Only one thought occupied the minds of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou: they were done for. They had actually plotted how to cheat right in front of the head examiner.
Eldest Senior Sister Yun Zhi acted as if she had no idea of their scheme. After a single indifferent glance, she looked away and set about organizing the trials.
It was clear that her authority among the disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect was absolute, commanding instant obedience.
Out in the mortal realm, any of these disciples would be figures of awe, courted by all as favored darlings of the heavens. Yet here, every one of these prodigies followed her instructions without the slightest hesitation or defiance, which spoke volumes about her standing.
"The root bone is the very first threshold on the path to immortality," she announced. "Without sufficient foundation, no amount of resources poured into you will allow you to cultivate. The first trial is the root bone test. Step forward in turn. Anyone who lacks confidence in their root bone may depart of their own accord."
Not a single person left.
Those who came to participate in the Dao Seeking Sect's trials all understood their own root bones. Very few were like Lu Yang, who had merely come to try his luck because the sect happened to be close to his home.
This declaration was simply the sect's way of weeding out impostors hoping to slip through without meeting the requirements.
Generally speaking, assessing a root bone required a root bone stone—a massive, eye-catching monolith. But from the empty space before the sect gates, it was obvious the Dao Seeking Sect had no intention of using one.
A Dao Seeking Sect disciple sat at the very front. His name was Dai Bufan. The cultivation technique he practiced was exceedingly peculiar; by sending a thread of spiritual energy circulating once through another person's body, he could determine their root bone, their cultivation technique, their fatal pressure points, and more, giving him immense versatility in combat.
Much like an old traditional physician taking a pulse, Dai Bufan merely had to place two fingers on an applicant's wrist to accurately discern their root bone.
"Metal-water-fire triple spiritual root? Passable. Move along."
"Water-fire dual spiritual root. Not bad."
"Water-wood dual spiritual root. You previously suffered damage to your foundation—it should have been a severe injury around age twelve. By rights, it ought to have left permanent defects, but your fate was not yet sealed. You crossed paths with an expert whose kind heart moved him to heal you. His medical skill was superb, fully restoring your foundation."
The applicant was stunned that Dai Bufan could see so precisely. "When I was twelve, my mother passed away, and my stepmother seized power in the household. Fearing my existence would threaten her own son's inheritance, she framed and poisoned me. I fell into a coma, but by the time I woke, I was completely unharmed. My father told me a traveling master had passed by and saved my life, leaving without so much as giving his name."
Once that applicant moved on, another Dao Seeking Sect disciple stepped forward to congratulate Dai Bufan on his progress. "To deduce the full cause and effect just by taking a pulse, as if you witnessed it with your own eyes! Senior Brother Dai's cultivation has truly advanced—this calls for celebration!"
Dai Bufan replied flatly, "Oh, it's nothing special. That expert was me. I was in a rush back then, so after saving him, I forgot to leave my name."
"..."
While speaking, Dai Bufan waved a hand at the next candidate in line. "Eighteen years old. You're over the limit. Head home."
An adorable young novice monk, guided by a senior monk, stepped up to Dai Bufan and bowed with meticulous decorum.
Dai Bufan cast him a sidelong glance, then shoved the boy back toward the senior monk. "What is a novice from the Hanging Temple doing here? You bear the brand left behind by the Hanging Temple's abbot. Go on, go on, get back to your temple."
"I recall that the Hanging Temple is one of the Five Great Immortal Sects?" Lu Yang whispered to Meng Jingzhou.
Meng Jingzhou nodded, his expression grave. "The Hanging Temple has the fewest disciples of the Five Great Immortal Sects. At its lowest, there was only the abbot and a single disciple, and even at its peak, their numbers never exceed ten. This little monk hasn't even begun cultivating, yet he's already a recognized disciple of the Hanging Temple. His Buddhist affinity must be profound."
He watched the novice being led away by his senior brother as if facing a mortal threat. "I thought I would stand unchallenged above all others in the cultivation world to come. Who knew there would actually be people qualified to be my rivals?"
Lu Yang had no idea where Meng Jingzhou got his boundless confidence. "Aren't you even a little worried Lady Yun Zhi will kick the two of us out?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Haven't you read popular novels? That's always how the story goes: a grand sect is blind to talent, frames a brilliant young prodigy, and drives him out. The young prodigy treats it as a humiliation, works relentlessly, stumbles upon one fortuitous encounter after another, and soars to the heavens—becoming a mighty figure the sect must look down upon... oh, wait, look up to!"
Lu Yang fell silent for a moment before reminding him, "...Except Lady Yun Zhi doesn't actually need to frame us."
"Good point."
At that, Meng Jingzhou panicked as well.
"The breath inside you flows ceaselessly on its own. Judging by your attire, you don't hail from a cultivation clan. Could it be you ate a Green Wood Immortal Fruit by chance in your childhood? Move along."
"Oho, this constitution of yours is rather interesting." Dai Bufan placed his fingers on the wrist of a burly man with bronze skin, his eyes lighting up. "Ancient barbarian bloodline. It has been a long time since I've seen that."
The man was built like a bear, his shaven head gleaming brightly and his skin catching the sunlight. Judging by his face, anyone would believe he was twenty-five or twenty-six, yet Dai Bufan raised no objection about his age, which meant he was still under sixteen.
Lu Yang could only marvel at how remarkably well-developed the youth was.
A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd. In antiquity, the barbarians possessed strength capable of uprooting mountains and an aura that could swallow the sun and moon. They had flourished to the absolute pinnacle before fading into the long river of time.
The Central Continent had not seen an ancient barbarian bloodline in ages; everyone assumed the lineage had vanished completely, yet one had appeared right here in the Dao Seeking Sect's trials.
Dai Bufan stifled a yawn. He had already examined half the applicants, yet he hadn't seen even one single spiritual root. Had the other sects snatched them all up?
Meng Jingzhou strode forward with unhurried swagger. Dai Bufan held little hope, but the moment his index and middle fingers rested upon Meng Jingzhou's wrist, his eyes snapped wide. He sprang to his feet with a start. "It's actually a sin—"
Hearing Dai Bufan's exclamation, chatter erupted through the crowd below. Could it truly be a single spiritual root?!
What did a single spiritual root mean? The bottlenecks between realms were far looser for them than for anyone else. Such people were destined to become grand cultivators of the immortal dao. In the imperial court, they would hold towering office; in the wild, they could carve out their own domain and rule as kings!
Everyone turned fervent gazes upon Meng Jingzhou. Forging ties with such a figure early on offered nothing but boundless advantages!
Elders urgently instructed their juniors that once inside the Dao Seeking Sect, they must do everything possible to get on Meng Jingzhou's good side.
A scion of the Meng family, a single spiritual root, and a Dao Seeking Sect disciple—with these three identities combined, he was guaranteed to become a figure of real authority in the sect, a legendary powerhouse who would leave his mark upon history!
"A Bachelor Spiritual Root," Dai Bufan concluded, speaking the full name of Meng Jingzhou's spiritual root. A stunned silence instantly fell over the scene.
Meng Jingzhou blew his top. What in the world was a Bachelor Spiritual Root? Did it mean he was doomed to be single his entire life?!
"Don't try to hoodwink me just because I haven't seen much of the world!" Meng Jingzhou roared, veins bulging on his forehead as he slammed the table until it rattled violently.
"Junior Brother Dai, do not play tricks on others," an ethereal, otherworldly voice drifted over. Yun Zhi stepped out from a swirl of mist, glaring at Dai Bufan, who shrank his neck in guilty dismay.
Only then did Meng Jingzhou calm down slightly. See? Dai Bufan had to be lying.
Yun Zhi then turned back to Meng Jingzhou. "However, Junior Brother Dai was not deceiving you. Yours is indeed the Bachelor Spiritual Root—that is its formal scholarly name. It is simply that in the cultivation world, people are more accustomed to calling it by its common name: the Pure Yang Spiritual Root."
Meng Jingzhou: "..."
He finally understood why the venerable elders of his clan and his parents had refused to tell him what his spiritual root was.
All that talk about how he would find out once he arrived at the Five Great Immortal Sects—they had simply been too embarrassed to tell him to his face!
No wonder that ever since his root bone had been tested, his parents had taken to asking whether he preferred a younger brother or a younger sister.
A mutated single spiritual root: the Pure Yang Spiritual Root. Utmost rigidity, purest yang, the absolute bane of ghosts and specters.
Preserve the Pure Yang Body, and one's cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds every day. Break the Pure Yang Body, and one's cultivation would come crashing down in total ruin.
Chapter 2