Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

Although he had been traveling these past few days, Wu Fan had also taken the opportunity during his breaks to skim through the books. On the day he took stock of his spoils, he even studied the very first page repeatedly.

Even so, he could only understand the basics. Many obscure principles of array formations were like celestial books, leaving him completely bewildered.

"It really is something that depends on talent."

Wu Fan sighed softly, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

In his view, the Dao of Arrays was like mathematics in his previous life.

Basic formations are like elementary mathematics, but second-order formations are probably comparable to advanced mathematics.

In his previous life, many people still couldn't understand elementary mathematics even with teachers who spent years teaching them step by step, repeatedly breaking down problem types. Now, he has no one to guide him and is learning on his own. The difficulty of mastering this classic text is unimaginable.

Fortunately, although Wu Fan was an art student in his previous life, he was exceptionally good at mathematics and even won a provincial math Olympiad award. However, he was held back by a subject full of letters, which is why he eventually chose the path of art.

It is precisely because of this underlying logic that he can barely understand some of the ancient texts he is looking at now, but he is still completely confused when he tries to connect all the contents.

Wu Fan secretly estimated that it would be absolutely impossible to fully understand this book, "The Basic Explanation of the Five Elements Array Dao," without several years, or even more than ten years of hard work.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh softly, a bitter feeling rising in his heart.

If those cultivators who study array formations were to hear his thoughts, they would probably curse him on the spot.

To be able to grasp the basics of array formation without any instruction, and even dare to claim that he has thoroughly mastered second-tier array formation texts in more than ten years, shows that even if he cannot be called a peerless genius in the field of array formation, he is still a one-in-a-million talent.

Unfortunately, Wu Fan was completely unaware of this, his mind filled only with the feeling that the road ahead was difficult. It wasn't that he was ungrateful, but rather that he had neither a master to teach him nor any cultivators of the same level to compare himself to. He could only measure himself by the standards of an ordinary person, so naturally he didn't know how precious this talent was.

"Forget it, there's no use rushing. We'll just take it one step at a time."

Wu Fan took a deep breath, suppressed his restlessness, reopened the book, and pointed his finger at the diagram of the "Five Directions Trapping Formation" to study it carefully.

The sunlight outside the window gradually slanted westward, casting golden rays through the window and casting shadows. Before we knew it, the sun had set.

This immersive research lasted for more than four months.

During these four months, Wu Fan only went out for some fresh air and relaxation two or three times when he felt really stifled; otherwise, he never left his room.

In the past, besides cultivation, alchemy was the thing that consumed the most of his mind and time. Now, alchemy has become secondary, and he spends his days and nights studying this Daoist scripture.

However, this "seclusion" was not in vain.

Wu Fan has now thoroughly mastered the basic knowledge of array formations. Although he cannot say that he has mastered it completely, he can still apply it to a certain extent.

He had thoroughly studied the "Five Directions Trapping Formation" that had troubled him for so long, and with a little more time, he would be able to set it up independently.

But doubts remained in his heart, and he muttered to himself:

"Is this level enough to be considered an entry-level practitioner of array formation? Never mind, we'll find out once we enter Falling Star Valley and exchange ideas with our fellow disciples."

Compared to Wu Fan's steady improvement in array formations, Zhao Fu's growth and changes are truly astonishing.

Four months may pass in the blink of an eye for ordinary people, but for the Cloud Tiger cubs, it is a transformative period of growth.

Now, Zhaofu weighs over 40 kilograms, with a size comparable to an adult dog. His white fur is becoming increasingly fluffy and shiny, and his amber eyes are lively and cunning. His temperament is like that of a seven or eight-year-old child, naughty and unruly, making him a spitting image that even dogs dislike.

"You little brat, if you keep gnawing on my alchemy furnace, I'll punish you by forbidding you from eating meat."

Wu Fan looked at the alchemy furnace, its edges covered in saliva from Zhao Fu's chewing, and flicked its forehead, both angry and amused.

Zhao Fu whimpered and rubbed her head against his wrist, her eyes full of pleading, but she still couldn't help but steal glances at the bottle of Spirit Feeding Pills on the table.

To curb Zhaofu's unruly nature and to help it lay a more solid foundation, Wu Fan has begun to feed it spirit pills regularly.

Although Yun Conghu was born extraordinary and would be able to enter the realm of demon beasts on its own after reaching adulthood, with strength comparable to a human cultivator in the early stage of Qi Refining, this Spirit Feeding Pill was nothing more than an ordinary cultivation pill for an adult Yun Conghu.

However, Zhao Fu is still a cub, possessing only the brute strength of a wild beast, and has not yet awakened his intelligence or drawn in qi.

Therefore, after each feeding of a Spirit-Nourishing Pill, Zhao Fu had to sleep for several days to fully refine and digest the medicinal power.

This cycle of "feeding, sleeping, feeding, sleeping" lasted for more than two months in the blink of an eye.

Wu Fan looked at Zhao Fu, whose physique was becoming increasingly robust, and shook his head helplessly:

"It has saved me a lot of trouble, otherwise this alchemy furnace would probably have been chewed up by you sooner or later."

He took out a Spirit-Nourishing Pill from the medicine bottle and gently fed it to Zhaofu. Seeing that the little guy fell into a deep sleep shortly after eating it, he got up.

Time flies. If it weren't for the fact that the Falling Star Valley's disciple-acceptance ceremony was about to begin today, Wu Fan would still be reluctant to leave the profound world of array formations.

He composed himself, cleared his mind of all distractions, washed and changed his clothes, donned a clean and presentable blue cloth robe, and walked to the bronze mirror.

The man in the mirror had handsome features, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes that held a hint of youthful energy.

With a refined and angular bone structure, and a gentle and elegant demeanor, he was clearly over thirty-five years old and would soon be entering his forties, yet he still looked like he was twenty-four or twenty-five. He possessed a blend of maturity and youthfulness, truly a gentleman as elegant as jade, unparalleled in the world.

It's so eye-catching that you can't take your eyes off it at first glance.

But Wu Fan didn't care at all. His gaze fell on his own face, his eyebrows slightly raised, his mind filled with doubt:

"This youthful appearance is undoubtedly thanks to the Five Elements Bead. It seems that its inherent wood element is maintaining my appearance. I just wonder, besides preserving youth, does this element have any other wonderful uses?"

His mind raced with thoughts:

"The element of wood governs life. If we can activate the source, I wonder if it can provide the nourishing life force bestowed by the power of the wood element, healing wounds, and even promoting the growth of spiritual plants?"

Once the idea took hold, it grew wildly like weeds, and a strong urge to experiment surged into my heart.

"Perfect timing. The fire-attribute spiritual herbs I absorbed at the Bai family's place already contained the essence of wood, which has already been absorbed by the Five Elements Beads. I also have a few spiritual herbs of considerable age left in my storage bag. Why not take this opportunity to absorb them? If a few strands of spiritual energy are generated, I'll try to draw upon the essence of wood to see the effect."

Without further hesitation, Wu Fan sat cross-legged on the couch and took out several spiritual herbs from his storage bag.

All of them are rare specimens over a hundred years old, with one of them being a full two hundred years old. Half of it is a relic of Liu Xi, and the other half is a spiritual plant that he earned through his diligent "work" in the Bai family over the years. He originally intended to keep it until he reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Looking at the elixir in his hand, Wu Fan couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache, and sighed softly:

"Well, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. If the essence of wood is truly useful, then these few spiritual herbs won't be wasted."

As soon as he finished speaking, he closed his eyes. A flash of white light appeared in his mind, and a white rune instantly appeared on his forehead. The aura of the Five Elements Bead quietly spread from his Yellow Court, slowly enveloping the few spiritual herbs.

The spiritual energy and the essence of wood in the elixir flowed slowly into Wu Fan's body along the runes, and were eventually absorbed by the Five Elements Beads.