The overseas States differed greatly from the mortal realm. In the mortal realm, ordinary people could pursue education or business if they didn’t cultivate. However, in the upper States, those without spiritual roots were destined for a life of simple labor—cultivating spiritual rice and weaving magical cloth. Even in Mao State, known for its gentle inhabitants, people were obsessed with entering the path of immortal cultivation.
The woman holding Little Treasure refused to give up. “Immortal master, isn’t it possible to remove or reduce the spiritual roots?” she pleaded.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Xianlan Sect sneered, “How absurdly naive! Spiritual roots are heaven-sent gifts. Even we cultivators struggle to protect them. The slightest damage could lead to lifelong impairment. Your foolish notion is preposterous. Get out of my sight!”
With a wave of his sleeve, he sent the persistent woman flying. Still clutching her child, she was about to crash to the ground—an impact that, while not fatal, would have left her bedridden for months.
Just before impact, a gentle force caught and slowly lowered her to the ground.
“What should be a joyous occasion for selecting talented youths has turned unnecessarily hostile,” a voice remarked.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator frowned. His spiritual sense detected a nun with prayer beads wrapped around her hand, seemingly at his level of cultivation. His expression softened slightly. “Ah a fellow practitioner from the Buddhist sect. We didn’t expect to disturb your cultivation in this remote village. Would you prefer us to leave?”
In Mao State, no one dared to offend a monk or nun willingly.
Nan Yan replied, “It’s no bother. I merely came out of curiosity. This child’s spiritual roots seem promising. It’s a shame to discard him just because of conflicting attributes. Is there no way to overcome this?”
Hearing her apparent lack of knowledge about the interactions between spiritual roots, the Xianlan Sect cultivator was surprised and then slightly contemptuous. Assuming she wasn’t from a major temple, he explained, “Spiritual roots are the foundation of cultivation. Water and fire conflict—it’s simply not his destiny. Even if he were to force cultivation, the spiritual energy would cancel out during circulation.”
Unable to discern spiritual roots at her current level, Nan Yan could only address the shaken mother and child, “As you’ve seen, you may not be suited for the path of immortal cultivation.”
The woman gritted her teeth. “He’s my only son. Isn’t there any other way?”
Nan Yan, having spent several days in the village, knew the woman’s story. She had remarried with her son, but after a blissful year, her new husband had taken a mistress who was now pregnant. The mistress, claiming cultivator ancestry, boasted that her child would be a celestial infant. This constant anxiety drove the woman to seek cultivation for her son to secure her position.
Exasperated, the Foundation Establishment cultivator said, “Out of respect for our Buddhist friend, I’ll tell you this: if a powerful cultivator were to bestow a ‘Wood Spirit Essence Pill’ upon your child, creating a trace of wood spiritual root, it could balance the water and fire roots. This might allow him to barely step onto the path of cultivation. Otherwise, forget about it.”
“Wood Spirit… Essence Pill,” the woman muttered, a hint of madness flickering in her eyes. She hurriedly thanked them and left amidst the villagers’ mockery.
Nan Yan, sensing something amiss, asked the Xianlan Sect cultivator, “What is this Wood Spirit Essence Pill? I’ve never heard of it.”
The cultivator’s gaze shifted. “There’s no such pill. I merely said that to dissuade her from her delusions. Pay it no mind.”
Nan Yan didn’t press further and returned to the temple, but kept her Golden Core stage spiritual sense spread over the area.
Of the village’s thirty-odd children, only one with five spiritual roots was selected. In the mortal realm, this would have been acceptable, but in Mao State, those with five roots were considered no different from ordinary people. The three Xianlan Sect cultivators left after half a day.
That night, as Nan Yan meditated in the temple, she heard a faint argument outside that quickly subsided. When she inquired, a night watchman explained, “It was the Sun family’s wife. After her child failed the selection, she heard of a cultivator who could reshape spiritual roots in a nearby manor. She insisted on going there with her savings and child, despite our attempts to dissuade her.”
Nan Yan frowned. Though close to the Brahma Sea Temple on Chou Mountain, this area was too remote. The few Qi Condensation monks here likely couldn’t spot any irregularities.
Feeling uneasy, Nan Yan left instructions with the temple and disappeared into the night.
Under the moonless, cloudy sky, occasional wolf howls pierced the silence. Concealing her presence, Nan Yan flew swiftly. Soon, she spotted four or five donkey carts full of people heading towards a manor about twenty miles away.
The small manor emanated a faint spiritual energy, likely protected by barriers. Two Peak Qi Condensation cultivators at the entrance were admitting people and their children one by one.
Nan Yan’s spiritual sense detected the Sun family’s wife at the rear of the convoy, cradling the deeply sleeping Little Treasure.
“Little Treasure, you must succeed…” the woman muttered, a trace of madness in her eyes. As she rounded a pine tree, she suddenly fainted.
Nan Yan appeared behind her, temporarily storing the unconscious woman in her storage ring. She then donned a mask enhanced by silver shark power, transforming into the Sun family’s wife’s likeness. She woke Little Treasure.
“Hm… Mom? Are we there?” Little Treasure sniffed, detecting a faint sandalwood scent. Seeing his mother’s familiar face, he hugged Nan Yan’s arm. “I’m hungry and sleepy. Can we go home? I want milk.”
Nan Yan was taken aback. It was her first encounter with a five-year-old still nursing. Composing herself, she put Little Treasure back to sleep and joined the crowd entering the manor.
The hopeful parents had traveled from villages dozens of miles away, their children ranging from three to fifteen years old. When it was Nan Yan’s turn, the Qi Condensation cultivator at the door asked, “Are you here alone, madam?”
Nan Yan nodded. “Yes, my husband is away on business until next year. I couldn’t wait, so I brought our child alone.”
Noticing the woman’s sallow complexion but shapely figure, the guard showed some enthusiasm. “Many have come to buy spirit-planting jade today. Did you bring enough spirit stones?”
Nan Yan reached into her left sleeve, producing a small pouch with ten spirit stones. “We were delayed on the road. Please, sir, could you arrange something for us?”
Aware of how difficult it was for commoners to acquire spirit stones, the cultivator happily accepted. To the bewilderment of the other visitors, he led Nan Yan to the front of the queue and into the manor.
The manor consisted of three courtyard houses. Nan Yan stood behind a silk-clad couple, her spiritual sense revealing a large room with five cauldrons—red, orange, yellow, green, and blue—emitting a spiritual energy reminiscent of overripe berries.
While the mortals found the scent pleasant, Nan Yan frowned. The spiritual liquid seemed to contain something that dulled the senses, quickly making the younger children drowsy.
Soon, it was Nan Yan’s turn. She approached the center, where seven or eight veiled Foundation Establishment cultivators sat around the five cauldrons. The mortals deposited 100 spirit stones in a merit box, then a cultivator used a spirit-detecting jade to check the child’s spiritual roots. Once confirmed, they filled a jade bottle with liquid from one of the cauldrons and gave it to the parents.
“Drink five drops daily, no more. Keep this spirit-fixing jade on the child. When spiritual roots form, the jade will glow and guide the child to a celestial sect,” they instructed.
The grateful parents left with their children. When it was Nan Yan’s turn, the spirit-detecting jade surprised them.
“Madam, your child has dual spiritual roots?”
“Yes,” Nan Yan replied, noticing one of the central cultivators turn towards them. “An immortal master said water and fire roots conflict, preventing cultivation. That’s why we came here.”
The cultivator nodded and was about to give her the liquid when another who had been listening called out, “Wait.”
He approached, examined Little Treasure, and said, “This child’s dual roots are rare and of good quality. Give her two extra bottles of wood spirit liquid.”
They were generous, even providing a larger purple jade than others, drawing envious glances from those in line. After everyone received their liquid, the cultivator announced:
“Those who’ve received the liquid, stay in the houses behind the manor. Space is limited; only children over ten can stay without parents. The rest, please return home.”
Little Treasure being young, Nan Yan was led to a narrow room. Once alone, she stored Little Treasure in her storage ring and tasted a drop of the wood spirit liquid.
The drop instantly transformed into a murky wood-attribute spiritual energy, entering her sea of qi. Sensing the overwhelming demon-suppressing aura, it settled quietly at the bottom. Nan Yan probed it with her spiritual energy and the murky energy dissipated upon contact with her powerful Buddhist spiritual force.
Impressed by the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ creation, Nan Yan used some of the silver shark pearl’s power from her mask to disguise her sea of qi as a mortal’s. She then drank half a bottle of the wood spirit liquid. It immediately turned into black mist, even seeping out of her body.
Nan Yan opened her eyes slightly to see the black mist enveloping the spirit-fixing jade given by the cultivator and attaching to her forehead.
Suddenly, a ghostly figure emerged from the jade, following the black mist into her sea of qi.
Nan Yan was startled—it strongly resembled a yin curse. Had its aura not been merely at mid-Foundation Establishment level, easily crushed by a thought, she might have leaped up in alarm.
The black mist contracted, and the ghostly head opened its eyes within her sea of qi. Delighted, it spoke aloud:
“Such rich spiritual energy! I spent ten thousand spirit stones—could I have lucked into a child with innate spiritual energy?!”
The ghostly head excitedly explored the sea of qi, frantically absorbing energy while growing confused.
“This isn’t right. A celestial seedling’s sea of qi should be no larger than a spirit field… Why is this place as vast as an ocean?”
The more it moved, the more bewildered it became.
“Is this the place for my soul possession? Did the Xianlan Sect deceive me? How can I not find the child’s soul core after all this time?”
“Hey! Old Tao from the Xianlan Sect, are you guarding outside?!”
“…”
The ghostly head was utterly baffled. Moments later, the sea of qi began to churn. Clouds parted, revealing golden light that terrified the ghostly head, sending it fleeing in all directions.
“Buddhist power! What kind of place is this?! How can there be such strong Buddhist energy?!”
Despite its swift escape, the sea of qi was too vast. Soon, it found itself bound by chains of Buddhist scriptures. Just as the ghostly head despaired, a white cloud drifted down from the distant edge of the sea of qi. Atop the cloud, a golden lotus rotated, bearing a white-robed nun of ethereal beauty floating towards him.
The ghostly head was shocked: “You are…”
The nun replied: “Indeed, I am Guanyin Bodhisattva.”
The ghostly head: “…”