Night fell. Pale moonlight filtered through the rotten wooden window lattice, casting a layer of silvery glow over Wen Tan's narrow little room. The silence was so deep that he could clearly hear the wind slipping through the cracks in the walls, carrying with it the scent of wild grass from the courtyard outside.
Little Zhuo Fan was also a menial disciple like him. He had been on fairly good terms with the original owner of this body. Wen Tan's ability to enter the Hao Yin Hall had been thanks to Zhuo Fan, who had asked Elder Chu to speak with the steward of the menial disciples and allow him to go there. After learning that Wen Tan had returned to his room, Zhuo Fan hurried over to check on him, wanting to see whether his brother was adapting well to life in the Fire Drink Hall.
"Brother Wen Tan, are you in your room? I heard you just came back from the Hao Yin Hall and rushed over right away. How was it did those people give you a hard time?"
The voice echoed into Wen Tan's room. According to the fused memories of this body, Zhuo Fan was only sixteen years old, two years younger than him. Yet the boy was quick-witted and had treated the original owner of this body quite well.
But the closer someone had been to the original owner, the more unsettling it was. After all, the Wen Tan of this cultivation world had already died, replaced by the soul of a Wen Tan from the modern world.
"I'm fine," Wen Tan replied. "Elder Chu treats me fairly well too. He even arranged for me to work in the slaughter area. But this kid isn't cultivating and still came looking for me…"
Zhuo Fan smiled, then sighed softly.
"Haizzz. You know it too, brother. With my four-element spiritual root, no matter how diligently I cultivate, I won't make much progress. You, with your severed meridians, and me we're just wasting time by cultivating, aren't we? Look at Elder Chu. He cultivated his entire life and only reached the fifth level of the Bone-Refining Realm."
His self-deprecation left Wen Tan unable to refute him. After all, Wen Tan himself didn't even possess a spiritual root.
After chatting for a short while, Zhuo Fan took his leave, leaving Wen Tan alone in the stillness of the winter night in the menial disciples' quarters.
After that conversation, Wen Tan's resolve became firmer than ever. There were only two paths before him: to remain in this unfamiliar world until the end of his life, or to risk everything and test an idea whose outcome he himself could not yet foresee.
"It's time for me to make a decision "
He murmured softly.
"This cultivation world was never meant for me. All I can do now… is gamble with this small life of mine."
On the rough wooden table, the ancient incense burner lay silently, emitting a dim, obscure glow that was hard to discern, as though it were in a deep slumber. Beside it stood a small bottle filled with demon-beast blood dark red, thick and viscous like tree sap.
The night was utterly quiet; even the faintest sounds became painfully clear. Wen Tan sat cross-legged, drew in a deep breath, and a glint of resolve flashed through his eyes.
"Last time, I was too hasty. I simply poured the essence blood into it, letting it absorb everything without considering that I myself cannot absorb spiritual qi to temper my body. Before it could even enter my body, it had already dissipated."
The thoughts in his mind began to clash violently.
"Even if this mysterious incense burner can convert essence blood into spiritual qi to replenish me like a pill… if I still can't absorb spiritual qi, then all I can do is watch it slowly fade away. That would be meaningless. Unless… I find another path of cultivation."
Body cultivators required many years, yet even then they could never compare to cultivators who practiced techniques and spells. To ordinary martial artists, law-cultivating cultivators were like beings of heaven itself.
It was no different from a barehanded fighter facing a special forces soldier with a gun there was no possibility of resistance at all.
As for someone like him, burdened with a ruined spiritual root, storing and using spiritual qi for cultivation was exceedingly difficult. The chance encounter that granted him this incense burner was, in truth, another opportunity to turn his fate around.
In his mind echoed the words spoken earlier that day by Elder Chu, the aged menial who had lived here for decades:
"People with ruined spiritual roots like us our cultivation will never advance even half a step into the Qi Condensation Realm in our entire lives.
But I've heard there are other paths to survival. One can become an alchemist, refining pills through the medicinal properties of spiritual herbs; or a formation master, borrowing formation plates and spirit-containing vessels to control power and affect the external world.
And if none of those paths are possible, then return to the mortal world, practice mundane martial arts, and live out a leisurely life.
As long as you have a sharp mind, you don't necessarily have to rely too heavily on spiritual roots. However, it consumes great stamina, and the amount of external spiritual qi one can wield is extremely limited. After all, a ruined spiritual root has very low tolerance and instinctively repels spiritual qi."
That thought made his heart pound fiercely. He whispered his bold, almost reckless idea aloud:
"Yes… if I can't absorb it, then let the incense burner absorb it instead. It can store spiritual qi in my stead, acting as a dantian. It can restore itself, and at the same time allow me to cultivate. In the future, if I use it as the core eye of a formation… wouldn't I still have a chance to stand on equal footing with cultivators?"
He hesitated no longer. With a light flick of his finger, a drop of blood from the small bottle fell into the mouth of the incense burner.
Tap. Tap.
The instant the blood made contact, the incense burner trembled faintly. From its ancient cracks seeped a dim red glow, like the flickering bloodlight of an oil lamp in the dark. Black smoke rose from the mouth of the burner, coiling like slender serpents as it twisted around the table.
"Gu… gu…"
A strange hissing sound echoed within his consciousness not heard by the ears, but resonating from the depths of his soul.
Wen Tan closed his eyes and focused on his sea of consciousness. The incense burner appeared clearer than ever, radiating light like a blood-red moon. Around it, threads of crimson patterns began intertwining, forming ancient characters he could not comprehend, yet instinctively recognized as a primitive formation.
At that moment
A faint stream of spiritual qi, thicker than before, flowed from the incense burner toward his dantian. But… just like before, it dissipated almost instantly. Only a wisp of residue remained, thin and feeble like drifting mist.
Wen Tan ground his teeth, half his heart turning cold.
"So it really is a severed-meridian spiritual root. Even if I obtained immortal herbs or superior pills, it would all be useless. My inability to cultivate through orthodox methods cannot be changed."
Then… he suddenly let out a dry chuckle.
"It's fine… I never intended to walk this path anyway. I only wanted to verify something and now I'm certain: this incense burner is no mere ornament. It is the key to a new future! A vessel for spiritual qi… and one that conceals ancient Dao principles."
He opened his eyes and stared at the incense burner glowing with a dark red light, as though gazing upon a priceless treasure. The despair that once filled his eyes had been replaced by a new flame ambition intertwined with hope.
"My path of cultivation… will not be the same as others'. If I cannot absorb spiritual qi, then I will borrow the power of formations, using this incense burner as the formation core. From here, I will take my first step on a path that defies the heavens!"
Outside the door, the night wind whistled through the cracks, carrying a chill. Yet within that cramped room, the breath of one man had completely changed.
The red glow of the incense burner gradually receded, leaving only a faint, flickering crimson light lingering in the silent darkness. Wen Tan stared at it for a long time, when suddenly a flash of insight struck his mind like thunder tearing through the night.
That's it… formations use objects as their eyes, borrowing the power of heaven and earth. If this incense burner can store spiritual qi, why can't I turn it into the heart of the formation?
The moment the idea formed, his entire body trembled slightly. He whispered, as though afraid even the thin walls might overhear this secret:
"I… will set up a Five Elements formation based on the diagram from my past life, the kind often seen in Daoist imagery and films, passed down through generations. It must be usable.
A large circle, with a five-pointed star inside, each point corresponding to one element. Each element connects through mutual generation and mutual restraint, forming an internal formation that links with the outer circle, unifying spiritual qi and circulating elemental power around the ring nourishing the incense burner, which will serve as my dantian!"
Using Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth their cycles of generation and restraint as the foundation, with the incense burner as the formation eye… once successful, this formation would mimic the Five Element roots of heaven and earth themselves.
"At that time… even with severed meridians, I can still borrow the formation to give birth to a false Five Elements spiritual root!"
With that single thought, a path no one had ever walked unfolded before his eyes:
The incense burner would become the formation heart, absorbing and regulating spiritual qi to nourish his body.
The Five Elements formation would create the primal mechanism, giving rise to a simulated cycle akin to a spiritual root.
His sea of consciousness would act as the central guide, drawing and inscribing the formation using the formation itself as an "inner spiritual root."
If he succeeded… he would not merely compensate for his ruined root. He would grasp an entirely different path of cultivation one that used formations as its origin, creating an artificial spiritual root with his own hands.
A blazing light erupted in his eyes. His heart surged like stormy waves, yet his mind was extraordinarily clear.
"I have no other choice. Either I remain a menial for life… or I risk everything and defy the heavens!"
He began rapidly recalling every scrap of knowledge he had ever heard about formations: the generation and restraint of the Five Elements, spirit-gathering formations, the positioning of nodes in harmonious alignment. These were things he had once overheard disciples discussing while he carried meals for them now he carefully pieced them together from memory.
"Five Elements generation and restraint… Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood a complete cycle! If I place five points representing the Five Elements around the incense burner, forming a circulating ring of spiritual force, the formation could operate endlessly… and even nourish the incense burner itself, making it stronger than before!"
He gasped for breath, his heart pounding wildly. The idea was utterly insane yet the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
Only three problems remained:
What would represent the Five Elements?
What materials could he use to inscribe the formation when he possessed only the belongings of a menial?
And… if it failed, would the incense burner explode or would he himself be drained dry and die?
But to him, every risk was worth taking.
He clenched his fist gently, an iron resolve shining in his eyes:
"To cultivate… one must naturally defy the heavens! Tonight… I will begin preparing the materials for my formation!"
Outside the window, moonlight poured down like water, stretching his shadow across the floor like a wild beast just awakened from slumber, ready to pounce upon the only chance for survival in its life.
The cold moonlight bathed the room. Only Wen Tan's breathing remained, steady yet growing deeper, as though merging with the darkness itself. The incense burner floated silently within his sea of consciousness, emitting a faint red glow like a heart beating weakly in a vast, misty ocean.
He closed his eyes, sensing each fragile wisp of spiritual qi dissipate from his dantian. Yet within his heart, another extraordinary thought arose.
Demon beasts… that's right. Their strength does not rely on spiritual roots like humans do, but on bloodlines and realms. Within their bodies, their essence condenses into a single object…
Wen Tan's eyes suddenly lit up like stars, his heart racing. He murmured:
"Essence cores! The essence cores of demon beasts! Even low-level demon beasts carry an elemental attribute from the Five Elements. If I use them as formation nodes instead of abstract elemental symbols… wouldn't my formation gain true vitality?"
The moment the idea surfaced, he immediately began calculating.
A Five Elements formation requires five attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
Even the weakest demon beasts possess an essence core representing their elemental attribute.
If he could gather five different essence cores… he would truly create a genuine Five Elements cycle not a mere simulated diagram!
Within his sea of consciousness, the phantom image of the incense burner trembled slightly, as if resonating with his thoughts, releasing a blood-red glimmer. Wen Tan clenched his fist tightly, his gaze unwavering.
"As long as I wait until the day welfare is distributed… those four low-grade spirit stones I'll exchange them for the essence cores of five first-tier demon beasts! Even if I have to borrow or beg… I will make this happen!"
That thought set his entire body ablaze, his blood boiling as if fire were coursing through his veins. From a man with severed meridians and a ruined spiritual root, he now saw a path that defied the heavens unfolding right before his eyes:
A Five Elements formation within the sea of consciousness, simulating the very structure of a spiritual root.
The incense burner as the formation core, absorbing spiritual qi and storing primal energy.
First-tier demon beast essence cores as conduits, replacing true Five Elements origin energy.
If he succeeded, he would no longer be a discarded wretch. Instead, he would step onto a path no one had ever dared to imagine using formations in place of roots, the soul in place of meridians! Cultivating the qi sea rather than the dantian.
Outside the window, the night wind whistled through the cracks, carrying echoes that sounded like a whispered vow:
"I… can cultivate like the others now. And I will surely find my way back soon."