Mortal: Junior Sister Song Yu

On his tenth birthday, the villa at the foot of Luoyun Sect Mountain was shrouded in a thin mist in the early morning.

Song Zhitian got up before dawn. She spread a piece of brocade woven from ice silkworm silk on a stone table in the courtyard. On the brocade was a tool for testing spiritual roots: a crystal ball the size of a fist, with nebulae flowing inside the ball.

"Xiao'er, today is your tenth birthday, and also the day to test your spiritual roots."

Song Zhi changed into a formal blue palace dress, her hair was tied up in a high bun with a white jade hairpin, and her face was unusually solemn. "In the cultivation world, spiritual roots are divided into the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. These are the origins that constitute all things in the world. The quality of a spiritual root determines how far a cultivator can go."

She picked up the crystal ball, which refracted a colorful halo in the morning light: "A single spiritual root is a Heavenly Spiritual Root, which is rare even in a hundred years. Its cultivation speed is several times that of ordinary people, and there are no bottlenecks before the Nascent Soul stage; a dual spiritual root is already a superior aptitude, with a cultivation speed twice that of ordinary people; a triple spiritual root is of medium quality and is the mainstream in the cultivation world; a quadruple spiritual root is also called a pseudo-spiritual root, which is of low quality, and the Foundation Establishment stage is the limit; a five-spiritual root is the worst, and it is almost impossible to establish a foundation, and one will be trapped in the Qi Refining stage for life."

Li Xiao placed her hand on the crystal ball, feeling uneasy.

In his previous life, he had read countless cultivation novels and knew that spiritual roots determine destiny.

Those with a Heavenly Spiritual Root have a smooth path ahead, while those with a Pseudo-Spiritual Root find it difficult to make any progress!

He has been practicing his swordsmanship day and night for the past five years, because he was worried that his spiritual root was too weak, so that he would have the ability to protect himself in the future.

The crystal ball remained silent for a moment, and the nebula inside it slowly came to a standstill, as if time had frozen.

Immediately, with a clear "hum," the sphere burst forth with two dazzling rays of light—one golden, like a sword drawn from its sheath, its sharpness fully revealed, causing Li Xiao to subconsciously squint his eyes.

A crimson flame, as intense as the sky, blazed and burned, bathing the entire courtyard in a warm hue.

The two beams of light were not static, but intertwined and intertwined, like a dragon and a phoenix bringing good fortune, and finally stabilized in gold and red.

Golden light dominates, forming a golden vortex at the center of the sphere, while red light dances like flames at the edges.

"Dual spiritual roots of metal and fire!" Song Zhi was both surprised and delighted, her voice rising several decibels. "Metal is dominant, and fire is secondary. This is an excellent aptitude for metal-based cultivation!"

"Golden lords wage war, fire refines true gold; fire forges gold, making it purer. The two are mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining, perfectly aligning with the paths of sword and saber cultivators! Xiao'er, with your talent, you could rank in the top twenty among the inner disciples of the Falling Cloud Sect!"

She paced back and forth excitedly in the courtyard, the hem of her blue palace dress fluttering in the wind: "Having both metal and fire spiritual roots is most suitable for cultivating metal-attribute techniques, or supplementing them with fire-attribute supernatural powers. Your Li family's ancestral Golden Splitting Blade Technique is originally a path of cultivating both metal and fire, but your father has fire and earth spiritual roots, so he cannot cultivate this technique, while you..." She looked intently at Li Xiao.

"Your golden spiritual root is far superior to your father's; your future achievements are limitless!"

Song Zhi took out a jade slip from her storage bag. The jade slip was light gold in color and had fine cloud patterns on its surface. It was clear at a glance that it was not an ordinary item: "This is the 'Golden Origin Technique,' a top-level Qi Refining stage cultivation technique of the Falling Cloud Sect. It was created by a Nascent Soul expert of the sect and is compatible with your attributes. There is also this 'Gold-Splitting Blade Technique'..." She then took out a dark black jade slip.

There was a crack on the jade slip, as if it had been cleaved by a knife. "This is your Li family's ancestral sword technique, passed down only to the direct descendants. Only one person in each generation can inherit it. The jade slip has the divine imprint left by your father. He entrusted me to pass this sword technique to you if you can cultivate this technique after your spiritual root is tested."

Li Xiao took the two jade slips and probed the pale gold one with his divine sense.

Instantly, a massive amount of information flooded into his mind: The Golden Origin Technique is divided into thirteen levels, corresponding to the thirteen levels of the Qi Refining stage.

The technique emphasizes "using metal as a guide to condense qi into a blade".

The exercise manual contains a detailed diagram of the practice route, clearly showing the order in which each acupoint is opened and the method for tempering each meridian.

When he probed the dark jade slip with his divine sense, a desolate and tragic sword intent rushed towards him.

He seemed to see a towering figure wielding a long sword amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, each strike cleaving through mountains and rivers, each move containing boundless fury.

That is the will passed down from generation to generation of the Li family ancestors.

The "Golden Splitting Blade Technique" consists of nine forms, each of which is used in conjunction with the Golden Essence Technique to unleash its maximum power.

The opening lines of the sword manual state: "To cleave gold is not to cleave the outer metal, but to cleave the cowardice, hesitation, and confusion within the heart. Only with unwavering resolve and relentless advance can the sharpness of gold be truly revealed!"

"From this day forward, you will officially embark on the path of immortality." Song Zhi's expression was solemn, but her eyes held expectation. "But you must remember, cultivating immortality is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you will fall behind. Your Li family ancestor reached the late stage of Core Formation, and his power shook the Golden Swallow Mountains. Since you inherit his bloodline, you should have the same ambition. But the path of cultivation is cruel; in your future journey through the world, always remember to be cautious."

Li Xiao nodded solemnly, his youthful face full of determination: "Aunt Song, don't worry, Xiao'er understands. But the Li family never fears."

"Xiao'er, how about you become my disciple first? I'll apply for cultivation resources from the peak master. For a genius like you, the peak master shouldn't be stingy!"

"Yes, Song...yes, Master! Your disciple greets Master!"

That night, the moonlight was as clear as water, and Li Xiao practiced the Golden Origin Technique for the first time.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, his five centers facing the sky, his mind focused on his dantian.

He closed his eyes and focused his mind into his body, initially only feeling darkness.

But as his breathing gradually calmed down, he "saw" the gold and fire spiritual energy floating in the world.

The golden spiritual energy, as fine as silk threads, was a pale gold color. As it moved through the air, it emitted a subtle "clanging" sound, like the gentle ringing of swords.

The fire elemental energy pulses like sparks, is crimson red, and feels warm when you get close.

These spiritual energies seep into the body through the mouth, nose, and pores of the entire body.

Once the golden spiritual energy enters the body, it flows through the meridians like countless tiny blades.

The fire elemental energy, like a warm stream, follows closely behind the metal elemental energy, continuously repairing the severed meridians.

The two types of spiritual energy circulate throughout the body according to the specific routes of the Golden Origin Technique, outlining complex patterns in the meridians.

Whenever it passes through a specific acupoint, the spiritual energy lingers for a moment, as if knocking on a door.

When an acupoint is opened, it will make a soft "pop" sound, like a bubble bursting.

Finally, at the dantian, the golden fire spiritual energy gathered into a wisp of golden airflow.

This energy flow, as fine as a hair, yet as heavy as a thousand pounds, hovered in the center of the dantian and rotated slowly.

"hiss--"

A sharp pain shot through me.

He then discovered that the original owner's meridians, which had not been tempered by spiritual energy for five years, were extremely fragile, like unforged pig iron.

The sharpness of the golden spiritual energy intensified the pain; every flow of spiritual energy felt like being cut by a knife or pricked by a needle.

He gritted his teeth, remembering his master's words from his previous life: "Only by enduring the bitterest of hardships can one rise above others."

Veins bulged on his forehead, and sweat poured down his face, soaking the entire prayer mat.

An hour later, he finished his practice and opened his eyes. His whole body was soaked in cold sweat, and his clothes were so wet that you could wring water out of them.

He looked inward at his dantian, where a wisp of golden energy, as thin as a hair, was slowly moving.

Although the airflow was small, it exuded a sharp and piercing aura, like a miniature blade.

"The first level of the Golden Essence Technique, entry level," Li Xiao murmured to himself, a smile playing on his lips.

Although the pain was excruciating, the feeling at this moment was more real and exhilarating than any breakthrough I had ever experienced in my previous life.

From then on, Li Xiao began his cultivation career as a half-immortal and half-martial artist.

During the day, he continued to hone his swordsmanship at the mortal martial arts school.

Originally, he only practiced basic sword techniques at the martial arts school, but now, with the blessing of the Golden Essence Technique, every strike can draw upon the golden spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

He discovered that after cultivating immortality, his understanding of swordsmanship reached a whole new level.

With each swing of the knife, he can precisely control the force exerted by every muscle, from pushing off the ground with his feet to twisting his waist and abdomen, and then transmitting the force through his shoulders, elbows, and wrists, achieving a power utilization rate of over 90%.

With each dodge, one can anticipate the opponent's movements and even "see" the trajectory of the opponent's muscle contractions.

He incorporated the essence of the Golden Splitting Blade Technique into the Gale Blade Technique. The light curtain originally woven by the blade now contained golden spiritual energy with each strike, increasing its power threefold.

The century-old ironwood tree in the backyard of the martial arts school was cleaved by his sword, leaving a one-inch deep knife mark, and wood chips fell like gold dust.

Wang Meng stared in disbelief: "Xiao'er, your swordsmanship... has reached a transcendent level."

At night, he cultivated the Golden Essence Technique, absorbing the spiritual energy of gold and fire.

The golden energy flow within his dantian grew stronger day by day, increasing from the thickness of a hair to the thickness of a cotton thread, and then to the thickness of a little finger.

With each increase in size, the meridians endure a tearing pain.

He could barely hold on by taking the pills prepared by Song Zhi every day and using the fire spirit to nourish himself.

Each of these pills is worth five spirit stones, and Song Zhi prepares six for him every month, which is a huge expense.

Li Xiao felt grateful and cultivated even more diligently.