"Spiritual Roots?" asked young Lucian, curiosity brimming in his eyes.
"Yes, spiritual roots. They determine your talent—how quickly you can cultivate and how easily you can build a strong foundation," Logan replied.
"They test it by sending a wisp of spiritual Qi into your mind sea, where the root is located. After that, the root responds with a specific color in your mind. Using this, you can determine which root you have," Ariya continued.
Spiritual roots are classified into several grades, just like cultivation techniques and artifacts:
- Common Grade Spiritual Roots
- Earth Grade Spiritual Roots
- Sky Grade Spiritual Roots
- Saint Grade Spiritual Roots
- Mystic Grade Spiritual Roots
- Divine Grade Spiritual Roots
Each grade can be further divided into Low, Middle, High, and Peak sub-levels. For most mortals, even a Common Grade - Peak root is rare, while anything above Saint Grade is legendary—almost impossible to find, as rare as finding eyebrows on the Mona Lisa.
These classifications have been used for five millennia, so almost everyone follows this method. As for how they check it? They use spiritual formations to send small wisps of spiritual Qi into your mind sea. Using a formation guarantees success, as long as the formation isn't disturbed—since the mind sea is a complicated place to meddle with.
After walking a few meters down the hallway, they arrived at a room. Inside, a formation was already prepared.
Ariya gently sat Lucian at the center of the formation as Logan activated it.
"Let's see what root you have..."
Inside Lucian's mind sea.
Small strands of spiritual Qi began to enter the mind sea. The mind sea of a human reflects their nature—a young child who has barely seen the world will have a mind sea as calm as a still ocean. Within the mind sea lies the soul, the spiritual roots, and soul artifacts.
As Lucian concentrated, he could view his mind sea as if he were piloting a drone, able to move freely without restriction.
Lucian saw the spiritual Qi approaching and instinctively prepared to resist, but suddenly heard a voice.
"Don't resist, or the process will fail," said Logan, sensing Lucian's hesitation.
Suppressing the urge to fight back, Lucian's mind sea lay completely exposed. As Logan's soul sense reached the place where the spiritual roots and soul resided, he saw something so astonishing he could hardly believe it.
He saw a purple crystal throne, the soul sitting atop it, bound by chains. Yet, he could not find any spiritual root. The soul sat on the throne like an emperor—even though it was untempered, its presence made Logan shiver.
Noticing his reaction, Ariya asked with concern, "Honey, what's wrong?"
Logan didn't reply. Instead, he sent a bit of his own soul energy to form a small soul attack, attempting to break the shackles.
Looks like these shackles are meant to be broken by someone... they're so weak, Logan thought, carefully cutting the chains, afraid he might damage Lucian's soul.
As the last shackle broke, thirty purple crystals instantly began to grow around the throne, though they were dim, as if their light had been drained. Just as Logan was about to withdraw, he finally found the spiritual root. It appeared above the throne, revealed only after the shackles were broken. As he sent a wisp of Qi into it, he was once again left speechless. He quickly pulled his soul sense out of Lucian's mind.
"Monster..." Logan whispered in awe.
"Hey! Who are you calling a monster?" Ariya snapped, a bit offended by his tone.
"He has... a Saint Grade—no, possibly Mystic Grade—spiritual root, an unknown physique, and some strange power inside his mind sea. What else can I call him but a monster? I don't dare call myself talented in front of this kid."
Meanwhile, Lucian had fainted.
...
The next day.
Lucian was still sleeping. Inside his mind sea, he sat upon the same throne as before.
"So... I really have reincarnated, huh?" Lucian mused, deep in thought.
He finally understood what those choices at the River of Reincarnation meant.
The first path was for those who reincarnated without past memories—most people chose this by instinct, drawn to it unconsciously.
The second path allowed reincarnation with memories of the past, but very few chose it. Why? Because their souls felt a strong repulsion from that path.
And the third path was only for a select few—those with strong desires or regrets in life, and who also won the 'gacha' of the River of Reincarnation. If they succeeded, they unlocked that path, but had to face a trial. Lucian had survived his. If he had succumbed to the darkness, his soul would have been destroyed—shattered into nothingness.
But you might be wondering, how did Lucian know all this?
Right?
Well, it was thanks to the old man floating in front of him. Though, calling him an old man might be a stretch—he was, at best, a talking black orb, hovering around and spouting nonsense.
"Boy, I'm telling you! I was the one who repelled the darkness trial and helped you reincarnate!" the orb declared, spinning in the air.
"If I hadn't been there, you would've died in your trial, you know! I even had to seal your memories, or your soul would have shattered! And look at you—not even believing this old man's words!" grumbled Mr. Old Orb.
"Okay... Let's say I believe you. Then tell me—how did you even find me? What are you? What is this throne, and why are you haunting me right now?"
"That... Do you really want to know?" the orb asked.
"Yes. Or I'm not keeping an unpaid roommate in my own house," Lucian replied.
"Sigh... Fine! Listen up."
"I am the revered! The feared by all! A supreme entity who reached the pinnacle of cultivation in the world! The Supreme and Divine Immortal, the Obsidian Emperor!" the orb announced in a dramatic tone.
"So you're an ex-obsidian ball?" Lucian deadpanned.
"Emperor, kid! I held the title of Immortal Emperor, with the weight of Divine and Supreme honors! I was one of the strongest, reaching the very peak of immortal cultivation—my soul forged to the Soul Emperor Realm, my body refined to Martial Transcendence, and my Qi at the Essence Imperator Realm! Don't look down on me, boy."
"Fine, fine! Sorry for making fun of you. Please continue," Lucian said, now genuinely curious about this so-called 'Emperor.'
"Hmph! As I was saying, I was a powerful immortal in my prime. During my heavenly tribulation, the heavens sent a Heaven's Warrior to battle me—and I lost. After that, the heavens sealed me inside your realm, in a black pearl, for thousands of years."
"In your realm, spiritual energy was faint but still present. Many sects rose and fell, and slowly, the spiritual Qi was drained. The heavens used their influence to seal me here, and with that, a large amount of spiritual Qi entered your world."
"You can think of your realm as a trash can for the heavens—they send anything they consider trash here from time to time. When the lid was opened, a bit of fresh air came in, which is why spiritual energy existed in ancient times."
"Using that spiritual Qi, many brave warriors managed to ascend to the immortal realms. But eventually, the spiritual Qi faded. Fewer martial artists appeared, immortal sects vanished, and only small martial arts schools remained, practicing inferior techniques."
"As for me? I was found by a craftsman, made into a pendant, and gifted to a cultivator from a top sect. Over the years, I was passed from one cultivator to another, always sealed."
"Since I was sealed, I couldn't bind myself to anyone. But with the vast spiritual Qi I'd stored, I gradually weakened the seal over time."
"When I came into your hands, the seal was nearly broken. When you died, you released a bit of soul essence. Using that, I broke the seal and followed you through the River of Reincarnation."
"But don't worry—my true soul has already been obliterated. As for how I'm talking to you, I was forged into a soul artifact and then sealed inside this orb by the heavens. They couldn't destroy my consciousness, so they sealed it instead. But if the heavens find this soul artifact, they'll be able to obliterate me completely."
"Why?" Lucian asked, suspicious and curious.
"Because I've bound myself to you. As a soul artifact, if your soul is destroyed, I'll be obliterated as well," said the old orb, his voice suddenly serious.