Chapter 52: A Solution

[Soul Essence: 5000]

Qing looked at the number displayed on the System Window with a small grin on his face. ’I already had about 20, meaning those monsters gave me 4,980 in total, huh? It comes down to 50 Soul Essence per B-Rank.’

The moment he finished thinking that, the System Window immediately changed, displaying an explanation that caught his attention.

[Host is correct. There were a few weaker ones, which is why the count is 20 less Soul Essence in total.]

[B-Rank — 50 Soul Essence, A-Rank — 100, S-Rank — 500, SS-Rank — 1000, and SSS-Rank — 5000.]

Qing nodded in understanding as he looked at the values.

’Oh? So it works like that...’ The Soul Essence gained from stronger beings increased considerably with each Rank, meaning that powerful enemies would eventually become extremely valuable sources of Soul Essence.

However, Qing quickly shifted his attention toward something far more important. ’Now that I have this much Soul Essence, I can increase my cultivation drastical—!’

Before he could finish his thought, another problem suddenly surfaced in his mind. His Ultimate Comprehension immediately recognized the flaw in what seemed like an easy path to rapidly increase his Cultivation, causing Qing’s expression to change.

’Fuck, I need to cultivate each Spiritual Root before I can break through to the next realm.’ He remembered that although the Elixir of Perfect Harmony could overcome the difficulty of understanding and balancing the different Elements through their fusion, it couldn’t solve the fundamental problem of his Spiritual Roots.

Qing sighed internally as he continued thinking about it, ’The Elixir can overcome the Elemental understanding through the fusion of every Element, but the problem comes down to the Spiritual Roots.’

His Twelve Sovereign Primordial Roots were the foundation of his Cultivation, and every one of them needed to progress alongside his main Cultivation. If he neglected even a single Root, the imbalance would eventually become a bottleneck that could prevent him from advancing any further.

He immediately looked toward the System Window and asked internally, ’System, how much Soul Essence would I need to cultivate all my Spiritual Roots to the same Realm and Stage as my current Cultivation Realm?’

The System responded almost immediately.

[Host would need 4000 Soul Essence in total.]

Qing immediately arched an eyebrow as he stared at the System Window. The amount was far lower than he had expected, and for a moment, he even wondered whether he had misunderstood the System.

’Only 4000? Then there is no need to question it. Do it right now!’ He felt a surge of excitement as he wanted to see what exactly Soul Essence could do, especially since this was the first time he had ever directly used it to improve his Cultivation.

The moment his thought finished, a strange white translucent aura suddenly surrounded his entire body. Qing frowned slightly as he carefully observed it, but he couldn’t distinguish it as Spiritual Energy, Astrine, or anything else he could normally sense.

It didn’t feel like an ordinary energy at all, almost as if this power existed according to completely different rules from every form of energy and ability he had encountered before.

’Hmm, what a strange feeling...’

Just as he finished that thought, his Twelve Sovereign Primordial Roots suddenly seemed to heat up ever so slightly before the sensation quickly disappeared. Qing’s eyes widened as he immediately sensed a major change within his foundation.

The twelve Roots that had previously been at different levels were now being raised together, and the process happened so smoothly that he couldn’t even feel the usual strain associated with cultivation.

’What? Their Cultivation increased to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment without any pain or anything?’ Qing’s confusion grew as he examined his foundation. Under normal circumstances, advancing an entire Cultivation Stage in even a single Spiritual Root would require enormous amounts of Spiritual Energy, time, and potentially a painful process of reconstruction, yet all twelve Roots had advanced simultaneously without any resistance.

It was so unnatural that Qing couldn’t help but remain stunned for a moment. Before he could analyze the process any further, another System Window appeared in front of him.

[Congratulations! Host’s Twelve Sovereign Primordial Roots are now at the Early Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm!]

[Soul Essence: 1000]

Qing stared at the remaining Soul Essence for only a brief moment before shaking his head. ’Sigh, I shouldn’t even think about this. The System itself is already outside the natural order.’ Since Soul Essence could directly affect his foundation without requiring him to follow the normal cultivation process, there was little point in trying to compare its effects with ordinary cultivation methods.

Now that his Spiritual Roots had finally reached the same Cultivation Stage as his body, Qing immediately noticed another change. He could feel that his foundation had become significantly more stable, but the increased capacity of his Spiritual Roots also made him feel hungry for more Spiritual Qi, ’Seems my capacity increased by a hundredfold, It’s obvious, though.’

Qing sat upright and immediately entered a lotus position on the meditation platform. He closed his eyes and began drawing the dense Spiritual Qi from the surrounding room into his body, repeating the same process of refining it within his Dantian that he had used previously.

The Spiritual Qi flowed into his body far more easily than before, and his expanded foundation allowed him to refine a tremendous amount of energy without causing instability.

Several hours passed while Qing remained completely focused on drawing in and refining the Spiritual Qi. He didn’t rush the process because his current foundation had already become much larger, meaning that filling it would naturally require a considerable amount of time. Only after a full three hours had passed did Qing finally open his eyes and release a long breath.

"Phew, that was another session without actually cultivating, though it’s making my foundation grow stronger little by little..." Qing stood up from the meditation platform and immediately noticed the familiar blackish oozes covering parts of his body again.

He stared at them for several seconds before becoming completely speechless, wondering just how many impurities this body had accumulated over the years. ’Now my wristwatch will come in handy.’ He immediately opened his Inventory, retrieved the futuristic wristwatch he had previously stored inside it, and placed it around his wrist.

With a simple touch on an option displayed through the holographic screen, the wristwatch immediately became completely transparent and undetectable. It blended perfectly with his skin, making it almost impossible for anyone to notice that he was wearing anything at all.

Qing looked at it for a moment before remembering one of its functions and thought, ’Normally, I would need to take a long bath to remove these visceral oozes, but... with only a single thought, Nanite Purification System.’

The moment he gave the command, the wristwatch on his left wrist vibrated slightly. Countless microscopic nanites were immediately released and spread across his body, scanning his physical condition before activating their built-in purification function.

Within an instant, the blackish and foul-smelling visceral oozes covering his skin were completely removed, leaving his body clean without requiring him to use any water.

Even the unpleasant smell disappeared completely. In simple terms, the nanites had scanned his body down to the cellular level and used their built-in cleaning functions to remove the impurities that had been expelled during his cultivation.

The actual process was considerably more complicated, but there was no need for Qing to waste time thinking about the technical details as long as the system operated safely on the outer structure of his body.

Qing didn’t dwell on it either. After confirming that his body was completely clean, he looked toward the window at the far end of the room and stared outside at the Nine Lotus Sect. His expression gradually became more serious as his thoughts returned to the fake Sect Master and the Demon Dreamland Scripture she had given him.

’Now it is time to investigate that Sect Master.’