Spiritual Root

Deep within the Jingyang Mountain Range, inside the Yuan Sect ruins.

Of the first wave of Xiantian realm martial artists to enter the mountain range, nearly all had died horribly, becoming nourishment for Fang Yuanhua's cultivation, save for Yun Long's group.

The Ninth Prince, Fang Yuanhua, had successfully cultivated his first strand of Yuan Sect Blood Demon Qi, formally stepping into the Qi Refining Stage.

At this moment, Fang Yuanhua's heart was filled with towering rage. His handsome face twisted with fury, and his eyes brimmed with bloodthirsty killing intent.

A meticulously planned, foolproof operation had been marred by a few rustic villagers.

What was even more intolerable was that these ants had actually killed his most trusted confidant, Elder Mu!

He only had five Qi Refining Stage cultivators at his disposal; losing one pained him deeply. This was an utter disgrace!

"Seize control of all their families!"

Fang Yuanhua's voice was as biting as ice, carrying a suffocating murderous intent that echoed through the empty ruins.

"Find them! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to! If you don't find them, come see me with your heads!"

Fang Yuanhua was also aware that, due to his cultivation, it was already too late to track down Yun Long's group. But so what? Wasn't the purpose of keeping these people to do his bidding?

If they were useless, he might as well use them for cultivation!

Inside the valley where Yun Ji and the other two were hiding, deep in the Jingyang Mountain Range.

Yun Long, along with Yun Hu, Yun He, Li Lingyue, and the unconscious Shi Chen, finally arrived.

"Dad, Uncle Li, Uncle Shi!" Yun Long's voice carried a hint of exhaustion, but also the joy of reunion.

Seeing Li Pinghu, Li Lingyue could no longer hold back her tears. She rushed over and buried herself in his arms.

"Dad!" she choked out, all her grievances and worries dissolving into silent sobs in that moment.

Li Pinghu held his daughter tightly, his rough hand gently patting her back, just like when she was little.

"There, there, it's okay. Dad's fine."

His voice trembled; his daughter was his very life.

Shi Tie, seeing the unconscious Shi Chen in Yun Long's arms, wept with aged tears. He reached out a trembling hand, wanting to touch him, but afraid to.

"Chen'er..." his voice was hoarse, like a worn-out bellows.

Yun Long gently handed Shi Chen over to Shi Tie.

Shi Tie could no longer control himself. He scooped Shi Chen up, hugged him tightly to his chest, and wailed.

"My son! Dad thought he'd never see you again!"

His cries were heart-wrenching. The fear and worry he had suppressed for so long erupted completely in that moment.

Shi Chen woke with a start, rubbing his sleepy eyes and looking at Shi Tie in confusion.

"Dad? Where are we?"

Seeing his son's innocent face, Shi Tie cried even harder. He held Shi Chen close, as if trying to meld him into his own flesh and blood.

Watching this scene, Yun Long felt a surge of emotion.

Shi Tie's love for Shi Chen was so deep, so selfless.

"Uncle Shi, what's past is past. We still need to strive for the future," Yun Long said softly, offering comfort.

Shi Tie looked up at Yun Long, his eyes filled with gratitude. Holding Shi Chen, he walked over to Yun Long and dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Yun Long, thank you! Thank you for saving Chen'er!"

Seeing this, Shi Chen knelt down as well, looking bewildered.

"Chen'er, hurry up and kowtow to Big Brother Long! He saved us!" Shi Tie's voice was choked with emotion.

Yun Long quickly helped Shi Tie up.

"Uncle Shi, you mustn't! Get up, please get up!"

"Yun Long, Young Master of the Yun Clan, listen to me." Shi Tie pulled Shi Chen close, his expression utterly serious. "From now on, my life, Shi Tie's life, is yours! If you say east, I won't go west! Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it!"

"And Chen'er, he'll follow you too from now on! Whatever you tell him to do, he'll do! If he dares to disobey, you don't even have to say a word—I'll break his legs myself!"

Yun Long looked at Shi Tie, knowing he was sincere. He sighed and said, "Uncle Shi, I understand your feelings."

"Chen'er is a good child. He possesses a Spiritual Root, so he has great potential in the future. I'm counting on him to help the Yun Clan more when he grows up."

"Spiritual Root?!" Shi Tie looked completely baffled, clearly never having heard the term.

Yun Long explained, "Simply put, it means Chen'er has the aptitude for immortal cultivation!"

"Really?" Shi Tie's eyes lit up, and he looked at Yun Long with delighted surprise.

Yun Long nodded.

"Cultivating immortality!" Shi Tie's eyes bulged, almost unable to believe his ears.

Immortal cultivation—that was something out of legend!

His son had been clamoring every day to take the Immortal Fate test, saying he wanted to become an immortal. He never imagined Shi Chen really could cultivate immortality!

Yun Long smiled and said, "Uncle Shi, don't get too excited."

"Let me check Xiao Chen's spiritual root attributes."

Yun Long walked up to Shi Chen, grasped his wrist, and channeled a strand of Vajra Primordial Qi into his body.

A moment later, Yun Long opened his eyes, a flicker of surprise in them.

"Gold-Water Dual Attribute, Five-Inch Mid-Grade Spiritual Root!"

"Not bad, not bad! A fine seedling!"

Shi Tie listened in a fog, but he understood one thing—his son was exceptional!

"Da Long, what... what does that mean?" he couldn't help asking.

Yun Long explained, "Spiritual roots have attribute divisions: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, plus some mutated attributes."

"Cultivating techniques that match your attribute yields twice the result with half the effort."

"Chen'er has Gold-Water Dual Attribute, so in the future, he can cultivate techniques of these two attributes."

"Spiritual roots also have quality grades: Low-Grade, Mid-Grade, High-Grade, and Supreme-Grade."

"The better the spiritual root, the faster the cultivation speed."

"Chen'er has a Mid-Grade spiritual root—that's already quite good!"

"Then... then can Chen'er become an immortal too?" Shi Tie asked excitedly.

Yun Long smiled and said, "As long as he cultivates diligently, anything is possible!"

"Good! Good! Good!" Shi Tie danced with joy, as if he could already see the day Shi Chen became an immortal.

"Da Long, I'm entrusting Chen'er to you from now on!" Shi Tie knelt again, pulling Shi Chen along, ready to kowtow to Yun Long.

Yun Long quickly helped Shi Tie up.

"Uncle Shi, what are you doing? Get up!"

"From now on, Chen'er will train under me. I'll personally teach him."

"Really?!" Shi Tie could hardly believe his ears.

Yun Long nodded and said, "Of course it's true."

"But I have one condition."

Shi Tie hurriedly said, "What condition? Name it! As long as I can do it, I'll agree!"

Yun Long looked at Shi Tie seriously and said, "I want Chen'er to formally take me as his master!"

"Take you as his master?!" Shi Tie was stunned for a moment, then said without hesitation, "Good! Good! Good! This is a good thing! I'll have Chen'er kowtow to you right now!"

Shi Tie grabbed Shi Chen, ready to make him kowtow.

Shi Chen looked completely bewildered, having no idea what was happening.

Yun Long quickly stopped him, saying, "Uncle Shi, no rush. We'll pick an auspicious day later for the formal ceremony."

"For now, let's just get out of here first."

Shi Tie snapped back to reality and quickly said, "Right, right, right! Let's leave first! Let's leave first!"

Yun Long looked at Shi Tie, his heart full of emotion.

For his son, he would give everything.

And as for himself, he had to strive to grow stronger for the future of his clan!

The reason Yun Long decided to take Shi Chen as his disciple was partly because he genuinely admired the boy.

But on the other hand, he also wanted to see what would happen if someone with a spiritual root cultivated the Yun Clan's techniques.

The Yun Clan's techniques never said only people with specific attributes could cultivate them.

He, Yun Long, had no spiritual root at all!

Perhaps this was an opportunity—a chance to elevate the Yun Clan's techniques to a higher level!

As for passing the techniques to an outsider, Yun Long wasn't worried at all. The Yun Clan's true inheritance lay in the Family Genealogy.

These techniques were extremely difficult to cultivate; with the genealogy's guidance, cultivation became far more efficient.

Yun Ji watched from the side with satisfaction—his foolish son had finally grown up.

Yun Hu and Yun He also held back their curiosity, resisting the urge to ask Yun Ji to test their spiritual roots.

Li Lingyue wasn't in a hurry either. She trusted that Yun Long wouldn't shortchange her.