Chapter 24

Regret flickered uncontrollably in the elder's eyes.

Bian Chunchou: How could this be?!

The good news: Dual Spiritual Root.

The bad news: ...the damn thing was Fire-Water Spiritual Root, the two utterly incompatible!

Wasn't this chocolate that tasted like shit? Was someone screwing with him? With my special Spiritual Root, I'm afraid no master would dare take me on, would they? Bian Chunchou thought.

Seeing his thunderstruck expression, the elder offered some consolation. "However, your water and fire roots are almost exactly equal in strength. Your cultivation should not be hindered for now." But after that, it would be hard to say. It would depend on his own fate and affinity.

Bian Chunchou: ...That was very comforting. Next time, no need to comfort me.

Bian Chunchou shuffled off to the side to wait, drooping his head like a wilted puppy. But on second thought, he was the most knowledgeable college student who had fought his way across the gaokao's single-log bridge. Water and fire were incompatible? Not absolutely so. As long as he could find the right measure—a measure that could keep the two in dynamic balance—then theoretically, long-term cultivation could be achieved.

Bian Chunchou considered it. Since it was not entirely impossible, then he could give it a try. He had already gone from the modern world to the cultivation world; everyone was cultivating for the first time. There was no reason for him to become timid now! He was not afraid!

Besides, Foundation Establishment cultivators lived two hundred years, and Golden Core cultivators five hundred. By then, he might already be sick of living.

Life was life. He would drift as many days as he could.

"Chunchou, are you all right?" Wen Xu felt that his new friend's mood was inexplicably high, which worried him a little. Fire-Water Spiritual Root did indeed sound rather bad.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Chen Zui is almost done testing. Don't worry about me—hurry and get ready."

"Are you really all right?"

"Of course. Go on." As long as he was open-minded enough, worries and unhappiness would never catch him!

Chen Zui also had Dual Spiritual Roots, but his were Earth-Metal Spiritual Roots. Earth gave rise to metal, and the two complemented each other. This Spiritual Root was the most suitable for artifact refining and also excellent for cultivating weapons. It was practically a perfect match for Chen Zui's cultivation needs. Moreover, given Chen Zui's passion for cultivation, his cultivation speed might not be slower than that of a Single Spiritual Root genius.

Couldn't they see the elder's face blooming like a flower? Single Spiritual Roots were hard to come by; sometimes, not even one appeared among ten thousand people. Earth-Metal Spiritual Root was already one of the best dual-element Spiritual Roots besides a Single Spiritual Root.

"This one's not bad. He's suited to your Artifact Refining Peak."

Junior Uncle Zheng, however, was utterly uninterested. "Isn't Artifact Refining Peak having me enough already? Besides, does he look like someone who enjoys hammering iron and tending furnaces?"

Zhao Qi: ...

"I think he's quite suited to your Discipline Hall." They were both single-minded to the bone.

Fortunately, their bickering did not affect the Spirit Root testing in the hall.

Eh, two Dual Spiritual Roots in a row. More, more, thought the elder responsible for testing Spiritual Roots.

The third person was Wen Xu.

"Young man, why are your eyes covered? Could it be that you have an eye ailment?"

Wen Xu respectfully bowed. "Yes. This junior has an illness affecting his eyes, so I cover them when appearing before others."

Oh, that was unusual. But blindness was not much of a problem. Once he had sect contribution points, he could ask those medicine lads at Pill Peak to prescribe some pills specifically for treating the eyes.

"Then begin."

Wen Xu stretched out his hand and channeled spiritual energy into his palm, pouring it into the Spirit-Testing Stone before him. Though he had not cultivated for long, he was fairly adept at using spiritual energy. Before the elder could speak, he had already withdrawn the excess energy spilling out.

The elder could not help but glance at the young man again. Then, upon seeing the light blooming from the stone, he was so shocked that he could no longer remain seated. In truth, when the Spirit-Testing Stone's light shone forth, even those before the Shadow Wall could not stay seated!

"Mutated Wind-Type Single Spiritual Root!"

"No! Seal off the news immediately! We cannot let anyone from the Harmony Sect find out. If that woman Jun Zhaoying learns of this, do you believe she would dare come straight to our door and snatch him away?!"

"She would dare! He fell directly into our Yonglu Mountain Preliminary Trial Secret Realm—he's a fine seedling Heaven itself specially delivered to us!"

"Where are the people from Pill Peak? Hurry up and treat this boy's eyes first!"

A group of mighty cultivators whose cultivation began at Nascent Soul were, at this moment, scarcely any different from old men and women buying groceries at a market. This was a Mutated Spiritual Root—and a wind-type one at that. Its rarity was second only to Thunder Spiritual Root and Ice Spiritual Root.

Single Spiritual Roots were rare, certainly, but major sects still had several of them. Junior Uncle Zheng Jin might be unreliable, but he possessed a single metal Spiritual Root.

But Mutated Spiritual Roots were far, far rarer. If any sect had one or two, they would have to guard them like treasures. Hadn't the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect's sect master stood a great deal straighter after Sword Venerable Mei Xi rose to prominence?

It could be said that every cultivator with a single-element Mutated Spiritual Root was inevitably favored by the Heavenly Dao, a genuine child of Heaven. If they could grow, they would surely become a towering figure in their own right.

"Good, good, good! I never thought it would finally be our Yonglu Mountain's turn this time!"

Zheng Jin, however, sighed with some regret. "So it's Wind Spiritual Root. No wonder my fan likes him so much. But Wind Spiritual Root mutates from Wood-Earth Spiritual Root, so it's no wonder he was able to pick the Fragrant Elixir King Grass."

That was right. So-called Mutated Spiritual Roots were actually formed from the mutation of two or three types of Spiritual Roots. As cultivators grew, their Spiritual Roots underwent mutation—or rather, fusion—and became entirely new Spiritual Roots. The three known major Mutated Spiritual Roots in the cultivation world had all come about this way.

And because of that Spiritual Root fusion, Mutated Spiritual Roots were top-notch whether in cultivation speed or spiritual energy absorption.

Put in the simplest and bluntest terms, a Mutated Spiritual Root meant a genius among geniuses.

Because the elder had remained dumbfounded for too long, Wen Xu began to feel anxious. "Elder?" Was his Spiritual Root too poor?

"Oh, oh, oh! Your name is Wen Xu, right? Good child, your talent is exceptionally good."

Wen Xu was puzzled. In nearly twenty years of life, this was the first time anyone had called him a good child. It was rather creepy. Even Bian Chunchou and Chen Zui beside him felt that the elder's smile was a little... lecherous.