Chapter 45: Talent, Tool, Spirit
The field was quiet.
The Dojo Master stood with hands behind his back, as if quietly waiting for Li Hou Er and Fang Shu to sort out their gains.
Suddenly, after holding back for a long time, Li Hou Er spoke up:
“May I ask Master, could it be that Junior Sister Qin Min is also like this, unable to cultivate the Nine Branches of Immortal Studies?”
As soon as he said this, it immediately drew the attention of the others, and the person in question, Qin Min, had a slight change in her expression.
Hearing this, Fang Shu glanced over and noticed that the woman’s face had subtly darkened. This made him immediately speculate in his heart that this woman was probably also unable to contact the Nine Branches of Immortal Studies in advance.
Sure enough, the Dojo Master’s expression was calm, but he nodded.
This response immediately made Li Hou Er click his tongue in astonishment, and even Du Yu Er and the other disciples had flickering gazes.
Among them, the female disciple named Fu Shi Er couldn’t help but murmur lowly: “Junior Sister Qin Min possesses a Spiritual Root, unlike us. Why can’t she contact the Nine Branches of Immortal Studies either?”
The Dojo Master said calmly:
“Correct, Qin Min does possess a Spiritual Root, different from your Mortal Roots. In matters of cultivation, she not only absorbs and exhales Spiritual Energy more easily than you all. Depending on one’s constitution, the Spiritual Root also makes cultivating Magic much more convenient.
However, no matter how wonderful the Spiritual Root is, it belongs to the category of Root and Bone aptitude and is not directly linked to Comprehension. To cultivate the Nine Branches of Immortal Studies, what is even more important is Comprehension.”
“Comprehension?!”
These two words fell into Fang Shu and the others’ ears, and everyone chewed on them, with several people’s expressions subtly darkening.
The Dojo Master continued:
“Precisely Comprehension.
Being observant of things, quick-minded, extraordinary memory, vast knowledge and strong recall—all these are Comprehension. When applied to Immortal Studies, its most direct manifestation is learning ‘Secret Script’.”
Hearing this, Fang Shu’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.
At this time, Li Hou Er spoke again:
“Then may I ask Master, between Comprehension and Spiritual Root, which is more important? Is it Comprehension?”
The Dojo Master glanced at Li Hou Er and spoke thoughtfully:
“Hard to say.
Those with Spiritual Roots have a far higher success rate in Breaking Through and passing Tribulation than those without.
Among them, lower-grade Spiritual Roots can Refining Qi, medium-grade Spiritual Roots can Foundation Establishment, top-grade Spiritual Roots can Core Formation, and the legendary Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots even have the potential to achieve Refining Spirit.
Without a Spiritual Root, one might get stuck at the starting stages of Refining Essence and Refining Qi in the Paths of Learning.
In comparison, the higher the Comprehension, the more Magic one cultivates, the more active the mind becomes, potentially wasting too much on matters outside of cultivation, delaying the accumulation of one’s own Qi and Blood, and regretting it for life.”
Shaking his head, the Dojo Master said:
“Perhaps it can be said this way: in the early stages of cultivation, Spiritual Root is more important; in the later stages, Comprehension is more important.
By this calculation, Spiritual Root should be somewhat more important, after all, it concerns cultivation speed, Breaking Through chances, and even must… cough, in short, for you all, Spiritual Root is more important.”
These words fell into everyone’s ears, and they all seemed to gain some realization.
Qin Min’s expression also immediately recovered somewhat.
But suddenly, the Dojo Master looked at everyone with a smiling expression and said again:
“I forgot to tell you all that Spiritual Root and Comprehension do not conflict. There are so many geniuses in the world, and those possessing both are not a minority, far beyond your imagination.
Of course, those with neither Spiritual Root nor Comprehension are the most common.
If you all can have a bit more perseverance than ordinary people, a bit of self-awareness, you can also walk a few more steps on the path to immortality. If you have some Opportunity on top of that, you might even surpass those with Spiritual Root and Comprehension.”
Her words simultaneously warned and comforted Qin Min and everyone present.
“Thank you, Master, for your teachings!” Everyone cupped their hands.
“Enough!” Before they could ask more questions, the Dojo Master called out:
“Why ask these irrelevant things? Do you all really still want to know what the shortcut to joining the Immortal Sect is?”
These words made Fang Shu and the others, who were still pondering, all look up sharply at him.
“Please tell us, Master!” “We want to know, of course we do!”
Then the Dojo Master faced everyone and held up three fingers:
“There are three shortcuts to joining the Immortal Sect, called the Path of Human as Magic Tool, the Path of Human as Material, and the Path of Human as Spirit.”
“Human as Magic Tool, Human as Material, Human as Spirit?” Everyone chewed on these three names, all baffled, not even having heard of them before.
“That’s right, these three.”
The Dojo Master spoke unhurriedly:
“The so-called ‘Human as Magic Tool’ Path is to treat oneself as a vessel, cultivating Magic passed down from within the Immortal Sect, and Sacrifice and Refining the corresponding Magic Tool to completion, meeting the Immortal Sect’s needs. At that time, one might catch the Immortal Sect’s eye, stand out from the crowd, and receive favor.
The so-called ‘Human as Material’ Path is to treat oneself as material, cultivating the Cultivation Method passed down from the Immortal Sect, refining a mouthful of human-body Precious Medicine that meets the Immortal Sect’s needs. The purer the Precious Medicine, the more one can stand out among those seeking immortality.”
The old woman’s these two statements really left people stunned.
Fang Shu and the others subconsciously suspected if they had misheard the words.
Someone murmured suspiciously on the spot: “This so-called ‘Human as Material’, it’s really the ‘material’ from Materials, not the ‘talent’ from talent?”
As a result, the next moment, what the Dojo Master said about the Path of Human as Spirit was even more blatant:
“The so-called ‘Human as Spirit’ Path can also be called the ‘Human-Made Tool Spirit’ Path, which is to nurture the Soul with one’s body, strengthening one’s own Soul to be usable as a Tool Spirit. This way, someone might take a liking to your Souls, accept you as disciples, and bring you into the Immortal Sect.”
At this point, Fang Shu and the others all looked at each other in bewilderment. They wouldn’t say they were terrified, but their faces were full of Suspicion, utterly astonished.
Turns out these three shortcuts to joining the Immortal Sect were to cultivate oneself as a Magic Tool, as Medicinal Herbs, as a Tool Spirit.
This way, one could more easily gain the favor of Immortal Sect people—or rather, their coveting and greed?
At this time, even the usually silent Qin Min finally uttered the first words she had said today after listening:
“Is this really joining the Immortal Sect, or selling oneself into the Immortal Sect? We cultivate for Longevity and freedom, not to become Provisions in others’ eyes.”
Her expression was gloomy, as if she had been somewhat struck.
Li Hou Er also clamored up:
“Damn it, is this an Immortal Sect or an evil sect? No cultivating, no way, I don’t want to become someone’s Provisions!”
Hearing these words from the two, a cold smile appeared on the Dojo Master’s face:
“No cultivating? Not willing?
Three-legged toads are rare in the world, but people are plentiful! If you don’t cultivate or join, there are plenty of people who would break their heads to take these three shortcuts.
It’s just that I came from within the Immortal Sect and know a bit, so I’m telling you so straightforwardly. If it were others, how could they explain it to you so clearly and explicitly.”
The old woman narrowed her eyes, her smile strange, skin-deep:
“Besides, do you all still think you haven’t taken these three paths?”
These words fell into everyone’s ears, making Li Hou Er and the others’ hearts race as they began to ponder what the Dojo Master meant, even suspecting the Dojo Master.
While Fang Shu stood among them, his eyelids suddenly lifted sharply.
He immediately thought of the Precious Blood he had obtained from Cheng Guanzi’s body when he killed Cheng Guanzi back then, and the wondrous uses of human-body Precious Blood mentioned in many Classics!
In addition, when he had encountered the Weasel Daoist in the Mass Grave back then, the other had also mentioned that 《Three-Six Pill Method》 was also known as 《Three-Six Bait Method》.
And “Bait”.
Besides meanings like swallowing, consuming, luring, it can also mean fruit bait, fishing bait, medicinal bait!
