My Portable Spirit Farm: Rise of the Humble Servant

Chapter 177: The Second Spirit Root!

Chen Ping focused his senses inward.

While the spirit vine voraciously siphoned his soul power, it simultaneously initiated a feedback loop. A strange, vibrant, and pure Five-Element soul force flowed back through the invading tendrils, nourishing the very area of his soul it had colonized.

This symbiotic exchange lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Once the vine absorbed enough soul power to reach critical mass, its form shifted again. It ceased to be a mere phantom projection. It solidified, hovering in the state between illusion and reality, becoming as tangible as the soul itself.

The blinding five-colored radiance softened into a gentle, restrained glow. The main body of the vine anchored itself firmly into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, resembling a miniature, crystalline sculpture.

The moment the structure stabilized, Chen Ping reached out with his Divine Sense. He attempted to communicate with the consciousness he had negotiated with earlier, hoping to guide it to release more power for his soul enhancement.

But to his surprise… there was nothing.

No matter how he probed or called out with his Divine Sense, his Sea of Consciousness remained dead silent. The vine floated there, emitting its soft halo, but offered no response.

That nascent, infant-like consciousness had vanished like morning dew under the rising sun.

It had thoroughly integrated, becoming a functional organ of Chen Ping’s body. Using itself as the foundation, it coalesced into a second set of Spirit Roots rooted directly in his soul!

“The child… is gone?”

Chen Ping paused, a complex mix of emotions surging in his heart.

Was it loss? Melancholy? Or perhaps a faint sorrow for the extinction of a newly sparked intelligent life? Although the vine’s mind had been naive and ignorant, it had been a distinct entity capable of simple thought. It had just begun to grasp the wonder of wisdom.

But the Dao of Heaven is cruel.

The laws of the world restricted its existence. To survive—or perhaps to fulfill the symbiotic contract it had instinctively agreed to—it had actively fused with his soul. In doing so, its independent consciousness was crushed by the weight of the natural laws.

“Is this outcome a blessing or a curse for you?” Chen Ping asked the silent vine in his mind.

Perhaps for a plant, becoming part of a cultivator’s soul and relying on flesh and blood to achieve a form of eternity was a better fate than withering away in the wild. Yet, to lose one’s self, to exist forever as a mere component of another… was that not just another form of death?

Chen Ping found no answer. He suppressed the rare flicker of sentimentality and buried it deep within his heart. On the path of cultivation, right and wrong were often indistinguishable.

He composed himself, shifting his focus entirely to the newly born “Second Spirit Root.”

At this moment, the Innate Five-Element Yin Spirit Vine was no longer a foreign object; it was his talent.

Its form was unique. A cultivator’s natural Spirit Root usually existed as a gaseous or luminous anomaly within the Sea of Qi in the lower abdomen. It served as the hub for channeling the world’s Qi and refining it into Qi.

But this artificial Spirit Root possessed a clear, substantial vine-like structure. It was composed of soul energy, yet it felt far more “real” than a traditional root. Crucially, it was not located in the abdomen. It hung high in the Sea of Consciousness, grafted directly onto his soul.

Chen Ping attempted to mobilize it.

With a mere flick of his intention, the five-colored vine in his mind trembled. Instantly, a strange, high-frequency suction force erupted from Chen Ping’s brow.

Inside the cave dwelling, the dense Qi gathered by the Spirit Gathering Array reacted immediately. A stream of energy separated from the ambient mist, drawn by the new gravitational pull.

This Qi did not enter through his nose, mouth, or skin pores as usual. Instead, it phased directly through the center of his forehead, swallowed by the vine in his Sea of Consciousness.

The energy bypassed his existing Meridians and his original Dantian. It flowed along a new set of ethereal “Meridians” constructed by the vine’s roots, cascading down his neck and chest until it pooled at the very center of his sternum.

This was Chen Ping’s Second Dantian.

If his original storage center was the Lower Dantian, then this… this was the Upper Dantian.

Hum…

As the intake of Qi accelerated, a sensation of expansion bloomed in his chest. It felt as though a tiny, singular point in space was being forcibly pried open. The process brought a mild, swelling ache, but it was negligible compared to the benefits.

Refined, pure Qi, processed by the vine, poured into this new singularity continuously. A hair-thin vortex of spiritual light slowly took shape in the depths of his chest, stabilizing into a permanent reservoir.

He had successfully achieved Drawing Qi into the Body—for the second time.

The efficiency of the process shocked him. The speed far outstripped his memories of activating his original Lower Dantian. This confirmed that the aptitude of this artificial Spirit Root—forged from a heaven-defying natural treasure—was vastly superior to his own natural Five-Element Waste Spirit Root.

“Second Dantian… Successfully opened!”

Chen Ping exhaled a long, turbid breath, his eyes gleaming with realization.

Although this new Dantian was microscopic and the Qi it held was currently negligible, its existence was a monumental breakthrough. It meant the core processor for a “Second System” was online.

He could now cultivate a second technique. He wouldn’t need to convert his existing Qi or risk conflicting energies.

He guided the new Qi to circulate along a rudimentary route within his chest. The energy flowed smoothly, encountering no resistance. It was a closed loop, completely isolated from the circulation path of the Evergreen Art running in his lower body.

Two systems. Distinct. Parallel. Non-interfering.

He had achieved a true Parallel Processing state: A Soul Spirit Root, an Upper Dantian in the chest, and an independent circulation circuit.

The foundation was weak, but the potential was infinite.

Chen Ping terminated his Inner Sight and slowly opened his eyes. The cave dwelling remained unchanged, but within him, the world had shifted.

He checked his soul status. Although the grafting process had consumed some power, the purity of the vine’s feedback had compensated for it. His soul felt denser, more crystalline.

His Divine Sense range had expanded to 3,300 zhang.

Another improvement.

He stood up, rolling his shoulders and cracking his joints. His physical body felt no discomfort, only a faint, comforting warmth radiating from his chest—the heartbeat of his new power.

But the greatest change was his perception.

With the Innate Five-Element Yin Spirit Vine acting as a sensor, the world’s elemental makeup was laid bare before him. His sensitivity to the flow of Qi had sharpened dramatically.

“A brand new starting point…”

Chen Ping clenched his fist, ambition burning in his eyes.

The risk had been immense, and the road ahead was uncharted, but the gamble had paid off.

Now, it was time to test the true value of this dual-core system.