Chapter 73: Chapter 73 Golden Elixir True Monarch
 

True Monarch!

Zhou Yi had stayed in the Marketplace for four years and was no longer a novice who had just entered the Cultivation World.

Those at the Foundation Establishment level are revered as True Persons. The current steward of Little Dan Mountain is none other than Xuan Lin True Person.

With but a word, he could determine the rise and fall of the National Dynasty!

Such might, in front of a Golden Core True Monarch, was still considered that of a junior with much to learn.

A Golden Core True Monarch who could fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth, with a lifespan of five hundred years. When his magic treasures descended, mountains would crumble, and the earth would split. He had essentially transcended the category of “human,” and to call him an immortal was by no means an exaggeration.

Zhou Yi held the notebook with both hands, resisting the urge to flip through it.

“Senior, this book is too precious, I feel unworthy to accept it!”

Jing Xu waved his hand and said, “It’s not as if a True Monarch is preaching, it’s just a mere volume of notes, without even leaving behind any spells.”

“Then… I shall be so bold as to borrow and read it!”

Zhou Yi knew Jing Xu’s character. Having inherited his family’s shop, he didn’t need to pay rent to the Marketplace, and with minimal management, he could earn several hundred Spirit Stones a year, presenting quite an imposing and wealthy figure.

Of course, his cultivation at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement was also the foundation of Jing Xu’s confidence.

Zhou Yi carefully stored away the notes of a True Monarch, then conversed with Jing Xu for two to three hours before taking his leave, mostly discussing stories from the book.

In his previous life, Zhou Yi enjoyed reading fantasy novels about immortals and knights-errant. He did not dare claim his imagination could surpass that of the Cultivation World, but he had his unique insights.

Occasionally he would share a few plot lines, which would elicit Jing Xu’s admiration and praise, declaring he would have them written down.

Such purely recreational books had no place in the Cultivation World where they couldn’t be sold for Spirit Stones. They were often the fantasies and dreams of frustrated cultivators, who if lucky, might encounter a patron who would reward them with three to five Spirit Stones.

By that time, the author might have already passed away!

Leaving Jing Xu’s Abode.

Zhou Yi did not linger in the trading area but hurried back to his cave dwelling and secured the door.

After bathing, burning incense, and washing his hands, he opened the first page of the True Monarch’s notes.

“In my youth, I was unaware of the importance of progress, cultivating without seeking the origin or resolving doubts, until I formed my Golden Core and had no worries about my lifespan, that I began to contemplate…”

Zhou Yi was momentarily left speechless. The opening was an overwhelming bout of bragging from a great figure, implying he had formed his Golden Core while idly wandering and confused.

This year, Zhou Yi was one hundred twenty-six years old. Still in the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, he had not yet achieved success, while a normal Foundation Establishment cultivator would only live to around two hundred. By that age, there was no guarantee of advancing to the later stages of Qi Refinement.

Continuing to read on, the Pure True Monarch lived for four hundred years before beginning to research the puzzles of his youth.

Where does Spiritual Energy come from?

What are the characteristics of Spiritual Energy?

The first question was quickly answered, not by the True Monarch’s experiments or research but from what he learned after consulting his mentor.

“The great ancestral veins differentiate into countless Spirit Veins, which naturally emit Spiritual Energy, classified into the four grades of heaven, earth, mystery, and yellow depending on their length and size. Beneath the Spirit Veins lie Spirit Lands, which are natural convergences of Spiritual Energy but do not produce new Spiritual Energy.”

As Zhou Yi read this, a picture formed in his mind.

The entirety was like a great tree, the ancestral veins were its roots, and the Spirit Veins were its branches and leaves, producing Spiritual Energy for this world.

Spirit Lands, on the other hand, were not part of the great tree, formed by various causes, perhaps innate Spirit Gathering Arrays, possibly by some Spiritual Objects, or even by the tombs of high-level cultivators, transforming into a small area for gathering spirit.

He had long heard of cultivators occupying Spirit Lands, creating settlements connected by bloodline, referred to by outsiders as cultivating families.

“So, if the ancestral veins were to break or perish, would that herald the end of the era of magic?”

Zhou Yi killed the dangerous thought; not to mention how difficult it was to sever ancestral veins, such a person would surely become the common enemy of all cultivators, including demon races.

Having learned the source of Spiritual Energy, the Pure True Monarch then sought his master’s insight on the characteristics of Spiritual Energy. However, even his master was not very clear, sharing only personal epiphanies, and not a coherent system.

For example, a higher-level cultivator entering the mundane world would rapidly lose cultivation as they themselves became a source of Spiritual Energy, potentially turning the nearby mountains, stones, and trees into Spirits and Monsters.

For example, if a magic treasure was left in the mundane world for too long, it would lead to the dispersal of its spiritual nature, eventually turning it into scrap metal.

“Hmm? The True Monarch’s master says, any treasure that retains spirit after a hundred years in the mundane world must have an extraordinary origin…”

Zhou Yi’s heart stirred, and he took out the bronze mirror from within his cloth.

The bronze mirror was capable of releasing spiritual light that could immobilize ghostly entities, hence it was named the Spirit-Calming Mirror.

“This mirror comes from Xuan Qing Daoist and was bestowed upon his disciple Yulingzi, who has been gone for over three hundred years!”

Zhou Yi flipped the Spirit-Calming Mirror over and over, inspecting it. After activating it with his mana, the emitted white light seemed to have strengthened.

“So, this mirror is the real treasure. Thankfully I didn’t trade it for spirit stones, or who knows which main character would have scored a deal. Unfortunately, it’s easy for its spiritual nature to dissipate but hard to restore!”

“I wonder how many years it will take to regain its original power.”

“No matter, if there’s anything I can say, it’s that I have the patience to wait!”

Zhou Yi tucked the Spirit-Calming Mirror back into his clothes, planning to find a refining method in the future, to swallow and nurture it within his body for safety.

Continuing through the notes, Pure True Monarch started to delve deeply into the characteristics of the spiritual energy, based on phenomena described by his master. This topic wasn’t abstruse and didn’t take many years for Pure True Monarch to reach a conclusion.

“Spiritual energy dissipates from areas of high concentration to low concentration!”

Zhou Yi pondered carefully, and indeed his past experiences confirmed as much.

“Pure True Monarch crafted magical artifacts, captured demonic beasts, and even spent a few years in the mundane world, only to discover that the Golden Cores of cultivators, the inner cores of demonic beasts, and magical artifacts all contained high concentrations of spiritual energy.”

“Once they appear in the mundane world, they uncontrollably dissipate!”

Zhou Yi held great respect for Pure True Monarch’s dedicated spirit; risking core-fragmentation was a very real possibility.

“Pure True Monarch extensively studied the Spirit Gathering Array trying to bind and confine spiritual energy, yet the foundation of an array is also spiritual energy. Elements like array plates, formation flags, and inscriptions are all related to spiritual energy, and in the end, he could only slow the dissipation, not stop it entirely.”

“Other things like spirit pills, spirit stones, and talismans—all spiritual objects—become mundane over time if left in the mortal world.”

Zhou Yi read up to this point, musing deeply, and then slowly turned to the last page.

Sure enough.

Pure True Monarch concluded that spiritual energy is the foundation of the Immortal Path, and Spirit Veins are the foundation of spiritual energy.

If the ancestral veins were damaged, the Cultivation World would face a great catastrophe!

The entire collection of essays amounted to no more than ten thousand words, roughly equivalent to a thesis, and indeed it was. Through repeated experiments and exploring the sources and characteristics of spiritual energy, Pure True Monarch adopted a scientific method of research.

Science isn’t just physics and chemistry; it’s a tool for exploring the truth.

“This set of notes has really opened my eyes, it’s worth hundreds, even thousands of times more than the wine money. With a solid theoretical foundation to rely on, I can now see through the fog and target the core when looking at and handling matters.”

“No wonder the senior didn’t want it disseminated. If someone with ill intentions learned about it, it could lead to a disaster!”

Zhou Yi, who wasn’t short of malicious suspicions, knew that with so many people in the Cultivation World, there was no shortage of those who didn’t want to live and thus would drag everyone else down with them.

Although the ancestral veins are difficult to destroy, even a dike of a thousand miles can be ruined by an ant hole. With the constant assault from cultivators, a disaster would eventually arise.

Zhou Yi recited the “Cultivation of the Spirit Theory” by Qing Wei Zhenren, focusing his mind and calming his emotional fluctuations.

The exploration of the origin of the Cultivation World by Golden Elixir True Monarch was truly awe-inspiring, but It was far too distant from Zhou Yi, who at the moment needed to focus on tending to his fields and practicing his skills to break through the fourth layer of Qi Refinement.

Moreover, if the true ancestral veins were severed and the age of decline descended, immortals would die, and demons would perish.

Zhou Yi would still be living in the world, possibly even becoming one of the strongest through the martial path!

“This seems like a shortcut, without having to spend thousands or tens of thousands of years cultivating, to achieve… Immeasurable Heavenly Honored One! I’ve always been compassionate. How could such wicked thoughts arise in me? Good indeed, good indeed!”

Zhou Yi cultivated for the night, making slight progress in his mana.

The next day.

He arrived at the entrance of Jing Xu’s Abode and discovered the door was tightly shut, with a note attached.

“Gone on a journey amongst the clouds, return date indefinite!”

“Tsks tsks tsks, truly deserving of a wealthy owner with shops, tossing away tens or hundreds of spirit stones each month, affording plenty of visits to Phoenix Cry Pavilion!”

Zhou Yi had toiled for four years and had yet to experience the flavor of a female cultivator, only hearing about their proficiency in Dual Cultivation.

The joyful enhancement of one’s cultivation level was truly indescribable!