Chapter 43 Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching

Spiritual roots are present in most cultivators at birth. A small number of cultivators awaken them between the ages of six and ten, and a very small number awaken them between the ages of ten and twenty due to some special opportunity.

However, such a situation only existed six thousand years ago when rare and precious materials were abundant. In today's Cangxuan Realm, there are practically no such people left.

If you don't awaken your spiritual root in childhood, you're destined never to have it in your life.

And now...

Xie Kuling stared blankly at the water droplet in his palm, his mind still echoing with his uncle Xie Xuan's words.

Has he awakened his spiritual root?

"...Uncle, is this true?"

“It’s true!” Xie Xuan said, “Bitter Ridge, it’s real, you’re not dreaming!”

He slapped his forehead and said, "Oh right, I need to go get the spirit root stone to test it!"

After he finished speaking, he turned and ran out, forgetting that there was a threshold on the ground, and tripped over it.

Xie Kuling's outstretched palm remained frozen, and he dared not move.

It was as if the water droplets on my hand would disappear with the slightest movement.

Until Xie Xuan returned with the spirit root stone.

To test one's spiritual root, simply place the spiritual root stone in the palm of your hand.

Xie Kuling clenched his fist slightly, and the water droplets above his palm and the water column beside him instantly disappeared.

He reached out and took the spirit root stone with slightly trembling hands.

In an instant, the spirit root stone emitted a faint blue light, and then a small blue sapling grew on top of the spirit root stone, with its intricate root system firmly rooted in the spirit root stone.

Xie Xuan's eyes widened suddenly: "It's a Heavenly Spiritual Root!"

Most cultivators possess two or three types of spiritual roots, but if someone has only one type of spiritual root, it can be described as a celestial spiritual root.

Unexpectedly, Xie Kuling awakened a single water elemental root!

Those who awaken the Heavenly Spiritual Root are all geniuses!

Xie Kuling stared at the dark blue spiritual root, his breath almost stopping.

He slowly widened his eyes in disbelief. He had actually awakened a spiritual root, and it was even a Heavenly Water Spiritual Root.

This, this...

"Is this really true? How could this be..." Xie Kuling's voice trembled, and he didn't know how to speak.

"It's true, it's a Heavenly Spiritual Root! Bitter Ridge, the formation can be maintained normally now, you won't die!" Xie Xuan's heart was pounding, and the next second, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

"Uncle!" Xie Kuling didn't care about anything else and rushed forward to help Xie Xuan.

Perhaps because he had awakened his spiritual root, he was able to firmly support Xie Xuan with just one hand.

He breathed a sigh of relief after checking on Xie Xuan and finding that he had only fainted temporarily due to excitement.

Afterwards, Xie Kuling put down the spirit root stone and helped Xie Xuan sit down in a chair.

After this experience, Xie Kuling's mind, which had been clouded by excitement, gradually calmed down.

He shook his head, both amused and exasperated, and after a moment, he looked down at his palm, lost in thought.

This is the spiritual root he has longed for for many years.

From birth until he was eight years old, he showed no signs of awakening his spiritual root.

His father was overjoyed, because the formation that had imprisoned the Xie family for six thousand years finally had the possibility of extinction.

— Xie Ku Ling has no spiritual roots. As long as he does not choose to inherit the Mountain Lord's Decree, he does not need to guard the formation and Xuanling Immortal Mountain.

My father, the current mountain lord, is dead. If there is no next mountain lord, the mountain lord's token will be broken and the formation will disappear.

However, Xie Kuling still chose to inherit the Mountain Lord's command.

Even at the tender age of eight, he already knew perfectly well that without spiritual roots, the formation would have to be maintained at the cost of his life.

His father was puzzled and, on his deathbed, asked him why he made such a decision.

“Just like you chose to become the leader of Qingfeng Mountain to protect your uncle from being trapped there, I want to protect the Qingfeng Sect, so I also want to become the leader.” He said this as he stood in front of his father’s bed.

“Protecting the Qingfeng Sect…” His father chuckled weakly, “How could you have such thoughts at such a young age?”

Little Xie Kuling didn't speak, because he didn't know how to explain.

He read many ancient books in the library, read his grandfather's diary, and saw the agreement between his ancestor and the Boundless God.

He vaguely understood that the array that the Xie family was guarding was not only to protect Xuanling Immortal Mountain from demons and evil spirits, but must have other meanings.

But his father wouldn't understand if he said these things.

Because he inherited the position of mountain lord, his father was trapped on Qingfeng Mountain and could not even see his mother one last time before she died.

My father felt a deep bitterness and resentment toward this mountain and his ancestors.

That's why he was named "Bitter Ridge".

Unable to dissuade Xie Kuling, his father passed on the Mountain Lord's Decree to him before his death.

To inherit the Mountain Lord's Decree, one must undergo the test of the token's illusion.

After that ordeal, his body became very weak, but even so, Xie Kuling never regretted his decision.

His only regret was that he lacked spiritual roots and had to rely on his life force to activate the formation, which would result in a time lag.

During this time gap, evil spirits can easily harm the disciples and cannot truly protect the Qingfeng Sect or those who come seeking refuge.

And now, he finally has a spiritual root.

The ability to awaken one's spiritual root is likely related to the spiritual rice grown by Li Chang'an.

Xie Kuling put down his hand, looked out the window towards the direction of the back mountain, and remained lost in thought for a long time.

...

At the entrance to Xuanling Immortal Mountain, Li Chang'an was herding piglets inside.

You can't put living creatures in storage bags, otherwise it wouldn't be so troublesome.

The weather has been too hot lately, and there aren't many newborn piglets at the pig farm. He went to two pig farms around Ling'an City and only managed to buy twenty.

Twenty heads would be enough, but Li Chang'an didn't want to raise too many for the time being. He needed to see how much work he had each day and whether he could manage it.

After herding the piglets into the pigpen, Li Chang'an went to the edge of the pigpen and cooked several pots of pig feed, which he then poured into the feeding trough.

The piglets bought locally didn't suffer from the long journey, so they were all in good condition.

After settling the piglets, Li Chang'an heard the voice of Yang Hao, the owner of Xiaoping'an Supermarket, coming from outside Xuanling Immortal Mountain.

He washed his hands and went out of Xuanling Immortal Mountain.

Yang Hao's car was parked not far from the entrance. He and his wife Deng Yan stood by the pool, with several boxes of gifts piled up at their feet.

Seeing Li Chang'an come out, Yang Hao walked up to him with a smile: "Mr. Li, it's been a long time."

In fact, Yang Hao knew that Li Chang'an was the new master of Xuanling Immortal Mountain the moment he first saw him.

However, since the two were in a business relationship and would be making money together in the future, he did not show any other emotions and simply treated him as a very good business partner.

"Long time no see." After greeting her, Li Chang'an caught a glimpse of Deng Yan and the swaddled baby in her arms.

Li Chang'an was taken aback, "This is..."

Yang Hao introduced, "This is my wife Deng Yan, and this is my daughter Deng Yang."

Deng Yan smiled and nodded. "Hello, Mr. Li. I've only ever heard my mother and Yang Hao mention you. It's great to finally meet you today."

She stepped forward with her daughter in her arms and said, "Thanks to the vegetables you grew, my health has improved a lot after eating them, and I didn't suffer much during childbirth. A few days ago, my daughter had an upset stomach and kept vomiting whatever she ate. We tried feeding her rice porridge made from your spiritual rice, just a little bit, and she got better immediately. Thank you so much."

Li Chang'an quickly waved his hand: "No need to thank me, no need to thank me. These things are not real medicine, and their effects are not that great. It's probably just a fluke. It's good that your daughter is healthy and alright."

Yang Hao smiled and said, "Mr. Li, there's no need to be modest. We've sent the vegetables and spirit rice you grow to an institution for testing, and they are indeed very good. We know a cultivator who said that your spirit rice contains a lot of spiritual energy."

The cultivator knew that the spirit rice contained spiritual energy and wanted to buy more through his connection, but he refused. Later, the cultivator obediently bought ten catties according to the purchase limit.

Li Chang'an touched his temples sheepishly.

Spirit rice is a spiritual-grade crop, a low-level spiritual plant cultivated artificially, and the spiritual energy it contains is actually not very much.

However, this little bit of spiritual energy can definitely help ordinary people improve their health and alleviate negative states.

“With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, my wife said that no matter what, we should come and thank you and bring you something for the festival. So we prepared some mooncakes, milk and hairy crabs. They are all common things, but we hope you don’t mind.”

"Not at all, not at all," Li Chang'an quickly replied. "You've gone to so much trouble."

He thought for a moment, then took out a basket of Brightbird eggs from his storage bag.

He picked these up this morning on the West Floating Island; there were about thirty of them.

"I left in a hurry and didn't bring anything else with me. You can take these bird eggs back and eat them. They don't have a fishy smell and taste very good. They can help regulate your body."

The things Li Chang'an brings out are definitely not bad.

Both of them thought the same thing, so after Li Chang'an finished speaking, they were pleasantly surprised and took the basket.

"Well... thank you very much, Mr. Li," Yang Hao said.

After thanking them and chatting for a few more minutes, the couple left with the Mingyi bird eggs. Before leaving, they wished Li Chang'an a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

After they left, Li Chang'an put the mooncakes and milk into his storage bag, and carried the hairy crabs back to Xuanling Immortal Mountain.

Li Chang'an remembers that when he first came to Xuanling Immortal Mountain, it was March. The weather was still a bit cool and there was a lot of rain.

It's hard to believe that Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here. Time flies, but it doesn't really. It doesn't feel slow either.

He was busy farming every day, his days were fulfilling, and he didn't really notice how fast time was passing.

He didn't have high expectations for the Mid-Autumn Festival. After all, for so many years, he had been alone on this festival when his family should have been reunited, so the festival gradually became nothing to look forward to.

Li Chang'an went back into the house and took out the hairy crabs and the gifts from the storage bag and put them away.

Just as I was lost in thought, Tea Essence appeared from the side: "What are these?"

Before Li Chang'an could answer, Tianxuan glanced at him and explained, "Mooncakes, milk, and hairy crabs are things we humans use to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Mid-Autumn Festival?" the tea spirit asked in confusion.

"The day chosen for the ancient sacrifice to the bright moon and the Qilin has been passed down ever since."

The Bright Moon Qilin, also known as the original form of the moon, is an ancient divine beast. After its death, it accompanied the Sun Phoenix and became the sun and moon of the Cangxuan Realm.

"Nowadays, people basically eat mooncakes and hairy crabs during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and milk is an essential gift."

Tianxuan patiently explained to the tea spirit, and as his gentle voice rang out, several resting mushroom spirits gathered at the gate, seemingly listening to the story together.

Li Chang'an turned his head in a daze, a mix of emotions welling up inside him.

He has friends now, and so many fungus spirits to keep him company... It seems like this Mid-Autumn Festival will be quite lively.