It is separate from magic. The cultivation of your internal life force. Adding to it from the energies of world around you and making it your own. There are many paths for those that practice. Magic is an external force that one must follow stricter rules to use. It is most beneficial in the creation of treasures. Particularly ones that enhance your cultivation in some manner when channeled through them.

This venerable one doesn't know if it would be easier or more difficult for you to practice than a living mortal or a non-human spirit. But since you have a lingering soul, you presumably have a primordial spirit. Which could be enough, given time.