Ascension Ceremony

"Fine, let's take it up and see. Even if it's not a magical artifact, it's at least an antique."

He no longer hesitated, clutching the old teapot tightly in his hand, and looked up at the blurry light flickering at the well opening.

Immediately, his true essence circulated within his body, and the Water Repelling Incantation condensed slightly. He pushed off the bluestone at the bottom of the well with his feet, and his body floated upwards lightly like a swimming fish.

Above the well opening, Chen Minglang was still peeking around, his face full of curiosity. "Cousin? Did you find anything?"

Chen Mingjing, on the other hand, had a slightly serious expression, clearly having been sensing the situation below the well. Seeing Chen Heng appear, her slightly furrowed brow did not relax.

Splash—

Water droplets scattered. Chen Heng landed gracefully and steadily on the solid well edge.

He opened his palm, displaying the old teapot, stained with water and bearing the marks of history, to the two of them.

"Here, only this," Chen Heng said calmly.

Chen Minglang's eyes widened as he leaned closer, asking doubtfully, "Huh? A broken old teapot? Cousin, you went down the well just for this? Isn't this just... an antique?"

His tone was filled with undisguised disappointment, clearly feeling that the item was unremarkable and far from the "good stuff" he had imagined.

Chen Mingjing's gaze also fell upon the teapot. Her spiritual sense swept over it repeatedly, and she also sensed no spiritual energy. A hint of doubt and confusion flickered in her eyes:

"Cousin Mingheng, this is... the object that made you look so serious when you went down the well? A common stone? Did you sense anything else unusual while you were in the well?"

Facing the two of them, especially Chen Mingjing's probing gaze, Chen Heng fell silent for a moment.

He looked at the teapot in his hand, which had lost its luster and now seemed no different from an ordinary object, feeling the inexplicable huge gap between it and the strange light he had seen at that moment.

The strange feeling in his heart had not dissipated, yet he could not articulate it.

In the end, he just shook his head, his gaze deep, and replied in a low voice, "Perhaps... this item might have some connection to that Heavenly Thunder Venerable... who knows..."

His voice spread under the dense green shade of the locust tree. Though his words were light, they were like a pebble dropped into the calm surface of the well, quietly rippling deeper into the hearts of the three.

The ancient well returned to its usual silence, with only the wooden pulley creaking faintly in the wind, like a sigh no one could understand.

And the teapot lying in Chen Heng's palm remained ordinary.

After the group returned to the Garrison Mansion, Chen Heng naturally handed the old teapot he had retrieved from the spirit well to the eighth elder, Chen Xingmo, who was at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, for examination.

After listening to the three recount the origin of the item, Chen Xingmo frowned and said, "The establishment of Jade Spring Town was indeed personally ordered by Ancestor Xiaoting."

"But all subsequent matters were basically handled by the clan ourselves."

"The Ancestor only helped us eliminate some high-level Yao Beasts nearby. That ancient well in the town definitely has nothing to do with him."

After speaking, Chen Xingmo took the old teapot from Chen Heng's hand and began to examine it carefully, his expression quite focused.

After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

This elder, who had always been meticulous in his actions, shook his head and said, "It should be a discarded magical artifact whose artifact patterns are mostly worn away and has no spiritual charm left. It's not even valuable enough to reference for inscribing artifact patterns."

As soon as he said this, Chen Minglang, who had held onto a sliver of hope for the item, completely lost interest.

He turned to Chen Heng, who had taken the old teapot back from Chen Xingmo's hand, shaking his head and sighing, "Cousin, it seems you don't have the good luck of the protagonists in those storybooks."

"Wherever you go, treasures just appear."

Hearing this, Chen Heng nodded slightly, not saying much.

Chen Mingjing's brow furrowed. She wanted to lecture him a few words, telling him to cultivate diligently and not daydream all day.

But considering that an elder was present, she couldn't say anything.

"Alright, go back and rest well, and prepare for the Ascension Ceremony," Chen Xingmo waved his sleeve, signaling the three to withdraw.

Seeing this, the three quickly bowed and took their leave.

Three days passed in a flash.

The Ascension Ceremony, which had attracted the attention of almost everyone in Jade Spring Town, was about to begin.

For cultivators like Chen Heng, this ceremony was merely a routine spirit testing and grading to select children with spiritual roots; but for the mortals of Jade Spring Town, it was a chance to ascend to immortality.

It was a true Ascension Ceremony.

On this day, in the early morning.

In the central square in front of the Jade Spring Town Garrison Mansion, a long queue had already formed under the archway-like Spirit Testing Platform, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The Spirit Testing Platform was an extremely special building and a large magical artifact.

Its primary function was to measure whether children of the appropriate age possessed spiritual roots, and it could also determine their corresponding spiritual root grade.

Building a Spirit Testing Platform was very troublesome, requiring not only a large amount of precious materials but also artifact refiners to inscribe numerous artifact patterns, consuming time, effort, and mental energy.

However, this item had no other special use besides testing spirits and grading them.

Apart from sects and clans that needed it, it had no other value.

The Spirit Testing Platform was extremely sturdy, with various precious materials fused into one. It was extremely troublesome to either dismantle or re-smelt it.

Furthermore, it required a matching Spirit Testing Compass to activate and use.

Therefore, there was no need to worry too much about rogue cultivators coveting it.

Before long.

Chen Xingmo led Chen Heng and his group out of the Garrison Mansion with grace.

And today, the Garrison Chief Chen Xingcheng directly led everyone in the square in a grand salute, a large wave of people kneeling down like a tide, shouting in unison, "Greetings, Immortal Master!"

Chen Heng, having lived two lives, was witnessing this scene for the first time and felt quite unaccustomed to it.

He always felt that the gazes of the crowd before him were strange, containing not only reverence but also more fear.

Was this the so-called difference between immortals and mortals?

Chen Xingmo stepped forward and said calmly, "Everyone, please rise. We are all from the same sect and lineage, there's no need for this."

As soon as he said this, the cautious Garrison Chief Chen Xingcheng led the crowd to stand up and then asked carefully, "Elder, when will the ceremony begin?"

"It can begin shortly. Cousin, please go down and maintain order for now."

After speaking, Chen Xingmo turned to look at Chen Heng and his group and instructed, "Let's go, we'll activate the Spirit Testing Platform now."

Then, he walked straight towards the Spirit Testing Platform, which resembled a pai-fang and was located in the center of Jade Spring Town.

Chen Minglang looked at the dense crowd and was instantly dumbfounded, "With so many people, how long will it take to test them all?"

Upon hearing this, the short old man Chen Xingyi chuckled and said, "You kid, you weren't listening carefully when you came, were you? These children only need to stand on the Spirit Testing Platform to have their spiritual roots tested and graded."

"Our task is to set up a concealing illusion array around the Spirit Testing Platform to prevent information leakage."

Chen Minglang scratched his head in embarrassment after hearing this.

Then he looked at Chen Heng and Chen Mingjing and found that both of them looked as if they already knew this.

In the time it took to speak, the six of them arrived at the base of the Spirit Testing Platform.