As Li Gou hurried on his way, he checked himself from head to toe.
He discovered that the jade hairpin on his head could keep his mind constantly clear, as if he had just woken up from a refreshing sleep.
The beast-hide belt around his waist, if used like a whip, could snap a small tree with a trunk as thick as a bowl, even with Li Gou's ordinary strength.
Compared to the beast-hide belt, the wooden sword called the Spiritwood Sword, was even sharper. With just a light swing, it could cut through stone as if slicing tofu.
However, the most astonishing item was the brocade pouch, covered with tiny characters.
As soon as Li Gou touched it, he sensed that it contained a hidden space.
The small brocade pouch surprisingly held a space of over one square meter.
Inside were dozens of taels of gold, a few stones radiating a faint green spiritual light, several porcelain bottles, a green jade slip, and some dried food.
Li Gou felt he could take these items out with just a thought.
He was rich!
The saying "Fortune favors the bold" truly wasn't wrong.
Feeling secretly delighted, Li Gou took out the green jade slip.
After all, among the items in the brocade pouch, this jade slip appeared to be the most mysterious.
As soon as the green jade slip entered his hand, Li Gou's mind was filled with a flood of information.
"A First-Grade Low-Level Cultivation Method: The Green Wood Technique... A method for cultivating Qi for those with a wood-attribute spiritual root..."
"It allows cultivation up to the fourth layer of Qi Refining... Best used alongside a First-Grade Basic Pill, the Wood Spirit Pill..."
Hiss—
Li Gou drew a sharp breath.
This jade slip contained a complete cultivation method, meticulously detailed as if it were designed for beginners.
This technique also clarified many concepts for Li Gou.
For example, spiritual roots are divided into five attributes: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, categorized into five levels: Heaven, Earth, Profound, Mortal, and Hidden.
Heavenly Spiritual Roots are single-attribute, Earthly Spiritual Roots are dual-attribute, Profound Spiritual Roots are triple-attribute, Mortal Spiritual Roots are four-attribute, and Hidden Spiritual Roots are five-attribute.
The fewer attributes a spiritual root has, the higher the talent.
Thus, Heavenly Spiritual Roots represent the highest talent, while Hidden Spiritual Roots represent the lowest.
A person without a spiritual root cannot cultivate to become a cultivator.
Li Gou couldn't help but feel nervous. If he didn't have a spiritual root, he wouldn't be able to cultivate and soar through the skies like the immortals he had seen in Li Er Gou's memory.
Feeling uneasy, Li Gou decided to try the breathing and circulation method in The Green Wood Technique to see if he could absorb wood-attribute spiritual energy.
After completing one cycle of the breathing technique, Li Gou was overjoyed to find a wisp of green spiritual energy appearing in his dantian.
Clearly, this was wood-attribute spiritual energy.
He actually had a spiritual root! This was wonderful news.
Li Gou, who had been hurrying along the road, nearly jumped for joy!
After calming himself, Li Gou examined the porcelain bottles, guessing they might contain pills.
He picked up a white porcelain bottle and opened the lid, only to be stunned.
Empty?!
Could they all be empty?!
Li Gou's anxiety rose as he grabbed the second gray porcelain bottle, but it was also empty!
At this point, Li Gou's mood was just like when he used to open blind boxes in his previous life.
It wasn't until Li Gou picked up the fifth and final green porcelain bottle that he found two green pills emitting a woody fragrance.
These two pills appeared to be the First-Grade Basic Pills, the Wood Spirit Pills, mentioned in The Green Wood Technique!
Whew—
Li Gou finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least he found something!
Without hesitation, he swallowed one pill and immediately tossed the other into the Treasure Gathering Bottle.
As soon as the Wood Spirit Pill entered his mouth, it dissolved, bringing a refreshing sensation like drinking fruit juice, though without the taste.
Immediately, the pill dissolved into a large amount of medicinal power, greatly enhancing Li Gou's ability to absorb spiritual energy from the heavens and the earth.
His dantian quickly filled up, swelling to the point of bursting.
If not dealt with, he might explode and die!
Li Gou hurriedly followed the Qi Refining method described in The Green Wood Technique, guiding the wood-attribute spiritual energy into his meridians.
He now understood that a human body has nine primary meridians and a hundred secondary meridians.
For most people, these meridians are blocked, filled with impurities that need to be cleared.
The stage of clearing the meridians is called the Qi Refining period.
With each primary meridian cleared, one's cultivation level advances by one layer, but the difficulty increases with each meridian.
Clearing all nine primary meridians to reach the ninth layer of Qi Refining allows one to attempt to break through to a higher realm.
The hundred secondary meridians, known as Innate Meridians, are akin to spiritual roots and also represent innate talent.
The more Innate Meridians one clears, the greater the talent and the smoother future cultivation will be.
Although this sounds simple, it's actually incredibly difficult.
The green-robed elder, who had apparently practiced for a lifetime, hadn't completed the Green Wood Technique and likely hadn't cleared more than four primary meridians.
For ordinary cultivators, clearing nine primary meridians would already be a great fortune. Clearing the hundred secondary meridians would be a pipe dream.
Li Gou felt fortunate to have such a divine artifact as the Treasure Gathering Bottle. Perhaps those hundred secondary meridians were not beyond his reach.
Though he was filled with anticipation, Li Gou knew that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Li Gou guided the wood-attribute spiritual energy to slowly wash away the impurities and grime in his meridians, like clearing mud from a clogged pipe.
When the spiritual energy encountered impurities, both would disappear together.
One Wood Spirit Pill sustained Li Gou's cultivation for a whole day while he continued his journey.
After a day, Li Gou finally cleared his first meridian and entered the first layer of Qi Refining.
The wood-attribute spiritual energy began to circulate slowly along this meridian, and Li Gou immediately felt much lighter.
He checked the Treasure Gathering Bottle and found two Wood Spirit Pills inside. The space within the bottle had doubled.
Li Gou didn't continue cultivating but chose to practice the two First-Grade Basic spells recorded in The Green Wood Technique that could be learned at the first layer of Qi Refining.
One spell was called the Spiritwood Sword Technique, the simplest one, which involved infusing wood-attribute spiritual energy into a First-Grade Basic spiritual weapon, the Spiritwood Sword, to unleash a damaging attack.
The other spell, called the Thorn Technique, was slightly more complex. It involved converting wood-attribute spiritual energy into thorns using specific hand signs to entangle an opponent.
Li Gou mastered the Sword Technique in less than half a day.
It required holding the Spiritwood Sword, aiming at a target, and infusing it with true energy, causing the sword to automatically activate, faster than an arrow.
With the Spiritwood Sword's sharpness, it could easily pierce through rock.
Practicing the Thorn Technique, however, took Li Gou most of the day to barely grasp its use.
After forming the hand signs, a thorn formed from wood-attribute spiritual energy shot out from his palm, quickly wrapping around the target.
After completing these two spells, it was already the third day since Li Gou had left the village.
The Treasure Gathering Bottle now held four Wood Spirit Pills.
Finally, he arrived at Sanhe County.
Li Gou first bought a well-fitting green robe. Perhaps due to cultivating The Green Wood Technique, he had taken a liking to this color.
Next, Li Gou began asking around about Fan Tong.
Fan Tong wasn't hard to find.
He was notorious in Sanhe County for his ruthlessness, using his connections—his brother-in-law being the head constable of the county office—to force people into ruin with high-interest loans and drive many good women into prostitution.
The people of Sanhe County hated Fan Tong with a passion.
Li Gou arrived at the gate of Fan's residence and knocked.
Bang, bang, bang!
The gatekeeper opened the door, and Li Gou lightly thrust his Spiritwood Sword through the sturdy door, saying, "Take me to see your master, Fan Tong."
The gatekeeper, terrified, quickly led the way.
After all, the door was made of ironwood, tough enough to withstand most blades, yet it had been effortlessly pierced.
Trouble is definitely brewing!