Chapter 13 : A Flicker of Spiritual Hope

The Grand Elder was accustomed to such scenes and spoke calmly, "Six thousand six hundred seventy-three individuals. This year's count surpasses that of previous years."

"Yet, a larger number is favorable. The probability of detecting a Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation required for cultivation] increases accordingly. It merely means we must endure a bit more toil over these two days."

Testing children for a Spiritual Root was a tedious affair. In past years, four or five cultivators at the Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier would work together, typically completing the task within a single day.

However, with the loss of several Old Granduncle in battle, this year's Spiritual Root Detection Ceremony fell solely upon Eldrin Chen and the Grand Elder. The workload thus felt particularly burdensome.

Initially, Eldrin Chen was filled with excitement, hoping to discover one or two seeds of immortal destiny for the clan. Yet, as time wore on, his enthusiasm gradually dulled into numbness.

After testing over a thousand individuals in succession, every single one proved to be a mortal devoid of a Spiritual Root, casting a pall of gloom over his heart.

It was not until dusk that a change came. As Eldrin Chen grasped the arm of a young child and channeled his spiritual energy into the little one's body, he suddenly sensed a faint stirring.

"Hmm—"

Eldrin Chen's eyes lit up, a spark of delight flashing within them. He probed once more with his spiritual energy and, indeed, vaguely perceived a weak, flickering aura of spiritual power.

Noticing Eldrin Chen's expression, the Grand Elder swiftly approached. He took the child's hand, sending his own spiritual energy coursing through the young one's meridians. After a long moment of silent assessment, he finally spoke.

"A pity. It is a Quadruple Spiritual Root [a cultivator's spiritual foundation composed of four elemental affinities, considered a mediocre to poor aptitude]."

Upon hearing this, Eldrin Chen once again channeled his spiritual energy into the child's meridians. This time, he indeed sensed the faint, indistinct presence of four spiritual affinities.

Among cultivators' Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation that determines a cultivator's elemental affinity and cultivation speed], a Quadruple Spiritual Root is already considered a middling to inferior constitution. Such a foundation offers little potential for cultivation, as those with four spiritual roots cultivate at a glacial pace. Most will struggle their entire lives, never even breaking through to the Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage [the final phase of the foundational cultivation stage].

Although the Spiritual Root was rather poor, it was, after all, the first child with any spiritual aptitude detected. It was a promising start.

The Grand Elder [the highest-ranking elder in the clan] instructed someone with a kindly expression to take the child aside, and the testing continued.

Perhaps Eldrin Chen's discovery had brought good fortune, for the two of them soon detected two more children possessing Spiritual Root.

Because of this, the Grand Elder wore a faint smile until the very end, clearly in good spirits.

The spiritual root testing lasted for two full days. In total, three children with Spiritual Root were found. Besides the initial Quadruple Spiritual Root, one of the others possessed a Five Spiritual Roots [a spiritual foundation of all five elements, the lowest possible aptitude, resulting in extremely slow cultivation]—nothing more need be said of that. The most crucial discovery was a child with a Three Spiritual Roots [a spiritual foundation of three elements, considered a decent, if not outstanding, aptitude].

This was considered a rather good constitution. A Three Spiritual Roots talent appeared within the Chen Family only once every few years. Cultivators with this foundation often had a passable, if limited, future.

With diligent cultivation, even if they could not break through to the Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier [the ninth and final layer of the foundational cultivation stage] before the age of sixty to become a family Elder [a titled senior member of the clan], they could most likely achieve the breakthrough around seventy years of age. They would then become a Clan Elder [a respected senior member who contributes to the clan's affairs], contributing their strength to the family's legacy.

"A pity it is not a Dual Spiritual Root [a cultivator's spiritual foundation with two elemental affinities]."

After the test was complete, Eldrin Chen let out a sigh of relief, his voice tinged with a hint of regret as he spoke.

"You, lad."

Grand Elder was both amused and exasperated. To have three individuals with Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation that determines a person's potential for cultivation] emerge in one session was already considered quite fortunate; in most years, only one or two would appear.

As for a Dual Spiritual Root, the Chen Family would, on average, produce one only every twenty years or so. The most recent Dual Spiritual Root was Caleb Chen, who had been accepted into the Green Sun Sect.

Sylas Chen shook his head. He glanced at Eldrin Chen and said with a smile,

"The testing here is finished."

"But there are six more towns that require inspections. I must remain to guard Pingyang City and cannot leave. This task will fall to you."

Eldrin Chen nodded. "Understood. I shall set out shortly."

After centuries of development, the population of Pingyang City had reached its saturation point over one hundred years prior.

Due to the inherent limitations of Pingyang City, the Chen Family at the peak of its power eighty years ago expended immense resources to cultivate six first-grade Spirit Veins [subterranean formations that gather and emit spiritual energy] within a radius of several hundred Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] centered on Pingyang County.

Utilizing these six small first-grade Spirit Veins, the Chen Family established six towns, which are now collectively known as the Six Towns of Pingyang.

Each of these six towns was equipped with a first-grade upper-tier defensive formation and garrisoned by a Chen Family cultivator at the Vital Essence Refinement Mid Stage [the middle stage of refining one's vital life force]. This was sufficient to guard against demons and monsters below the Foundation Establishment [the realm where a cultivator establishes their foundational Dao core] level. These towns served as a protective barrier established by the Chen Family for Pingyang City.

With these six towns rooted in the periphery, blocking sporadic demonic beasts, the vast plains spanning several hundred Li-lengths in the heartland of Pingyang County became fertile soil—a granary where the descendants of the Chen Family could farm in peace for generations.

"Our ancestors from eighty years ago were truly prescient in securing these hundreds of Li-lengths of fertile land," Eldrin Chen murmured to himself.

"A pity..."

As he walked across these plains, Eldrin Chen could not help but sigh.

If not for the Beast Tide [a massive, periodic surge of demonic beasts] sixty years ago, which severely wounded the Chen Family's vitality and depleted seventy to eighty percent of their strength, they would not be in such a constrained and humiliating position today.

Within the harsh and monster-infested Eastern Wastelands, such relatively safe and fertile land was exceedingly rare.

If these hundreds of Li-lengths of fertile land could be fully developed, they could absolutely sustain the reproduction and livelihood of several million mortals. The number of cultivators the Chen Family produced each year would increase more than tenfold.

It was a pity that the strength of the Chen Family was insufficient. If they truly allowed their mortal population to multiply into the millions, they would likely face a calamitous downfall.

The flesh, blood, and souls of millions of mortals were a treasure coveted even by great demonic beings of the Purple Mansion Realm. A single blood sacrifice of that scale would be sufficient to forge a third-rank Demonic Treasure [an artifact imbued with malevolent power].

Such temptation was enough to drive evil demons to take desperate risks and commit acts that would enrage both heaven and mankind.

Therefore, the Chen Immortal Clan had always controlled the population's growth, allowing it to increase only slowly to avoid attracting the attention of such great demonic beings.

Eldrin Chen moved with swift strides. In little more than the time for a single Shichen-time [a period of two hours], he arrived at the first small town.

This town was the closest to Pingyang County and was the most developed of the six, with a population of over fifteen thousand people. Among them, there were more than seven hundred children of suitable age.

Eldrin Chen spent several Shichen-time [periods of two hours] testing all seven hundred individuals. Unfortunately, he did not detect a single Spiritual Root [the innate foundation that allows one to cultivate spiritual energy].

Without wasting more time, he proceeded to the other towns. In just two days, he completed the testing in five towns, yet he had not encountered a single individual with a Spiritual Root.

"The last town lies ahead," he murmured to himself.

Eldrin Chen felt a wave of discouragement as he looked at the map, holding little hope for the final settlement.

Pingyuan Town was the most remote of the six towns under Pingyang City's jurisdiction. Serving as the first line of defense for the city, its environment was the harshest, frequently subjected to attacks from demonic beasts and venomous insects. Consequently, its population was the smallest among the six towns.

The entire town held a mere three thousand souls. Subtracting the eight hundred Black Armored Cavalry stationed to fend off low-tier demonic beasts, only a little over two thousand civilians remained. Among them, the number of children of suitable age likely did not exceed two hundred.

"Something is wrong."

While still over ten Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] from Pingyuan Town, Eldrin Chen sensed that something was amiss.

According to Chen Clan regulations, to guard against attacks from low-tier demonic beasts, Black Armored Cavalry patrols should have been active within ten Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] of Pingyuan Town. Yet today, he had not seen a single cavalryman.

What filled him with even greater unease was the faint but unmistakable scent of blood carried on the wind from a great distance.

"This is bad!"