Three days passed in a flash.
The speeding immortal boat seemed to pierce through a thin layer of barrier as it entered a region of rolling, undulating mountains.
Here, the speed of the immortal boat slowed down noticeably. Looking out through the transparent protective shield of the immortal boat, one was greeted by a lush, vibrant green landscape full of vitality.
Occasionally, amid the rolling mountains, crisp and melodious bird songs could be heard, along with the varied roars of beasts.
Xu Yuxiu widened her eyes, gazing mesmerized at the scenery outside the immortal boat. She felt as though her breathing had instantly become smoother upon arriving here.
Vaguely, she had a wondrous sensation, feeling as if wisps of cool Qi were swirling around her entire body. Far from causing any discomfort, those threads of coolness felt incomparably refreshing.
Chen Kuan, the sword-carrying youth, naturally noticed the changes around Xu Yuxiu, and could not help marveling inwardly.
"To have spiritual qi swirl around her body just upon entering a place with slightly concentrated spiritual qi—were it not for her innate Water and Fire Spiritual Roots, she would probably be able to induce qi into her body right this instant!"
The very first step of cultivation was sensing spiritual qi and Inducing Qi into the Body.
This step was not only tedious, but also extremely time-consuming.
Take Chen Kuan himself, for instance: with his three spiritual roots aptitude, when he first began cultivating, it had taken him half a month just to sense spiritual qi, and about a month before he truly managed to induce qi into his body.
Part of this was due to the mediocre quality of his spiritual roots. Compared to others of the same three-root quality whose grade was higher and could induce qi into their bodies in just over ten days, he could only be considered medium-low.
As the immortal boat drew closer and closer to the mountain gate of the Taixuan Sect, other identical immortal boats could be seen passing by along the way.
On those immortal boats, Xu Yuxiu also saw many children of her own age. Some immortal boats carried many children, while others had only a sparse two or three.
In comparison, the number of people on their immortal boat was considered quite large.
"Wow, Yuxiu, why do you smell so fragrant? And standing next to you feels so comfortable!"
The speaker was a little girl dressed as plainly as Xu Yuxiu, though judging by her age, she was somewhat older than Xu Yuxiu—which was indeed the case.The little girl was ten years old. Her name was Er'ya, and she still lacked a formal name even now.
After spending these days together, the children had all gotten to know one another. Most of them came from ordinary families, with only two or three who stood out, hailing from wealthy backgrounds. Among them was Wang Fugui, the youngest son of Magistrate Wang of Lin'an County—a chubby little boy with a round face. There was also Shen Fengjiao, the second daughter of a prominent merchant family; she held the others in low regard and had barely spoken a word to any of them along the journey. The last was said to be the only son of the Lin'an County magistrate. All they knew was that his surname was Chen; he never spoke his given name, and no one dared ask, for he was a quiet, reserved boy.
Er'ya’s words immediately drew the attention of many, including the older disciples. Through their observations over the past few days, the children had realized that these senior brothers and sisters were not the all-powerful immortals they had imagined, capable of soaring through the heavens and plunging into the deep. This, however, did not disappoint them; instead, it only fueled their longing to cultivate and attain immortality.
"It’s true! Yuxiu, why do you smell so fragrant?"
The other children crowded around, leaning in to sniff. A refreshing, piercing scent greeted them, followed by a wave of comfort that surged through their entire bodies. They couldn't help but widen their eyes, staring at Xu Yuxiu until her face flushed crimson, leaving her stammering and unable to find the words to respond.
Fortunately, Senior Sister Luo, who had measured their bone age, walked over at that moment and said with a smile, "What you are smelling is not a fragrance emanating from her body, but the effect of spiritual energy naturally gathering around her."
"But isn't spiritual energy something you can only sense through cultivation? Why is Xu Yuxiu able to gather it without practicing?"
Over the past few days, Senior Sister Luo had taught them some basic knowledge of the Cultivation World, so they understood what spiritual energy was. It was precisely because they understood that they were so puzzled by her words.Naturally, this included Xu Yuxiu. Right now, she too was filled with curiosity, her large, clear, dark eyes wide open and brimming with anticipation as she waited for Senior Sister Luo to provide an answer.
Before Senior Sister Luo could clear up their confusion, however, the immortal boat sailed through a towering mountain gate that seemed to pierce the clouds.
In her haste, Xu Yuxiu only managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of three dazzling golden lights flickering atop the towering gate before they flashed past, leaving her unable to see them clearly.
After passing through the gate, the immortal boat docked at a pier paved entirely with white jade.
"We have arrived at the sect. Everyone off."
Chen Kuan, leading the group with a sword strapped to his back, was the first to step off the immortal boat. The others followed his example and disembarked.
Once on the ground, Xu Yuxiu looked around and saw numerous other immortal boats docked just like theirs, with many more children stepping down from them.
"Follow me."
Seeing that everyone had disembarked, Chen Kuan gave the children no time to linger. With a casual wave of his hand to signal them to keep up, he strode forward, paying no mind to whether the others were trailing behind.
Following Chen Kuan, the group soon walked into a spacious grand hall.
The hall was already packed with children and youths of similar age, alongside senior brothers and sisters like Chen Kuan who were leading them.
Finding themselves in such an unfamiliar environment surrounded by strangers, some of the children showed visible signs of timidity.
Xu Yuxiu noticed that many children in their own group looked timid as well, but with Chen Kuan and Senior Sister Luo nowhere in sight, there was no one to look after them.
Following the direction in which Chen Kuan and the others had gone, Xu Yuxiu saw them conversing with a young man who was holding a jade brush at a desk.
Before long, their conversation seemingly concluded, Chen Kuan and the others returned to lead the eleven of them toward the young man.
"Eleven people. Four with triple spiritual roots, five with quadruple spiritual roots, and unexpectedly, even one with five spiritual roots—send them straight to work as handymen."
The young man lifted his brush to write in a jade booklet, muttering as he did so. Suddenly, his brows furrowed. "There is also someone with water and fire dual spiritual roots. Although it's a dual root, such a spiritual root is hardly any better than a five-fold root. They can also go and be a handyman disciple."
"Executive Lin, her water and fire dual spiritual roots might be somewhat unusual. I think we shouldn't rush to a conclusion; Elder Zhao, who is in charge of this recruitment, should take a look."
Just as the young man addressed as Executive Lin was about to set his brush down, Senior Sister Luo spoke up to stop him.
Interrupted by Senior Sister Luo, Executive Lin's expression turned noticeably displeased. "A water and fire dual spiritual root will likely never achieve Foundation Establishment in a lifetime. Why bother disturbing Elder Zhao?"
Seeing the displeasure on Executive Lin's face, Senior Sister Luo and her companions felt quite helpless.
Although they were all outer disciples, Senior Sister Luo and the others were merely ordinary outer disciples.
Executive Lin, however, held the position of an outer executive, granting him considerable authority within the outer sect. Even ordinary outer disciples with higher cultivation levels had to show him some respect and avoid offending him unless absolutely necessary.
The only reason Senior Sister Luo spoke up was because Xu Yuxiu's water and fire dual spiritual roots were different from ordinary ones—they were of flawless quality. They themselves couldn't discern anything special about it, but Elder Zhao, who was at the Golden Core stage, might be able to see something.
If Elder Zhao truly could discern its value, Xu Yuxiu would very likely attract significant attention, and their mission this time would yield extra rewards—a massive haul of contribution points!
"Executive Lin may not know this, but the quality of her water and fire dual spiritual roots is exceptionally high..."
Senior Sister Luo proceeded to tell Executive Lin about the quality of Xu Yuxiu's spiritual roots, as well as the strange phenomenon that occurred around her when they first entered the territory of the Taixuan Sect.
After listening to Senior Sister Luo's account, Executive Lin furrowed his brow at first. A moment later, as his brow smoothed out, he said, "In that case, you may take her to the inner hall to see Elder Zhao. The rest will be handled as usual."
With that, Executive Lin handed Senior Sister Luo a jade token and paid them no further mind.