Chapter 155: Natural Counter
Editor: Atlas Studios
As the saying went, heaven had nine layers, while earth had nine Netherworlds.
This scripture was called Nine Nether, and if it was not false advertisement, then the meaning behind it was truly shocking.
Not long ago, when Jiang Li had just stepped into the cultivation world, he had even complained about why he could not have a cultivation method that could allow him to directly ascend the path to immortality.
Now, such a cultivation method was placed before him.
Even if this Dao Scripture bestowed to the Spiritual Root of Heaven and Earth could not be said to be a straight path to the Great Dao, at the very least, there was no problem in cultivating to become a True Immortal.
The second Parallel Mind, which was his current spiritual root clone, had yet to receive the full legacy of the Spiritual Root Branch.
However, Jiang Li had already found out some information about this ancient tree that looked like a statue.
First of all, his previous guess was not wrong. This thing’s actual body was indeed one of the spiritual roots that was born when the world first developed.
It was called the Nine Nether Wood.
It was similar to the Immortal Peach, Ginseng Fruit, Yellow Core Tree, Fusang Wood, Bitter Bamboo, and Calabash Vine… All of them possessed the miraculous power to seize the fortune of heaven and earth.
According to the consciousness of the branch and the inherited memories of the spiritual root that was left behind, the ancient Netherworld Palace seemed to have been built using the Nine Nether Wood as the foundation.
At that time, due to the importance of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, although the Nine Nether Wood was unable to retain its freedom and its intelligence was erased like the others, the Nine Nether Wood had also become a rare of Spiritual Root of Heaven and Earth that did not have “affinity” with the mighty figures.
After the ancient calamity, the Immortal and Buddhist sects vanished while the Netherworld Palace collapsed. While the Nine Nether Wood gained its freedom, it nearly died due to the calamity of thinning spiritual qi.
Fortunately, the Nine Nether was formed from the sinking chaotic turbid qi at the beginning of the world. It was much more condensed and sealed. The speed at which the spiritual qi dried up was not as fast as the Nine Heavenly Palaces.
With the Earth Vein Qi and the countless ghosts left behind by the reincarnation cycle as nutrients, this Spiritual Root of Heaven and Earth was barely able to preserve a chance of survival during the long calamity.
It was not until the spiritual qi between heaven and earth was restored and the flourishing era of the cultivation world arrived that the original body of the Nine Nether Wood slowly recovered under the nourishment of the spirit vein.
However, after the calamity, this world seemed to be filled with malice towards the ancient life forms.
As long as the Spiritual Root’s main body left the Nine Nether, the most terrifying calamities such as the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning, Nine Flames True Fire, and Nine Flames Divine Wind would descend without even needing to say a word.
At that time, all the external roots growing outside were destroyed bit by bit.
Even if it was a Spiritual Root of Heaven and Earth, it could not withstand such torture, let alone the current strength of the Nine Nether Wood. Compared to the past, it was less than 10% as powerful.
Therefore, even now, when the cultivation world became more prosperous, there was no sign of the Nine Nether Wood reappearing.
Of course, the Spiritual Roots of Heaven and Earth were still plants. They liked to be quiet and did not like to move. As long as they stayed in a comfortable environment, they might not move their nest even after ten thousand years.
Not to mention that its consciousness had been wiped away, leaving behind only its instinct in the Nine Nether.
Even without the restrictions of those calamities, the Nine Nether Wood’s main body would most likely obediently take root underground and not come out at all.
As for those spiritual root branches and spiritual root seeds, they were also split from it. Perhaps because these branches were born after a calamity and were not rejected by the world, they became branches of the Nine Nether Wood that scattered to the new world.
As for its goal, this branch of the Nine Nether Wood that Jiang Li had turned into a clone seemed… to want to… replace the main body?
Jiang Li looked at the branch in front of him. It was only about the height of an ordinary tree that was ten years old. When he thought about the Nine Nether Wood’s true form, the difference between them was really extraordinarily huge.
However, after tidying up his memories, he realized that this thought did not seem to be wishful thinking, but rather an instinct.
Because the intelligence of the main body had been erased by a mighty figure, the Nine Nether Wood had power but not its own will.
Therefore, for countless years, the Nine Nether Wood could slowly reproduce and create branches. After being thrown out, the branches would develop on their own.
It was as if it hoped that one day, there would be a sufficiently outstanding descendant who could grow to a certain level and return to the Nine Nether to absorb everything from the main body, then replace it and obtain new life.
All of the Nine Nether Wood Branches existed for this purpose.
Their goal was probably to obtain more nutrients to accelerate their growth.
The Nine Nether Wood was naturally different from ordinary plants. It did not like sunlight, and the source of energy it relied on to grow was also somewhat special.
The Nine Nether Wood could grow by absorbing spiritual qi, but that speed was too slow. How long would it take to grow to the same level as the main body?
For this kind of spiritual root, the cultivation, talent, and spiritual root of a cultivator were the best nutrients to facilitate their growth.
Spiritual root seeds were the best way to obtain nutrients.
Seeing this, Jiang Li could not help but frown.
With a cultivator’s cultivation, talent, and spiritual root as food, this Nine Nether Wood was actually a plant that ate humans. It was a natural enemy of cultivators.
Jiang Li’s clone was too weak earlier and could not tell. However, if a certain Nine Nether Branch was allowed to grow too strong, then the cultivators of the cultivation world of the Great Mountain Region would probably suffer a calamity!
At this moment, a fat and ugly Ghost Lantern Fish swam over with its disproportionate tail.
It seemed to have been attracted by the abnormality of the spiritual qi vortex and came to patrol its territory like a boss.
As the only living thing in the coffin, these Ghost Lantern Fish really lived like kings. From ghosts to zombies, none dared act wildly in front of them.
These few Ghost Lantern Fish ate whatever they wanted to eat and bit whoever they wanted to bite. Even Qin Shuman could not tame them.
“Now that I have the spiritual root clone, let’s see how arrogant you can still be!”
Jiang Li stretched out his hand and grabbed a Ghost Lantern Fish. This chubby fellow did not resist nor was it afraid. After it rolled its eyes at Jiang Li, it shook the Ghost Lantern that was hanging in front of its head and seemed to be very relaxed.
In the underwater graveyard below the thermocline, this kind of ancient fish lived for thousands of years or even tens of thousands of years.
To other animals, the graveyard was a land of death, but to the Ghost Lantern Fish, it was a beautiful Garden of Eden.
After so many years, these fish had long forgotten the existence of their natural enemies.
The spiritual root clone controlled a vine to grab onto a chubby Ghost Lantern Fish.
Just as he was about to let his clone teach this fat fish a lesson and let the other fish understand the dangers of the world…
The ghost lantern hanging on the front of the fish suddenly swung, lightly hitting the vine of the clone.
A ball the size of a basketball appeared. It was green and had thick black ghost flames. Immediately, a shocking scene happened.
The green-black Ghost Lantern’s cold flame only flicked once, and the Nine Nether vine that was as thick as an adult’s wrist was instantly ignited.
The vine binding the Ghost Lantern Fish was burned to ash in just a few breaths.
The flames had no intention of stopping as they followed the vine and burned all the way towards the Spiritual Root Branch.
Feeling terror and fear as if he had encountered his natural enemy, Jiang Li’s second clone, which was the tree, trembled before the ghost flames of the fat Ghost Lantern Fish.
Slam!
Jiang Li was quick-witted and forcefully tore apart the vines. He hurriedly brought the remaining vines and Ghost Lantern Flames away from the coffin.
He threw the broken vine to the ground.
The flames that burned the Nine Nether Wood vine touched the dead branches and leaves on the ground but showed no signs of igniting.
[Name: Ghost Lantern Cold Flame]
[Type: Talent Spirit Fire]
[Grade: High-Grade Yellow-Rank]
[Source: Burning Lantern of the Ghost Lantern Fish]
[Note: I can burn even hotter.]
Jiang Li and the others were all stunned. They never imagined that a few weak Ghost Lantern Fish would actually have a high-grade Yellow-rank spiritual fire burning on their lanterns.
No, this Ghost Lantern Fish’s Ghost Lantern Cold Flame was definitely not this powerful at the beginning. It should have been eating too well in the Yin Burial Coffin day after day, causing the spirit fire to burn brighter and brighter, reaching this level.
However, spirit flames that could grow stronger were even more precious to Jiang Li.
Jiang Li’s palm approached the flames on the ground, but he did not feel any warmth. Instead, there was a chill that froze his soul, causing him to involuntarily withdraw his hand.
Jiang Li thought for a moment before he stretched out his hand to pull out a ghost from the coffin, and then he threw it towards the Ghost Lantern Cold Flame.
Like hot oil poured on fire, the green-black flames suddenly rose more than a meter high. The ghost howled at a different frequency, and in just two to three seconds, it was completely incinerated.
Jiang Li slapped his forehead and couldn’t help but feel terrified, and his heart skipped a beat.
He had always used this Ghost Lantern as an illumination device!
Only now did he realize that he had been putting more than a dozen detonators and a hundred tons of fuel together.
How densely packed were the ghosts in the coffin? How many were there? If some stupid fish accidentally lit it up, not only would Jiang Li’s 400,000 ghosts die in a day, but the coffin might even explode.
This was extremely terrifying, so Jiang Li did not dare allow these Ghost Lantern Fish to move about freely anymore.
He placed his palm on the coffin and isolated an area in the coffin space for them to live in. He would throw in a hundred ghosts every day to ensure that they would not starve to death.
Jiang Li only heaved a sigh of relief after all the vines were burned to ashes and the azure-black flames were extinguished.
When he returned to the coffin space, the vine of the spiritual root clone had already grown back under the nourishment of the spiritual qi. However, Jiang Li could clearly still sense the fear that was instinctively transmitted from the Nine Nether Wood.
Indeed, there was always a natural counter to a specific life form.
He did not expect that a Spiritual Root Branch would be so frightened by such a fat fish.
He recalled the school of Ghost Lantern Fish in the underwater graveyard and the scene where these Ghost Lantern Fish used the spiritual root seed as a ball in the coffin.
This was absurd. Not just Jiang Li’s second clone, but even the Spiritual Root Branch in the underwater graveyard had clearly been bullied by them as well.
However, Jiang Li did not immediately boil the fish into soup.
On the one hand, it was because after raising fish for so long, they still had some feelings for each other.
On the other hand, this situation made Jiang Li have some thoughts.
If he could obtain this power of the Ghost Lantern Fish, then the huge guy in the underwater graveyard might not be impossible to deal with.
Moreover, the number of branches of the Nine Nether Wood was actually not small. If Jiang Li was interested in the true form of the Nine Nether Wood in the future, then conflict would be unavoidable.
This kind of Ghost Lantern Cold Flame that originated from ancient times might be useful in the future.
The only problem now was how to obtain such a powerful innate spirit fire.
He was not a cultivator with a fire spiritual root and could not refine it directly. Therefore, he could only let this flame automatically become a talent in his body… How should he do it?
In his mental world, the second Parallel Mind was diligently absorbing everything from the branch. It had already grown to more than three meters tall and was gradually transforming into the consciousness of the spiritual root. However, the portion of the tree trunk resembled Jiang Li.
Jiang Li’s main body squatted in the coffin space and studied his second clone and the few Ghost Lantern Fish for a long time. He was filled with interest towards these two ancient races.
There was also the Nine Nether Dao Scripture that was probably not inferior to the Bodhisattva Heart Sutra. Jiang Li nearly sat down on the spot to cultivate Qi Refinement.
Fortunately, the sensible sword cultivator clone reminded Jiang Li that he was still in the competition.
Although he did not have to from the beginning for this cultivation method, it would take at least three to five days to half a month of bitter cultivation.
The Nine Nether Dao Scripture could be said to be a top-grade cultivation method above the Ghost Wood Art. The mere Ghost Wood spiritual qi would only become the nourishment of the Nine Nether Dao Scripture and would not be able to create any obstructions.
However, once he started to re-cultivate, it would not be easy to stop.
By the time he could successfully convert the cultivation method, the others would have already reached the end.
This was not a good time to do that.
Helpless, Jiang Li gave up on the idea of cultivating in seclusion and climbed out of the coffin again.
Looking at the time, he had already stayed where he was for more than a day. If the other Qi Refinement cultivators were not dead, many of them would have already run to the second mountaintop.
Then, it was time to catch up.
Jiang Li put away the Yin Burial Coffin and had just started shooting forward when he was not even 200 meters away.
There was a whistling sound as something seemed to be coming toward him.
Oh goodness! Was this an ambush?
Jiang Li inexplicably became excited. Because this was a punching bag that delivered itself to his door, he would feel less pressure when fighting.
Otherwise, if he went around deliberately provoking or triggering others into attacking, it would appear that he was not very righteous.
Generally speaking, Jiang Li would only choose to do this when no one else saw him.
He took a step forward and suddenly soared into the air, his pitch-black fist facing the falling object.
Jiang Li, who had been pounding the ground all year round, had at some point become extremely addicted to the feeling of colliding head-on with those attacks.
However, the next moment, what fell from the tumbling clouds was not an artifact, but a petite female sword cultivator in white.
When Jiang Li saw a wisp of blood on the other party’s body, he immediately reacted to it, and he transformed his fist into a claw to directly catch the other party. Moreover, he saved the other party in an elegant manner.
After landing on the ground, he flipped the person over and placed her on the ground.
“Her body is really flat… cough cough… her injuries are really not light.”
“Eh? She’s so young. No wonder her body feels so uncomfortable.”
Wait a minute.
This sword cultivator was really young.
Jiang Li sized up the other party’s face.
The female sword cultivator was still unconscious. There was a pained expression on her chubby face.
He was a little surprised. How could there be such a young cultivator other than him?
“The sword cultivators of Shu Mountain are indeed corrupted.”
Jiang Li had completely forgotten that he had been looked down upon by others because of his young age. He had also judged a book by its cover and decided that the other party had used connections to get in through the back door.
He communicated with his sword cultivator clone who had been in Shu Mountain for quite some time. Moreover, they were both participating disciples, so it was impossible for his clone to not know her.
In just an instant, the information was exchanged.
Jiang Li looked at the little girl lying in front of him again, having found out her identity.
He did not expect this lady to really be here due to connections, a huge connection that was.
She was the granddaughter of the current Sword Sect Master of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak, this was truly a magical world.
However, this young lady did not come to participate in the Martial Competition because of her background. Instead, she relied on her true strength just like Jiang Li.
On the left chest of the other party, the symbol of two small swords, one blue and one red, crossed each other. This type of embellishment was unique even among the disciples of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak.
Top-grade water and fire dual-attribute spiritual root!
This was a talent that could scare people to death.
It was not difficult to be the protagonist in another story.
In addition, the other party was talented and smart, and her family background was strong.
Ever since she was young, she had been nourished by all types of spiritual medicines and spiritual pills, receiving one-on-one education from Golden Core cultivators and above. Before she started cultivating, she had laid down a shocking foundation.
She had started Qi Refinement at the age of eight, and her cultivation had since advanced by leaps and bounds.
Although she seemed to be younger than Jiang Li now, under the circumstances of dual cultivating fire and water, she had still reached the peak of the Qi Refinement realm. It was even to the extent that she was already preparing to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.
One had to know that Shu Mountain was not like the Scripture Storage Valley. There were not as many cultivation methods for her to choose from. If she said that she was going to dual cultivate, then it meant that she was going to cultivate two cultivation methods at the same time. While it would take double the time and effort, she still had to overcome the hurdles of fire and water.
Under such circumstances, her advancement was so fast. She could be said to have a lot of resources, good talent, and a strong will.
In just a while more, when she reached the Foundation Establishment realm, countless cultivators would lose their confidence because of a little girl like her…
However, in the impression of the sword cultivator clone, this junior sister’s Fire Water Sword Art was quite extraordinary. It was also a top-notch method among the Qi Refinement realm.
Why was she so injured?
Could it be that there was such an expert in this competition?
It seemed that he should wake her up first.
However, the Spirit Recovery Pill was expensive. She did not need it for her injuries.
Jiang Li looked around and found a bush beside him. After identifying the breed, he immediately had a solution.
He gently caressed it with his right hand and a stream of wood attribute spiritual qi shot out. The short shrub quickly grew. In just a moment, it was as if several months had passed, and fresh fruits with little spots grew on the branches.
He plucked a few astringent fruits and brought them to the Sword Sect Master’s granddaughter’s mouth.
With a gentle squeeze, green liquid immediately splattered and poured into her opened mouth.
A strong sour taste filled her mouth. This young lady had been eating delicacies from a young age and had never tasted such a flavor.
Her chubby mouth twitched from the sourness. After persisting for a few seconds, she flipped over and woke up from her coma. She leaned over and vomited crazily on the ground.
