Ascension Ceremony

"Forget it. Take it up and have another look. Even if it isn't a magical artifact, it's at least an antique."

He no longer hesitated. He clenched the ancient teapot tightly in his hand and looked up at the wavering, blurry light at the mouth of the well.

True essence immediately circulated through his body. The Water Repelling Incantation condensed slightly, and with a light push of both feet against the blue stone at the bottom of the well, his body floated upward as nimbly as a fish.

Above the well, Chen Minglang was still craning his neck to peer inside, his face brimming with curiosity. "Cousin? Did you find anything?"

Chen Mingjing's expression had tightened slightly. She had clearly been sensing the situation below the well the entire time, and when she saw Chen Heng emerge, the crease between her brows did not ease.

Splash—

Water droplets scattered everywhere as Chen Heng rose gracefully and landed steadily on the solid rim of the well.

He spread his palm, displaying the ancient teapot before them, covered in water stains and the marks of time.

"Here. This was all there was," Chen Heng said calmly.

Chen Minglang widened his eyes and leaned in for a look. Bewildered, he said, "Huh? A broken teapot? Cousin, you went down the well for this? Isn't this just... an antique?"

His tone carried undisguised disappointment. He clearly found the object utterly unremarkable, nowhere near the "good thing" he had imagined.

Chen Mingjing's gaze also fell upon the teapot. Her spiritual sense swept over it again and again, yet she likewise detected no spiritual qi. A trace of doubt and confusion flickered through her eyes.

"Cousin Ming Heng, this is... the object that made you look so grave and descend into the well? A mundane stone? Did you sense any other abnormalities down there?"

Faced with 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 former radiance and now appeared no different from any ordinary object, feeling the enormous and inexplicable disparity between it and that strange burst of light.

That peculiar feeling in his heart had yet to fade, yet he had no way to put it into words.

In the end, he merely shook his head. His gaze was deep and distant as he answered in a low voice, "Perhaps... this object may have some connection to that Heavenly Thunder Venerable..."

His voice drifted beneath the dense green shade of the locust tree. Though his words were soft, they were like a stone tossed into a still well, quietly sending deeper ripples through the hearts of all three.

The ancient well returned to its former silence. Only the wooden windlass gave faint creaks in the breeze, like a sigh no one could decipher.

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

After the group returned to the Garrison Mansion, Chen Heng naturally handed the ancient teapot he had retrieved from beneath the spirit well to Eighth Elder Chen Xingmo, who was at the ninth layer Qi Refining, for examination.

After listening to the three of them recount the teapot's origins, Chen Xingmo frowned. "Jade Spring Town was indeed established under Ancestor Xiaoting's personal orders."

"But all subsequent matters were essentially completed by the Lineage itself."

"The Ancestor only cleared out several high-level demonic beasts nearby for us. That ancient well in town definitely had nothing to do with him."

After saying this, Chen Xingmo took the ancient teapot from Chen Heng's hand and began examining it closely, his expression intensely focused.

About the time it took to drink half a cup of tea passed.

This elder, who had always been meticulous in his conduct, shook his head. "It should be a discarded magical artifact whose artifact patterns have mostly worn away, leaving it without any spiritual resonance. It does not even have value as a reference for inscribing artifact patterns."

At these words, Chen Minglang, who had still held the faintest sliver of hope for the object, completely lost interest.

He turned sideways to look at Chen Heng, who had taken the ancient teapot back from Chen Xingmo, shaking his head as he sighed. "Cousin, it seems you don't have the good fortune of those protagonists in storybooks."

"Wherever they go, treasures come knocking at their door."

Hearing this, Chen Heng nodded slightly without saying anything more.

Chen Mingjing frowned faintly. She wanted to reprimand him a little, telling him to keep his feet on the ground and cultivate properly instead of daydreaming all day long.

But with an elder present, it was not appropriate for her to say anything.

"Enough. Go back and rest well. Prepare for matters concerning the Ascension Ceremony," Chen Xingmo said, waving his sleeve to dismiss the three.

Seeing this, the three hurriedly saluted and took their leave.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

The Ascension Ceremony, which had drawn the eyes of nearly everyone in Jade Spring Town, was about to begin.

For cultivators such as Chen Heng, this gathering was merely an ordinary assessment of spiritual roots and aptitudes, selecting children born with spiritual roots. But for the ordinary people of Jade Spring Town, it was an immortal opportunity to ascend to the heavens in a single step.

A true Ascension Ceremony.

That morning, at dawn.

Before the Garrison Mansion of Jade Spring Town, beneath the Spirit Testing Platform shaped like a ceremonial archway in the central square, a queue had already formed that stretched beyond the eye's reach.

The Spirit Testing Platform was an exceedingly special structure, and also a large magical artifact.

Its primary function was to determine whether children of the proper age possessed spiritual roots, and it could also determine the corresponding grade of those spiritual roots.

Constructing a Spirit Testing Platform was extremely troublesome. Not only did it require vast quantities of precious materials, it also required artifact refiners to inscribe a great many artifact patterns, consuming time, effort, and mental energy.

Yet aside from assessing spiritual roots and aptitudes, it had no other special use.

Other than sects and Lineages, who had a need for it, it held no additional value whatsoever.

The Spirit Testing Platform was immensely sturdy, with all kinds of precious materials fused into one. Whether dismantling it or smelting it down again, both were exceedingly troublesome.

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

Thus, there was no need to worry too much about Rogue Cultivators coveting it.

Before long.

Chen Xingmo led Chen Heng and the others out from the Garrison Mansion at an unhurried pace.

Today, however, the garrison commander Chen Xingcheng directly led everyone in the square in a grand salute. A vast swath of people knelt down like a receding tide, shouting in unison, "Greetings, Immortal Masters!"

Having lived two lives, Chen Heng was seeing such a scene for the first time, and for a moment, he found it rather difficult to get used to.

He always felt that the way the crowd looked at them was somewhat strange. Beyond reverence, there was even more fear.

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

Chen Xingmo stepped forward and said gently, "Please rise. We all share the same ancestry, so there is no need for this."

Only then did the cautious and meticulous garrison commander, Chen Xingcheng, lead everyone to their feet. He then carefully asked, "Elder, may I ask when the ceremony will begin?"

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

After Chen Xingmo spoke, he turned to Chen Heng and the others and instructed, "Come. We will activate the Spirit Testing Platform now."

Then he walked directly toward the Spirit Testing Platform, shaped like a ceremonial archway and situated at the center of Jade Spring Town.

Chen Minglang stared at the sea of black-crowded heads and was instantly dumbfounded. "So many people—when are we supposed to finish testing them all?"

Hearing this, the short elder Chen Xingyi chuckled. "You brat, you weren't listening carefully on the way here, were you? These children only need to stand on the Spirit Testing Platform for their spiritual roots and aptitude to be assessed."

"Our task is to set up a bewildering formation to conceal the Spirit Testing Platform and prevent information from leaking out."

After hearing this, Chen Minglang immediately scratched his head in embarrassment.

Then he looked toward Chen Heng and Chen Mingjing, only to find that both wore expressions as though they had known all along.

While they spoke, the six of them arrived beneath the Spirit Testing Platform.