Spirit Testing Stone
True Person Moxuan remained silent for a long time, his fingers tapping lightly on the edge of the table, deep in thought.
"I misunderstood when I said he might have mastered a method to upgrade low-level items to high-level ones."
He speaks very slowly:
"Now that I think about it, the possibility is almost nonexistent. Let alone an Aristocratic Clan of cultivators, even those holy lands with a history of tens of thousands of years don't have such ability. I've never heard of it before."
He shook his head and continued:
"But his actions are indeed suspicious. There must be a reason for this unusual behavior, and there must be something we haven't figured out. How about this, you find an excuse to invite him over and have a face-to-face chat. After a few words, you should be able to glean some clues."
This True Person Moxuan has always had a good reputation in the surrounding cultivation world. He is law-abiding, trustworthy, and protects the customers in the market. He never bullies others easily.
Conversely, how could a Rogue Cultivator, without the backing of a sect, possibly be truly kind-hearted and ruthless, if he could cultivate step by step to the Golden Core Middle Stage? If he were truly a virtuous man or woman, he wouldn't have reached this point today.
This matter did indeed tempt him, but he didn't show it on his face at all. After hearing that the other party was just a junior at the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer, he felt even more confident—such a person couldn't cause any trouble on his turf.
Moxuan's success today has never been due to ruthlessness. He has seen many people more ruthless than him, and most of them met with bad ends.
He relies on understanding people's hearts and being extremely cautious. He avoids taking action if possible, and strives to get things done amicably rather than risk a confrontation. He avoids using force and extortion because it is too unsightly and can easily leave future problems.
Invite the people over first, have a good talk, and make money together peacefully. If you can't reach an agreement, see how things go.
If it really comes to that, he's not incapable of using the necessary methods, nor is he incapable of doing them.
He didn't voice his thoughts. Wang Cheng'an had followed him for many years and knew a little about it, but didn't ask further.
Wang Cheng'an nodded and gestured with his chin towards Accountant Wu beside him. Accountant Wu understood, quickly responded, and tiptoed out.
After leaving the office, he found a market inspector at the crossroads, pulled him aside, and asked him a few questions in a low voice. The inspector pointed towards the depths of the market, and Accountant Wu, nodded. He then followed the streets and alleys towards the depths of the market.
Shen Jingchuan had breakfast with Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er, chatted for a while, then got up and went out. He said goodbye to the two of them and told them he was going out for a walk and to buy some more things.
Since he was already being watched, there was no point in putting on makeup or going through alleys, so he simply skipped all that and went out on the street openly.
He continued as before, wandering around here and there, buying a little from one shop and selling a little from another. Each transaction was small, and he seemed no different from an ordinary Rogue Cultivator.
He felt a sense of urgency. Having trained with Xian'er for the past two days and listened to her teach him many things, he increasingly understood that he hadn't even scratched the surface of the Heaven and Earth Ring's power.
Xian'er still has countless Cultivation Method and treasures in her mind, but she just hasn't recovered and can't remember them.
To restore her health and to nurture the Ring, both require burning Spirit Stones.
He was so eager to earn more Spirit Stones that he couldn't stop buying and selling, and his business grew bigger and bigger.
In just one hour, he had already earned more than 20,000 Spirit Stones.
After leaving the Gathering Pills Pavilion, he didn't stop walking. He turned into a shop across the street that specialized in refining materials and Law Artifacts, called the Hundred Refinements Pavilion.
As soon as I entered, the clerk behind the counter came to greet me:
"Senior, what would you like to see?"
Shen Jingchuan glanced at him and saw that he was a young man at the Qi Refining Second Layer, with sharp features and a clever air about him.
"Just browsing." He walked slowly inside, his hands behind his back.
The waiter followed closely behind, waiting.
The shop was filled with shelves, with ores, refined iron, and various odds and ends neatly arranged.
Walking to a corner, Shen Jingchuan stopped—a row of stones, of different sizes and colors, were neatly arranged on the cabinet, and they looked unfamiliar.
He picked up a piece at random. "What's this?"
The shop assistant paused for a moment, glanced at him, and said, "This... you haven't used it before?"
"Never seen it before." Shen Jingchuan said without changing his expression.
"This is Spirit Testing Stone."
The waiter took the stone and gestured to explain:
"It's used to test Spirit Root. You press your hand on it, inject Spiritual Power, and several colors will appear on the stone, representing the different types of Spirit Roots. The brighter the color, the better the aptitude. When you first start out, doesn't everyone use this to test their Spirit Root?"
Shen Jingchuan's heart skipped a beat. Damn, he'd shown his weakness.
He showed no sign of it on his face, instead simply uttering an "oh," taking the stone back into his hand and weighing it in his hand, his tone quite casual:
"I thought it was something rare, but it turns out to be Spirit Testing Stone. We never use this to test Spirit Roots in our family; the clan elders always do it themselves, and they can tell with a simple scan of their Divine Sense."
The waiter was taken aback upon hearing this.
No need to Spirit Testing Stones to test Spirit Roots; only cultivators at the Golden Core True Person or above can do that.
These Spirit Testing Stones are mostly used by large sects. They take in disciples once every three years, going down the mountain to recruit promising young talents. With hundreds or even thousands of teenagers lining up, how can they expect Golden Core and Nascent Soul elders to check on each one? The elders don't have that kind of free time either.
They simply distribute Spirit Testing Stones and have the outer sect deacons or disciples test their spirits in batches, which is both convenient and fast.
The disciples who went down the mountain to collect the immortal seedlings were not highly cultivated themselves; most of them were at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stage. They didn't have the ability to do it themselves, so they could only rely on this stone.
But it's different for the Aristocratic Clan families. They have few members, and only a handful of direct descendants. The patriarch can personally examine them, scan them with his Divine Sense, and tell them their attributes, number of Spirit Roots, depth of aptitude, and even whether there are any hidden ailments in their meridians. This is much more effective than Spirit Testing Stones, so there's no need for this inanimate object.
The way he looked at Shen Jingchuan changed; his heart skipped a beat.
Without even needing to Spirit Testing Stones, the clan elders themselves determined that the Shen Household's ancestor's cultivation level must be at least at the Golden Core stage, or perhaps even a Nascent Soul ancestor? How did a young master from such a colossal Lineage end up in their small market town?
Looking at Shen Jingchuan again, with his composed demeanor, the waiter dared not be negligent in the slightest. He bowed even lower and spoke with much greater respect.
"It was my poor eyesight; I didn't realize you came from such a prominent Lineage. Please forgive me. Take your time looking around, and just tell me what you like."
Shen Jingchuan's gaze fell on the row of Spirit Testing Stones, but he didn't move; of course, he didn't need them himself.
But he hadn't actually asked his women, or those young girls, whether they had their Spirit Roots tested. Had they been tested and found to be ineligible, or had they never been tested at all? Oh right, what about Meng Ke?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was necessary to get one. Having made up his mind, he turned around and waved to the shop assistant:
"Come here and explain these Spirit Testing Stones to me. I don't quite understand them; could you explain them to me?"