CHAPTER 23: 23

Lan Tian repeated the names of the herbs like a parrot, memorizing their shapes. Mo Yuanle only taught her ten kinds of herbs, and Lan Tian’s task was to memorize the herbs he taught over the next two days for a quiz later.

Having lived two lives, and having been a cultivator in her past life, Lan Tian’s divine sense was at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Having photographic and auditory memory was no big deal. She memorized the diagrams, names, and effects of the ten herbs instantly. Of course, one should remain low-key and practice the art of concealing one’s true strength.

At night, Lan Tian cultivated in bed. Sitting cross-legged with her hands placed on her knees, making orchid finger gestures, her palms facing upward. Lan Tian had Fire and Wood Dual Spirit Roots, making her moderately talented. Since her spirit roots were complementary, she had to choose cultivation techniques that were either Fire Element or Wood Element, or those that complemented both.

In her past life, she practiced Water Element Techniques, which were completely incompatible. The fact that she didn’t suffer from Qi deviation and destroyed meridians was a stroke of immense luck. No wonder her spellcasting was rough, finger gestures stuck halfway, and her Spiritual Energy consumption was excessively high.

The roots didn’t match! If wood were to produce ironware, it would truly be miraculous. It was no wonder that she could barely use any useful spells despite having so much Spiritual Energy, only mastering a few like Cleaning Technique, Dust Removal Technique, and Rainfall Technique. While she couldn’t use spells properly, she was a master in the mundane world, capable of using a Spiritual Energy bomb to annihilate an area without leaving any evidence behind. No heat or laser scans could detect any remains. She was so confident because of her personal experience.

In her past life, she couldn’t refine artifacts, concoct pills, inscribe talismans, or set up arrays. Playing musical instruments, singing, writing poetry, or painting were completely out of the question. She only had a bit of understanding of gardening.

Wildflowers and grasses spread across the mountains. Whenever she wanted to pick some, she didn’t need to put in much effort, just a little bit of Spiritual Energy. Those that lived, she nurtured, and those that didn’t, she discarded, effortlessly merging with nature while being environmentally friendly—achieving multiple goals at once. She even managed to grow several mutated camellias, each flower as large as a bowl and available in yellow, purple, and black.

Under the tea tree, a vine chair was placed with a small tea table beside it. Amid cultivation, she would lie under the tree, inhale the fragrance of flowers, drink Spiritual Tea, and embrace the cultivation techniques imprinted in her Sea of Consciousness, living a carefree and joyful life.

Such god-like days would never return!

Choosing a cultivation technique required caution; one misstep could lead to eternal regret. Afterwards, everything would change drastically. Lan Tian, being very careful, searched for a suitable technique within her Sea of Consciousness. Quality over quantity was crucial, and good techniques would allow one to defeat stronger opponents. Body Refine techniques were entirely out of consideration. Golden Flame Technique immediately indicated it was for Metal Spirit Root, hence unsuitable; Source Yi Water, the technique she cultivated in her past life, was also discarded; Purple Sky Nine Thunders was for Thunder Spirit Root. The last one was Mixed Element Decision.

After going through the options, she found that nothing suited her. Lan Tian felt troubled. If her predecessor were still around, she would definitely nag him, blaming him for being careless. Collecting techniques should be comprehensive to accommodate various Spirit Roots. Evidently, she found none that suited her.

Forget it, she would just cultivate with Mixed Element Decision. Although the technique didn’t specify any particular Spirit Root, it seemed like she could cultivate it. At least it was better than the techniques clearly meant for Water, Metal, or Thunder Spirit Roots.

What is Mixed Element?

The introduction to the technique was brief and simple.

It was said that when Pangu divided the heavens and earth, the Chaos Source Mother was born at the dawn of creation, and the world was filled with Chaos Qi. The Gods and Demons of that time all cultivated Chaos Qi. After the ancient battle between Gods and Demons, the world was divided into Three Realms and Six Paths, and the remaining Chaos Qi gradually dissipated, reordering the heavens and earth, giving rise to Spiritual Energy. Cultivators used Spirit Roots to seek the dao and become immortals.

In ancient times, cultivation was primarily focused on chaos, and the Spirit Roots were exalted as five: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, collectively known as the Five Elements or Mixed Spirit Body. Cultivating with these roots doubled the result with half the effort, while other roots couldn’t compare. The smaller the spirit root, the slower the cultivation speed. Single spirit roots were termed Wasted Bodies and could be directly discarded.

After the ancient war and the reformation of heavens and earth, chaos dissipated, spiritual energy emerged, and various cultivation techniques were created. The smaller the spirit root, the faster the cultivation; the more the spirit roots, the slower. The Five Element spirit roots, once revered, now were deemed Wasted Bodies, and the techniques vanished during the wars.

The Mixed Cloud Technique was one of the few remaining techniques suitable for various spirit roots. An elder’s postscript at the bottom of its introduction revealed that he had snatched this technique from an ancient cave mansion belonging to a Mahayana Cultivator. Naturally, the elder was a Tribulation Crossing Cultivator.

From his message, he was quite proud, unabashedly claiming unparalleled supremacy between heaven and earth. Lan Tian wondered what he was so proud of—bullying a cultivator one realm lower than himself was hardly something to boast about. Given his arrogance and conceit, Lan Tian guessed that he probably ended up as nothing more than dust.

In the distant Divine Realm, someone sneezed three times, muttering to himself about who was plotting against him again. He swore that if he found out, he would kill the culprit eternally, offering no escape in heaven or earth.

Finally, he lamented that he was a Thunder Spirit Root; having obtained the technique too late, he was already a Tribulation Crossing Cultivator, making it impossible to start over and only waiting for the destined person to appear. Another note explicitly stated that anyone who obtained this cave mansion was his legitimate heir.

What?

Lan Tian was horrified! She had no idea about this in her past life. If it weren’t for cultivating Mixed Element Decision now, she wouldn’t have discovered this message. Wasn’t becoming an heir something to be formally inherited during the cave mansion’s recognition process? Was it really so casual? This master was just too unreliable!

With such an informal master, surely disciples were dispensable. In her past life, having practiced Source Yi Water Technique without seeing this message, she wasn’t his heir at all. In this life, as she no longer had a cave mansion, she definitely wasn’t the heir. Excellent, it was happily decided; she was free, and who needed a master anyway?