Spirit Testing, Hostages

(This book's cultivation realms: Embryonic Breathing, Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation...)

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[Daniel Wus and Liu Yifeis, check in here]

The Xiaqi Mountain Range, in the Great Jin Dynasty.

Countless streams of golden light cascaded from the peaks, washing over the towering emerald ridges. Halfway up the mountains, a Golden Core True Lord had once spent decades gathering rosy mist and the air of mortal life from the mundane world. He placed them there to form a Golden Core array-Xiaqi Red Dust.

At the center of the Xiaqi Mountain Range, golden-veined spirit firs rose from the earth and towered into the sky. Their trunks and branches gleamed faintly gold, and wind rustled through their leaves, stirring clear, ringing notes like metal and stone.

The Xiao Household had flourished here for a thousand years. It had nearly a thousand core clansmen, Purple Mansion True Persons in every generation, and even an unbroken line of Golden Core True Lords.

Jade palaces and jeweled towers were built along the mountainsides, bells hanging from the corners of their eaves. When the wind blew, their chimes mingled with the soft rustling of fir leaves. Spirit cranes roosted there, and golden light wreathed the view, separating immortals from mortals.

In one of the estates in Rosycloud Perch Mountain stood an especially grand and imposing spirit-testing hall. It had an ancient simplicity about it, heavy with the vicissitudes of time.

Today happened to be the Xiao Clan's spirit-testing day.

Several hundred young disciples had gathered here. Their youthful faces showed excitement and nervousness, and their eyes held an unconscious hint of pride.

In the Xiao Clan, any mortal who tested with three Spirit Roots or better could leave the mundane world behind and enter the mountains to cultivate.

Those with outstanding talent could even enter the clan manor, or perhaps become disciples of the clan elders. From then on, they would leave the mortal world behind and receive the clan's training, ascending to heaven in a single step and roaming freely between heaven and earth.

Wind rustled through the mountains, accompanied by clear notes like ringing metal and stone. A streak of rainbow light flew out of the distant clouds, and the figure of a kindly, honest-looking elder in a plain white robe slowly took shape atop the platform.

With him came the fragrance of plants and spiritual materials, refreshing both heart and mind.

Another elder appeared on the platform, dressed in a green robe, with crane-white hair and a youthful face. He declared in a ringing voice, "Our Xiao Clan has stood for a thousand years thanks to this flourishing vitality, with generation after generation of clansmen carrying on without end."

"We pay our respects to the Second Elder and the Seventh Elder."

"By immortal grace, evergreen for ten thousand years; as metal and stone ring, Qixia shines in splendor; the Xiao Clan endures as long as the world." The Xiao disciples below the platform displayed remarkable discipline and organization.

"Today is the ninth and final day of the spirit-testing ceremony. Let us begin." The Second Elder, the elder in the plain robe, surveyed the many disciples below. He looked kindly and honest, every inch an elder as he stroked his long beard and smiled.

"Indeed. I wonder if there will be a few promising seedlings today who can enter our clan manor and study the art of alchemy under me." With a wave of the Seventh Elder's hand, a towering beam of light drifted out of the spirit-testing hall, and a pitch-black stone stele of ancient simplicity stood before them.

"First, Xiao Shan."

A tall, honest-looking youth stepped out from among the others and hurried onto the platform. His heart racing with excitement, he touched the stele with a trembling hand.

Three lights immediately appeared on the stele, with the yellow light of the earth element shining brightest.

The Second Elder smiled and read out the result.

"Metal, wood, and earth, three Spirit Roots! Middle grade. You may enter the Spirit Construction Pavilion in Rosycloud Perch Mountain to cultivate."

"Oh! Hahahaha, my father just happens to be a second-grade spirit constructor!

"A son follows in his father's trade. If any of you need anything built in the future, come find me! My family happens to run a spirit construction shop outside the mountains."

Xiao Shan grinned foolishly and cupped his hands to the other Xiao Household disciples.

"Congratulations, congratulations."

"Brother Shan has a family trade to inherit. Our Xiao Clan will have another rising spirit construction master in the future!"

The other Xiao Household disciples chimed in, and the atmosphere was cheerful and harmonious.

On the platform, the Second Elder continued calling names.

"Next, Xiao Yan!"

A handsome youth in a black robe strode confidently out of the crowd and onto the platform.

The Xiao Household clansmen around him began whispering, though most of their words were ones of encouragement and sympathy.

"Xiao Yan!! Why did he come too?"

"Alas, poor boy. His parents both died at the hands of the demonic path. He wandered through our clan's mortal territories from childhood, surviving on compensation and odd jobs. Fortunately, the clan looked after him, or else..."

"I hope he has good talent, brings glory to his ancestors, succeeds in cultivation, and avenges his parents!"

"That's right. We of the Xiaqi Xiao Clan have pride in our bones!"

Hearing the somewhat noisy but encouraging voices around him, Xiao Yan could not help steadying his mind and suppressing his thoughts. He then reached out and touched the stele. At once, green and red lights rose and intertwined, the red light of the fire element especially dazzling.

The Seventh Elder naturally heard the discussion below and paid Xiao Yan a little more attention. After all, someone like him ought to be resolute at heart. If his cultivation talent was decent, he could become a pillar of the clan in the future.

"Fire Element heavenly Spirit Root, wood Spirit Root, two Spirit Roots, supreme grade!"

Seeing the stele's light flicker, the Third Elder's eyes flashed. He looked at Xiao Yan as though he had found an exceedingly rare treasure, then suddenly appeared at his side and grabbed his shoulder, gently sending spiritual power into Xiao Yan's body.

A moment later, a smile bloomed across the Seventh Elder's face like a flower, and he announced in a ringing voice:

"Wonderful, wonderful! Our Xiao Clan is destined to flourish in this century. What a fine supreme-grade fire Spirit Root, with a wood Spirit Root mixed in as well."

"Xiao Yan, would you be willing to take me as your master, enter our clan manor, and cultivate the art of alchemy?"

Xiao Yan knelt on one knee and slowly bowed his head to the ground. His handsome face held a composure and resolve uncommon in one so young as he replied, "I accept your command. I pay my respects to Master!"

"By immortal grace, evergreen for ten thousand years; as metal and stone ring, Qixia shines in splendor. You may now bear the character 'Chang.' From this day forth, you shall be called Xiao Changyan." The Seventh Elder recited the words with a trace of reminiscence in his eyes.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan could not help trembling all over. His resolute face showed excitement and delight.

"I obey. I will never forget Master's kindness!"

The Second Elder was also slightly startled to hear the generation character, and he looked at the Seventh Elder with an unreadable gaze.

The many Xiao disciples below the platform felt an indescribable bitterness when they heard it.

But more than that, they felt envy for Xiao Yan, along with their blessings.

For in a Golden Core immortal clan like the Xiao Household, only those who had been granted a character could be called core clansmen.

Each character represented a core branch of the Xiao Clan to which an elder belonged, and each had a peak of its own within the Qixia Mountain Range.

To be granted a character, enter the clan manor to cultivate, and take an elder as master, one had to possess a craft among the hundred arts of cultivation that could reach the fourth grade, or the talent to cultivate to the Purple Mansion realm.

"Good, good, good! Stand behind your master. The testing will continue!"

The Seventh Elder nodded and helped Xiao Yan to his feet with a smile. He gently patted the dust off Xiao Yan's clothes and went to place a green jade pendant in his hand.

Xiao Yan felt somewhat awkward and tried to wave it away.

The Seventh Elder smiled warmly.

"When an elder gives you something, you must not refuse. Take it."

The fragrance of plants refreshed his heart and mind.

The figure, not particularly tall, seemed as immense as a mountain in Xiao Yan's heart at that moment.

Clutching the green jade, Xiao Yan-no, Xiao Changyan-could not help feeling warmth in his heart.

"Next, Xiao Libai."

The Second Elder's expression was calm. Showing not a trace of emotion at the Seventh Elder's actions, he kept his gaze focused and continued in a ringing voice.

The Xiao disciples below the platform made a commotion for a moment, and another person stepped onto the platform.

"Four Spirit Roots, low grade. Leave Luoxia Mountain and go to a mortal town to guard it and cultivate."

A sense of dejection spread below the platform, and Xiao Bai forced a smile.

A stream of Law Power then swept him away.

"Next, Xiao Li!"

"Five Spirit Roots. Go to the mortal world, marry and have children... or be sent to the Ruin Realm and establish an Aristocratic Clan..."

The Second Elder waved his broad sleeve, and amid the rustling mountain breeze and ringing notes of metal and stone, sent him down the mountain.

"Marry and have children in the mortal world, have plenty of them..."

A wave of his sleeve, down the mountain.

"Five... start a family."

A wave of his sleeve, down the mountain.

"Five Spirit Roots, the mortal world..."

No one knew how much time had passed.

Finally...

"What the devil? Why are they all five Spirit Roots and four Spirit Roots? Are they all good-for-nothings this year?! Could our Xiao Clan be heading for decline this century?! How come a few promising seedlings appeared when the First Elder presided?"

After thirty-six people with five Spirit Roots and sixteen with four in a row, the Second Elder's face twitched. He gritted his teeth, an inexplicable resentment in his eyes.

The Second Elder muttered under his breath.

Especially when he saw the smiling Sixth Elder beside him occasionally glancing at his expression.

The Second Elder grew even more furious and cursed inwardly.

That old bastard Seventh, what's he so happy about? Isn't it just one talented disciple?!

And the First Elder too. Could he have looked at the roster beforehand and known this was all today's batch of disciples amounted to? How am I supposed to meet my quota this year?

Three left, three left! What the devil? Why do two have outside surnames? There's only one girl left from the Xiao Clan itself!

The Second Elder forcibly suppressed his anger and squeezed out a smile. Looking at the three names remaining on the roster, he could not help feeling a little dejected.

"Very well. Ye Jinyu, Wang Yan, Xiao Wan. The three of you, come together."

When he finished speaking, only one person was present below the platform: a girl of the Xiao Household, Xiao Wan, who bowed.

"Where are the other two?"

"Elder... those two... were unwilling to come. Perhaps they haven't yet decided to take up cultivation."

"I wish to cultivate the immortal path of Purple Mansion and Golden Core, in the hope of attaining longevity."

The Second Elder looked toward a pavilion deep within a side peak of the mountain range and sighed.

Since the decline of the Wei Imperial House, the Greater Yang had been divided into three and lost its brilliance, while the Greater Yin had withdrawn from the world without a trace. The path of rainbow light and golden radiance, however, had risen to prominence in the world.

If that person could attain [Autumn]...

Autumn belonged to lesser yin and presided over killing. It was rather close to Luoxia, and was also greatly beneficial to the metal element of heaven and earth.

But now... murderous intent was rising on all sides.

"Very well, Xiao Wan. If you've made up your mind, come forward."

Xiao Wan was no more than sixteen, but her youthful face already showed hints of extraordinary beauty and a touch of determination. Dressed in plain white, she looked around with a pure, spirited, and sweetly innocent air, her whole bearing like a green lotus.

The girl walked forward slowly and gently touched the stele with her slender hand.

A deep-blue light of the water element burst through the hall, and the spirit-testing stele bloomed with a pure radiance.

Cool and pure.

"Water Spirit Root... a water heavenly Spirit Root... a seed naturally close to Greater Yin..."

"Could it be that our rainbow radiance branch... perhaps..."

Azure Peak.

In a courtyard, beneath a pavilion, stood a pot of wine.

Two youths, neither older than seventeen, sat there drinking together.

Ye Jinyu wore cloud brocade, and Wang Yan wore bright brocade.

The Ye Clan's Yunlan belonged to autumn and lesser yin, and bore the aspect of wind.

The Wang Clan's Mingxuan presided over the fire element and was close to the Greater Yang lineage.

Both were prominent surnames in the world, yet at this moment the two had no choice but to sit confined in the Xiao Clan's Qixia.

It was merely a way to preserve their lives.

Ye Jinyu was the first to speak with emotion. "Brother Wang, we've been here in the Xiao Clan for ten years now, haven't we?"

"You and I are fellow sufferers. Our statuses are exalted, yet we both have countless hardships we cannot speak of."

Wang Yan smiled. "Ten years asleep in a Qixia dream, and you've won the heart of a Xiao beauty. Brother Ye... we're both hostages, and both have mothers from the Xiao Clan, so why is it that you get to live more freely?"

"Besides, one ought to live as one pleases and take things as they come. You and I are close in age. If we still haven't begun cultivating before our bone ages reach twenty, then even if our talents are outstanding, we'll have missed our chance to ascend in spirit..." Wang Yan suddenly changed tack.

"By then, the beauty's face will remain youthful, while Brother Ye will age first. Difficult, difficult, difficult!"

"My branch is close to the Greater Yang. Now the Jin imperial house shines in splendor, and the Sima Clan rules all under heaven, supreme and exalted. The Luo River is vast, its depths unfathomable."

"The radiant sun of old, which illuminated the world, has now become thunder and rain, all bestowed by the sovereign's grace..."

Ye Jinyu chuckled. Looking at Wang Yan, he raised his cup and drained it.

"Brother Wang, summer belongs to lesser yang and is close to the [fire element]. It's not as though the Wang Clan has no chance..."

"It all depends on how broad-minded that supreme ruler of the Sima Clan is..."

Having said his piece, Ye Jinyu cupped his hands in farewell. Looking somewhat dejected, he walked off by himself toward the small courtyard behind him.

Wang Yan nodded, then picked up his wine and gently poured it onto the ground.

His eyes were clear as he slowly departed, putting on an air of carefree ease.

Lesser yang had appeared in the world. He did not know how the clan's plans were progressing, taking food from the Sima Clan's mouth. Alas.

His remaining here with the Xiao Clan was nothing more than a crafty rabbit keeping three burrows, cultivating ties with Luoxia and leaving a contingency.

Only after Wang Yan had gone far away

did Ye Jinyu return and take away the entire pot of wine.

From the pavilion, a beautiful woman in palace dress used her Divine Sense to observe Ye Jinyu's dejected figure. She watched closely, and only after confirming that his dejection was genuine did she feel a little relieved.

The woman in palace dress said nothing. My son is clever; he should naturally know how to conduct himself.

But seeing his dejection, she could not help feeling some pity.

A dragon trapped in a well for ten years would enter the clouds once it gained power.

"Jin'er, your mother has a feeling it's close. Autumn's presence is strong in the great void... If your father attains the [autumn aspect] of the four seasons, he will gain power and soar into the blue clouds!"

"If he fails... then, for all my son's talent, you can only resign yourself to being an ordinary mortal!"

"Why should you have to lodge with the Xiao Clan? You were meant to be the Ye Clan's qilin son!"

The woman's figure then dispersed into the void, leaving only a trace of resentment.

After returning to his room, Ye Jinyu picked up a pot of wine and drank it dry. He fell onto the bed and slept.

An hour or two later,

he slowly got up.

After carefully inspecting his surroundings, Ye Jinyu took out a jade talisman to isolate the presence inside from the outside.

That was right. His soul was not from this world; Venerable Great Fortune had sent him here with great power.

Just after he was born, his clan had fallen into turmoil. His father, whose cultivation had reached Purple Mansion Peak, had disappeared without a trace.

Within the Ye Clan, there were open and hidden struggles and harsh demands. Outside it, enemies and other clans could not stand to see anyone succeed.

He had been forced to seek refuge with his mother's clan, the Xiao Clan, alongside her.

He had stayed with the Xiao Clan as a hostage.

Of course, though he was called a hostage,

no one dared show him disrespect, nor did anyone dare kill him openly.

Unless, one day, word came

that his father had already died, his Dao extinguished.

Then those enemies, and even the Ye Clan's own people, would surely cut the grass and tear out the roots.

If he could not cultivate, he would cultivate his heart.

Nourishing his spirit and focusing his nature, he cultivated his spirit and his own heart.

Endurance.

For now, it seemed that Wang Yan was in much the same situation as him.

At least the Xiaqi Xiao Clan supported him and was an ally.

The so-called Rainbow Light and Golden Rosy Clouds lineage naturally favored the manifestation of Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang.

At the turn of summer and autumn, though the sun lingered late over the mulberry and elm trees, the sky was ablaze with rosy clouds, its illustrious fame resounding far and wide.

For seventeen years, on Qixia Mountain, where Spiritual Qi was dense enough to liquefy, even breathing casually to nourish one's Qi could let a person live to a hundred.

Unable to cultivate, unable to cultivate!

In this world, immortal cultivators roamed freely and unrestrained, bearing the mighty power of heaven and earth within themselves. Immortals roamed heaven and earth, ruling over the lives and deaths of mortal beings.

Unable to cultivate immortality, how unbearable it was.

The little girl who had once followed behind him was also about to set foot on the immortal path today.

The little follower from next door was also about to gain the strength to uproot mountains and a spirit to conquer the world.

Rainbow Light and Golden Rosy Clouds roamed the world-how carefree they were.

And I still don't have the strength to truss a chicken.

If I can't cultivate immortality, am I supposed to go study instead?

Had I never seen the light, I could have endured the darkness. A mayfly sees the blue sky for a single day; today, let it cast off restraint and soar into the heavens.

Starting immortal cultivation at twenty, how much time would have slipped away?

Heavens, wasn't I supposed to be the protagonist?

Ding-

Perhaps it had sensed the resentment Ye Jinyu had harbored for more than a decade.

A mechanical voice rang out in his mind.

[Congratulations to the host on obtaining the Heavenly Mandate Immortal Cultivation System]