novelraw Chapter 565 A Great Undertaking
Chapter 565 A Great Undertaking
Zhao Yixuan felt as if he was in a trance, having a beautiful dream.
In the dream, he was copying books diligently as usual, when a refined gentleman appeared on the street, holding a peculiar "book" and saying strange words to entice him into cultivation.
Sternly refusing seemed like passing some kind of test. The gentleman then laughed heartily, patting him on the shoulder, and in an instant, he could understand the book, and it felt like there were changes in his body too.
He led him to the Mirror Mountain he longed for, and when they entered the mountain gate, the disciples on guard not only didn’t stop them but treated the gentleman with great respect, and were also very kind to him in passing.
So this is what the Celestial Sword Sect on Mirror Mountain looks like!
In a daze, he seemed to see many people gathering in the square, fighting fiercely, with swords and lights flashing brilliantly. Then, he saw that familiar face again—the Sect Leader of the Celestial Sword Sect!
In countless dreams where Zhao Yixuan hoped to cultivate, this face appeared repeatedly, but every time he dreamt of him, it meant waking up to face the harsh reality of being unable to cultivate.
In fact, Sect Leader Fang was a very kind person. Even when Zhao couldn’t cultivate and was being persistently stubborn, he didn’t blame him but patiently advised him to descend the mountain.
But when Sect Leader Fang personally told him that cultivation was impossible for this life, it became the biggest shadow of his life, as it was in the dream.
After taking the exam in the Capital City, failing, and ending up with nothing, Zhao Yixuan hurried back home to find his ancestral home had been razed to the ground and almost impossible to recognize, learning that of the hundreds of families in nearby villages, none survived except for himself. He was almost driven mad!
He picked up a rusty knife from the ruins and thought of risking his life against a Demon Beast at night, but a pouring rain from the sky finally woke him up. Zhao Yixuan recalled the rumors he’d heard in the Capital City, where officials and nobles all competed to associate with cultivators who could slay demons and destroy monsters.
He was determined to abandon the pen for the sword, cultivate Immortal Techniques to avenge his hometown elders, uphold peace, so the diligent and earnest people would no longer worry about being devoured by demons and evil spirits!
After days of rough travel, he finally reached Mirror Mountain, full of anticipation, placed his hands on the slab, only to be doused with a cold splash—no Spirit Root, unable to cultivate!
Unwilling to accept this!
Zhao Yixuan couldn’t understand why his village had to suffer disaster just when he went to the Capital City for the exam. If it were at another time, dying with his family would have been acceptable.
Since heaven let him survive by luck, why not give him a way out? Beyond painful cries, how could a scholar, who couldn’t even tie a chicken, battle Demon Beasts or slay those man-eating monsters?
"Come, put your hands on here." Fang Shouye was astonished when Mr. Jiang said Scholar Zhao not only had a Fire Spirit Root but also passed on a simple cultivation technique to him, leaving him filled with question marks.
Absolutely impossible!
Last year, Scholar Zhao knelt outside the mountain gate for three days and nights. Afraid of causing a death, I personally checked; he had no Spirit Root at all. This isn’t a cabbage that grows just because you want it to.
But since Mr. Jiang had already imparted a cultivation technique, he probably wasn’t joking around. Fang Shouye urgently fetched a treasure to test the Spirit Root, asking him to try again.
Anyone with a Spirit Root and capable of cultivation can sense it when placing their hands on the slab; the Sect uses this to recruit disciples.
"Buzz!"
The moment Zhao Yixuan’s trembling hands touched the slab, intricate runes carved into it buzzed lightly, emitting a faint glow.
Fang Shouye’s eyes widened instantly, this was unbelievable! Could it be that Spirit Roots could really grow later in life?
"It lights up!" Zhao Yixuan, still dazed and thinking he was dreaming, had eyes full of light, blood rushing to his head. The feeling was a hundred times more thrilling than topping the imperial exam, almost jumping up and roaring, "It lights up! I have a Spirit Root! I can cultivate!"
Jiang Yuan, who was studying the "rune slab", was startled by him, fearing that Scholar Zhao might, like Fan Jin, go mad again after passing the imperial exam. He immediately coughed twice to interrupt, "This is just the first step on the path to cultivation, calm down."
The dream didn’t end. Zhao Yixuan’s eyes were red; he looked at his hands, and after a while, he pinched his thigh hard. Ouch! It hurt! It wasn’t a dream, it was real!
"Mr. Jiang, your great kindness and virtue, Zhao Yixuan will forever be grateful!" Realizing his fate had been completely rewritten, he knelt to the ground with a thud, kowtowing fiercely toward Jiang Yuan, his forehead banging loudly on the bluestone slab.
Jiang Yuan was most afraid of emotional displays, especially since he was clumsy with words and didn’t know how to comfort him. Fortunately, Fang Shouye helped to defuse the situation, and it took a while for him to fully calm down.
"Please rest assured, sir. Since I have been enlightened by you, in the future, I will certainly remember my original intention, work hard to cultivate my heart and body, and strive to achieve something soon to contribute to maintaining peace in one region." Overflowing with excitement, Zhao Yixuan realized that Jiang Yuan must have somehow given him a Spirit Root, resulting in this miracle, and hastily added a promise.
Tears unconsciously welled up in his eyes, but he still widened them to remember Mr. Jiang’s appearance without missing a single detail. Fortunately, he knew some painting; he would definitely paint his benefactor and hang it in the hall, offering incense day and night in sincere prayers for him!
"I hope he cherishes this rare opportunity and achieves something in cultivation." Jiang Yuan watched the back of Scholar Zhao as he left with the Elder of the Sect, feeling a bit complicated.
In fact, before meeting Scholar Zhao, he always completed the tasks of planting Spirit Roots and imparting cultivation techniques robotically. Although delighted and excited, it was because he could further expand the field of farming.
Witnessing a living person whose fate was completely changed by fulfilling a task at a whim, his ecstatic joy, vibrant life energy, and tragic encounters left a deep impression.
Jiang Yuan realized that what he was doing was not just a task, but a great undertaking!
An endeavor that could change the fate of some ordinary people, and even rewrite the fate of the Human Race in this world!
"Sect Leader Fang, perhaps there are many Cultivators like Scholar Zhao who have been overlooked. If I can do my best to find them, how many can the Celestial Sword Sect accept?" He grew increasingly enthusiastic at the thought.
By binding the system, he changes his fate, and others can change theirs with little effort on his part, a definite win-win!
Fang Shouye was still puzzled about the inconsistent judgments of the precious stone slab, frowning in confusion. Upon hearing this, he quickly replied, "No problem with a hundred or eighty, whether it’s one sheep or a flock, the biggest problem facing the Human Race is the scarcity of Cultivators!
If eight out of ten can cultivate, they could gather forces and use overwhelming numbers to beat the Demon Beasts to find no refuge, preventing them from recklessly ravaging villages and taking lives!
Therefore, I have always believed that to change the course of destiny and find a way out for the Human Race, the more Cultivators, the better! With enough numbers, we can find promising talents to focus on training.
For this reason, the Celestial Sword Sect almost annually opens its doors widely to recruit disciples, and for someone like Scholar Zhao who comes from afar, even if it’s not the time to recruit disciples, I’m willing to grant him convenience..."
But at that time, no Spirit Root was detected! What exactly is going on here?
He paused briefly in confusion, then continued, "Even so, those who come to Mirror Mountain to take the entrance test are still very few.
I once considered distributing part of the Celestial Sword Sect’s Cultivation Techniques widely to allow more people the opportunity to cultivate.
But firstly, the Secret Technique Manuals are not reproducible; secondly, the common folks are poor, and how many are literate? Those who can read and write have long since had the means to be tested. If Mr. Jiang could tirelessly search for disciples with Spirit Roots, the Celestial Sword Sect would take them all, one by one!
If the numbers are too great to sustain, I can also negotiate with other Sects to send them there. In short, we should now mobilize as many people as possible to start cultivating, to strive for better survival space for our kin!"
With the Celestial Sword Sect as a backer, Jiang Yuan was even more motivated.
Learning from the previous experience of being mistaken as an Evil Cultivator by Scholar Zhao, he dressed himself properly this time.
He changed into the uniform of the Celestial Sword Sect Elder, borrowed four dignified disciples, two males and two females, from Fang Shouye, and borrowed the Sect’s big flag.
After preparing everything, Jiang Yuan grabbed some paper talismans from his Storage Bag, and with a single breath, blew them into paper cranes and paper eagles, grandly carrying the big flag ahead and flying through the streets.
The four Daoist Children rode on the paper cranes to lead the way, with Jiang Yuan, keeping up appearances, sitting on Yun Mo and pretending to be indifferent to everyone.
Indeed, traveling ostentatiously with the flag attracted attention wherever they went. Even in the wilderness and fields, the farmers working on the land pleaded for "enlightenment" upon seeing them, and no one questioned their intentions anymore, since an Evil Cultivator would not dare to pass through so openly.
In the villages and towns near the Celestial Sword Sect, there were indeed no target characters, probably because those who could be tested had already been tested. Jiang Yuan specifically went to remote places to search.
If luck was on his side, a small village could have two or three potential Cultivators who were overlooked. Following the system prompts, he used small Jade Slabs to impart Cultivation Techniques. Then it was all about standardizing the dialogue and negotiating: those willing to join the Celestial Sword Sect to study were registered and carried away on paper cranes; those who couldn’t leave their families received a few Spirit Stones and Gold Coins, advised to cultivate diligently.
After two days of busy work, even Wan Mingchuan successfully secured a place to enter the Mirror Mountain Secret Realm, and Jiang Yuan completed the task.
[Side Quest: Human Support Plan]
[Task 4: Find 50 suitable forgotten mortals from the Human World for cultivation and impart the Demon Suppression Scripture (50/50) completed. Reward: Acceleration Card +2 issued]
[Task 6: Find 100 suitable forgotten mortals from the Human World for cultivation and impart the Demon Suppression Scripture (0/100). Reward: Acceleration Card +10]
[Task 7: Implant Spirit Roots in ten individuals of exemplary character (1/10). Reward: Life Origin +100]
"It really is a long-term task. I just found fifty and now I need a hundred. When I find a hundred, I might have to double that to two hundred." Jiang Yuan checked and saw there was still some time. He let the four Daoist Children escort the newly received disciples back to the Celestial Sword Sect to go through the entry process, while he and Yun Mo landed in Earth Wheel City located in the Three-Non-Management Zone.
This bustling city lay at the junction of three territories, on the border of the Celestial Sword Sect, the Duanmu Family, and the Lin Family, a place considered beyond their reach, impossible to control by any side.
Coincidentally, with the mountains high and the Emperor far, the Court officials here wielded power and influence, only second to the "Immortals" they worshipped. It’s said that this local Emperor and City Lord also recruited certain "Cultivators" as aides. Jiang Yuan deemed this place unsuitable for a high-profile approach, so he had Yun Mo transform into a human form, and the two of them discreetly entered the city.
[Detected within a ten-meter diameter range, a target with a Spirit Root suitable for imparting a Cultivation Technique!]
Upon entering the city, the system prompted a notification. He roughly scanned the street but couldn’t see any target with an obvious sign over their head, so he could only rely on moving around to determine the direction.