Detecting Spiritual Roots

Measuring spiritual roots was not difficult, but it was rather tedious.

Qingshui Commandery's population was scattered. Villages of four or five hundred people could be found everywhere, and they would have to travel through many places.

They had to visit more remote areas as well. Perhaps they might find a few more cultivators for the clan.

The Lu Clan was not picky. They did not disdain Five Spirit Roots, and Quadruple Spirit Roots were not bad either.

"Keep this for yourself."

As the Grand Elder spoke, he took out three talismans and handed them over.

"The ancestor has already rewarded me with some talismans," Lu Xuanji said.

"I know. But what the ancestor gives is the ancestor's, and what I give is mine." The Grand Elder cautioned him, "I will not say much else, but remember this: if things cannot be done, run. There is no shame in running. Only the living have possibilities. A dead genius is no genius at all."

"Yes."

Lu Xuanji hesitated only briefly before accepting the Grand Elder's talismans.

All three talismans were second-grade talismans. They could inflict a certain degree of harm even on Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and at a critical moment, they could save his life.

After bidding farewell to the Grand Elder, Lu Xuanji left Ziyang Mountain and headed for Danyang County.

Danyang County had a population of roughly three hundred thousand. More than half of them were scattered among small mountain villages around the county seat, making the population distribution extremely uneven.

Lu Xuanji's task was to travel through the county seat and the various small mountain villages, searching for children with spiritual roots.

Testing spiritual roots was a major matter for the Lu Clan.

According to the rules, spiritual roots were to be tested at the age of six, but many had missed the proper time for various reasons. Every year, some people were overlooked, so while testing children, they also had to test those who had been missed.

He opened the map and arrived at a small village.

Lu Xuanji called for the village chief. Gongs and drums sounded without cease as the villagers gathered, though some were still out in the fields planting crops.

Before long, people gradually assembled.

The village chief said, "An Immortal Master has come to test spiritual roots! If your child has a spiritual root, your family will no longer pay taxes each year, and you will also receive a subsidy of ten shi of grain. Come, come, adults, bring your children to have their spiritual roots tested."

Lu Xuanji took out a black stone, placed it on the table, and said, "One at a time. Children, line up and place your palms on the stone for Ten Breaths. If the black stone lights up, that means you have a spiritual root. Your family will no longer have to hand over grain, and you will receive ten shi of grain every year."

"Children first. Adults may touch it as well."

The village chief maintained order as the children noisily lined up and stepped forward.

One child after another placed their palms on the stone. Soon, thirty children had been tested, yet not a single one possessed a spiritual root.

Lu Xuanji was disappointed, but he still Put Away the stone and headed for another village.

In three days, he visited eight villages and tested over three hundred children, yet not one of them had a spiritual root.

The odds were a little too low. What rotten luck—he was practically a non-chief.

Lu Xuanji was speechless. He had been quite excited when he began the testing, but gradually, he became somewhat numb.

He traveled continuously for half a month, yet not a single child had a spiritual root.

The work itself was not tiring, only rather aggravating.

On the eighteenth day, Lu Xuanji arrived at a village to conduct tests.

Then, all of a sudden, the stone lit up.

"Not bad, not bad." Lu Xuanji was slightly excited. At last, a good start. "Your child has a spiritual root. I will take him away. This is a certificate. With this certificate, your family will be exempt from taxes and receive a subsidy of one hundred shi of grain."

He directly took out a certificate he had prepared beforehand and handed it to the child's father.

"Many thanks, Immortal Master."

The child's Parents were old farmers. Though they could not read the certificate, they were still overcome with excitement.

Lu Xuanji gave the village chief a few instructions, then brought the child into a small dark room.

He took out eight crystal balls to test the attributes.

The child pressed his palm against them, and one ball of light after another lit up.

"What a pity. A Five Spirit Root!"

Lu Xuanji sighed inwardly.

A Five Spirit Root had little value for cultivation. Even with a lifetime of effort, reaching Qi Refining Layer 5 might be the limit. Foundation Establishment was hopeless.

The clan would not extravagantly grant a Foundation Establishment Pill to such a person either.

Still, Five Spirit Roots had some value. At the very least, they could cultivate Spirit Fields, perform miscellaneous duties, refine pills and artifacts, and contribute to the clan.

Without these low-level cultivators working diligently, how would high-level cultivators have time to cultivate?

A Five Spirit Root was poor, but at least it was a good beginning.

He took the child away, brought him to Danyang County's county seat, and settled him down.

Then he went to test the nearby villages. Day after day passed, and before long, two months had gone by. More than ninety percent of the testing had been completed.

Yet only four children had spiritual roots: three with Five Spirit Roots and one with a Quadruple Spirit Root.

"Only three or five days remain before the testing ends, yet this entire county has yielded only four. That is far too few."

Lu Xuanji was speechless.

He walked toward a village.

He could not help but laugh to himself. He had become Su Yuntao too.

Cultivation was far too difficult. Without spiritual roots, one could only be a mortal.

As for mortals who wished to grow stronger, their only path was martial arts.

The martial arts of this world were divided into Body Tempering, Houtian, and Innate.

A Body Tempering cultivator could not even defeat the weakest Qi Refining First Layer cultivator.

A Houtian Martial Artist could at most contend with a Qi Refining First Layer cultivator.

An Innate Martial Artist could contend with a Qi Refining Layer 3 cultivator.

The upper limit of martial arts was far too low.

In his previous life, hard work could change one's fate. But in this world, hard work was built upon having spiritual roots. Without spiritual roots, no amount of effort would amount to anything.

Even with spiritual roots, poor Spiritual Root attributes meant limited prospects.

Even if some great expert were reborn with the cultivation experience of a previous life, if he were reborn into a body with Five Spirit Roots, he would still fade into obscurity and perish.

At that thought, Lu Xuanji silently counted himself fortunate. His start had been decent, with Triple Spirit Roots. If he had begun like those webnovels with their useless-protagonist tropes, starting out with Five Spirit Roots, he might truly have been useless.

As he walked, a mountain village gradually came into view ahead.

The mountain village was very small, with only a few dozen households. It was located in a small river valley. It was now the autumn harvest season, and farmers in several villages were busy working in their fields.

He had come at the wrong time.

Lu Xuanji muttered to himself. Many farmers were harvesting in the fields and simply had no time to test spiritual roots.

Testing spiritual roots was extremely important to the Lu Clan;

But to many commoners at the bottom, it was not important at all.

After all, tests had been conducted continuously for more than ten years, yet not a single person with spiritual roots had appeared in the village.

Over time, many commoners had stopped holding out hope.

Even when Lu Xuanji arrived at this village, he came only out of habit, as a matter of fulfilling his duty. As for whether a child in this village would possess spiritual roots, the hope was slim.

At the village entrance, he sat beneath a large tree. Lu Xuanji took out a teacup and teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank patiently as he waited. Yet his mind was elsewhere, thinking of the spiritual herbs and Spirit Rice at home.

Before leaving, he had entrusted a clan cultivator with their care.

But since he was not looking after them himself, he could not set his mind at ease.

Within the clan, Spirit Rice was the most stable source of income.

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