Life and Death Rest in Heaven's Hands

The entire group passed through the valley. The poisonous miasma ahead gradually dispersed, while the terrain began to narrow, forming a pass shaped like the mouth of a gourd.

From afar, Yuan Ming saw a bronze portcullis five or six zhang tall standing beyond the pass, guarded by seven or eight armored sentries wielding weapons.

The bronze gate was carved with dense patterns of green snakes coiled around one another, exuding an exotic air at a glance.

On either side of the gate stood a green wolf over two zhang tall. Their backs were arched, and they wore specially made scale armor that tightly protected their necks, chests, and bellies. They looked exceptionally ferocious.

The moment they saw the group approach, the green wolves bared their fangs and let out low, rasping growls. They crouched low, every muscle taut, as though ready to attack at any moment.

Only after the guards beside them soothed them did the green wolves put away their man-eating demeanor.

The bare-chested man at the head of the group led everyone forward and called inside. A heavy grinding of gears and mechanisms rang out, and the incomparably weighty bronze portcullis slowly rose, opening a passage.

At that moment, a piercing cry suddenly came from high above, and a shadow swept across the heads of the crowd.

Yuan Ming looked up and saw an enormous black hawk circling overhead with its wings spread. After one turn, it dove straight down.

"Whoosh!"

A fierce gale whipped up great clouds of dust and gravel, sweeping toward the crowd. A hawk with a wingspan of five chi flashed its sharp hooked talons in a cold gleam as it skimmed low over their heads, then shot back into the sky, drawing startled cries from everyone.

Yuan Ming looked toward the passage and sighed inwardly. The defenses here were far tighter than he had imagined. Once he entered, escaping again would likely be harder than climbing to the heavens.

"As long as I'm alive, there'll definitely be a chance."

Yuan Ming narrowed his eyes and continued onward with the group. They followed a passage about two zhang wide for roughly a li before the view suddenly opened up, revealing an unusually vast bluestone plaza.

Behind the plaza stood a majestic circular hall. It was built entirely from blue stone blocks, with an enormous domed roof, looking like a massive fortress.

Similar circular halls were scattered along both sides of the main hall. Farther behind them, a mountain peak rose into view, with stone buildings half-hidden among it as well.

Beast roars rang out from behind the halls, varying in pitch as though they came from different kinds of beasts. More hawks rose and descended overhead, their low cries unceasing.

Only a few people crossed the plaza. Whenever their gazes fell on this group, the Southern Border men escorting them would place a hand over their chests and bow in salute.

They did not linger here for long before being led toward the left side of the plaza. At last, they stopped outside one of the halls.

Yuan Ming looked up and saw three crooked, talisman-like characters carved above the stone doors in a script resembling earthworms.

After a moment's thought, Yuan Ming recognized it as the Serpent Script commonly used in the Southern Border.

The three characters meant "Candle Spirit Hall."

At that moment, a gaunt old man in gray robes emerged from the hall. His skin was somewhat ashen, and although he was quite tall, his posture seemed slightly hunched.

"Quite a few this time," the old man said in a hoarse voice.

"Elder Saren, we got lucky this time. There are one hundred and thirty-seven in total, all capable of lighting up the Soul Stone. We should get a few with spiritual roots," the bare-chested man said with a slight bow and a face full of smiles.

"Let's hope so. Once I finish testing their spiritual roots, you can go to the treasury to collect your reward money." The old man nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Elder."

Elder Saren's gaze swept over the Southern Border Wildlings one by one. When it landed on Yuan Ming, it paused, and his brow furrowed faintly with what seemed to be a trace of disgust.

"Why is there a man from the Central Plains?"

"Cough, cough. We picked him up on the way. We originally planned to extract his soul along with the rest, but unexpectedly, his divine soul was not weak and passed the Soul Stone test. We didn't dare make the decision on our own, so we brought him back," the bare-chested man hurriedly explained.

Yuan Ming's heart sank slightly as he listened. From their exchange, it seemed that people from the Central Plains were not particularly welcome here.

"Take him inside first. We'll see what the situation is afterward," Elder Saren ordered blandly.

The bare-chested man and the others then escorted Yuan Ming and the Southern Border Wildlings into the hall.

The stone hall was enormous. Bronze hanging lamps shaped like beast heads lined the surrounding walls, yellow flames burning within them and illuminating the entire hall.

At a glance, Yuan Ming saw a circular stone disk at the center of the hall. It resembled a millstone, except its surface was uneven and carved with countless lines and patterns.

At eight different positions around the stone disk were Southern Border Serpent Script symbols, which read: wood, fire, earth, metal, water, heaven, aberrant, and void.

Naturally, he had no idea what they meant. He could only guess that they were related to the spiritual roots mentioned earlier.

"You. Get up there."

Elder Saren pointed at a burly Wildling, then indicated the center of the stone disk.

The Wildling's face filled with fear. Trembling all over, he did not dare step forward.

Elder Saren showed no courtesy. He reached out and grabbed the man's back, and the Wildling instantly stiffened, unable to move. Like a chick, he was lifted up and thrown onto the stone disk.

The other Wildlings were all stricken with terror at the sight, frightened beyond measure.

Yuan Ming, meanwhile, had widened his eyes and silently watched everything unfold.

He saw Elder Saren seize the burly Wildling by the head and force him to sit down. Then Elder Saren leaped off the stone disk. After making a series of gestures before his chest, a mass of green light actually lit up in his palm.

With a casual wave, he sent the green light falling onto the Wildling atop the stone disk.

The latter was immediately enveloped by the green radiance and screamed in fright.

Yet no cruel or bloody scene followed. After the green light flashed over the Wildling's body, it immediately vanished. The "void" symbol on the stone disk glimmered once with white light, then went dark.

"No spiritual root. Go stand over there." Elder Saren pointed expressionlessly to an open area on the left.

The burly Wildling did not understand what was happening, but he did not dare defy the old man's command and walked over.

Elder Saren casually pointed to another Wildling. That person stepped onto the stone disk, and once again, only the "void" symbol flashed.

"No Spirit Root."

"None."

"None."

Seventeen or eighteen in a row had no Spirit Roots. By the end, Elder Saren had lost interest. He could not even be bothered to speak, merely waving his hand.

The bare-chested man glanced at the Wildlings standing stiffly on the open ground to the elder's left and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

A soft cry of surprise suddenly came from Elder Saren.

When a ball of green light landed on a somewhat plump young Wildling standing on the stone disk, a faint glimmer seemed to light up on his body as well, seeping into the stone disk beneath him.

Immediately afterward, a yellow, a green, and a red pillar of light rose from the earth, wood, and fire characters on the stone disk.

"Triple Spirit Root. Not bad. Go stand on the right." Elder Saren nodded slightly at the sight.

With that, he stepped forward and helped the Wildling down. A few more traces of warmth appeared in his smile, startling the Wildling.

"You're next." He then pointed at another Wildling whose head was noticeably larger than everyone else's.

Seeing that being selected or rejected in this test did not seem to matter much, the others were no longer so nervous.

The big-headed Wildling climbed onto the stone disk by himself. After sitting down, he curiously looked around.

This time, Elder Saren once again sent out a ball of green light. A blue, a green, a golden, and a red pillar of light lit up from the stone disk.

"Oh, another one! A Water Spirit Root, a Wood Spirit Root, a Fire Spirit Root, and a Metal Spirit Root. A Quad Spirit Root is far too mixed, so the aptitude is poor. Go stand on the right for now." The elder shook his head, yet still had the big-headed Wildling stand to the right.

"Thank you, Elder." The big-headed Wildling bowed to Elder Saren before walking over to the right.

By this point, even though the other Wildlings did not understand what Spirit Roots were, they could infer from the changes in the elder's expression that having one was better than not having one.

And so, one Wildling after another stepped onto the stone disk at the elder's instruction and underwent the Spirit Root test.

Yet after the big-headed Wildling, more than twenty people in succession had no Spirit Roots either. The space to the elder's left quickly became packed to the brim.

Elder Saren's expression had clearly turned rather unpleasant.

Rubbing his hands together, Huzha looked somewhat uneasy as well.

They had worked painstakingly, making a great circuit to capture Wildlings who met the age requirements. How much reward they ultimately received was closely tied to the Spirit Roots these people tested for.

After all, among ordinary mortals, fewer than one in ten thousand possessed Spirit Roots. Although these people had undergone a series of screenings that greatly increased the odds of finding Spirit Roots, those without them still made up the majority. And even among those with Spirit Roots, the poorly gifted Quad Spirit Roots accounted for the largest share.

If the Wildlings afterward proved equally untalented, receiving fewer rewards would be the least of their problems. They would inevitably be reprimanded, then sent out to capture more people, leaving them no time even to cultivate.

"What are you standing around for? Get up there." Elder Saren looked at a Wildling youth who appeared quite young, his tone somewhat impatient.

The youth had thick brows and large eyes. Though his build was no less imposing than those adult Wildlings, there was still an obvious youthful innocence between his brows.

He walked to the center of the stone disk and sat down. The test began once more.

The next instant, a green and a yellow pillar of light rose from the corresponding wood and earth characters. Elder Saren's expression changed instantly.

"Dual Spirit Root! There's actually another Dual Spirit Root! He would not be out of place entering the inner sect directly." The elder's sudden look of wild delight gave everyone around him a fright.

But he quickly calmed down and said to the bare-chested man with immense satisfaction, "Huzha, you've rendered great service this time. You actually brought back such a fine seedling. This elder shall reward you handsomely."

Huzha was so excited that he could not speak. He stared fervently at the bewildered youth, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to rush over and kiss him.

The fewer types of Spirit Roots one had, the purer they were, and the faster one could cultivate in the future. Single five-element Spirit Roots were simply too rare; the appearance of even one Dual Spirit Root was enough to fill them with boundless delight.

Happiness had come too suddenly!

With the earlier example before them, the remaining Wildlings had lost all their unease. Instead, they seemed eager to give it a try, and the place grew somewhat noisy.

But Elder Saren's next casually spoken sentence was like a basin of cold water poured over their heads:

"Silence! Drag out those without Spirit Roots and kill them."

After saying that, he personally helped the still-dazed youth down from the stone disk and asked him a few questions in a kindly manner.

Huzha immediately took out a bell and swept out a hand. Several Southern Frontier burly men behind him strode forward, dragging the group of Wildlings, who had yet to react, toward the hall's entrance.

Before long, screams began ringing out from outside.

Only then did the rest realize that the fate of those without Spirit Roots was death. No longer scrambling to go forward, they instead shrank back one by one, too afraid to step up.

Yuan Ming's heart sank even deeper. He had basically figured it out already: this stone disk appeared to be some kind of artifact for testing aptitude, and its results could not be manipulated by human hands.

That meant his life or death could only be left to the will of Heaven.

"Central Plains brat, you go first." At that moment, Elder Saren pointed at Yuan Ming, his tone brooking no refusal.

Yuan Ming offered no resistance or struggle. He walked onto the stone disk himself and sat down calmly.

This scene made Elder Saren's gaze flicker slightly in surprise.

Very soon, he cast his spell again. Green light enveloped Yuan Ming, and he could feel a stream of heat flow down through his body and enter the stone disk beneath him.

Immediately afterward, four pillars of red, gold, blue, and green light lit up around him.

"Missing earth among the Five Elements... Hehe, another pseudo Spirit Root." Saren curled his lips and shook his head.

Yuan Ming's heart gave a thump at those words.

At that moment, Huzha, who had just returned from outside, heard this and asked:

"Should this one also..."

"Quad Spirit Root. He can serve as a Furred Beast Slave. Those camps are all short on manpower right now. Though he's from the Central Plains, keep him for now." Elder Saren's casual words spared Yuan Ming's life.

Yuan Ming was overjoyed at this, feeling as though he had escaped death by a hair's breadth.

The testing continued afterward. The vast majority of the Wildlings with no spirit roots were killed. Of those who survived, aside from one with a Triple Spirit Root, all had Quad Spirit Roots and were little different from Yuan Ming.

From the results of this test and Elder Saren's scattered remarks, Yuan Ming also concluded that more spirit roots were not necessarily better.

Heavenly Spirit Roots seemed to be the best, followed by variant spirit roots, then single Five Element spirit roots—such as Fire Spirit Roots, Water Spirit Roots, and so on. Dual Spirit Roots were somewhat inferior in aptitude, but still exceedingly rare.

As for Quad Spirit Roots like his, they were inferior goods among spirit roots, the worst class of aptitude, regarded as false spirit roots.

For now, he still did not know what being from the Central Plains and bearing such an inferior spirit root would mean for his fate from here on out.