Chapter 4
Baek-Cheong pushed up her heavy eyelids.
As soon as she sat up from the bed, she quickly rubbed her hands together and wiped her face.
“Ugh…”
As an aftereffect of overdosing on pills and squeezing out her spiritual energy, the joints all over her body screamed in stiffness.
Unlike when she had been lying sick in bed, her mind, at least, was waking up clearly.
“Hehehe…”
Breathing heavily with rising anticipation, she immediately focused her Divine Sense.
A Translucent Window opened, connecting her to the Nameless Forum.
“Isn’t it better to have a lot of spirit roots?”
“Spirit roots…”
Before her vision could even fully open, notifications noisily filled the corner of the screen.
As expected, countless notifications were flooding in.
[New Replies +99]
A staggering hundred or so replies had been posted on the thread she wrote.
Cheering in delight, Baek-Cheong threw open the post she had written.
An interesting point caught her eye first.
Compared to the massive number of replies, the number of upvotes and downvotes quietly remained at 0.
Baek-Cheong tilted her head, expressing her puzzlement.
“Not even a single downvote?”
Since it wasn’t an important detail for now, she lightly brushed it off.
She hurriedly shifted her gaze to the replies below the main text.
The bottom of the post was filled with harsh curses and raw criticism from Lower Realm Cultivators who had taken the bait.
Merciless mockery aimed at the ignorant newbie endlessly filled the replies.
[Dao Friend (115.22): 1000 Spiritual Roots my ass. Is your brain filled with demonic energy?]
[Dao Friend (33.19): Some bastard rolling in from a backwater Frontier Region dares to insult the Cultivation World.]
[Dao Friend (99.41): If you’re a newbie, just shut up and do your Training.]
Curses degrading her spirit roots ran rampant, but a bright smile spread across Baek-Cheong’s lips instead.
Thrilling exhilaration surged from the massive outpouring of attention.
The familiar sensation from her past life dominated her body, and a hum naturally flowed out.
“They’re all so cute.”
Ignoring the curses, Baek-Cheong slowly examined the replies.
In the midst of it, she miraculously discovered a single short reply buried under countless criticisms.
[Dao Friend (718.44): It is good, actually.]
It was the only reply that left a positive sentiment while everyone else was raging in anger.
“Found it!”
Baek-Cheong clenched her fists on the bed and rejoiced.
It was a short reply, but its implied meaning seemed different.
There was a very high probability that this was a veteran user who held a unique perspective on the Five Elements Spirit Root or knew of a hidden fortuitous encounter related to it.
“718.44, 718.44.”
Baek-Cheong firmly engraved that Dao Friend’s Interface Number (718.44) into her mind.
After meticulously checking up to the very last reply, she realized there was only one that could resolve her curiosity in the direction she wanted.
“Ah… I guess it’s a relief I managed to salvage at least one?”
Soothing her disappointment, Baek-Cheong considered it fortunate that she had salvaged even one.
Now it was time to track the Dao Friend’s Interface Number and find other posts they had written.
She moved her Divine Sense to turn to the next page of the Forum Board.
At that very moment, a bizarre sensation of her Divine Sense falling away in chunks washed over her.
“Hic!”
During the process of awakening her spirit root, Baek-Cheong possessed a Divine Sense close to 1 jang (3m).
After she learned the Clan’s Cultivation Method and safely entered the Qi Condensation Stage, 1st Level, the size of her Divine Sense had grown to a whopping 3 jang (9m).
Compared to the levels of peers at the same Qi Condensation Stage who had just entered the Cultivation World, her level was an overwhelmingly superior one she could be proud of.
However, upon turning to the next page, her Divine Sense decreased by 1 cheok (30cm) from that split-second action alone.
“N-no way?”
Flustered, Baek-Cheong turned to the next page one more time just in case.
Without fail, a total of 2 cheok (60cm) of Divine Sense decreased.
Her Divine Sense continuously decreased by 1 cheok the more she turned the pages of the Forum Board.
Because the latest posts on the Nameless Forum updated so quickly that she had only been refreshing until now, she hadn’t realized this phenomenon.
Fortunately, when she returned to the first page, the decreased Divine Sense was fully restored to its original state.
“What do I do?”
A deep shadow fell over Baek-Cheong’s face.
Because the Nameless Forum was a massive network encompassing the entire Lower Realm, new nonsense posts poured in endlessly even in a split second.
With her limited Divine Sense, scouring the Nameless Forum one by one to find the desired Dao Friend’s post was a labor close to impossible amidst this atrocious update speed.
“I can’t lose!”
Unable to control the stubbornness boiling up inside her, Baek-Cheong quickly flipped through the next pages rapidly.
She flipped through dozens of pages until she reached the limit of her Divine Sense, but not a single post from the person with the same Interface Number was anywhere to be seen.
As her remaining Divine Sense vanished, severe side effects followed.
She felt as ignorant as if she had become an ordinary person.
“Ugh…”
Shuddering at the rather unpleasant sensation, Baek-Cheong hastily returned to the first page of the Nameless Forum.
As her Divine Sense returned, her blurred vision cleared and her ignorant senses began to come back.
“Hmm.”
Sitting cross-legged on the bed with her chin resting on her hand, Baek-Cheong fiercely pondered a method to overcome the reality of her grand plan being blocked.
The biggest problem was that the Nameless Forum lacked a convenient feature to individually search for an Interface Number.
She had to pull up past records using only the title and the contents of the main text.
With the feeling of grasping at straws, Baek-Cheong focused her remaining Divine Sense on the search bar.
She carefully entered the words [Five Elements Spirit Root] into the blank space and called up the results.
“Dao Friend (392.78): This is why mixed spirit roots should be treated as Mortals.”
[913.14 is a Five Elements Spirit Root Holder too, and they’re already spouting nonsense…]
“Dao Friend (913.14): The Five Elements Spirit Root help.”
.
.
The moment the results popped up, a massive shock on a completely different level from the previous page-turning struck her.
A full 1 jang (3m) of Divine Sense was instantly consumed and occupied by the Nameless Forum.
“Ugh!”
Baek-Cheong clutched her forehead and let out a groan.
The search function seemed to require a massive amount of Divine Sense because it was a heavy task that scoured the accumulated records of the Nameless Forum all at once.
It was a good thing she possessed a generous 3 jang of Divine Sense; if she had been an ordinary Qi Condensation cultivator, she would have foamed at the mouth and collapsed the moment she hit search.
“Dao Friend (242.938): The Five Elements Spirit Root is the root of all evil.”
“Dao Friend (298.77): It’s not called a Fake Spirit Root for nothing.”
“Dao Friend (3.942): The Five Elements Spirit Root isn’t too bad.”
[It’s pretty useful as an ingredient for making pills.]
The search results window formed in her blurry vision.
Countless posts containing the keyword “Five Elements Spirit Root” were listed densely.
Harboring anticipation, she clicked and checked the contents one by one.
However, the results were dismal.
It was nothing but content riddled with all sorts of mockery, laments about Talent, and substance-devoid nonsense posts.
Even after scouring the entire first page, there wasn’t a single piece of information that would be helpful for Training.
“I can do this!”
Steeling her resolve, Baek-Cheong moved on to the 2nd page.
Unfortunately, the results were the same.
A headache was already creeping in, but she couldn’t give up here.
Taking a deep breath, she gathered her mind and turned to the 3rd page, which was her limit.
Her Divine Sense completely bottomed out, the edges of her vision grew dim, and her breathing became extremely ragged.
Within her blurrily swaying vision, Baek-Cheong’s eyes flashed brightly.
“Dao Friend (718.44): The Five Elements Spirit Root is superior.”
Finally, at the very end of the 3rd page, she discovered a post from the Dao Friend with the exact same Interface Number.
It was a provocative title heavily laden with bait.
The post’s view count was substantial, and quite a few replies were attached to it.
“Please…”
With an eager heart, Baek-Cheong moved her speck-like Divine Sense and entered the post.
Contrary to her expectations, the contents of the main text had absolutely no substance.
The Five Elements Spirit Root was said to be the noblest spirit root closest to the Truth of Heaven and Earth because it possessed all five elements.
It was closer to a long-winded ramble about its advantages rather than a method for Training the Five Elements Spirit Root.
“Haa…”
Disappointed, Baek-Cheong let out a sigh and examined the replies that followed below.
[Dao Friend (11.23): Even so, that only applies from the soul Formation stage or to an Ascendant. GG.]
[Dao Friend (55.19): This guy isn’t a Five Elements Spirit Root Holder. Yep.]
└Dao Friend (718.44): Why am I not a Five Elements Spirit Root Holder?
└Dao Friend (55.19): Because if you were a real Five Elements Spirit Root Holder, you’d suffer like a dog from the very start of your cultivation path.
└Dao Friend (718.44): That’s because you don’t know the Five Elements Spirit Root Cultivation Method. If you find the right Cultivation Method for each spirit root and operate five cultivation methods simultaneously, the spirit roots will resonate with each other, allowing you to accumulate spiritual energy on par with a heavenly spirit root. Operating five cultivation methods at the same time is difficult, but if you just get the hang of it, it’s entirely possible.
└Dao Friend (55.19): If that were possible, you would’ve ascended ages ago, retard.
└Dao Friend (718.44): I’ll ascend soon.
[Dao Friend (99.11): What about a Four Elements Spirit Root Holder?]
└Dao Friend (718.44): That one is just trash. Unless you’re overflowing with fortuitous encounters like someone I know.
She could clearly glimpse the important theory the original poster had spat out in a fit of anger while fighting with those doubting them in the replies.
This was exactly the information Baek-Cheong had been so desperately searching for.
Staring at the Nameless Forum as if to pierce a hole through it, Baek-Cheong precisely engraved the contents of the replies into her mind one by one.
Find a Cultivation Method suited for each element and operate all five simultaneously to make the spirit roots resonate with each other.
An ordinary Cultivator devotes a lifetime of effort just to Master a Single Cultivation Method suited to his or her spirit root.
Risking twisted meridians to operate five disparate cultivation methods at once was an act of madness, perfect for falling into Qi Deviation and self-destructing.
However, Baek-Cheong was a modern person who had trained her multitasking and complex information processing abilities to the limit in the harsh life of her previous life.
Even if it was overdoing it, it was worth a try.
“If it’s this, it’s worth a shot.”
Muttering in a resolute voice, Baek-Cheong hurriedly exited the Nameless Forum and withdrew her Divine Sense.
The fatigue that had been pressing down heavily on her brain vanished in an instant, and her clouded mind cleared.
Jumping up from her spot, Baek-Cheong dashed like an arrow to the desk set up on one side.
She took out paper, brush, and ink, ground the inkstone, and recorded the Five Elements Spirit Root Training theory she had just engraved in her mind without leaving anything out.
“A Cultivation Method other than the Yeonha Art…”
Currently, the only Cultivation Method she had learned was the water-attribute-based Yeonha Art that her father had personally taught her.
To achieve perfect resonance, she needed four additional basic cultivation methods possessing the remaining wood, fire, Earth, and metal attributes.
“If I go to the Archives, there should be other Cultivation Methods too.”
Having safely finished her recording, Baek-Cheong neatly set down her brush.
She roughly threw on the outer garment she had taken off near the bed and forcefully threw open the latch of her tightly closed door.
“All for the sake of forum surfing.”
Harboring a burning ambition in her heart, Baek-Cheong left the room.
She took a step toward the Clan’s Archives.
In her mind, she was only pondering how to train in the five cultivation methods.