Single Spirit Root

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou now had only one thought in their minds: They were screwed. They had actually discussed how to cheat right in front of the examiner.

It seemed Senior Sister Yun Zhi had not noticed their cheating plan. After giving them a sidelong glance, she did not look at them again and began organizing the examination.

It was clear that she wielded tremendous authority among the Ask Dao Sect disciples—she could truly be said to command instant obedience.

These Ask Dao Sect disciples were all figures who could stir up storms in the outside world. They were sought after by others and favored by heaven. Yet all these heaven's favored geniuses obeyed her orders without the slightest disobedience or slackening, showing just how high Senior Sister Yun Zhi's status was.

"Root Bone is the first hurdle on the road to immortality. If your Root Bone is insufficient, then no matter how many resources are poured into you, you still won't be able to cultivate immortality. The first examination will test your Root Bone. Come forward one by one. Those who lack confidence in their Root Bone may leave on their own."

No one left.

Those who could come take the Ask Dao Sect's examination all had some understanding of their own Root Bone. Few were like Lu Yang, who had come to the Ask Dao Sect to try his luck simply because it was close to home.

The Ask Dao Sect was doing this to prevent people whose Root Bone did not meet its requirements, yet who wanted to muddle through, from sneaking into the sect.

Normally, Root Bone was tested with a Root Bone Stone. It was enormous and extremely conspicuous. Judging from the empty space in front of the Ask Dao Sect, however, the sect clearly had no intention of using one.

A disciple of the Ask Dao Sect sat at the very front. His name was Dai Bufan, and the cultivation method he practiced was highly unusual. Once spiritual energy made a circuit through someone's body, he could tell what their Root Bone was, what cultivation method they practiced, where their vital gate lay... In battle, he moved with the ease of a fish in water.

Dai Bufan was like an old physician taking a pulse. With two fingers placed on the wrist, he could accurately determine the other person's Root Bone.

"Metal, Water, and Fire Triple Spirit Roots? Not bad. You can go over there."

"Water and Fire Dual Spirit Roots. Not bad."

"Water and Wood Dual Spirit Roots. Your foundation was once damaged. It should have happened when you were twelve, when you suffered a serious injury. Ordinarily, it should have left hidden complications, but you were not fated to die. You encountered an expert. That expert was kindhearted and treated you, and their medical skills were exceptionally superb, restoring your foundation completely."

The person was slightly stunned. He had not expected Dai Bufan to see so accurately. "When I was twelve, my mother died of illness, and my stepmother took sole control of the household. She was worried that my existence would affect her son's position, so she plotted against me. I fell into a coma, and when I woke up, I was already unharmed. My father told me that an expert had happened to pass by and saved me, but the expert left without giving a name."

After that person left, an Ask Dao Sect disciple came forward to congratulate Dai Bufan on advancing his cultivation further. "You only took his pulse, yet you inferred the entire cause and effect of what happened, as if you had witnessed it yourself! Senior Brother Dai's cultivation has advanced; it truly deserves celebration!"

Dai Bufan said blandly, "Oh, it was nothing. That expert was me. I was in a hurry to get somewhere at the time, and after saving him, I forgot to leave my name."

"..."

As they spoke, Dai Bufan waved at the next examinee. "Eighteen years old. You're over the age limit. Go home."

A cute-looking little monk came before Dai Bufan under the guidance of a large monk and gave him a solemn, proper salute.

Dai Bufan gave him a sidelong glance, then handed the little monk over to the large monk. "What is a novice from the Hanging Temple doing here? You have a mark left by the abbot of the Hanging Temple within your body. Go, go, go—return to your Hanging Temple."

"I remember the Hanging Temple is one of the Five Great Immortal Sects?" Lu Yang asked Meng Jingzhou in a low voice.

Meng Jingzhou nodded and said solemnly, "The Hanging Temple has the fewest disciples among the Five Great Immortal Sects. At its smallest, it had only the abbot and a single disciple. Even at its largest, its numbers never exceeded ten. This little monk hasn't begun cultivating yet, but he's already a disciple of the Hanging Temple. His Buddha-nature must be extraordinarily profound."

He watched as the little novice was led away by his senior brother from the Hanging Temple, as though facing a formidable enemy. "I thought I would be the one to look down on all the heroes of the future cultivation world. I never expected there would still be someone qualified to become my opponent."

Lu Yang had no idea where Meng Jingzhou got his confidence. "Aren't you even a little worried that Miss Yun Zhi will kick the two of us out?"

"What's there to fear? Haven't you seen that this is how it always goes in storybooks? The great sects are blind and unjustly accuse and frame a young genius, kicking him out of the sect. The young genius regards it as a humiliation, works hard, has one fortuitous encounter after another, soars to the heavens in a single bound, and becomes an existence the great sects can look down upon—no, wait, look up to."

Lu Yang was silent for a while before reminding him, "...But it seems Miss Yun Zhi doesn't need to falsely accuse us."

"True."

And so Meng Jingzhou panicked too.

"The aura within your body is ceaseless and flows on its own. Judging by your clothing, you don't seem to come from a cultivation House. Could it be that you happened to consume a Green Wood Immortal Fruit when you were young? You may pass."

"Oh? Your physique is rather interesting." Dai Bufan placed his fingers on a muscular man with bronze-colored skin, and his eyes lit up. "An Ancient Barbarian Tribe bloodline. I haven't seen one in a long time."

The muscular man was tall and broad, with a head that gleamed brightly. His skin even reflected the sunlight. Judging by his appearance, anyone would believe he was twenty-five or twenty-six, but Dai Bufan did not question his age, which meant he was still under sixteen.

Lu Yang could only say that he had developed exceptionally well.

The crowd stirred faintly. The Ancient Barbarian Tribe could lift mountains and swallow the sun and moon. After flourishing to the utmost, they had vanished into the long river of time.

The Central Continent had not seen an Ancient Barbarian Tribe bloodline in a very long time. Everyone had assumed this ancient bloodline had disappeared entirely, yet one had actually appeared during the Ask Dao Sect's examination.

Dai Bufan yawned. He had already examined half the people. How had he not seen even a single Single Spirit Root? Had the other sects snatched them all away?

Meng Jingzhou stepped forward openly. Dai Bufan had not held out much hope, but when his index and middle fingers touched Meng Jingzhou's wrist, his eyes suddenly widened round as bells. He shot to his feet with a whoosh. "It's actually a Single..."

When they heard Dai Bufan, discussion erupted below. It was actually a Single Spirit Root!

What did a Single Spirit Root mean? The bottlenecks at every realm were far looser than those of other people. Such a person was destined to become a great cultivator of the immortal path. In court, he could hold a high position; in the wilds, he could dominate a region and establish himself as a king!

Everyone's eyes focused on Meng Jingzhou, their gazes burning. There was no downside to befriending such a person early—only benefits!

The elders hurriedly instructed their juniors that once they entered the Ask Dao Sect, they absolutely had to build a good relationship with Meng Jingzhou.

A member of the Meng Family, a Single Spirit Root, and a disciple of the Ask Dao Sect—when these three identities were combined, he was a future powerful figure of the Ask Dao Sect, a great immortal cultivator whose name would be recorded in history, as certain as nails driven into a board!

"Single-person Spirit Root." Dai Bufan spoke the full name of Meng Jingzhou's spiritual root, and the scene fell silent.

Meng Jingzhou flew into a towering rage. What kind of nonsense was a single-person spirit root? Was he going to be single his whole life?!

"I may be ignorant, but don't try to fool me!" The veins on Meng Jingzhou's forehead bulged as he slammed the table with a resounding bang, utterly furious.

"Junior Brother Dai, don't toy with others." A voice as ethereal as an immortal's drifted over. Yun Zhi emerged from a cloud of mist and glared at Dai Bufan. Dai Bufan guiltily drew his neck in.

Only then did Meng Jingzhou calm down slightly. Right, Dai Bufan must have been lying to him.

Yun Zhi said to Meng Jingzhou, "However, Junior Brother Dai did not deceive you. You truly have a Single-person Spirit Root. That is its scholarly name. In the cultivation world, though, everyone is more accustomed to calling it by its common name: Pure Yang Spiritual Root."

Meng Jingzhou: "..."

He finally understood why the clan elders and his parents had never told him what his spiritual root was.

"You'll know once you reach one of the Five Great Immortal Sects." They had clearly just been too embarrassed to tell him!

No wonder that after he finished having his Root Bone tested, his parents had asked him whether he wanted a younger brother or a younger sister.

A Mutated Single Spirit Root, a Pure Yang Spiritual Root—supremely rigid and supremely yang, the bane of ghosts and monsters.

As long as he maintained his Pure Yang Body, his cultivation would advance a thousand miles in a single day. But once his Pure Yang Body was broken, his cultivation would plunge a thousand miles in a single day.