Portrait of a Mortal

Immortals and mortals are worlds apart! This means that cultivators can absorb spiritual energy and gradually master divine abilities capable of reaching the heavens and penetrating the earth, eventually becoming immortals. That is what sets them apart from mortals. Yet a novice Qi Refiner’s energy is as faint as a wisp of smoke, and they can’t muster enough to get by. A highly skilled martial artist could behead a cultivator mid-spell in a single encounter. Cultivators use their spiritual roots to connect with heaven and earth, absorbing energy day and night to refine their qi and embark on the path of cultivation. But spiritual roots come in different grades: the Five Elements, Wind, Thunder, Ice, and Radiance, ranked Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. A person’s lot is predetermined. Ordinary cultivators have only two or three spiritual roots, and their quality rarely rises above Black or Yellow. They can hardly compete with the exceptionally gifted, and may even be defeated by those with lower cultivation. Jiang Fan is one of the countless ordinary mortals in this world. Though he possesses spiritual roots and has set foot on the path of cultivation, his journey is fraught with hardship. Only after a lifetime of struggle does he finally attain immortality.