[Traditional Xianxia]
Before Heaven and Earth were divided, the Great Dao had already appeared. Heaven has five virtues: Renewal, Birth, Preservation, Law, and Transformation. The spiritual essence has five forces: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The forces are the virtues made manifest, flowing throughout the cosmos; the virtues are the forces' foundation, governing the natural order. Thus, cultivation is a cycle of “channeling the forces to understand the virtues, and understanding the virtues to command the forces,” in pursuit of unity between Heaven and humanity.
Humans are the foremost of all living things because the human body alone contains all five forces. This gives rise to spiritual roots, making humanity a bridge to sensing the Heavenly Dao and absorbing spiritual energy. Yet “the Way of Heaven takes from what has too much and gives to what has too little.” Though spiritual roots are bestowed by Heaven and Earth, they differ in quality. This is the clearest expression of the Heavenly Dao's impartiality.
Spiritual roots in this world fall into three grades:
Low-grade mixed roots: The bearer has two to five elemental attributes, but their energies are impure and conflict with one another. Cultivating with them is as difficult as sailing the sea in a leaky boat. Most ordinary people have this kind of root, and it grows murkier with age, so they must begin cultivation as early as possible.
Middle-grade true roots: One in a hundred people has them. Though they are not limited to a single attribute, their energies work together in harmony and nourish one another, making cultivation a smooth path. They are the foundation of the sects.
High-grade heavenly roots: One in ten thousand people has them. Naturally clear and pure, they allow their bearers to make rapid progress in one path, making them once-in-a-generation talents.
As for the legendary saintly roots, they contain all five elements, with their cycles of generation and restraint embodying the Great Dao itself. In all of history, perhaps only the ancient sages recorded in the classics possessed them.
These five virtues and five forces are both the source from which all things are born and the final destination of all things in extinction.
While coming up with the setting for this book, I suddenly thought of web novels. Their spiritual roots are remarkably similar. Take this book, for example: you can tell at a glance it has mixed roots…
Would anyone like to test the spiritual roots of their favorite web novels? Feel free to share your results in the reviews. It's all just for fun.
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