Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1109 - Wealth, companion , methods, land

1109: Wealth, companion , methods, land

1109: Wealth, companion , methods, land

Yang Qing couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief at Shao An’s remark.

“It feels like ever since I took on this case, all I’ve been doing is panicking… Have I become even more cowardly?” he wondered, taking stock of his actions.

He had always been an overthinker, prone to assuming the worst in any scenario—and with good reason.

His childhood in his clan, followed by his years in the Order, had instilled a deep-seated caution in him.

But despite living with that constant wariness, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his worry levels had spiked.

When he was younger, he had assumed that the stronger he became, the less he’d have to fear—especially when it came to things that could threaten his life.

But reality had proven otherwise.

He was a third-stage Palace Realm expert with remarkable abilities… yet he was more paranoid and wary of the world now than he had ever been in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

“Well, it can’t be helped, considering everything I’ve seen, learned, and experienced since breaking through to the Palace Realm,” Yang Qing thought, a wry smile tugging at his lips as certain memories flashed through his mind.

He had pummeled the only child of two Domain Experts—one or both parents likely holding a grudge for it.

He had demoted a sect and, in the process, nearly lost his life to a malevolent-looking tree.

And if that wasn’t enough, he almost died again— only this time it was without even engaging in anything remotely dangerous.

He had simply been healing cultivators and showing off a little for his juniors when something implanted in one of the cultivators reacted to him.

It nearly claimed his life and would have, had his physique not instinctively intervened to save him.

But in exchange for that life-saving act, he lost access to his physique for nearly two months.

He couldn’t help but wonder if his mounting brushes with death and the grudges he had accumulated against adversaries far stronger than himself were the reasons he felt more on edge than usual.

“I really need to reach the Soul Formation Realm,” he muttered, adjusting his goal from the Domain Realm to something even higher.

The more he thought about it, the less confident he felt that the Domain Realm alone could guarantee his safety—not when there were places in the world where a mere step could mean instant death for a Domain Expert.

Yang Qing was pulled from his gloomy thoughts by the sound of Ren Shu and Shao An’s conversation.

“Aurora Dark Winter Jade Spruce… Dark Yin Water Oak… now those are names I haven’t heard in a long time,” Ren Shu wistfully said, a nostalgic look crossing his face.

“Didn’t think they’d still be active…” he added, a glimmer of intrigue shining in his eyes as they fell on the dark grey flames.

“The Dark Yin Water Oak have always been reclusive, and given where they tend to reside, it’s no surprise they aren’t often sighted.

But the Aurora Dark Winter Jade Spruce… I never thought I’d see traces of one, even unconfirmed ones,” Shao An said, narrowing his eyes slightly as if trying to decipher hidden mysteries within the flickering flames.

“Why is that?” Yang Qing interjected, seizing the opportunity to learn more about the two tribes—ones he had never even heard of until today.

Judging by Shao An and Ren Shu’s reactions, it seemed he wasn’t the only one ignorant of their existence.

Ren Shu gave Shao An a nod, signaling for him to explain.

“Like I told you earlier, these two tribes require highly unique environments, rich in yin energy, to thrive.

More often than not, that means they reside in places most cultivators would actively avoid,” Shao An began.

“At the same time, it also means they never leave those places,” he continued.

“As cultivators—whether human, spirit beast, spiritual plant, or even spiritual treasure—we can all absorb the ambient spiritual qi floating around to improve and sustain ourselves,” Shao An said as he gently raised his palm, curling his fingers to trigger a suction force in the air.

An azure wave of light was drawn into his hand.

“The same can’t be said for the two tribes,” he added, clenching his fist and dispersing the azure light.

“Without this type of yin energy, they can’t cultivate,” he said, pointing toward the grey flames.

“Though the Dark Yin Water Oak tribe has slightly more flexibility since they can supplement their cultivation with water-element spiritual qi, even that comes with strict limitations—it has to be a very specific type of water qi.

As for the Aurora Dark Winter Jade Spruce tribe, their requirements are even harsher.

They can only subsist on one particular type of yin energy—nebulous yin qi.

All other forms of yin qi are useless to them.

This severely restricts where they can exist.

Without nebulous yin qi, their abilities are greatly diminished, making them incapable of cultivating beyond those rare environments,” Shao An explained.

“Nebulous yin qi…” Yang Qing murmured, a thoughtful look crossing his face before he let out a sympathetic sigh.

Now, he understood exactly what Shao An was getting at.

While he may not have heard of the two tribes, he was definitely familiar with nebulous yin qi.

One could consider this qi a distilled form of yin energy.

In its natural state, it was the yin energy produced between midnight and three in the morning during a full moon.

However, its formation required more than just the moon’s presence—the yin energies in the sky had to reach astronomical levels, to the point where the stars blazed with a pure white hue, mirroring the moon itself.

That yin energy would then descend to the earth, but because the land was constantly suffused with yang energy from the sun, most of it would be “distilled” upon contact.

The yin energy that ultimately made it through this process became nebulous yin energy.

Due to the stringent conditions required for its formation, it was always scarce.

It could only be collected in a few unique locations, and even then, doing so was an uphill battle.

One needed an innate sensitivity to even detect its presence.

Without it, a person could stand right in the middle of a nebulous yin qi-rich area and never realize it.

Only those with a natural affinity—or highly trained perception—could sense it.

With all these factors in mind, Yang Qing could only imagine how difficult it was for the aurora dark winter jade spruce tribe to cultivate—especially if the only qi they could absorb was nebulous yin qi.

It took too long to form, could only manifest within specific time windows, and required highly particular locations.

No wonder they were so rarely seen.

Yang Qing’s thoughts drifted to another possible reason for their scarcity.

Given their exclusive reliance on nebulous yin qi and the stringent conditions required for its formation, how many of them even had the opportunity to cultivate?

It stood to reason that when something vital was in short supply, it would always be rationed.

He recalled reading in a gold-grade alchemist’s journal that it took nearly a small lake’s worth of yin energy just to produce ten drops of nebulous yin qi.

With such a low yield, how many of the aurora dark winter jade spruce treefolk ever had their cultivation needs fully met?

There was an old saying in the cultivation world: to advance on the path, one needed four things—wealth, companions, a method, and land.

Absent any of these four things, no matter how heaven-defying one’s talent was, they would never amount to much.

Wealth encompassed the resources a cultivator needed—spirit stones, pills, potions, natural treasures, and rare materials.

Companions referred to masters, teachers, martial siblings, and other figures who provided guidance, support, and protection along the path.

Method was the cultivation arts and techniques used to refine one’s strength.

And finally, land—this meant the right environment, spiritual grounds, or blessed lands rich in qi that could nurture a cultivator’s growth.

None of these components could be absent.

If even one was missing, cultivation would inevitably stagnate.

For the aurora dark winter jade spruce tribe, their greatest deficiency was clear to Yang Qing.

Given their stringent requirements and the conditions necessary for nebulous yin qi to form, they lacked the fourth fundamental pillar—land.

Without land, their cultivation was doomed to stagnate.

No matter how heaven-defying the abilities of treefolk were, nor the fact that they stood on the same pedestal as dragons and phoenixes—both mythical races and descendants of the ancients—it didn’t matter.

Without land to support their cultivation, they were no different from mortals who couldn’t cultivate, save for being slightly stronger.

Maybe one of the reasons they were no longer being sighted was something more mundane: mortality.

No matter how much vitality the treefolk were endowed with, granting them naturally long lifespans, that number was still finite.

It would still end.

And the weaker one’s cultivation realm, the shorter that number became.

Yang Qing wondered if the tribe had simply faded away over time.

It was a question he felt hesitant to ask, yet he couldn’t hold it back.

“Did the tribe slowly die out?” he asked tentatively, his expression somber.

“For the most part, yes,” Shao An replied, a remorseful sigh escaping his lips.

“The world makes mortals of us all,” softly murmured Ren Shu.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS

Daynightdreamer

editing has reached chapter 42, for those interested in dipping their toe in a re-read