"Twenty-Sixth Uncle has always been upright and proud. After his failure to form a Foundation, he must have carried guilt for years…""If he cannot steady his Dao heart, I fear he will crumble completely."
The thought brought a twinge of sorrow to Chen Nianzhi's chest. Yet there was little he could say that would not wound the older man's pride.
He bowed respectfully instead.
"I don't know why you've sought me out, Uncle Qingmeng."
Chen Qingmeng's weary eyes regarded him quietly for a long while. Then, with a faint sigh, he drew a thick, leather-bound book from his sleeve.
"In the centuries of the Chen Clan's history," he said, "few have possessed talent equal to yours.""Someday, this family may well rest upon your shoulders.""I have little left to teach—but this, at least, is the sum of my life's work."
He extended the book toward him.
"These are my personal notes on pill refinement. May they be of use to you."
"Uncle, I—"
Chen Nianzhi's voice faltered.Alchemy notes such as these were the culmination of a lifetime's study, the most precious inheritance of any pill master.To hand them over… felt almost like a farewell.
"No need to say more."
Qingmeng placed the book firmly into his hands, meeting his eyes one last time.Then he turned and walked away.
And as Chen Nianzhi watched his departing back, he could sense it—a sudden surge of fierce, unyielding determination emanating from the elder's frail frame.
"He's going to attempt Foundation Establishment again…"
The realization struck him like a cold wind.
He was right.
Beneath the calm surface, Chen Qingmeng had reached his breaking point.Burdened by guilt, crushed under thirty thousand spirit stones of debt, he had made his choice—to stake his life on one final attempt at Foundation.
Without the aid of a Foundation Pill, such an act was suicide.Fewer than one in ten survived it; the rest died with their meridians shattered, their souls dissipated into the void.
He knew the odds.He simply no longer cared.
Leaving his alchemy notes to Chen Nianzhi was his way of ensuring that the clan would not be left without a future alchemist—even if he perished.
"Twenty-Sixth Uncle…"
Chen Nianzhi's throat tightened. He wanted to protest, to dissuade him—but no words came.He had no Foundation Pill of his own, no power, no influence.
All he could do was pray.
"Be safe… and succeed."
The elder paused at the doorway.For the first time, a faint smile touched his lips.
"The road to immortality is long and full of peril," he said quietly, still facing away."We each walk it alone.""If I fall before the end… then someday, when you have the strength—go and see the view that lies beyond for me."
He raised a hand in farewell and continued down the mountain path, his figure soon swallowed by the mist.
The Road to Pingyang
Five days later, after the New Year festivities had ended, Chen Nianzhi finally left Qingyuan Mountain.His destination: Pingyang City, three thousand li away.
Even traveling by Wind-Riding Technique, it took him two full days to arrive.
Built upon the ancient Pingyang Plateau, the city's name had been passed down for centuries.From miles away, he could see it—a massive fortress of stone and light,and above it, suspended in midair, floated a crimson orb, radiating waves of fiery brilliance.
In this world, cities could not be raised wherever one pleased.
The flesh of mortals was nourishment to beasts, and their souls, coveted delicacies to demonic cultivators.A settlement without protection would not last a decade before being devoured by the wilderness.
Thus, every city had to be built atop a spiritual vein and guarded by powerful defensive arrays.
Pingyang, for instance, stood upon a low-grade second-rank spiritual vein,protected by a mid-grade second-rank array—the Blazing Sun Divine Fire Formation.
The red orb floating above the city was its core: the Blazing Sun Pearl,a spiritual artifact capable of unleashing divine fire that burned demons to ash.
With Great Elder Chen Qingxu, a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refinement, presiding over it,even mid-stage Foundation demons would find it difficult to breach these walls.
It was thanks to this fortress and the elder's vigilance that the hundreds of thousands of Chen descendants and mortal kin could survive and flourish in this cruel cultivation world.
Reunion at the Gates
"Brother Nianzhi! You're finally here!"
A hearty voice rang out before he even entered the gate.
Looking up, Chen Nianzhi saw a broad-shouldered middle-aged man approaching with a warm grin.
It was Chen Nianyang, the Great Elder's eldest son, fifty-five years of age—the oldest of the "Nian" generation.His cultivation was modest—only at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement—but his temperament was cheerful and loyal.
He laughed as he clasped Chen Nianzhi's shoulder.
"So the stories were true. I'll have to start calling you Elder now."
"There's no need for such formality between us."
They shared a smile and walked together through the bustling streets.
"Where's the Great Elder?" Chen Nianzhi asked.
"Waiting for you," Nianyang said. "He's asked that you see him as soon as you arrive."
The Great Elder of Pingyang
Within the city's central hall, Great Elder Chen Qingxu awaited them.At seventy-five, he still stood straight and strong—his aura firm, his presence commanding.
For cultivators of the Qi Refinement stage, whose lifespans extended to around a hundred and twenty years,he was still very much in his prime.
With the clan short on high-level cultivators, it fell upon him to guard Pingyang,maintaining both the city's grand array and the safety of its people.
In another two decades, his spiritual essence would begin to wane,and the family would need to appoint a new guardian.But for now, his will was as unyielding as tempered steel.
"You've come," he said simply, his deep eyes sweeping over Chen Nianzhi.
He nodded once, satisfied.
"Good. We'll begin the spirit root testing tomorrow."
The Testing of Spirit Roots
For both the Chen Immortal Clan and the tens of thousands of mortal descendants under their banner,the annual Spirit Root Ceremony was an event of the highest importance.
Every year, in the first month after the New Year, all children aged six and above were required to be tested.To ensure no one with talent was overlooked, they were tested annually until the age of nine.
The Chen Clan, lacking a Spirit-Testing Disc, relied on the perception of their senior cultivators.A ninth-layer Qi Refinement expert could roughly discern whether a child possessed a spirit root,and what element it aligned with—though accuracy rarely exceeded ninety percent.
Still, for the Chen Clan, that was enough.
Pingyang City held over 120,000 people,and each year, five to six thousand children were brought forth for testing—not counting those from the six nearby towns, each with nearly ten thousand more.
It was, in truth, an enormous task.
Standing upon the city square the next morning, Chen Nianzhi looked at the sea of people stretching as far as he could see—endless rows of anxious parents and wide-eyed children,their voices rising and falling like the tide.
Even with his cultivation, he couldn't help frowning slightly.
"So many…" he murmured under his breath.