Chapter Forty-Four: The True Spirits of Heaven and Earth!

Casually leaving a gold coin at the Yang family courier station, Luo Tian and Zhao Lin’er boarded the carriage and set out for the sect. After burying all the bandits’ bodies and checking the nodes of the Spirit Gathering Array in Blackwind Town, two days had already passed amidst these labors.

Yet, Zhao Lin’er’s spirits remained high—after all, the harvest from this endeavor was truly remarkable. Beneath Luo Tian’s placid expression, however, a storm of excitement surged within him, difficult to contain.

The battle that day had not only yielded valuable combat experience but had also brought Luo Tian an unexpected delight: the Fire Elemental Cultivation Method “Fire Origin Scripture,” and a rather tattered notebook. The Fire Origin Scripture, while significant, could have been exchanged for with enough contribution points. But that notebook was something else entirely—it chronicled many of Sun Huangkun’s secrets. It was his diary.

Thinking of this, Luo Tian felt a wave of nausea; Sun Huangkun had recorded numerous acts of rape and pillage with a barely concealed pride, and in recent years had even slain more than a dozen outer disciples of the Shenyang Sect, reaping considerable spoils. No wonder the bandits were in possession of storage pouches.

Luo Tian had considered wiping out the entire Clearwind Bandit Group, but realizing that he did not yet possess overwhelming strength—and suspecting that powerful figures might be backing them—he set aside the idea for now. He would revisit it once his abilities had grown.

Still, compared to the filth Sun Huangkun had penned, it was his insights into cultivation and his knowledge of body-forging secret arts that Luo Tian valued most. The importance of these secret arts was now clear to him. Using elemental energy to refine the body more deeply, to make bones and flesh denser, was not just about increased agility in close combat—it was about laying a solid foundation for the body’s future integration with elemental power.

Among cultivation methods, the lowest grade for humans merely involved basic energy refinement. At the next level, one had to guide a trace of the most compatible elemental force within the energy into the body. Yet, the nine elements of heaven and earth were exceedingly violent. Even the tiniest thread could inflict great harm on a weak body. Thus, advancing to the middle-grade human-level method required not only sufficient energy cultivation, but also mastery of body-forging secret arts—they were indispensable.

Otherwise, even at the late stage of the Condensing Qi Realm, one could only continue refining the most basic energy, never drawing true elemental power into oneself.

Sun Huangkun’s diary was filled with resentment toward the Shenyang Sect. Luo Tian read it carefully and understood: the importance of body-forging secret arts was never revealed to disciples from common backgrounds; only the descendants of the Four Great Families knew, and they alone enjoyed special resource allocations. As a result, cultivators from humble origins, even upon reaching the late Condensing Qi Realm, would either have to spend vast amounts of time backtracking to train in these secret arts, or abandon the path altogether and refine only the most basic energy.

Luo Tian felt a measure of gratitude; had it not been for his God’s Eye enabling him to find the Spirit Gathering Array nodes, he might never have persisted so long on the path of body-forging secret arts.

He knew that the paths of common disciples and those of the Four Great Families differed, but why did the sect utterly bar ordinary disciples from ascending? This thought left Luo Tian puzzled, suspecting that the sect’s policies left no chance whatsoever for others.

Compared to these foundational insights, however, what truly stirred Luo Tian was the information about Elemental Cores that Sun Huangkun had somehow acquired.

Previously, Luo Tian had heard from Qian Bo that Elemental Cores varied in quality—Human Spirit Cores, Elemental Spirit Cores, and True Spirit Cores—but since Qian Bo knew nothing concrete, Luo Tian had buried his curiosity deep within.

Now, however, he understood the distinctions.

A cultivator at the peak of the Meridian Flow Realm could, with a final step, condense all their elemental energy into an Elemental Core. This granted the power of flight, condensed and purified all strength, and enabled mastery of elemental forces—the mark of a true powerhouse.

Yet the act of “condensing essence into a core”—though it sounded simple—trapped countless aspirants. Thus, a special method was devised: using miraculous pills to achieve the breakthrough.

The Condensing Essence Pill, a terrestrial-grade medicine, had this very effect. But medicine, after all, was an external aid. Forming a core with its help resulted in a “Human Spirit Core”—the lowest tier among Elemental Core experts. Though their strength was condensed, such a core was “illusory,” never fully integrated with the cultivator’s energy; it could not be fully solidified. Thus, those with a Human Spirit Core could not withstand fierce battles; otherwise, their core would collapse and their realm would fall.

Above this was the Elemental Spirit Core. This was achieved by the most orthodox means: relying on one’s own power or fortuitous encounters, using one’s elemental force as the heart of the core, uniting all strength in perfect harmony—ten times more formidable than those with a Human Spirit Core. Of course, this path required amassing vast energy and relentless compression; failure due to loss of control could mean, at best, the dissipation of all one’s energy, and at worst, total destruction of body and spirit.

As for the True Spirit Core, it was something else entirely. There’s a saying: “Heaven and earth possess true spirits”—referring to the special existences among the nine great elements.

Take fire as an example: the flames seen in daily life are merely mundane, but a true spirit is the Fire of Heaven and Earth itself! Not only vastly more powerful, each possesses unique, indescribable properties. Just as humans are divided into ranks, so too are the elements; a true spirit is the pinnacle among them. The gap between an emperor and a beggar, or between a cultivator and a powerless scholar, is as nothing compared to the chasm between true spirits and ordinary elements.

To form a True Spirit Core, one must use an elemental true spirit as the heart of the core, refining and conquering it with one’s own energy, gradually assimilating its essence day by day.

To wield the power of heaven and earth as a mortal—what greater strength could there be?

Whenever Luo Tian thought of the existence of true spirits, a boundless desire for conquest surged in his heart. He wondered if, in this lifetime, he might encounter one, subdue and refine it, and let the might of heaven and earth manifest in his own hands.

Each element had nine true spirits, their birth and growth requiring the convergence of immense fortune. In ordinary places, even if one scoured the earth, they would be impossible to find.

“Senior Brother Luo, the Eastern District Grand Competition is approaching. Will you participate?”

Having returned the Yang family’s carriage at the outskirts of the Shenyang Sect, Zhao Lin’er and Luo Tian now walked side by side. Seeing Luo Tian deep in thought, Zhao Lin’er asked softly.

Normally, only disciples at the late stage of the Condensing Qi Realm could hope to distinguish themselves in such competitions, but there had always been exceptional talents at the sixth transformation who earned admiration and praise.

Luo Tian lifted his head, his eyes bright with determination. “Of course I will. With such rich rewards on offer, wouldn’t it be a shame not to claim a share?”