Volume 1: The Eastern Wasteland Weeps, Demonic Traces Appear, Rivers and Mountains Shatter!
"Children! Swallow the Pill and sit down right where you are. When I call your number, come forward..."
In an open clearing outside Longxing Town, an elderly Daoist priest with an immortal demeanor stood with one hand rested behind his back. He looked at the thirty-plus children before him, his eyes shining with anticipation.
These children were as young as eight or nine, and as old as thirteen or fourteen. Each held a Pill swirling with five colors-gold, green, blue, red, and brown-and every face was flushed with excitement.
The elderly Daoist and the children were surrounded by the commoners of Longxing Town and the neighboring villages. Most were the parents of these youths. They all hoped their own child would be chosen-not merely for the sake of Cultivation, but more importantly, for the silver notes.
Longxing Town sat in Liangzhou, a desolate region in the northeast of the Daqian Kingdom, where most people struggled just to fill their bellies. Although they had almost no concept of Cultivation, they knew that if their child was selected by the immortal master, they would immediately receive one thousand taels of silver. That money would allow them to leave their barren villages and live in the town or somewhere even better.
Such were the thoughts of the parents. As for what the children were thinking, no one knew.
Beneath the expectant gazes and the clamor of the crowd, the children swallowed the Pills in their hands one after another. They obediently sat on the ground, raising their numbered wooden plaques high in the air, waiting for the old Daoist to speak.
Seeing this, the elderly Daoist's small, bright eyes immediately swept across the group of youths.
Ten breaths.
Fifty breaths.
A hundred breaths...
Suddenly, joy flashed across the elderly Daoist's face. He looked toward a sturdy-looking little girl at the very back and called out, "Number thirty-three!"
Hearing this, the children turned their heads to look at the little girl. A faint, misty aura was actually rising from her body, filling them with a wave of envy.
"Xiaoyun! Xiaoyun was chosen! Wonderful, wonderful..."
In the crowd, a sallow-faced middle-aged woman covered her face and wept, nearly fainting from excitement. Nearby villagers hurriedly reached out to support her.
"I never thought that silly girl would have the aptitude of an immortal. The Ling family's ancestral grave is truly smoking with good fortune! I hope my boy can show some worth and earn me a thousand taels too..."
"Indeed, the Ling family is going to strike it rich now... A full thousand taels!"
"..."
Hearing the old Daoist call out the number, the villagers sighed with endless emotion and deep envy. Many secretly clutched the corners of their clothes, appearing somewhat nervous, desperately hoping their own child would be chosen as well.
A short while later.
"Number twenty!"
The elderly Daoist suddenly looked toward an eight or nine-year-old child sitting in the middle of the third row. A faint, misty aura was similarly rising from the boy's body.
"Haha, Xiaohu! Xiaohu was chosen!"
Instantly, another cry of surprise rang out from the crowd. A burly middle-aged man trembled with excitement and slapped an old man beside him on the shoulder. "Village Chief, did you see that? It's Xiaohu, it's Xiaohu... We're rich!"
"..."
With two people already selected by the Daoist, the rest couldn't help but grow uneasy. In past selections for the Qingyang Sect, at most two people had ever emerged at once. Now that two had been chosen, the remaining hopes were likely slim.
Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, half a quarter-hour passed.
Regrettably, after Xiaoyun and Xiaohu were chosen, not a single other name was called. It was as if Longxing Town truly could only produce two individuals at a time.
The elderly Daoist's previously hopeful gaze gradually dimmed.
The Pill he had handed out was called the Spirit Awakening Pill. It could help ordinary mortals Awaken their spiritual roots. Normally, if someone failed to Awaken after half a quarter-hour, it meant they did not possess a spiritual root, or at least had an aptitude lower than five spiritual roots.
Those below five spiritual roots were considered to have miscellaneous spiritual roots; they could possess seven, eight, or even nine differing roots. Although miscellaneous spiritual roots could absorb Spiritual Qi, such a person might spend their entire life struggling just to open a single Qi meridian, unable to ever reach the first level of Qi Refining.
In the Cultivation world, let alone miscellaneous spiritual roots, even five spiritual roots were called pseudo-spiritual roots and sat at the absolute bottom of the hierarchy. No one would waste precious resources to help someone who might only have miscellaneous spiritual roots Awaken.
After waiting a moment longer, the elderly Daoist shook his head in resignation. He looked at the children sitting on the ground and said, "Alright, the Awakening ceremony is over. None of you possess spiritual roots. You have no destiny with Cultivation. Disperse."
Hearing this, the children immediately wore crestfallen expressions. A wave of long sighs and laments swept through the surrounding crowd, and the parents stepped forward to collect their children.
"Cultivate my foot! Who would have thought that someone as plump as me wouldn't be able to practice Cultivation."
A robust, burly youth threw his arm over the shoulder of the dark, skinny boy beside him, muttering as they walked. "Mud Monkey, tell me, do you think I ate too much and clogged up my spiritual roots?"
The boy called Mud Monkey was also wearing a thoroughly depressed expression. Hearing this, he rolled his eyes. "How should I know?"
"Mud Monkey, Fatty Chen, wait for me."
Just then, a slender youth about the same age chased after them, casually draping his arm over Mud Monkey's other shoulder with deep familiarity.
"Mud Monkey, it makes sense that rough fellows like me and Fatty Chen, who don't know a single word, can't practice Cultivation. But it shouldn't be like this for you. You've read so many books since you were little; how are you exactly the same as us?"
"Ah, the will of Heaven, I suppose." Mud Monkey shook his head, unable to hide his disappointment.
His father had once been the schoolteacher of Dashi Village. He had indeed read many books since childhood, but what use was that? In the end, this world did not belong to scholars.
If reading books made one powerful, his father wouldn't have been eaten by wild beasts on the mountain.
Mud Monkey's real name was Lu Li. Because he was as skinny as a monkey, the other two had taken to calling him Mud Monkey.
All three hailed from Dashi Village, twenty li outside of Longxing Town. Besides Lu Li, the fat boy was named Chen Zhong, nicknamed Fatty Chen. The other slender youth was named Qin Shouren, nicknamed Beast.
The three of them were thirteen this year. They had grown up together, sharing a close bond, and were already capable of holding their own in Dashi Village. Because of this, Chen Zhong and Qin Shouren's parents hadn't accompanied them to the Awakening.
As for Lu Li, his mother had died when he was born, and his father had unfortunately perished during a beast attack two years ago.
Ever since then, he had dreamed of Cultivation to forge a strong body. But fate loved to mock mortals; in the end, he simply lacked the aptitude of an immortal.
Trailing behind the trio was a nine-year-old child named Li Xiangyun, also from Dashi Village. His parents hadn't come this time either, instead entrusting him to the care of Lu Li and the other two.
It was currently the sixth month, and the weather was unbearably muggy and hot.
Before long, the group arrived at the banks of a small river. Since Qin Shouren didn't want to go back and help with the farm work, they agreed to go down into the river to catch fish and mess around until dusk before heading home.
This river was called the Tanshui River. Lu Li and the others frequently came here to bathe and knew the water's currents inside out. Upon reaching the bank, they leapt right in without even stripping off their clothes.
Though Li Xiangyun was young, he also loved to splash around and was a decent swimmer. Seeing them jump, he let out a cheer and followed suit.
"The water's deep on this side. Xiangyun, go downstream," Lu Li called out as he paddled toward the deeper end. Even though the boy could swim, there was no guaranteeing an accident wouldn't happen, and Lu Li wouldn't be able to explain it to Li Xiangyun's father if it did.
"Oh," Li Xiangyun replied, obediently paddling toward the shallows downstream.
"Haha, a Star-spot! I caught a Star-spot!" Just then, Qin Shouren breached the surface, triumphantly holding a yellowish-brown star-spotted perch high in the air as he shouted with glee.
"I got one too!" Fatty Chen's massive head popped out of the water, a loach clutched in his hand.
"Watch me!"
Unwilling to be outdone, Lu Li dove under and began groping around the crevices of the rocks. Suddenly, Lu Li frowned. He felt something that didn't seem like a fish at all-it was heavily textured, bumpy, and bit sharply into his hand.
He tried to yank it out to see what it was, but he used too much force. The jagged edges of the stone crevice sliced a gash across his hand, and fresh blood instantly flowed. Wincing in pain, Lu Li hastily let go of the object and snatched his hand back.
But just as Lu Li was preparing to go ashore to bandage his wound, an unexpected change suddenly occurred...