Nanyue Kingdom.
July. Sweltering heat.
A massive sun hung like a fireball in the sky above Lin'an County, radiating relentless heatwaves that warped the air.
Yet, despite the scorching sun, the people of Lin'an County had all gathered near a tall platform.
A few uniformly dressed figures stood loftily atop the platform, hailed as immortals in the eyes of mortals.
The immortals were here today to take in disciples.
To be chosen by an immortal meant a chance to ascend to immortality.
Parents with children of the appropriate age refused to miss this golden opportunity, bringing their children forward to be tested by the immortals.
"Bone age ten years, fire, earth, and metal triple Spiritual Root, qualified."
With the immortal's loud proclamation, a chubby little boy walked onto the high platform, his face flushed with excitement.
"Hey, isn't that Steward Wang's youngest son? To be chosen by the immortals, what a great blessing!"
The expectant onlookers began to chatter among themselves, one voice after another revealing the little boy's background.
"Silence!"
Just as the crowd's chatter grew louder, a sword-carrying youth on the platform sternly rebuked the gathering below.
Instantly, all discussion ceased, plunging the crowd into a dead silence.
The sword-carrying youth waved a hand and paid the crowd no further heed.
The tests resumed.
Amidst the crowd, a young girl dressed in rough burlap, her face as pale as paper and her body so emaciated she looked as though a gust of wind could knock her over, gazed forward with unwavering resolve. She turned to the burly man supporting her and said, "Dad, I want to be tested too."
"Yuxiu, your health..."
Worry flashed across the man's face. He wanted to say more, but seeing the determination in his daughter's eyes, the words caught in his throat.
There was no cure left for his daughter's illness. The most renowned physician in the county had declared her terminal, with only a few years left to live. Perhaps only an immortal could save her now.
If she missed this chance, his daughter would surely await her doom.
"Alright, take care of yourself!"
Unable to set his worries aside, the man muttered a few more instructions before letting go and allowing the girl to go on alone.
Enduring the blazing sun overhead, the little girl took difficult steps, dragging herself toward the high platform.
Even this short distance of a dozen paces was an arduous struggle.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and every step nearly exhausted her entire strength, yet she refused to give up.
Her gaze remained resolute, without a single trace of hesitation.
Her name was Xu Yuxiu. Born to ordinary parents who farmed the lands of Steward Xu, her family had been granted the surname Xu by the grateful steward for their diligence in the fields.
She had shared in that blessing, given an ethereal-sounding name at birth—Yuxiu.
Just when it seemed their lives might finally improve, Xu Yuxiu contracted a strange illness shortly after birth, and her health deteriorated day by day.
Even the most famous physician in Lin'an County could not diagnose what ailed her, predicting she had only a few years left.
For as long as she could remember, Xu Yuxiu had never seen her parents smile. Every day, her father toiled in the fields to earn money for her medicine, while her mother wore a constant expression of sorrow, sometimes weeping in secret.
She had seen it all.
She knew her illness was the cause of it all. She hated her sickness; she wanted to live and stop her parents from grieving for her. Yet, powerless to fight back, she could only submit to the torment of her disease.
Now, blessed with the chance encounter of immortals seeking disciples, she had heard that immortals could do anything.
She thought to herself that even if the immortals did not choose her, she would beg them to cure her illness so her parents would no longer grieve and could finally be happy.
Clinging to this thought, even the scorching sun overhead seemed a little less fierce.
"Next!"
With the immortal's announcement, Xu Yuxiu finally struggled to the front of the immortal in charge of the testing.
She saw what the testing immortal looked like: a female immortal who seemed to have stepped straight out of a painting, exceptionally beautiful.
The female cultivator in charge of checking bone ages saw Xu Yuxiu standing before her, and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
*Those born with Spiritual Roots are rare martial arts prodigies even in the mortal realm, and their physical constitutions are naturally exceptional. This young girl clearly lacks a Spiritual Root.*
Though she thought this, the sect had its rules, and she said nothing, merely speaking to the child in an indifferent tone: "Extend your hand."
Xu Yuxiu had no inkling of what the female immortal was thinking and obediently held out her fleshless arm.
The next moment, she felt the female immortal place a hand upon her right wrist.
An instant later, a warm current entered her body, circulating through her entire frame. The sensation was immensely comforting.
It felt like parched farmland being nourished by sweet rain, and even her pale complexion flushed with a trace of warmth.
Before she could enjoy it for long, however, the warm current receded from her body.
Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of emptiness washed over her, making her deeply uncomfortable.
"Bone age seven, qualified. You may proceed to test your Spiritual Root."
The female cultivator's indifferent voice rang out once more.
Hearing this, Xu Yuxiu's heart filled with joy. Guided by the female immortal, she walked toward the high platform she had been dreaming of.
Upon ascending the platform, she laid eyes upon a towering stone tablet.
"Just place your hand on the stone tablet."
Xu Yuxiu did not hesitate, following the immortal's instructions to press her hand against the massive stone monolith.
The moment her hand touched it, the tablet instantly changed.
The previously placid stone tablet suddenly lit up with a brilliant radiance.
"She actually has a Spiritual Root!"
The sword-carrying youth could not conceal the astonishment in his eyes when he saw the tablet transform.
When Xu Yuxiu had first stepped onto the platform, he, like the female disciple who had tested her bone age, had assumed that someone in Xu Yuxiu's condition could not possibly possess a Spiritual Root. He had simply been going through the motions.
*With a terminal condition like this, even if she does have a Spiritual Root, it can't possibly be anything special...*
Just as the sword-carrying youth thought this to himself, the stone tablet shifted once more.
The light glowing from the tablet split into two distinct streams.
One crimson red, the other deep azure, they surged upward along the tablet like a pair of charging dragons at breathtaking speed.
"Dual Spiritual Roots!"
The sword-carrying youth's pupils constricted slightly. This was the first case of dual Spiritual Roots in the current round of testing.
Before long, when those red and blue lights came to a halt at the very peak of the tablet, the sword-carrying youth finally revealed an expression of profound shock.
"Pristine quality! Her dual Spiritual Roots have actually both reached pristine quality!"
Seemingly sensing the commotion on the high platform, the other companions who had arrived with the sword-carrying youth also cast curious glances.
When they saw the changes on the testing monument atop the platform, shock washed over their faces as well.
"Dual Spiritual Roots, and both are of the ultimate ninety-nine pristine grade!"
This...
For a moment, all their gazes converged on Xu Yuxiu.
Mortal beings might not understand what Xu Yuxiu's Spiritual Roots represented, but as cultivators, they knew all too well.
Spiritual Roots were divided into the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, alongside various mutated attributes such as Wind, Ice, and Lightning.
Five-element Spiritual Roots were the most common, while rarer roots were considered precious.
Fewer Spiritual Roots meant higher cultivation aptitude. Among these, there were specific grades of Spiritual Root quality; the higher the quality, the more outstanding the cultivator compared to others with the same number of roots.
Someone like Xu Yuxiu, whose dual Spiritual Roots both reached the pinnacle ninety-nine inches, was scarcely inferior even to those born with a single Heavenly Spiritual Root. The moment she entered the Taixuan Sect, she would become an inner disciple, and perhaps even secure a place as a disciple under a Golden Core master.
"Wait, something's wrong!"
At that moment, an untimely voice rang out.