Chapter 13 Spirit Root Detection

The Grand Elder, having long grown accustomed to such scenes, remarked calmly, "6 1000 6 100 70-3 individuals. This year's count has surpassed that of previous years."

"But a larger crowd is good—it increases the odds of detecting spiritual roots. It’s only for these 2 days, and we’ll just have to endure a bit more hardship."

Testing spiritual roots for children was a tedious task. In previous years, 4 or 5 Qi Refining ninth-level cultivators would work together, typically completing the process in about a day.

However, with the deaths of several elder uncles in battle, this year’s Spirit Measurement Assembly relied entirely on Eldrin and the Grand Elder. The workload thus felt particularly exhausting.

At first, Eldrin was quite excited, hoping to discover 1 or 2 seeds of immortal destiny for his family. But as time went on, he gradually grew numb.

After testing over 1,000 people in succession, every single 1 turned out to be a mortal without a spiritual root, which left him feeling rather disheartened.

The sun had begun to set when Eldrin, while checking a young child’s arm by channeling spiritual energy into the body, suddenly sensed an unusual stir.

"Hmm—"

Eldrin's eyes lit up, a look of pleasant surprise spreading across his face. He once again channeled his spiritual power into it, and sure enough, he faintly sensed a weak, ethereal spiritual force.

The Grand Elder noticed the expression on Eldrin’s face and immediately stepped forward. He grasped the young child’s hand, channeling spiritual energy into the child’s meridians. After a long moment, he finally spoke.

"What a pity, it's a 4 Spirit Roots."

Hearing this, Eldrin once again channeled his spiritual energy into the child’s meridians, and this time, he distinctly sensed the faint presence of 4 spiritual attributes.

Among the spiritual roots of cultivators, the 4 Spiritual Roots are already considered mediocre at best. Such roots essentially hold little potential for development, as cultivators with 4 Spiritual Roots progress at a sluggish pace—most may never break through to Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) in their entire lifetimes.

Although his spiritual roots were rather poor, no matter what, they had finally detected a child with spiritual roots—a promising start.

The Grand Elder amiably instructed someone to lead the young child aside before resuming the assessment process.

Perhaps Eldrin (Person Name) had set a favorable precedent, for the 2 subsequently detected 2 more children possessing spiritual roots.

It was precisely for this reason that the Grand Elder wore a smile until the very end, clearly in excellent spirits.

The spiritual root testing lasted for 2 full days, ultimately revealing 3 children possessing spiritual roots. Aside from the initial 4 Spiritual Roots candidate, 1 of the other 2 possessed 5 Spiritual Roots—hardly worth mentioning. The most crucial discovery was a child with 3 Spiritual Roots.

This could already be considered quite decent aptitude. The 3 Spiritual Roots Chen Clan would only produce 1 such individual every few years, and these cultivators generally had passably promising prospects.

As long as 1 cultivates diligently, even if they cannot break through the ninth level of Qi Refining before the age of 60 to become an elder of the clan, they will most likely achieve the breakthrough around 70 and become a senior elder, contributing their strength to the family.

"What a pity, there isn't a dual spiritual root."

After the inspection was complete, Eldrin breathed a sigh of relief, then remarked with a hint of regret.

"Young man."

The Grand Elder was caught between laughter and tears. Producing 3 spiritual roots in a single session was considered quite remarkable, as most years yielded only 1 or 2.

As for dual spiritual roots, the Chen Clan would only produce 1 such talent every 20 years or so on average. The most recent dual spiritual root bearer was Chen Qingyuan, who had joined the Qingyang Sect.

Chen Qingxu shook his head. He glanced at Eldrin, then smiled and said.

"The examination here is complete."

"However, there are still 6 towns requiring inspection. As I'm stationed in Pingyang City and cannot leave my post, this matter must be handled by you."

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

After several 100 years of development, the population of Pingyang City had gradually reached saturation over 1 100 years ago.

Due to the limitations of Pingyang City, at the peak of the Chen family's power 80 years ago, they had paid an enormous price to cultivate 6 first-order spirit veins within a several-100-li radius centered around Pingyang County.

Relying on 6 first-order minor spirit veins, the Chen Clan established 6 towns, which are now known as the 6 Towns of Pingyang.

All 6 towns were protected by Grade 1, Upper Tier defensive formations, with the Chen Family's Qi Refinement, Mid Stage cultivators stationed as guardians. This was sufficient to ward off demons and monsters below the Foundation Establishment level, forming a security barrier established by the Chen Family for Pingyang City's protection.

With these 6 towns rooted in the outer perimeter, warding off scattered demonic beasts, the vast plains spanning hundreds of miles in Pingyan County's heartland had become fertile soil—a grain-producing region where the Chen Clan descendants could cultivate crops in peace for generations.

"This expanse of fertile land spanning hundreds of miles... Our ancestors from 80 years ago truly possessed remarkable foresight."

"What a pity…"

Eldrin could not help but sigh as he traversed the vast plain.

If not for the beast tide 60 years ago that devastated the Chen Clan, depleting 70 to 80 percent of their strength, they wouldn’t have been reduced to such humiliation today.

In the Eastern Wastelands (Location), where demonic beasts roamed freely and the environment was harsh, such relatively safe fertile lands were exceedingly rare.

If these hundreds of miles of fertile land could be properly developed, they would undoubtedly sustain the proliferation of millions of mortals. The Chen Family would see their annual increase in cultivators grow by more than tenfold.

It was a pity the Chen family lacked sufficient strength. Should they truly propagate a population of several million mortals, they would likely face catastrophic annihilation instead.

The flesh, blood, and souls of millions of mortals—this was a treasure even a Great Fiend at the Violet Palace Realm would covet. Once offered in a blood sacrifice, it would be sufficient to refine a third-rank demonic treasure of the Violet Palace Realm.

This temptation was enough to make even demons risk everything, committing deeds that would enrage both heaven and mortals.

Thus, the Chen Immortal Clan (Organization) has always maintained a slow population growth to avoid drawing the attention of the great fiends.

Eldrin moved with astonishing swiftness, covering the distance in little more than an hour before arriving at the first town.

This town was the closest to Pingyang County and the most developed among the 6 towns, with a population of over 15,000 people, including more than 700 children of suitable age.

Eldrin spent several hours examining all 700-odd individuals, yet to his disappointment, not a single spiritual root was detected among them.

Without wasting any more time, he proceeded to visit several other towns. In just 2 days, he completed inspections across 5 towns, yet astonishingly, not a single spiritual root was found.

"Ahead lies the final town."

Eldrin gazed somewhat dejectedly at the map, holding little hope for the final small town in his heart.

Pingyuan Town was the farthest settlement from Pingyang City, serving as its primary defensive barrier. Plagued by harsh conditions and frequent attacks by demonic beasts and venomous insects, it maintained the smallest population among the 6 towns with barely 1,000 registered households.

The entire town had a mere 3,000 inhabitants. With 8 100 Black Armored Cavalry deployed to fend off low-level demonic beasts, only slightly over 2,000 civilians remained. Among them, the number of children of suitable age likely did not exceed 2 100.

"Wrong."

About a dozen or so li from Pingyuan Town, Eldrin sensed something was wrong.

To guard against attacks from low-level demon beasts, according to the Chen Clan's rules, Black Armor Cavalry patrols should have been active within 10 li of Pingyuan Town. Yet today, he hadn't spotted a single Black Armor Cavalry rider.

What made him even more uneasy was the scent of blood he detected from afar.

"Not good!"