The second stage was to examine the Spiritual Roots and determine the Cultivation Method.
The examination took place in a black room.
Candidates would enter the black room in turn. The elders examined the Spiritual Roots and outsiders were not allowed to be present.
This type of Spiritual Root examination could prevent accidents from happening.
There was once a cultivator clan that examined the Spiritual Roots of their disciples, and in the end, one of the disciples had Heavenly Spiritual Root.
Not long after, the news leaked out.
The next day, this cultivator clan was exterminated, and the Heavenly Spiritual Root child was also killed.
From then on, the Spiritual Roots' attributes were all tested in a small black room, and outsiders were not allowed to be present.
In order to prevent a repeat incident, even if a Heavenly Spiritual Root appeared, it could be disguised as a Two Spiritual Root or a Three Spiritual Root to protect the Heavenly Spiritual Root child.
The rate of examination in the small black room was very fast. Each test could be done in three minutes. Very soon, it was Lu Xuanji's turn.
"Don't be nervous." The Elder said, "Put your palms on these light balls one by one. They represent the five elemental Spiritual Roots of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. They also represent the three Spiritual Roots of wind, thunder, and ice."
"As long as one of the light balls is lit, it means there is a certain attribute. The fewer light balls that are lit, the better. If there is only one light ball that is lit, it is either a Heavenly Spiritual Root or a Strange Spiritual Root. If two light balls are lit, it is a two-elemental Spiritual Root. If three light balls are lit, it is a three-elemental Spiritual Root. if four light balls are lit, it is a four-elemental Spiritual Root, and if five light balls are lit, it is a five-elemental Spiritual Root."
"Although they are all Spiritual Roots, due to the different attributes, the height of the Spiritual Root is different, and the aptitude is also different."
"For example, in a case of Two Spiritual Root with water and fire attributes, they are mutually countered by each other. It is therefore not as good as Three Spiritual Roots that do not counter each other. If it is a Two Spiritual Root with fire and wood, then the wood complements fire, and the aptitude is top-notch among the Two Spiritual Roots variations."
"Also, a Two Spiritual Root where the zfire is nine inches and wood is one inch will be much better than three-inch fire and seven-inch wood."
"No matter what the attribute of the Spiritual Root is, even if it's a Five Spiritual Root, it's still above mortals."
When it came to the Five Spiritual Roots, the Elder did not look down on them.
Five Spiritual Roots were still Spiritual Roots in the end. They could also cultivate and contribute to the clan.
"The Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivates one attribute, and the Five Spiritual Roots cultivate five attributes." Lu Xuanji asked, "Is it not good to cultivate five elements simultaneously?"
"To cultivate to the ninth level of the Qi refinement stage, the Heavenly Spiritual Root needs 10 to 20 years. Two Spiritual Roots need 20 to 30 years. Three Spiritual Roots need 40 to 50 years. Four Spiritual Roots need 80 to 100 years. Finally, Five Spiritual Roots need at least 200 years... However, the life span of the Qi refinement stage is less than 120 years."
"It's best to reach Foundation Establishment before the age of 60. Only the Two Spiritual Roots and Three Spiritual Roots are likely to reach this goal. As for the Four Spiritual Root and Five Spiritual Root, the chances are not high."
"If you also take the Foundation Building Pill, the success rate of Two Spiritual Roots is at 50%, Three Spiritual Roots at 30%, Four spiritual Roots at 10%. As for Five Spiritual Roots, the probability is 1%."
"What do you think is the probability of Five Spiritual Roots reaching the Foundation Building stage? Try to imagine the price one has to pay and the resources needed for a Five Spiritual Roots cultivator to reach the Foundation Establishment stage."
The Elder explained patiently.
Lu Xuanji was speechless.
A Five Spiritual Root was a disaster.
Resources were limited. No family had unlimited resources.
This also meant that resources would be tilted towards two-and three-elemental Spiritual Roots. As for the four- and five-elemental Spiritual Roots, they would be abandoned.
The elder continued, "There was once a Five Spiritual Roots who was lucky enough to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. However, the resources he spent were enough to nurture ten Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even if the Five Spiritual Roots cultivator was lucky enough to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, it would be difficult for him to take even a single step forward. The consumption of resources would be very, very large, and the gains would not make up for the losses."
Lu Xuanji shook his head and became even more speechless.
In his previous life, when he saw how Han Paopao cultivate, he thought that Han Paopao was a mortal trying to cultivate. However, now, it seemed that Han Paopao was simply spending money to cultivate.
The resources he spent were dozens of times more compared to cultivators of the same stage.
Fortunately, he had the support of the Little Green Bottle. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
"I hope you have a Three Spiritual Root or a Two Spiritual Root," The Elder said.
Lu Xuanji was feeling nervous. He put his hand on the first light ball.
The light ball did not change at all.
Lu Xuanji let out a sigh of relief. Four Spiritual Root.
Pressing on the light ball of wood, the light ball became bright. After a long time, the light disappeared.
The elder narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Not bad. Wood Spiritual Root. Nine-inch Spiritual Root."
Pressing on the ball of light of water, there was no change.
Lu Xuanji let out a sigh of relief again. The two balls of light did not light up, so it was guaranteed to be at least a Three Spiritual Root.
Pressing on the ball of light of fire, the light flickered.
"Fire Spiritual Root, nine inches Spiritual Root," the Elder said, "Your soul is quite strong."
Finally, pressing on the ball of light of earth, the light only flashed for a brief moment.
"Earth Spiritual Root, two inches Spiritual Root. Not bad, not bad."
The Elder smiled, like a blooming chrysanthemum, he said, "Three-elemental Spiritual Root. Wood Spiritual Root is nine inches, fire Spiritual Root is nine inches, and earth Spiritual Root is two inches. When the three are stacked together, the Spiritual Root is twenty inches. An ordinary child's Spiritual Root is only ten inches, so your soul's strength is twice that of an ordinary child's."
"Although you only have Three Spiritual Roots, you can be compared to a Two Spiritual Root cultivator, and you can be considered a little genius... the Cultivation Method for you should be based on fire and wood, with earth as a supplement."
The old man smiled and wrote down the certificate. On it was the result of the Spiritual Root appraisal.
After receiving the Spiritual Root appraisal certificate, Lu Xuanji heaved a sigh of relief.
There was no joy for being either a Heavenly Spiritual Root. There was also no disappointment for being a Five Spiritual Root.
A Three Spiritual Root could be considered a genius in his family.
There was hope for him to reach Foundation Establishment in the future.
Of course, there was only hope.
Only a Heavenly Spiritual Root was bound to step into the Foundation Establishment stage. Two Spiritual Roots and Three Spiritual Roots were stuck at the ninth level of the Qi Refinement stage.
After walking out of the small black room and seeing his parents, Lu Xuanji smiled and said, "Three Spiritual Roots."
"Haha, my son is a genius." His father, Lu Mianwen, smiled. "Let's go home and talk about it."
After returning home, Lu Xuanji took out the certificate and handed it over.
Lu Mianwen, looked at the certificate and frowned slightly. "I'll go to the family library and look for a Cultivation Method that suits you."
Lu Mianwen, left in a hurry.
A day later, Lu Mianwen brought Lu Xuanji a Cultivation Method scroll. He said, "This Cultivation Method is called the Lihuo Yimu Art. It contains two elements of fire and wood. The highest one can cultivate to the early levels of the Foundation Establishment stage and has no earth element. As for the earth element, we might have to give it up."
"Thank you."
Lu Xuanji flipped through the book and was quite happy.
In the Lu clan, Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment Cultivation Methods were not very valuable. The valuable thing was resources.
Cultivation Methods could be read repeatedly, but resources were limited.
"Son, you have to go to class tomorrow. Be careful." His father reminded him.
"Yes," Lu Xuanji said.
After a child's Spiritual Root was tested, there were specialized elders who taught the child how to read, how to identify the meridians of the human body, teach all kinds of cultivation knowledge, and so on.
There were also all kinds of spiritual herbs used for medicinal baths, marrow cleansing, meditation, feeling Qi, unblocking meridians, and so on.
After teaching the children for three years, the elders would begin to guide them to break through to the Qi Refinement stage.
The next day, Lu Xuanji arrived at the Spirit Courtyard.
There were not many children, only 50 of them.
...