A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Rogue Cultivator

"Dual Wood and Fire Spiritual Roots, abundant in both attributes, bone age nineteen, Qi Refining level ten, passed."

"Dual spiritual roots of metal and wood, abundant in both attributes, bone age of twenty-four, Qi Refining level twelve, passed."

Bone age is limited to forty years old. Those over forty, even with exceptional spiritual roots, will likely have very limited achievements in their lives. Therefore, major sects never recruit cultivators over forty years old, except those with celestial spiritual roots. They even prohibit such individuals from participating in subsequent arena battles.

Huh? Even those with dual spiritual roots and heterogeneous spiritual roots who have reached the thirteenth level of Qi Refining and are only one step away from Foundation Establishment are not exempt?

Ha, what were you doing a few years ago?

"The three spiritual roots of wood, water, and earth... were not selected."

"...failed to be selected."

"...failed to be selected."

It turns out that the threshold for this entry point is having two spiritual roots.

As for those with three spiritual roots, each sect has plenty of them, so there's no need to recruit them separately.

Therefore, Wang Li was successfully eliminated.

As expected, he possessed three spiritual roots.

Wood, water, fire, three spiritual roots.

Don't think that having three spiritual roots is so great that major sects will accept you.

If you don't possess the three spiritual roots of your family, you're nothing. For example, Qingwen, Wu Jiuzhi, Xiao Cuier's grandfather, and the Five Friends of Mengshan all have three spiritual roots!

Cultivation families, let alone those with three spiritual roots, even those with four spiritual roots, will be recruited by the sect.

Fortunately, Wang Li possessed a sufficient amount of spiritual roots in each of the three "true spiritual roots," ranking among the top. His cultivation speed was much faster than that of "pseudo-spiritual root" cultivators with four or five spiritual roots, whose spiritual roots were incomplete in each of the three attributes.

"The test is over. Next up is the Sky Mist Arena competition."

Just as the Foundation Establishment stage giant from the Giant Sword Sect announced the results, the Core Formation elder from Spirit Beast Mountain got up and stretched listlessly.

"Hmm, it seems there's nothing interesting to see this time."

The matter of the arena competition can be left to the Foundation Establishment stage leaders of each sect, as the Core Formation stage leaders are very busy.

For example, blacksmithing.

Refining iron concentrate!

"Tch, I was hoping that some of these people would be outstanding talents with exceptional spiritual roots or special physiques...!"

In that case, they could easily recruit them into their own sect in advance.

As a result, he didn't have a single Heavenly Spiritual Root or Different Spiritual Root.

That was really disappointing.

He had previously prepared to stretch his muscles against the old guys from the other six factions.

"For this arena competition, each sect has offered a variety of rewards, including spirit stones and cultivation techniques. The final seventy winners will each receive a Foundation Establishment Pill. Cultivators who wish to participate are invited to step onto the arena of their respective sects and engage in duels. The more matches you win, the richer the rewards will be."

Moreover, the seven major sects do not prohibit those with dual spiritual roots or special physiques who have already obtained entry qualifications from participating in this competition.

On the one hand, these people have only obtained the qualification to enter the sect, which does not mean that they will be allocated Foundation Establishment Pills.

On the other hand, since the meat is already rotten in the pot, it doesn't matter who among the disciples takes that Foundation Establishment Pill.

Or rather, the sect also hopes that the younger generation with deeper cultivation, stronger strength, and a greater chance of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage can obtain that Foundation Establishment Pill.

Incidentally, they also screened out some cultivators with poor spiritual roots and weak strength, so as to prevent these useless people from taking advantage of the opportunity to join their sect.

That's why Wang Li said he had underestimated the Ascension Ceremony.

It seems that he was one of those good-for-nothings that the cultivators of the seven major sects looked down upon.

Of course, for those lucky ones who have the qualification to enter, the premise for their competition is to act within their capabilities. They shouldn't end up losing the Foundation Establishment Pill and being crippled by others, thus losing the qualification they've worked so hard to obtain.

That would be a losing proposition.

"Ye Bufan of the Ye family has come to challenge us. Who will accept the challenge?"

His arrogant posture with his hands behind his back and chest puffed out, coupled with his flashy uniform, clearly indicated that he was a member of a powerful family.

"Hey, hey, hey, are you even being reasonable? Why are there more members of the clan here to participate in the Ascension Ceremony?"

Normally, the cultivation families in Yue Kingdom, especially those founded during the Foundation Establishment stage, all have sect backgrounds.

Every two years, these families can send their disciples with decent spiritual roots (three spiritual roots) to the sects behind them. This is a unique practice in the cultivation world.

These family members would then undergo a competition within their sect to determine who would receive the Foundation Establishment Pill.

But now, the seven major sects are facing an ascension conference held by independent cultivators, but some family members have come to interfere. How are the independent cultivators supposed to survive?

Are you going to fight or rob someone with your head in your body?

As a rogue cultivator, he has no lineage, no spirit stones, no magic tools, and his talismans are all of the lowest grade.

What about the family members?

It has a lineage, techniques, spirit stones, and the experience of its ancestors;

There are also mid-to-high-level or even top-level magical artifacts, or mid-level or even high-level talismans. It is rare to see someone like Master Jinguang who possesses talisman treasures, but it is not impossible.

What are the chances of a rogue cultivator defeating a member of a powerful family? Anyone with common sense knows perfectly well.

"You'd throw away all your pride for the Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Their eating manners are getting worse and worse.

"I'm here. I want to see what the Ye family is capable of."

The person who went on stage was clearly a hothead who couldn't control his emotions.

Wang Li estimated that even if this guy wasn't beaten to death by the Ye family member on stage, he would most likely be remembered by the Ye family after leaving Tainan Valley Market.

Why choose to be the first to stick your neck out?

If you see through something but don't say it, you won't understand. You shouldn't pursue immortality; you'll only bring trouble to your family sooner or later.

"Well done, teach that brat from the Ye family a lesson."

"Fellow Daoist, we have high hopes for you."

Cheers and encouragement erupted from all sides.

"Leave it to me."

I don't know where this kid gets his confidence from.

As expected, the simpleton who went on stage was beaten half to death by his opponent in just a few moves.

The gap is just too big.

"A cultivator's strength depends not only on their spiritual root, but also on their cultivation techniques, secret arts, talismans, magical artifacts, formations, elixirs, and so on. I should make use of everything available, plan carefully, and accumulate strength for a future breakthrough!"

Wang Li, sitting in the audience, was filled with mixed emotions, but became even more determined to follow his path.

As for the earlier idea of ​​taking advantage of the situation by going on stage?

Well, he doesn't want to die young.

It's not that he's incapable. Among thousands of independent cultivators, with his Qi Refining Level 9 cultivation, plus the Golden Sword, Talisman, and Vajra Talisman, he was confident he could easily break into the top 200. However, there are always stronger opponents out there.

Those who were able to stand firm on the arena were all elites among the thousands of independent cultivators; none of them were simple, and their strength was far superior to his.

Wang Li does have that much insight.

The lowest cultivation level on the stage was at the tenth level of Qi Refining; there were even more than ten at the eleventh or twelfth level of Qi Refining; and all of them possessed high-grade magic weapons, low-grade or mid-grade talismans, superior magical skills, considerable physical abilities, and various other preparations.

And what about him?

He lacked a complete lineage, unlike other independent cultivators who at least possessed one or two magical artifacts or a talisman. He only had the Golden Sword Talisman and the Vajra Talisman to his name.

However, even though the talisman is powerful, it still takes time for a Qi Refining stage cultivator to activate it.

To unleash the full power of the talisman, one needs to invest more time and mana, and during this time, one cannot move.

Once his opponent possesses the means to break his beginner-to-intermediate Vajra Talisman, he will undoubtedly be the one to lose!

No, it should be said that he was the one who died!

"I haven't been cultivating for long enough!"

Wang Li sighed inwardly.

This is sore.

With only a few years of experience, he is still far behind the veterans on stage who have honed their skills for over ten or twenty years.

Even compared to the rogue cultivators of the same level who had spent most of their lives in the cultivation world, his combat experience, experience in fighting beyond his level, and experience in handling unexpected events were far inferior to those on stage.

They've been preparing for the Ascension Ceremony for ten or even twenty years, haven't they?

The time difference cannot be made up for by the Palm Heaven Bottle in the short term.

He didn't want to leave any clues that might arouse suspicion.

"Should we take out a few hundred-year-old spiritual herbs?"

Wang Ligang thought about it for a moment, then shook his head and rejected the idea.

Taking out a few ancient medicinal herbs would certainly solve most of the above problems.

However, it can also easily lead to new problems.

After all, instead of using the elixir for themselves in hopes of quickly improving their cultivation, they took it out to exchange for other things...

If you think about it from another angle, doesn't it mean that there's still plenty of money in your pocket?

This will inevitably attract the attention of many cultivators, and may even cause a series of unnecessary troubles for those who wish to join a sect later.

If not handled carefully, even those in the Foundation Establishment stage might be tempted to take action.

Therefore, keeping your wealth hidden is the safest approach.

Before reaching the tenth level of Qi Refining, it is best not to reveal century-old spiritual herbs; before reaching the eleventh level of Qi Refining, one should not reveal spiritual herbs older than three hundred years; before reaching the twelfth level of Qi Refining, it is best to be cautious with five-hundred-year-old herbs unless necessary; upon reaching the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, one should also consider the situation and at most offer two thousand-year-old spiritual herbs for exchange.

After all, a Core Formation cultivator might spend one or two years traveling around for a spiritual herb that is six or seven hundred years old.

A thousand years old is really a bit risky.

"Sigh, this arena competition is no longer of much meaning to me. Once the tournament ends and the independent cultivators disperse, I'll just quickly leave this place with the crowd."