After receiving his assignment, Song Changsheng quickly set off for the Garrison Mansion. His steps were hurried, and so was his heart. He had been waiting for this meeting for nearly a year.
Song Luding had also considered this, which was why he deliberately set the start time for three days later, allowing Song Changsheng to spend more time with his mother.
"Who are you looking for?" At the main gate of the Garrison Mansion, a cultivator with thick brows and large eyes sized up Song Changsheng, his face full of vigilance.
"I am Song Changsheng, one of the hosts for this Immortal Ascension Conference. I've come to pay my respects to the Fifth Elder," Song Changsheng said, cupping his hands in a salute.
Hearing this, the cultivator's attitude did a complete one-eighty. He chuckled and said, "So it's Clan Brother Changsheng! The Fifth Elder is always talking about you. Wait just a moment, I'll go inform her right away."
Before he could even turn around, Song Changsheng's vision blurred, and a woman in a light yellow Liuyun dress with her hair in a swept-up cloud bun appeared before him.
The woman had an oval face and wore only a single jade hairpin, with no other adornments. Her face was free of makeup, and she wore a warm, gentle smile. She wasn't a peerless beauty, but she exuded an incredible warmth.
"Your son pays his respects, Mother!" Song Changsheng was about to perform a full kowtow, but the woman caught him just as he started to move.
This was the family's Fifth Elder, his birth mother, the Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator Xia Yunxue!
Not only was she the family's only Tier Two Middle-grade Brewmaster, but she was also its only Foreign Clan Elder.
"I sensed your aura from inside the mansion just now. I thought it was my imagination, but I can't believe it's really you! You've already broken through to the Late-stage Qi Refining?" Xia Yunxue said, her eyes filled with joy as she pulled Song Changsheng into the mansion.
"Reporting to Mother, your son broke through four months ago. I've also made progress with my Arrays and Artifact Refining," Song Changsheng said. In front of Xia Yunxue, his usual modesty vanished, replaced by immense pride.
"Good child. Your talent is no weaker than those Abnormal Spirit Root Cultivators. Foundation Establishment is right around the corner for you," Xia Yunxue said, her heart filled with emotion. The little one from back then was now, in the blink of an eye, old enough to leave the mountain for missions.
A smile appeared on Song Changsheng's face. He had heard these words from many people, but hearing them from her felt completely different.
As soon as he sat down, Xia Yunxue began to chatter away, asking about this and that—mostly homely things, like if he was eating well, if he was doing okay, and if he was short on cultivation resources.
Once she started, it was as if she couldn't stop. But far from being annoyed, Song Changsheng felt a deep sense of warmth.
In his past life, he had been an orphan and had never experienced the warmth of a family. It was the regret of a lifetime. He never imagined that by being reborn, this void would be filled.
As Xia Yunxue continued to chatter, dusk slowly fell, and the chirping of insects began to sound from outside the window.
Song Changsheng suddenly said, "Mother, I'd like to have some fish."
Xia Yunxue paused for a moment, only then realizing that the sun had already set. She quickly stood up and said, "Alright, I'll go make you something delicious right now."
In less than an ancient hour, Xia Yunxue had prepared a large table full of dishes, all of them Song Changsheng's favorites. It made his nose tingle. A child with a mother is a treasure, and this was proof.
During the meal, Xia Yunxue did most of the talking while Song Changsheng just focused on eating, occasionally offering a few words in response. It was simple and warm...
Three days passed in a flash, and Song Changsheng rushed back to regroup with Song Luding and the others.
The Immortal Ascension Conference, watched by hundreds of thousands, was about to begin.
Since there were only two Compasses for measuring Spirit Roots, they split into two groups. Song Luding took Song Changsheng and Song Changjiu to handle the four cities in the east.
Meanwhile, Song Luzi took Song Changying to handle the three cities in the west.
"Clan Uncle, if we discover a Celestial Spirit Root this time, what kind of reward do you think the family will give us?" Song Changjiu asked, his face full of longing.
Song Luding laughed heartily. "You little brat, you may be young, but your ambitions are huge. Forget a Celestial Spirit Root; I'd be content if we found even one with Twin Spirit Roots."
"Clan Brother Changjiu, in the nearly five hundred years since our family's founding, there has never been a record of a Celestial Spirit Root appearing in Ling Province. I'm afraid your wish is bound to be a pipe dream," Song Changsheng said with a smile.
A Spirit Root might not be a one-in-a-thousand discovery, but you might only find one in every seven or eight hundred people, and most of those are Mixed Spirit Roots.
As for a Celestial Spirit Root, that was something they didn't even dare to dream of.
"A man has to have a dream," Song Changjiu muttered.
As they spoke, they arrived at the Spirit Testing Chamber in the first city, where a long line already stretched as far as the eye could see.
"So many people... When will we ever finish testing all of them..." Song Changjiu was dumbfounded, staring at the dense, dark mass of people.
"It's not that many, just a few thousand. Let's get started. Don't waste time." Song Luding, however, was as calm as could be. He took out a Token and opened the Spirit Testing Chamber.
The Spirit Testing Chamber wasn't large, and its furnishings were simple: just a cattail hassock and a pillar half a person's height, covered in dense, intricate patterns.
"Changsheng, you'll be my assistant inside. Changjiu, you stand guard outside. Let people in only when I tell you to. Understood?"
"Oh." Song Changjiu's face fell. He had wanted to see how the Spirit Testing was done.
Song Luding took out a Compass the size of a washbasin and secured it on top of the pillar. He then took out a cyan Crystal Stone and placed it into a recess in the pillar.
"This is a Celestial Profound Stone, an essential item for measuring Spirit Roots," Song Luding explained to Song Changsheng as he worked.
Soon, the first child was let in. He was about eight or nine years old and looked very nervous.
Song Luding stroked his beard and said with a kindly expression, "Come, child, place your hand on the center of this Compass."
The child timidly stretched out his hand and placed it on the Compass. A moment later, the Compass began to emit a faint glow. Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow. 'A good start. The very first one has a Spirit Root.'
'I just wonder what his aptitude is like,' Song Changsheng thought to himself.
Soon, the pillar beneath the Compass provided the answer, lighting up with three colors of light: red, green, and yellow.
"A Three-inch Fire Spirit Root, a Five-inch Wood Spirit Root, and a Four-inch Earth Spirit Root. Middle-grade aptitude." Song Luding nodded in satisfaction. The first one having middle-grade aptitude was a good stroke of luck.
"I... I have a Spirit Root?" The child looked at his own hands, seemingly in utter disbelief.
"That's right. Go and wait to the side."
"This is great! I have a Spirit Root!" The child was so excited he nearly jumped for joy. He had known since he was little just how important a Spirit Root was, and now, he had grasped a different future.
When Song Changjiu saw no one come out after a while, he knew it meant they had found someone with a Spirit Root. It was just that the Spirit Testing Chamber had a Restriction on it, so he couldn't see what was happening inside.
"I hope it's a Celestial Spirit Root," Song Changjiu muttered, still fixated on the idea.
One by one, more children were called in. Perhaps the first child had used up all the good luck, as nearly a thousand people in a row were tested without a single Spirit Root among them.
Just as Song Changsheng was starting to feel bored, a little girl was finally found to have a Spirit Root. Unfortunately, it was Four Spirit Roots, meaning she had almost no chance of breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
It wasn't that someone with Four Spirit Roots couldn't reach Foundation Establishment, but that the resources required were simply too vast. The difficulty of cultivating her to Foundation Establishment would be several times greater than that of someone with Three Spirit Roots.
The family's resources were limited; they couldn't afford to squander them like that. Her limit in this lifetime would likely be the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Sometimes, Song Changsheng wondered if it was right or wrong to let them embark on the path of cultivation...
Two days passed quickly. In the first city, out of more than two thousand people, a total of three were found.
On the third day, their luck was a little better in the second city. Out of three thousand people, four were found, but they all had Four Spirit Roots or Five Spirit Roots. There wasn't a single one with Three Spirit Roots.
This was all normal, and everyone was mentally prepared for it. But then, in the third city, the appearance of a quiet, taciturn little boy brought them a surprise...
...