Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 3: An Ancient Immortal’s Cave-Dwelling

“Artifact forging and pill refining, as Uncle said, not only require massive upfront investment but also demand a master’s guidance. If I tried to explore them alone, five or six years might pass without even grasping the basics, so how could I make a living from that? On the other hand, this Spiritual Plant Master path I observed today shows great promise. I'll start with it!”

Because of the Profound Black Bamboo, the Bai clan placed special emphasis on spiritual planting. Within the clan were no fewer than a hundred volumes of books related to spiritual botany.

Especially for various types of spiritual bamboo, they had compiled complete cultivation techniques, including multiple methods on how to stimulate a bamboo’s advancement in grade.

Once an ordinary black bamboo matured into a first-rank low-grade Profound Black Bamboo, it could be sold for thirty-five spirit stones. And after more than ten years of cultivation, there was a small chance it could upgrade again, becoming a first-rank mid-grade spiritual plant, each of which could fetch up to 150 spirit stones.

Why? Because first-rank mid-grade Profound Black Bamboo could already be used to forge the most basic flying swords, causing its value to skyrocket.

Even though flying swords made from this bamboo were considered inferior among first-rank weapons, and had a more fragile blade compared to metal swords, they remained the Bai clan’s best-selling specialty. In fact, many Bai cultivators used bamboo swords themselves.

After all, even the cheapest flying sword in a Azure Maple Sect marketplace sold for around 500 spirit stones.

For the average loose cultivator lucky enough to reach the late stage of Qi Refining, many simply couldn't afford a sword.

Beyond the mid-grade, there was a one-in-a-million chance for spiritual bamboo to mutate. But even after centuries of cultivation, the Bai clan had only seen a handful of such cases. Five had mutated into Tortoiseshell Bamboo, first-rank superior-grade and two had evolved into Sacred Sound Bamboo, a second-rank mid-grade plant.

Despite generations of cultivators nurturing these plants, using auxiliary arts like the Yi Wood Azure Spirit Art, only those few recorded mutations had ever occurred.

First-rank superior-grade was one thing, but a second-rank spiritual plant wasn't even on the same level. Though it was just a small jump in ranking, the value difference was like earth and sky.

What’s more, Sacred Sound Bamboo was an extremely rare species. Whether used for forging flying swords or spiritual tools, it could serve as a primary material.

Of the two mutated Sacred Sound Bamboo ever discovered in Bai clan history, one was auctioned in a marketplace as the grand finale item, reaching a sky-high price of 4,000 spirit stones.

The other had been preserved as a clan heirloom, planted securely in the most spiritually abundant spot within their territory.

“Two spirit stones a year... To reach 4,000, you'd need welfare stipends for 2,000 years. Hm... becoming a Spiritual Plant Master really does sound lucrative!”

Before Bai Zichen lay a thick scroll, the secret manual of the Yi Wood Azure Spirit Art. Though originally only a few hundred words with several illustrations, the margins were packed with countless notes and commentary from previous Bai clan cultivators. These annotations, written in tiny script, added up to over ten thousand words, covering every inch of the scroll’s edges.

Strangely enough, despite being such a miraculous auxiliary spell, the Yi Wood Azure Spirit Art had no use in combat or cultivation improvement. But its effectiveness in the spiritual planting field was undeniable. Over time, nearby families became envious. They tried every method, both open and covert to obtain the manual.

As the saying goes, "no wall can block every wind." Soft tactics like marriage alliances, and hard ones like kidnapping and assassination, were all tried. Eventually, the manual was leaked.

But it was said that no matter how many cultivators in other clans tried to practice the art, none succeeded.

Either they couldn’t even begin, or they wasted years only to find the technique’s effects lackluster, nothing close to the miraculous results achieved by Bai clan members. In the end, everyone believed that only those with Bai clan blood could truly learn the art.

This wasn’t unheard of. There were tales of certain bloodline-bound spells that only descendants of the original creator could cultivate.

After that, the external clans changed their approach, treating Bai clan women like prized goods, offering marriage proposals left and right, or inviting Bai cultivators to marry into their families.

Since Yi Wood Azure Spirit Art was viewed as a rare treasure among cultivation families, Bai Zichen certainly wouldn’t walk away from the treasure mountain empty-handed. He immediately chose this spell as his foundational technique and planned to study it diligently before reaching adulthood.

Though it didn’t belong to any formal rank, according to Bai Jiu’an, even a Qi Refining early-stage cultivator could perform it three to five times daily after mastering the basics. Its effectiveness would depend on one's spiritual power and comprehension of the technique.

Bai Zichen buried himself in the book for several days. From initial confusion, he slowly began to grasp the concepts. Following the annotated instructions, he started to get a feel for the flow of spiritual energy. A faint green glimmer occasionally flickered at his fingertips, though it would vanish the next moment.

“Could it be that I have a talent for spell cultivation?”

This greatly lifted Bai Zichen’s spirits. If he could master the art within seven days, he’d rank among the top three in Bai clan history. It would also significantly boost his odds of cultivating advanced spiritual plants.

Unfortunately, his joy didn't last long. For over ten days, the faint green glow remained unchanged. He couldn't take that final step toward truly mastering the art, and his optimism steadily faded.

By the twenty-seventh day, he even began to suspect that because he was a soul from another world, not truly descended from the Bai ancestors, he might be incapable of learning this family-exclusive technique.

“Brother Chen! Quick, come out. Something big is happening in the clan! Stop hiding in your house!”

A chubby boy came thudding up to his house, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Bai Ying, what are you hollering about?”

Bai Zichen stepped out with a frown. Failing to master the technique for over a month had left him frustrated. The novelty of entering cultivation had long worn off.

His idea of cultivation had been flying on swords and plucking stars from the sky, not agonizing over a single support spell.

If not for the soul of an adult within, he would’ve given up already and gone chasing dogs and fishing with Bai Ying every day.

Bai Ying, around the same age as Zichen, was the son of two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and had also moved into the clan grounds after being found with spiritual roots.

Since this year’s major root-detecting ceremony hadn’t started yet, there were only a few boys his age in the clan. A lover of crowds and chaos, Bai Ying often ran up to Fufeng Ridge, quickly becoming friends with Zichen.

“Brother Chen, I swear it’s huge this time. Come with me to the main peak! My dad came back yesterday and said the clan leader is about to hold a full clan assembly!”

Bai Ying’s father managed one of the clan’s trade caravans. He was responsible for purchasing mortal supplies and selling Bai clan goods to other cultivation families. He often traveled to Azure Maple Sect’s marketplaces. With his wide network, it wasn’t strange that he’d hear important news early.

“A full clan assembly? Is an elder about to attempt Foundation Establishment? Or has the clan grown another Tortoiseshell Bamboo?”

Hearing of such a gathering, Bai Zichen’s expression turned serious. Qi Refining cultivators often secluded themselves for months or years, so a full clan assembly requiring over 80% of cultivators to attend happened rarely, maybe once in several years.

From the old notes he’d read, such meetings only occurred when the clan’s future direction for the next few decades was at stake.

The two guesses he made were optimistic. But there was always the possibility that trouble had come to the clan.

“No, no. My dad said a few loose cultivators found an ancient cultivator’s cave-dwelling in the mountains last month. Judging by the array formations left behind, it likely belonged to at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator, maybe even a Core Formation elder! Now, every cultivator in Heishan County is rushing over. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

“An ancient cave-dwelling?!”

Bai Zichen’s eyes lit up. The Bai clan ancestor had succeeded in Foundation Establishment thanks to resources left behind by a wandering cultivator who perished centuries ago. Stories like these were common in the Heishan Mountains. Although mostly false, but with just enough truth to keep hope alive.

But the fact that a full clan assembly was being called showed that this one was real.

Cultivation methods!

Treasures!

Pills!

Whenever something like this surfaced, Heishan County would be thrown into chaos, and endless fighting and bloodshed, all for the slim chance of one or two lucky winners.

And this time, the suspected Core Formation cultivator’s cave was only five or six days from the Bai clan’s domain.

Whether they wanted to or not, the Bai clan was already part of this storm.

(Chapter End)