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

Chapter 16 There are always more solutions than difficulties

Venerable Ruozhu believed that spiritual roots are only distinguished by strength, and a disciple's aptitude should not be judged by quantity. If spiritual roots are likened to a pool, cultivation is the process of building the pool, increasing its height, and filling it with water. Once the pool reaches a certain height and is full, if one wishes to continue building, one needs to acquire higher qualifications for further construction; this is called a breakthrough in realm.

A cultivator with a single spiritual root only needs to build a pool, increase the height of the pool, and fill it with water; the process will naturally be faster.

Lin Yan sighed after hearing this, her tone dejected: "In the end, my cultivation speed still can't compare to that of someone with a single spiritual root."

Hearing her self-deprecating words, Lingjian tapped her head: "What are you talking about! Under the same cultivation time and spiritual root strength, cultivators with multiple spiritual roots can store more spiritual energy than those with single spiritual roots. If their cultivation speed is also faster than that of cultivators with single spiritual roots, wouldn't that be defying the heavens!"

"Then why is it difficult for cultivators with five spiritual roots to make progress in their cultivation?"

Lingjian sighed and explained, "Even the resources of a major sect are limited. Five-elemental-root disciples require five times the cultivation resources of single-elemental-root disciples, and their cultivation speed is also slower. So, sects will naturally allocate resources to disciples with single-elemental-root disciples or those with fewer other elemental roots. If a sect has enough resources to train a five-elemental-root disciple to reach the Nascent Soul stage, then for the sake of the sect, it will definitely choose to train five single-elemental-root disciples."

Human lifespan is limited; only by advancing one's cultivation level can one live longer. However, cultivators with five spiritual roots are often relegated to menial tasks or outer disciples in any sect, receiving limited cultivation resources, resulting in slow cultivation and a rate of advancement far outpacing the rate of lifespan loss.

The master understood this and did not share his insights gained from cultivation.

Lin Yan agreed with Ling Jian's reasoning, but it didn't change the fact that her cultivation speed was slow. Unless she had plenty of time and abundant cultivation resources, her progress would be hampered if she devoted all her time to cultivation without sufficient resources. If she ventured out to acquire resources, her cultivation would inevitably be delayed.

Isn't there a way to have the best of both worlds? For example, the body could automatically absorb spiritual energy, allowing it to absorb it while fighting...

Forget it, having this ability is like having a cheat code. How could she have such luck to suddenly change her physique and absorb spiritual energy on her own without meditating or cultivating?

Ultimately, her current situation is difficult to change. Cultivating with multiple spiritual roots requires more spiritual energy, which means her cultivation speed will be slower than others. She is only slightly depressed, not truly despondent.

There's always a solution to every problem. At worst, she could rely on elixirs to increase her cultivation. She hadn't dared to think this way before because she was poor, but now she was wealthy.

Just as she was about to accept it, Lingjian gave her another bombshell.

"Actually, your constitution is different."

"What's different?" she thought with a surge of joy. Could it be that she possessed some undiscovered secret weapon? This was truly an unexpected delight.

"Your meridians are very strong, and you can absorb spiritual energy faster than a single-root cultivator when you cultivate."

Lin Yan nodded after hearing this. She had indeed noticed this. Whenever she sat down to meditate, she would become like a hungry ghost reincarnated, entering a storm-like absorption mode, desperately absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.

Even with such a constitution, she felt that her cultivation progress was not fast. The higher the realm, the more spiritual energy is needed, and now that she has an additional spiritual root, she needs even more spiritual energy.

“However…” the sword spirit changed the subject.

Her heart leaped into her throat. Could there be a flaw in this constitution? "Stop keeping me in suspense, tell me!"

"Because your absorption of spiritual energy is unusually fast, it means a large amount of spiritual energy will flood into your body in a short period of time, making it difficult to control. Currently, your cultivation level is low, so the negative effects are not very noticeable. However, as your cultivation level increases and your meridians become stronger, your absorption of spiritual energy will be even faster, and the negative effects will become more significant." Meridian strength increases with each absorption of spiritual energy and each breakthrough in cultivation level. The speed of spiritual energy absorption depends on the meridians, and cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage cannot control it. As for whether Nascent Soul stage cultivators can control the spiritual energy flowing into their bodies, no one knows, because no relevant cultivation techniques or insights have been passed down.

Lin Yan: Uh...

Well, the negative effects are already quite noticeable. The turbulence in her Qi Sea when she first broke through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage was probably caused by her constitution.

She didn't see anything wrong with turbulence. She enjoyed surviving in dangerous situations to unleash her potential, and she also liked to take risks and forge her own path.

Seemingly enlightened, she quickly sat down to meditate and fully comprehend the meaning.

The sword spirit was bewildered by this action, but did not interfere and flew directly to the stone platform to stand.

He sat down to meditate after only saying a few words. Has he attained enlightenment? His comprehension is that strong?

Lin Yan closed her eyes, as if she had entered a dark space. There were scattered stars all around her. She reached out to grab them, but only managed to catch a tiny speck of light the size of a firefly.

As she grasped the point of light, spiritual energy converged upon her, surging like a tidal wave. This energy continuously washed over her meridians, but instead of circulating, it became blocked. Despite this blockage, her body still desperately craved spiritual energy, absorbing it in a frenzied, vortex-like manner.

This time it was even more ferocious, and even the spirit sword sensed something was wrong. It feared that the opponent would explode and die, and wanted to stop it, but it was powerless to do so.

How could her body automatically absorb spiritual energy during enlightenment? And so rapidly at that. That's bad enough, but the crucial point is that this female cultivator, who has gained her master's approval, is so engrossed in enlightenment that the absorbed spiritual energy isn't being guided or circulated; it's simply blocked in her meridians. If this continues, her meridians will inevitably rupture, and even a Great Luo Golden Immortal wouldn't be able to save her.

Lingjian was filled with worry and racked his brains but couldn't come up with any useful solutions.

As time passed, the sword emitted a mournful cry. "There's no way out, Master. The female cultivator who swore allegiance to you is truly going to have her meridians shattered and her body explode to death."

Unable to bear the bloody scene, it simply withdrew its senses and became a mindless sword.

Time passed, and the spirit sword heard no explosion. Releasing its consciousness, it found her still unharmed. The gathered spiritual energy, after entering her body, began to circulate orderly.

It flew over and saw a very faint, strange mark on her forehead, which indicated that she had received some kind of recognition from the Way of Creation.

Enlightenment, in essence, is a state of mind that comes from understanding a small part of the myriad creations of nature. If one can grasp a small part of it, resonate with it, and gain permission, then one has taken a small step toward enlightenment.

This small step is a giant leap for many cultivators. Many cultivators spend their entire lives trying to take this step.

Mental enlightenment doesn't improve cultivation level, but it does aid in cultivation, making it less likely to breed inner demons when breaking through realms. As for the specific kind of help, it depends on what the cultivator comprehends.

In the darkness, Lin Yan grabbed the point of light, while the other points of light flew away quickly. For some reason, she couldn't help but chase after them.

(End of this chapter)