The entire procession passed through the valley. The toxic miasma ahead gradually dissipated, and the terrain began to narrow, forming a bottleneck passage like a gourd’s neck.

From a distance, Yuan Ming could see a bronze gate five or six zhang tall standing at the pass, with seven or eight armored guards wielding weapons stationed beside it.

The bronze gate was carved with intricate patterns of coiled green serpents, radiating an exotic atmosphere at first glance.

On each side of the gate stood a blue wolf over two zhang tall. They all arched their backs, wearing custom-fitted scale armor that tightly protected their necks and chests, looking exceptionally fierce.

Seeing the group approach, the blue wolves immediately bared their teeth, emitting low, hoarse growls from their throats. Their bodies crouched low, muscles tensed throughout, ready to attack at any moment.

Only after the nearby guards soothed them did the wolves retract their man-eating demeanor.

The bare-chested leader brought everyone forward and called inside. After a heavy sound of turning gears and mechanisms, the incredibly heavy bronze gate slowly lifted upward, opening a passage.

At that moment, a sharp screech suddenly came from high above. A shadow swooped over everyone’s heads.

Yuan Ming looked up to see a massive black hawk circling overhead. After one rotation, it dove straight down.

“Whoosh—”

A gust of wind swept up clouds of dust and gravel toward everyone. A hawk with a five-chi wingspan, its sharp talons gleaming coldly, Read on Jormuntlskimmed low over their heads before shooting back into the sky, drawing cries of alarm from the crowd.

Yuan Ming looked at the passage and sighed inwardly. The defenses here were far tighter than he’d imagined. Once inside, escaping would be nearly impossible.

“As long as I’m alive, there will be an opportunity.”

Yuan Ming narrowed his eyes and continued forward with the procession. After walking about a li along a passage two zhang wide, the view ahead suddenly opened up. An exceptionally spacious bluestone plaza came into view.

Behind the plaza stood a magnificent circular hall built entirely of blue stone blocks, topped with a massive domed roof that made it look like a giant fortress.

Extending from both sides of the main hall were several more circular halls of similar design scattered about. In the distance beyond, a mountain peak rose up, with stone buildings visible among its slopes.

Beast roars echoed from behind the halls—sounds of varying pitch, seemingly from different creatures. Overhead, more hawks flew up and down, their cries unceasing.

Only a few scattered people crossed the plaza. When their gazes turned this way, the Southern Border men escorting them would all press hands to chests and bow in respect.

They didn’t linger long before being led toward the left side of the plaza, finally stopping outside one of the halls.

Yuan Ming looked up and saw three characters carved above the stone doorway in a script resembling writhing earthworms—crooked and twisted like spirit talismans.

After just a moment’s thought, Yuan Ming recognized it as Snake Script, commonly used in the Southern Border.

Those three characters meant “Candle Spirit Hall.”

At that moment, a withered-faced gray-robed elder emerged from the hall. His skin was somewhat grayish, and though his frame was quite tall, his posture seemed hunched.

“Quite a lot this time,” the elder said in a hoarse voice.

“Saren Elder, we had good luck this time—a total of one hundred thirty-seven, all able to light the Soul Stone. There should be a few with Spirit Roots among them,” the bare-chested man said with a bent back and a face full of smiles.

“Let’s hope so. Once I finish testing their Spirit Roots, you can go collect your reward money from the treasury,” the elder nodded slightly.

“Thank you, Elder.”

Saren Elder’s gaze swept over the Southern Border natives one by one. When his eyes landed on Yuan Ming, they paused, his brow furrowing slightly as if with some distaste.

“Why is there a Central Plains person here?”

“Ahem, we picked him up along the way. We originally planned to extract his soul too, but unexpectedly his spirit was quite strong—he passed the Soul Stone test. We didn’t dare make decisions on our own, so we brought him back,” the bare-chested man hastily explained.

Yuan Ming’s heart sank slightly hearing this. From their conversation, it seemed the identity of “Central Plains person” wasn’t well-regarded here.

“Bring him in first. We’ll see how it goes,” Saren Elder said dismissively.

The bare-chested man and the others then herded Yuan Ming and the Southern Border Read on Jormuntlnatives into the hall.

The stone hall’s interior was extremely spacious. Bronze beast-head lamps hung on all the surrounding walls, yellow flames burning inside them, illuminating the entire hall.

Yuan Ming immediately saw a circular stone disk in the center of the hall, looking somewhat like a millstone, except its surface was uneven, carved with many lines and patterns.

At eight different positions on the disk were Snake Script characters reading: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Heaven, Variant, Empty.

He naturally didn’t understand what they meant, only guessing they must relate to the Spirit Roots mentioned earlier.

“You, get up there.”

Saren Elder pointed at a burly native, indicating the center of the stone disk.

The native’s face showed terror, his entire body trembling, not daring to step forward.

Saren Elder showed no courtesy. He lifted his hand and grabbed the man’s back. The native’s whole body went rigid, unable to move. Like a small chicken, he was lifted and thrown onto the stone disk.

The other natives showed expressions of horror and fear at the sight.

Yuan Ming, however, widened his eyes and silently observed everything.

He watched as Saren Elder pressed down on the burly native’s head, forcing him to sit. Then the elder jumped down from the disk. After gesturing [Read on Jormuntl]with both hands before him, his palms actually lit up with a ball of green light.

With a casual wave, the green light fell upon the native on the disk.

The man was immediately enveloped in green light and screamed in terror.

However, no cruel or bloody scene followed. After the green light flashed over the native’s body and disappeared, the “Empty” character on the disk flashed white light once before extinguishing.

“No Spirit Root. Go stand over there,” Saren Elder said expressionlessly, pointing to an empty space on the left.

The burly native, somewhat confused but not daring to defy the elder’s order, walked over.

Saren Elder casually pointed at another native. That person stepped onto the disk, and again only the “Empty” character flashed once.

“No Spirit Root.”

“None.”

“None.”

After seventeen or eighteen consecutive people all had no Spirit Root, Saren Elder seemed to lose interest by the end, not even bothering to speak, just waving his hand dismissively.

The bare-chested man glanced at the natives standing in the empty space visit our site on the elder’s left and wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

A soft sound of surprise suddenly came from Saren Elder’s mouth.

When a ball of green light fell upon a slightly plump young native on the disk, a bit of spiritual light seemed to emerge from his body as well, seeping into the disk beneath him.

Immediately after, three colored beams—one yellow, one green, and one red—lit up respectively from the Earth character, Wood character, and Fire character.

“Triple Spirit Root. Not bad. Go stand on the right,” Saren Elder nodded slightly at the sight.

With that, he stepped forward to help the native down, his face showing a bit more warmth, which actually startled the native.

“Your turn.” He then pointed at another native whose head was noticeably larger than the others.

Seeing that the test seemed harmless whether one was selected or not, the others weren’t as nervous anymore.

The big-headed native walked up to the stone disk himself. After sitting down, he even looked around curiously.

At that moment, Saren Elder once again released a green light orb. Four colored beams—blue, green, gold, and red—lit up respectively from the disk.

“Oh, another one! One Water Root, one Wood Root, one Fire Root, and one Metal Root. Quad Spirit Root is too mixed—poor aptitude. Go stand on the right for now,” the elder shook his head but still had the big-headed native stand on the right side.

“Thank you, Elder.” unauthorized copyThe big-headed native bowed to Saren Elder before walking to the right.

By now, even though the other natives didn’t understand what Spirit Roots were, they could deduce from the elder’s changing expressions that having Spirit Roots was better than not having them.

And so, one native after another stepped onto the disk at the elder’s command to receive their Spirit Root test.

However, after the big-headed native, over twenty consecutive people also had no Spirit Roots. The elder’s left side quickly became packed.

Saren Elder’s expression clearly soured.

The bare-chested man rubbed his hands together, also appearing somewhat anxious.

They had worked so hard running around in a great circle, capturing natives who met the age requirements everywhere. How much reward they ultimately received was closely tied to the Spirit Root results of these people.

Truth be told, among mortals, those with Spirit Roots were already one in ten thousand. Although these people had been screened through various tests, greatly increasing the probability of having Spirit Roots, the vast majority still had none. And even among those with Spirit Roots, those with poor aptitude—Quad Spirit Roots—made up the bulk.

If the remaining natives’ aptitude was also poor, the meager reward would be secondary—they’d inevitably be scolded, then sent out to capture more people, with no time even for cultivation.

“What are you standing there for? Get up there,” Saren Elder said impatiently to a native youth who looked rather young.

The youth had thick eyebrows and large eyes. Though his build wasn’t inferior to the adult natives, his features clearly still held some youthful innocence.

He walked to the center of the disk himself and sat down. The test began again.

The next instant, one green beam and one yellow beam lit up respectively from the Wood and Earth characters. Saren Elder’s expression changed instantly.

“Dual Spirit Root! There’s actually a Dual Spirit Root! This is good enough to enter the inner sect directly,” the elder’s sudden wild joy startled everyone around him.

However, the elder quickly calmed down and said to the bare-chested man with great satisfaction: “Hu Zha, you’ve accomplished a great feat this time, actually bringing back such a good seedling. This elder will reward you handsomely.”

Hu Zha was already too excited to speak, his gaze burning as he looked at the bewildered youth, wanting nothing more than to rush over and kiss him.

The fewer types of Spirit Roots, the purer they were, and the faster one’s cultivation would progress in the future. Single five-element Spirit Roots were truly too rare. Having a Dual Spirit Root appear was already enough to fill them with joy.

Happiness had come so suddenly!

With this precedent set, the remaining natives’ faces showed no more anxiety. Instead, they seemed eager to try, growing somewhat noisy.

But Saren Elder’s next casually spoken sentence poured a basin of cold water over their heads:

“Quiet! Those without Spirit Roots—drag them out and kill them.”

After speaking, he personally helped the still-dazed youth down from the disk, asking him questions in a pleasant tone.

Meanwhile, Hu Zha immediately took out his bell. With a wave of his large unauthorized copy hand, several Southern Border men behind him strode forward, dragging out the group of natives who hadn’t yet reacted.

Before long, screams began echoing from outside.

Only then did the remaining people realize that the fate of those without Spirit Roots was death. They no longer competed to go forward. Instead, each one shrank backward, not daring to advance.

Yuan Ming’s heart sank even deeper. He had basically figured it out—this stone disk seemed to be some kind of device for testing talent. The results weren’t something humans could interfere with.

This meant his life or death could only rest with fate.

“Central Plains boy, you go first.” Just then, Saren Elder pointed at Yuan Ming, speaking in a tone that brooked no argument.

Yuan Ming offered no resistance or struggle. He walked up to the stone disk himself and sat down calmly.

This scene made Saren’s eyes flicker with some surprise.

Soon, he cast his spell again. A green light enveloped Yuan Ming. He could feel a warm current flowing down through his body, entering the disk beneath him.

Immediately after, four colored beams—red, gold, blue, and green—lit up around him.

“Missing only Earth from the five elements… heh, another Pseudo Spirit Root,” Saren said with a slight smile, shaking his head.

Yuan Ming’s heart thumped hearing those words.

At that moment, Hu Zha, who had just returned from outside, asked upon hearing this:

“Should this one also be…?”

“Quad Spirit Root. He can still serve as a beast slave. Those camps are all short-handed right now. Even though he’s a Central Plains person, keep him for now,” Saren Elder’s casual sentence spared Yuan Ming’s life.

Yuan Ming felt great joy hearing this, feeling as if he’d narrowly escaped death.

The testing continued afterward. The vast majority of natives without Spirit Roots were killed. Of those who survived, aside from one with Triple Spirit Root, all had Quad Spirit Roots—not much different from Yuan Ming.

From the test results and Saren Elder’s scattered remarks, Yuan Ming also deduced that having more Spirit Roots wasn’t better.

It seemed Heaven Spirit Root was best, followed by Variant Spirit Root, then single five-element Roots like Fire Root, Water Root, and so on. Dual Spirit Root aptitude was slightly inferior but still extremely rare.

As for those with Quad Spirit Roots like himself, they were defective products among Spirit Roots—the worst aptitude, treated as Pseudo Spirit Roots.

Right now, he still didn’t know what it meant for his future fate to be a Central Plains person bearing an inferior Spirit Root.