In a remote corner of Shenzhou, within a small village called Qinglu Village, a handsome young man was chopping firewood in a modest courtyard.
He skillfully lifted the axe, then brought it down with force from both arms.
The piece of wood split cleanly in two.
The youth wiped the sweat from his forehead, picked up another log, and was about to swing the axe again when loud shouts accompanied by hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard, interrupting him.
“Brother Yao! Brother Yao!”
Mo Yao set down his axe and walked to the courtyard gate.
A pretty young girl came running up to him.
“What’s wrong, Qiushui? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Pant… pant… Listen to me! I just heard in the village that tomorrow, the immortals from the mountains are coming to the village to recruit disciples!”
The girl caught her breath, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Mo Yao excitedly.
“The village elders say that every twenty years, immortals from the mountains come to check if any of the village children have the aptitude for immortality. Maybe we can cultivate together!”
Seeing the excited Bai Qiushui, Mo Yao smiled and patted her head.
“Cultivation… Is this opportunity really here?”
Deep in the mountains surrounding Qinglu Village, thick clouds and mists lingered year-round.
The towering peaks were shrouded in layers of dense fog.
From time to time, human figures would appear from within the clouds only to vanish quickly.
The adults in the village often said those were the legendary immortals who had achieved longevity and could fly through the skies and traverse the earth.
Mo Yao had grown up listening to tales of immortals.
Naturally, he was filled with yearning for them, often dreaming of becoming like them—slaying demons, moving mountains, and filling seas.
But since he had no idea how to actually become an immortal, he had always treated these dreams as nothing more than fleeting fantasies.
However, upon hearing that immortals would come to the village to recruit disciples, his heart burned with excitement.
The possibility of realizing his long-held dream filled him with surging emotions.
“Hehe, I knew Brother Yao would be happy to hear this.”
Seeing the change in Mo Yao’s expression, Bai Qiushui smiled and threw herself into his arms.
“Brother Yao, if we both start cultivating, we can live forever together, fly through the skies together, go to other places, and see what the world outside the village looks like.”
Looking at Bai Qiushui like this, a warmth spread through Mo Yao’s heart.
“Mm. It will definitely happen. When that time comes, I’ll take you to see all the sights you’ve never seen before.”
Mo Yao had been adopted by the Bai family of Qinglu Village when he was young.
His parents had been attacked by bandits while traveling with the Bai family.
Mo Yao’s father had saved the life of the Bai family head during the attack.
After killing several bandits, he succumbed to his severe injuries and died.
His mother had also been killed by the bandits in the same assault.
The surviving Bai family head could not bear to leave the young Mo Yao without anyone to raise him.
To repay the life-saving grace, he adopted the boy.
After Bai Qiushui was born, the two grew up together.
From a young age, Bai Qiushui had been very attached to Mo Yao, and he had always taken good care of her.
Thus, they were both adoptive siblings and childhood sweethearts.
Having always lived in the small village, the pair had yearned for life outside it since childhood and had made a vow early on to leave the village together one day.
Now, both Mo Yao and Bai Qiushui felt that the chance to leave the village had finally arrived.
“By the way, I was just working. I’m pretty dirty.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
Looking at the soft, fragrant girl in his arms, Mo Yao smiled helplessly.
This little girl was becoming more and more clingy.
But perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing.
A short while later, Bai Qiushui let go of Mo Yao and went back inside the house.
Mo Yao continued his chores until nightfall.
The night was deep.
Filled with excitement, the two eventually fell into a deep sleep, looking forward to the next day.
The next day at noon, the pair put on clean clothes and left home together.
They headed to the central square of the village to wait for the immortals’ arrival.
“Brother Yao, you’re wearing your protective charm today.”
Today, a rhombus-shaped transparent stone hung from Mo Yao’s chest.
On his twelfth birthday, he had seen streaks of flowing light cross the sky.
One of them had fallen into the mountains near the village.
The next day, he and the villagers went into the mountains to search for whatever had fallen.
While the others found nothing, he discovered this stone.
The stone was extremely hard.
Although it was transparent, a gentle twist would make it emit a dazzling seven-colored glow, amazing everyone who saw it.
Other than that, it didn’t seem to have any special properties.
It wasn’t some heavenly meteorite iron, nor could it be cut into smaller pieces for jewelry.
A few people had tried to buy it as a decorative ornament, but Mo Yao had refused them all.
After that, no one paid it any more attention.
Mo Yao’s reason for refusing was simple: “This object has a connection with me.”
Bai Qiushui had heard Mo Yao say that at the time, he had felt something guiding him in a certain direction, leading him straight to the stone.
Whenever he held it, he felt a sense of calm and warmth in his heart.
But when Bai Qiushui held it, she felt nothing.
Perhaps it was only Mo Yao’s imagination, but she was even more certain that the stone was truly fated to be with him.
After all, this was her brother.
Afterward, Mo Yao had simply tied the stone with a string to make it into a protective charm.
He only wore it on important occasions.
From this, Bai Qiushui could tell just how much Mo Yao was looking forward to this recruitment.
Seeing Bai Qiushui staring at his protective charm, Mo Yao smiled again.
“After all, this is a chance to become an immortal.”
The two walked to the center of the village with smiles on their faces, waiting for the immortal’s arrival.
“Look! What’s that?”
Suddenly, someone in the crowd pointed at the cloud-shrouded mountain peak and shouted.
A black dot emerged from the clouds, growing larger as it sped toward Qinglu Village.
When it got closer, the people finally saw clearly—it was a person standing on a sword.
The person wore snow-white robes, had a resolute face, and stood with hands behind his back.
He stood tall and straight on the slender sword, unmoved even as the wind blew against him.
“It’s an immortal! The immortal has come!”
The crowd shouted and parted to the sides of the square, watching as the immortal landed in the center.
“This one is Peng Yue, an outer sect disciple of the Tianqing Sect. I have come this time to recruit new disciples for our Tianqing Sect.”
He stepped down from his flying sword and spoke unhurriedly.
Then, with a light pat on the brocade pouch at his waist, a wooden table flew out and landed in the square.
With a wave of his sleeve, an exquisite round stone appeared on the table.
An elderly man stepped out from the crowd, bowed to Peng Yue, and said respectfully.
“Welcome, Immortal Master Peng, for coming from afar. I am the village chief of Qinglu Village. We met twenty years ago. Twenty years have passed, yet Immortal Master looks exactly the same as before. Truly remarkable divine abilities.”
“You flatter me. If the children in this village can join our sect, they too can become like me. I trust all the suitable children have been brought here?”
“Yes, yes. All the children born in these twenty years who are of suitable age have been brought. Here is their list.”
The village chief respectfully stepped forward and handed over a bamboo slip with both hands.
Peng Yue took the bamboo slip and announced in a clear voice.
“Those whose names are called, step forward. Lü Yang!”
A rather handsome young man walked out from the crowd to the front of the table.
He looked at Peng Yue, awaiting instructions.
“You only need to place your hand on this stone. The Spirit Testing Stone will automatically check whether you have spiritual roots. If you do, it will display your spiritual root aptitude. If not, there will be no change.”
With that, the youth named Lü Yang carefully placed his hand on the Spirit Testing Stone.
Soon after, the round stone reacted. Red and yellow lights emerged, visible to everyone around.
Seeing this, Peng Yue said joyfully.
“Fire and Earth dual spiritual roots. Not bad, not bad at all! Young brother, stand by my side. I will take you back to the sect later.”
Lü Yang’s face also showed delight.
He bowed to Peng Yue and moved to stand beside him.
“Next, Li Ping!”
***
“Bai Qiushui!”
A while later, Peng Yue called Bai Qiushui’s name.
She jumped in excitement and looked at Mo Yao beside her.
“Brother Yao, it’s my turn! Wait for my good news!”
“Mm, good luck!”
With that, Bai Qiushui waved her small fist at Mo Yao and ran forward with a smile.
Mo Yao raised his fist in response.
Looking at the delicate, pretty girl who had come running after encouraging her brother, Peng Yue thought, Ah, youth is truly wonderful.
Then he looked carefully at Bai Qiushui, frowned slightly, and thought, This little girl seems extraordinary.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth seems to be drawn toward her.
Could this be…?
Bai Qiushui stopped in front of the table and smiled at Peng Yue.
“Greetings, Immortal Master! Do I just need to place my hand on it?”
“Correct. It’s that simple.”
Seeing the eager little girl, Peng Yue smiled and replied.
Bai Qiushui placed her fair, delicate hand gently onto the Spirit Testing Stone.
The next moment, a brilliant blue light burst forth, bathing the square in a beautiful azure glow.
“This is… a single spiritual root! A Water-attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root!”
Seeing the dazzling blue light, Peng Yue spoke with excitement.
“Heaven blesses our Tianqing Sect! In this small village, we have found both a dual spiritual root and a Heavenly Spiritual Root. What fortune! Little friend, please come stand by my side. When you join our Tianqing Sect, an elder will surely take you as a direct disciple. Your path on the immortal way will be bright indeed.”
“Really? That’s wonderful!”
Hearing Peng Yue’s words, Bai Qiushui exclaimed excitedly.
She turned and ran back to Mo Yao, hugging him tightly.
“Brother Yao, did you see? I can cultivate! And it seems like a really amazing one!”
“I saw. Qiushui is incredible.”
Mo Yao stroked her head and praised her with a smile.
Then, Qiushui pulled him toward Peng Yue.
“Eh? The Immortal Master hasn’t called my name yet.”
“It’s fine. Immortal Master, this is my brother. We came together. Can you test him right away?”
Looking at the pair who had come forward together, Peng Yue smiled.
“Even if you didn’t pull him up here, he is next on the list. It would have been his turn naturally. Mo Yao, right? Your sister is truly exceptional. Please place your hand on it as well.”
Bai Qiushui held onto one of Mo Yao’s arms expectantly as he placed his hand on the stone.
With his other hand, he gripped the protective charm on his chest, took a deep breath, and placed his hand down.
Watching Mo Yao about to place his hand on the stone, Peng Yue thought, Since his sister has a Heavenly Spiritual Root, her brother as blood relative likely won’t be much worse.
Could I recruit a third outstanding disciple today? Ah, this is…
The moment the strong, capable hand touched the Spirit Testing Stone, the stone showed no reaction at all.
No matter how long Mo Yao kept his hand there or how he shifted it, the stone remained completely unchanged, emitting no light whatsoever.
“No spiritual root…”
👀👀👀