment Technique. Instantly, his second-layer Qi Refinement aura receded, settling back to the first layer.

Despite waiting a long time before breaking through, for a mere labor disciple, his progress was still quite fast.

Gu Mo planned to reveal his advancement only after a small portion of his fellow labor disciples had also reached the second layer.

Why only a small portion and not most of them? Because not every labor disciple could break through within a few years. Many needed ten or even twenty years to reach the second layer.

If they were lucky enough to accumulate some cultivation resources, they might have a chance at reaching the third layer in their lifetime. However, that was already the limit for most labor disciples.

Spiritual root aptitude and cultivation resources were the greatest obstacles on their path. Only by obtaining fortuitous encounters could they hope to break through their limits and ascend to higher realms.

This was why so many cultivators were willing to risk their lives for opportunities. The leading cause of death among cultivators was, without a doubt, fighting over such encounters. Gu Mo's caution was precisely to conceal his own significant opportunity.

"To celebrate your master's breakthrough, I'll reward you with an extra portion of Solar Essence today."

Gu Mo's gaze fell on the koi fish in the water tank. At the moment, this fish was the only one he could share his joy with.

After days of feeding, nearly half of the koi's scales had turned golden. As the number of golden scales increased, Gu Mo noticed that the koi was becoming noticeably smarter—signs that it was evolving into a true spirit beast.

"Blub, blub!"

Seeing the two portions of Solar Essence in Gu Mo's hand, the koi happily smacked its lips and swallowed them. Satisfied, Gu Mo stepped out of his small hut.

"The yield is lower this time."

Looking at the matured Spirit Jade Rice in the field, Gu Mo sighed. During this planting season, he had been fully focused on comprehending Breath Concealment, causing him to neglect the management of his spirit field. As a result, minor pest infestations had not been dealt with in time, leading to reduced output.

Even so, he estimated that the final harvest would still be around 600 pounds. The illusion formation and pea shooters guarding the spirit field had blocked 80–90% of the pest and rodent damage. Despite the reduction, the loss wasn't significant.

If any other spirit farmer tried to replicate his methods, their yield would likely drop by 70–80%.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

With a few swift movements, Gu Mo harvested the Spirit Jade Rice. His cultivation breakthrough had significantly boosted his spiritual power, making spellcasting far smoother than before.

Once the harvesting was complete, Gu Mo stored ten Sunflowers, five Pea Shooters, and the koi fish into his Black Mist Space. Then, he mounted his crane and headed for the Spirit Plant Hall to register his yield.

---

Spirit Plant Hall

Zhao Qiancheng, who rarely appeared in public, was currently walking beside a young woman, his face adorned with an enthusiastic smile.

"Junior Sister Yuan, why have you only come to visit me now?"

"Senior Brother Zhao, I've been focused on my cultivation, so I only just found time to come see you."

Her tone was polite.

After all, although they addressed each other as senior and junior, this was only their second meeting. The first time had been months ago, during the initiation ceremony for inner disciples.

At Qinglu Sect, only inner disciples received a formal initiation ceremony—outer and labor disciples were not given such treatment.

As a deacon of the Spirit Plant Hall, Zhao Qiancheng enjoyed the same privileges as inner disciples, which was why he addressed them as junior or senior based on cultivation level.

As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Zhao normally wouldn't be so eager to please a newly admitted inner disciple. However, this particular disciple had an extremely rare Fire Spiritual Root.

Most cultivators had a balanced distribution of all five elements. However, a small fraction possessed a dominant attribute comprising over 50% of their total affinity. These individuals were classified as having an elemental spiritual root.

Moreover, elemental spiritual roots were ranked based on their percentage:

Low-grade (50%)

Mid-grade (60%)

High-grade (70%)

Top-grade (80%)

As for 90%, such cases were nearly nonexistent. Even if one were born, they wouldn't survive long—extreme elemental imbalance led to severe physiological issues. In the mortal world, such infants would die soon after birth.

Only those born into powerful immortal sects stood a chance at survival. Weaker cultivation families, even if they produced such a child, would be unable to protect them.

This was why the handful of legendary cultivators with pure single-element spiritual roots all came from top-tier sects.

At this moment, the young woman beside Zhao Qiancheng was a mid-grade Fire Spiritual Root cultivator.

Elemental spiritual roots were not necessarily superior to balanced ones in all aspects. In many cases, their overall cultivation speed was actually slower.

However, when practicing techniques and spells of their specific element, they possessed unparalleled advantages. For instance, this mid-grade Fire Spiritual Root girl could cultivate fire-element techniques at a speed rivaling that of high-grade spiritual roots.