In the cultivation world, it's naturally not just about Spiritual Roots.
A Spiritual Root is, of course, the most important foundation for every Cultivator. Refining one's own Spiritual Root into a Natal Spiritual Root is the most orthodox method. No external object can compare to a Natal Spiritual Root. A Natal Spiritual Root can grow continuously, and if nurtured well, its potential always holds the possibility of advancing to a Spirit Treasure. During that process, it needs to absorb various Heaven And Earth Treasures from the outside world and integrate them into the Spiritual Root. The Spiritual Root is a unique embryo, possessing life and spirituality.
Legend has it that a Spiritual Root is the manifestation of an Innate undying spiritual light.
Its growth potential is naturally beyond doubt.
Any Spirit Master capable of Awakening a Spiritual Root cherishes their own Spiritual Root as if it were more important than their very life.
However, a Spiritual Root is not everything. Besides Spiritual Roots, Spirit Masters also refine various Magic Treasures and divine weapons. After all, using a cursed relic carries too great a hidden danger; each use means one's life is walking on the line of death. It's something to avoid using unless absolutely necessary. It's merely a means to become a Spirit Master, ultimately choosing a profession and embarking on the Dao of becoming stronger.
A Spirit Master's cursed relic is their trump card, not to be used lightly.
Of course, those Spirit Masters who take the wild path are an exception.
Among Spirit Masters, there are Artifact Refiners. The Magical Artifacts and Magic Treasures they refine are often the most frequently used treasures by Spirit Masters.
The Magic Treasures refined by Artifact Refiners are categorized as: Magical Artifacts, Magic Treasures, Spirit Treasures, and Supreme Treasures.
This corresponds to the Cultivator's Spiritual Root grades: Yellow Rank Spiritual Roots correspond to Magical Artifacts, Profound Rank to Magic Treasures, Earth Rank can be called Spirit Treasures, and Heaven Rank can be called Supreme Treasures.
Within Magical Artifacts, the highest can contain nine basic Restrictions. In reality, refining even one Restriction can qualify it as a Magical Artifact, possessing considerable power.
Magic Treasures contain seventy-two Earth Rank magical Restrictions. Each Earth Rank Restriction is formed by nine basic Restrictions. Forming one makes it a Magic Treasure, and reaching seventy-two makes it a Peak Magic Treasure.
Spirit Treasures contain thirty-six Heaven Rank spiritual Restrictions. Each Heaven Rank spiritual Restriction can only be formed by seventy-two Earth Rank magical Restrictions. Forming one makes it a Spirit Treasure, and thirty-six makes it a Peak Spirit Treasure.
Supreme Treasures contain forty-nine Great Dao divine Restrictions. Each Great Dao divine Restriction is formed by thirty-six Heaven Rank spiritual Restrictions. Forming one makes it a Supreme Treasure, and forty-nine makes it a top-tier Supreme Treasure.
Top-tier Magic Treasures and Spirit Treasures may not be much inferior to Spiritual Roots of the same rank.
Therefore, the Magical Artifacts and Magic Treasures refined by Artifact Refiners have always been highly sought after. Any single one can greatly increase one's combat power. The item wrapped around her waist must be a Magical Artifact. Its specific effects will need to be observed carefully later.
"Who are you?"
The leading young man looked at Zhuang Buzhou and his companions with a wary expression.
He also secretly wondered, they hadn't told anyone about this operation; it had always been extremely secretive, and they had deliberately avoided contact with others. The news of an Ancient Tomb here, and their urgent arrival, was because they heard there was a great treasure within this Ancient Tomb. It was unimaginable how shocked he was to inexplicably encounter outsiders during this tomb exploration.
"No aura of fellow travelers, they're not from our line of work."
Immediately, he excluded Zhuang Buzhou and his companions from the ranks of fellow tomb raiders.
Not being fellow tomb raiders, yet appearing here, made it seem a bit strange.
"We are Spirit Masters invited by Leaving Immortal Town to subdue the strange. This time, we are tracking the strange. From your appearance, you are from the Dao Gate. Are you from the Faqiu or the Tomb Raider Commandant line?" Yun Qinghe looked at them and spoke.
Although he didn't have a great impression of people from the Dao Gate, since it was their first meeting, there was no need for a life-and-death struggle.
"Tomb Raider Commandant Xia Wuya. This is my Junior Sister Su Qiu, and my Junior Brother Zhang Qian. We greet you, Fellow Daoists."
Xia Wuya spoke.
His wariness towards Zhuang Buzhou and his companions had not lessened. However, since they had met, they were not people who dared not reveal their names. If any unforeseen circumstances arose and a fight broke out, they weren't afraid.
"Are you specifically here for this Ancient Tomb? Could you share some information about the Ancient Tomb? After all, since we've met, our objectives are both within the Ancient Tomb. We need to pursue the strange, and you need to explore the Ancient Tomb. Sharing information can also make us safer and help us be prepared."
Zhuang Buzhou said with a smile.
Clearly, their objectives were the same. Here, they both wanted to enter the Ancient Tomb, but the situation of this Ancient Tomb remained unknown. He believed that since the Tomb Raider Commandant had appeared, they must have a basic understanding of the Ancient Tomb. They would certainly have more knowledge of the methods within the tomb and more experience.
"We're not very clear whose tomb this Ancient Tomb specifically is. We only detected, using the authentic Feng Shui secret techniques of my Tomb Raider Commandant lineage, that this place gathers wind and water, making it an excellent Feng Shui treasure land. Furthermore, looking from a height at night, we could see a treasure light shining, indicating that there must be a great treasure within the tomb. That's why I brought my two Junior Brothers and Junior Sister to explore it."
Xia Wuya said in a deep voice.
Of course, whether it was truly as he said, only they themselves knew.
Zhuang Buzhou only believed a third of what he said.
"We are here for the strange, and you are here for tomb exploration. How about we travel together?"
Zhuang Buzhou suggested with a smile.
"This..."
Just as Xia Wuya was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed, and he said in a low voice, "Everyone, be careful, there's something."
Drip-drop! Drip-drop!!
As soon as his words fell, a sound already reached their ears. It was the sound of horse hooves, dense footsteps, and the clashing of weapons. It seemed as if a large army was on the march. A terrifying wave of Yin Qi surged towards them. The Yin wind rustled, and the cold air was biting.
"It's Yin Soldiers! Yin Soldiers are passing through, quickly get out of the way! We can't let these Yin Soldiers discover us. Otherwise, if they encounter living people, they will definitely attack."
Xia Wuya quickly said, "Xiao Qiu, quick, the sunshade umbrella."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Su Qiu pull out a pitch-black umbrella from a Storage Pouch at her waist and open it, instantly shielding all three of them.
"Fellow Daoist Zhuang, this is a Yin Concealing Talisman. Stick it on your body; it can conceal the aura of a living person on you."
Yun Qinghe flipped his hand, producing two Talismans. These were Talismans created by a Talisman Master, each possessing a special effect that could be of great use. Among Spirit Masters, the status of Talisman Masters was extremely high. The Talismans they refined were even more of a necessary hard currency for Spirit Masters in their daily lives. Most importantly, they could be used as long as one had magic power, making them convenient, fast, simple, and practical, naturally leading to their widespread popularity.
Many Spirit Masters would try to acquire some of the Talismans they needed.
Yin Concealing Talismans were available in the Other Shore Space; some Spirit Masters traded them. However, since Yun Qinghe offered them, he didn't bother to get his own. He directly took them and stuck them on his body, using Innate True Qi to activate the Talismans. An invisible layer of spiritual light appeared around him, concealing his entire aura and emitting a special Yin Qi, which made him less conspicuous to ghosts and evil spirits.
If they saw him, they would only perceive him as one of their own.
Of course, this Talisman did not last long, only for the duration of an incense stick. Once the time was up, the Talisman's power would dissipate and turn into ash. This wasn't entirely safe, so they looked around and found a nearby cave entrance where they could hide. The two quickly entered the cave and hid.
Immediately after doing all this, they saw them. From the end of the passage, amidst gusts of Yin wind, a troop of Yin Soldiers suddenly appeared.
Leading the way was a mighty general riding a tall warhorse, clad in armor with a cape on his back, and holding a gleaming, long horse-chopping saber. He was awe-inspiring. Wherever he went, frost condensed beneath his horse's hooves, giving off an immense deterrent force.
Behind him was a troop of no less than a hundred Yin Soldiers, wielding long sabers and long spears. Their bodies radiated Evil Qi. It was clear at a glance that these were absolutely elite Yin Soldiers.
Wherever they passed, the Yin wind howled.
It made one's Divine Soul feel somewhat unstable.
"The leading Yin Soldier general has definitely reached the Foundation Establishment Realm; he is a Ghost General. The Yin Soldiers behind him are all elite combatants of the first rank." Zhuang Buzhou's gaze swept over them, and he secretly estimated the combat power of these Yin Soldiers.
Once they formed a battle formation, their combat power would only be higher.
They were definitely not to be underestimated.
The Yin Soldiers came from one passage and headed towards the distance. Under the concealment of the sunshade umbrella and the Yin Concealing Talismans, both Zhuang Buzhou and Xia Wuya's group were perfectly hidden. Those Yin Soldiers also seemed to not expect anyone to appear here.
So, they continued their march normally. Soon, they passed by them.
"Follow them!!"
Xia Wuya shot a glance at his Junior Brother and Junior Sister. Immediately, they tacitly held up their sunshade umbrella and followed behind the Yin Soldier troop.
"We'll follow too."
After Zhuang Buzhou and Yun Qinghe exchanged glances, they immediately began to act.
Regardless, this troop of Yin Soldiers was definitely related to the Ancient Tomb. The direction the Yin Soldiers were heading was consistent with the direction sensed by the Dao Soldiers. There was no disagreement on this point.
Xia Wuya and his group did not say anything about Zhuang Buzhou and his companions following them.
Simply put, this Ancient Tomb was not theirs. There was no first-come, first-served; only relying on one's own abilities. Whoever had the ability would eat well. If one's ability was insufficient, let alone eating well, it would be good enough not to lose one's life.
Tomb raiding was a job where one's head was on the line.
The Flying Spear Soldiers had temporarily returned to the World Spirit Pool. Following the Yin Soldiers, they continued forward, constantly passing through various Fork in the road .
Suddenly, the three in front, Xia Wuya, abruptly stopped. Looking up, the Yin Soldiers who had been walking ahead had suddenly vanished without a trace.
"There's no path."
In front was a stone wall, and there were no other branching paths nearby. The Yin Soldiers had passed directly through the stone wall in front of them.
Yin Soldiers could pass through, but people couldn't, unless they possessed wall-penetrating abilities.
"Confucius said: 'Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters? Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?'"
"Confucius said: 'I daily examine myself on three points: whether, in transacting business for others, I may not have been faithful; whether, in intercourse with friends, I may not have been sincere; whether I may not have mastered and practiced the instructions of my teacher.'"
"Confucius said: 'At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right.'"