For the next two months, Shi Feng fed the young eagle while comprehending the art of the underworld.
The young eagle's muscles and bones grew stronger and stronger, and it could stand very steadily. The down on its body fell off and was replaced by fine feathers. Its appetite also increased a lot. Shi Feng would hunt one or two monsters for it to eat every few days.
Shi Feng tried to communicate with the young eagle using the method of spiritual communication taught by the white fox, but the young eagle was too young and its intelligence was too low. The information it conveyed to Shi Feng was just a few simple messages such as "hungry, thirsty, tired, sleepy" and so on.
The feathers on the young eagle's back, head, and neck were all shiny black, with only a white line under its belly. Shi Feng called it "Xiao Hei" and called it over and over again. The young eagle could roughly understand that he was calling it.
As for comprehending and practicing the art of the underworld, the progress was rapid, because whenever the practice of the art of the underworld was mentioned, the white fox would be extremely enthusiastic, giving detailed instructions and, by the way, teaching Shi Feng how to observe his own spiritual consciousness palace.
Two months later, Shi Feng felt that he had much more energy than before. He concentrated his mind with his eyes closed and focused his mind. He could see that his two consciousness palaces were indeed independent of each other. The white mist was about the size of a palm. After two months of practice, the consciousness palace was indeed a little bigger than before, and the white mist was also two points thicker than before.
What the white fox said was true; a stronger spiritual consciousness would bring many benefits. Shi Feng's comprehension while refining weapons had greatly improved, and his success rate in creating restrictions had also increased. Master Gan Chu praised him highly, yet at the same time, he lamented his pity. Shi Feng was extremely talented in refining weapons, honest and diligent, and could have been his best successor. Unfortunately, Shi Feng lacked spiritual roots.
The more advanced the art of refining, the higher the level of inner cultivation required. Some magical weapons must be forged with the inner fire; some restrictions, due to their complexity and vastness, require the use of one's own vital energy to control them when fused into the magical weapon itself, to ensure that there are no errors. Shi Feng cannot do either of these things. When fusing restrictions, he must rely on the power of the magic array to complete the task. The power of the magic array is purely external, and its priority is difficult to control. Moreover, even the simplest refining materials and engraving restrictions can make a world of difference between having magic power and not having it.
Shi Feng himself was also obsessed with the matter of spiritual roots, and asked the white fox several times, but the white fox just wouldn't tell him. In the end, whenever Shi Feng mentioned the word spiritual roots, the white fox simply pretended to be deaf and dumb and ignored him.
Ever since Shi Feng made a name for himself in the sect competition, Master Liu Yunzi's attitude towards Shi Feng has changed greatly. Every time he gathers disciples to preach, he will call Shi Feng along. He has also summoned Shi Feng privately several times to ask about his situation, and sometimes ask him to collect some materials or help repair some spiritual weapons.
That afternoon, Liu Yunzi called Shi Feng over again and asked him to help repair a spiritual weapon. Before he left, Shi Feng couldn't help but ask, "Master, is there any way in the world that can allow someone without spiritual roots to develop spiritual roots?"
Liu Yunzi glanced at him and said, "If this method existed, then every mortal in the world could enter the realm of cultivation. Why are cultivators still so rare?"
Shi Feng said unwillingly, "There are always exceptions to everything. Is there really no way?" Liu Yunzi pondered for a moment and slowly shook his head.
Shi Feng left disappointed, walked out of the house, sighed, and wondered if he should go ask Grandmaster Dao Chong. But the Grandmaster was in seclusion year-round, so he wouldn't be able to see him often. He hesitated for a moment, shook his head, gave up the idea, and walked down the mountain.
He had walked less than a hundred steps when he heard Liu Yunzi say, "Shi Feng, please come back." Shi Feng hurriedly turned around and came back in, bowing and saying, "Master, is there anything else I can do for you?"
Liu Yunzi said, "Sit down." Shi Feng sat down as he was told and looked at Liu Yunzi. Liu Yunzi said nothing, but stroked his beard in thought. After a long moment, he looked up at the sky and sighed, "Do you really want to know how to change your innate constitution?"
Shi Feng was overjoyed and kowtowed, saying, "If I can grow spiritual roots, even if the method is difficult, I am willing to give it a try." Liu Yunzi said, "Master, I am talking about changing your innate constitution, but I can't guarantee that spiritual roots will grow." Shi Feng said, "This, even if the chance is small, it's worth a try."
Liu Yunzi said, "We've been master and disciple for a while, and I see you're truly devoted to the Dao. Well, I'll tell you, and see if you have the chance. Actually, changing one's innate constitution is quite simple. While it's impossible to achieve through cultivation techniques, there are countless innate elixirs with miraculous effects. Some of these elixirs can change a person's constitution, and can even allow those without spiritual roots to develop them."
"Magic medicine?" Shi Feng was stunned. He didn't expect the method to be so simple. If that was the case, then why did his master hesitate for a long time before telling him, and that old fox would never tell him even if he was beaten to death.
Liu Yunzi seemed to see through his doubts and said, "You think this method is simple, right? Hehe, then you are wrong."
Shi Feng said, "Master, please explain."
Liu Yunzi said, "First of all, there are innate spiritual medicines. Innate spiritual medicines are not elixirs that are refined later in life, but spiritual flowers and herbs born from heaven and earth. Among them, the spiritual medicines that can change a person's physique are naturally very precious and rare. It is hard to say whether our Taiji Sect has them. Even if we do, we can't give them to you."
Shi Feng said cautiously, "I wonder how I can exchange for this kind of elixir?" Liu Yunzi shook his head and said, "This kind of elixir contains powerful spiritual power, which is enough to cleanse the bones and muscles and improve one's physique. It is really precious. Even the ancestors in the Jindan stage are drooling over it. If I have it, how can I give it to you?" Shi Feng nodded.
Liu Yunzi continued, "Any innate spiritual object of this level is hard to come by. You should know that these innate spiritual medicines can help cultivators break through bottlenecks. Think about it, if the same innate spiritual herb is given to a Jindan cultivator, perhaps our Taiji Sect will have an extra Yuanying ancestor. But if you eat it, you may not necessarily develop spiritual roots. Even if you do develop spiritual roots, you may only become a Qi Refining disciple with three spiritual roots. Think about it, if such an innate spiritual medicine really existed, would they give it to you?"
Shi Feng was stunned for a moment.
Liu Yunzi said, "And this kind of spiritual medicine is almost impossible to buy with spiritual stones. Even if you can buy it, I'm afraid it will cost millions of spiritual stones. Hehe, by the time you have accumulated enough spiritual stones, you will probably have died. And even if you have hundreds of millions of spiritual stones in your pocket, you don't know where to buy it. What you said, I have only heard of one sect in my life, and that is the Lei Family Castle in the Five Orthodox Sects of our Great Yan Kingdom. There was a disciple who was the direct descendant of the sect master who was very beloved by his sect leader. Because he had no spiritual roots, the ancestor of the Lei family gave him a 'Tengyun Flower', and as a result, spiritual roots really came into being. Shi Feng, do you think you have such a background?" Shi Feng smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Liu Yunzi said, "Alright, I've explained the whole story to you clearly. Are you still obsessed with this?" Shi Feng said resolutely, "I know I have no background or financial resources, but I am still willing to travel thousands of miles to seek elixirs. I only hope to truly enter the realm of cultivation in this lifetime."
Liu Yunzi glanced at Shi Feng and said, "I am very pleased that you have such ambition. Cultivation is to go against the will of heaven. Without ambition and ruthlessness, you will not be able to achieve anything." He paused and said, "You don't need to travel thousands of miles. I know the whereabouts of such elixirs, and there are more than one place. However, the journey is full of difficulties. Do you dare to give it a try?" Shi Feng was overjoyed and kowtowed, "Thank you, Master. I dare to go."
Liu Yunzi said, "These two spiritual medicines are actually in the same place, that is the trial ground, Qianhu Cave Heaven."
"Trial ground?"
"Yes, it is the trial ground that will open in two months. You have passed the first two rounds of the sect competition and are qualified to enter the trial."
Shi Feng was overjoyed. He had not originally planned to participate in any trial, but after hearing what Liu Yunzi said, he knew that he had to take part in this trial no matter what.
Liu Yunzi asked, "How much do you know about the trial ground?" Shi Feng felt a little ashamed and said, "I know nothing at all."
Liu Yunzi said, "Then I will explain it to you in detail, and you can decide for yourself whether to go or not. This trial site is located in Jinan Mountain, southwest of Taiji Sect, at the junction of our Taiji Sect and Wanshou Villa. It is hundreds of miles in radius and has many lakes, so it is also known as the Thousand Lakes Cave Heaven."
Shi Feng was somewhat puzzled. "I, a disciple from Ji Nanshan, have accompanied my senior brother on business trips and happened to pass by that place once or twice. The place is dry and barren, and I haven't seen many lakes there."
Liu Yunzi smiled and said, "Of course you can't see it, because the trial ground is not a piece of land, but a cave magic weapon."
Shi Feng asked in surprise, "A magic weapon within a radius of hundreds of miles?"
Liu Yunzi said, "That's both true and false. When a powerful person reaches an astonishing level of cultivation, they can transform entire mountains and rivers into a Sumeru space. This trial ground is located in a sealed area in the valley of Jinan Mountain. Every seven years, the power of the seal is weakened by the power of the sun, moon, and stars. This was first discovered by our Taiji Sect, who gathered their strength to break the seal and enter."
"The Qianhu Cavern is a place of immense power. The spiritual energy within is much richer than that outside, and because it has been sealed off for so long, many aged spiritual flowers and herbs have been born there. This naturally greatly delighted the Taiji Sect's founder back then. However, the good times didn't last long. When the other four sects learned of this, they also wanted a piece of the action. Consequently, the five sects engaged in a fierce battle. It wasn't until four or five hundred years ago that they reached an agreement to enter this place together and use it as a training ground for their disciples."
"This Thousand Lakes Cave Heaven has been in ruins for a long time, and the space has collapsed severely. At that time, the five sects jointly decided to prohibit cultivators above the Jindan stage from entering it. Because fighting between Jindan stage cultivators would cause fluctuations in the vital energy of heaven and earth, they were afraid that the entire cave heaven would be destroyed if they were not careful."
"The disciples of the five sects joined forces to enter the cave primarily to gather spiritual flowers and herbs. However, after hundreds of years of gathering, the resources are much less abundant than before, and innate spiritual medicines are even harder to come by. Furthermore, the cave is overrun with demonic beasts, and since disciples of the five sects are not prohibited from fighting, it's common for demonic beasts to eat humans, and for cultivators to kill and rob each other for treasures. You're just a body cultivator without magical powers, and entering there would be very dangerous. Think carefully."
Shi Feng gritted his teeth and said, "If I can't grow spiritual roots, I will just be a pile of bones in a few decades. I am willing to give it a try."
"In that case, listen carefully. There are two places where this innate elixir resides. You don't need to go to one of them. It's the Cold Dragon's Inner Core. This Cold Dragon's cultivation is close to the Golden Core stage. Even if I were to go, I wouldn't be a match for it. If you were to go, you wouldn't even be enough to fill its teeth. The other place might be your chance. There's a plant called Tianyu Grass there, which I also discovered by chance."
Shi Feng said, "Master, you have also been to this trial site. Hey, since you discovered this spiritual herb, why didn't you pick it then?"