Kan Erxin Jia felt a little uneasy. He suddenly closed his eyes, rested his weary head, and began to focus all his attention on sensing the sphere.

Liu Hui closed his eyes, unaware of the sphere's readings. However, he heard Xiao Yaozi let out an astonished gasp. He carefully opened his eyes and saw the sphere before him emitting a faint, hazy light.

Liu Hui froze for a moment, then looked toward Xiao Yaozi, only to find the elder even more stunned than he was.

"Senior. Senior?" Liu Hui called out loudly.

"Oh, what is it?" Xiao Yaozi snapped back to reality.

"This... this sphere is lighting up. What does that mean?" Little Liu Hui asked, full of hope.

"It lighting up means you have a Spiritual Root; having a Spiritual Root means you possess the potential for cultivation," Xiao Yaozi said, sounding perplexed.

"Senior, are you sure you aren't deceiving me? Do I really have a Spiritual Root?" Liu Hui asked, his whole body trembling.

"I am not deceiving you, but this situation is a bit strange!" Xiao Yaozi stated.

"Senior, what's strange about it?"

"Generally speaking, if someone possesses a Spiritual Root, the sphere will emit a brilliant, dazzling light. But what this one is emitting is merely a hazy glow."

"Is there a difference?" Liu Hui asked nervously. "Firstly, I am astonished that you developed a Spiritual Root in such a short time. You must understand, in our cultivation world, Spiritual Roots are innate. It is absolutely impossible for one to form after birth. And you didn't have one just a few days ago. Secondly, your Spiritual Root seems different from ours. Yours appears underdeveloped, unformed. In terms of sheer power, it is far inferior to ours—that much is clear just by the intensity of the light emanating from the sphere," Xiao Yaozi explained.

"Senior, I ate a millennium-old ginseng root a few days ago. Could the sudden appearance of a Spiritual Root be related to that ginseng? And how much weaker is my Spiritual Root compared to yours?" Liu Hui, naturally unable to reveal that he had injected the Root Creation Fluid, fabricated a quick excuse.

"Eating millennium-old ginseng can generate a Spiritual Root?" Xiao Yaozi appeared genuinely confused. He stroked his beard, pondering whether he should test this theory on some mortals by feeding them ancient ginseng roots later.

"Senior, Senior?" Liu Hui quickly called out when he saw Xiao Yaozi drift into another daze.

Xiao Yaozi was startled back by Liu Hui’s voice. He chuckled awkwardly and then continued, "Judging by the hazy light emitted by the sphere, your Spiritual Root will, at best, only allow you to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Ah! Only Foundation Establishment?" Liu Hui was crestfallen, but then a wave of relief washed over him. The Foundation Establishment stage was a whole level above the strongest Mortal Realm stage, the Innate state. He ought to be satisfied.

"Senior, are cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage powerful?"

"Although the Foundation Establishment stage is the second phase of cultivation, at this level, one's strength has already significantly diverged from that of mortals. The physical body becomes far stronger, capable of generating True Essence Power internally. They can even glide and fly briefly in the air for short periods. Most crucially, the lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is greatly extended," Xiao Yaozi explained.

"How much can my lifespan increase?" Liu Hui quickly inquired.

"Roughly, you should be able to live past one hundred and fifty years."

It's still a significant gap from my expectations, but it’s far better than before. At least I can cultivate now, and reaching Foundation Establishment means I will be stronger than the vast majority of people on Earth. I should be content, Little Liu Hui mused internally. He then asked Xiao Yaozi, "Senior, if I cultivate, will I need jade stones to assist me?"

"Without the aid of jade stones, a cultivator's progress will be extremely slow. But with the help of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth contained within Spirit Jade Stones, the cultivation speed will become incredibly fast," Xiao Yaozi explained.

"Senior, please help me convert a few pieces of high-grade attribute jade stones. I want to start cultivating immediately!" Liu Hui was impatient.

"Little friend, you have just begun cultivating and cannot directly absorb the energy from jade stones yet, as the meridians in your body are not yet unobstructed. In our cultivation world, disciples' initial entry into the path usually involves the Master performing a Spirit Infusion to widen the meridians within the body. However, since we are not on the same plane, I cannot perform the Spirit Infusion for you. But I can help you construct a simple Spirit Gathering Array. Embed the high-grade jade stones into it, and the array will slowly draw energy from the stones into your body. This process will widen your internal meridians. Once your meridians are widened, you can officially begin, allowing you to use jade stones for your cultivation," Xiao Yaozi began educating Liu Hui.

"Then please hurry and refine it for me, Senior. Now that I know I can cultivate, I truly can't wait!" Liu Hui smiled.

"Bring the raw materials. Refining this Spirit Gathering Array requires twenty high-grade attribute spirit crystals," Xiao Yaozi held out his hands.

Liu Hui was slightly suspicious of the quantity Xiao Yaozi named, but in his very elated mood, he didn't dwell on it. With a flip of his hand, he produced twenty Level Four Demonic Beast Cores and traded them to Xiao Yaozi.

"Little friend, I will contact you tonight. By then, it should be ready," Xiao Yaozi said as he took the cores.

Liu Hui bid farewell to Xiao Yaozi with a smile and then began his working day. He was in high spirits, finding Hu Xian'er particularly captivating today. He couldn't resist teasing her a few times, which caused Hu Xian'er to blush deeply, making her even more alluring.

Liu Hui barely managed to survive until closing time. After returning home and eating dinner, he retreated to the basement, eagerly awaiting contact from Xiao Yaozi.

Xiao Yaozi didn't make Liu Hui wait long. He soon initiated the call, and Liu Hui connected immediately.

"Senior, is the item ready?"

"Little friend, you truly have no patience! It's done, it's done. Stop looking at me like you want to eat me—here is what you requested!" Seeing the strange look on Liu Hui's face, Xiao Yaozi quickly stopped his banter and placed an object onto the trading interface.

Liu Hui immediately clicked the transaction button, and the object appeared in his hand.

"Senior, what is this?"

"Little friend, this object is called a Meditation Cushion. In our cultivation world, we all sit on meditation cushions while cultivating. I have refined a Spirit Gathering Array inside it using the spirit stones you provided. If you sit on it to cultivate, you will be initiated very soon."

"I just need to sit on it and cultivate?" Liu Hui was tremendously excited.

"You just need to sit on it and circulate the introductory incantations from the Heaven and Earth True Scripture."

"Goodbye, Senior!" Ignoring Xiao Yaozi's feelings, Liu Hui terminated the connection and swiftly returned to his room.

Liu Hui bid his parents goodnight and locked his bedroom door. He placed the Meditation Cushion on his bed and sat down cross-legged upon it.

He first calmed his mind, then began circulating his vital energy and envisioning the pathways according to the records in the Heaven and Earth True Scripture.

Initially, Liu Hui felt nothing different. But he persisted with his visualization. Slowly, his body registered a faint external aura. That aura continuously poured out from the Meditation Cushion, seeping into his meridians through his pores.

Liu Hui rejoiced, but his train of thought wavered, and the aura instantly vanished. He quickly calmed himself, focused his mind, and gradually rediscovered the sensation. After entering Liu Hui's meridians, the aura began flowing toward the channels he was visualizing. However, Liu Hui’s meridians were extremely narrow, forcing the aura to struggle arduously through them. Furthermore, the aura was continuously diminished during this passage until it completely disappeared.

Liu Hui called forth the aura from the cushion again, continuing to expand his meridians. This feeling of cultivation was incredibly fulfilling, and slowly, he became completely immersed in the sensation, eventually drifting off to sleep without realizing it.

The next day, when Liu Hui awoke, he found he was still in the cultivation posture, having sat on the cushion for an entire night and day. He hopped off the bed, stretched his limbs, and discovered that despite sitting all night, his arms and legs felt no soreness or numbness; he was utterly refreshed and invigorated. He stored the Meditation Cushion in his spatial storage device and left the room.

Liu Hui wasn't sure if this sensation was a result of his cultivation or just his imagination, but the world seemed subtly different when viewed through his eyes. Yet, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed.

Liu Hui had finally realized his lifelong wish—he was now a cultivator, and he would become even more powerful in the future. Consequently, his mood was exceptionally buoyant. While handling work matters, he even started humming a little tune, though the sound he produced was terrible, he sang it with great vigor.

Hu Xian'er didn't know why her boss was so happy today, but his happiness was certainly a good thing for her. She pushed open the door, holding the latest interdepartmental reports to her chest, and walked toward Liu Hui’s desk. Liu Hui watched her approach from his executive chair, a smile on his face.

Liu Hui suddenly felt a strange premonition, a surge of excitement. He abruptly stood up, only to realize that he had startled Hu Xian'er so badly that she dropped all the files she was carrying onto the floor.

He rushed forward apologetically to help her pick up the scattered papers and offered an apology: "Xian'er, I'm sorry. I suddenly remembered an urgent matter I needed to attend to, so I stood up too quickly and frightened you. Are you alright?"

"Boss, I’m fine. If you have something urgent, you should go handle it quickly! I'll just place the documents on your desk," Hu Xian'er said with a smile after gathering the papers and holding them to her chest.

"Very well, thank you for your hard work today." Liu Hui’s gaze lingered momentarily on Hu Xian'er's chest above the documents before he left the office, took the elevator down to the lowest level basement, and opened the door. His heart pounded with excitement. He had just received a sudden message signaling that Little Black was awakening. Little Black must have completed its first transformation, but he wondered what form it had taken now?

--- Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi ---

Thanks to the readers: Jie Shao Po (Ji) and Qiu? Feng for their generous tips.

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