Chapter 6: Xia Yunxue
After receiving the assignment, Song Changsheng quickly set out for the Governor’s Mansion. His steps were hurried, and so was his heart for this meeting, he had waited nearly a whole year.
Song Luding had taken this into consideration and deliberately scheduled the start date three days later, giving Song Changsheng more time to spend with his mother.
"Who are you looking for?" At the gates of the Governor’s Mansion, a cultivator with thick eyebrows and large eyes sized up Song Changsheng with vigilance.
"Junior Song Changsheng, one of the hosts of this Ascension Assembly, here to pay respects to the Fifth Elder." Song Changsheng cupped his fists in greeting.
Upon hearing this, the cultivator’s attitude shifted completely. He beamed and said, "So it’s Clan Brother Changsheng! The Fifth Elder talks about you all the time. Wait here, I’ll go inform her right away!"
Before he could turn around, Song Changsheng felt a blur before his eyes. A woman in a light yellow flowing cloud-patterned dress and a casual cloud-styled bun suddenly appeared before him.
She had an oval-shaped face with a single jade hairpin adorning her head with no other ornaments. Her face was bare of makeup, but she wore a gentle smile. She wasn’t a breathtaking beauty, but her presence was warm and comforting.
"Your son pays respects, Mother!" Song Changsheng was about to kneel in formal greeting when she stopped him with a hand.
This was none other than the Fifth Elder of the clan his birth mother, Xia Yunxue, a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator!
She wasn’t just the clan’s only mid-grade second-rank Spirit Brewer, but also its sole elder of non-clan blood.
"I sensed your presence from inside the manor just now and thought it was an illusion. I can’t believe it’s really you! You’ve already broken through to the late Qi Refinement stage?" Xia Yunxue pulled Song Changsheng into the manor, her face glowing with joy.
"Yes, Mother. I broke through four months ago, and I’ve also made progress in formations and artifact forging." In front of Xia Yunxue, Song Changsheng shed all his usual modesty and spoke with pride.
"Good child. Your talent is no less than those with variant spiritual roots. Foundation Establishment is just around the corner." Xia Yunxue felt a rush of emotion. The tiny boy from the past could now carry out missions on his own.
A smile appeared on Song Changsheng’s face. He’d heard words like these from many people before, but hearing them from her made them feel completely different.
As soon as they sat down, Xia Yunxue began asking him all sorts of things, how he’d been eating, if he was living well, whether he had enough cultivation resources. The moment she started talking, it was as if she couldn’t stop.
Yet Song Changsheng didn’t find it annoying, on the contrary, he felt warm inside.
In his past life, he had been an orphan and had never experienced familial warmth. That had always been his greatest regret. Who would’ve thought that in this new life, that emptiness would be filled?
As Xia Yunxue chattered on, night slowly fell, and the sounds of insects began to rise outside the window.
Suddenly, Song Changsheng said, "Mother, I want to eat fish."
Xia Yunxue paused, then realized it was already dusk. She quickly stood up and said, "Alright, Mother will go make something delicious for you right away."
Less than an hour later, Xia Yunxue had prepared a full table of dishes, all of Song Changsheng’s favorites. He couldn’t help but feel a sting in his nose. A child with a mother is indeed a treasure, there’s truth in that saying.
Throughout the meal, Xia Yunxue did most of the talking while Song Changsheng simply focused on eating, occasionally responding. It was simple, yet warm.
Three days passed in a flash, and Song Changsheng returned to regroup with Song Luding and the others.
The Ascension Assembly watched by hundreds of thousands was about to begin.
Due to the fact that there were only two compasses for measuring spiritual roots, the group split into two teams. Song Luding led Song Changsheng and Song Changjiu to oversee four cities in the east.
Meanwhile, Song Luzi led Song Changying to take care of the three cities in the west.
"Uncle, if we happen to find a Heaven-grade spiritual root this time, what kind of reward do you think the clan will give us?" Song Changjiu asked eagerly, his face full of anticipation.
Song Luding laughed heartily. "You brat. You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. Never mind Heaven-grade spirit roots, even a Dual-root would make this old man satisfied."
"Brother Changjiu, our clan’s been around nearly five hundred years, and there’s no record of anyone in Ling Province having a Heaven-grade spiritual root. You might want to tone down your hopes." Song Changsheng chuckled.
Spiritual roots weren’t exactly one in a thousand, but it still took seven or eight hundred people to find one. Most had mixed roots.
Heaven-grade spiritual roots were simply beyond imagination.
"People need to have dreams." Song Changjiu mumbled.
As they spoke, they arrived at the first city’s spiritual root testing chamber. A long line had already formed, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"So many people… When are we going to finish testing them all?" Song Changjiu stared at the dense crowd, stunned.
"It’s not that many. Just a few thousand. Let’s get started, no time to waste." Song Luding was calm as ever. He took out a token and opened the testing chamber.
The chamber wasn’t large and had simple furnishings, just a meditation cushion and a half-person-tall pillar covered in intricate carvings.
"Changsheng, help me inside. Changjiu, stay outside and release people when I tell you. Understood?"
"Got it." Song Changjiu deflated a bit. He had wanted to see how the test worked.
Song Luding took out a compass the size of a basin and mounted it on the pillar. Then he placed a blue crystal into a recessed slot.
"This is the Tianxuan Stone, essential for measuring spiritual roots," he explained as he worked.
Soon, the first child entered. He looked to be around eight or nine and seemed nervous.
Song Luding stroked his beard and said kindly, "Come, child. Place your hand in the center of this compass."
The child timidly reached out. Moments later, the compass emitted a faint glow. Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow. A good start, there was a spiritual root.
"Let’s see what his aptitude is like," he thought.
Soon, the pillar below the compass lit up in red, green, and yellow.
"Three inches of Fire Root, five inches of Wood Root, four inches of Earth Root, medium aptitude," Song Luding nodded in satisfaction. A decent start.
"I… I have a spiritual root?" The child stared at his hands in disbelief.
"Yes. Wait off to the side for now."
"Great! I have a spiritual root!" The child nearly jumped for joy. He had always known how important spiritual roots were and now his future had just changed forever.
Outside, Song Changjiu saw no one exiting and guessed there was a successful case. But the testing chamber was sealed, and he couldn’t see inside.
"If only it were a Heaven-grade root…" he muttered, still dreaming.
One by one, more children entered. Perhaps the first child had used up all the luck, out of nearly a thousand that followed, not a single spiritual root was found.
Just when Song Changsheng was starting to feel bored, a young girl finally tested positive but she had four roots, making Foundation Establishment nearly impossible.
Not that it couldn’t be done, but the resources required would be astronomical. Cultivating her would cost several times more than a three-root cultivator.
Clan resources were limited, they couldn’t be wasted. Her potential likely capped at the Qi Refinement stage.
Sometimes Song Changsheng wondered if bringing them onto the path of cultivation was truly a blessing… or a curse.
Two days flew by. Out of over two thousand people in the first city, only three had spiritual roots.
On the third day, luck was better in the second city, four out of three thousand. But all were four-root or five-root cases. Not even one triple-root.
All within expectations. No one was surprised, until the third city when a quiet, taciturn little boy appeared…
(Chapter End)