Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Li Mubai continued:

"Humans are the most intelligent of all beings, possessing cultivation talents that are unmatched by other creatures."

Most children, provided they have no congenital disabilities, can learn the most basic breathing techniques by the age of three to absorb the elemental energy in the air.

Although the process is slow, it can promote physical growth and development, strengthen muscles and bones, and lay the foundation for learning advanced esoteric martial arts techniques in the future.

Those with slightly better talent will awaken their spiritual roots when the time is right. After awakening their spiritual roots, they can further cultivate profound arts and become a profound arts practitioner.

Even those lacking talent and unable to awaken their spiritual roots can slowly absorb elemental substances, and with perseverance, they too can achieve the goal of prolonging their lives.

What is an element?

Mo Yuming asked curiously.

"You don't even know about elemental bodies! It seems you've really forgotten everything!"

Legend has it that in the beginning, heaven and earth were in a state of chaos. Later, chaos evolved into the two poles of Yin and Yang, and from these poles came the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The five elements condensed and differentiated to create all things in the world, including water, air, and the sun, moon, and stars.

Each element has two attributes: Yin and Yang. To make it easier to distinguish them, people use '甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸' to represent one element.

The five elements of Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, and Ren are transformed from the yang polarity, while the five elements of Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, and Gui are transformed from the yin polarity.

Jia and Yi belong to Wood, Bing and Ding belong to Fire, Wu and Ji belong to Earth, Geng and Xin belong to Metal, and Ren and Gui belong to Water.

The Five Elements and Ten Attributes are complementary in Yin and Yang, both generating and restraining each other. The restraining elements in the Five Elements are, in order: Wood restrains Earth, Earth restrains Water, Water restrains Fire, Fire restrains Metal, and Metal restrains Wood; the generating elements are, in order: Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, and Earth generates Metal.

All living things in the world possess five kinds of spirituality, which are divided into the five elements according to their strength.

Things belonging to the wood element are not entirely devoid of the four elements of metal, water, fire, and earth; they are simply relatively weaker in these elements.

Elements are the fundamental source of all things in the world, and they exist in the world in various forms.

The elemental entities that are omnipresent like air and permeate the space are called spiritual energy, while those that exist in fruits, minerals, and herbs are called spiritual energy, and those that exist in the bodies of various animals and creatures are called spiritual power.

Spiritual energy and spiritual power are collective terms for the five elemental entities. These elemental entities intertwine and influence each other, together forming a rich and colorful world.

Whether it's mountains and rivers, flowers and trees, birds and beasts, or even human beings themselves, all are inseparable from the nourishment and support of the elemental body.

They continuously cycle and circulate in nature, maintaining ecological balance and stability.

For cultivators, mastering and utilizing these elemental entities is key to enhancing their strength and pursuing higher realms.

The Tianxuan Continent is home to many cultivators among various races of living beings, with the demon beast race being the most numerous, followed by the human race, and then the demon race and the spirit beast race.

Because of differences in physique and cultivation methods, the spiritual energy that exists within a cultivator's body after transformation also varies greatly.

After continuous evolution and change, several systems were formed. To distinguish them, the cultivation world named them spiritual power system cultivators, magic power system cultivators, and sorcery power system cultivators, respectively.

The vast majority of human practitioners of profound arts cultivate spiritual energy-based profound arts, while the vast majority of beasts and alien races cultivate magic-based profound arts.

Cultivators of spiritual power and those of magical power are inherently mutually exclusive due to their different cultivation systems. Therefore, all beasts that evolve into magical beasts naturally harbor strong hostility towards us humans.

A small number of races practice the magic system, which is relatively neutral. They do not show obvious aversion to practitioners of the other two systems. Therefore, some magic-based practitioners are more inclined to be close to magic-based practitioners, while others are more inclined to be close to spiritual-based practitioners.

Inanimate objects formed from simple elemental aggregates are called spirit stones, gems, or energy crystals when they are in solid mineral form; spirit liquid when they are in liquid form; and spirit roots, spirit fruits, or spirit herbs when they are in the form of trees or flowers.

Whether it's spirit stones, spirit liquid, or spirit roots and fruits, there are differences in quality.

The more concentrated and pure the elements contained within, the higher the quality.

The fire maple trees in this forest we are in now are a species of tree that contains extremely rich fire element. They can be called the king of maple trees and are a spiritual root tree species of extremely high quality.

Its "maple leaf fruit" contains extremely pure Bing fire element.

When a single element is gathered together in large quantities, extremely pure, and at a high concentration, we call it an ultimate elemental body.

The energy contained in the ultimate element is astonishing, making it an invaluable resource for practitioners of profound arts. It can achieve twice the result with half the effort in the cultivation of profound arts, which is incomparable to ordinary spiritual fruits.

It is precisely because you ate the 'Maple Leaf Fruit' which contains the ultimate fire element that a certain amount of the ultimate fire element has accumulated in your body.

However, you didn't know how to regulate and absorb the energy, and you didn't know how to guide its absorption, which caused the energy in the maple fruit to run rampant in your body, almost causing harm.

This was also my oversight; I didn't realize you didn't know how to absorb the breath control technique, which almost led to disaster. Xinlan, on the other hand, knew how to regulate and absorb the nutrients, so even though she ate much more than you, she wasn't having any problems.

"No wonder Xinlan is completely unharmed..."

Mo Yuming muttered something under his breath, as if trying to console himself.

"However, in terms of efficacy, Xinlan's absorption value of the ultimate Bing Fire element is not as high as yours!"

I just noticed that you have a very high affinity for Earth. Although you have never practiced the method of breathing in and out, some Earth element spiritual power has automatically been stored in your body.

Therefore, it is very likely that he will awaken the earth element spiritual root in the future, and he will achieve great success in cultivating the Wu Earth element profound techniques.

Since fire generates earth, your absorption rate of the fire element is second only to the earth element.

If conditions permit, you can try cultivating dual-system profound techniques, but this will require you to put in more effort.

Xinlan belongs to the water-based Xuan Gong system. Water overcomes fire, so Xinlan has the lowest absorption rate of fire-attribute elemental bodies.

Proportionally speaking, her absorption and conversion rate of fire element is less than one-tenth of yours. Therefore, for Xinlan, eating this spiritual fruit containing extreme fire element is no different from eating ordinary fruit. Any additional elemental energy would be a waste.

"Are there different attributes for practicing profound skills?" Mo Yuming asked curiously.

"Yes, generally speaking, there are five major attribute systems: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."

The vast majority of cultivators in the world have this constitution: they are only strongly affinityd to one type of elemental energy, while their affinity for other elemental spiritual energies is average. After they grow up, they can only cultivate the corresponding cultivation techniques and martial arts.

However, due to differences in individual physical characteristics, a small percentage of people will have a stronger affinity for the two elemental energies.

Among these people, some have a strong affinity for earth elemental energy, while others have a secondary affinity for water elemental energy.

Some water elemental spirits have a stronger affinity, but they also have a good affinity for fire elemental spirits;

Some even have a strong affinity for the metal element and are also good at absorbing the spiritual energy of the wood element, and so on.

Because these people have a good affinity for both types of elemental energy, they will also experience mutations in their cultivation path due to the two types of elemental energy they absorb, such as the more common wind attribute, electric attribute, etc.

The advantage of these multiple attributes and mutated physiques is that they are relatively strong in combat, making them stand out among cultivators of the same level.

However, their disadvantage is that they require more resources during the cultivation process, almost several times that of ordinary people, especially cultivators of two or more elements.

Therefore, without strong resource support or a certain opportunity, it is difficult for these people with special physical constitutions to achieve anything significant.

Therefore, in the Tianxuan Continent, cultivators with dual attributes are extremely rare, and those who can achieve mastery of three or more attributes are even fewer, appearing only once every thousand years.

In addition, there are some special individuals with an affinity for only one element, who are completely unable to absorb any of the spiritual energy of the other four elements.

People with this special constitution generally improve their cultivation level very quickly and achieve great things after they grow up. However, their disadvantages are also obvious, as they are prone to going to extremes.

Therefore, during the growth process, due to differences in physical constitution, cultivation environment, and individual pursuits and cultivation methods, there will eventually be many practitioners of profound skills with special attributes.

As one's cultivation of profound skills improves, profound skills with a high affinity for cultivation elements become relatively easier to master, and progress is faster.

Therefore, after acquiring a certain foundation in mystical arts, most people will choose the one most suitable for them to cultivate, which is commonly referred to as the Five Elements Mystic Arts...

"However, you haven't even started yet. Focusing on building a solid foundation is the right thing to do. It's too early to talk about those things. Knowing too much will not benefit your cultivation!"

"Let's talk about everything after you've cultivated the breathing and absorption techniques and formed a wisp of your own spiritual energy in your dantian!"

After finishing his explanation, Old Man Li briefly discussed a few issues that should be paid attention to during basic cultivation, and then said no more.

He instructed Mo Yuming to cultivate himself using the breathing and absorption techniques Xinlan had learned, in order to refine the remaining extreme fire element within his body.

In fact, during the process of helping Mo Yuming with his treatment, Old Man Li had already sorted out his meridians.

This has the same effect as someone else's three years of cultivation of the Absorption Method, which is like helping Mo Yuming, who is just starting out, to take a shortcut and catch up with those who have been cultivating for several years.

This practice of having a master help unblock meridians and improve physical fitness is a privilege that only direct descendants of powerful families or people of high status can obtain on the mainland. Ordinary cultivators wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

However, Old Man Li did it in secret and didn't say anything, so Mo Yuming himself was unaware of it.

Under Li Mubai's guidance, after a period of quiet cultivation, Mo Yuming finally learned the breathing and absorption techniques, refined the remaining fire element in his body, and learned how to absorb elements for his own use.

He grimaced in pain and moved his body around; sure enough, the pain quickly disappeared.

An unprecedented feeling of freshness filled him with wonder, as if his whole body was brimming with inexhaustible energy.

Upon realizing that he could also sense the existence of the elemental bodies, Mo Yuming felt a surge of joy, a mixture of curiosity and delight, like a poor old man who had unearthed a gold ingot with a hoe.

While he was beginning to sense the wonders of the elements, Xinlan and Grandpa Li had already prepared breakfast: roasted taro and millet porridge. They sat beside him, waiting for him to finish his practice and eat. Seeing that he had grasped the essentials of the technique in just a few moments, Grandpa Li nodded approvingly.

Having returned to normal, Mo Yuming and Xinlan spent the entire day chasing and playing in the maple forest near Li Mubai's house. The next day, the two got up early and continued their journey.

The morning sunlight filtered through the maple leaves, bathing the maple forest in a golden glow. Mo Yuming and Xinlan, carrying simple bags, their faces beaming with excitement and anticipation, bid farewell to Li Mubai and set off for Xianghe Valley.

Soon, the two reached the end of the Fire Maple Forest.

Beyond the woods stretched a meadow, like a green carpet.

At the end of the grassland, there is a mound of earth. This mound is about ten feet high and about ten feet wide, and its length is just enough to span the entire canyon. It looks as if someone deliberately made it, like an earthen wall dividing the canyon in two.

The slope was covered with dense, short shrubs, about the height of a person. The thick bushes left almost no gaps; even a small rabbit would have a hard time climbing through them.

The only way to get through this earthen slope is where the stream flows over it, with a gap about a few feet wide through which the stream flows slowly.

The stream was crystal clear, shimmering with a silvery light under the sunlight.

You can hop and skip across the stream by stepping on the stones that protrude from the water. Of course, if you don't mind getting your pants wet, you can also stand barefoot in the splashing stream, stepping on the pebbles at the bottom and wading across.

"That's the entrance to Xianghe Valley!"

Xinlan pointed to the gap in the earthen slope ahead and said to Mo Yuming.

Although it was Xinlan's first time here, Old Man Mo had told her about the terrain and landforms many times before, so she knew the location of the entrance to Xianghe Valley at a glance.

Mo Yuming gazed at the opening ahead, his heart filled with curiosity. He imagined the scene inside Xianghe Valley, wondering what surprises awaited them there.

"Great! Let's go there right away!"

Seeing that they had finally arrived at their destination, Mo Yuming became excited.

"Huh!..."

Just as Mo Yuming was about to step out of the woods, he suddenly felt as if he was being blocked by some invisible object, and he couldn't take a single step.

When I tried to back away, I realized that I was stuck in an invisible net. I couldn't retreat, and the more I struggled, the tighter I was stuck.

"what happened?"

Xinlan, who had run ahead, noticed that Mo Yuming hadn't followed, so she turned around and asked.

"I feel like I'm stuck to something! I can't move!"

Mo Yuming said anxiously, "That net is very strong, and I can't break free no matter how hard I try."

"Oh, this is a web of a Wandering Spider! The silk of a Wandering Spider is transparent, and the web is covered with a strong slime. The silk is also very tough. A large web woven by an adult Wandering Spider can trap large magical beasts without being broken."

Xinlan turned back, stood not far away, and carefully examined the area before speaking.

"A Wandering Spider? What kind of magical beast is that? Is it powerful? What should I do?"

Stuck in the inexplicable transparent spider web and unable to move, Mo Yuming panicked a little. A chill ran down his back, and he felt as if a giant spider was watching him from the shadows.

At this moment, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting patches of light on the ground, but it could not dispel the fear in Mo Yuming's heart.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, with only the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

Mo Yuming looked around nervously, hoping to find a way out of his predicament.

"It's alright. The Spider's magic level is not high, and its combat power is very low. It's nothing to worry about. It usually won't attack its prey unless the prey on the web loses consciousness."

However, the spider silk it spins is very difficult to break; the silk is very strong and not easily snapped, and the sticky mucus on it makes it difficult to escape.

Xinlan said.

"so what should I do now?"

After hearing Xinlan's words, Mo Yuming finally felt a little relieved. He struggled a few times before finally stopping.

"Although the sticky substance on spider silk is troublesome, it's not insurmountable. People have long known how to break free: simply heat the spider silk with fire, and the sticky substance will melt and flow away when the temperature is high!"

Without the slime, the spider silk won't stick! Brother, bear with it, I'll go find some branches to start a fire!

Xinlan quickly gathered a pile of dry firewood from all around and started a fire in front of Mo Yuming.

As the firelight flickered, the huge, transparent spiderweb was illuminated by a dazzling, multicolored red.

Mo Yuming finally saw the enormous spider web clearly:

Eight strands of spider silk, each as thick as a bamboo skewer, were crisscrossed and wrapped around two large maple trees. Further coils of silk wound around these crisscrossing strands, forming a giant spider web over ten feet wide. He was stuck right in the middle of this web.

At this moment, the firelight illuminated the surrounding environment, and Mo Yuming looked at the busy Xinlan, his heart filled with gratitude.

He knew that without Xinlan by his side, he might not know how to deal with this predicament.

As the temperature rose, the slime on the spider silk began to slowly melt, and Mo Yuming felt his body gradually loosen. A weight lifted from his shoulders, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

This was the first crisis he encountered in the canyon. Although he escaped unharmed, it made him realize that even seemingly peaceful and tranquil secret realms harbor unknown dangers.