The difficulty of measuring Spirit Roots is not high, but it is quite tedious.
The population distribution in Qingshui Commandery is not concentrated, with small villages of four to five hundred people scattered everywhere, requiring travel to many places.
One needs to visit more remote areas, as it might add a few cultivators to the clan.
The Lu Family is not picky; Five Spirit Roots are not despised, and Four Spirit Roots are also good.
"This is for you."
The Grand Elder said, handing over three talismans.
"The ancestor has already rewarded me with some talismans," Lu Xuanji said.
"I know, but the ancestor's are the ancestor's, mine is mine." The Grand Elder advised, "I won't say more, but you must remember that if things can't be done, remember to flee. Fleeing is not disgraceful; only by living do you have possibilities. A dead genius is not called a genius."
"Yes."
Lu Xuanji hesitated only for a moment before accepting the Grand Elder's talismans.
All three talismans are Second Grade and can cause significant harm to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and can be used to save one's life at critical moments.
After bidding farewell to the Grand Elder, Lu Xuanji left Purple Sun Mountain and headed towards Dan Yang County.
Dan Yang County has a population of about 300,000, with more than half scattered in various small villages around the county town. The population distribution is extremely uneven.
What Lu Xuanji has to do is to travel through the county town and various small villages to find children with Spirit Roots.
Testing for Spirit Roots is a major event for the Lu Family.
According to the rules, Spirit Roots should be tested at the age of six, but for various reasons, many people have delayed the time. Every year, some are missed, so when testing children, the overlooked individuals must also be tested.
Opening the map, he arrived at a small village.
Lu Xuanji called the village chief, beating drums and gongs continuously. The villagers were gathering, but some were still farming in the fields.
After a moment, people gathered one after another.
The village chief said, "The Immortal Master is here to test Spirit Roots. If your child has a Spirit Root, you won't have to pay taxes annually, and you'll receive a subsidy of ten stones of grain. Come, bring the children to test their Spirit Roots."
Lu Xuanji took out a black stone, placed it on a table, and said, "Come one by one, let the children line up, place their palm on the stone, and stay for ten breaths. As long as the black stone shines, it means there is a Spirit Root, and your family will not have to pay grain, and will receive a subsidy of ten stones of grain annually."
"Children first, adults can also have a touch."
The village chief maintained order, and the children crowded forward to queue.
One child after another placed their palm on the stone, and quickly, thirty children were tested, but none had Spirit Roots.
Lu Xuanji felt very disappointed but still packed up the stone and moved on to another village.
In three days, he visited eight villages, testing over three hundred children, and none had a Spirit Root.
This probability is quite low, more like sheer bad luck.
Lu Xuanji was speechless, initially excited to start the tests but gradually became somewhat numb.
After continuously traveling for half a month, still, no children had Spirit Roots.
The work wasn't tiring, just a bit frustrating.
On the eighteenth day, Lu Xuanji arrived at a village to conduct tests.
Suddenly, the stone lit up.
"Not bad, not bad." Lu Xuanji was slightly excited. It was finally an auspicious beginning. "Your child has a Spirit Root, and I must take them away. This is the certificate. With this certificate, your family is exempt from taxes and can enjoy a subsidy of a hundred stones of grain."
He directly took out the prepared certificate and gave it to the child's father.
"Thank you, Immortal Master."
The child's parents, being old farmers, looked at the certificate. Even though they couldn't read, they were still excited.
Lu Xuanji advised the village chief for a moment, then took the child into a small dark room.
He took out eight crystal balls to test the attributes.
The child's palm pressed on them, and one after another, the globes lit up.
"It's a pity, it's Five Spirit Roots!"
Lu Xuanji was slightly regretting.
With Five Spirit Roots, the cultivation value isn't high, and possibly, the extreme limit after a lifetime's effort is Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer. There isn't hope for Foundation Establishment.
The clan wouldn't lavishly provide a Foundation Establishment Pill.
However, Five Spirit Roots still have cultivation value, at least capable of tilling Spirit Fields and engaging in chores like alchemy, artifact refining, etc., contributing to the clan.
Without the hard work of these lower-level cultivators, how would high-level cultivators have time to engage in cultivation?
Five Spirit Roots aren't great, but at least it's a good start.
With the child taken along, they arrived at Dan Yang County town and settled in.
He continued testing in nearby villages as time passed day by day, quickly two months went by, and more than ninety percent of the testing was completed.
Only four children had Spirit Roots; three had Five Spirit Roots, and one had Four Spirit Roots.
"There are three to five days left for testing to end, but a county only yielded four, that's too few."
Lu Xuanji was speechless.
He headed towards a village settlement.
He couldn't help but laugh at himself for turning into Su Yuntao.
Cultivation is too tough; without Spirit Roots, one can only remain a mortal.
As for mortals wanting to become strong, they can only walk the path of martial arts.
In this world, martial arts are divided into Body Refining, Postnatal, Innate.
In the Body Refining Realm, one can't beat even the weakest Qi Cultivation First Layer.
Postnatal Martial Artists can at most compete with the Qi Cultivation First Layer,
Innate Martial Artists can compete with the Qi Cultivation Third Layer.
The upper bound of martial arts is too low.
In the past life, effort could change one's fate; but in this world, effort is based on having Spirit Roots. Without Spirit Roots, no amount of effort counts.
Even with Spirit Roots, if the attribute is not good, the future is still limited.
If some bigwig reincarnates with past cultivation experience but reincarnates into a Five Spirit Roots body, they'll also remain obscure and fall.
Thinking of this, Lu Xuanji silently rejoiced, that he started with good luck, being Three Spirit Roots. If it were like some web novels where the start is trash flow, starting with Five Spirit Roots, it might really mean being trash.
As he walked, a small mountain village gradually appeared ahead.
The village is very small, with about several dozen households. The village chief is located in a small river valley, and it is the harvest season now, with farmers busy in the fields in some villages.
It's the wrong time to have come.
Lu Xuanji muttered in his heart, many farmers were harvesting in the fields, and simply didn't have time to test for Spirit Roots.
Checking Spirit Roots is very important for the Lu Family;
But for many of the lower-class farmers, it simply isn't important.
After all, it's been checked for dozens of years in a row, and there hasn't been a single one with Spirit Roots in the village.
Long-term, many common folks have no hope anymore.
Even Lu Xuanji, upon arriving at this village, instinctively just walked through dutifully, without much hope that any children here would have Spirit Roots.
At the village entrance, he sat under a big tree, took out a tea cup and teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank while waiting patiently, yet absentmindedly thinking about other things, like the medicinal herbs and Spirit Rice back home.
Before leaving, a cultivator from the clan was entrusted to oversee everything.
But after all, it wasn't his own supervision, so he felt uneasy.
In the clan, Spirit Rice is the most stable source of income.