Spiritual Roots play a pivotal role in enabling a mortal to absorb Spiritual Qi and embark on the path of an Immortal cultivator.

These are primarily categorized into five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, known as the five fundamental roots.

Spiritual roots that amalgamate four or five attributes are referred to as “False Spiritual Roots,” cultivation might very well be a distant dream for these individuals with those with pentad roots not being able to cultivate at all and those four attributes requiring a significant quantity of resources.

While those with two to three attributes are known as “True Spiritual Roots.” This group enjoys a substantial advantage, cultivating at an accelerated pace and needing fewer resources compared to their counterparts with false spiritual roots.

Heavenly Spiritual Roots, on the other hand, possess only one attribute, requiring the least resources and granting the swiftest cultivation speed of all.

Lastly, there are roots of attributes outside of the scope of the five fundamental attributes, these are known as 'Mutated Spiritual Roots'." Xin Yingyue, with her 'Moon frost spiritual roots', can be considered a part of this group.

For individuals gifted with “Mutated Spiritual Roots", their journey may be less smooth, requiring more resources, but their cultivation speed roughly equals that of those with heavenly spiritual roots. Moreover, should they find a cultivation art that aligns with their attribute, they will undoubtedly become one of the most prominent figures of their generation.

-------------------------

"Yu'er, come with me," Grandfather said, prompting me to follow him as he began to leave. Before departing, he gave a knowing nod to Mother.

I trailed after him, curious about our destination.

"To my cultivation chambers, there's something I must discuss with you." He disclosed, noticing my curious gaze.

Upon reaching the cultivation chambers, Grandfather entered first, and I followed suit. The room appeared rather ordinary, with a table, seating area, and a mat for cultivation.

"Take a seat." He gestured, prompting me to sit down as he settled himself.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Ahem, Yu'er, do you know regarding the relationship between elements?" Grandfather's expression turned unusually serious as he posed the question.

"Yes, I do... Wood feeds fire, fire produces earth, earth bears metal, metal collects water, and water nourishes wood," I recited the basic knowledge regarding the five elements with no fluctuation in my voice, my troubled expression hinting at my realization.

'Haaah... I know where this is going...'

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"That's right. Some elements oppose each other, like water and fire, which are mutually destructive—water can extinguish flames, while fire can boil water away to nothing. When someone has roots of opposing elements, they are referred to as conflicting roots. Under usual circumstances, we would try to remove one of the roots to avoid elemental conflict. However, in your case—"

"The fragments of Dao make it difficult to remove the spiritual roots," I interjected, completing his sentence. This complication was something I already anticipated.

"Well, it would have been difficult but still within the realm of possibility. However, your spiritual roots have begun to fuse," Grandfather explained.

"W-What!?" I exclaimed, utterly baffled. Never did I expect that water and fire could fuse. Weren't they supposed to extinguish each other?

"Sigh... Due to the Dao of life and the Dao of death being innately interconnected, your spiritual roots started to fuse. Water and fire eliminated each other, leaving only fragments of life and death Dao. Consequently, the fused part of your spiritual roots has become something akin to 'Pseudo-Samsara Dao roots,' to some extent."

"Then doesn't that mean everything will be fine?" I inquired.

"If only it was that simple," Grandfather dismissively shook his head, "The fusion of your spiritual roots will most likely escalate with your cultivation, and as you progress, the clash between fire and water qi would most likely cause your death. Now that you know the problem, what do you think is the solution?"

Grandfather asked me with a slight smile.

'Haa... Is he testing me?'

"There are two primary solutions," I responded, my annoyance evident on my face "Firstly, we can forcefully remove one of the spiritual roots. But this method would cause damage to one's talent. Secondly, we can temporarily try to stop the fusion while creating a strong foundation and a unique cultivation method that will help in the complete fusion of the spiritual roots while also expanding the comprehension of the Dao."

"Then which one will you choose?" asked the bastard in front of me with a shit-eating grin on his face! Ahem... I lost my cool for a minute there. Deep breaths, deep breaths...

"The second one, obviously. I'd rather die trying than to die after living a few years in disgrace." I replied, showing a resolute expression.

'Well, it's not like I have much of a choice.'

"Hahahahahahaha!!" the old man laughed maniacally.

'Did the old fart finally lose it?' I pondered deeply, genuinely worried if my grandfather's advanced age had led to senility.

"Good, good! As expected from my grandson. Well said, Yu'er, well said!!"

"Grandfather, your sudden laughter truly caught me off guard. I must admit, for a moment, I was concerned about your mental stability." With a warm smile, I conveyed my words, aiming to express the sincerity and warmth that a devoted grandchild like me would naturally possess.

"Humph! If it was anyone else who made such a rude remark, their head would no longer belong to their body." Xin Dongyang exclaimed, puffing out his chest and striking an exaggerated pose.

"How could you think of my genuine concern for your health to be a rude remark, grandfather?" I said with a wronged expression as if I didn't mean to call him crazy, even though I totally thought he was a 'bit' crazy.

"Humph," Xin Dongyang rolled his eyes at his grandson's 'pitiful' expression.

"Anyways, what should I do now?" I asked.

"Well, for now, I would seal your flame spiritual root. While it won't be perfect due to the partial fusion, it will do the trick. During this time, I want you to use the Dao of life contained within your water spiritual root to nurture your body and create a strong foundation."

"Body cultivation!?" My face started to drain of color as I remembered the masochistic ways of the body cultivators. " Is that truly necessary?"

‌"Yes, you would need to cultivate your body and also learn sword techniques to utilize your relentless sword Dao heart. After all, if your body or will is too weak, your body and qi will explode like a watermelon thrown from the ninth floor of a pagoda," Xin Dongyang explained with a smirk.

But I couldn't be bothered by his shit-eating grin as I already had quite the revelation regarding the fact that I was indeed fucked.

'Why does it have to be body cultivation... sigh...'