Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 336 Gray Beads
After hearing the hunter's description, Zhu Ye's expression became serious.

Unexpectedly, there really is something strange about this Liaodong region.

“This bead does indeed contain spiritual energy, and it’s not the ordinary kind of spiritual energy; it should be the spiritual energy of the five elements.”

As she spoke, Zhu Ye carefully held the bead, then looked at Lu Mao'er with concern in her eyes: "How are you? Is that cold air serious?"

Lu Mao'er smiled bitterly, "It's still inside my body. It should be the Five Elements spiritual energy. Fortunately, it's only a small amount. I probably won't die for a while. But I'm afraid I'll have to trouble my senior brother and me to go and ask our master for help!"

Zhu Ye nodded upon hearing this.

Even without Lu Mao'er saying anything, he was going to take Lu Mao'er to resolve this matter first. There was no rush to find out information, and besides, wasn't this strange bead the "information" that the two of them had gathered?

Considering that the owner of the bead had personally witnessed the "snow doll," Zhu Ye used another gold leaf to "invite" it to the nearest farmer's house. She then sent a "messenger" to her master, Murong Ruyan, emphasizing that the bead contained not ordinary spiritual energy, but "five elements spiritual energy." Only then did she have time to carefully question the hunter about the details of his extraordinary encounter.

It is worth mentioning that the so-called "five elements of spiritual energy" does not simply refer to the spiritual energy of the five attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

"Five" is just a metaphor, a figurative number. In reality, "five elements spiritual energy" refers to almost all the spiritual energy in the world that can be traced and belonged to.

Generally speaking, spiritual energy can be divided into categories such as lightning-attribute spiritual energy and ice-attribute spiritual energy. But if you look into the details, there are countless categories such as "fire-attribute spiritual energy," "yang-attribute spiritual energy," and "thunder-attribute spiritual energy," and these can even be further subdivided!

Therefore, there are hundreds or even thousands of types of spiritual energy recorded in the sect's library alone, and the corresponding spiritual roots are countless.

Most of the spiritual energy in the world is attribute-free, just like the spiritual energy that people breathe in and out during cultivation, which can be freely absorbed and used for one's own purposes.

Such spiritual energy of the five elements is usually found in things that have become spirits or rare natural treasures nurtured in special environments. In short, it is extremely rare. Even in a cultivation civilization with normal spiritual energy concentration, it is not like a common cabbage; at most, it is like a common baby bok choy—still a bit more valuable than a regular cabbage.

As for this martial arts and cultivation world, which is still in the period of spiritual energy revival, it is not a baby bok choy, but a jade cabbage—the kind with no upper limit on value!

If you say that what's behind this bead has nothing to do with the "remains of an immortal after his death" that the master mentioned, and that it was purely born in Liaodi, who would believe that?

This is why Zhu Ye and Lu Mao'er are quite anxious.

Whether it's a call for help or a breakthrough in something your master instructed you to do, it's all extremely urgent, so how could you not take it seriously!
……

Meanwhile, on the other side, Murong Ruyan was meditating and cultivating in Mingzhu Manor when she suddenly received a message from her disciple. She learned that there had indeed been a clue to the matter she had been asked to do, but someone had been injured. She couldn't help but feel anxious and immediately set off, also sending a red-beaked blue magpie to her master Zhang Chengdao as a message.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Murong Ruyan arrived at the farmhouse near Yiwulü Mountain where Zhu Ye and Lu Mao'er were staying.

"Zhu Ye, how is the cat?"

Before the people arrive, the sound comes first.

Murong Ruyan was asking a question when she hurriedly entered the house.

Lu Mao'er's face was deathly pale, her lips were bluish-black, and she was wrapped in several fur coats, yet she was still trembling on the bed, clearly indicating that something was wrong.

To be honest, although Murong Ruyan's cultivation level was slightly higher than the disciples', it was only slightly higher. Moreover, she had only cultivated for less than a year longer than them, and her knowledge was also limited. Therefore, in this situation, she could only see, like Zhu Ye, that it was affected by the Five Elements spiritual energy. She had no clue about the specific reasons or how to solve it.

"Let me take a look at that bead first!"

As she spoke, she took the gray bead that Zhu Ye handed her, her brows furrowing slightly as she examined it.

Indeed, as the letter said, although it looks unremarkable, it actually has the five elements of spiritual energy flowing through it, and it seems to have become a "treasure" or some kind of rare "spiritual material".

But...

"This thing was originally... just a stone."

She could still see that.

However, this stone was affected by something later, which is why it has become the unusual stone it is today.

Could it be caused by being nurtured by spiritual energy that belongs to the cold element of the Five Elements for a long time?
Having made some guesses in her mind, Murong Ruyan also activated her spiritual power to probe the gray bead.

"Master!"

Upon seeing this, Zhu Ye was shocked and couldn't help but cry out in alarm.

Fortunately, Murong Ruyan was not injured as easily as Lu Mao'er.

The extremely cold spiritual energy surged into her body through her fingertips and then rushed into her spiritual root, like a flame, "tempering" the spiritual root within her body.

Murong Ruyan's spiritual root was originally a dual-attribute spiritual root of thunder and water, a blend of blue and purple, resembling the roots of a dreamlike giant tree when viewed from within. But now, with the addition of this light blue and white, her spiritual root suddenly began to flow with a third color, causing her to subtly show a tendency to develop into a three-spiritual-root system!

Of course, according to the basic knowledge of cultivation, each person's spiritual root actually has hundreds or thousands of attributes. Very few people have a pure single spiritual root. Even some so-called peerless geniuses with a single spiritual root only have other attributes of spiritual root that are so small that they can be ignored.

Like the former Murong Ruyan, who was said to have dual spiritual roots of thunder and water, there were actually very faint spots of various colors such as red, green, and yellow in her spiritual roots. Because they looked almost non-existent, they were practically non-existent.

Furthermore, the number of spiritual roots has no relation to cultivation efficiency.

Unlike the cultivation novels in many entertainment books in the library, in reality, the amount of spiritual roots a cultivator has does not represent their aptitude on the path of cultivation, nor does it represent whether they are a "genius". Its greatest influence is only their talent when cultivating the five elements techniques and supernatural powers.

Having a single spiritual root simply means that the cultivator can achieve twice the result with half the effort when practicing techniques and supernatural abilities belonging to that element.

Whether one has spiritual roots only indicates whether one has additional talent, and it means that without spiritual roots one cannot cultivate the magical arts and supernatural powers corresponding to the five elements.

This is similar to how some people are flexible and naturally suited to dancing. When they learn to dance, basic skills like splits and backbends come easily to them. On the other hand, some people have hard bones and large frames, making it difficult for them to learn, but that doesn't mean they can't learn.

Similarly, having dual or triple spiritual roots simply means that talent points are allocated to different elements, affecting only the talent for cultivating corresponding magical techniques and supernatural abilities, and has nothing to do with overall cultivation talent. However, since having a single spiritual root means that more energy can be devoted to cultivating that attribute, there's a more common saying that having a single spiritual root represents good aptitude and high talent…

Although it's a misconception, there's some truth to it. For example, if someone shows exceptional talent in a certain area in elementary school, as long as the parents aren't fools, they will inevitably try to cultivate the child in that area of ​​talent, which will make them more likely to achieve success.

Therefore, having a single spiritual root is like someone who shows talent very early on. They can quickly embark on the path that yields visible results, which is equivalent to having "good aptitude".

Murong Ruyan was disappointed for several days because of her dual spiritual roots, until she discovered that as long as she worked hard enough, she could use more of the Five Elements and One Dao techniques and supernatural abilities than her senior brother who had a single spiritual root. Suddenly, she felt that having dual spiritual roots was even better.

Therefore, she even asked Zhang Cheng, "Could it be that the more spiritual roots one has, the easier it is to cultivate more spells and supernatural abilities?"

"No."

She still remembered her master's words: "Although everyone's spiritual roots are slightly different in size, there is ultimately a limit. The more spiritual roots one has, the less one can allocate to each of the five elements. Cultivating magical arts and supernatural powers is far less easy than for those with purer spiritual roots, such as those with single or double spiritual roots. Of course, if one has abundant energy, one can cultivate all of them. But even without these five elements, as long as one has reached the Foundation Establishment stage and has spiritual roots, regardless of what kind of spiritual root one has, one can cultivate all the magical arts and supernatural powers of the five elements. Therefore, having more spiritual roots is actually less advantageous."

At that moment, Murong Ruyi pondered: "So, it seems that those with three, four, or five spiritual roots actually have a greater advantage? Because by dividing them into so many types, they won't be too fragmented due to having too many spiritual roots, nor will they find it easy to cultivate only one of the five elements while the others become difficult because they only have one type of spiritual root?"

Zhang Chengdao chuckled and replied, "Hehehe, what is honey to one is poison to another. Whether the amount of spiritual root is good or bad depends entirely on the cultivator's own character and whether he can use it wisely."

Murong Ruyan's mind raced, but her hands did not stop moving.

The pale blue-white chill circulated within her spiritual root, bringing a bone-chilling cold and making her perception of water-elemental spiritual energy suddenly much clearer.

She tried to guide the cold energy and found that although it was unruly, it was not completely uncontrollable. It just required exquisite spiritual power to control. Even with her sixth level of Foundation Establishment cultivation, she found it very difficult to control. No wonder Lu Mao'er was forced into such a state by this cold energy!
"It seems that this bead is both a crisis and an opportunity for those with water or ice-type spiritual roots..."

Murong Ruyan pondered for a moment, then composed herself and temporarily suppressed the chilling aura in a corner of her spiritual root before looking at Lu Mao'er, whose situation was deteriorating.

If her master were here, he might be able to use his spiritual power to help Lu Mao'er draw out this cold energy, but with her own cultivation level, it would indeed be difficult for her to do so.

Knowing she probably couldn't expel the cold from her disciple's body on her own, Murong Ruyan made a quick decision. She first channeled her own spiritual energy into Lu Mao'er's body to protect her heart and slow down the invasion of the cold. Then she instructed Zhu Ye, "Mao'er's condition is critical and requires the sect leader's intervention. Go to Mingzhu Manor immediately and explain this matter to your uncle Ye Shuyun. Also, ask him to write an urgent letter detailing the situation here and the strangeness of this bead, and request the sect leader to come immediately!"

Zhu Ye accepted the order without delay and immediately used the Shrinking Earth to an Inch technique to leave in a hurry.

Murong Ruyan stayed at the farm, protecting Lu Mao'er with her gentle spiritual power while continuing to study the gray bead.

Soon, she discovered that when the bead was brought close to Lu Mao'er, the spiritual energy flowing on its surface became much more intense, and even faintly resonated with the cold energy emanating from Lu Mao'er's body!

Observing this, Murong Ruyan quickly moved the bead closer to Lu Mao'er and found that the bead could indeed slowly absorb the cold air emanating from Lu Mao'er's body!

"This thing can actually resonate with the cold energy within a cat's body?"

Murong Ruyan seemed to realize something: "Could it be... that it can not only release cold energy, but also absorb or guide it?"

To verify her hypothesis, she tried gently placing the bead in front of her while circulating her cultivation technique. She carefully drew out a small amount of the light blue-white cold energy that had been suppressed in her spiritual root and, through the guidance of her spiritual power, slowly channeled it back into the bead.

This process was extremely slow and mentally taxing; in just a short while, a dense layer of sweat appeared on Murong Ruyan's forehead.

Surprisingly, the method did work. Just as I had guessed, the wisp of cold air was successfully sent back into the bead.

If Lu Mao'er could try to use her spiritual energy to draw out the cold energy, and with my assistance, I'm sure I could also use this method to draw out the cold energy from her body!
Therefore, Murong Ruyan immediately instructed, "Cat! Concentrate and calm your mind! Cultivate according to my instructions, and try to use your spiritual power to draw out the cold energy within your body—"

Upon hearing this, Lu Mao'er dared not be careless. She quickly endured the pain, sat up straight, closed her eyes tightly, and forcibly circulated the spiritual energy within her body.

"If the heart is pure as ice, one will not be alarmed even if the sky collapses. One remains calm amidst all changes, with a tranquil spirit and peaceful mind. By forgetting oneself and guarding the One, the six senses are greatly settled..."

As Murong Ruyan's voice rang in her ears, Lu Mao'er gradually calmed down. The pain in her body seemed to have subsided considerably, and the cold energy that had been rampaging through her body was slowly drawn away by her constantly circulating spiritual power.

"Within and without, there is nothing, like clear ice in muddy water. Untouched by dust or grime, unstained by worldly appearances. Empty and tranquil, utterly devoid of anything. Nothing arises from nothing, difficulty and ease complement each other. Forgetting distinctions and things, one becomes one with Nirvana. Heaven and earth are boundless, all things are one..."

Thanks to Murong Ru's dual spiritual roots of thunder and water, she specifically cultivated the "Ice Heart Technique," which is more compatible with the water element, when practicing her cultivation techniques.

Although the cultivation of the Ice Heart Technique does not require specific spiritual roots, those with water or ice-related elements are indeed more adept at it. The purpose of passing it on to Lu Mao'er at this time is to help her draw upon that cold energy during her cultivation.

The effects of the Ice Heart Technique were quite obvious. Before long, the cold energy in Lu Mao'er's body, along with the spiritual power she had worked hard to circulate, began to be drawn out bit by bit and flowed into the bead.

At this moment, Lu Mao'er's face was still pale, but her tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and her trembling lessened.

It works!

Upon seeing this, Murong Ruyan's spirits lifted, but she dared not rush things. She could only patiently help Lu Mao'er guide and divert the biting cold air little by little.

Just as Murong Ruyan was guiding Lu Mao'er to dispel the cold energy in her body, Zhu Ye had already arrived at Mingzhu Manor and told Ye Shuyun in detail about the changes that had occurred at Yiwulü Mountain and the situation of that strange bead.

Zhang Chengdao had already gone north to investigate, leaving only Murong Ruyan and Ye Shuyun at Mingzhu Manor.

Upon hearing that Lu Mao'er was injured and that the bead contained such peculiar and extremely cold spiritual energy, Ye Shuyun knew that this matter was no small thing and could not be compared with ordinary legends of spirits and monsters. She immediately wrote a letter, briefly describing the situation and adding her own speculation that the bead might be related to ancient relics or powerful spirits. She quickly sent out a "messenger" to transmit the message to Zhang Chengdao.

After sending out the "messenger," Ye Shuyun reassured Zhu Ye, saying, "The sect leader is all-powerful and will surely arrive as soon as he receives the message. Junior Nephew Lu is a lucky person and will be alright."

Then he suggested, "However, we can't just wait here. There might be other clues in the ravine where the hunter said the 'snow doll' appeared. Why don't you and I go and investigate again? If we can find anything, it might be able to help Second Senior Sister and Junior Nephew Lu."

Ye Shuyun's words coincided with Zhu Ye's thoughts, so he quickly nodded in agreement, and the two immediately set off again to the depths of Yiwulü Mountain.

……

(End of this chapter)