Chapter 2: Spiritual Root
Night, silence.
The Ling family mansion was brightly lit.
The hall of four sides, this is where the Ling family entertains noble guests, usually quiet and still. But now, inside was a hubbub of chatter and laughter, what a lively scene.
The gate of the four-sided hall was pushed open with a creak, and a handsome young man walked in. The young man slightly lowered his head, as if thinking about something.
Perhaps it was the sound of the door opening too loudly, but as soon as the young man entered, he attracted everyone's attention.
"Hey, isn't this Ling Lin's younger cousin? What are you doing here so late at night instead of resting?" A young man gazed at the entrance where Ling Lin was standing and sneered. The young man was only sixteen or seventeen years old, with a handsome face, but his slender eyes had a hint of coldness and malice.
"Heng Er, shut up. Your cousin Ling Lin may be in poor health and unable to cultivate, but he must have heard that there's an immortal guest at home today. He probably wants to catch a glimpse of the immortal's demeanor." Just as Ling Heng finished speaking, an old man spoke up in this manner. As he finished speaking, he bowed his hands towards the purple-robed youth in the grand hall, who was surrounded by a crowd like stars around the moon, with a flattering expression on his face.
This young man in purple robes is the immortal mentioned by the old man!
Watching the father and son duo singing in harmony, Ling Lin suddenly felt like he was an outsider watching a play. Thinking about this, Ling Lin couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous - is this what it means to be family? The owner of this body has really had a tough life.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Ling Yao Tian furrowed his brow. Although it was well-known to everyone in the Ling family that he didn't get along with this son, after all, he was his own flesh and blood, and being ridiculed like this still made him somewhat unhappy.
"Ling Lin, come and meet your uncle Ning," he said, glancing unobtrusively at Ling Heng and his son who were singing in harmony, as if nothing had happened. Ling Yao Tian then turned to the purple-robed youth beside him and said, "I've made a fool of Brother Ning."
"Is this the father who doesn't want to see me?" Ling Lin thought to himself, looking at the middle-aged man in the grand hall, wearing brocade clothes and a serious expression, with some resemblance to his own body. He then took big strides forward, bowed to the young man in purple robes, and said "Uncle Ning."
He nodded and stood up.
In an instant, the grand hall fell silent, with all eyes fixed on him. The young man smiled and said, "Now that everyone is here, let's get started. Whether you have a fateful connection or not depends on yourselves."
The young man's name was Lu Ning, an inner disciple of the Qing Yuan Sect.
It is said that there were once great talents, and it was one of the oldest Xianmen sects in Dalishu. The Qingyuan Sect once dominated the entire Dalishu Xianmen world. Unfortunately, as time passed, the heroes of the past gradually disappeared into the yellow earth, and no new talents emerged within the sect to support the gate. By today, the former Tianxia Sect has shrunk to only barely being considered a mid-tier force in the Xianmen world.
However, despite this, Qing Yuan Zong is still the undisputed overlord within a radius of 100,000 miles, with dozens of nearby cities under its control. It must be known that cultivation relies not only on talent and effort, but sometimes resources are also crucial.
If it's said that the cultivation world needs resources, then for ordinary people, the most important thing is a bit of fate with immortals.
Yinjiang City is a city relatively close to the Qingyuan Sect. Inside the city, one can often see some disciples of the Qingyuan Sect wearing Taoist robes. As the largest family in Yinjiang City, the Ling Family also frequently entertains some disciples of the Qingyuan Sect who come and go. Over time, they have gotten to know many of them. Gradually, secretly, transactions have emerged... selling the sect's recruitment quotas for new disciples is one such item.
But not everyone can bring people into the sect, after all, the seniors of Qingyuan Sect are not blind! As for these transactions, they are actually turning a blind eye to one another. No sect would be afraid of having too many resources, and Qingyuan Sect is no longer as powerful as it used to be. As long as the disciples' actions do not cross the line, they can be ignored.
What is the bottom line? It's bringing a person with no spiritual roots and no innate talent for cultivation into a sect. That's the bottom line!
Thinking of this, Lu Ning let out a slight sigh and glanced at his good friend Ling Yao Tian, who had been by his side for many years. He gritted his teeth secretly: You're really good at giving me trouble, aren't you? Forget it, as long as this kid has even the slightest bit of spiritual root, no matter how bad it is, I'll bring him into the sect. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Lu Ning's expression turned somewhat gloomy: If... Ah, don't blame your elder brother for this. Glancing at Ling Lin, who was lowering his head and seemed to be in a daze, Lu Ning's eyebrows furrowed even more tightly.
He recalled his thoughts, swept a glance at the Ling family crowd, and Lu Ning said seriously: "The so-called distinction between immortals and mortals is not something that anyone can cultivate. Whether or not you can set foot on the immortal path depends on whether you have spiritual roots!"
The cultivation world recruits disciples, first looking at the spiritual root. A good spiritual root means that a person's talent is good. A person with a good spiritual root can cultivate for one year and achieve what a person with an inferior spiritual root cannot achieve in several years or even decades! And those without a spiritual root will struggle to reach the tenth level of martial arts throughout their lives.
"I hope I won't be a tragic figure with no spiritual roots." At this moment, Ling Lin's face was bitter and his heart was turbulent. His hands grasping the armrests of the chair were slightly trembling. He knew that this body of his had a loud name, but would someone called a waste have spiritual roots? He didn't know. He hoped that fate wouldn't play another joke on him again.
Ling Gen's words made the young people of the Ling family whisper to each other, suddenly, "Do you think Ling Lin will have a spiritual root? Hehehe..." The girl intentionally emphasized the two words "spiritual root" and laughed after speaking, as if she had told a particularly funny joke.
The girl's smile instantly triggered almost all the boys in the great hall to burst out laughing.
"Haha, what is he saying? A waste who's still at the third level of martial arts... " The black-faced youth glanced at the master whose face was gradually darkening and suddenly swallowed the word that had reached his lips, "Cough, cough, cough, cough..." It seemed that swallowing words didn't feel good, the black-faced youth let out a series of coughs.
The scene inside the main hall was somewhat quiet, with only the sound of coughing still lingering. Looking at the gloomy face of the master of the house, several elders of the Ling family also furrowed their brows secretly, even the old man who had just spoken sarcastically about Ling Lin, the fourth elder of the Ling family, Ling Xiaodi, whispered to himself: "This group of ignorant little rabbits, usually bullying this waste is fine, but how can they say that in front of the master...". After glancing at Ling Yao Tian, he found that although his face was gloomy, there was no sign of him losing his temper, and Ling Xiaodi secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Ling Lin lowered his head, and as someone who had lived through two lifetimes, he was not the least bit disturbed by this. Silently recalling the scene from his meditation earlier, Ling Lin seemed to have thought of something, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"It's not about whether you have spiritual roots or not, it's not something that can be said out loud." Lu Ning swept a glance over the young men in the grand hall and said coldly, "One test will reveal all."
As he spoke, he touched a ring on his finger, and a dark stone suddenly appeared in Rong Ning's hand. "This stone is called the Lingyuan Stone. You just need to hold it tightly with your hands. If the stone glows, it means you have spiritual roots. Otherwise, there are none. Also, look at its light, the brighter it is, the better your spiritual roots are... Who will come first?"
……
"No spiritual root..."
"Next..."
"No spiritual root..."
"Nothing..."
“……”
As time passed, the faces of the Ling family elders became increasingly unsightly. Up to now, only two out of this group of young people have been found to have spiritual roots. It is worth knowing that the Ling family has flourished and developed to this day, with hundreds of people in the generation of Ling Lin alone.
Looking at this scene is unbearable, some elderly people's mouth corners have already started to twitch slightly. Afterwards is a silent sigh, how often do they have spiritual roots...
"Next." The voice fell, still without any movement. Already, almost all the young men in the great hall had been tested... After a pause, Lu Ning raised his head and looked towards Ling Lin in the corner.
With a thoughtful expression, Ling Lin raised his head and looked at the unremarkable spirit-measuring stone. His eyes shone with determination as he slowly stood up and said, "I'll do it!" The young man's firmness and confidence gave off an unusual charm that flowed from his upright figure.
Above, Ling Yao's gloomy face had already relaxed. He stared blankly at Ling Lin, as if he saw the woman who was like a spirit in the past. "Ping Er", he muttered to himself. Suddenly, as if remembering something, looking at Ling Lin's back, his face which had just relaxed became overcast again.
"He......" At this time, the young men in the great hall were divided into two groups, forming a circle. The center of this circle was precisely those two boys with spiritual roots.
With the lesson from just now, no one dares to speak sarcastically in front of me. However, some seemingly suppressed sarcastic remarks still floated out with the flow of air, inevitably.
"Isn't he already enough of a shame for his family?"
"A waste like this actually still carries the title of Young Master Ling, it's really a shame for the family..."
"Hmph, if it weren't for the fact that the master of the house is his father, this good-for-nothing would have been kicked out long ago..."
"Ling Mu, do you think he has hope?" The moment the words sounded out, the crowd quieted down for a few moments. The one speaking was none other than Ling Heng, who had previously mocked Ling Lin. At this time, however, Ling Heng had another identity - he possessed a spiritual root! And the Ling Mu in his words was another person who also possessed a spiritual root.
"Older brother Heng smiled." Shaking his head, the two of them exchanged a smile.
……