Chapter 153: True Spiritual Root

At the entrance of Nanxi Market, the stewards from the four immortal cultivation families were all bowing and fawning over two disciples dressed in the green uniforms of the Divine Wood Sect.

Chen Mobai squeezed into the crowd, carefully observing the two individuals who were surrounded by everyone like stars around the moon.

"That's strange, why are there two True Inheritors?" Chen Mobai thought. According to the information he had gathered beforehand, the person expected to arrive was Ouyun, the Third True Inheritor. It was said that he was not particularly striking in appearance and quite unassuming, but he specialized in cultivating the "Scripture of Eternal Life" and was considered one of the most promising talents of his generation to successfully establish his foundation.

The two Divine Wood Sect members were a man and a woman. The man was handsome and distinguished. The woman, with her red lips and white teeth and picturesque features, looked only thirteen or fourteen, but already showed signs of stunning beauty to come.

Faintly, he overheard voices revealing the man's surname was Yuan and the woman's was Ding. If the man's surname was Yuan, could he be Yuan Chiyue, ranked eighteenth among the twenty-four True Inheritors of this generation? As for Ding, there were two True Inheritors with that surname in this generation, and the female one was likely Ding Ying.

Having decided to join the Divine Wood Sect, Chen Mobai had naturally gathered a good deal of information about the sect. Externally, the Divine Wood Sect was known to have two Golden Core Patriarchs at the top and twenty-four True Inheritors below them. However, the exact number of Foundation Establishment elders within the sect was a matter of speculation, with no definitive figure.

Cultivators in the Sky River Realm already exerted all their energy just to acquire spirit stones and cultivation techniques daily, leaving no spare time to research such details. Chen Mobai, on the other hand, had managed to estimate a figure based on a revelation from the Divine Wood Sect's elixir shopkeeper in the market. According to the shopkeeper, roughly two to four of the twenty-four True Inheritors from each generation successfully achieved Foundation Establishment. This implied an average of three additional Foundation Establishment cultivators every ten years. Since the Divine Wood Sect separated from the Five Elements Sect fifty years ago, this would mean a minimum of fifteen Foundation Establishment cultivators. What remained unknown was how many Foundation Establishment core members they brought from the Five Elements Sect and how many losses they had sustained over the years.

Among the current generation of True Inheritors, Ouyun was one of the three most favored to achieve Foundation Establishment. Because he didn't cultivate any distracting dual-phase techniques, his spiritual energy was exceptionally pure, leading most people to believe he would be among the first True Inheritors of this generation to successfully establish his foundation. However, this was not an absolute certainty. There were also resilient cultivators who had ranked lower as True Inheritors but ultimately achieved Foundation Establishment, surprising everyone.

Soon after, the four immortal cultivation families escorted the two Divine Wood Sect disciples to the Heavenly Dining Pavilion, located in the very center of the market.

Chen Mobai waited in place for a while. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Qi Er ran over.

"Senior," Qi Er began, "I've inquired. Many disciples within the Divine Wood Sect believe Ouyun, as the Third True Inheritor, will successfully achieve Foundation Establishment, and they've chosen to align themselves with him. This time, he accepted the sect's Spirit Transference Envoy mission, but primarily for his own Foundation Establishment. So, he had two of his affiliated disciples come to help complete the task of recruiting rogue cultivators." Qi Er added, "The male Divine Wood Sect disciple is Yuan Chiyue, the Eighteenth True Inheritor, and the young girl, Ding Ying, also appears to be a True Inheritor."

Chen Mobai nodded after listening. As long as the Divine Wood Sect was still recruiting rogue cultivators, it didn't matter who was in charge.

It wasn't self-praise, but while there were many experts at Qi Condensation Layer 8 and 9 in the market, when it came to talisman crafting, Chen Mobai was definitely superior to these rogue cultivators after half a year of diligent practice at Danzhu Academy. During those six months, besides switching to cultivating the Pure Yang Scroll, he also sought guidance from Luan Jingsheng. With Luan Jingsheng's help, he diligently studied the three basic volumes of talisman books. He could now craft not only the five basic talismans but also the "Crimson Fire Talisman" and "Sword Qi Talisman" that Qi Rui had given him. If it weren't for the need for a special talisman ink from Giant Wood Ridge to draw the "Crimson Flame Sword Talisman," Chen Mobai would likely have already perfected this top-grade Tier 1 talisman.

As it turned out, his idea was entirely correct. After the two True Inheritor disciples from the Divine Wood Sect enjoyed a satisfying feast hosted by the four great families, they instructed the Divine Wood Sect's shop to begin preparations for the talisman crafting venue that afternoon. The two of them then proceeded to an open space in the middle of Nanxi Market's street.

Yuan Chiyue tapped his storage bag, and a stream of light flashed. Suddenly, a circular platform, large enough for two or three people to stand on, appeared in the center of the open space.

"Is that the 'Spirit Testing Platform'?" Qi Er, standing beside Chen Mobai, looked on with hope. Without needing to ask, Chen Mobai understood what it was just from the name. It must be the Sky River Realm's artifact used to measure cultivators' spirit roots. Given its size, it should be more accurate and faster than the spirit testing device he carried.

As Chen Mobai was thinking this, the two Divine Wood Sect members moved to the side. Immediately, Divine Wood Sect disciples from the market brought over two chairs and placed them behind them.

"Our Divine Wood Sect widely opens its gates to recruit rogue cultivators! As long as one's spirit roots are suitable and they have not committed any demonic deeds, all are welcome to join our sect!" Yuan Chiyue declared, his voice like thunder, clearly audible to everyone on the street.

"Next, young men and women of suitable age from the four great families, please step onto the Spirit Testing Platform first." As soon as he finished speaking, four pre-arranged queues stepped forward. One by one, filled with either apprehension or anticipation, they ascended the platform.

The first to ascend was a young man from the Liu family. It seemed someone had instructed him, for as soon as he stepped on, he sat cross-legged on the platform and began to absorb spiritual energy and meditate. After about two or three minutes, by the time Chen Mobai was almost yawning, the Spirit Testing Platform glowed with four colors.

"Four-attribute pseudo-spirit root: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire." Yuan Chiyue shook his head slightly at the sight but still showed respect to the Liu family. He beckoned the young man on the platform over, extended his hand, and checked his bone age. "Sixteen years old, Qi Condensation Layer 3. You can just barely enter our sect."

Upon hearing this, the Liu family's leader displayed a relieved smile. Chen Mobai was a little confused; wasn't there supposed to be a talisman crafting assessment later? It seemed as though this person had already been guaranteed entry into the Divine Wood Sect. What surprised him even more, however, was the simplicity of the Spirit Testing Platform. Could it not even read the numerical values of spirit root attributes?

Chen Mobai thought he might have misunderstood and continued to observe. The second, third, and fourth individuals ascended, and the Spirit Testing Platform still only displayed the lights corresponding to the Five Elements, indicating the spirit root attributes of the person on it, but without showing specific numerical values. He now fully understood: it seemed his own spirit testing device, carried in his backpack, might be somewhat miraculous for the Sky River Realm.

After the members of the four great families had been tested, the best spirit root belonged to a three-attribute spirit root holder from the Lou family. In this round, Yuan Chiyue recruited a total of thirteen disciples. He seemed particularly pleased with the sole three-attribute true spirit root holder, not only inviting them to stand beside him but also addressing the Lou family's steward with a pleasant expression, stating that if the Divine Wood Sect had surplus Foundation Establishment Pills in the future, they would consider inviting their family to bid for them.

Next, it was time for the rogue cultivators' spirit root tests.