Fake Heavenly Spiritual Root
Baek Cheong clutched the precious jade box containing the fake Heavenly Spiritual Root to her chest as she dashed back to her residence. Only after locking the door with the latch did she exhale the breath she'd been holding. She placed the box on the table and carefully lifted the lid. A soft, iridescent five-colored glow emanated from the Five Elements Pill. Just gazing at it made the spiritual roots in her dantian throb with insatiable thirst.
Up until now, her spiritual energy absorption had barely reached the level of a two-root talent. But if she fully absorbed this Five Elements Pill, she could seize the true qualities of a Heavenly Spiritual Root.
"Even trash roots need watering to grow."
Baek Cheong steadied her mind and body, sitting cross-legged on the bed. With trembling hands, she picked up the pill and popped it into her mouth. The moment it touched her tongue, something extraordinary happened. Unlike the explosive tidal waves of spiritual energy from the supreme-grade pills she'd taken before, there was no violent surge. Instead, the warm energy of the five elements—water, wood, fire, earth, metal—harmonized perfectly, melting away like cotton candy.
The five elements' energy flowed down her throat like moisture seeping into parched plants, naturally moistening her meridians and pooling in her dantian. But it didn't stop there. It plunged deeper, settling directly onto her spiritual roots, which were connected to the core of her soul. The instant the roots soaked up the energy...
Baek Cheong's consciousness was sucked into a profound trance. It felt like contemplating the principles of heaven and earth amid visions of the universe's birth and stars flickering in and out of existence. She watched in awe as her five scattered spiritual roots, nourished by the pill's harmonious energy, wove together into a massive trunk stretching toward the heavens.
How much time had passed? Baek Cheong gasped for air as she opened her eyes.
"Hoo..."
Darkness had already fallen outside, moonlight illuminating the room. She'd been lost in that trance for over half a day. The first thing she sensed upon regaining her wits was the flow of ambient spiritual energy. Without deliberately regulating her breathing or focusing on absorption, the heaven-and-earth energy in the air was burrowing into her pores and flooding her dantian on its own. It was a monstrous speed, like a vacuum cleaner devouring everything around her—leagues beyond her previous two-root absorption rate.
"So this is the spiritual energy a Heavenly Spiritual Root draws in?"
Baek Cheong smiled in satisfaction, inhaling deeply. Rich spiritual energy filled her lungs, refreshing her mind and clearing her head. But the joy was short-lived. A strange sense of incongruity brushed past her heart.
It felt... bland. Not what she'd expected.
'Something's off...'
Harboring doubts, she turned her spiritual sense inward to closely examine the spiritual roots deep in her dantian. The five elemental roots had grown noticeably thicker thanks to the pill. The hazy, murky aura of before was gone, replaced by a clear, pronounced presence.
"This is a Heavenly Spiritual Root?"
But Baek Cheong couldn't hide her disappointment as she muttered to herself. Her spiritual energy absorption had skyrocketed, sure, but the roots' form and aura were far from the mystical, overwhelming majesty of a true Heavenly Spiritual Root. It was like five trash roots forcibly bulked up. There was no exhilarating thrill of ascending to true Heavenly ranks.
Unable to bear the frustration, she channeled her spiritual sense to access the Nameless Board for answers.
[Grew my five-element roots into something like a Heavenly one, but it feels off. Looks just like a fat trash five-root. Is this right?]
The bizarre post drew a flood of red notifications immediately, as always. The Dou users' cold reactions were par for the course.
Amid the insults, mockery, and scoldings for wrong board usage, Baek Cheong skimmed the replies until one intriguing comment from an unfamiliar Dou caught her eye.
"Found it!"
Baek Cheong lit up at the words that seemed to pinpoint her exact situation. She hurriedly replied to the stranger.
A moment later, a notification pinged with a detailed explanation.
It nailed her condition perfectly. She'd forcibly grown her roots with elemental synergies and pills, boosting absorption to Heavenly levels, but the fundamental talent hadn't transformed.
Her questions were finally answered. She hadn't gained the Water Faction's ultimate golden spoon talent. She was stuck with fat, trash five-roots and fake Heavenly absorption.
"It was gaemi water after all..."
Baek Cheong sighed in deflation, flopping onto the bed spread-eagled. She felt embarrassed for getting high on the Heavenly high.
Then a line from the Dou's explanation stuck in her mind.
'One root overwhelmingly dominant, completely burying the others' energy?'
So which of her five elemental roots was overpowering the rest right now? She closed her eyes and examined her inner roots again. They all just felt like plump five-roots—no one dominating.
"...No clue. Just gives me a headache."
Baek Cheong shook off the tangled thoughts in resignation. Her absorption had exploded anyway—not a bad deal. Since she was stuck with fake Heavenly roots, she might as well milk more Five Elements Pills from Gok Elder.
The next morning, Baek Cheong headed to the Pill Refining Room with lighter steps. Gok Elder was tidying around the pill furnace when she entered.
"The five elements are shining brightly."
Gok Elder approached with an exclamation of admiration. His Gold Core senses instantly detected the changes from the pill.
"Thanks to the pill you gave me yesterday, Gok Elder."
Baek Cheong grinned sheepishly, broaching the main topic carefully.
"...Could I maybe get a few more Five Elements Pills? They'd be a huge help for my cultivation."
Gok Elder chuckled heartily at the shameless request.
"Haha, I could give you as many as you want. But refining Zhu-eun-cho and balancing the five elements takes a lot of effort even for me—it needs time."
As disappointment flickered across Baek Cheong's face, Gok Elder's tone turned stern.
"And if you're thinking of taking more to force-grow your roots further, you'd better drop it."
"Huh? Why?"
Baek Cheong's eyes widened, and Gok Elder stroked his goatee in warning.
"The Five Elements Pill defies heaven by artificially exceeding your innate root limits. One pill might slip by amid the Water Faction's endless opportunities, but stacking them to defy fate? You'd anger heaven and risk heavenly tribulation, reduced to ash."
Baek Cheong inwardly sighed deeply at the firm warning.
'Freebies aren't that easy, huh.'
Heaven's laws didn't tolerate shortcuts. Forcing down her regret, she started to nod—when Gok Elder patted her shoulder with a kindly smile.
"That said, perfect timing. The crucial refinement I've poured my heart into just finished safely. Starting today, I'll teach you pill refining again."
Baek Cheong's vision swam at the unexpected turn. Blinded by the pill, she'd walked right into the pill refining swamp.
She scrambled for an excuse.
"Ah, um... To celebrate reaching 4-star Qi Refining, I was thinking of learning a new spell... I'll come back later!"
She backed toward the door. But Gok Elder cleared his throat meaningfully.
"Ahem. I heard from Family Head Baek that you recently used my name to deceive people and sneak into the eastern sector."
Baek Cheong froze like her foot had caught on a rock. Her lie exposed, a perfect surveillance net now linked her father and Gok Elder. No escape.
She awkwardly forced a smile, turning slowly to face him.
"Haha... Yes, Gok Elder. I've been counting the days to learn from you."
The light faded from Baek Cheong's eyes. Just as she steeled herself for soul-crushing pill refining...
"Last time, urgency shook your pill heart, and I couldn't correct it properly. This time, I'll drill it in so it never wavers."
He'd preemptively blocked her even there. Now denied even gallery trolling in desperation...
'I'm really screwed...'
Baek Cheong could only nod, tears welling inwardly.