Chapter 18

The river gods of the Washing Silk River were ultimately punished to maintain the river embankment for one hundred years; the order was personally issued by Lord Jiang and carried out swiftly. As for the vacancy of the Washing Silk River's river god, it was also quickly filled—reportedly a local minor water god with an excellent reputation, this time counting as a promotion... I imagine the lives of the people around the Washing Silk River will soon return to peace.

"How could someone be so evil? At that time, the poor bride—if it weren't for me, that bride would surely have died! There had been other brides before, and they were surely all killed..." Gan Tian told her father about what happened when the river god took a bride.

Gan Tian was brought back unharmed; Wenxin also only told Gan Cheng a rough account of the experience, and as for the specific details, there was no need to mention them. So what Gan Tian is saying now, Gan Cheng did not know before.

He only knew that the Washing Silk River's river god and others had made things difficult for Gan Tian, but he didn't know exactly what had happened.

"Father, what's wrong with you?" Looking at her father who seemed a bit absent-minded, Gan Tian shook his arm... Who wouldn't want their audience to be a bit more focused!

Father and daughter sat side by side on the white jade steps before the hall; Gan Cheng lowered his head and rubbed the child's soft hair: "... It's nothing..."

Just feeling that a hundred years of maintaining the embankment might be too light...

"Lord Jiang, the lady has returned!" While the father and daughter were being affectionate, someone came over to deliver the message.

"Mother has returned?" Gan Tian looked at the messenger, then at her father, puzzled: "Isn't Mother busy in Kunlun right now?"

Gan Tian felt her family was a typical combination of high officials and scholars; her father need not be mentioned—Lord Jiang, one of the Four Rivers—and her mother was the Wei Immortal of Kunlun. At first she didn't know what Kunlun meant, thinking it was a sect, but it wasn't really that.

Kunlun and Penglai are the two largest "academic groups"; inside them are countless small peaks, each with different projects. Others use spells and cultivation methods, but Kunlun and Penglai are where these things originate.

Otherwise those wouldn't fall from the sky... In the imagined heavenly pit there are strange stones; splitting them open yields strange books—such encounters simply don't exist.

Heavenly immortals, earthly immortals, Kunlun, Penglai, and those who wander outside these are the "scattered immortals"—this is the general situation of the cultivation world in this world. Because these don't involve specific spells, Gan Cheng and Gan Tian had already discussed this early on.

Mother in Kunlun is also a highly skilled female immortal, just like all the researchers, very busy. In Gan Tian's memory, Mother only returns at year's end to keep her and Father company—uh, actually that's not quite right; on special days she also hurries back, such as Gan Tian's birthday.

However, Gan Tian hasn't seen Mother on her birthday this year... because she ran away from home when her birthday came.

According to past years' timing, it's clearly not yet time for Mother to return.

"She's just busy!" Gan Cheng tweaked Gan Tian's nose and laughed: "No matter how important other matters are, they're not as important as my little immortal! Mother knows you've returned, so she naturally wants to come see you... you should know, Mother treasures you!"

Gan Cheng's tone when saying this was sour.

Gan Tian heeheed a few times... Gan Cheng's mother, the Wei Yin Wei Immortal, was once a renowned great beauty in the cultivation world, her face like peach blossoms, thus earning the nickname "Peach Blossom Immortal." However, this Peach Blossom Immortal not only lacks the delicate, bright charm of peach blossoms, but is rather a "high mountain flower" that strangers should not approach.

Everyone says her smile is like spring wind and peach and plum, as beautiful as it can be... but the reality is that the Wei Immortal hardly ever smiles.

If one must say there is an exception, it's probably Gan Tian; no matter what, a biological daughter still receives preferential treatment.

"Mother! You've returned? You've worked hard... studying immortal arts in Kunlun is so tough!" Seeing the immortal maiden in blue-green robes glide over, Gan Tian couldn't be sweeter, and hurried over to take the immortal maiden mother's small hand.

"Clearly that's nonsense... you've never even been to Kunlun, how could you know whether it's tough or not?" The immortal maiden's expression was cold and clear, her skin like a ten-thousand-year cold jade, her brows and eyes drawn in a stroke of ink. Her whole person was icy cold, as if even exhaling a breath was cool.

However, although she said that, when she lowered her head to look at the pink-clad little girl whose appearance resembled her own, her expression gradually softened a bit.

"It must be tough, otherwise how could Mother only be able to keep me and Father company for one month each year... Mother likes me so much she can only return for one month... Kunlun is so tough~" Gan Tian shamelessly patted her own face with gold, and also touched the immortal maiden mother's hand.

The child's soft, warm hand pressed against her own; that pair of hands, usually like ice and snow, almost got scalded. Wei Yin could not refuse such closeness; she indeed loved this child.

The corner of her mouth twitched up a little—this actually caused the male immortal following alongside to widen his eyes.

The "Peach Blossom Immortal" never liked to laugh in her life; back then, countless young talents of the immortal realm admired her, hoping to win a smile from her, but the result... naturally came to nothing.

Now, however, a little girl has easily achieved it... What feelings could one ask about? There aren't any—probably just that the rumors were indeed not deceitful; the name "Peach Blossom Immortal" is not empty talk, and this smile is exactly like the ice melting in spring. bright and beautiful time.

Gan Tian held the hand of her family's great immortal maiden, and also noticed the male immortal who had come along, wearing a vermilion robe and a tall cap, someone she had never seen before.

She hesitated a bit, not knowing how to address him.

Wei Yin moved her gaze away from her daughter, sweeping over the male immortal who had come along, her expression cold and clear.

"Sweetie, this is Liu Upper Immortal of the Pure Void Heaven, in charge of guiding new disciples; today he has come for you."

"Wei Immortal is being too polite..." Liu Changzai seems somewhat unwilling to accept the title "Upper Immortal"; although he is often called that, being addressed as such by a female immortal of Wei Yin's cultivation level still makes him a bit embarrassed.

"Upper Immortal Liu!" Gan Tian performed a proper salute; she didn't know Liu Changzai's thoughts, but since her family's great immortal maiden introduced him that way, that's what he is—no need to question.

However, she still had some doubts: why would the immortal in charge of guiding new disciples come to Yunmeng Marsh?

It's not yet time for her to go to the Pure Void Heaven, is it?

Pure Void Heaven is the place she is about to go to study immortal arts, it's... it's one of the top academies in the cultivation world, bah. It's huge, occupying two of the thirty-six blessed lands, and its teaching staff is formidable; the teachers here are all top-notch picks in the cultivation world.

Pure Void Heaven has a dedicated department responsible for guiding new disciples, and ordinarily it is also busy seeking out prospective disciples with cultivation talent from among ordinary people. Gan Tian has already decided to go to the Pure Void Heaven to study; even if someone were to pick her up for school, it seems she still has a month or two before leaving, so why did they come at this time?

Besides, it's impossible for her to be picked up for school! She's a second-generation cultivator! She couldn't possibly not find the way to the Pure Void Heaven!

"Today I came to draw blood and test the spirit." Liu Chang explained, then took out a crystal bead the size of a fingertip.

Gan Tian knew about drawing blood to test the spirit; at home, Gan Cheng had told her about it. She glanced at the great immortal maiden, saw her nod slightly, then without hesitation she extended her hand, allowing Liu Chang to draw a drop of her blood, which was then placed into the crystal bead.

Seeing the crimson blood droplet in the crystal bead coalesce without dispersing, Liu Chang praised incessantly: "Little immortal maiden, your spiritual body is innate! With such abundant spiritual energy, in these years I have only seen two others like this!"

The crystal bead is not actually crystal, but rather an extract of unknown origin that Gan Tian does not know, merely shaped into a bead. This substance has the property of repelling spiritual energy; basically, the more abundant the spiritual energy in the blood, the less it can mix with this substance.

Whether a person has cultivation talent is mainly judged using this crystal bead. There are no better, more precise methods, but this method is the most universally applicable... low cost, simple procedure.

For conducting a census of children from ordinary families, other methods might be faster and more accurate, but the cost would be too high, which is not good.

It is said that every child has spiritual energy in their blood at birth, but as they age it gradually dissipates; many people's bodies cannot retain spiritual energy. Therefore, the presence or absence of spiritual energy is not actually the standard for judging whether someone has cultivation talent; rather, it is whether they can retain spiritual energy.

However, testing □□ whether one can retain spiritual energy is a complex and costly method that requires a highly powerful immortal to operate, so the cultivation world generally uses crystal beads to test for spiritual energy in the blood.

Each year, the major immortal abodes conduct a census within their own 'study districts', checking whether ten-year-old children have spiritual energy in their blood. Generally speaking, those who cannot retain spiritual energy will have none by age ten, but the truly accurate age is twelve.

Some people still have spiritual energy at age ten, but by age twelve it is gone.

After age twelve, some also lose their spiritual energy, but the probability is extremely low, almost negligible.

As for why not simply screen at age twelve, it is to provide basic education for those who might cultivate.

After entering an immortal abode, one directly begins the path of cultivation; it's impossible to waste time starting from literacy. However, providing universal education is too expensive, and both the immortal abodes and worldly rulers are unwilling to spend that money... thus, at age ten they use crystal beads to test for spiritual energy, and those who have it enter special halls to study.

Children from wealthy families can read and learn various skills from a young age, but children from ordinary families may not. Cultivation talent never favors the rich over the poor; if one's ancestors lacked cultivation talent, everyone's chances are the same. Considering that ordinary families have always been the vast majority in this world, such 'preparatory classes' are still very necessary.

When testing spiritual energy with the crystal bead, if the blood drop has no spiritual energy at all, the entire bead will disperse into liquid. For an ordinary person with cultivation talent, the blood drop slightly disperses in the bead; coalescing without dispersing indicates abundant spiritual energy, and the clearer the edge of the blood drop, the greater the spiritual energy.

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Thanks to the little angels who voted for me as overlord or poured nutrient solution during the period from 2020-04-2207:42:47 to 2020-04-2308:59:12~

Thanks to the little angels who poured nutrient solution: 50 bottles thrown at the author's face; Zuo Ge, Fenghuang Hua Youkai 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for everyone's support; I will continue to work hard!