Testing Spirit Roots Beneath the Minor Myriad Heavens Array

Chen Xingmo arrived a short distance before the Spirit Testing Platform and took a palm-sized compass from the storage pouch at his waist. It was the Spirit Testing Compass paired with the platform.

With one hand, he formed seals, his gestures constantly shifting, before pointing at the compass in his hand.

Before long.

A burst of pure white light flared up, and the compass flew on its own toward the sky above the Spirit Testing Platform.

Chen Xingmo then looked to Chen Minglang and instructed, "Minglang, your cultivation is still shallow. This time, you will remain outside the array. Let people in when I tell you to."

"Do you understand?"

Hearing this, Chen Minglang immediately wilted. He could only murmur an acknowledgment before retreating to the side.

He had originally wanted to see just how many immortal seedlings Jade Spring Town could produce.

As for testing and grading spirit roots, there was nothing much to watch. He was born of the direct line, and the Spirit Testing Platform atop Jade Spring Mountain could basically be used by anyone once they reached the proper age. There were no particular restrictions.

Meanwhile, Chen Xingyong, Chen Xingyi, Chen Heng, and Chen Mingjing each held a cloud-patterned array flag with faint flowing light rippling across it, standing at the southeast, northwest, and northeast corners of the Spirit Testing Platform.

Their hands formed seals at lightning speed, like butterflies weaving through flowers, while their lips moved in murmured incantations.

Before long.

The four array flags trembled faintly. Spiritual light flashed across their surfaces, and the entire Spirit Testing Platform became illusory and transparent.

A faint fluctuation, invisible and intangible yet capable of muddling perception, swiftly spread outward.

It was the first-rank high-grade concealment array—the Minor Myriad Heavens Array!

Once the array had been set, Chen Heng looked toward the square. Everything appeared normal.

Yet Chen Minglang, standing outside the perimeter, could no longer clearly see what was happening near the Spirit Testing Platform.

There were roughly ten thousand children in Jade Spring Town between the ages of six and twelve. The odds of finding immortal seedlings with low- or mid-grade spirit roots were not insignificant.

However, the chance of discovering an immortal seedling with a high-grade, earth-grade, or even Heaven-grade spirit root was infinitesimal. Still, the Chen Lineage could not afford to neglect such precautions.

Should an immortal seedling with a high-grade, earth-grade, or even Heaven-grade spirit root truly appear, only for their identity to leak and for them to be assassinated or abducted by hostile forces...

By then, the Chen Lineage would have nowhere to weep.

The Chen Lineage's records contained similar accounts.

With the array complete, Chen Xingmo immediately sent word to Chen Minglang outside. The Ascension Ceremony had officially begun.

Very soon, the first eligible child was let in. He was around eight or nine years old, a chubby little boy with fair skin and somewhat nervous movements.

To be first in line, his family background in Jade Spring Town was likely quite good.

Seeing this, Chen Xingmo put away his sternness and said kindly, "Come, child. Just walk onto the platform."

The plump little boy carefully made his way onto the Spirit Testing Platform.

All of a sudden.

The compass in midair immediately bloomed with a faint glow.

Chen Heng's brows rose at the sight. Had they struck it rich? Fortune was shining upon them—this very first child actually possessed spirit roots.

"It just remains to be seen what his aptitude is like."

The same thought immediately arose in all five of them.

Soon, the pillars on either side of the Spirit Testing Platform gave them their answer. Uneven lights of blue, green, and yellow lit up along the pillars.

Of them, the blue light was the brightest, while the yellow light was the dimmest.

"Fifth-grade water spirit root, fourth-grade wood spirit root, third-grade earth spirit root. Mid-grade aptitude." Chen Xingmo nodded slightly, deeply gratified. The first child tested and graded this year was an immortal seedling with mid-grade aptitude.

Their luck was truly quite good!

He had overseen the training of the Lineage's younger generation for many years and had already held several Ascension Ceremonies. Such a splendid start was rare indeed.

Upon hearing that he possessed spirit roots, the plump little boy's eyes widened round as he said in utter disbelief, "I... I have spirit roots?"

"Yes, child. Step aside and wait for now."

"Yay, I actually have spirit roots!"

The plump little boy excitedly hopped several times on the Spirit Testing Platform. After looking around, he quickly retreated to Chen Mingjing's side, though the excitement on his face remained impossible to conceal.

Since childhood, he had listened to his father, the garrison commander, repeatedly speak of how important spirit roots were. Now he too could become an immortal cultivator like his father—how could he not be thrilled?

"This little fellow...?"

Chen Heng laughed wordlessly. The Spirit Testing Platform was so broad, yet the boy had scampered straight over to sit beside Chen Mingjing, the only female cultivator.

Chen Minglang and Chen Xingcheng, the garrison commander, waited outside for a while. When no one came out, they immediately knew that an immortal seedling with spirit roots had appeared. However, with the Spirit Testing Platform now covered by the Minor Myriad Heavens Array, neither of them knew the precise situation within.

"Uncle Cheng, do you think it might be an immortal seedling with a Heaven Spirit Root?" Chen Minglang asked curiously.

Chen Xingcheng was first startled, then shook his head with a smile. Given how his youngest son was, he would already be burning incense in thanks if the boy had spirit roots at all.

Before long.

One eligible child after another was called in. But perhaps the first child had already used up all their good fortune, for among the nearly thousand children who followed, not a single immortal seedling appeared.

Just as Chen Heng was beginning to find things a little dull, another child finally tested positive for spirit roots—a somewhat scrawny little girl of about six or seven.

Unfortunately, not only were her spirit roots mixed, encompassing water, wood, fire, and earth attributes, but their grades were also low. Her highest-grade spirit root was merely a third-grade water spirit root.

Immortal seedlings with such constitutions cultivated exceedingly slowly in the future.

If they wished to reach Foundation Establishment, they would need an unknowable amount of resources invested into them.

For immortal seedlings with such aptitude, the best path was to cultivate peacefully on Jade Spring Mountain until eighteen, learn an immortal craft that did not consume many resources—such as spirit planting, Spirit Cuisine, or tailoring—and so on.

Then they could use it to secure a good position within the Lineage.

After all, once one embarked upon the path of cultivation and became a cultivator, so long as one did not battle others or encounter accidents such as demon beast attacks...

Generally speaking, they could live past a hundred without illness or calamity, unafraid of cold or heat.

Qi Refinement cultivators had lifespans of one hundred and twenty years, yet in this world, it was already rather uncommon for ordinary people to live to sixty or seventy.

The reason was nothing else: there were simply too many natural disasters, earthly calamities, and man-made misfortunes.

In regions of ordinary folk without cultivators to protect them, survival and continued existence were basically exceedingly difficult.

Even in Jade Spring Town, which was comparatively peaceful and prosperous, where people lived and worked in contentment, few elders lived to eighty.

Chen Heng had his own speculation about this. Perhaps the lifespan limit for mortals in this world was eighty years, an invisible law of heaven and earth.

Two days passed swiftly.

Among the more than two thousand eligible children who had lined up first to have their spirit roots tested and graded, a total of three immortal seedlings had appeared—two boys and one girl.

They had already been settled in the Garrison Mansion.

On the third and fourth days, the group greatly improved their efficiency and tested more than three thousand eligible children. Their results were somewhat better than during the first two days.

Not only did they find four immortal seedlings, but there was also a little girl with a sixth-grade water spirit root and upper-mid-grade aptitude. Their luck was quite good.

These were all fairly normal circumstances, and everyone knew what to expect.

The next two days were very ordinary. Of more than three thousand eligible children, only three immortal seedlings appeared, all with low-grade spirit root aptitude.

Until the seventh day, when a frail little boy with bright, piercing eyes appeared among the final thousand eligible children to be tested, bringing the group a surprise...