Mizhou, Black Mountain County.
The Black Mountain Range, like a colossal Demon Dragon, snaked from east to west across the entire county.
Deep within the Black Mountain Range, it was rumored that Tier Three Demon Beasts, comparable in power to Golden Core Great Cultivators, lay hidden. The area was sparsely populated, but it nurtured countless Spirit Grasses;
The eastern side of the range was well-developed, home to the Qingfeng Sect, the most powerful force in Black Mountain County;
And along the foothills, more than fifty Cultivation Families, large and small, were scattered across the peaks. This region concentrated over eighty percent of Black Mountain County's Cultivators.
After all, the Spirit Veins essential for Cultivators were scarce outside the Black Mountain Range. Furthermore, the area boasted lush vegetation and a thriving population of Demon Beasts, making it easy to gather various Cultivation Resources. Over time, it naturally became a haven for Cultivators.
Despite so many Cultivation Families and a behemoth like the Qingfeng Sect gathered in one place, the Black Mountain Range was vast enough that it never felt crowded. If a small clan of a few dozen people wasn't picky about the quality of its Spirit Vein, it could occupy a hundred-mile territory without anyone raising an objection.
Among the many Cultivation Families, there was one known as the Bai Family, famous for its Spirit Plant Technique. Their Ancestor was originally an Inner Sect Disciple of the Fish Dragon Sect, located thousands of miles away. Born into poverty, he was fortunate enough to possess a Spiritual Root and embark on the Immortal Path, but despite decades of bitter cultivation, Foundation Establishment remained out of his reach.
Seeking an opportunity, he traveled west and, by a stroke of heavenly luck, used a tattered Treasure Storage Paper to find the ruins of a Cave Mansion in the Black Mountain Range. He reaped the rewards left behind by a Loose Cultivator of a previous generation. Most importantly, within the Cave Mansion was a Foundation Establishment Pill—a treasure coveted by every Qi Refining Cultivator in the world.
With this Foundation Establishment Pill, the Bai Family's Ancestor successfully reached the Foundation Establishment Stage. He then settled down in Black Mountain County, where he started a family and established a Cultivation Family.
Now, the Bai Family had existed for several hundred years. With a clan numbering over ten thousand, they had firmly established their footing in Black Mountain.
But of those ten thousand-plus clan members, fewer than two hundred possessed Spiritual Roots and were recorded in the clan's registry as part of the core Bai Family. Among Mortals, only about one in a thousand is born with a Spiritual Root. While this ratio is slightly higher in Cultivation Families, most of those born with them possess Low-Grade Talent, such as Five Spiritual Roots or Four Spiritual Roots.
Only a small family like the Bai Clan would treat every member with a Spiritual Root as a treasure. In the Qingfeng Sect, Five Spiritual Roots were directly labeled as a Discarded Spiritual Root, deemed completely unworthy of even setting foot on the path of Cultivation.
According to the division of the Five Elements, if a person possesses all Five Elements Spiritual Roots, their efficiency in refining nature's spiritual energy is extremely low. Even with a lifetime of bitter cultivation, they would, at best, only reach the Late-Stage of Qi Refining.
If one possessed only a single Spiritual Root, it was known as a Celestial Spiritual Root, and their path before the Golden Core Stage would be completely unimpeded. For these favored children of heaven, reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage was as easy as lifting a hand.
However, even with Black Mountain County's population of tens of millions, the Qingfeng Sect struggled to find even one prodigy with a Celestial Spiritual Root during its recruitment ceremony held once a decade. The last time such a Cultivation Seed appeared was nearly a hundred years ago.
After completing one full circulation of the Chang Chun Skill, Bai Zichen felt a stream of Spiritual Power settle steadily within his Dantian. It was no longer like the past few months, where no matter how hard he cultivated, it felt like trying to hold water in a punctured raft—for every liter poured in, a liter leaked out.
'Exactly one hundred days. I've successfully achieved Qi Introduction. From this day forward, I'm finally a real Cultivator, at the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage!'
Even though he had lived two lives and possessed the mentality of an adult, he was still only nine years old in this life. The Immortal Dao was ethereal, and despite being immersed in it since childhood, Bai Zichen, who had been thoroughly indoctrinated with materialistic thought in his past life, only truly believed this was a world of Immortals and heroes once he became a Cultivator himself. The pursuit of the Dao and eternal life was no longer just a myth.
In his previous life of several decades, societal productivity was in surplus. After graduating, Bai Zichen became a man of leisure, addicted to various virtual games, with Xianxia-themed games being his absolute favorite.
He never expected that after an all-night grinding session, he would inexplicably arrive in this world and become a disciple of a side branch of the Bai Family.
Bai Zichen's parents were ordinary Bai Clan Members without Spiritual Roots who lived in Ink Bamboo Town at the foot of the mountain. Under the Bai Family's protection, their lives were relatively stable, even if the Immortal Path was beyond their reach. They didn't have to worry about exorbitant taxes, natural disasters, or man-made calamities like other Mortals.
The greatest wish of every Bai Clan Member was for their child to become a Cultivator. Not only would it bring glory to their family, but it followed the principle of "when one person attains the Dao, their whole family ascends."
The town mayors in the Bai Family's mortal towns were all individuals who had close relatives become accomplished Cultivators, which was how they secured their positions.
Going back three generations, Bai Zichen's branch of the family had never produced a single Cultivator. They had lived quietly in Upper White Town, making a living through handicrafts. This changed with his father's generation when his eldest brother, Bai Jiu'an, was discovered to have a Spiritual Root and was brought up the mountain to the main clan.
In the blink of an eye, thirty years of ceaseless, bitter cultivation had passed. With his Four Spiritual Roots Talent, he had only reached the Sixth-Layer Cultivation of the Qi Refining Stage, but in the eyes of the residents of Ink Bamboo Town, he was already an incredible figure.
Having become a Cultivator, Bai Jiu'an took great care of his own nephews and the younger generation, returning home every few years. During a visit a year ago, he casually performed a Spirit Test and discovered that his young nephew actually possessed Three Spiritual Roots Talent—Wood, Fire, and Earth. The discovery sent the family into a state of pure joy.
A great weight was finally lifted from Bai Zichen's heart as well. In the years since he had transmigrated, he had worried countless times that he might be a Mortal without a Spiritual Root, destined to spend his entire life toiling in the fields.
According to the Bai Family's rules, Spirit Testing was normally conducted for all children once they turned ten. However, the direct descendants of Cultivators were often tested for Spiritual Roots at six or seven, as soon as it wouldn't harm their Divine Sense, allowing them to prepare for Cultivation early.
Since Bai Zichen had been found to possess Three Spiritual Roots Talent, he naturally returned to the Bai Clan Territory with his uncle, Bai Jiu'an.
In a Sect with a thousand-year heritage, Three Spiritual Roots Talent would be considered merely mediocre—not enough to even make a splash in a crowd. Such individuals would be left to fend for themselves. But in a small clan like the Bai Family, with just over a hundred Cultivators in total, it was already considered upper-middle-grade talent.
Moreover, Bai Zichen's three Spiritual Roots happened to have a generative relationship, making his talent Top Grade among those with Three Spiritual Roots, which was even rarer.
Bai Jiu'an cared deeply for his nephew. After bringing him back to his bamboo house, he took time every day to personally teach him all sorts of common knowledge and lore about Cultivation. At the same time, he spent Spirit Stones to buy medicinal baths and Spiritual Food to slowly improve Bai Zichen's constitution.
A full half-year passed before he finally gave him the Chang Chun Skill and let him begin attempting Qi Refining.
Although the hundred-plus Cultivators of the Bai Family were all descendants of the same Ancestor, after generations, many were now only distantly related, their blood ties having thinned considerably.
Having a cultivator in the family who was a direct blood relative was far more trustworthy than an ordinary clan member. Once Zichen was on the path of Cultivation, the two of them could support each other.
Qi Introduction is the first hurdle every cultivator faces at the start of their training. The title page of the Chang Chun Skill recorded the words: "Hundred Days Energy Introduction, Step onto the Immortal Path."
Of course, this timeframe was just a general guideline. Someone with outstanding talent might succeed in a month or two, while it was normal for someone with dull talent, like those with a Discarded Spiritual Root, to take a year or even longer.
The very first step on the path of Cultivation already made the differences in Spiritual Roots painfully clear.
Bai Zichen had taken exactly one hundred days—not fast, but not slow either. It made him realize that while his talent wasn't bad, he was completely incomparable to true geniuses.
The moment he became a Cultivator, Bai Zichen felt as if he had been completely transformed. He leaped lightly from his bed, stretched languidly, and began to plan out his grand strategy for cultivation.
'The Chang Chun Skill has no particular strengths in Combat, but its advantage lies in its stable True Essence and sustained stamina. Cultivators who practice it rarely face the danger of Qigong Deviation. Before the Foundation Establishment Stage, I don't need to worry about my cultivation technique. The most important questions are where my Cultivation Resources will come from, and what special skills I have to secure my place in this world.'
Bai Zichen's small, boyish face showed a maturity that completely belied his age.
Thanks to his uncle's teachings, both by word and example, Bai Zichen understood that apart from innate talent, Cultivation Resources were the most important factor. With enough Miracle Elixirs, even a Discarded Spiritual Root Cultivator could be brute-forced into becoming a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with a mountain of resources.
The Bai Clan Leader was an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Along with the seven or eight Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators in the clan, they were just enough to maintain the Bai Family's current situation. But they lacked the strength to expand, even if they had the ambition.
After the top-tier Cultivators took their share of the clan's income, the rest only received a few Spirit Stones each year. Ultimately, they had to rely on themselves.
"No Foundation Establishment by fifty means your life is over!"
This was a famous saying in the Black Mountain Range. It meant that if a cultivator couldn't reach Qi Refining Great Perfection and attempt Foundation Establishment before the age of fifty, their path of Cultivation was essentially severed.
The physical bodies of Qi Refining Cultivators were much stronger than those of Mortals, free from sickness and pain, but their lifespan was limited to a hundred and twenty years at most.
After the age of fifty, their vitality would decline year by year, and the chances of successfully breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage would plummet. In the stories Bai Jiu'an told, there were many who only reached Qi Refining Perfection in their seventies or eighties. Unwilling to turn to dust a few decades later, they would risk everything in one last, desperate attempt. But none of them ever survived the immense surge of Spiritual Power during the breakthrough, their bodies obliterated without a trace.
"An Immortal patted my crown, binding my hair and granting me long life."
Bai Zichen opened the Black Mountain County Chronicles from the bookshelf, his gaze resolute.
'If there is no Immortal to guide my way, then I'll have to rely on myself.'