Family Spirit Testing Ceremony, Zhang Hongyu's Life of Many Sons and Many Blessings
After leaving the Zhang Family, Zhang Xuanchen arrived at Yunhua Immortal City to bid farewell to his mother.
Lin Wanqing was extremely reluctant, but she also knew that she could not stand in the way of her son's path of cultivation.
He only wished to have a meal with Zhang Xuanchen before parting.
Seeing his mother's reluctant gaze, Zhang Xuanchen didn't refuse. A meal wouldn't take long.
Three days later, it will be the day of the Zhang Family's Spirit Testing Ceremony.
Currently, the Zhang Family has over 800,000 mortals in total.
It has been six or seven years since Zhang Xuanchen issued the pro-natalist policy.
There will definitely be many more Immortal Seedling with Spirit Root this time than in previous spirit testing competitions.
Although the remaining members of the Zhang Family are not very strong, they are perfectly capable of going to a mortal town to have their Spirit Root tested.
At the foot of Xuanxiao Mountain is also the place where the Zhang Family's mortals gather the most, numbering as many as 400,000 to 500,000.
There are no fewer than thirty towns and cities of varying sizes.
Mortal City, Xuan Shi City.
Because the city has more than 100,000 mortals, Zhang Hongyu, Family Cultivator stationed here, reported to the Lineage to establish a city lord's mansion for easier management.
The Zhang Family naturally wouldn't refuse. After all, it was just a mortal town, and as long as they didn't break the law, exploit the people, or affect the birth of the Lineage's Immortal Seedling, they wouldn't care about such things.
Inside the city lord's mansion at this moment.
A handsome young man dressed in a white robe with a long sword at his waist sat facing each other, while a middle-aged man with a plump figure and a mustache sat facing each other.
It was Zhang Xuntong and Zhang Hongyu of Xuan Shi City.
At this time, Zhang Xuntong, who was twenty-four years old, had broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refinement Refining. The Sword Control Technique that he was unfamiliar with three years ago had been cultivated to the peak of minor success.
There is absolutely no possibility of it falling from the sky while flying.
Zhang Xuntong looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, who was overweight and somewhat malnourished.
His face showed confusion and helplessness.
"Uncle Yu, how can we cultivators be obsessed with women?"
Your body is severely weakened now; how can you cultivate yourself in the future? How can you pursue the Great Dao?
Upon arriving at the city lord's mansion, he had a long chat with Zhang Hongyu and was genuinely quite shocked.
Because Zhang Hongyu had two wives and forty-seven Concubine. His principal wife and his Co-wife were both Spirit Root, Rogue Cultivator, and were the first to follow him.
As a disciple of the Golden Core Clan, even with Five-element Spiritual Root, his status was still unapproachable in the eyes of those Rogue Cultivators.
With him by my side, there's absolutely no need to worry about safety.
The other forty-seven were ordinary people, recruited in this Xuan Shi City.
It was all voluntary; otherwise, he would have been punished by his Lineage long ago.
If his health allowed, he could have taken even more.
After listening to Zhang Xuntong's words, Zhang Hongyu smiled and shook his head.
In my youth, I longed to pursue the Great Dao, to reach the Foundation Establishment, break through to the Golden Core stage, and seek immortality.
But as he grew older, he saw many of his clansmen with Five-element Spiritual Root, Four Spiritual Roots, or even Triple Spirit Root die on their path of cultivation.
Decades of cultivation have ultimately come to nothing.
Triple Spirit Root perish on the path to breaking through to the Foundation Establishment, let alone someone with Five-element Spiritual Root.
So, I came to Xuan Shi City to take charge at the age of thirty-four, and fourteen years have passed since then.
He put down his teacup, looked out the window at the distant, misty, towering Xuanxiao Mountain.
After a long silence, he finally let out a soft sigh:
"Over the years, I have read countless classic books and gained many insights."
Nephew Xuantong, do you know what the Five-element Spiritual Root are called in the cultivation world?
Leaky Cauldron Physique!
Others Qi Introduction Stage into their bodies like a stream flowing into the sea, but I feel as if I'm trying to hold water with a strainer; I can't retain even a fraction of my Spiritual Qi.
To break through to the Foundation Establishment.
Disaster!"
As he spoke, his face was filled with a smile of relief, not bitterness.
He took out a well-worn book of Qigong, the "Five Elements Manual," from his sleeve.
His fingers traced the dense annotations between the pages.
Speaking again:
"The Great Way is fifty, Heaven evolves into forty-nine, and man escapes to one."
That "one" might not have belonged to us of the Five-element Spiritual Root in the first place.
Since I can't become a crane soaring through the heavens, why not be a hardworking ox tilling the earth?
I am 48 years old this year and currently have 72 children.
Thirty-seven people met the age requirement for the spirit test this year.
I think that if I could give birth to a child with better Spirit Root talent than me, perhaps decades later, he would be able to reach a height that I could never attain.
The so-called pursuit of the Tao is all about seizing a sliver of fortuitous opportunity from heaven and earth; the only difference is the path chosen.
Isn't my pursuit of the Way also a different form of seeking?
"If none of them have Spirit Root, that's fine too. I'm still a Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivator; I can afford to raise a few children."
"This..."
Upon hearing Zhang Hongyu's words, Zhang Xuntong wanted to offer some advice, but after careful consideration, he realized that what the other party said made a lot of sense.
Everyone has their own path; the one that suits you best is the right one.
Zhang Hongyu's choice to take many wives and concubines and have children in a mortal town to increase the Immortal Seedling for his Lineage can be considered a significant contribution to the Lineage's growth.
After all, the probability of a child born to a cultivator having Spirit Root is much higher than that of a mortal.
Listening to the sounds of many women and children playing and laughing in the backyard.
For a moment, Zhang Xuntong felt a pang of envy.
Perhaps, having no hope of attaining enlightenment, descending to the mortal realm to become a local tyrant wouldn't be so bad.
Zhang Hongyu was startled to see Zhang Xuntong remain silent.
No way!
Child, you mustn't follow my example.
Otherwise, your father will beat me to death.
He immediately coughed twice to draw Zhang Xuntong's attention back. "Xuantong, you have Four Spiritual Roots. You are twenty-four years old now and your cultivation has reached the Qi Refining Level 6. As long as you cultivate diligently, you may be able to break through to Foundation Establishment before you turn sixty."
Go and see the scenery above the Foundation Establishment.
Now, let's conduct the spirit tests on the children. I've gathered all the children of the appropriate age at the city square.
I'll help you.
Hearing Zhang Hongyu's words, Zhang Xuntong nodded. "Alright, Uncle Yu, let's go."
After saying that, the two left the room and flew towards the square.
There are over six thousand people in Xuan Shi City who meet the age requirements for spirit testing, but with their combined spiritual power, the two of them can only test about a thousand people a day at most.
By this time, the square had gathered no fewer than 20,000 people, a dense, crowded mass of heads.
These are all parents accompanying their children for spirit readings.
They were unaware of the concept of Spirit Root; they only knew that as long as their child could go up the mountain with the Lineage's Immortal Master, they could become a high-ranking immortal.
The family will instantly become wealthy, and from then on, they will have no worries about food and clothing and will be respected by others.
Zhang Hongyu's wife, Concubine, and children were naturally among them, standing right in front of the spirit-testing platform.
This was a small favor that the city lord was giving to his own people, and no one would say anything about it.
"Look, the Immortal Master has arrived! Flying on a sword, this is a true Immortal Master!"
He's definitely stronger than our city lord!
"He's also more handsome and younger than our city lord! Our city lord is fat and has a beard; he's not good-looking."
"But this does not negate the fact that the city lord is Immortal Master. I personally witnessed the city lord kill a seven-meter-long tiger with a single fireball!"
That's incredibly powerful!
Zhang Xuntong listened to the discussions below, making no attempt to conceal the fact that Zhang Hongyu was the city lord.
Everything has been proven.
He couldn't help but laugh:
"Uncle Yu, it seems you've won the hearts of the people as city lord."
Zhang Hongyu naturally didn't care about these discussions. He wasn't as strong or handsome as Xuantong; that was a fact, and there was nothing wrong with admitting it.
"Haha, I just did what I was supposed to do."