Chapter 97
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Chapter 97: Borrowing A-Zhen’s Spirit Root
Zhang Yu felt a sudden chill in his lower back as something drilled into the Qi Sea of his dantian and began to take root and grow.
Zhang Yu was not unfamiliar with borrowed Spirit Roots. The moment he sensed the change within his dantian, he immediately thought of a Spirit Root.
How did a Spirit Root suddenly appear in my Dantian?
Then he felt it… After the Spirit Root rapidly took root and sprouted, it spread throughout his entire body. It permeated every inch of his flesh and blood like nerves, as if it had always been a part of him.
As his Cosmic Orbit Energy Gathering Method operated passively, the “Spirit Root” that had spread throughout his body also began to pulse with each breath. It quickly attracted the spiritual energy from the air, drawing it toward him in a torrent.
Hiss!
It was like parched earth finally receiving sweet rain. As the influx of spiritual energy made every fiber of Zhang Yu’s being desperately crave the incoming nourishment.
After all, for someone like Zhang Yu who pursued immortality without a natural Spirit Root, his body had spent the vast majority of its time in a state of spiritual energy deprivation.
The sudden influx of spiritual energy into Zhang Yu’s body, filled him with a sense of profound comfort. The operation of his Level 10 Cosmic Orbit Energy Gathering Method grew increasingly vigorous, stirring the surrounding spiritual energy to rush toward him in a torrent.
Zhang Yu’s state immediately caught Bai Zhenzhen’s attention, especially since she could faintly sense her own Spirit Root within his body.
My Spirit Root jumped into Yu Zi’s belly? Bai Zhenzhen thought, surprised. What the hell is going on? I was thinking of lending it to Yu Zi for fun, but that was supposed to happen after he knelt, called me ‘Mom’, and begged me! Why did my Spirit Root run off on its own?
Thinking of this, Bai Zhenzhen grew annoyed. She reached toward Zhang Yu’s abdomen and began groping around frantically, as if trying to retrieve her Spirit Root.
Feeling Bai Zhenzhen’s hands searching his lower abdomen and sending tickling sensations through him, Zhang Yu quickly protested, “What are you doing, A-Zhen? Stop groping around! We’re going to cause a traffic accident! We can’t afford to pay if we kill someone!”
Zhang Yu’s body froze. His Roadster Legs rapidly decelerated until he came to a stop by the roadside, where he carefully set Bai Zhenzhen down.
Unable to retrieve her Spirit Root, Bai Zhenzhen reluctantly asked, “Did my Spirit Root run into your belly?”
Zhang Yu instinctively touched his stomach and replied, “This is your Spirit Root?”
But didn’t the Evil God say this was A-Zhen’s own Spirit Root, not a rented one? Zhang Yu wondered. How could it end up inside me?
The doll disguised as prayer beads was equally surprised. 「This woman’s Spirit Root can be transferred?」
Of course, Bai Zhenzhen was unaware of Zhang Yu’s thoughts. In her mind, he still did not know the secret of her Spirit Root. But now that her Spirit Root had already burrowed into his body, she decided to stop hiding it.
She nodded bluntly and said through gritted teeth, “That’s the Spirit Root I’ve nurtured for over a decade. Is it fun to use?”
Zhang Yu wanted to say that it was indeed quite fun, but seeing Bai Zhenzhen’s furious expression, he kept the words to himself.
Instead, he rubbed his stomach curiously and asked, “Why did your Spirit Root come to me?”
“I’ve actually had a Spirit Root since I was a child,” Bai Zhenzhen sighed, then continued, “This thing isn’t like ordinary Spirit Roots. It seems to grow along with me.”
“Over the past two years, it’s even started adapting and evolving based on my thoughts and intentions.”
“For example, when you mentioned borrowing a Spirit Root last time, I was wondering if it was possible.”
“And today, this damn thing just burrowed into your belly on its own!”
Hearing Bai Zhenzhen’s explanation, Zhang Yu could not hide his shock. “Wait… there’s really a Spirit Root this… outrageous?”
The mention of her Spirit Root jumping into Zhang Yu’s belly made Bai Zhenzhen angry all over again. She reached out and began groping his abdomen once more.
Her expression turned scornful, and she clicked her tongue. “Not getting that ‘root’ of yours removed is such a pain. Why are you reacting after I just touched your stomach a few times? Do you need some time to ‘deal with it’?”
[Note: The term ‘去根’ (qù gēn) literally means ‘to remove the root’. Bai Zhenzhen is making a crude pun, referencing both Zhang Yu’s ‘Spirit Root’ (灵根, líng gēn) and the slang for castration.]
What the hell, don’t you know how vigorous my vital energy is every day? Why are you groping me like that? Zhang Yu suddenly felt like a good friend had barged into his room and caught him with one hand clutching a tissue and the other down his pants.
At that moment, Zhang Yu suddenly understood the sterilization policy at Songyang High School.
If they were not sterilized, a group of hormone-fueled teenagers who were obsessed with grades and material wealth would be constantly mingling for three years of high school. How could their grades not suffer?
Under Bai Zhenzhen’s scornful gaze, Zhang Yu stumbled backward and said, “Don’t panic. Think carefully about how the Spirit Root got into my stomach just now.”
After a thorough discussion and analysis, Bai Zhenzhen instructed Zhang Yu to carry her on his back again.
As Bai Zhenzhen wrapped her arms around Zhang Yu from behind, silently chanting Come back, spirit root, come back!, she suddenly felt a warmth in her abdomen as her precious Spirit Root returned.
With the Spirit Root’s return, a surge of spiritual energy flooded into Bai Zhenzhen’s body, permeating every fiber of her being.
Hisss!
She gasped, startled. Why does this thing seem to absorb spiritual energy even more voraciously than before? And why is it gathering in places where I usually don’t circulate my Magic Power?
But soon, the Spirit Root seemed to adapt to Bai Zhenzhen’s body, returning to its usual state.
A sudden thought struck her. Could it be… after entering Yu Zi’s body, the Spirit Root actively adapted to his physical form and took on his shape before transforming?
But it quickly recovered and returned to my shape. Could it be because it spent too little time in Yu Zi’s body?”
Bai Zhenzhen’s curiosity surged. If it had stayed longer, allowing the Spirit Root to adapt further to Yu Zi’s body, what would have happened?
Meanwhile, as the Spirit Root vanished from his dantian and the surge of spiritual energy subsided, Zhang Yu felt a sudden pang of loss.
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen called out, “Yu Zi, I’m going to try transferring the Spirit Root to you again. Be ready to receive it.”
In the next instant, Zhang Yu felt the Spirit Root return to his body, once again taking root and sprouting in his Dantian.
Spiritual energy swirled into his body, filling him with a sense of renewed vitality.
Ah, Immortal Cultivators really do need Spirit Roots to be a proper cultivator.
Though he felt a surge of satisfaction, Zhang Yu understood that the Spirit Root in his stomach was crucial for Bai Zhenzhen to grow stronger and achieve her goal of joining the Ten Greats.
Suppressing his reluctance, he said, “Alright, A-Zhen, take your Spirit Root back quickly. We don’t want it getting damaged from all this back-and-forth.”
Bai Zhenzhen replied, “It’s fine. Leave it with you for a few hours. I have an idea I want to test.”
“Ah?” Zhang Yu said, delighted. “Then I will lend you the Talisman Register to play with.”
“Hand it over!” Bai Zhenzhen reached into Zhang Yu’s clothes and snatched the Talisman Register. “My Spirit Root is worth hundreds of millions. I’m keeping this Talisman Register as collateral for now.”
She patted Zhang Yu on the shoulder and said, “Hurry to school now. Don’t be late, or you’ll get chewed out by that bastard Su Haifeng.”
So, Zhang Yu carried Bai Zhenzhen on his back as he sprinted to school.
Along the way, Bai Zhenzhen wrapped her arms around Zhang Yu, leaning against his back as she played with the Talisman Register and occasionally explained the current functions of the Spirit Root to him.
Zhang Yu suddenly said, “We keep calling it ‘Spirit Root’ this and ‘Spirit Root’ that. It’s easy to get it mixed up with other Spirit Roots in conversation. Shouldn’t we give it a name?”
Bai Zhenzhen froze for a moment. Ever since she was young, her only thought had been to hide her Spirit Root. After entering high school, she became even more careful not to mention the Spirit Root in her stomach to anyone.
So, all this time, she had simply called it “Spirit Root” in her mind. After all, she knew exactly which Spirit Root she was referring to.
Hearing Zhang Yu’s suggestion, Bai Zhenzhen could not help but nod slightly. “Hmm, what should we call it?”
Zhang Yu said, “Since it’s your Spirit Root, how about we call it the Zhenzhen Spirit Root?”
“So cheesy,” Bai Zhenzhen said with a pout. “Let’s just call it the True Spirit Root. Oh, and when we get back, I’ll tell everyone I lent you my rented Spirit Root.”
Bai Zhenzhen chuckled. “Heh heh, that will make it seem even more convincing that my Spirit Root is rented.”
So, for the rest of the journey, Bai Zhenzhen continued to explain all the wonderful uses of the True Spirit Root to Zhang Yu.
These abilities included hiding her Spirit Root, concealing herself, accelerating her Martial Dao cultivation, perceiving flaws in combat, speeding up her Magic Power refinement, and the body refining auxiliary function she had been using recently.
Zhang Yu listened with shining eyes, itching to immediately begin rigorous cultivation.
Throughout this entire process, including the conversation between Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, the Evil God doll disguised as prayer beads naturally observed and listened to everything.
Her evaluation of the situation was naturally simple. It was stupid.
Fool! Fool! Zhang Yu, you fool! With a heaven-defying Spirit Root like that, you should immediately kill her and seize the treasure! I have a hundred damn ways to help you dispose of Bai Zhenzhen’s body and ensure you are not discovered.
With the help of this heaven-defying Spirit Root, you could do more than just get into the Ten Greats. You could even aim for Master’s studies. No, even a Ph.D would be possible!
If you don’t act now, she might stab you in the back later! How could she tolerate such a shocking secret remaining in someone else’s hands?”
But seeing the trusting look Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen shared, the Evil God knew that speaking would be futile. It would only increase Zhang Yu’s hostility towards her.
Damn it, this is the inherent flaw of the poor. They are always believing in ethereal things like friends, emotions, and trust. Those things are completely useless and only get in the way of making money!
Money! Only money is important!
After returning to school, Zhang Yu not only skipped the general education courses like Chinese and Math, which he had already mastered from his three years of high school, but also the magic power and martial arts combat classes.
Teacher Yan from the Magic Power class and Teacher Lei from the Martial Arts Combat class were both well-acquainted with Zhang Yu. They knew his level of skill in magic power control and combat, so they understood that the first-year curriculum offered him little benefit and approved his absences.
As a result, when combined with the Physical Education classes he had already stopped attending, Zhang Yu found himself with most of his school day free for his own rigorous cultivation.
