Mo Qingchen was taken aback: "Master?"

  Seeing his apprentice's stunned expression, Gu Li chuckled and said, "What, are you still reluctant to part with it?"

  "Let go, let go, Master, are you going to pass on a new technique?" Mo Qingchen hastily asked.

  Jian Mo Qing's eyes lit up at the mention of cultivation-related matters, and Gu Li couldn't help but secretly smile.

  Mo Qingchen saw Gu Li and didn't make a sound, probing: "Could it be magic?"

  Gu's hand moved slightly, and a jade slip appeared, which he handed over to Mo Qingchen with a smile.

  Mo Qingchen took it over and couldn't wait to scan it with his divine sense: "Silk Wrapping Azure Wood Technique?"

  "En, since you majored in Wood System Kung Fu, I suppose you've learned the Qingmu Jue from the Yao Guang Sect. Although the Qingmu Jue is a common technique, it's not bad for building foundations. However, now that you've established your foundation, the Qingmu Jue has become somewhat unsuitable. This Wrapped Silk Qingmu Jue is an old technique I used to practice, which places more emphasis on cultivating the practitioner's fine control over spiritual energy, and also has its unique aspects in terms of offense."

  Upon hearing that it was Gu Li's early cultivation method, Mo Qingchen's heart was delighted, and he asked: "Master, I heard that you are a Wood-type Tianling Root?"

  "Not bad. Qing Chen, don't you think that spiritual roots are important?" Gu Li asked softly, recalling the time when she tested Mo Qingchen's spiritual roots and her slightly embarrassed expression.

  Mo Qingchen, after going through these days of tempering, had long since calmed down and regained his usual composure. He smiled and said, "In my opinion, having a good spiritual root is indeed important. Otherwise, why would those sects and families go to great lengths to cultivate disciples with good spiritual roots? Disciples with good spiritual roots are indeed faster at cultivating than the vast majority of fake spiritual root disciples."

  Gu Li didn't interrupt Mo Qingchen's thoughts, but instead listened quietly.

  Mò Qīngchén continued to say slowly: "However, Qīngchén thinks that apart from the spiritual root, alchemy, wealth, state of mind, temperament, and even luck are all indispensable. A good spiritual root only allows some cultivators to walk faster on the path of cultivation, but it doesn't necessarily mean they will go further."

  Among the cultivators of Pseudo-Spirit Roots, there are always some people who stand out, although it's only a very small number of people. However, Qing Chen has confidence that he can become one of them."

  Yes, apart from being slightly inferior in terms of spiritual roots, she would never lose confidence to others in other aspects. Underestimating herself is just a pointless self-deprecation.

  Gu Li listened to Mo Qingchen's words and lightly swept her with a glance, nodding in approval: "Qingchen, what you said is not wrong. Although some of your understanding is not quite accurate due to your current realm, your heart towards the Dao is without difference."

  "Master, where did Qingchen go wrong? Please enlighten me." When it comes to cultivation, Mo Qingchen has always adhered to the principle of asking when he doesn't understand, let alone with such a high-quality master around.

  "The quality of the spiritual root is indeed extremely important during the cultivation and foundation periods, not just because of the speed of cultivation. After all, even if there are sufficient elixirs, a cultivator with a pseudo-spiritual root would not be inferior to one with a dual spiritual root." Gu Li said slowly.

  Mo Qingchen nodded, no problem. He himself was like that, with sufficient elixirs and high-level Spirit Gathering Arrays, his cultivation speed was even faster than that of a dual-spirited cultivator.

  "The importance of the spiritual root lies in its role in advancing through the stages. In the refining Qi stage, it advances to the foundation-building stage, and in the foundation-building stage, it advances to the elixir-completion stage. The former transforms the gaseous state of the body's spirit into a liquid state, while the latter transforms the liquid state of the body's spirit into a solid state. With the help of the elixir, apart from the initial test of endurance and willpower in the meridian fracture and spiritual energy surge, what is more important is the speed at which the dantian absorbs and transforms the spiritual energy. And this speed is precisely determined by the spiritual root." Gu Li said calmly.

  Mo Qing's heart skipped a beat, and his master was right. At that time, he had rushed to build the foundation, but because he was delayed by just a little bit, he had to take seven foundation-building pills in a row before barely managing to build the foundation. Even if it weren't for the Clear Heart Crystal Fire, his dantian probably wouldn't have been able to withstand the impact of the medicine and would have burst apart, killing him.

  It seems that my previous understanding was still a bit superficial. Because of the abundance of elixirs, I subconsciously underestimated the importance of spiritual roots.

  Mo Qingchen secretly glanced at Gu Li, wondering if he was reminding himself not to become arrogant just because he had built his foundation at such a young age.

  Seeing Mo Qing's thoughtful appearance, Gu Li raised the corner of his mouth and continued: "However, breaking through the Condensation Pill, apart from spiritual roots, what's even more important is one's state of mind. Because forming a pill not only involves solidifying liquids, but also the subsequent demonic tribulation of the heart. And when it comes to the Condensation stage, although spiritual roots are still important, other factors become equally crucial. For example, as a master, despite having the highly coveted Heavenly Spiritual Root, he was still stuck in the initial stages of forming a pill for several decades and has yet to break through."

  "Why?" Mo Qingchen listened intently and asked casually. After speaking, he felt a bit abrupt and secretly glanced at him.

  Seeing her like that, Gu Lei didn't feel displeased, instead he said lightly: "Probably because my mental state hasn't been cultivated to perfection yet."

  Mo Qingchen looked at him with a carefree and uninhibited expression, speaking frankly, and couldn't help but wonder where the flaw in his mental state was.

  "When it comes to the Yuanying stage, the role of Linggen is even more secondary. Dan medicine, opportunities, mental state, and enlightenment, any one of these can surpass Linggen.

  Gu Li saw Mo Qingchen's curious expression and continued, 'Yuanying cultivators, with over 2,000 years of cultivation, even without much Dan medicine, even if the Linggen is poor and the cultivation is slow, there will still be plenty of time to cultivate bit by bit. However, every small boundary breakthrough is extremely difficult. Even if one cultivator is faster than another by tens or hundreds of years and reaches the initial peak of Yuanying, they may still be stuck there. How to break through to the middle stage of Yuanying has nothing to do with Linggen. Of course, I'm still far from reaching the Yuanying stage myself, these are just things my master told me.'"

  "Your Master?" Mo Qingchen knew that the Yuan Ying cultivator from Qingmu Peak, Liu Jingzhen, was actually Gu Li's master.

  Gu Li nodded and said, "Your Master's Taoist name is Liu Gang Zhen Jun, he is currently in closed cultivation, you will have the opportunity to meet him in the future. Now let's talk about the importance of Dan medicine again. Qing Chen, I don't know how many foundation-building disciples of Yao Guang Sect you've seen?"

  Mo Qingchen wiped the sweat from his face: "Master, I've been in closed-door training for a long time and haven't seen many people."

  "Nearly a thousand Yao Guang Pai foundation-building cultivators, but half of the cultivators spend their entire lives stuck in the initial or intermediate stages of foundation building. The proportion of scattered cultivators is even higher, mainly because the elixirs that increase cultivation during the foundation building period are much more expensive than those in the refining qi period, and not everyone can afford them. By the time they reach the forming pill stage, the elixirs become even more expensive, and when combined with other factors, the situation becomes even more severe. As for the yuan ying stage, it's said that the elixirs are no longer a matter of spirit stones, but rather something that can't be found at all. So, elixirs are both important and unimportant." Gu Li said patiently.

  "Master, isn't it because once you reach a higher level, if there are elixirs, the cultivation speed is absolutely not comparable to that of cultivators without elixirs? So elixirs are very important. But in reality, when it comes to the Yuandan and Yuan Ying stages, almost all cultivators don't have elixirs, so everyone has leveled out again, and elixirs aren't important anymore?" Mo Qingchen asked.

  "You're right, even those extremely difficult levels, if you have the corresponding elixirs, will increase your chances of success. It's just that such elixirs are hard to come by, and some only exist in legend."

  Mo Qingchen was delighted to hear that the problem of spiritual roots could still be solved with elixirs. With his own immortal gourd in hand, time was not an issue; the key lay in obtaining certain spiritual grass seeds and the elixir formula. Having resolved the issue of time, this aspect would be much easier for him than for other cultivators.

  "What I said earlier is indeed recognized by the high-level cultivators, but in my personal opinion, the most important thing on the path of cultivation is actually... opportunity!" Gu Li suddenly said.

  Mo Qingchen was taken aback, but Gu Li didn't continue speaking and instead stared at her intently.

  Slowly, Mo Qingchen became more and more convinced of this sentence.

  It's all fate. When I first crossed over into Ya Tou's body, it was fate; the wine gourd I bought in my previous life crossing over with me and having a magical function is also fate; 14th Uncle bringing me to the Mo family and setting foot on the path of cultivating immortality is fate. Think about it, if my father hadn't held on at the Mo family and said those words back then, I'm afraid I would have been forced by Liu Yang's family to become a concubine for that wealthy old landlord by now.

  She had a clear mind and was like a crystal fire, it was also fate that she sold wine and met Gu Da Ge and was saved by him until now being taken as his apprentice, still fate.

  "Qing Chen, can you understand that opportunity is not equal to luck?" Gu Li asked again.

  Mo Qing dusted her lips and thought, wasn't it just luck? Her own thoughts from earlier made her realize that her luck was actually quite good.

  Gu Li said lightly, "In the Xiu Zhen realm, there is a saying that luck is also part of one's strength, and this refers to opportunity. For example, you, do you know why I took you as my disciple?"

  Mo Qingchen's eyes widened slightly, this was also what she wanted to know.

  "More than a decade ago, I happened to taste the spiritual wine you sold and found it to my liking. So, I often went to buy wine from you, naturally because of your exceptional brewing skills, which led to our acquaintance. Later, I coincidentally passed by the Flowing Fire Mountains and rescued you, not only because we had known each other for many years but also because I pitied your young age and high cultivation level, which was a result of your persistent efforts. After that, when I drank the spiritual wine you sold in our sect, I knew you had come to the Yao Guang Sect. At that time, I didn't have any intention of taking you as my disciple. Who would have thought that you were so diligent in your cultivation and with all sorts of things happening, I think taking you as my disciple is also a fortunate event for me." Gu Li said frankly.

  Mo Qingchen's heart felt a pang of sourness. If only it were possible, he would rather not be his disciple. He will definitely cultivate to the end of the Golden Elixir stage and when they meet again, he can call him "Shixiong" (senior brother).

  Gu Li didn't know what was on Mo Qing's mind, but he finally finished speaking and took out an object saying: "Starting today, you can practice the Silken Wood Sword Technique at night, and during the day, take this wooden sword to the waterfall in the back mountain to practice basic sword techniques."

  "Practicing basic sword techniques?" Mo Qingchen's eyes slightly opened, looking at the wooden sword and small booklet handed over by Gu Li.

  "Hmm, during practice, you are not allowed to use spiritual power to protect your body. Come find me again when you can cast each of the eighteen basic techniques a thousand times." Gu Li said calmly.

  One thousand times?

  Eighteen kinds?

  Come out 18,000 times?

  Not using spiritual power to protect the body?

  Master, are you kidding me? I'm a Taoist cultivator, not a physical cultivator or a sword cultivator!

  Mo Qing's tears flowed freely as she thought about it. If you like this work, welcome to start (anca) and vote for recommendations, monthly votes, your support, the author has something to say: Thank you to Mao Jiao and zy Wei Tong Xie for their pink votes. Also thank you to Shui Qing Xuan Tong Xie for the character paste, you are really talented, even writing about the character's background and plot.