cháng cháng shì shàng wàn zhù jī qī xiū shì zhōng ， yě bù yí dìng yǒu rén néng gòu níng dān chéng gōng 。
常常是上万筑基期修士中，也不一定有人能够凝丹成功。
In most cases, it was unlikely for even one person out of ten thousand Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to successfully condense their essence core.
zhè me shǎo de shù liàng ， huì dào líng yào shān liàn zhì dān yào de rén zì rán méi yǒu jǐ gè 。
这么少的数量，会到灵药山炼制丹药的人自然没有几个。
So few people would venture to Spirit Herbs Mountain to refine medicinal pills with such a small number.
lín xuān zài xiǎng yào tōng guò shōu jí fèi dān ， tí chún ， fú yòng ， chún cuì kào yào lì lái tí shēng xiū wèi jī hū shì bù kě néng de 。
林轩再想要通过收集废丹，提纯，服用，纯粹靠药力来提升修为几乎是不可能的。
Lin Xuan could hardly hope to improve his cultivation by collecting and purifying waste pills, then ingesting them solely through the power of the medicine.
zěn me bàn ？
怎么办？
What should he do?
lín xuān bú shì méi yǒu zǐ xì sī suǒ ， rán ér jí biàn yǐ tā de cōng míng cái zhì yě xiǎng bù chū jiě jué de zhǔ yì lái 。
林轩不是没有仔细思索，然而即便以他的聪明才智也想不出解决的主意来。
Although Lin Xuan had carefully pondered this matter, even his intelligence was unable to come up with a solution.
dāng rán ， rú guǒ shuō yí dìng méi yǒu bàn fǎ nà dào yě wèi bì 。
当然，如果说一定没有办法那倒也未必。
Of course, there might still be some way out, as Lin Xuan had once perused many ancient texts. It was said that an ancient divine herb could transform one's body and soul, allowing ordinary mortals to gain the spiritual roots necessary for cultivation.
lín xuān céng jīng fān yuè le bù shǎo gǔ jí ， jù shuō yǒu yī zhǒng shàng gǔ líng yào jù yǒu tuō tāi huàn gǔ de xiào guǒ ， fú shí yǐ hòu ， néng gòu ràng pǔ tōng de fán rén yōng yǒu xiū xiān de líng gēn 。
林轩曾经翻阅了不少古籍，据说有一种上古灵药具有脱胎换骨的效果，服食以后，能够让普通的凡人拥有修仙的灵根。
However, such spiritual roots were usually of very poor quality.
dāng rán ， zhè zhǒng líng gēn tōng cháng dōu shì jí chà de nà zhǒng 。
当然，这种灵根通常都是极差的那种。
But compared to his own mortal constitution, they were already vastly superior. At least back then, he would not be completely ineffectual in his efforts to cultivate, even if it was a slow process. Combined with medicinal pills, the rate of improvement might still be tolerable.
dàn bǐ qǐ zì jǐ zhè zhǒng fán rén de tǐ zhì yǐ jīng hǎo le bù zhī fán jǐ ， zhì shǎo nà shí hòu nǔ lì xiū liàn bú huì xiàng xiàn zài zhè yàng háo wú xiào guǒ ， jiù suàn huǎn màn yī xiē pèi hé dān yào fú shí ， xiǎng bì xiū liàn sù dù yě màn bú dào nǎ lǐ 。
但比起自己这种凡人的体制已经好了不知凡几，至少那时候努力修炼不会像现在这样毫无效果，就算缓慢一些配合丹药服食，想必修炼速度也慢不到哪里。
As the young master of Spirit Herbs Mountain, Lin Xuan had managed to obtain some waste pills that could increase cultivation, although they couldn't be ingested like candy.
yào zhī dào zuò wéi líng yào shān shǎo zhǔ ， lín xuān duō shǎo hái shì nòng dé dào yī xiē zēng jiā xiū wèi de fèi dān ， zhǐ bù guò bù néng dàng zuò táng wán dà bǎ dà bǎ de fú shí bà le 。
要知道作为灵药山少主，林轩多少还是弄得到一些增加修为的废丹，只不过不能当做糖丸大把大把的服食罢了。
This ancient divine pill had such an old history that even its name was forgotten. Lin Xuan found records about it in a broken jade cylinder scroll.
cǐ shàng gǔ líng dān ， lì shǐ shí fēn jiǔ yuǎn ， yǐ zhì yú lián míng zì dōu yǐ jīng wàng le ， lín xuān yě shì zài yī cán pò de yù tǒng jiǎn lǐ ， zhǎo dào guān yú de jì zǎi 。
此上古灵丹，历史十分久远，以至于连名字都已经忘了，林轩也是在一残破的玉筒简里，找到关于的记载。
It was said that this herb was created by a prodigious ancient cultivator three million years ago.
jù shuō cǐ yào nǎi shì sān bǎi wàn nián qián 。 yī wèi jīng cái jué yàn dì gǔ xiū shì suǒ chuàng 。
据说此药乃是三百万年前。一位惊才绝艳地古修士所创。
The senior's cultivation was extremely profound, but due to some unforeseen accident, he fell in love with an ordinary mortal woman.
nà wèi qián bèi běn shēn dì xiū wèi shí fēn jīng shēn 。 rán ér yī cì ǒu rán dì yì wài 。 tā què ài shàng le yī míng pǔ tōng dì fán rén nǚ zǐ 。
那位前辈本身地修为十分精深。然而一次偶然地意外。他却爱上了一名普通地凡人女子。
Cultivation did not equate to coldness and detachment; dual cultivation was quite common. However, the prerequisite was that both parties should be fellow dao companions. For a cultivator to fall in love with a mortal was extremely rare, especially for someone at the Core Formation stage.
xiū xiān bìng bù děng yú jué qíng jué yù 。 shuāng xiū yě shì hěn zhèng cháng zhī shì 。 dàn qián tí yě yào shì liǎng rén tóng wèi dào lǚ 。 xiū xiān zhě ài shàng fán rén 。 zhè yàng dì shì qíng kě yǐ shuō shí fēn shǎo jiàn 。
修仙并不等于绝情绝欲。双修也是很正常之事。但前提也要是两人同为道侣。修仙者爱上凡人。这样地事情可以说十分少见。
But love is a strange thing. Once immersed, one cannot extricate themselves from it. The senior did not care about their differing statuses. However, they still faced an insurmountable natural obstacle.
gèng bié shuō nà wèi qián bèi hái shì yuán yīng qī dì xiū shì 。
更别说那位前辈还是元婴期地修士。
As a Core Formation cultivator, his lifespan could reach eight hundred years or even a thousand years.
kě ài qíng zhè zhǒng dōng xī qí miào dé jǐn 。 yí dàn xiàn rù qí zhōng jiù bù néng zì bá 。 nà wèi qián bèi dào yě bù zài hū liǎng rén shēn fèn dì chā jù 。 kě héng zài tā men yǎn qián dì hái yǒu yī tiān rán dì nán tí 。
可爱情这种东西奇妙得紧。一旦陷入其中就不能自拔。那位前辈倒也不在乎两人身份地差距。可横在他们眼前地还有一天然地难题。
But what about the mortal woman? How long would she live—eighty or one hundred years? Such time was but a fleeting moment to a cultivator.
zuò wèi yuán yīng qī xiū shì 。 shòu yuán zhì shǎo kě dá bā bǎi nián 。 jiù suàn huó shàng yī qiān nián yě shì shí fēn zhèng cháng zhī shì 。
做为元婴期修士。寿元至少可达八百年。就算活上一千年也是十分正常之事。
The most painful thing in this world is watching someone you love slowly age and pass away while being powerless to do anything.
kě yí gè fán rén nǚ zǐ ， tā néng huó duō jiǔ ne 。 bā shí nián ， hái shì yì bǎi nián ， zhè diǎn shí jiān duì xiū shì ér yán bù guò shì dàn zhǐ yī huī jiān 。
可一个凡人女子，她能活多久呢。八十年，还是一百年，这点时间对修士而言不过是弹指一挥间。
Although theoretically, one could cultivate without a spiritual root, the progress would be so slow that it might as well not exist. Lin Xuan had his Blue Star Sea, which was an exception.
shì jiān zuì tòng kǔ zhī shì mò guò yú kàn zhe xīn ài zhī rén zhī rén màn màn de biàn lǎo ， shì qù ， zì jǐ què wú néng wéi lì 。
世间最痛苦之事莫过于看着心爱之人之人慢慢的变老，逝去，自己却无能为力。
But the senior's intelligence was unparalleled, both before and after him. Lin Xuan speculated that his alchemy skills were likely superior to even Tianchen True Man.
suī rán lǐ lùn shàng ， méi yǒu líng gēn yě néng xiū zhēn 。 kě jìn zhǎn què màn dào le jí diǎn ， jī hū méi yǒu yòng chǔ ， lín xuān yōng yǒu lán sè xīng hǎi 。 wán quán shǔ yú yí gè lì wài 。
虽然理论上，没有灵根也能修真。可进展却慢到了极点，几乎没有用处，林轩拥有蓝色星海。完全属于一个例外。
After much contemplation, he spent three years researching and finally developed a divine herb that could transform ordinary mortals into cultivators with spiritual roots.
bù guò nà wèi qián bèi de cái zhì què shí qián wú gǔ rén 。 hòu wú lái zhě ， lín xuān tuī cè ， tā de liàn dān shù ， duō bàn bǐ tiān chén zhēn rén dōu hái yào gèng shèng yī chóu 。
不过那位前辈的才智确实前无古人。后无来者，林轩推测，他的炼丹术，多半比天尘真人都还要更胜一筹。
It is said that when this herb first appeared, it caused unprecedented shock in the cultivation world. Various sects and independent experts were extremely interested. However, their enthusiasm soon waned as they discovered its limitations.
tā bì guān kǔ sī liáng jiǔ ， huā le sān nián de shí jiān ， zhōng yú yán zhì chū le yī zhǒng nì tiān dì líng yào ， fán rén fú yòng yǐ hòu 。 jiù néng gòu jiāng huò dé xiū xiān zhě de líng gēn 。
他闭关苦思良久，花了三年的时间，终于研制出了一种逆天地灵药，凡人服用以后。就能够将获得修仙者的灵根。
Firstly, it only worked on mortals; initially, each sect hoped that if ordinary people ingested it, their spiritual roots might improve.
jù shuō 。 cǐ yào wèn shì zhī chū ， jī hū zài xiū zhēn jiè yǐn qǐ le qián suǒ wèi yǒu de dà zhèn dòng 。 gè mén gè pài ， sàn xiū lǎo guài 。 quán dōu gǎn xìng qù dào le jí diǎn ， bù guò zhè zhǒng rè qíng lái de kuài qù dé yě kuài ， yuán yīn wú tā ， hěn kuài ， dà jiā jù fā xiàn cǐ yào gù rán shén qí ， dàn què jī lèi dé jǐn 。
据说。此药问世之初，几乎在修真界引起了前所未有的大震动。各门各派，散修老怪。全都感兴趣到了极点，不过这种热情来得快去得也快，原因无他，很快，大家具发现此药固然神奇，但却鸡肋得紧。
But reality proved otherwise. Despite much effort by one sect to obtain this divine pill and have their disciples consume it, there were no positive or negative effects—upgrading the quality of their spiritual roots was a pipe dream.
shǒu xiān ， zhǐ duì fán rén yǒu xiào ， dāng chū ， gè mén gè pài zhī suǒ yǐ zhòng shì ， guī gēn jié dǐ ， jiù shì cún le yī zhǒng niàn xiǎng ， jì rán fán rén fú yòng yǐ hòu ， néng gòu shēng chū líng gēn ， nà xiē xiū shì fú shí le ， huì bú huì ràng běn shēn líng gēn de pǐn zhì gèng shàng yī céng lóu 。
首先，只对凡人有效，当初，各门各派之所以重视，归根结底，就是存了一种念想，既然凡人服用以后，能够生出灵根，那些修士服食了，会不会让本身灵根的品质更上一层楼。
Even so, many sects still showed interest in this herb.
jié guǒ shì shí zhèng míng ， zhè ge xiǎng fǎ chún shǔ shē wàng ， yǒu mén pài fèi jǐn qiān xīn wàn kǔ ， zhōng yú nòng lái le cǐ líng dān ， ràng mén xià dì zǐ fú yòng ， jié guǒ jì wú hǎo chù yě wú huài chù ， wán quán méi yǒu rèn hé xiào guǒ ， xiǎng yào shēng jí líng gēn pǐn zhì dì yuàn wàng luò kōng le 。
结果事实证明，这个想法纯属奢望，有门派费尽千辛万苦，终于弄来了此灵丹，让门下弟子服用，结果既无好处也无坏处，完全没有任何效果，想要升级灵根品质的愿望落空了。
After all, the proportion of mortals with spiritual roots was too small to find easily. Thus, recruiting apprentices became an extremely troublesome task.
rú guǒ jǐn jǐn shì zhè yàng de huà ， hái shì huì yǒu bù shǎo mén pài duì cǐ líng yào gǎn xìng qù 。
如果仅仅是这样的话，还是会有不少门派对此灵药感兴趣。
Now that they had this herb, they could simply have ordinary people consume it and then recruit them. However, their hopes were quickly dashed as well.
bì jìng zài fán rén zhī zhōng ， yōng yǒu líng gēn zhě dì bǐ lì tài xiǎo ， jí bù hǎo zhǎo ， cóng ér dǎo zhì měi cì shōu tú ， dōu shì yī xiàng jí qí má fán de gōng zuò 。
毕竟在凡人之中，拥有灵根者地比例太小，极不好找，从而导致每次收徒，都是一项极其麻烦的工作。
Ordinary people who ingested the herb did indeed gain spiritual roots, but the quality of these roots was abysmal. Most would only remain at the Flexible Spirit stage for life.
xiàn zài yǒu le zhè ge líng yào ， zhǐ yào ràng fán rén fú shí yǐ hòu ， jiù kě yǐ shōu guī mén xià le ， rán ér hěn kuài ， gè mén pài de yuàn wàng jiù zài yí cì luò kōng 。
现在有了这个灵药，只要让凡人服食以后，就可以收归门下了，然而很快，各门派的愿望就再一次落空。
Quality is more important than quantity; recruiting such disciples would serve no purpose in strengthening the sect's power. It might be easier to directly recruit independent experts.
chī le líng yào yǐ hòu ， pǔ tōng rén què shí huì yōng yǒu líng gēn ， rán ér líng gēn dì pǐn zhì què cǎn bù rěn dǔ ， néng gòu zhù jī dōu suàn shì shāo gāo xiāng le ， dà bù fèn zhōng shēng dōu zhǐ néng zài líng dòng qī pái huái ér yǐ 。
吃了灵药以后，普通人确实会拥有灵根，然而灵根地品质却惨不忍睹，能够筑基都算是烧高香了，大部分终生都只能在灵动期徘徊而已。
Of course, some tried ingesting multiple doses or taking it in batches, but all attempts failed. The herb could only be consumed once, and its effects were limited to the first dose.
suǒ wèi guì jīng bù guì duō ， shōu zhè yàng dì dì zǐ ， duì zhuàng dà běn mén de shí lì ， gēn běn jiù méi yǒu rèn hé yòng tú ， rú jīn jǐn jǐn shì xiǎng yào zhuàng dà guī mó ， hái bù rú zhí jiē zhāo shōu sàn xiū lái de qīng sōng 。
所谓贵精不贵多，收这样地弟子，对壮大本门的实力，根本就没有任何用途，如今仅仅是想要壮大规模，还不如直接招收散修来的轻松。
Thus, although the results were miraculous, their lack of applicability caused them to gradually fade from history. Fortunately, Spirit Herbs Mountain was renowned for alchemy, with various formulas dating back to ancient times. Lin Xuan's luck was also good; despite the broken jade cylinder scroll, the formula for this ancient divine herb remained intact.
dāng rán ， yě céng jīng yǒu rén cháng shì guò yī cì fú yòng duō méi zhè zhǒng líng yào ， huò zhě fēn pī ， duō cì fú yòng ， rán ér dōu yǐ shī bài gào zhōng 。
当然，也曾经有人尝试过一次服用多枚这种灵药，或者分批，多次服用，然而都以失败告终。
After discovering and reading about its origin, Lin Xuan was naturally overjoyed. However, as he continued to read, his joy turned into a bucket of cold water being poured on him.
zhè zhǒng yào yī cì zhǐ néng fú yī kē ， ér qiě jǐn yǒu dì yī cì yǒu yòng 。
这种药一次只能服一颗，而且仅有第一次有用。
The herb required nine ingredients in total: one main and eight auxiliary.
gù ér de xiào guǒ suī rán shén qí ， dàn yīn wèi bù shì yòng ， què zhú jiàn xiāo shī zài le lì shǐ de cháng hé zhōng ， hǎo zài líng yào shān běn shēn jiù shì yǐ liàn dān shù chí míng ， gè zhǒng dān fāng bù lùn shì xiàn zài de ， hái shì yuǎn gǔ dōu shí fēn qí bèi ， ér qiě lín xuān yùn qì yě bù cuò ， zhè shàng gǔ de yù tǒng jiǎn suī rán cán pò ， dàn zhè shàng gǔ líng yào dì pèi fāng què hái shì wán zhěng dì 。
故而的效果虽然神奇，但因为不适用，却逐渐消失在了历史的长河中，好在灵药山本身就是以炼丹术驰名，各种丹方不论是现在的，还是远古都十分齐备，而且林轩运气也不错，这上古的玉筒简虽然残破，但这上古灵药地配方却还是完整地。
While the eight auxiliary ingredients were still quite rare but not impossible to find—such as in the vast primeval marshes or desolate mountains, or at various auctions, where one could spend plenty of crystal stones and put in extra effort—the remaining main ingredient was a headache.
gāng gāng fā xiàn ， bìng dú wán le cǐ yào de yóu lái yǐ hòu ， lín xuān xīn zhōng dì gāo xìng shì kě xiǎng ér zhī de ， rán ér zài wǎng xià kàn ， què yǒu rú yī pén lěng shuǐ dāng tóu jiāo xià lái 。
刚刚发现，并读完了此药的由来以后，林轩心中地高兴是可想而知的，然而再往下看，却有如一盆冷水当头浇下来。
The Essence Golden Fruit!
zěn me shuō ne ， liàn zhì cǐ dān gòng xū jiǔ zhǒng yào cái ， yī zhǔ bā fǔ 。
怎么说呢，炼制此丹共需九种药材，一主八辅。
This fruit was common three million years ago and not particularly rare. However, it had long since disappeared from this world.
qí zhōng nà bā zhǒng fǔ zhù dì yào cái dào hái hǎo ， suī rán yě zhēn xī yǐ jí ， dàn bìng fēi bù néng xún mì de dōng xī ， hóng huāng dà zé ， qióng shān è shuǐ ， huò zhě dà dà xiǎo xiǎo de pāi mài huì ， dà bǎ de jīng shí sā xià qù ， zài duō fù chū yī xiē jīng lì liú yì ， zǒng néng yǒu suǒ shōu huò 。
其中那八种辅助地药材倒还好，虽然也珍惜以极，但并非不能寻觅的东西，洪荒大泽，穷山恶水，或者大大小小的拍卖会，大把的晶石撒下去，再多付出一些精力留意，总能有所收获。
It is said that the previous realm's spirit world might still have them.
kě nà shèng xià de zhǔ yào cái ， jiù zhe shí lìng rén tóu téng le 。
可那剩下的主药材，就着实令人头疼了。
But hearing this, Lin Xuan couldn't help but feel frustrated—what kind of joke was this? To break through to Core Formation and ascend to the spirit realm required reaching the Separation stage. But if he had that cultivation level, would he even worry about such matters?
yuán jīn guǒ ！
元金果！
Nevertheless, it did provide some hope in his dark search.
cǐ wù ruò shì fàng zài sān bǎi wàn nián yǐ qián ， dào yě fēi cháng pǔ biàn ， bìng bù suàn rú hé xī qí de shì wù ， rán ér xiàn zài ， zǎo jiù zài zhè yī jiè jué jì le 。
此物若是放在三百万年以前，倒也非常普遍，并不算如何稀奇的事物，然而现在，早就在这一界绝技了。
Thus, during this period, although Lin Xuan traveled extensively, he also kept an eye out for Essence Golden Fruits. Although records stated that the last sighting was a million years ago, there might still be remnants somewhere.
jù shuō ， shàng yī jiè de líng jiè kěn dìng shì huì yǒu 。
据说，上一界的灵界肯定是会有。
However, disappointment followed disappointment as all evidence suggested that this fruit had truly vanished from this world.
kě tīng dào zhè jù huà lín xuān qì jiù bù dǎ yī chū lái a ， kāi shén me wán xiào ， yào tū pò yuán yīng ， dá dào lí hé qī cái néng fēi shēng líng jiè ， kě rú guǒ zì jǐ yǒu nà xiū wèi ， nǎ hái huì wèi zhè zhǒng shì qíng fán nǎo ？
可听到这句话林轩气就不打一出来啊，开什么玩笑，要突破元婴，达到离合期才能飞升灵界，可如果自己有那修为，哪还会为这种事情烦恼？
Of course, Lin Xuan still had another option: finding alternative herbs to replace the Essence Golden Fruit.
dàn bù guǎn zěn me shuō ， zhè zǒng suàn shì gěi zài hēi àn zhōng mō suǒ de zì jǐ ， duō shǎo tí gōng le yì diǎn xī wàng le 。
但不管怎么说，这总算是给在黑暗中摸索的自己，多少提供了一点希望了。
There was nothing strange about it. After all, even for the same medicinal pill, there could be multiple formulas, and some ingredients might be interchangeable.
gù ér ， zhè duàn shí jiān ， bié kàn lín xuān sì chù bēn bō ， měi jīng guò yī chù ， tā yě zài liú yì zhe yuán jīn guǒ ， suī rán zhǎo shū shàng jì zǎi ， cǐ wù zuì hòu yī cì chū xiàn dōu shì zài yì bǎi wàn nián yǐ qián ， dàn shuō bù dìng zài mǒu gè dì fāng hái cún liú yǒu yì diǎn 。
故而，这段时间，别看林轩四处奔波，每经过一处，他也在留意着元金果，虽然找书上记载，此物最后一次出现都是在一百万年以前，但说不定在某个地方还存留有一点。
However, theoretically viable as this choice was, it proved unfeasible in practice.
In most cases, it was unlikely for even one person out of ten thousand Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to successfully condense their essence core.
So few people would venture to Spirit Herbs Mountain to refine medicinal pills with such a small number.
Lin Xuan could hardly hope to improve his cultivation by collecting and purifying waste pills, then ingesting them solely through the power of the medicine.
What should he do?
Although Lin Xuan had carefully pondered this matter, even his intelligence was unable to come up with a solution.
Of course, there might still be some way out, as Lin Xuan had once perused many ancient texts. It was said that an ancient divine herb could transform one's body and soul, allowing ordinary mortals to gain the spiritual roots necessary for cultivation.
However, such spiritual roots were usually of very poor quality.
But compared to his own mortal constitution, they were already vastly superior. At least back then, he would not be completely ineffectual in his efforts to cultivate, even if it was a slow process. Combined with medicinal pills, the rate of improvement might still be tolerable.
As the young master of Spirit Herbs Mountain, Lin Xuan had managed to obtain some waste pills that could increase cultivation, although they couldn't be ingested like candy.
This ancient divine pill had such an old history that even its name was forgotten. Lin Xuan found records about it in a broken jade cylinder scroll.
It was said that this herb was created by a prodigious ancient cultivator three million years ago.
The senior's cultivation was extremely profound, but due to some unforeseen accident, he fell in love with an ordinary mortal woman.
Cultivation did not equate to coldness and detachment; dual cultivation was quite common. However, the prerequisite was that both parties should be fellow dao companions. For a cultivator to fall in love with a mortal was extremely rare, especially for someone at the Core Formation stage.
But love is a strange thing. Once immersed, one cannot extricate themselves from it. The senior did not care about their differing statuses. However, they still faced an insurmountable natural obstacle.
As a Core Formation cultivator, his lifespan could reach eight hundred years or even a thousand years.
But what about the mortal woman? How long would she live—eighty or one hundred years? Such time was but a fleeting moment to a cultivator.
The most painful thing in this world is watching someone you love slowly age and pass away while being powerless to do anything.
Although theoretically, one could cultivate without a spiritual root, the progress would be so slow that it might as well not exist. Lin Xuan had his Blue Star Sea, which was an exception.
But the senior's intelligence was unparalleled, both before and after him. Lin Xuan speculated that his alchemy skills were likely superior to even Tianchen True Man.
After much contemplation, he spent three years researching and finally developed a divine herb that could transform ordinary mortals into cultivators with spiritual roots.
It is said that when this herb first appeared, it caused unprecedented shock in the cultivation world. Various sects and independent experts were extremely interested. However, their enthusiasm soon waned as they discovered its limitations.
Firstly, it only worked on mortals; initially, each sect hoped that if ordinary people ingested it, their spiritual roots might improve.
But reality proved otherwise. Despite much effort by one sect to obtain this divine pill and have their disciples consume it, there were no positive or negative effects—upgrading the quality of their spiritual roots was a pipe dream.
Even so, many sects still showed interest in this herb.
After all, the proportion of mortals with spiritual roots was too small to find easily. Thus, recruiting apprentices became an extremely troublesome task.
Now that they had this herb, they could simply have ordinary people consume it and then recruit them. However, their hopes were quickly dashed as well.
Ordinary people who ingested the herb did indeed gain spiritual roots, but the quality of these roots was abysmal. Most would only remain at the Flexible Spirit stage for life.
Quality is more important than quantity; recruiting such disciples would serve no purpose in strengthening the sect's power. It might be easier to directly recruit independent experts.
Of course, some tried ingesting multiple doses or taking it in batches, but all attempts failed. The herb could only be consumed once, and its effects were limited to the first dose.
Thus, although the results were miraculous, their lack of applicability caused them to gradually fade from history. Fortunately, Spirit Herbs Mountain was renowned for alchemy, with various formulas dating back to ancient times. Lin Xuan's luck was also good; despite the broken jade cylinder scroll, the formula for this ancient divine herb remained intact.
After discovering and reading about its origin, Lin Xuan was naturally overjoyed. However, as he continued to read, his joy turned into a bucket of cold water being poured on him.
The herb required nine ingredients in total: one main and eight auxiliary.
While the eight auxiliary ingredients were still quite rare but not impossible to find—such as in the vast primeval marshes or desolate mountains, or at various auctions, where one could spend plenty of crystal stones and put in extra effort—the remaining main ingredient was a headache.
The Essence Golden Fruit!
This fruit was common three million years ago and not particularly rare. However, it had long since disappeared from this world.
It is said that the previous realm's spirit world might still have them.
But hearing this, Lin Xuan couldn't help but feel frustrated—what kind of joke was this? To break through to Core Formation and ascend to the spirit realm required reaching the Separation stage. But if he had that cultivation level, would he even worry about such matters?
Nevertheless, it did provide some hope in his dark search.
Thus, during this period, although Lin Xuan traveled extensively, he also kept an eye out for Essence Golden Fruits. Although records stated that the last sighting was a million years ago, there might still be remnants somewhere.
However, disappointment followed disappointment as all evidence suggested that this fruit had truly vanished from this world.
Of course, Lin Xuan still had another option: finding alternative herbs to replace the Essence Golden Fruit.
There was nothing strange about it. After all, even for the same medicinal pill, there could be multiple formulas, and some ingredients might be interchangeable.
However, theoretically viable as this choice was, it proved unfeasible in practice.