Chapter Three: The Art of Eternal Spring

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“If Xiaoyang possesses a spiritual root, can he cultivate and become immortal?” Lin Youcai hurriedly asked. This was the opportunity to bring honor to his ancestors.

“Xiaoyang, do you wish to cultivate and become immortal?” Wang Jin did not answer Lin Youcai directly, but instead turned to Lin Yang. For Lin Yang’s spiritual root was truly too weak; he might spend his entire life lingering at the very beginning of the Qi Refining stage.

“Of course I do,” Lin Yang replied with utter honesty.

“Xiaoyang, don’t blame me for not warning you, but you only have a five-element spiritual root,” Wang Jin spoke the hard truth first.

“It’s the worst aptitude in the cultivation world,” he said bluntly.

“You’ll never achieve much in your cultivation. You’d be better off staying in the mortal world, living as a wealthy gentleman.” Wang Jin crouched down and patted Lin Yang on the head.

“Uncle Wang, since I have a spiritual root, I must give it a try. After all, to have a chance at immortal fate is rare indeed. I dare not ask for too much,” Lin Yang said stubbornly, cupping his hands in respect.

“That’s true. Still, let me give you a word of advice: if you ever grow weary, you can always return to the mortal world and, as your ancestors did, continue the family line. That too is a kind of immortality.”

As he spoke, Wang Jin drew two cultivation manuals from his storage pouch—one a green booklet, the other red.

“All right, in my hand are two foundational cultivation methods. One is the Evergreen Art for the wood root, the other is the Blazing Flame Art for the fire root.”

“These are for you.” Wang Jin tossed both booklets to Lin Yang.

“It’s up to you to choose.” He then turned to Lin Youcai. “Brother Lin, congratulations. Your child has a five-element spiritual root. Your wish has been granted.”

“I trust your child can also fulfill your grand ambition. I have matters of my own to attend to now.”

“Brother Lin, until we meet again.” With that, he strode out the door, stood in the open yard, and with a wave of his hand, a flying sword appeared before him. Leaping onto the sword, he departed.

“Farewell, Brother Wang,” Lin Youcai called after him.

“Oh, by the way, in Guanggui City south of Jiayuan, there is a place called Tainan Valley.” At that moment, Wang Jin’s voice rang out again, even though he was already out of sight in the sky.

“Boy, if you get the chance, you should visit it.” His voice faded into the distance.

“I know about that, too,” Lin Yang thought. He had hoped to keep Wang Jin a while longer; there were still many things he wanted to ask.

“But I still have so many questions for him.” This Uncle Wang was truly unreliable.

Lin Youcai came over at that moment, taking Lin Yang’s hand and leading him outside. As they reached the door, he turned and said,

“It’s over. Everyone else, disperse.” Lin Youcai then walked out the door.

“All right.” With that, the other children scattered in a flurry. None of them knew how different their fates would be from Lin Yang’s. In the future, their aspirations would diverge at a crossroads.

Lin Youcai, being an adult, walked much faster than Lin Yang. Unable to keep up, Lin Yang quickened his pace to catch up.

The Lin family was a renowned household in Jiayuan City. The Lin estate alone spanned several tens of thousands of square meters. There were over a hundred garden guards, several powerful martial artists in residence, and countless handmaids, cooks, and servants. Altogether, the Lin clan numbered nearly a thousand souls.

Their business stretched across all of Lanzhou, and they had connections with high-ranking officials in Yue. Rumor had it that Lin Yang’s maternal grandfather was an important official.

They approached the ancestral shrine.

Once inside, Lin Yang’s father lit three sticks of incense, bowed deeply, and then handed the incense to his son.

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“Kowtow.”

“Yes.” Lin Yang did as his father instructed.

“Our Lin family once produced an immortal a hundred years ago.”

“I hope we can restore our family’s prestige in the world of cultivation.”

“But the great ambition of our ancestor was never fulfilled, even unto death.”

“Now you, too, possess a spiritual root.”

“If you walk this path, there will be no turning back,” Lin Youcai looked at me gravely.

“Father, I can do it. I will make our Lin family flourish in the world of cultivation.”

“Very well. I will now give you the heirloom left by our ancestors.”

Lin Youcai moved his grandfather’s memorial tablet aside. Only then did Lin Yang notice that one plank of wood was different from the rest. Lin Youcai pressed it gently, and a hidden compartment slid open.

From within, he took out a pouch.

“I’ve heard this is called a storage pouch, a treasure used by cultivators.”

“I imagine all our ancestor’s possessions are inside.”

Lin Youcai handed the storage pouch to Lin Yang.

“All right, let’s go back.”

“Yes.”

Back in his own room, Lin Yang sat on the edge of his bed.

“What could be inside this storage pouch?” He turned it over and over, but could not open it.

“It seems storage pouches can only be used after reaching the fourth layer of Qi Refining, once one has developed spiritual consciousness.” Lin Yang shook his head and hid the pouch away.

He took out the Evergreen Art and the Blazing Flame Art.

“I don’t know which one to choose.”

“Sigh, I have such a hard time making decisions,” he muttered, troubled.

“Never mind, I’ll just follow the protagonist’s path and pick the Evergreen Art. After all, I know the protagonist practiced it with no ill effects.”

“What if there’s something wrong with the Blazing Flame Art?”

He opened the Evergreen Art and read every word carefully, comparing its contents to a diagram of the meridians. He mapped out the route of the cultivation technique described in the manual.

After studying for half an hour and finding nothing amiss, he said, “Let me give it a try.”

He silently recited the incantation for the Evergreen Art, while doing his utmost to sense the spiritual energy in the air.

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Suddenly, it felt as if a warm power surged into his body, and before he knew it, he drifted off to sleep.

In his dreams, he saw himself ascending to immortality, revered by all, surrounded by beauty. Suddenly—

“Ding!”

A panel abruptly appeared before him.

“Damn!” He jolted awake, staring at the blue screen in front of him.

“Is this my golden finger?” he exclaimed, jumping for joy.

“I knew it! I’ve transmigrated—how could I not be given a cheat?”

“From now on, I shall live without restraint.”

“Let’s see what functions it has.”

Name: Lin Yang

Age: 8 (82)

Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 1 (1/100)

Main vocation: None

Skills: None

Cultivation Technique: Evergreen Art Level 1 (1/100)

Available Attribute Points: 0

(10 spirit stones = 1 attribute point)

You know happiness with all your heart (spending money makes you stronger).

“Looks like I need spirit stones to unlock more functions,” he mused after studying the panel for a while.

“I’ll cultivate a bit more and see what happens.”

Lin Yang spent a full four hours in his room, managing to circulate the Evergreen Art through one complete cycle at last.

“Heavens, there’s so little spiritual energy in this room,” he complained. In the original story, a single cycle took only an hour, but it had taken him four.

“I need to find somewhere with more abundant spiritual energy.”

“I wonder if I can go to the mountains around Tainan Valley.”

“There must be places there suffused with spiritual power.”

Having made up his mind, Lin Yang knew he must first make some preparations before setting out.

…