After I left the sect, the entire sect knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

Chapter 15 Gambling? I've Never Lacked Courage
The Crimson Demon, holding the spirit herb, jumped onto the stone platform and began to chew it in small bites. The Spirit Sword mercilessly mocked the Crimson Demon for being so pathetic, resorting to clinging to a leg and begging for a bite to eat.

The Crimson Demon didn't even raise its head, completely ignoring the sword dangling in front of it. After finishing its meal, it patted its belly and then lay down on the stone platform, fast asleep.

Lin Yan silenced the spirit sword, sat cross-legged in the cave, and took out all the cultivation manuals from her storage bag. The bamboo leaf icon on her wrist lit up, and one of the displayed manuals was pulled out and placed in her bosom.

With a thought, she automatically stored the other cultivation techniques back into her storage bag.

She was worried that her adopted father had passed away and that she wouldn't be able to understand the cultivation techniques he left behind. But now it seems that the spiritual energy he condensed and left on her can guide her.

She opened the cultivation technique and scanned its contents with her divine sense. The words seemed to come alive, drilling into her mind. The technique's content, in a cunning way, infiltrated her consciousness.

She carefully placed the cultivation manual, then involuntarily closed her eyes and began practicing.

Dense spiritual energy converged towards her, and she activated her Storm Absorption Mode, her Qi Sea resembling a gluttonous beast, frantically absorbing the gathering spiritual energy.

Following the method to guide the spiritual energy to circulate within the body, one feels a slight increase in cultivation level after each complete cycle.

However, as spiritual energy continued to pour in, her meridians began to give way, and she felt a faint throbbing pain. Yet, sensing a breakthrough was imminent, she refused to give up. So close, just a little bit more, she was about to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Just then, a turbulent current appeared within Lin Yan's body, disrupting the previously orderly flow of spiritual energy. She steadied herself and tried to regulate the chaotic current surging through her dantian. Perhaps she could take a gamble and use the turbulent current to break through the Foundation Establishment bottleneck.

Failure would result in a significant decline in cultivation; success would lead to a breakthrough, potentially even reaching the sixth level of Foundation Establishment. She was not afraid to gamble with the Heavenly Dao; ever since leaving the sect, she had been challenging the Heavenly Dao herself.

Deciding to cultivate in the Ten Thousand Demon Forest in order to find the female protagonist's opportunity first is a gamble. Although he hasn't obtained the opportunity the female protagonist got in the Ten Thousand Demon Forest yet, she has formed a contract with the Red Enchantress, recognized a Nascent Soul expert as her father, obtained the inheritance left by the expert, and is cultivating in the safe cave opened up by the expert.

It seems that every gamble she takes isn't a complete loss; she's always lucky and gains something. Even if she's not lucky this time, she has to try. Otherwise, if she can't break free from these constraints, when will she ever achieve a breakthrough?

The intense concentration she was under was making her feel exhausted. But she couldn't afford to give up now, or the turbulent currents within her body would surge and crash, shattering her dantian and destroying her meridians, ultimately causing her to explode and die.

Just as Lin Yan was about to lose control, she felt a burning sensation on her wrist. Then, a force different from the power of water enveloped the turbulent flow and guided its movement.

Lin Yan dared to gamble with the turbulent currents because she possessed a water elemental root. Water can encompass all things and is a relatively gentle force. With her water elemental root, she could mobilize the spiritual energy within her body, transforming it into the power of water to guide the turbulent currents.

The combination of the two gentle forces unexpectedly unleashed an incredible power, even devouring the turbulent energy and breaking through the shackles to reach the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Moreover, this fused power surged forward relentlessly, reaching the sixth level of Foundation Establishment before finally settling stable within her Qi Sea. Her meridians were also expanded and strengthened as a result.

Having successfully advanced, she slowly opened her eyes and exhaled. That breath carried away the pressure and fatigue of breaking through the shackles, dissipating into the air. At this moment, Lin Yan's eyes sharpened, revealing both composure and pressure.

With three spiritual roots and such a cultivation speed, one is among the best of the geniuses.

Her spiritual energy was stored in her spiritual root. She had just broken through to the next level, so theoretically her spiritual energy should be in a state of being insufficient. However, upon inspection, it was discovered that her spiritual energy was not only overflowing, but she had even gained an additional wood spiritual root.

Four spiritual roots...

That meant she needed to absorb much more spiritual energy for cultivation than someone with a single spiritual root. How long would it take to break through to the next level? She was lost and confused… The sword, which had been lying still on the stone platform, was given to its current owner by its former master. It was unwilling, but the two were connected and resonated with each other. It sensed its master's low spirits.

It had been unconvinced at first, but seeing her progress in cultivation, it gradually wavered. Sensing its master's low spirits, it spoke arrogantly, "Didn't you successfully break through? Why aren't you happy? Do you still want to break through to the peak of Foundation Establishment in one fell swoop?"

"No, I don't know why I have an extra spiritual root in my body. I now have four spiritual roots." You should know that in a super sect, having four spiritual roots would only qualify one as a menial disciple. Even in the Xuan Tian Sect, one could only be an outer disciple.

She always thought that her aptitude with three spiritual roots was inferior to that with a single spiritual root, but she was diligent, could cultivate without sleep, and had a high level of comprehension, so her overall aptitude was not bad.

While reading some miscellaneous notes in the sect's library, I came across a rogue cultivator named Venerable Lingyun, who possessed three spiritual roots and broke through to the Nascent Soul stage in less than two hundred years.

She herself possesses three spiritual roots. If others can do it, she knows that the protagonist has many opportunities and better conditions than independent cultivators, so she can also do it, and even wants to do it better.

Now that her spiritual root aptitude has worsened, she feels somewhat lost.

"You're feeling down because of this?" Lingjian said dismissively. "Do you even know what cultivation is? Do you understand the essence of cultivation?" Lingjian suddenly asked.

Lin Yan didn't know why the proud spirit sword suddenly asked this question, so she could only tell her all the cultivation methods she had learned and comprehended.

To cultivate, one must have a spiritual root. This is because a spiritual root is a container for storing spiritual energy. Without a spiritual root, spiritual energy absorbed into the body will dissipate after circulating through the meridians.

If one possesses a spiritual root, spiritual energy flows through the meridians and eventually converges into the spiritual root for storage. When used, it is circulated through the Qi Sea, allowing the spiritual energy to be quickly condensed into tangible power.

Cultivation is a process of repeated absorption, which strengthens the meridians and enhances the spiritual root, allowing one to absorb more spiritual energy.

After saying that, the spirit sword flew to his side and asked again, "Then do you want to know what my master's understanding of the number of spiritual roots is?"

Lin Yan shook her head. Her acknowledged father had vanished before he could guide her or share his cultivation insights. Perhaps he wanted to, but he was already dead, and the lingering phantom he left behind was barely enough to finish speaking to her.

"My master believes that both single and multiple spiritual roots have their own advantages. Spiritual roots should only be distinguished by their strength, not by their quantity."

Her eyes widened in shock upon hearing this, and she instinctively asked, "Could it be that Father has five spiritual roots?"

"No. Master has a top-grade wood spirit root."

Lin Yan: ...

What's the point of saying that!

Seeing her change in expression, the spirit sword struck her head directly. "Please listen to me seriously." It floated back to her side and continued to share the insights and understanding of its master, Venerable Ruozhu.

(End of this chapter)