Hearing this, the crowd suppressed their awe. They could not afford to offend a Foundation Establishment clan.
But seeing her head toward the testing platform, everyone exchanged looks, hesitating to move. They had no idea what this eldest young lady was doing here at a time like this.
They only hoped it would not affect them.
Jiang Lu paused when she saw the worry in everyone's eyes, shrinking back into the crowd. She had a bad premonition.
The messy hair on her forehead cast a shadow, concealing the panic in her eyes.
Sure enough, when she followed the crowd to the testing platform, the patrol squad blocked them.
“By order of the City Lord, the spiritual root testing ends here. The rest of you may go back!”
A cultivator from the patrol squad waved a hand at the crowd, his booming voice ringing in everyone's ears. Those in the front row were violently shoved backward by the guards, tumbling to the ground.
Fear showed in their eyes as they scrambled to their feet and retreated. They dared not go head-to-head with them. Cultivators killed without batting an eye, and at this moment, these people held the power of life and death.
Boom—
Hearing this, everyone immediately looked up at the testing platform. Their lips trembled and their eyes reddened, yet none dared to speak out in protest.
The City Lord's decision to offer free spiritual root testing this time was entirely of his own volition, usually meant to seek out talented disciples to train for his own use.
Now that he said it was over, who would dare to object?
They were just a group of mortals. Even if their clans had a few cultivators, they were only at the early stage of Qi Condensation. How could they dare to make an enemy of him?
They could only curse their bad luck.
If they wanted to test their spiritual roots in the future, they would have to pay to go to the Spiritual Testing Hall—one spirit stone or ten taels of silver per test.
For ordinary mortals, this was an astronomical price. If they had no spiritual root, that money would be flushed straight down the drain.
Many left dejectedly, clutching their wooden tokens so tightly that the veins on their hands bulged.
Some remained where they were, staring unwillingly at the testing platform, hoping for another chance to be tested.
Only after the cultivators on the testing platform and the disciples being tested had gradually departed did the patrol squad finally withdraw.
Looking at the wooden token in her hand, Jiang Lu felt nothing but endless melancholy. It felt like the sorrow of missing out on an opportunity, yet also like the relief of surviving a disaster. She could not distinguish between the two feelings.
Watching the hurried mortals and cultivators around her, her feet felt glued to the spot, unsure of where to go.
“Little girl, little girl, hurry and leave.”
In her daze, Jiang Lu seemed to hear someone calling her. Her mind gradually cleared, and she saw an auntie calling out to her from the side.
The woman wore patched clothes, held a child by the hand, and looked highly anxious.
“What are you dazing off for, little girl? You look like an ordinary person too. This is no place for us to linger. You must leave quickly.”
Although Jiang Lu was puzzled as to why, seeing the woman's anxious expression, she could not help but follow closely behind as they left.
“Auntie, why is that?”
After they had walked some distance past the city gates, she noticed the auntie's expression relax and asked.
Hearing her question, the auntie looked at her with some confusion.
“Are you not from around here, young lady?”
Jiang Lu hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“Did you come from the mortal realm?”
Seeing her nod, the auntie leaned in and asked in a low voice.
Jiang Lu hesitated, then nodded again. Judging by the auntie's appearance, she did not seem like a bad person. Perhaps she could gather some information from her.
The auntie sighed, looking at her with pity.
Yet another poor child. Looking at her refined demeanor and clothes, she must have been a child of a wealthy family in the mortal realm. But seeing her disheveled state, she must have gone through immense hardships to get here.
“You must have suffered a lot to get here. All of you who come from the mortal realm dream of seeking immortality once you arrive. But without a spiritual root, how could it be that easy?”
Jiang Lu did not interrupt her. From the auntie's words, she learned that this place was called the cultivation world.
In the cultivation world, there were five major domains:
The Xuanchen Domain: The central hub of the world, where cultivation flourished, sects stood in great numbers, and resources were most abundant. It was the leader of the five continents.
The Canglan Domain: A place of continuous immortal mountains, rich in rare treasures of the spiritual seas. Immortal dwellings on islands were scattered like stars, and its marine treasures reigned supreme across the five continents.
The Huangqian Domain: A land where grottoes and divine mountains coexisted, with a vast and wild ancient territory. Demon beasts roamed everywhere, body cultivation was highly popular, and many ancient secret realms remained. Body-tempering sects and clans had resided here for generations.
The Jiangwu Domain: Covered in dense forests and teeming with spiritual herbs, it was mostly populated by elixir cultivators and poison cultivators.
The Lingshuo Domain: Home mostly to hermit clans, blessed with uniquely freezing spiritual veins.
Each of the five major domains had its own characteristics, filled with sects and clans. However, they were extremely far apart, separated by endless seas. Ordinary cultivators found it difficult to travel to other domains, with teleportation arrays or entering certain secret realms being the only opportunities to do so.
According to the auntie, they were currently on the outskirts of the Jiangwu Domain. This city was called Xijiang City, and the territory for thousands of li around belonged to Xijiang City.
The spiritual Qi here was sparse, and the cultivators were weak. Those in the Foundation Establishment stage were already considered powerhouses of the region.
The closer one got to the central region, the denser the spiritual Qi became, and the faster one could cultivate.
Theoretically, there should be no mortals in the cultivation world. However, the mortals here were different; their ancestors were cultivators, which gave them the chance to survive here.
Spiritual roots were rare, and not all descendants of cultivators possessed them. These people were the portion of mortals without spiritual roots. But with their ancestors' bloodline in them, they believed that a spiritual root would eventually appear among their descendants. They were gambling on such a possibility.
In this cultivation world of countless clans and sects, it was always difficult for a single person to walk alone. Living under the name of a clan allowed them to scrape by.
Even the villages she had seen earlier could be considered clan territories. There were always a few Qi Condensation cultivators in the clan. However, to be recognized as a Qi Condensation clan, someone in the clan had to reach the late stage of Qi Condensation—namely, the seventh layer of Qi Condensation.
Without one, they could only remain as such villages.
The city was entirely populated by cultivators with cultivation bases. Mortals like them were not allowed to stay overnight in the city.
Each clan was highly xenophobic, so the auntie could not take Jiang Lu back with her. Seeing her pitiful state, she gave her two flatbreads from her bag and left in a hurry.
Jiang Lu watched her leave, wanting to ask more, but in the blink of an eye, only the corner of her clothes remained in sight.
She sighed, burying this gratitude deep in her heart, hoping to repay it if the opportunity arose in the future.
She walked to a crumbling corner of a wall, pondering her next steps. Right now, she did not know if she had a spiritual root, let alone if she could cultivate. As a solitary mortal woman, she could not even begin to imagine how much danger she was currently in.
She took out a flatbread, tore off a small piece to put in her mouth, and put the rest away.
The flatbread was hard to chew in her mouth. She had not had a drop of water all day, and now on the verge of dehydration, she immediately scrambled up to search for a water source.
Suddenly, two voices speaking drifted from ahead, accompanied by the sounds of fighting. She immediately held her breath and lay flat in the grass, not daring to move.
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