Mutated spirit roots were the rarest of all, and among them, the sword spirit root was a natural seed for the sword—unstoppable in its sharp edge and peerless in offensive power.
Wendao Sword Sect happened to be a sect built upon the way of the sword, with a single sword mound that dominated all of Fanzhou.
It could be said that Wendao Sword Sect had craved a sword spirit root for a very long time.
"It’s actually a sword spirit root! Hahaha, heaven is truly blessing my Wendao Sword Sect! Hahaha!"
"Brother Qingshan, not bad at all. To think you'd run into such a fine talent. Did you step in dog shit and get lucky?"
"Quick, tell us, how did you find this child?"
Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes slightly and cleared his throat, deliberately saying, "I encountered him by chance. The moment he saw me, he started crying and shouting to take me as his master, begging me to lead him onto the path of cultivation. Seeing his sincerity, I showed great mercy and brought him back."
Upon hearing this, the crowd looked at each other with complex expressions.
"Uh..."
"This..."
"Truly..."
Li Qingshan didn't mind their reactions, simply saying calmly, "We can begin the next stage."
With a flick of his sleeve, he turned to leave. In a spot hidden from view, the corners of his mouth curled upward, looking very pleased with himself.
'Just as I thought!'
The "meeting by chance" part was true.
The part about the boy begging him was, of course, a lie.
While passing through those wild mountains, Li Qingshan had caught a fleeting glimpse of a faint sword intent ready to burst forth from the youth.
A wisp of innate sword intent nurtured within a mortal body could only mean two things: either he was a natural sword fetus, or he possessed a natural sword spirit root.
This was also why Li Qingshan had forcibly brought Xu Xian back, even though the boy had clearly refused him.
Granted, cultivation was like rowing a boat against the current—if one did not advance, they would retreat.
It was not something that should be forced.
But he was just a child; what did he know? Soon enough, he would naturally understand that this was all for his own good.
The Spirit Inquiry ended, and the spiritual array was deactivated.
Among the massive sea of people stretching for miles, not even one in a thousand successfully passed the Spirit Inquiry to stay.
The boys and girls who passed were led to a bamboo forest to await the start of the second trial.
Xu Xian was, naturally, among them.
It was noon, and the sun was scorching. The heat was unbearable, and the area in front of the bamboo forest was noisy.
Thanks to the awakening of his sword spirit root, Xu Xian was extremely popular. He was followed by a group of peers who flattered him incessantly, reaching the heights of sycophancy.
The girls were all smiles, their cheeks flushed with a shy glow. The boys called him 'Brother Xian' at every turn, waiting on him hand and foot.
Xu Xian, however, had no heart for any of it. His thoughts had already drifted thousands of miles away...
The young boy's eyes were filled with sorrow.
Xu Xian was not an orphan. He had a home. He had a father and a mother, as well as an unmarried older sister and a younger brother who had just been weaned.
It was a happy harbor.
Although he was a transmigrator, he had arrived when he was only one year old, making it feel more like a reincarnation with his memories intact.
It had been twelve years. He had long since integrated into the village and felt a deep connection to it.
Now, having been brought to this ghostly place without a word to his family, anyone would find it hard to bear.
"Brother Xian, do you want some water?"
"I'm not thirsty."
"Brother Xian, is it hot? Let me fan you?"
"No need."
"Brother Xian, you might not know this yet, but the Wendao Sword Sect disciple selection has three stages..."
"Oh?"
"Spirit Inquiry, Heart Inquiry, and Sword Inquiry. We just passed the first stage, the Spirit Inquiry. Next is the Heart Inquiry. Whether we can actually stay isn't certain yet."
Xu Xian's eyes darted as his interest was piqued. He quickly asked the chubby boy beside him, "How so?"
The chubby boy explained seriously, "The Spirit Inquiry is straightforward. It checks your spirit root and skeletal age—if you fit, you stay; if not, you go. Those are hard conditions with no room for negotiation. But the second stage, the Heart Inquiry, is the most difficult and mysterious of the three..."
"How do they test us?"
The chubby boy gestured toward the front. "Do you see that bamboo forest? That's the Heart Inquiry Forest. Inside grows Heart Inquiry Bamboo. You walk in from there, and those who walk out on their own feet pass. Those who are carried out are eliminated. As for what’s inside, nobody knows. Neither the ones carried out nor the ones who walk out can ever remember what happened..."
Xu Xian rubbed his chin, half-doubting. "That sounds pretty eerie."
"Wendao Sword Sect is the premier sect in Fanzhou outside of the three major religions. It is a paragon of the righteous path. Since its founding, it has taken the protection of all living beings and the suppression of evil as its duty. Every Wendao Sword Sect disciple must enter the world with a sword to cut down all injustice..." A clear, beautiful voice suddenly rang out.
Xu Xian looked over.
The speaker was a young girl. She was quite pretty and of a similar age, already possessing a hint of immortal grace.
The girl walked to Xu Xian's side, nodded slightly in greeting, and continued, "Therefore, when Wendao Sword Sect recruits disciples, they don't just look at talent and aptitude. A disciple's character and disposition are also extremely important. That’s why we have the Heart Inquiry. Although no one remembers exactly what’s inside, one can guess a few things. The so-called Heart Inquiry is about identifying a person's true nature. As long as you follow your original heart and harbor kindness, you can pass..."
Hearing this, the chubby boy nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm, that makes sense."
Xu Xian's mind began to race...
If that was the case, if he acted a bit 'bad,' would he be eliminated?
The young girl sized up Xu Xian, gave a graceful smile, and took the initiative to introduce herself. "Let's get to know each other. I am Lin Qianqian, an ice spirit root."
"Xu Xian," Xu Xian said coolly.
The chubby boy leaned in, grinning. "I'm Zhang Yang. I have a wind-fire spirit root."
To the latter, Lin Qianqian gave a polite but distant smile. "Hello."
But toward the former, she was full of curiosity. "Xu Xian."
"Yeah."
"I heard you have a sword spirit root?"
"Yeah."
"You're really impressive."
Xu Xian gave her a strange look. 'Do I need you to tell me I'm impressive?'
"Hmm... it looks like it's about to start."
Saying this, he pushed through the crowd and squeezed toward the front, leaving Lin Qianqian standing there in awkward silence.
Zhang Yang leaned over with a fawning expression. "Sister Lin, you're also very impressive. Among all of us here, including you and Brother Xian, there are only four single spirit roots..."
Lin Qianqian only gave him a cold, indifferent glance before walking forward as well.
Zhang Yang scratched his head, completely baffled.
"Silence!"
A deep shout caused the surroundings to fall quiet. An old man with a sage-like aura appeared before the crowd at some unknown point.
Wearing green robes with wide sleeves, he held one hand behind his back and stroked his long beard with the other, saying airily, "Next is the second stage: the Heart Inquiry. Young ones, please..."
As he spoke, the barrier shimmering with spiritual light slowly descended, fully revealing the bamboo forest ahead. A sudden gust of wind blew out from the forest. Amidst the sweltering summer heat, the breeze carried a chilling coolness.
However, sensing this wind, not a single person present looked relieved. Instead, their expressions were solemn, as if facing a great enemy.
It felt like a sinister wind, making their skin crawl and their hair stand on end.
For a moment, not a single person dared to step forward. They all stood frozen, either looking left and right or gulping nervously.
Only Xu Xian squeezed out of the crowd. With his hands in his pockets and ignoring everyone, he swaggered past the old man and stepped directly into the bamboo forest...
Others were afraid, but Xu Xian was not.
Because he didn't want to cultivate immortality, he wasn't afraid of failure. It wasn't like he was going to die.
At that moment, on the mountain, there was a pond displaying illusions. The elders of the seven peaks and thirteen halls of Wendao Sword Sect stood around it, watching the images in the water together.
The Heart Inquiry Bamboo in the Heart Inquiry Forest and the Heart Inquiry Water in the Heart Inquiry Pool were both sentient treasures—rare spiritual assets of Wendao Sword Sect.
Anyone entering the Heart Inquiry Forest would fall into an illusion. In that illusion, you would forget who you were, where you came from, and where you were going...
As for the Heart Inquiry Water in the Heart Inquiry Pool, it could project everyone’s illusions into the pond.
A fairy-like woman drifted down from the mountain. Upon seeing her, the crowd hurried to pay their respects.
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
"We pay our respects to the Sect Master!!"
The newcomer waved them off with a smile. "No need for such formalities. Rise."
Ye Xianyu, the Sect Master of Wendao Sword Sect, was also the youngest disciple of the first-generation patriarch.
"Sect Master, why have you come personally?"
"I had nothing to do, so I came to see the excitement."
She looked down just as the bamboo forest opened, and the pond displayed the scene of Xu Xian stepping into the Heart Inquiry Forest ahead of everyone else.
She squinted and asked with a smile, "Xiao Shan, is this the child with the sword spirit root you brought back?"
"Replying to Master, it is indeed him," Li Qingshan replied.
Ye Xianyu’s eyes were like autumn water, her face bright with a smile as she praised him. "As expected of one who possesses a sword spirit root. Such a brave disposition, daring to lead the way for all. This child looks very promising!"
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