Jiang Yao
Three years later.
Canglang Mountain. Canglang Town.
Thousands of children and teenagers gathered around a high platform in the town, their eyes filled with longing, hope, and worry.
"Look! An immortal has arrived..."
Suddenly, a loud shout rang out, and many eyes turned to the horizon, where a large, crane-shaped warship was flying towards them. In the blink of an eye, it arrived close, casting a large shadow on the ground.
Several figures flew down from the large ship and landed on the high platform, revealing several cultivators: an old man with an air of otherworldly grace, a young man with a dignified bearing, and a dignified and elegant female immortal in palace attire.
One of them stepped forward, looking down at the group of young men with a clear but cold voice:
"I am Xu Junting, the Spirit Seeker of the Ascension Immortal Sect. Anyone with Spirit Root may enter my sect. Now, those whose names are called, please come up to the stage."
As he spoke, he took out a booklet, opened it, and read aloud, "Great Zhang Village - Zhang Gousheng."
"This... this..." A seven or eight-year-old child was led by his parents and ran quickly toward the platform.
After Zhang Gousheng onto the stage, Xu Junting produced a piece of jade in his hand, which emitted light that enveloped Zhang Gousheng. The light grew stronger and stronger before dimming.
"No Spirit Root! The next Li Household Village - Li Ming..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Gousheng's parents' faces immediately fell. They pulled Zhang Gousheng the platform and then launched into a tirade of complaints. "How could you be so useless? You don't even have Spirit Root! How could I have given birth to such a good-for-nothing..."
Soon, a boy named Li Ming came to the stage. After being illuminated by the jade, he stepped down dejectedly, and another boy took his place...
Below the stage, Fang Yu watched as the Spirit Seekers examined the Spirit Root of each young man, silently reviewing his current identity to make sure there were no flaws.
His name at this time was ' Jiang Yao ', a young herb gatherer. He fell off a cliff and died while gathering herbs in the mountains. Fang Yu foresaw this, found his body, buried him, and then took his place.
This young man, orphaned at a young age and raised on the charity of others, always kept to himself in the village, making him a perfect candidate for the role of a substitute.
After using the Yuanchen Pearl to dissipate his cultivation and change his aura, he left no flaws. Furthermore, his age was exactly 16, the maximum age for such an identity, making it an excellent disguise.
Just then, a commotion arose, and a light blue light emanated from a boy on the stage who was about the same age as him.
"Zhang Erhu, Low-Grade Water Spirit Root, you are eligible to enter the immortal sect. Stand behind me!"
The boy named Zhang Erhu walked excitedly behind Xu Junting and waved his hands excitedly to his parents, who were not far away in the audience.
The many young men and women in the audience looked on with envy.
Xu Junting continued calling out the names of the next boy with an expressionless face. After testing nearly a hundred people, Zhang Erhu was still standing behind him.
Cultivating Spirit Root; it's normal for only one out of thousands, or even tens of thousands, to appear. After another three or four hundred people passed by, no second one appeared.
"Next up, Jiang Gully Village - Jiang Yao!"
Upon hearing his name called, Fang Yu immediately ran over, looking at Xu Junting with excitement and anticipation.
Xu Junting's Law Power was clearly almost exhausted at this point. With a droopy face, he poured his Law Power into the spirit Spirit Stone, allowing the emanating Spirit Root to envelop Fang Yu within it.
The light kept getting brighter, turning redder, and then becoming somewhat dazzling.
"Mid-Grade Spirit Root!"
Xu Junting immediately perked up, a smile appearing on his face, and said in a gentle tone:
"Jiang Yao, with Mid-Grade Fire Spirit Root, can join my immortal sect. Come behind me!"
Fang Yu nodded excitedly, his steps almost unsteady as he walked to the open space behind Xu Junting. At this moment, countless eyes were on him from below the stage, many of whom were from Jiang Gully Village. He immediately waved his hands repeatedly, playing the role of a young man who was overjoyed after receiving a divine opportunity.
"This junior brother truly possesses an excellent Spirit Root!"
"My name is Qingwu. You should treat me well and befriend me in the sect from now on."
"Junior Brother Jiang, I am your senior brother Wu Kongqing."
"..."
The cultivators who had been resting with their eyes closed all gathered around and greeted Fang Yu with smiles on their faces. The female immortal named Qingwu, in particular, had a voice as melodious as a silver bell.
Zhang Erhu, who had been standing to the side, had been pushed aside, staring blankly at Fang Yu, who was now surrounded, a look of bewilderment on his face, as if to say, 'So these immortals can talk too!'
Fang Yu, on the other hand, was dealing with the disciples surrounding him with a mixture of fear and excitement. He knew perfectly well that these disciples, Fang Yu of whom were only at the Qi Refining Middle Stage, were only trying to befriend him because they thought his Spirit Root was decent. None of them were sincere; otherwise, he wouldn't have treated Zhang Erhu so warmly.
"Heaven Spirit Root..."
Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out, and everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Standing in front of Xu Junting was a boy who looked to be about five or six years old, radiating a dazzling golden light. He stood there helplessly.
"Wu Youtian, with the Metal-Element Heaven Spirit Root, is eligible to join my immortal sect. Come with me!"
As Xu Junting spoke, he reached out and took Wu Youtian's hand, leading him to the back. The next moment, the numerous cultivators surrounding Fang Yu swarmed over.
"Junior Brother Wu, I am your senior brother Wu Kongqing. We're actually from the same clan!"
"Junior Brother possesses Heaven Spirit Root; he will surely be able to directly enter the inner sect. Congratulations! Congratulations!"
"..."
Fang Yu looked at the numerous cultivators who had just been by his side but were now all surrounding Wu Youtian. The smile on his face froze, then slowly turned into helplessness, tinged with a hint of grievance...
Of course, he was just pretending.
He felt disgusted by the disciples' behavior, but he could understand it. After all, the child possessed Heaven Spirit Root, and Metal Spirit Root at that—a definite sword cultivator prospect. If nurtured properly, he was destined to become Golden Core cultivator.
For such a genius, it's natural to cultivate a good relationship, especially with the connection through the Spirit Seeker.
After a person with a ' Heaven Spirit Root ' was discovered, the subsequent testing of Spirit Root was extended for more than half an hour. It only continued after everyone had taken Wu Youtian aboard the large ship and settled him in.
The next test revealed two more individuals with Low-Grade Spirit Root. Xu Junting then announced the end of the Spirit Root testing and led Fang Yu and the other three to the large ship.
"Qingwu, I'll leave the rest of the area to you. I'll take Junior Brother Wu to see Elder Jiang now."
"Junior sister obeys!"
Xu Junting then took Wu Youtian and left, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
As soon as Xu Junting left, the remaining cultivators on the ship all looked gloomy and gathered together, talking amongst themselves.
Although Fang Yu was quite far away, he could clearly hear these people talking badly about Xu Junting through his Divine Thought, complaining that he had abandoned them and taken Wu Youtian away to curry favor with Elder Jiang.