At the foot of Hanxiu Peak.
Bai Zichen had just returned from the Ore Vein yesterday when he received a message assigning him to oversee this year's Spirit-Guiding matters.
One Spirit-Guiding trip would earn him fifty Clan contribution points.
This was clearly special treatment. In previous years, serving as a Spirit-Guiding Envoy would earn one ten contribution points at most.
A Spirit-Guiding Envoy, as the name implied, was responsible for finding children of the right age who possessed a Spiritual Root within the Bai Family's Mortal towns.
The task seemed ordinary, but it concerned the very future of the Bai Family.
For a Clan to grow stronger, it needed a constant supply of new blood. The search for Immortal Seedlings was a crucial matter of succession for Cultivation Families and even Sects.
Some of the more aggressive Cultivation Families even established rules rewarding a certain amount of Spirit Stones for every descendant born with a Spiritual Root, all to rapidly increase their number of Immortal Seedlings.
"I didn't expect the Clan to pair the two of us for this mission. It's been three years since we returned from the Qingfeng Sect, hasn't it..."
The young woman before him had changed quite a bit from his memory, already showing hints of peerless elegance.
"Brother Chenn is our Bai Family's Lin'er, a Foundation Establishment Seed in whom everyone has high hopes. Of course you'd have to focus on your Cultivation."
Bai Ling smiled, her lips pursed, and her beautiful eyes curved into crescent moons.
"My talent is nothing compared to yours, Brother Chenn. After I switched to the Taiyin Su Yun Xuan Shui True Skill, it took me nearly half a year just to master the basics of the Water Thunder Technique that comes with the Cultivation Technique."
"If I had your Top-Grade Comprehension, Brother Chenn, I imagine it would have only taken me a month or two."
Bai Zichen froze for a moment, then realized she was referring to the Top-Grade Comprehension he had fabricated back when he left the Five Mountains Temple.
Back then, to avoid exposing his suspected Spirit Body, he had raised his own scores for Magic talent and Comprehension from the Inheritance Stele by one grade.
'Is this woman being sarcastic with me... I focused on Cultivation for three years, only to have her catch up to my Cultivation level.'
Bai Zichen's current Divine Sense was nearly as strong as an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator's, so Bai Ling's true state held no secrets from him.
The depth of her Magical Power far surpassed that of other Cultivators at her level within the Clan, which must be the effect of the Taiyin Su Yun Xuan Shui True Skill.
A dazzling Spirit Light emanated from her chest; she must be wearing a powerful Magical Artifact.
"The Spirit-Guiding Ceremony only lasts for three days. Which town should we head to first?"
The tens of thousands of Mortals in the Bai Family were primarily concentrated in three locations: Upper White Town, Lower White Town, and Hutou Town.
There were also some scattered villages and manors, and their Stewards would bring the eligible children to one of the three towns for the Spirit-Guiding Ceremony.
"Let's go to Hutou Town. It's the closest. With this, we can get there in half a day at most."
With a flick of her palace-style sleeve, Bai Ling sent a cluster of pink peach blossoms fluttering down, which then expanded to several dozen feet in size.
"The Peach Blossom Pocket!"
Bai Zichen recognized it at a glance. This was the very same Flying Magical Artifact he had ridden to the Five Mountains Temple.
"That's right. My master gifted the Peach Blossom Pocket to me. With my current Magical Power, flying a few hundred li is no problem."
"The Third Elder truly dotes on you... He even equipped you with a Flying Magical Artifact."
As Bai Zichen sat down on the Peach Blossom Pocket, he couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. This was a Flying Magical Artifact he had coveted for a long time.
Hutou Town was nestled between two mountain valleys. Thanks to its fertile land, over ten thousand mu of fields had been cleared with the help of Clan Cultivators long ago, easily supporting the Mortals of the Bai Family.
The central area originally consisted of just a hundred or so households, but it had slowly expanded. Now, it had taken the shape of a town, with bluestone-paved roads extending outward in concentric layers.
With no exorbitant taxes, natural disasters, or man-made calamities, and aside from the rare stray Demon Beast, the lives of the Bai Family's Mortals were quite happy.
As the Peach Blossom Pocket flew into Hutou Town, the townspeople who saw it all bowed deeply, their faces filled with reverence and awe.
When Bai Zichen and Bai Ling landed at the Hutou Town hall, a Qi Refining Fourth Layer Cultivator from the Bai Family was already waiting with several Mortals. The moment he saw the pair, he hurried forward to bow.
"I am Bai Youfu, and I have the honor of being this town's Guardian Immortal Master."
Bai Youfu looked to be in his fifties. His Daoist Robe was stained with grease and had several patches sewn on, and he exuded an air of utter dejection.
The Bai Family stationed one Clan Cultivator in each of its three towns to oversee them, primarily to defend against Demon Beast attacks and prevent mass Mortal casualties.
This assignment lasted a minimum of five years, and only those Cultivators with no hope of advancing in their Cultivation and no connections in the Clan would accept it.
"Might you two be this year's Spirit-Guiding Envoys? Such grace and bearing, you truly look like Immortals from a painting!"
Bai Ling couldn't be bothered with his flattery. She produced her Clan Token to verify her identity, then strode with graceful, jade-like steps toward the square that had been set up in front of the town hall.
A dense crowd of over a thousand people was already gathered there, all hoping to witness whether a lucky child would ascend to the heavens in a single step, forever separating the path of Immortal from Mortal.
"Is everyone here? Let's have the eligible children come up for the test quickly. We still have to get to the other two towns."
Bai Zichen, a step behind, gave Bai Youfu some face. "Brother, why don't you join us while we wait for the results? We can see how many Cultivation Seedlings Hutou Town will add to the Clan this year."
"Yes! Yes! And how should I address you, young man? To have such a high Cultivation at your age... it makes me feel like my decades of Cultivation have all gone to the dogs!"
Bai Youfu hurriedly followed, adopting a subservient posture.
He was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer at such a young age and traveled on a Flying Magical Artifact. It was obvious he was one of the Clan's most valued and promising disciples. The next time they met, he might even be an Elder, able to decide Bai Youfu's fate with a single word. How could he not seize the opportunity to curry favor?
The mayor of Hutou Town was a portly middle-aged man dressed in fine silks. With a wave of his hand, he gestured for a line of children to step forward one by one.
"Greetings, esteemed Immortal Masters..."
More than thirty anxious children kowtowed forcefully toward the few Immortal Masters seated in the center of the square.
They were all around ten years old and just beginning to understand the world. They vaguely knew that everything in the town was a gift from the esteemed Immortal Masters. They also knew that if they passed the test, they too could become an Immortal Master, admired by all, and set their own lives and their families' on a completely different path.
Bai Zichen took out an old, Compass-like Magical Artifact and had the mayor place it on a long table.
"Same as always. Prick your finger, let a drop of blood fall onto the Compass, and it will show whether or not you have a Spiritual Root."
Bai Zichen gave a faint yawn. In truth, with his Divine Sense being comparable to that of an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he could have finished checking all these children for a Spiritual Root in an instant just by having them stand before him.
The first to step up was a boy with his hair in a child's topknot, his clothes exquisitely handmade. The Mortal Town Mayor, his face tense, used a small knife to prick the boy's finger and squeeze out a drop of blood. He then stared intently at the Compass, unwilling to look away for even a second. The boy was surely his direct descendant.
"No Spiritual Root. Next!"
The Blood Pearl swirled for a moment before being quickly absorbed by the Compass, which showed no change.
Seeing the Mortal Town Mayor hesitate to let the boy step down, Bai Youfu cleared his throat, his voice slightly raised.
Although the mayor usually served him well, treating him like a local emperor, if he was going to make Bai Youfu lose face in front of the Clan's honored guests, he wouldn't mind finding a way to replace him with a new mayor next year.