Chapter 124: First Contact with Cultivation

“Tier Eight…” Luo Ying softly repeated, his heart full of longing. Ever since he learned from Jiang Li that something on par with a Tier Eight Enhancer existed, that became his new goal.

Luo Zhu, on the other hand, didn’t feel much. First tier, second tier, seventh, eighth—for her, they were just numbers.

“Before reaching Ascension, there are seven stages in total: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Formation, Fusion, and Tribulation Stage. Only after that can one ascend and become an Immortal. These seven stages roughly correspond to your Enhancer system.”

“There are three prerequisites to cultivating.”

“First is the Spiritual Root. Everyone has one—the difference lies in whether it’s a Five-Element Root or a Heavenly Spirit Root. Among all types, Five-Element is the weakest, and Heavenly Spirit is the best. But roots aren’t the deciding factor. In today’s Nine Provinces, there’s even a Five-Element cultivator who’s managed to unify Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and has reached the Fusion Stage.”

“Now, follow my lead—clear your mind and sense your spiritual roots.”

Back during the Ming Zhong event, Jiang Li could guide directly. But this time, he had to rely on words alone to lead the siblings in finding their roots.

Luckily, both had high-quality spiritual roots and were able to find them easily.

Luo Ying closed his eyes, continuously imagining himself falling—down, down, endlessly. He had no idea how long he fell—maybe days, maybe just seconds. Eventually, he felt like he landed on cotton, soft and bouncy, incredibly comfortable.

Deep within his body, he sensed both heat and moisture—intertwined and balanced. That meant his Water and Fire dual spiritual roots were perfectly even.

Luo Zhu experienced something similar. Inside her, it felt like an ice cave—but she didn’t feel cold at all.

That meant she had a mutated single spiritual root—Ice Root.

“Second is Spiritual Energy. Although your planet’s spiritual energy is thin, it’s still sufficient for cultivation.”

Jiang Li had noticed this a while ago. Unlike ten years later in the apocalypse, the spiritual energy now was pure and untouched by the zombie virus—it could be used freely.

“Close your eyes and feel the spiritual energy.”

The siblings shut their eyes, but instead of darkness, they saw tiny glowing blue dots flickering before them.

“So pretty,” Luo Zhu couldn’t help but say.

Thanks to their discovered roots, their sensitivity to spiritual energy was much higher than ordinary people.

Once they gained enough cultivation, even with their eyes open, they’d be able to sense spiritual energy clearly.

While Luo Zhu was immersed in the beauty of her first contact with spiritual energy, Luo Ying opened his eyes in confusion. “If everyone has spiritual roots, and there’s enough energy, doesn’t that mean everyone can cultivate?”

“Not quite. The most crucial part of cultivation is the Meridian Circuit—how spiritual energy flows through your body. That flow is called a ‘Zhoutian.’ Completing one full cycle is one Zhoutian.”

“But be careful: you can’t just let energy flow anywhere you want. If you do, best-case scenario, you’ll cough blood and be near death. Worst-case? Instant death.” Jiang Li warned them seriously, not exaggerating in the slightest.

In the schools of the Nine Provinces, every teacher would sternly warn students—never attempt solo cultivation without knowing the Zhoutian route.

When students became ready to try circulating spiritual energy, teachers would always offer one-on-one guidance to prevent accidents.

“There isn’t just one route for Zhoutian. It can vary based on the quality of spiritual energy, the speed of flow, which acupoints it passes through, and more.”

In the Nine Provinces, the Zhoutian route has another name: Cultivation Technique.

Most cultivators don’t understand themselves well at the beginning—what they’re good at, what they’re not. For example, a Fire Root cultivator might choose a powerful and aggressive fire-type technique, only to later realize they’re better suited for Beast Taming. But animals are sensitive to fire and hate overly fiery cultivators.

If that person wanted to switch to a gentler fire-type technique suitable for taming, they’d have to waste years retraining—and their peers would’ve left them far behind.

That’s why the Nine Provinces has a universal technique—“Diagram of Spiritual Energy”. It’s considered every cultivator’s first manual. While its upper limit only reaches the Foundation Establishment Stage, its advantage is that it doesn’t conflict with any future techniques.

Once a cultivator reaches a certain level, they can branch out. For example:

Smell an elixir and instantly know all the ingredients? Choose a technique geared toward alchemy.

Strong connection with plants? Go for spirit herb cultivation.

Love women but don’t want to marry? Try a Hehuan Sect dual cultivation path.

Kill someone without guilt? Turn yourself in.

(Okay, that last one only happens in Great Zhou.)

As for ordinary folk in the Nine Provinces—those at Qi Refining Level 3—they can cultivate the “Diagram of Spiritual Energy” for life, without worrying about what comes next.

What Jiang Li was teaching the siblings now was exactly this universal method. As for future techniques—he’d observe their paths first.

“Now, try pulling the spiritual energy you sensed into your body. Follow the route I taught you—go slowly.”

Luo Ying tried to connect with the glowing points through willpower, pulling them toward himself. It took a long time, but he finally managed to draw a few blue lights into his body.

“Whew, next step is to guide the energy through my body…”

Jiang Li praised from the side, “Not bad—good talent. You’ve reached this step already.”

That was no small feat. Luo Ying opened his eyes, a little shy. “Ah, well, I guess I’m just…”

Mid-sentence, he paused.

He realized Jiang Li wasn’t complimenting him—he was praising his sister.

Luo Zhu had already completed three Zhoutian cycles.

A while later, Luo Ying declared proudly, “I’ve also done three cycles!”

Jiang Li gave a nonchalant “Oh,” then went right back to enthusiastically teaching Luo Zhu.

Brahma Tower comforted him, “Your talent is still quite good. It’s just that your sister’s cultivation speed is… absurd. But you’ve got other strengths too.”

“Like what?” Luo Ying perked up. Right—he was a reborn! Of course, he had unique advantages. Cultivation wasn’t just about how fast you absorbed energy—there had to be something he excelled at!

“You were born earlier than your sister.”

“…Get lost!”

“Young man, don’t be so hot-tempered. Come, I’ll teach you some sutra chanting. Let me tell you, all the essence of the Buddhist Sect lies in our scriptures. If you chant day and night, your cultivation will improve for sure.”

“Can chanting help me surpass my sister?”

“…Well, a little hot-bloodedness in youth is fine too.”

Jiang Li was quite satisfied with their cultivation progress. “Right now, both of you are officially Qi Refining Stage cultivators. Stabilize your cultivation first. Later, I’ll teach you Water Gathering Technique and the Immovable Vajra Mantra.”