Chapter 23: Spiritual Aperture

Li Tongya performed a spell, watching the fine, dense spiritual rain fall onto the dark earth. His face pale, he mused, "The Spiritual Rain spell in this spirit plant cultivation method consumes an immense amount of energy. Even with the Chengming Wheel, I can barely cast it once. These spirit plants also require daily care, so we truly need more hands."

Li Xiangping and Li Tongya had surveyed the spirit fields in various villages. They were all pitifully small. The spirit fields in Lijing Village were fragmented, but fortunately, the largest plot was just big enough to plant ten White Yuan Fruits.

Consequently, Li Tongya sent people to build a small courtyard at the foot of the mountain, on what was previously barren land. He would usually cultivate and practice there, with supplies conveniently delivered, making it quite pleasant.

Li Xiangping, on the other hand, selected a spirit field in Jingyang Village and sowed spirit rice there. This led to the villagers of Jingyang prostrating themselves in worship outside the courtyard daily, which was rather amusing.

As he had not yet entered the Zhouxing Wheel, Li Tongya closed his eyes and meditated for nearly half an hour to fully recover his spiritual energy. Checking the time, he saw that Li Yesheng and his men had already been waiting outside the gate for a long while.

Hearing the wooden door creak open, Li Yesheng quickly bowed and greeted him, saying, "All the children from the villages have arrived. Shall we go now, Brother Tongya?"

"Yes," Li Tongya responded softly, then slowly walked towards the village entrance amidst the eager smiles of Li Yesheng and the men behind him.

Under the large, leafy locust tree at the village entrance, representatives from all villages had gathered. Stewards dispatched by the Li family led groups, accompanied by several village elders, with clusters of children of all ages following behind.

The stewards appeared relatively relaxed, standing in pairs under the locust tree and conversing in low tones. Villagers from outside the village, however, seemed anxious and reserved, not daring to speak, remaining rooted to their spots. The children, too, were affected, sitting obediently on the ground.

Chen Erniu had recently been basking in good fortune, so happy he couldn't sleep at night. After generations of toiling in the fields, his family had finally begun to live a decent life.

Upon learning he was assigned to manage Lichiuan Village, Chen Erniu fiercely kowtowed nine times in front of the Li family courtyard, tearfully making a solemn vow to Elder Li: "With your trust, Elder, I, Erniu, will surely ensure that Lichiuan Village's militia is absolutely compliant."

He had received aid from the Li family when he fled here, was blessed by them when he married and bought land, and they even funded his wife's medical treatment when she fell ill. This deep gratitude had firmly bound Chen Erniu to the Li family's chariot.

What's more, with such immense benefits laid out before him, Chen Erniu would even dare to eat dog excrement!

However, Chen Erniu and Xu Wenshan had been at odds since their tenant days, which often led to friction between their two villages. Only Ren Pingan held a detached position among the three villages, solely managing his own village's affairs day by day.

"Steward Chen..." A frantic voice called out, and Chen Erniu turned his head to see Chen Changhu, a fellow villager from Lichiuan Village.

The Chen clan was predominant in Lichiuan Village, and Chen Changhu was the eldest in the clan, enjoying high prestige in the community. Thus, everyone had nominated him to lead their group.

"Are these Li family immortals truly willing to accept children from my Chen clan?" The old man, usually calm and composed with considerable prestige, now looked towards the village entrance with a face full of apprehension, asking in a low voice.

"They say you need immortal destiny! You need that so-called spiritual aperture! For children aged seven to thirteen, as long as your Chen family child possesses that spiritual aperture, the Li family will accept them all!"

Watching Chen Changhu nod repeatedly, Chen Erniu pursed his lips, filled with envy. He secretly lamented that his own two children were either too old and had missed the opportunity, or too young to be tested.

"The immortal has arrived!" Seeing Li Tongya appear at the village entrance, Chen Erniu quickly went forward with a smile, thinking enviously, "I wonder which of these children from the various villages will gain immortal destiny today."

Li Tongya clasped his hands in a slight bow, smiled at Chen Erniu, then turned to Li Yesheng and said, "Begin."

A wooden platform had already been set up next to the locust tree. Li Tongya sat upon it, and the people below began calling out names.

"Lichiuan Village! Chen Lifu!"

Below, a member of the Chen family brought up a trembling child. Li Tongya placed his hand on the child's shoulder, circulated his spiritual energy through the child's body once, then waved his hand and said, "You may go down."

The two individuals dared not respond and quickly descended. A hint of disappointment flashed in Chen Changhu's eyes below.

"Next!"

...

Before long, all the people from Lichiuan Village had gone down. Chen Changhu's face was grim, and he looked at Chen Erniu with a pleading gaze.

Chen Erniu rolled his eyes and spread his hands, indicating he could do nothing to help.

The late autumn weather was cool, and even at midday, with so many people gathered, it remained cool under the tree. However, people from all the villages were sweating profusely, and seeing that Lichiuan Village had not a single one with immortal destiny made their hearts pound nervously.

Li Tongya, however, was mentally prepared for this scene. Those with a spiritual aperture were one in a thousand. If even one child from all the villages possessed it, it would be a break-even; two would be a profit.

"Jingyang Village! Liu Rouxuan!" As soon as the name was called, a girl who looked thirteen or fourteen stepped forward. Her eyebrows curved, her eyes were bright, and she timidly bit her lip.

Fourteen years old was right at the upper age limit. Li Tongya shook his head helplessly, pretending not to notice, and placed his left hand on the girl's shoulder, circulating his spiritual energy.

After circulating through the girl's meridians, Li Tongya let out a soft "Hmm?" Below, the members of the Liu clan from Jingyang Village became visibly tense.

They saw that within the girl's Qihai acupoint, spiritual energy surged ceaselessly, and a transparent energy vortex pulsed as if breathing on its own.

"Not bad," Li Tongya opened his eyes, smiled at the girl, and gently said, "Stand behind me."

Liu Rouxuan stared blankly into Li Tongya's eyes, seemingly still not comprehending the immense good fortune that had befallen her. A few breaths later, she seemed to realize, and with a joyful expression, she stood behind Li Tongya.

The crowd from Jingyang Village below immediately burst into a murmur of excitement, every face beaming with joy. They refrained from cheering loudly only out of respect for Li Tongya. Lichiuan Village, in contrast, was shrouded in gloom, while the remaining two villages grew even more anxious.

Before long, the tests for Jingyang Village and Lidao Village were also complete. As expected, no more individuals with spiritual apertures were found among the remaining children.

"Lijing Village!" Li Tongya's gaze swept over the children below. Li Xuanxuan, of course, was not among them; the child was only three years old, not yet fully grown, and would need to be at least seven before his spiritual aperture could be detected.

Finally, it was time for the children from their own village. Li Yesheng raised an eyebrow and began calling out names.

"If Brother Tongya hadn't tested me earlier, I'd really be itching to go up and try it myself!" Li Yesheng thought to himself bitterly as he called out the names loudly.

"Ye Qiuyang!"

Below, his father Ye Chengfu's entire body tensed, his legs went weak, and his eyes were fixed on the eight- or nine-year-old child on the platform. He kept reassuring himself: "My Ye family is, after all, a branch of the Li family. Surely, we must have some immortal destiny..."

Watching Li Tongya place his hand on Ye Qiuyang's shoulder, Ye Chengfu closed his eyes, simply sat down on the sandy ground, and listened intently.