Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 45 Talent, Machine, and Spirit
The field was quiet.

The owner of the private residence stood with his hands behind his back, as if quietly waiting for Li Hou'er and Fang Shu to sort out what they had found.

Suddenly, after holding it in for a long time, Li Hou'er spoke up:
"May I ask, Master, is it possible that Junior Sister Qin Min is also unable to cultivate the Nine Disciplines of Immortal Arts?"

His words immediately attracted the attention of the others, and Qin Min, the person involved, had a slight change in expression.

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu glanced over and noticed that the woman's expression had darkened slightly. This immediately led him to suspect that she was also unable to access the Nine Disciplines of Immortal Learning ahead of time.

As expected, the owner of the private residence remained calm but nodded.

This response immediately left Li Hou'er speechless, and even Du Yu'er and the other disciples' eyes flickered.

One of the female disciples, named Fu Shi'er, couldn't help but whisper, "Junior Sister Qin Min possesses spiritual roots, unlike us. Why can't she access the Nine Disciplines of Immortal Studies?"

The owner of the independent building said peacefully:

"Indeed, Qin Min possesses spiritual roots, unlike you ordinary people. In cultivation, she not only absorbs spiritual energy more easily than others, but also finds it much easier to cultivate spells depending on one's physique. Spiritual roots can also make the cultivation of spells much more convenient."

However, no matter how wonderful one's spiritual root is, it still belongs to the category of innate talent and is not directly related to comprehension. For cultivating the nine disciplines of immortal arts, comprehension is far more important.

"Comprehension?!"

These two words reached Fang Shu and his group's ears, and everyone was pondering them, with several of them showing slightly somber expressions.

The owner of the private club continued:
"It is precisely because of understanding."

Keen observation, quick wit, exceptional memory, and extensive knowledge are all signs of comprehension. When applied to the study of immortality, this is most directly manifested in the study of 'secret texts'.

Fang Shu's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.

At this moment, Li Hou'er spoke again:
"Then may I ask, Master, which is more important, comprehension or spiritual root? Is it comprehension?"

The owner of the private club glanced at Li Hou'er and pondered for a moment:
"Hard to say.

Those who possess spiritual roots have a much higher success rate in breaking through barriers and overcoming tribulations than those who do not.

Among them, low-grade spiritual roots can be used for Qi refining, medium-grade spiritual roots can be used for foundation building, and high-grade spiritual roots can be used for core formation. The legendary spiritual roots of heaven and earth even have the potential to achieve the level of spirit refinement.

Those without spiritual roots may get stuck at the very beginning stages of learning the Dao, namely refining essence and refining qi.

In contrast, the higher one's comprehension and the more spells one cultivates, the more likely one's mind will become restless, wasting too much time on trivial matters outside of cultivation, thus hindering the accumulation of one's vital energy and leading to lifelong regret.

The owner of the private club shook his head and said:

"Perhaps it can be said that in the early stages of cultivation, spiritual roots are more important, while in the later stages, comprehension is more important."

Therefore, spiritual roots should be considered more important, since they relate to cultivation speed, the chance of breaking through cultivation barriers, and even... cough, in short, spiritual roots are more important to you.”

These words reached the ears of everyone, and they all seemed to understand what was going on.

Qin Min's complexion immediately recovered somewhat.

But suddenly, the owner of the guesthouse looked at everyone with a smile and said:
"I forgot to tell you that spiritual roots and comprehension are not contradictory. There are countless talents in the world, and many possess both, far more than you can imagine."

Of course, the most common type is one that has neither spiritual roots nor comprehension.

If you could possess a little more resilience and self-awareness than ordinary people, you could go further on the path to immortality. With some fortuitous encounters, you might even surpass those with exceptional spiritual roots and comprehension.

Her words served both as a warning and a reassurance to Qin Min and everyone else present.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master!" everyone bowed. "Alright!" Before anyone could ask any more questions, the headmaster shouted:

"Why ask such irrelevant questions? Do you still want to know what the shortcut to joining the Immortal Sect is?"

These words made Fang Shu and the others, who were still pondering, all look up sharply at the other person.

"Master, please tell me!" "I want to know, of course I want to know!"

The owner of the private club then faced the crowd and held up three fingers:
There are three shortcuts to joining the Immortal Sect, which are respectively called the Path of Man and Tool, the Path of Man Talent, and the Path of Man Spirit.

"Human tool, human talent, human spirit?" The crowd pondered these three terms, but none of them understood them or had even heard of them before.

"That's right, those are the three."

The owner of the private club spoke slowly and deliberately:
The so-called "human-tool" way is to use oneself as a tool, cultivate the spells passed down from the immortal sect, and refine the corresponding magic tool to perfection, so that it meets the needs of the immortal sect. At that time, one may be noticed by the immortal sect, stand out from the crowd, and be favored.

The so-called "path of talent" involves cultivating oneself using the techniques passed down from the Immortal Sect, refining a precious elixir of life that meets the sect's requirements, and those with the purest and most refined elixir will naturally stand out among those seeking immortality.

The old woman's words were truly astonishing.

Fang Shu and the others subconsciously wondered if they had misheard the words.

Someone on the spot murmured in disbelief, "Is this so-called 'talent' really not the 'talent' of ability, but the 'material' of resources?"

The next moment, the path of humanity and spirit spoken by the innkeeper became even more naked:
"The so-called 'human spirit' path can also be called the 'human-made artifact spirit' path, which means nourishing the soul with the body and strengthening one's own soul, making one worthy of becoming an artifact spirit. In this way, someone might take a liking to your soul and take you as a disciple or apprentice, bringing you into the immortal sect."

Fang Shu and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. They weren't exactly horrified, but they were all filled with surprise and disbelief.

So these three shortcuts to joining an immortal sect are to cultivate oneself as a magical artifact, a medicinal herb, or a spirit of an artifact.

In this way, they would be more likely to gain the favor of immortal sect members—or rather, to be coveted and greedy—than ordinary people.
At this moment, even Qin Min, who had been silent all along, finally managed to utter her first words of the day's sermon:

"Is this joining a celestial sect or selling oneself into one? We cultivate for longevity and freedom, not to accumulate what others see as resources."

Her face was gloomy, as if she had been somewhat taken aback.

Li Hou'er also started to stir things up:
"Is this some kind of immortal sect or some evil sect? I'm not cultivating, I don't want to be a human's resource!"

Upon hearing their words, the owner of the private club sneered.

"Not willing to fix it? Not happy about it?"
There aren't many three-legged toads in the world, but there are plenty of people! Even if you don't cultivate or worship, there are plenty of people who would rack their brains to take these three shortcuts.

"In other words, I come from within the Immortal Sect and know a thing or two, which is why I'm telling you so frankly. If it were anyone else, would I explain it to you so clearly and openly?"

The old woman squinted, her smile strange, a forced, insincere one.
"Besides, do you all really think you haven't gone down these three paths?"

These words made Li Hou'er and the others' hearts pound. They began to ponder what the Master of the Pavilion meant, and even began to doubt him.

Fang Shu, standing among them, suddenly raised his eyelids.

He immediately thought of the precious blood he obtained from Cheng Guanzi when he killed him, as well as the wonderful uses of human blood mentioned in many Taoist books!

In addition, when he encountered the weasel Taoist in the mass grave, the Taoist also mentioned that the "Three-Six Elixir Method" was also known as the "Three-Six Ingredient Method".

And the "bait".

Besides meanings of swallowing, ingesting, and luring, it can also mean fruit bait, fishing bait, and medicinal bait!
(End of this chapter)