Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation从废灵根开始问魔修行

Daoist Inkdrunk’s Review of Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation
(A humble cup of poisoned tea for fellow wayfarers)

Ah… this humble Daoist has wandered many a mountain of trash cultivation novels, stepped on more cliché-infested landmines than I care to count, and drunk enough dog-blood to drown a sect elder.
Yet here, in this unassuming little scripture, I found a tale that...shockingly...did not insult my spiritual veins.

This one… is good.
Annoyingly good.
Good in the way that makes you squint suspiciously and wonder if the author secretly possessed a real Golden Finger.

On the Protagonist — A Demon With a Human Heart (and Vice-Versa)
Our MC is not some cardboard “evil for evil’s sake” caricature.
He starts flawed...makes a mistake so large even heavenly calamities would facepalm—but he grows.
And more importantly:
He grows logically.

He is selfish when he should be, cunning when he must be, and human often enough to remind you he crawled onto the demonic path rather than being born on it.

His system?
A polite one.
A quiet one.
A system that doesn’t scream “PICK ME! UPGRADE ME!” like a desperate spirit beast in mating season.
It simply exists, helps, and stays in its lane. Truly a rare treasure.

On Worldbuilding — A Web, Not a Checklist
This Daoist must show respect here.

Locations mentioned in chapter 10 return in chapter 80.
Side characters reappear instead of being sacrificed to the Great Abyss of Forgotten Plot Devices.
The world breathes, mutters, schemes, and occasionally punches our MC in the face—
as any respectable cultivation world should.

The lore unveils itself slowly, like a veiled beauty lifting the hem of her sleeve, not like some auctioneer dumping exposition scrolls on your head.

Where Readers (will?) Quarrel — The Great Softening Debate
Ah yes… the battlefield of reader expectations.

Some disciples complain the MC grew too soft—
once a cold, brutal survivor who would’ve sacrificed a stranger for a single spiritual bean,
now he asks permission, shows concern, and fails to harvest women like demonic ginseng.

To some, this is a betrayal.
To this Daoist, it is simply…
lived experience shaping a man.

A demonic cultivator with a hint of sentiment is not a flaw...
it is narrative seasoning.

Still, I understand the outrage.
Truly, nothing terrifies readers more than character development.

On Translation — Bless the Translator’s Spirit Root
Smooth. Clear. Blessed by grammar immortals.
If the Daoist had found MTL gibberish instead, I would have abandoned the novel faster than a young master abandoning face.

Verdict — Worth Your Qi and Your Time
A human protagonist.
A demonic path.
A world that remembers its own name.
And writing that doesn’t kick you in the teeth.

This humble daoist raises his gourd and declares:
A worthy read. Underrated. Slandered unfairly. And well deserving of your spiritual stones.

If you walk this path, walk it with patience....
for the novel rewards those who endure.

—Daoist Inkdrunkwanderer,
eternal wanderer cataloguing realms one drunken footstep at a time

I want to be as carefree as the mc man😭

It's mid

Note: (The introduction can’t do it justice—please read the main story.)

ohk

This is honestly a good one, felt completely new but also familiar. A good mc, does make a huge mistake at start but learns from it and grows stronger. Characters also don't appear for one chapter and disappear forever, they have their own plot and relationships. World building is also great, some places mentioned at the starts do appear and incidents, fights and manipulation occurs. From high-level cultivators to low level. There's also history to it's world that is also slowly unraveling. Translation is also great, one of the main reason I started reading it honestly. Definitely give this one a try.

I read this book, and honestly, it seemed very good at the beginning, but it became irritating and boring, although it's still above average. Up to where I got, I saw potential.

Rank C+