Chapter 1: The Bai Family’s Child
Mi Prefecture, Black Mountain County.
The Black Mountain Mountain Range stretches across the entire county from east to west like a demonic Dragon.
Deep within the Black Mountain Mountain Range, it is said that there are third-tier Yao Beasts comparable to Golden Core Stage Cultivators hiding, making it sparsely populated, but it also nurtures countless Spiritual Plants;
The eastern part of the mountain range has already been fully developed, and the Sect of the Qingfeng Sect, the largest power in Black Mountain County, is located there;
More than fifty large and small Cultivation Families are distributed among the mountain peaks in the foothills. This area concentrates almost eighty percent of the Cultivators in Black Mountain County.
Cultivators need Spiritual Veins, which are hard to find outside the Black Mountain Mountain Range. Additionally, the abundant vegetation and thriving Yao Beasts here facilitate the collection of various Cultivation resources. Over time, it naturally became a sacred place for Cultivators.
However, despite the presence of so many Cultivation Families and even a colossal entity like the Qingfeng Sect gathered in one place, the Black Mountain Mountain Range is vast enough that they are not crowded. If the requirements for the grade of Spiritual Veins are not high, a small Family of dozens of people can occupy a hundred li of land without anyone raising an objection.
Among the many Cultivation Families, there is a Bai Family famous for its Spirit Plant cultivation. Their Old Ancestor was originally an Inner Sect Disciple of the Yulong Sect, thousands of miles away. He came from a humble background and, although he was fortunate enough to embark on the Immortal Path due to possessing a Spiritual Root, he cultivated diligently for decades but still had no hope of Foundation Establishment.
In search of an Opportunity, he traveled west and, by the grace of heaven, found an Immortal Cave relic in the Black Mountain Mountain Range with a tattered treasure map. He obtained a Legacy left by a former Loose Cultivator, and most importantly, the Immortal Cave also contained a Foundation Establishment Pill, which Qi Refining Stage Cultivators across the world regarded as a treasure.
With this Foundation Establishment Pill, the Bai Family’s Old Ancestor successfully achieved Foundation Establishment. At the same time, he settled down in Black Mountain County, branched out, and established a Cultivation Family.
Today, the Bai Family has been passed down for hundreds of years, with over ten thousand members, and has thoroughly established itself in Black Mountain.
However, among the tens of thousands of Family members, those with a Spiritual Root who are listed in the Family genealogy and referred to as Bai Family members will not exceed two hundred. Among Mortals, approximately one in a thousand will be born with a Spiritual Root. In Cultivation Families, this proportion is slightly higher, but most are Five Spiritual Roots or Four Spiritual Roots, which are Low Grade Aptitudes.
Only small Families like the Bai Family cherish every Family member with a Spiritual Root as a treasure. In the Qingfeng Sect, a Five Spiritual Root is directly called a waste Spiritual Root, with no need to embark on the path of Cultivation.
According to the Five Elements division, if a person has all Five Elements Spiritual Roots, their efficiency in refining Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is extremely low. Even with a lifetime of diligent Cultivation, they would at most reach the Late Stage of Qi Refining;
If one possesses only a single type of Spiritual Root, it is called a Heavenly Spiritual Root, and their path is smooth until the Golden Core Stage. For these favored children of heaven, the Foundation Establishment Stage is easily attainable.
However, with a population base of tens of millions in Black Mountain County, the Qingfeng Sect’s talent recruitment ceremony, held every ten years, rarely finds a prodigy with a Heavenly Spiritual Root. The last time such a Cultivation seed appeared was nearly a century ago.
After completing one full cycle of the Changchun Skill, Bai Zichen felt a steady stream of Spiritual Qi settle in his Dantian, unlike in the previous few months, when no matter how hard he cultivated, it was like a leather raft full of holes that couldn't hold a scoop of water, with a liter pouring in and a liter leaking out.
“Exactly one hundred days, I’ve successfully drawn Qi into my body. From today onwards, I am a true Cultivator, at the First Level of the Qi Refinement Stage!”
Even though he had lived two lives and already possessed the mindset of an adult, he was only nine years old in this life. The Immortal Dao was ethereal, and even though he had been exposed to it since childhood, Bai Zichen, who had been deeply influenced by materialistic thought in his previous life, only truly believed that this was a Xianxia world and that seeking the Dao and eternal life were no longer myths when he genuinely became a Cultivator.
For decades in his previous life, with an oversupply of societal productivity, Bai Zichen became a rentier after graduating from school, indulging in various virtual games, among which Xianxia games were his favorite.
Unexpectedly, after an all-night gaming session, he inexplicably arrived in this world and became a collateral branch Disciple of the Bai Family.
Bai Zichen’s parents were ordinary Bai Family members without Spiritual Roots, living in dark bamboo Town at the foot of the mountain. With the Bai Family’s care, although they had no hope of the Immortal Path, their lives were quite stable, unlike other Mortals who had to worry about exorbitant taxes, natural disasters, and man-made calamities.
Every Bai Family member’s greatest wish was for their child to become a Cultivator, not only to bring glory to the Family but also to bring prosperity to their entire lineage once one person achieved the Dao.
The town chiefs in several of the Bai Family’s Mortal towns were all individuals whose direct relatives had become accomplished Cultivators, which is how they obtained their positions.
Bai Zichen's branch had not produced a Cultivator for three generations, content to live in Upper Bai Town, making a living through handicrafts, until his father's generation, when his elder brother, Bai Jiu'an, was found to possess a Spiritual Root and was brought to the main Family on the mountain.
Thirty years of diligent Cultivation passed in a flash. With a Four Spiritual Roots Aptitude, he currently only has a Cultivation of the Sixth Level of the Qi Refinement Stage, but in the eyes of the residents of dark bamboo Town, he is already a remarkable figure.
When Bai Jiu'an became a Cultivator, he took good care of his nephews and younger generations, returning home every few years. A year ago, when he came home, he casually tested his little nephew's Spiritual Root and discovered that he actually possessed a Three Spiritual Roots Aptitude of wood, fire, and earth, which instantly brought great joy to the Family.
Bai Zichen also finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. In the past few years since his Transmigration, he had countless times worried that he was a Mortal without a Spiritual Root, destined to farm in the countryside his entire life.
According to the Bai Family’s rules, Spiritual Root testing is normally conducted uniformly at the age of ten. However, direct descendants of Cultivators often begin testing their Spiritual Roots at six or seven years old, as long as it doesn’t affect their Divine Sense, preparing for Cultivation early.
Since Bai Zichen was found to have a Three Spiritual Roots Aptitude, he naturally returned to the Bai Family’s ancestral land with his elder uncle, Bai Jiu'an.
In those Sects with a thousand-year Legacy, a Three Spiritual Roots Aptitude is merely mediocre talent, unable to make a splash in a crowd, left to develop on its own. However, in a small Family like the Bai Family, with only over a hundred Cultivators in total, it is considered an above-average Aptitude.
Moreover, Bai Zichen’s Three Spiritual Roots happened to be in a mutually generative relationship, making them a High Grade among Three Spiritual Roots, and thus even rarer.
Bai Jiu'an was very concerned about his nephew. After bringing him back to his bamboo house, he took time each day to personally teach him various Cultivation common sense and knowledge. At the same time, he spent Spirit Stones to purchase medicinal baths and Spirit Pills to gradually improve Bai Zichen’s Physique.
It was only after more than half a year that he took out the Changchun Skill and had him begin attempting Qi Refining.
The more than one hundred Cultivators of the Bai Family are all descendants of the same Old Ancestor, but after generations of transmission, many Cultivators are actually beyond five degrees of kinship, and their blood relations are quite distant.
Having a direct Bloodline Cultivator, once Bai Zichen embarks on the path of Cultivation, the two of them can support each other, which is much more trustworthy than ordinary Family members.
Qi Refining into the body is the first hurdle for every Cultivator beginning Cultivation. The title page of the Changchun Skill records “One hundred days to draw Qi, embark on the Immortal Path.”
Of course, this duration is just a general reference. Those with outstanding Aptitude might achieve it in a month or so, while those with dull Aptitude, like the waste Spiritual Roots, taking a year or even longer is normal.
At the very first step of the Cultivation path, the difference in Spiritual Roots is already clearly evident.
Bai Zichen happened to take exactly one hundred days, neither fast nor slow, which made him realize that while his Aptitude was not bad, it was completely incomparable to those Geniuses.
Upon becoming a Cultivator, Bai Zichen felt as if he had been reborn. He lightly leaped off the bed, stretched, and began to plan his grand Cultivation strategy.
“The Changchun Skill doesn’t offer much advantage in combat, but it excels in stable True Essence and long-lasting breath. Cultivators who practice this Cultivation Technique rarely face the danger of Qi Deviation. Before the Foundation Establishment Stage, there’s no need to worry about issues with the Cultivation Technique. The most important question is where Cultivation resources will come from, and what special skills I possess to establish myself.”
On Bai Zichen’s tender young face, there was a mature expression utterly unfitting for his age.
With his elder uncle’s personal guidance, Bai Zichen understood that apart from innate Aptitude, Cultivation resources were the most important. With countless Spirit Pills and elixirs, even a waste Spiritual Root Cultivator could be piled up into a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator with a massive amount of resources.
The Bai Clan Chief is a Cultivator at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment. Coupled with the seven or eight Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators within the Family, they are just enough to maintain the Bai Family’s current situation. However, expanding and developing is beyond their capabilities.
Aside from the share distributed to the top Cultivators, the remaining people only receive a few Spirit Stones each year; they primarily have to rely on themselves.
“If you don’t achieve Foundation Establishment by fifty, your life is over!”
This is a well-known saying circulating in the Black Mountain Mountain Range, referring to the fact that if one cannot Cultivate to the Great Perfection of the Qi Refinement Stage and attempt the Foundation Establishment Stage before the age of fifty, their path of Cultivation is essentially cut off.
Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators have Physical Bodies much stronger than Mortals, free from illness and pain, but a lifespan of one hundred and twenty years is their limit.
After fifty years of age, one's vitality declines year by year, and the possibility of attempting the Foundation Establishment Stage becomes increasingly low. In the stories Bai Jiu'an told, there were many who only reached Qi Refining Perfection in their seventies or eighties after their vitality had declined, unwilling to turn into a pile of dust after a few decades, and thus risked a desperate attempt. However, none survived the immense Spiritual Qi impact during the attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, leaving no remains.
“An Immortal touches my head, ties my hair, and grants eternal life.”
Bai Zichen opened the Black Mountain County Annals on the bookshelf, his gaze resolute.
“If there’s no Immortal to guide the way, then I’ll rely on myself.”
The beginning, which was left five years ago, has now sparked the desire to finish it.