Chapter 1021
Responsibilities
Perfected Five Elements Spiritual Roots, Innate Five Elements Dao Body.
The few words exploded from the deacon's mouth like thunder in spring, sending chills down everyone's spines.
If Song Youlin, this cultivator with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, is a Qilin Child born from the accumulated fortune of the Song Clan over hundreds of years, then the child before us, Song Yuan, is the Dragon Soaring Child who carries the great fortune of the Song Clan.
Even if the Song family's fortunes soar again in the next thousand or even ten thousand years, it will be extremely difficult for them to produce another genius who can rival them.
With each spiritual root reaching perfection, it means that his innate Daoist essence is perfect. This means that, apart from the inner demon tribulation and the heavenly lightning tribulation, there are no bottlenecks before the Nascent Soul stage. The Five Elements Golden Elixir Dao is tailor-made for him.
After breaking through to the Great Perfection of the Purple Mansion stage, one can begin the process of breaking through to the Golden Core stage without needing to refine spiritual objects from heaven and earth.
When one cultivates to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, there will be no situation like Song Changsheng, who has clearly reached the pinnacle of the Golden Core stage and overcome the tribulation of inner demons, yet is unable to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, because he was born with perfect Five Elements Daoist principles.
Having all five elements and achieving perfection in all five elements are two completely different concepts.
Humans are the protagonists of heaven and earth, and the human form is in harmony with the way of heaven. The final form of all races under heaven is human. The ultimate mystery of the human form lies in the five elements. Therefore, humans are born with all five elements and possess the five Daoist qualities of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. This is an advantage that most living beings in the world do not have.
However, compared to other living beings in the world, humans are undoubtedly very weak. They do not have tough leather scales, claws that can break wood and stones, or wings that can soar through the sky. In the ancient times, humans were at the very bottom of the food chain.
The reason it was able to rise to prominence is because it developed a cultivation method that is applicable to everyone and can fully tap into their potential.
That was a continuous process of addressing shortcomings.
Qi Refining and Foundation Building primarily enhance physical strength, while Purple Mansion and Golden Core focus on perfecting the Five Elements Daoist principles, and Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation explore the ultimate mysteries of the soul.
Simply put, apart from a tiny group of cultivators who take an unorthodox approach to cultivate the [One Yuan Golden Core Dao], all cultivators who want to break through to the Nascent Soul stage must meet a prerequisite: the Five Elements Dao Rhyme must be perfected. The Five Elements must be fused into one to form the Origin, the Core must be broken into the Nascent Soul, and the two must be combined into one to form the "Nascent Soul".
The length of a spiritual root, often mentioned in spiritual divination, actually refers to the degree of perfection of the innate Daoist essence of a single spiritual root.
The longer one's spiritual root, the higher the efficiency of utilizing spiritual energy, and the less one needs to replenish it later in life. When cultivating to the same level, one consumes fewer resources than others, but cultivates much faster. This is talent, and it is also the key to the gap between cultivators.
Song Changsheng, for example, possesses dual spiritual roots of water and fire, both of which have reached five inches in length.
Completing the Dao of Water and Fire was not difficult for him, but the three spiritual roots of Metal, Earth, and Wood remained hidden. He had not even reached an inch of innate Dao, and it took him three kinds of five elements of heaven and earth spiritual objects to barely reach "an inch".
He must spend a great deal of time and resources to perfect the Daoist essence of these three spiritual roots. Only when all five elements of Daoist essence are perfected can he advance further.
Conversely, it is much more difficult for single-element cultivators, who are known as having a heavenly spiritual root, to complete the five elements of Daoist essence.
This creates a very strange phenomenon: the cultivation speed of multi-spiritual-root cultivators and single-spiritual-root cultivators is vastly different in the early stages, but the average age at which they break through to the Nascent Soul stage is not much different.
Many cultivators with Heavenly Spiritual Roots are unparalleled in the early stages, but stagnate at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm for hundreds of years, just like Song Changsheng.
Before reaching the Purple Mansion stage, cultivators with five spiritual roots face numerous difficulties, but once they overcome these hurdles, their cultivation speed actually increases as they progress.
This is why it is said that the five spiritual roots in the primordial ancient times were the heavenly spiritual roots.
Heaven's justice is impartial; what is owed will eventually be repaid, it's just a matter of time.
However, sometimes, the way of Heaven does not seem to be so fair and just. Some people are born with perfect five elements, which means that they have a cultivation speed comparable to that of a single-elemental cultivator, but without the disadvantages of a single-elemental cultivator.
The Song and Yuan dynasties were undoubtedly among these lucky ones.
He not only possesses perfect innate Five Elements, but also has a [Five Elements Dao Body].
With his extreme affinity for the Five Elements, he was the chosen one of the Five Elements Great Dao, far ahead of ordinary people from the very beginning. Even among those ancient and great sects, his talent was among the best.
In fact, Song Changsheng had been looking forward to this result when he first met him eight years ago, because the [Five Elements Dao Body] would only appear on cultivators with five spiritual roots. As long as the innate Dao rhyme of the five spiritual roots was consistent, even if they were only one inch long, the [Five Elements Dao Body] would inevitably be born.
Of course, a perfect nine-inch Five Elements Dao Body and a Five Elements Dao Body with only one inch of Five Spiritual Roots are not the same concept.
As the son of the dragon who carries the great fortune of the Song family, his talent is naturally not bad, and the [Five Elements Dao Body] is his greatest expectation.
To his utter surprise, Song Yuan gave him such a big surprise.
Looking at it this way, it seems that Heaven is indeed a bit biased. Song Yuan possesses top-notch talents in every single one of them, yet he happens to have them all at the same time. It's infuriating just thinking about it.
But the principle of justice is never just empty words. As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. What one gains, one will have to bear in the future.
Great times produce geniuses, while chaotic times breed monsters.
With calamity looming, he, born of the family's destiny, is now inextricably linked to the Song family. There is no way to escape it. His future may seem like a smooth road, but in reality, it is full of thorns.
Looking at the eight-year-old child who was still immersed in excitement, Song Changsheng sighed inwardly.
The rise and fall of the Song dynasty meant the rise and fall of the Song and Yuan dynasties. His life was destined to be turbulent and full of hardships.
"Chieftain, this...this..."
The butler, recovering from his shock, was trembling with fear, standing there somewhat at a loss for what to do.
"Forget about it."
Song Changsheng spoke softly, and before the steward and the other children present could react, everything went black and he lost consciousness. In his sleep, his memories of Song Yuan, or rather Song Xingyuan, were rapidly fading away.
Seeing the crowd suddenly collapse, Song Xingyuan was stunned, but his face showed no panic.
Seeing this, Song Changsheng stepped forward and smiled slightly, saying, "What, aren't you afraid?"
Song Xingyuan shook his head firmly and said, "My parents said that with the clan leader around, we don't have to be afraid of anything."
Hearing this, Song Changsheng was touched. He reached out and rubbed the boy's head, saying in a deep voice, "Your parents are right. With me here, you have nothing to fear."
Having said that, he squatted down, looking Song Xingyuan in the eye, and said, "Child, do you know what it means to have the Five Elements in perfect harmony, and what it means to have the Five Elements Dao Body?"
Song Xingyuan was somewhat bewildered. After a moment of thought, he said in a clear voice, "It's responsibility."
Upon hearing this, Song Changsheng and Song Qingxi were both stunned; it was an answer that completely surprised them.
The word "responsibility" sounds so incongruous, yet so resolute, coming from the mouth of an eight-year-old child.
"Is this your own idea or something your parents told you?" Song Changsheng asked gently. "My father told me that no matter how talented one is, once one embarks on the path of immortality, one must prioritize the interests of the family and shoulder the responsibilities that come with it. Those with less talent should become the foundation of the family, while those with more talent should be prepared to take on important responsibilities. No matter what, one must not let down the family's cultivation." Song Xingyuan answered honestly.
“That being said, do you understand what responsibility is?” Song Qingxi bent down and gave a very friendly smile.
Song Xingyuan tilted his head and pondered for a moment before saying, "Responsibility is like that of a clan leader."
Upon hearing this, Song Changsheng laughed and said, "You little rascal, you really are unexpected."
Your father's name is Song Ze, right? He is consistent in his words and deeds. He only embarked on the path of immortality after the age of thirty, and now he is quite happy as a guardian cultivator in the city lord's mansion.
Keep up the good work and I hope that you and your son will both become pillars of the family in the future.
If you have any questions, you can take this token to the mountaintop to find me.
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Changsheng patted Song Xingyuan on the head and placed a barrier on his body that could prevent others from peeping in.
Even the most talented genius is useless if he can't grow up. The reason he erased the memories of the cultivators present was that he didn't want others to know about Song Xingyuan's existence.
Throughout history, countless bloody examples have been presented to him, leaving him no choice but to take them seriously.
"Xi'er, take him to the General Affairs Hall to register first. He will be allocated cultivation resources at the highest level within the clan every month. You will then guide his cultivation on weekdays."
A hint of surprise flashed in Song Qingxi's eyes as she asked, "Aren't you planning to teach him yourself?"
"In the coming period, before and after the war, I will need to go into seclusion. I may not have any free time for the next few decades. Having him by my side would be a waste of his time."
Besides, I'm really not good at training disciples, as you know.
There's no need to put too much pressure on him. A genius with this kind of talent doesn't need anyone to interfere too much in his cultivation. Just guide him on the right path, and his talent will propel him forward.
Originally intending to refuse, Song Qingxi had no choice but to agree upon hearing this: "In that case, leave it to me."
Over the years, she has focused on her family and Song Qingxing, and has never taught any disciples. Suddenly taking on such a talented disciple is also a considerable challenge for her.
"You guys go first. They should be waking up soon. There are still a few people left whose spirits haven't been tested yet, so we should finish what we started."
"As ordered."
Shortly after Song Qingxi left with Song Xingyuan, the rest of the people in the hall woke up. Song Changsheng used [Thousand Shadows Illusion] to leave an illusion in the same spot, and then left the Spirit Testing Hall.
Although he had already achieved his goal of seclusion, he felt that he could make full use of the remaining time to refine a batch of magical artifacts.
The last time he refined the [Heirloom Seal], his weapon refining skill reached the fifth-tier low-grade level. This meant that he could refine a batch of high-damage, consumable magic weapons of the fifth-tier low-grade level to increase his chances of victory.
Such high-damage, consumable magical artifacts are enough to pose a fatal threat to demon kings. On large-scale battlefields where the highest level is only the Golden Core stage, it is no exaggeration to call them strategic weapons.
This is the deterrent power that the conventional formula can demonstrate. In order to pursue the ultimate lethality, he decided to use [Void Magic Crystal] as the main material for refining.
The Void Crystal itself is already incredibly destructive. After being refined into a fifth-tier consumable magic weapon, its power increases exponentially. Caught off guard, even the Demon King will suffer a silent loss.
However, Song Changsheng had never used [Void Magic Crystal] to refine magical artifacts before, so he needed to learn how to do it for a while. His expectation was to refine ten before the battle and leave them all with the Song family.
Even if he goes out to support other battlefields, the Song family will still have enough ability to retaliate.
Fortunately, the Twin Islands have maintained trade relations with the Jiujiang Chamber of Commerce of the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty over the years, otherwise there wouldn't be enough [Void Magic Crystals] for him to squander.
With a sufficient stockpile, and if the theory proves sound, he also plans to mobilize other weapon refiners within the clan to refine lower-tier versions. As long as there are enough of them, they can produce remarkable effects on the battlefield.
Anyway, he now adheres to one principle: if resources can be used to make up for it, then human lives should not be sacrificed.
In the past, we had no choice but to sacrifice human lives because resources were more precious than people. But now the situation is completely different.
Over the years of developing the East China Sea, all the forces involved have accumulated massive amounts of resources, making human life all the more precious.
After all, training cultivators also requires time and resources. In the past, when resources were insufficient, war was a means to consume surplus population.
There are ways to play when you're poor, and there are ways to play when you're rich.
This time, Song Changsheng intends to overwhelm the invading demon race with resources!
……
In the blink of an eye, three years have passed.
On an ordinary afternoon, no different from any other, the cultivators of the [Brocade Banner] ushered in an unforgettable day.
The once cloudless sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds. Thick leaden clouds completely enveloped the area within a thousand miles of Tianlong Peak. Thunder snakes, full of destructive energy, surged within them, and rumbling thunder could be heard from the depths of the leaden clouds from time to time.
"Why did it suddenly get dark?"
Seeing this, the cultivators around Tianlong Peak couldn't help but show puzzled expressions.
Soon someone realized what was happening and exclaimed in surprise, "Thunder tribulation! It's heavenly thunder tribulation! Someone is about to break through!"
The breakthrough caused a great stir, and everyone began to speculate about the identity of the person who had broken through, filled with anticipation.
They had waited far too long for this day. The last time a Golden Core cultivator appeared on the [Splendid Banner] was nearly two hundred years ago, and Song Tianyuan's breakthrough once made them believe it was a harbinger of their family's rise to power.
Unfortunately, they then entered a dark period, with the family's situation deteriorating rapidly, and they were now in a vacuum period of several decades without a Golden Core cultivator in charge.
Such a situation is extremely rare in the nearly 10,000-year history of the [Jinxiu Banner].
Are they finally about to welcome another Golden Core cultivator?
"Look, it's the head of the family."
Everyone looked up simultaneously and, sure enough, spotted Song Yuqing standing tall beneath the leaden clouds...
...(End of this chapter)