More than a week had passed, and the journey continued. Each time they stopped to rest, Shi Ying took the opportunity to continue her cultivation. She absorbed energy into her body, sometimes with Huli cultivating alongside her to improve the balance of her spiritual roots.
Shi Ying remembered the time she spent being taught by her master; she had understood a truth that no one had ever grasped before.
That truth was "Spiritual Root" and "Enlightenment." Although their concepts were quite different, they were mutually supportive, like "hardware" and "software."
Simply put, the Spiritual Root is an innate quality that determines whether you can absorb spiritual energy. Enlightenment, on the other hand, is the ability to understand the laws, skills, and spiritual realms.
Her master had taught her how to cultivate both simultaneously, neither being superior to the other. The most important thing is "Dao," the law of the universe. To "attain Dao" and merge with this law, one gains the power to control nature and achieve immortality.
Understanding "Dao" means that upon reaching a certain level, one must find their own "unique path" to enlightenment. This is no longer about imitating others' techniques, but about one's own understanding of the world.
However, if one only possesses spiritual power without "Dao," they are merely an ordinary, healthy person.
Although Shi Ying is currently at the Foundation Establishment level, she doesn't think so because this spiritual root isn't hers. She only acquired it by chance; it seems to be of a higher level, but for some reason, it doesn't cause her body to explode or go mad.
Whether it was her delusion or not, this spiritual root seemed to possess sentience, as if it knew Shi Ying wasn't strong enough to unleash her full power.
The mark on Shi Ying's forehead, where the Gate of Enlightenment would appear, along with the patterns on her body, indicated a close connection between the two through the exchange between the Spiritual Root and Enlightenment. This created a loophole in the natural laws of cultivation.
In the world's system, there are many ways to cultivate, but to accelerate cultivation, one usually follows the traditional method, cultivating for hundreds or even thousands of years to reach Nascent Soul.
"My master warned me not to overextend myself because it would harm my body. If I want to break through quickly, it's not through ordinary training or cultivation, but through a dangerous process with a high probability of success." - Shi Ying
Thinking of this, Shi Ying sighed in frustration.
"Right now, I'm at this stage, which could be considered a slight breakthrough compared to others. I can't be greedy and break through too quickly, that would provoke powerful forces." - Shi Ying
She lay down on the cold ground, looking up at the starry night sky.
"Ah no, thinking like that is a bit excessive. I haven't even taken care of myself yet, let alone powerful forces hunting me down. Maybe they think I'm too weak and don't care." - Shi Ying shook her head.
A piece of metal flew out of her bag. Shi Ying molded the metal into various shapes. This was a habit she had whenever she was deep in thought or to relieve stress; her hands would bend the metal until it became a sharp needle.
Her eyes slightly opened.
She flicked her finger to a random direction, a sound like something piercing something very soft echoed. The needle returned to her hand, stained with bright red blood.
"I was naive after all. Someone really is hunting me." - Shi Ying
A figure fell heavily to the ground like a sack of sand, dark shadows appearing from nowhere and surrounding her. Shi Ying subtly curved her lips, mentally calculating with her fingers before performing a hand seal.
"Do you really think a child like me can't do anything to you? That's underestimating the enemy!" - Shi Ying
The swords they carried suddenly vibrated, followed by a series of flesh-cutting sounds, blood gushing out in such large quantities that it formed a puddle at her feet.
The fact that one person remained unharmed proved that this person was much stronger than the others.
"Impressive. Compared to other children your age, you seem to have received excellent training."
"You talk too much." - Shi Ying
Her hand controlled the swords, causing them to swirl and fly into the forest, but they were quickly deflected and impaled on trees, while their intended target remained unharmed.
"You act decisively without hesitation. It seems you're from a family of swordsmen; your expression is very serious. Similar to someone I once faced."
"If you've come here to offer yourself up, I'm more than willing to send you on your way right now." - Shi Ying
"Wait a minute, don't be so reckless. Can't you stop for a moment and talk properly?"
"If so, why are you holding your weapons as if you're about to draw them out and chop?" - Shi Ying
The swords embedded in the trees were suddenly pulled out and flew back towards her and the mysterious man. However, he knew what she would do and dodged the metal fragments. Even so, under Shi Ying's control, they continued to pursue the man.
The mysterious man sneered and created clones of himself to block the metal fragments, but the fragments flew so fast they struck the clones, causing them to vanish into smoke.
When the clones were gone, the metal fragments surrounded the mysterious man. Shi Ying raised her hand towards him, intending to finish him off.
The man braced himself for the finishing blow, but no pain came. Shi Ying smirked and manipulated the metal fragments, causing them to cling tightly to the man, and the weight of the metal pulled him to the ground.
Falling heavily to the ground, the man groaned in pain.
"Now we can talk normally. The joke is over." - Shi Ying
"So, you're actually playing along with the teasing, aren't you? I thought you were going to actually strike!"
"The important lesson my master taught me is not to act impulsively, but to think calmly, not to act on emotion." - Shi Ying
"That's an important lesson. When acting on impulse, you often let your guard down because you're overconfident in your own abilities."
The man chuckled with satisfaction.
"That's right, that's right. Even knowing you're strong doesn't mean you should be arrogant. The basic rule when facing an enemy whose strength you don't know."
Shi Ying approached and lightly waved her hand, causing the metal objects on the man's body to fall off. She then clasped her hands and bowed respectfully.
"I've been disrespectful to you, senior brother." - Shi Ying
The man's interest was piqued by this.
"Oh, why did you suddenly call me your senior brother? Are you planning something again?"
"It doesn't matter if you don't acknowledge me. Anyway, you don't have any killing intent or intentions to harm me." - Shi Ying
"How do you know I won't harm you?"
"On average, if a group of mercenaries or assassins are defeated, those who aren't captured will do two things. Either stay and fight to the death, or run away to save their lives." - Shi Ying
"That's right, you do know some basic things."
"And besides, if you really wanted to kill me, you would have done so already. You wouldn't have been captured so easily. You're much stronger than you look, you just don't want to reveal it, senior brother." - Shi Ying
A cackling laugh escaped the man, a sound like that of a monkey. The man burst into laughter at Shi Ying's words.
"You really... really are a young disciple, but as intelligent as I am. No wonder Master accepted you as his disciple."
A cloud floated by, and the man sat on it like a chair, even though it was a cloud. He then pointed towards the distant east.
"There's someone there who will help you. But I think you should first get your family to safety. You know, demons rarely stay still in one place."
Shi Ying's eyes widened. She remembered her younger sister, who was with Huli. Suddenly, a scream echoed, making her heart pound. It was her sister's voice.
"Little sister!" - Shi Ying
Without thinking, Shi Ying ran back to the campsite. The man watched her leave, then sat cross-legged on the cloud.
"That child is still too young to understand things; it seems she still needs time to cultivate. Master... your new disciple, will she be able to achieve enlightenment? Or will she become a Havoc like me?"