Chapter 147
Somewhere in the Spirit Realm. Yo.
"So, there's a nearly seven-thousand-year-old fire lotus. A six-thousand-year-old qinqinx is also available. And there's a five-thousand-year-old water lotus. That leaves only the ginseng..." It felt like I'd somehow ended up in the world of cultivators.
But thankfully, that wasn't the case. The list above was actually the plants I needed to gather to activate my sixth chakra. Yes, I'd have to temper my body in a hot bath infused with the beneficial properties of these ancient plants. At first, I thought I could cheat and ask my ladies to create these plants for me, but it turned out to be far more complicated. I needed plants that were thousands of years old, steeped in spiritual energy for ages. The older they were, the better the effect. The energy within them would essentially "poison" my body, pushing me to a new level.
All four plants were highly symbolic: the fire lotus represented fire, qinqinx symbolized wind, the water lotus stood for water, and ginseng embodied earth. The funny part was that I had to add them to the water in the sequence of the Avatar Cycle: fire, air, water, earth. So, there was something sacred about it... though I didn't fully understand it yet.
The month-long quest to find these plants was finally nearing its end. They were incredibly hard to locate, almost like finding a needle in a haystack. And while you could cheat with the needle, this required visiting the most remote places, with only a tiny hope of finding what I needed. There were, of course, certain guaranteed locations where they might be... but those would involve dealing with ancient spirits. Their habitats had the highest concentration of elemental particles, which meant the chances of finding something from my list increased dramatically. That's how I managed to get the qinqinx for free—it was growing abundantly near the dwelling of the Great Master of Air Currents.
I wasn't on friendly terms with other ancient spirits, so they demanded something comparable in return. But what could I offer? By human standards, I was practically an Emperor, but they clearly didn't need human trinkets.
By the way, these plants, saturated with spiritual energy, were a favorite treat for both light and dark spirits. The energy they provided was absorbed 100%, propelling their development forward. Even higher spirits needed plants that were at least a thousand years old, let alone the ancients. Usually, if someone spotted them, they'd devour them immediately.
One thing was reassuring—my chakra development was progressing without obstacles. And perhaps, once the sixth chakra opened, I'd be able to at least minimally touch the power of ancient-level spirits. Once, Van Shi Tong and I compared my open chakras to spirit ranks. Here's how it worked: the first chakra let me fight weak lower spirits, the second allowed me to take on strong lower spirits, the third put me on par with weak mid-level spirits, the fourth equaled strong mid-level spirits, and the fifth reached the highest rank. Theoretically, the sixth should prepare my body to battle a weak ancient spirit. After all, chakra power grows exponentially. And the seventh chakra? No question—I'd definitely be able to take on the elite of the spirit world.
Shaking off my thoughts, I arrived at the forest section where the ginseng might grow. First, I needed to deal with the sentient beings that would only get in my way. Sending out slicing air waves, I grew tired of killing them within three minutes—I had more important things to focus on. There were far too many of them here, as if the place were coated in some spiritual honey. I'd sworn off using large-scale techniques in areas where the plants might be. Just a week ago, one of my moves had destroyed a water lotus. Thankfully, there was a second one nearby.
"Ah! I've got it!" My long hair instantly became thicker and fuller, and the next second, it began firing thin but deadly strands. These strands could pierce even mid-level spirits, as they were packed with life energy. For higher spirits, the hair transformed into massive jaws that effortlessly crushed particularly stubborn ones.
I was still unlocking the potential of the fifth chakra. Now, I could replicate Jiraiya's "Hair Style" perfectly. During a training fight with Van Shi Tong, I realized that a body covered in hair could significantly reduce incoming damage. Plus, I just enjoyed dramatically controlling my hair, like some kind of Otsutsuki.