Search for Cultivators!

In the streets of Ling City. Jo Yuan shuffled through the bustling marketplace, his heart heavy with frustration. Where were the cultivators? He had searched high and low, and all he found were martial sects—fighting schools that only cared about strength and skills, not the spiritual enlightenment he craved.

He sighed, remembering his encounters in the past few weeks. "Cultivators? You mean those legends?" a burly blacksmith had laughed, wiping sweat from his brow. "I've never seen one in my life. You'd do better to look for ghosts." Jo Yuan had clenched his fists at that, his eyes narrowing. He had heard whispers of hidden sects and mystical beings in his past regressions, but they all felt like shadows slipping through his fingers now that he began to search for them.

His quest had taken him to the edges of towns, to rumored places marked by ancient trees and crumbling ruins. He had even ventured into the depths of the Misty Mountains, where the air was thick with fog and mystery. But still, nothing. Just stories.

"You'd find more luck searching for a needle in a haystack," a seasoned warrior had told him, crossing his arms. "Cultivators are myths, boy. Stronger than us, sure, but they don't exist anymore." Jo Yuan felt a pang of annoyance at their dismissive attitudes. "But what about spiritual roots? What about…?" he had started, only to be interrupted by their laughter. They thought he was foolish, chasing fairy tales.

As a result, he beat them into a pulp with his shattered punch. Although, some of them managed to escape.

Finally, he found himself standing before Elder Liu's modest dwelling, a small hut tucked away behind thick vines and flowering shrubs. He hesitated. The last time he'd been here, the Elder thought he had fooled him by learning the Shattered Punch before they had even met, leaving the old man fuming. But he needed answers—Elder Liu dreamt of becoming one even though he didn't have spiritual roots. Surely, he could point Jo Yuan in the right direction.

As he approached, the wooden door creaked open, revealing a stern face framed by silver hair. "You again?" Elder Liu scowled, crossing his arms. "What do you want this time? You've destroyed the future of your fellow disciple last time. How could you do such a cruel thing in the first place"

"They ambushed me. It's not my fault." Jo Yuan rolled his eyes.

"So what do you want?"

"I'm looking for cultivators," Jo Yuan stated, his voice steady despite the tension. "I know you've met them before. Please, I need to understand how to join a sect."

The Elder raised an eyebrow, his expression softening slightly. "You think they just come to you? They only appear when they sense someone with a spiritual root. They will come to you themselves if you have one. Unfortunately, you're rootless just like me." He waved a hand dismissively. "And those with spiritual roots are as rare as the sun shining on a moonless night."

Jo Yuan's heart raced and he smiled. "But I have a blood spiritual root. Hehe..." "Would they come to me? Then, I only need to wait for them?"

Elder Liu's eyes widened, then narrowed in suspicion. "A blood spiritual root? What the fuck is that? You're just trying to fool me again, aren't you? I won't fall for your tricks."

"I'm not lying." Jo Yuan insisted, with a weird smile. "I can prove it!" He stepped closer, the air thick with tension. As he reached out, their hands met, a jolt of energy passing between them. For a brief moment, the Elder's expression shifted from skepticism to shock, realization dawning on his face.

"Wait—no, it can't be!" Elder Liu stammered, backing away. But Jo Yuan was faster. With a swift movement, he unleashed his technique—the Shattered Punch. The Elder barely had time to react to fight back.

The force of the blow was explosive, the air splashing with blood. Elder Liu staggered, the power of Jo Yuan's blood spiritual root coursing through him, transforming the elder's life force into raw energy. "You... how did you...?" The Elder gasped, confusion mixing with disbelief.

In an instant, it was over. The elder fell to the ground, lifeless, his eyes wide in shock. Jo Yuan stared down at him, heart pounding, knowing he needed to erase the traces of what had just happened. The blood spiritual root had not only granted him power but had also turned the Elder's very essence into energy he could absorb.

This was a special feature of his blood spiritual root, something that had been discovered recently; it retained the function of a blood core.

He knelt beside the fallen figure, absorbing the energy, feeling its warmth spread through him like wildfire.

"I'm sorry, Elder. Don't worry; I won't kill you in the next regression," he whispered, knowing that the search for cultivators ended since they would come to him personally, according to the Elder. "But I need to silence you in this life since I've decided to show my spiritual root to you." He sighed.

Regression? This life?

"Y-you're a madman..." Elder Lie took his last breath on the ground, confused about what Jo Yuan was talking about.