Hermit in the Mountains

Gu Changsheng turned around and returned to the living room. He sat cross-legged in front of the stove, his hands clasped on his thighs, his eyes slightly closed, calming his mind and concentrating.

He focused his mind on organizing his spiritual practice experiences, transforming his personal experiences into a complete spiritual practice system.

His opportunity to enter the Dao was gained through life and death, which is not universal. He can only sort out the methods and perfect cultivation sequence that others can understand from his own experience.

The essence of cultivation is to draw qi into the body, transport spiritual energy within the body, and refine the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into spiritual power that one can control.

To achieve the goal of drawing qi into the body, one must first sense the existence of spiritual energy in heaven and earth. This stage highlights the importance of having an "innate spiritual root".

The presence or absence of an "innate spiritual root" within the body serves as a bridge connecting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and is the most important prerequisite for anyone wishing to embark on cultivation.

Some people can draw qi into their bodies in a day, while others can never do so in their entire lives. There is an insurmountable chasm between those with spiritual roots and those without.

Having an "innate spiritual root" shouldn't be a cause for celebration too soon. Spiritual roots also vary in quality. Some spiritual roots have a high degree of compatibility with spiritual energy, while others have a lower degree of compatibility. The degree of compatibility is one of the criteria for distinguishing between good and bad cultivation aptitude.

Cultivation prodigies and geniuses, and ordinary cultivators, all come from this process.

Is it true that one cannot cultivate without spiritual roots?

The answer can be either "no" or "yes".

However, without spiritual roots, cultivation is extremely difficult, because having spiritual roots only fulfills the conditions for cultivation.

The term "innate spiritual root" refers to something that is not singular; it encompasses all the prerequisites for being able to perceive and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

It could be a spiritual root, a special physique... or a martial artist who comprehends a special cultivation method, or who forcibly draws qi into their body with powerful spiritual strength to temper their physique.

Those who possess "innate spiritual roots" are simply more likely to sense and absorb spiritual energy.

The heavens are 49, and one of them is removed.

Ultimately, the Great Way leaves a glimmer of hope for all living beings. Whether one has the opportunity to find that glimmer of hope depends solely on one's own fortune and luck.

Spiritual roots are only one of the conditions for cultivation, not the only one.

Have you not heard that there are three thousand great paths and countless lesser paths?

Enlightenment leads to immortality, scholarship leads to sainthood, incense offerings lead to deification, faith leads to godhood, and skill leads to enlightenment...

A complete cultivation sequence suddenly appeared in Gu Changsheng's mind.

Calm your mind and focus your spirit, gather your scattered, disordered, and uncontrollable mental energy, and twist all your mental energy into one rope, directing your efforts in one direction.

Sensing spiritual energy involves using one's own spiritual power to perceive the spiritual energy in the outside world and to distinguish which spiritual particles are close to oneself.

When you can distinguish the characteristics of spiritual energy particles, you can know your own spiritual root attribute.

Gu Changsheng named his spiritual root as wood-attribute based on the characteristics of spiritual energy particles, and also designated it as a tenth-grade wood-attribute spiritual root.

He didn't know how the outside world defined the attributes and grades of spiritual roots. He only summarized the attributes and grades of spiritual roots based on his own discoveries and experiences, so that he could know what the situation of his spiritual roots was and have a reference value.

Looking back on his earlier idea of ​​creating his own "Destiny Seed Method," he couldn't help but praise his own courage.

Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers.

Thinking about it now, I feel terrified. If he had failed in creating the method, at best his spiritual roots would have been completely destroyed, and at worst his yin spirit would have been annihilated, and he would have died and his cultivation would have been lost.

Previously, he was ignorant and had just obtained a heaven-defying opportunity from the brink of death. His mind was still immersed in the state of having already died once. At worst, he would just die again. What was the big deal?

In the end, he won his gamble, paving a path to success.

If Gu Changsheng were to relive the process of creating his "Destiny Seed Method," he might not have the courage to do it again, because he has hope in his heart.

After calming the mind and sensing spiritual energy, the next step is to guide the energy into the body, then to move the energy around, and finally to open the door to cultivation, temper the body, open the dantian, and refine the energy for one's own use.

As for the classification of cultivation realms, Gu Changsheng only had one idea in mind, and the realm system in that idea was only based on his 'natal Dao Seed Method'.

The process of condensing one's natal Dao seed is time-consuming and uncertain.

Currently, only Gu Changsheng cultivates the "Native Dao Seed Method," and he has no answer as to whether anyone else can cultivate this method.

Dao Seed Realm: Absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the earth's energy, the purple energy of the primordial sun, and the power of the moon to strengthen the Dao Seed, causing it to undergo a transformation.

It is unknown whether others who cultivate the "Destiny Dao Seed Method" will achieve the same breakthrough as Gu Changsheng.

The number of minor realms within the Dao Seed Realm is unknown, after all, Gu Changsheng has only completed eight cycles of decay and prosperity in the Dao Seed Realm so far.

Creating one's own path of cultivation is just like this: the path ahead is shrouded in mist, and everything is unknown. Only when more people walk this path will it become clearer and clearer.

Gu Changsheng summarized his gains over the past six months of cultivation.

Fundamental Method: The Method of Cultivating One's Destiny

Talents: Withering Armor, Rooting Technique, Divine Sense Power

General Outline: Realm of Accumulated Dao (Incomplete), Realm of Dao Seed (Incomplete)

Theory of Spiritual Energy (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind), Theory of Spiritual Roots (Attributes: Five Elements, Withering and Flourishing, Wind; Grades: Grade 1 to Grade 10)

Techniques: Taiyin Gathering Spirit Technique, Taiyin Spirit Rain Technique, Rain Gathering Technique (Sweet Dew Technique, Rainfall Technique), Divine Sense Transmission Technique

Artistic Chapters: The Chapter on the Elixir of Withering and Flourishing (Fragment: The Elixir of Withering and Flourishing - Fragment, Elixir Formula for Nourishing Yuan Spirit Pill, Elixir Formula for Supplementing Yang Spirit Pill), The Chapter on the Spirit Cultivation of Withering and Flourishing (Fragment: Spirit Beast Cultivation - Fragment, Spirit Plant Cultivation - Fragment), The Chapter on Talisman Making of Withering and Flourishing (None), The Chapter on Formation Arrangement of Withering and Flourishing (None), The Chapter on Weapon Cultivation of Withering and Flourishing (None)

Earth Chapters: Spiritual Veins (Distribution of Spiritual Energy, Spiritual Veins, Earth Veins), Blessed Lands (Longevity Peak - Ten-Year Usage Rights), Forbidden Lands (Secret and Dangerous Realms)

Mysterious Chapters: Cause and Effect: There is a chain of cause and effect between all things; Energy Field: There are various energy fields in the universe; Lifespan: There is a virtual and real life plate in the body of living beings that records their lifespan.

Although Gu Changsheng possessed limited knowledge of Daoist arts, spells, skills, resources, and secrets, he still laid a solid foundation for his Dao, clarified his cultivation direction, established a framework for his practice, and gained a glimpse into the secrets of heaven and earth.

Gu Changsheng reviewed his journey from the beginning, reflecting on his experiences and gains along the way. He gained a clearer understanding of cultivation and a deeper understanding of himself.

As Gu Changsheng emerged from his meditation, his eyes opened, and in that instant, his gaze became even deeper and sharper, and his demeanor became even more elegant, composed, and confident.

He gazed at the scenery outside the door and murmured to himself, "The path is beneath my feet. I am already on the road, and the future is promising."

He slowly got up, put his hands into his sleeves, walked outside, and strolled barefoot on the ground towards the top of the mountain behind him.

Gu Changsheng walked very slowly, stopping from time to time to feel the emotions of the intertwined plant roots beneath the soil.

A wisp of "earth energy" surged into Gu Changsheng's body through the soles of his feet, flowing upwards into his lower dantian, passing through the eight extraordinary meridians and the middle dantian, and finally converging into the Baihui acupoint, the sea of ​​consciousness.

The barely perceptible "earth energy" nourished the "Dao Seed," solidifying Gu Changsheng's Dao foundation.