A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

"Sect Leader, as one of the five great sects, if our Azure Lotus Profound Sect were to withhold items from juniors, wouldn't we be laughed at by other sects!"

Yuan Zhengze stood on one side of the Lotus Heart Hall with an ugly expression, questioning the middle-aged, refined man sitting cross-legged in the middle.

This person is none other than Nan Lingzi, the current leader of the Qinglian Xuanzong sect.

Before Nan Lingzi could speak, an elderly man with white hair on the other side of the hall spoke first.

"Junior Brother Yuan, you are mistaken. You yourself said that this combat puppet did not come from this young man's hands, so how can it be considered something that is exploiting a junior?"

"Besides, this was indeed made by our clan's ancestor. Now that the owner is unknown, what's wrong with our clan taking it back on his behalf?"

This white-haired old man was named Qin Zhong, from the Qin family of Yunnan. The ancestor he mentioned was none other than Qin Wentian, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator who had been gaining popularity in recent years from the Qinglian Xuanzong sect.

"Junior Brother Qin, watch your words. This is the Azure Lotus Profound Sect, not the Qin family of Dianyun. You and Uncle Qin are both members of the Azure Lotus. I, Nan, do not wish to hear you referring to yourself as a member of the Qin clan again!"

Nan Lingzi frowned slightly, seemingly displeased with Qin Zhongzhi's words.

Seeing the anger on Nan Lingzi's face, who was usually calm and composed, Qin Zhong realized he had spoken inappropriately and quickly explained.

"Please forgive me, senior brother. I spoke without thinking. What I meant was that this puppet was made by Uncle Qin. Since it is now ownerless, it should be taken back."

"How can we easily give a top-grade first-tier battle puppet to a stranger who is only at the fourth level of Qi Refining? This item would be of unimaginable help to the elite disciples of my sect."

"Isn't the elite disciple that Senior Brother Qin mentioned your grandson, Qin Changming?!"

Yuan Zhengze looked at Qin Zhong and said sarcastically in a gloomy tone.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Qin Zhong's whole scheme was nothing more than a means to benefit his grandson.

"Junior Brother Yuan, the Five Elements Realm will open in a few years. Is there anything wrong with giving the sect's elite disciples some trump cards and techniques?"

Seeing that his secret had been exposed, Qin Zhong blushed slightly and tried to explain.

Actually, he didn't want to risk his reputation by playing the villain, but this item would be of great help to his grandson. If he could get it, the Five Elements Realm Trial a few years later would undoubtedly be much safer.

Although the Qin family has an ancestor in the late stage of Core Formation who can refine first-grade high-quality combat puppets.

But this is no ordinary thing; everything required for it is extremely precious, and even the Qin family doesn't have much of it.

Qin Wentian, the patriarch of the Qin family, had already bestowed the few war puppets he had upon several outstanding descendants of the clan, and it was unlikely that any new puppets would be created in the short term.

His grandson, Qin Changming, was quite talented and was considered a rare genius among the younger generation of the Qin family.

However, compared to the direct descendants of those ancestors, he was undoubtedly several levels below and had no chance of obtaining a battle puppet. Therefore, when Qin Zhong heard that a battle puppet had been brought back to the sect, he immediately set his sights on it.

"Alright, you two stop arguing. Since this was personally given by Uncle Qin, there's no reason to take it back. Junior Brother Qin, you're being too reckless. If you really try to keep this for yourself, wouldn't you be slapping Uncle Qin in the face?"

Nan Lingzi raised her hand to interrupt the two people who were speaking in a strange tone, and calmly made a conclusion on the matter.

"Senior brother... we haven't even investigated that kid's background yet, and his aptitude is incredibly poor. Are we really just going to let it go like this?"

Qin Zhong was still somewhat unwilling to give up and said urgently.

"Oh? I forgot to ask, Junior Brother Yuan, what are this boy's spiritual root attributes?"

Nan Lingzi raised her eyelids and asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Zhou Ping's spiritual root..."

"This kid has four spiritual roots, but he lacks the earth element in his five elements. His aptitude is already among the worst. Giving him a battle puppet is a complete waste!"

Yuan Zhengze had just opened his mouth when Qin Zhong interrupted him from the other side, his expression turning extremely ugly.

Qin Zhong, relying on Qin Wentian's backing, is becoming increasingly ill-mannered.

"A pseudo-spiritual root? Junior Brother Qin, didn't you say he was already at the mid-stage of Qi Refining? How could someone with a pseudo-spiritual root reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining at such a young age?"

Nan Lingzi ignored the fight between the two and instead asked Yuan Zhengze in surprise.

Pseudo-spiritual roots, as the name suggests, are false spiritual roots. In the cultivation world, spiritual roots possessing four or five attributes are collectively referred to as pseudo-spiritual roots.

Although this kind of spiritual root can sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, its cultivation speed is outrageously slow. Cultivators with this kind of spiritual root can only break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining in their entire lives.

Therefore, Nan Lingzi showed surprise when she heard that Zhou Ping possessed a pseudo-spiritual root.

According to Yuan Zhengze, Zhou Ping was only sixteen or seventeen years old. To break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining at such a young age, one must at least have the aptitude of three spiritual roots. Even some cultivators with two spiritual roots might reach this level if they neglected their cultivation.

"Reporting to Senior Brother, I was also puzzled during the test the day before yesterday, so I asked him a little about it. I learned that the boy's cultivation was artificially accelerated by the Jin Clan. According to him, the Jin Clan provided him with a large number of auxiliary pills during his cultivation over the past few years, which enabled him to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining at the age of sixteen."

Faced with Nan Lingzi's question, Yuan Zhengze recounted the truth he had learned from Zhou Ping in detail, his expression appearing slightly strange.

He hadn't expected that the other party's cultivation level had improved so much. His previous judgment of him hadn't taken these external factors into account, relying solely on his own cultivation aptitude. This undoubtedly led to a significant error in his judgment.

Although the difference between four spiritual roots and three spiritual roots is only one attribute, the actual results are like a chasm.

In the cultivation world, having three spiritual roots is almost universally recognized as the threshold for cultivation, and nearly 90% of cultivators in the cultivation world have this type of spiritual root.

The reason why the four and five spiritual roots that follow are called pseudo spiritual roots is that the possessors of these spiritual roots have such slow cultivation speed that, without the blessing of good fortune, they have no chance of establishing a foundation. Those who cannot establish a foundation cannot be considered true cultivators, which is a consensus in the cultivation world.

Only those who have established a solid foundation in the Dao can be considered to have entered the inner sanctum and transcended the mundane. Therefore, these two types of spiritual roots are called pseudo-spiritual roots.

On the contrary, the three spiritual roots, although not as naturally endowed as the two spiritual roots and the heavenly spiritual roots, possess just the right amount of potential.

A cultivator with three spiritual roots, in theory, has a glimmer of hope to reach the Foundation Establishment realm, given their cultivation speed.

As long as the conditions aren't too bad, most cultivators can steadily cultivate to the late stage of Qi Refining throughout their lives. With the cultivation and support of their sects, reaching the Foundation Establishment realm is no longer a pipe dream.