Lingyuan Immortal

Chapter 3: The Difference of Spiritual Roots
As soon as he finished speaking, a child in the first row walked forward and came under the bronze mirror.

The bronze mirror that was spinning just now suddenly emitted colorful light, and the mirror faced downward, shooting a milky white beam of light at the child.

After two or three breaths, the milky white beam of light slowly turned into wood green, and the beam of light gradually shrank to one-third of its previous size.

"Low-grade wood spiritual roots." The old Taoist priest glanced at the beam of light, waved his sleeve, and immediately sent a powerful force to the child's back. The child was as if pushed and escaped from the beam of light. "Stand aside."

The head monk on the high platform remained calm and nodded to the old Taoist priest.

The next person to come forward was a little girl in a red shirt and stood under the bronze mirror.

The bronze mirror also shot a milky white beam of light at the girl. After two or three breaths, the beam of light slowly became two-thirds of its previous size, emitting yellow and red colors.

The old Taoist's eyes lit up. "Medium-grade fire and earth dual spiritual roots." He smiled at the girl and asked, "What's your name?"

The girl replied crisply, "Zhu Yuelian."

"Okay, okay." The old Taoist stroked his beard and nodded.

Seeing this, the white-robed headmaster smiled and said to his fellow disciples beside him, "Junior Brother Zhang has been searching for two generations of immortal seedlings and finally found the fire and earth spiritual roots that are suitable for his inheritance."

"Junior Brother Zhang's "Stove Burning Art" is powerful, but difficult to practice. Some of the low-grade spiritual roots in the sect were unable to practice it before. I hope that this time they can get what they want." The big man surnamed Shi also nodded and said.

The ceremony continued in an orderly manner. After more than a dozen children, it was Chen Mu and others' turn.

Following the order, Chen Mu walked forward first. After he stood still, he saw a beam of light shot out from the bronze mirror above towards him.

Under the cover, Chen Mu felt a gentle breath and his whole body felt comfortable, as if he was bathed in sunlight.

In a flash, the light continued to penetrate deeper, as if entering the body and moving from top to bottom.

Afterwards, Chen Mu saw the light column gradually shrink to one-third of its previous size, emitting a water blue color throughout.

"Low-grade water spiritual root." The old Taoist priest said loudly.

After hearing the old Taoist's words, a hint of loss flashed in Chen Mu's eyes.

Low quality?

After the first dozen or so children, and considering the literal meaning, Chen Mu had already understood that the lower grade should be considered the lowest level of immortal cultivation qualifications...

When he arrived at the queue where the test was finished and stood, Chen Mu had returned to normal.

He couldn't change his talent, all he could do was try his best.

When he secretly made up his mind, Du Xiaokui and Xiaoshuang had also finished the test. One had low-grade wood and earth spiritual roots, and the other, like Chen Mu, had low-grade water spiritual roots.

Niu Dali was the only child left among the children with Chen Mu.

Niu Dali, with a simple and honest face, was bathing in the beam of light at this time.

After two or three breaths, the light column dispersed and shook constantly, as if it was affected by something and did not shrink.

The white-robed leader, the big man surnamed Shi, and the beautiful woman on the high platform all showed expressions of surprise.

"Master Brother, a top-grade spiritual root!" said the beautiful woman with a smile.

The white-robed headmaster also nodded and smiled, "Indeed, a top-grade spiritual root. We at Shuiyunjian haven't had a top-grade spiritual root for several generations. This is truly a timely help."

As he spoke, the beam of light surrounding Niu Dali suddenly emitted an ochre light.

Before the old Taoist priest could speak, the large man surnamed Shi on the high platform laughed first and said, "Top-grade earth spiritual roots, Senior Brother Master, Junior Sister Lin, I want this child."

The white-robed headmaster smiled comfortably upon hearing this: "It's fitting that we should do this. Last time, a top-grade spiritual root was accepted into our sect, and Junior Sister Lin also accepted a good disciple in the previous term. This boy has earth spiritual roots, so he must be Junior Brother Shi."

The beautiful woman also congratulated, "Congratulations to Senior Brother Shi as well."

The man surnamed Shi stood up, clasped his hands together in front of his chest, his left hand clasped over his right, and bowed: "Thank you, brothers and sisters, for your help."

When Niu Dali arrived at the queue, Du Xiaokui couldn't wait to whisper, "Brother Niu, you are really amazing."

Niu Dali scratched his head with his right hand and smiled innocently.

It is impossible to say that Chen Mu has no feelings at all. He is not a saint. His companions have excellent qualifications, but he himself has poor qualifications. He can't help feeling a little regretful.

But he changed his mind and thought, compared with those who were unqualified, he was lucky to have the qualifications.

Thinking of this, Chen Mu also bowed and smiled, "Congratulations, Brother Niu, you have excellent aptitude and hope for cultivating immortality."

Niu Dali laughed when he heard this. He wanted to say that he was happy, but it didn't seem appropriate. So he stammered and didn't know what to say, and his face turned red from holding it in.

After this episode, everyone in the hall no longer had the leisure to continue the test, so they quickly finished it.

After the test, Chen Mu and the others, led by the old Taoist priest, kowtowed to the founder of Shuiyunjian and swore many vows. After the ceremony, Niu Dali and Zhu Yuelian, who possessed dual spiritual roots of fire and earth, were left alone. The rest of the group followed a young Taoist priest to a valley.

"This is Qingzhu Valley. Before being promoted to inner disciples, all of you fellow disciples practice here. After you have settled in, you can go to the Dharma Transmission Pavilion to collect your cultivation techniques. As for food, the valley steward will arrange it for you." The young Taoist pointed to the valley steward standing nearby and said, "Arrange accommodation for them."

……

Chen Mu took the gray robe and a jade token from the steward. This was standard equipment for Shuiyunjian's outer disciples.

Green Bamboo Valley is very large, and more than half of the area is planted with green bamboo.

Chen Mu said goodbye to Du Xiaokui and Xiaoshuang and walked towards a cabin of his choice.

Next to the wooden house is a large bamboo forest with a small stream running through it. The sound of springs, birdsong and insects can be heard, creating a very quiet environment.

When I opened the door, there was only a brand new bamboo bed in the room. Through the window, the breeze blew gently, the bamboo forest rustled, and the scenery was unique.

Chen Mu tidied up the room and rested for a while, then heard shouting from outside.

I stood up and went out, and it turned out to be Du Xiaokui and Xiaoshuang.

"Brother Chen, are you ready? If you are, let's go and learn the cultivation techniques together." Du Xiaokui said with a smile.

"Okay." Chen Mu nodded, turned around and closed the door: "Let's go."

Walk out of Qingzhu Valley and go up the stone steps step by step until you come to a pavilion. The pavilion is not high. There is a big stone in front of the door with the words "Chuanfa Pavilion" written on it.

After Chen Mu and the other two walked in, they saw a young Taoist priest about sixteen or seventeen years old sleeping soundly on the table next to the bookshelf. When he heard someone moving around, he rubbed his eyes and stood up.

Chen Mu stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Senior Brother, the three of us are new outer disciples, and we are here to receive the cultivation techniques."

The young Taoist priest waved his hand and replied, "I know, I know. You three arrived quite quickly. You are considered the first wave of this batch of immortal seedlings. Tell me about your spiritual roots."

When Chen Mu arrived, he had already learned from the young Taoist who led them into the valley that different spiritual roots would lead to different cultivation techniques. So he immediately replied, "I have low-grade water spiritual roots. One of the other two has the same spiritual roots as me, and the other has low-grade wood and earth spiritual roots."

The young Taoist nodded and took out three jade slips from behind his back: "Water Spirit Root Cultivation Technique 'Timely Rain Technique' Wood Spirit Root Cultivation Technique 'Eternal Spring Technique' Earth Spirit Root Cultivation Technique 'Kunchen Technique' The jade slips have Qi-inducing techniques applied to them. You can see them if you hold your breath and concentrate."

Chen Mu took a jade slip and looked into it intently. The jade slip flashed, and the words recorded in it suddenly appeared before Chen Mu's eyes.

Timely Rain Secret…

In the morning, I lead my inner spirit and seek the source of the eastern stream. I drag my walking stick to explore the shallows, and with my hands I play with the gurgling water...

Chen Mu took a quick look at it, handed the jade slip to Xiao Shuang, and then repeatedly pondered the first few lines of poetry in "The Secret of Timely Rain".

Du Xiaokui glanced at the "Eternal Spring Art" and the "Kunchen Art" and found that they were both cultivation techniques for a single spiritual root. So he turned around and asked, "Senior Brother, do you have any cultivation techniques suitable for both wood and earth spiritual roots?"

The young Taoist priest curled his lips after hearing this and said, "You're dreaming. There's no such thing as a technique specifically tailored for you. Even if there were, a technique suitable for cultivating dual spiritual roots would definitely require very high qualifications. You'd better forget it. The "Timely Rain Technique" and "Eternal Spring Technique" I've taken out for you are the best of the Five Elements Qi Condensation Techniques. They're also the most widely circulated and have no future problems. Choose one quickly."

A series of words interrupted Chen Mu's deliberation. After listening to the young Taoist's words, Chen Mu remembered Zhu Yuelian at the test ceremony. She had dual spiritual roots and was of medium-grade aptitude, but was left alone by the old Taoist. It seemed that there was another skill passed down to her.

Du Xiaokui still had room for choice, but Chen Mu and Xiaoshuang did not. They took the jade slips from the young Taoist priest and waited aside.

In the end, Du Xiaokui chose "The Secret of Eternal Spring" because the young Taoist priest muttered: "Choose this, and you will live longer."

After Chen Mu and the other two had finished learning the cultivation techniques, the young Taoist priest took out three small dark brown cloth bags and said, "These are Qiankun bags. You can use them after you cultivate your first wisp of magic power. They also contain three spirit stones. You must keep them safe. Outer disciples like you can only receive three spirit stones every three months. This bag and the spirit stones have many wonderful uses. You will find out in the future."

After saying this, the young Taoist shook his head, waved his hand, sat down and continued to sleep.

Chen Mu and the other two left the pavilion and returned to Qingzhu Valley.

"Brother Chen, do you think that Brother Niu practices the same martial arts as us?" Du Xiaokui asked curiously while walking on the road.

Chen Mu shook his head after hearing this: "I don't know, it should be different."

"The man who took Brother Niu away was really burly, much stronger than the guards in my house. It's obvious that he has some powerful martial arts skills. I'll ask Brother Niu about it someday." Du Xiaokui was full of admiration.

After separating from the two of them, Chen Mu quickly returned to his residence.

Sitting cross-legged on the bamboo bed, he looked at the jade slip with bated breath.

Hundreds of words appeared in front of Chen Mu again. Chen Mu did not rush to practice according to the records above, but read the whole article.

After memorizing it, Chen Mu closed his eyes and began to seek the "mind as calm as still water" recorded above, letting go of all distracting thoughts.

"In the morning, I lead my inner spirit and seek the source of the eastern stream. I drag my walking stick to explore the shallows, and with my hands I play with the gurgling water..."

When Chen Mu was thinking carefully, he didn't notice that the amber given by his mother around his neck was flashing a faint lake blue light with his breathing.

(End of this chapter)