While Tao Tingfeng was eating his grilled skewers, he happened to see a youth about his age walk into the barbecue shop. The youth was filthy all over, his clothes tattered like a street beggar's.
"Shopkeeper, are you hiring here?" the filthy youth asked.
"I don't ask for much—just minimum wage is fine." Seeing how bustling the barbecue shop was, the filthy youth figured they were surely short-handed, presenting him with an opportunity.
"Shoo, shoo! Where did this little beggar come from? We're not hiring," the shopkeeper drove the youth away. After all, while this was ostensibly a barbecue shop, on the sly it was a Nine Nether Cult stronghold; there was no way they would recruit an outsider.
"I'm not a beggar!" the youth flared in anger.
What was his status? If not for his sheer misfortune of running into villains and getting robbed, how could he have ended up in such a state, reduced to being mistaken for a beggar?
It was an utter humiliation!
The shopkeeper had no intention of listening to the youth ramble on; grabbing him by the collar, he hauled him straight outside.
"Out you go."
The filthy youth patted the money in his pocket. What he had left was only enough for lodging at an inn, leaving him without enough funds to take a flying boat or carriage to his destination.
He let out a sigh. Right now, the most urgent matter was to hurry up and find a job.
Tao Tingfeng did not pay much mind to the filthy youth, continuing to focus on eating his grilled skewers.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed. Tao Tingfeng performed better and better in the clan schoolhouse, answering every question his clan uncle posed in class. He even achieved a perfect score on the semiannual school examination, drawing admiring gazes from everyone.
In the past, Tao Tingfeng's academic performance was at best above average, far from the top. But with the assistance of True Monarch Guanqi, his horizons and knowledge had broadened enormously; what the clan uncle covered in class was nothing more than the simplest introductory material to him.
"Cousin, you're amazing!"
After class, Tao Family disciples often gathered around Tao Tingfeng with envious eyes. Tao Tingfeng would curve his lips in a smile and humbly claim that it was all mere luck, and that he wouldn't score so well next time.
The Tao Family disciples who previously outperformed Tao Tingfeng looked at him with hints of jealousy. What good were great marks, anyway? In cultivation, what mattered most was not knowledge, but root bone!
True Monarch Guanqi had also been slowly recovering from his soul injuries over this period. However, his progress was excruciatingly slow. From when he first met Tao Tingfeng until now, over a month had passed, yet he had merely gone from gasping for breath when speaking to being able to talk normally.
In truth, this was the normal recovery speed for a cultivator.
Someone like the Immortal Fairy was one of a kind in the entire cultivation world.
Even the Four Ancient Celestials couldn't match the Immortal Fairy's lively, bounding state.
"True Monarch, can my root bone really be altered through the Golden Cicada Slough?" What Tao Tingfeng cared most about now was his root bone.
The day of the clan's root bone test was drawing near, and he had learned about his root bone from True Monarch Guanqi in advance.
Wood-Fire-Earth spiritual roots—three spiritual roots.
In the past, he would have been ecstatic. Without a doubt, this would have made him the best root bone in the clan.
Now, however, things were different. Ever since getting to know True Monarch Guanqi, his horizons had broadened considerably. He had no wish to remain confined to the tiny Tao Family.
Three spiritual roots were far from enough.
"Of course it can." In the spiritual space, next to True Monarch Guanqi was the Golden Cicada Slough, which had already merged with Tao Tingfeng.
True Monarch Guanqi said proudly, "This Golden Cicada Slough was left behind by an ancient golden cicada who cultivated to the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Had that Old Ancestor Golden Cicada not met with misfortune, he might have even taken another step forward and become a legendary half-immortal!
"With the Golden Cicada Slough, it is more than enough to transform your three spiritual roots into a single spiritual root!
"It's even possible for you to acquire an Immortal Physique."
Tao Tingfeng's eyes shone brightly. Just imagining himself joining the Five Great Immortal Sects with a single spiritual root—his future would surely be boundless!
"However, once you join an immortal sect, remember to conceal your spiritual root well," True Monarch Guanqi cautioned.
"Why is that?" Tao Tingfeng asked, puzzled.
True Monarch Guanqi said, exasperated at his naivety, "It's called hiding your light. As the saying goes, 'The tree that stands taller than the forest will surely be ravaged by the wind.' Joining a sect with a single spiritual root will inevitably attract the jealousy of your fellow disciples."
Chapter 720