Chapter 13 : A Glimmer of Immortal Fate

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

"Yet a larger number is favorable. The probability of detecting a Spiritual Root [the innate potential for cultivation] increases accordingly. It merely means we must toil a little harder for these two days, that is all."

Testing children for the 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 several Old Granduncle having fallen in battle, this year's Spiritual Root Detection Ceremony rested solely on the shoulders of Eldrin Chen and the Grand Elder. The workload thus felt particularly wearying.

Initially, Eldrin Chen was filled with excitement, hoping to uncover one or two seeds of Immortal Fate [a destined potential for the immortal path] for the clan. Yet, as time wore on, his enthusiasm gradually dulled into numbness.

He had tested over a thousand individuals in succession, and every single one proved to be a mortal devoid of any Spiritual Root. A heavy sense of disappointment settled in his heart.

It was not until the twilight hour that a change came. As Eldrin Chen grasped the arm of a young child and channeled a thread of spiritual energy into the small body, he suddenly felt a faint, distinct resonance.

"Hmm—"

Eldrin Chen's eyes brightened, a spark of delight flashing within them. He carefully sent his spiritual energy probing once more and, indeed, vaguely sensed a weak but undeniable pulse of spiritual power.

Noticing Eldrin Chen's expression, the Grand Elder swiftly approached. He took the child's hand, his own spiritual energy flowing into the young meridians. After a long moment of silent assessment, he finally spoke. For uninterrupted reading, go to audi novel.com.

"A pity. It's a Quadruple Spiritual Roots [a cultivator's spiritual foundation comprising four distinct elemental affinities]."

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

Among cultivators' spiritual foundations, Quadruple Spiritual Roots is considered a middling-to-poor aptitude. Those with such a foundation possess little potential for cultivation, as their progress is exceedingly slow. Most would struggle their entire lives to even break through to the Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage [the final phase of the foundational cultivation stage].

Although the spiritual root quality was poor, it was, after all, the first child with any detectable spiritual foundation they had found. It was a promising start.

The Grand Elder 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 roots.

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 foundations were found. Besides the initial child with Quadruple Spiritual Roots, one of the others possessed Five Spiritual Roots [the lowest-grade spiritual foundation with five weak elemental affinities], which was of little note. The most significant find was a child with Triple Spiritual Roots [a spiritual foundation of three elemental affinities, considered a decent talent].

This was considered quite a good aptitude. A child with Triple Spiritual Roots appeared within the Chen Clan only once every few years. Cultivators with this foundation typically had a moderately promising future.

With diligent cultivation, even if they failed to break through to the Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier [the peak of the foundational cultivation stage] before the age of sixty to become a clan Elder, they would most likely achieve the breakthrough around seventy, becoming a Clan Elder and contributing their strength to the family.

"A pity there is no Dual Spiritual Root [a cultivator's spiritual foundation that possesses two primary elemental affinities]."

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

"You, boy."

The Grand Elder was torn between laughter and exasperation. "To have three individuals with Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation that determines one's potential for cultivation] appear in one session is already quite a good result. In most years, we are fortunate to find one or two."

As for a Dual Spiritual Root, the Chen Clan could expect to produce one only about every twenty years on average. The most recent Dual Spiritual Root was Verdant Origin Chen, who had been accepted into the Verdant Sun Sect.

Verdant Void Chen shook his head. He glanced at Eldrin Chen and said with a smile, "The testing here is finished."

"However, the six other towns still need to be visited. 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 a hundred years prior.

Due to the limitations of Pingyang City, at the peak of the Chen Clan's power eighty years ago, they expended immense resources to cultivate six first-grade Spiritual Vein [a natural conduit of concentrated spiritual energy] within a radius of several hundred Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] centered on Pingyang County.

Relying on these six small first-grade Spiritual Vein, the Chen Clan established six towns, which are now known as the Six Towns of Pingyang.

Each of the six towns is protected by a first-grade upper-tier defensive formation and garrisoned by a Chen Clan cultivator at the Vital Essence Refinement Mid Stage [the middle stage of refining one's vital life energy]. This is sufficient to guard against demons and monsters below the Foundation Establishment [the realm where a cultivator establishes their foundational dao core] level, effectively serving as a protective barrier established by the Chen Clan for Pingyang City.

With these six towns rooted in the periphery, intercepting scattered demonic beasts, the vast plains spanning hundreds of Li-length within the heartland of Pingyang County have become fertile soil and a granary where the descendants of the Chen Clan have farmed in peace for generations.

"Our ancestors from eighty years ago truly possessed foresight regarding these hundreds of Li-length of fertile land."

"A pity..."

As Eldrin Chen traversed these plains, he could not help but sigh. Read, share, and discuss at audio-novel*com.

If not for the Beast Tide [a massive, periodic onslaught of demonic beasts] sixty years ago that severely wounded the Chen Clan, depleting seventy to eighty percent of their strength, they would not be in such a constrained and frustrating position today.

Within the harsh and demon-beast-infested Eastern Region Great Wasteland, such relatively safe and fertile land is exceedingly rare.

If these hundreds of Li-length of fertile land could be fully developed, it could undoubtedly sustain the flourishing of millions of mortals. The number of cultivators the Chen Clan could produce each year would increase more than tenfold.

Alas, the strength of the Chen Clan was insufficient. If they truly allowed their mortal population to swell into the millions, they would likely face a cataclysmic disaster.

The flesh, blood, and souls of millions of mortals are a treasure coveted even by great demonic beings of the Violet Sanctum Realm. A single blood sacrifice of that magnitude would be enough to forge a third-rank Demonic Treasure [an artifact of great power, often created through malevolent rituals].

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

Therefore, the Chen Immortal Clan had always controlled the slow growth of its population to avoid drawing the attention of such great demonic powers.

Eldrin Chen moved with swift strides. In little more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn [a conventional short duration, roughly fifteen to thirty minutes], he arrived at the first town.

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

Eldrin Chen spent several hours testing all seven hundred, but to his disappointment, not a single one possessed a Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation that determines one's potential for cultivation].

Wasting no time, he proceeded to the other towns. In just two days, he had completed the tests in five of them, 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 its first line of defense. 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 of Pingyuan Town. Yet today, he had not seen a single patrolman.

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!" Original English translation available at http://www . audio-novel.com.