Just as dawn was breaking, Qin Sang stopped cultivating and headed out.
According to the shopkeeper, the cultivation market was never this busy on ordinary days. Only during the few days around the middle of each month did cultivators from across the Mount Youshan area gather here of their own accord to trade for what they needed.
These few days were the best time to gather information.
Qin Sang actually wanted to make a few friends, but every cultivator was exceedingly cautious. Whenever he tried to strike up a friendly conversation, without exception they would eye him with wariness as if he harbored some hidden agenda, before adopting a cold, standoffish attitude.
Brash youths like the Tan brothers were an extreme rarity.
Considering the recurring words in the Song family genealogy—vanished, died in an accident, assassinated by enemies—Qin Sang understood well enough.
He reasoned that if he wanted to gather news, he would have to do as he had in Sanwu City: find a crowded place and get acquainted with people.
Establishments like the Immortal Tea Pavilion or Joyful House were undoubtedly the best choices, but stepping through their doors cost spirit stones.
Qin Sang endured the pang of heartache and walked onto the bluestone thoroughfare. He suddenly noticed a bustling crowd packing the street further ahead, and it struck him: was today not the middle of the month?
It seemed Shenqi Pavilion was about to open its doors. It was quite a spectacle, with all these proud and aloof cultivators jostling in line to get inside.
Qin Sang lacked the money to buy anything, but wanting to broaden his horizons, he walked toward Shenqi Pavilion as well.
The main hall of Shenqi Pavilion was spacious. Shelves held various magic tools like an ordinary mortal shop. Quite a few cultivators crowded around the display cases, browsing on their own; there were no shop assistants standing beside the shelves.
Qin Sang discreetly circulated his Qi-Watching Technique to look around, only to see a black-robed old man standing by the entrance of Shenqi Pavilion with his hands clasped behind his back. Imposing as an abyss and towering as a mountain peak, the old man looked into the shop with an impassive expression. His spiritual power was dense to an astonishing degree—he was very likely a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
No wonder they had no fear of theft or robbery.
Qin Sang was secretly awestruck and adopted an even more respectful demeanor. Yet just as he lifted his foot to walk inside, the black-robed elder raised a hand and barred his way.
So many people had walked in ahead of him, yet not one had been stopped. Seeing the black-robed old man looking him up and down, Qin Sang grew apprehensive and said, "Junior Qin Sang pays his respects to Senior."
"Are you a rogue cultivator? How old are you?" the black-robed elder asked abruptly.
Qin Sang paused for a moment, then answered, "Replying to Senior, this junior is a rogue cultivator, twenty-two years of age."
"Twenty-two... fifth layer of Qi Refinement, mm... eh? And your cultivation method is the Nether Scripture... Follow me."
The black-robed elder nodded, turned around, and walked toward the inner chamber.
Qin Sang was terrified that his foundation had been seen through at a single glance, yet he was also completely baffled.
Still, the elder was a Foundation Establishment cultivator who could crush him as easily as an ant. Qin Sang could only trail closely behind, asking tentatively, "Senior, this is junior's first time visiting Shenqi Pavilion. May I ask why Senior has called me aside?"
The black-robed old man looked at Qin Sang with a strange expression. "You came carrying the token, yet you fear this old man would harm you? Hand over the token and step inside."
A token?
Qin Sang remembered the jade plate and quickly retrieved it, handing it to the elder. He wondered in bewilderment what purpose this token truly served, but it did not seem to be anything bad. Even if it turned out to be an exclusive private auction, at worst he simply would not bid and would treat it as an eye-opening excursion.
As they spoke, the black-robed elder pushed open the heavy inner chamber doors. When Qin Sang saw what lay inside, he froze in surprise.
A desk sat just past the doorway. Behind it reclined a pale-faced youth in a fine fur robe, casually toying with a blood-red little snake. The youth was astonishingly at the eighth layer of the Qi Refinement stage.
Further in were several prayer mats where five people sat cross-legged. They were roughly Qin Sang's age, their cultivation all around the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refinement. Two among them were none other than the Tan brothers he had met two days ago.
The sound of the opening door alerted everyone in the room.
The fur-robed youth hastily dropped his languid demeanor, rose to his feet, and bowed respectfully. "Martial Uncle Yue."
He then glanced at Qin Sang and smiled. "Martial Uncle Yue has brought another junior brother. Our harvest this time is larger than usual."
Everyone in the room was sneaking glances at Qin Sang. The Tan brothers clearly recognized him as well. Tan Hao opened his mouth to speak, but Tan Jie gave him a discreet tug on the sleeve.
Seeing that they seemed unwilling to let on that they knew him, Qin Sang held back from greeting them.
However, small as the Tan brothers' movements were, they did not escape the black-robed elder's notice.
"You know them?" The elder turned his head, his eyes narrowing at Qin Sang.
Qin Sang dared not conceal the truth and briefly explained how they had met.
The elder nodded without probing further. Pointing at Qin Sang, he instructed the fur-robed youth, "Test his spiritual roots."
"Yes."
The fur-robed youth walked over to Qin Sang. After conducting a series of tests, a look of profound astonishment suddenly washed over his face. He knit his brows and stared at Qin Sang as if unable to believe the result, then repeated the test thoroughly once more.
Seeing the youth's expression, Qin Sang understood. It seemed Zhen Ming had not lied to him after all: he truly had no spiritual roots.
Was Shenqi Pavilion recruiting disciples?
Could the jade plate be a token similar to the Shaohua Mountain Sword Intent decree?
According to the neighboring shopkeeper, Shenqi Pavilion was backed by a powerful sect. Joining a sect was naturally desirable, but the problem was that he had no spiritual roots.
To possess cultivation without spiritual roots—would they not slice him open for dissection?
Qin Sang had never anticipated that being brought inside would lead to a spiritual root test. With a Foundation Establishment cultivator watching right beside them, escape was impossible. Panic seized his chest, and his mind raced as he searched desperately for a way out.
The black-robed elder frowned and barked, "Liang Yan, what are you doing?"
Qin Sang snapped to attention, only to hear the fur-robed youth say hurriedly, "Reporting to Martial Uncle Yue, this junior brother actually has a pseudo spiritual root... and it possesses all five elements. At first, I thought I had made an error in the test. According to the sect's rules, this junior brother is not qualified to enter the sect and cultivate."
"What?"
Not only the elder, but everyone in the room took on peculiar expressions. They had all inspected Qin Sang's cultivation with the Qi-Watching Technique earlier. He was young yet already at a genuine fifth layer of Qi Refinement, which ought to have indicated respectable talent. Who could have imagined he possessed a pseudo spiritual root of all five elements?
One youth stared at Qin Sang with an odd expression. His own cultivation was only at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, inferior to Qin Sang's, but he possessed three spiritual roots!
A pseudo spiritual root was called that for a reason: cultivation speed was terribly slow, and the hope of breaking through to Foundation Establishment was practically nonexistent. A chaotic root bearing all five elements was slower still, and no sect would ever accept such a disciple.
Little did they know that among everyone present, none was more shaken than Qin Sang himself.
*I actually have spiritual roots! Zhen Ming lied to me!*
*I never offended him. Why would he do this? If not for Zhen Ming, I would already be cultivating in the Han family—why would I have had to travel all this distance?*
Consumed by intense fury, Qin Sang momentarily forgot what a five-element spiritual root even signified.
The black-robed elder frowned slightly. "It is not entirely impossible for someone with a pseudo spiritual root to reach the fifth layer of Qi Refinement at this age, but your cultivation method happens to be the Nether Scripture... Have you had some fortuitous encounter?"
Chapter 59