In the afternoon, people gradually returned.
"Come, come, check your Spirit Root."
Lu Xuanji called to the villagers, placing a black stone at the village entrance: "Come, come, test your Spirit Root. If you have one, your family will be exempt from grain tax, and you will receive ten stones of grain as a subsidy every year."
He kept calling out, almost like a salesman.
A curious child approached directly, touching the stone.
Lu Xuanji called for the village chief to maintain order, lining up for testing.
The children went one after another, but most had no Spirit Root.
"Can I?"
At this moment, an adult man spoke.
Lu Xuanji looked on silently, thinking how this uncle, at over thirty years old, still wanted to join the fun.
But when he opened his mouth, he just said, "Sure."
The uncle went up for testing, but there was no light.
"What a pity."
Lu Xuanji expressed slight regret.
Several more uncles touched the stone out of curiosity, but there was no light.
While expected, there was still a slight disappointment.
He packed up the tea set, ready to leave.
"You wretched girl, I'll beat you to death."
"Wooo."
"Try running again."
"Wooo."
At this time, a thirteen-year-old girl was running, wearing ragged clothes, fleeing in panic; behind her, a woman chased her with a stick.
The woman quickly caught up with the girl and hit her hard.
Bang, bang.
The woman showed no mercy.
The girl cried and struggled on the ground, her eyes filled with fear and dread, but she wouldn't beg for mercy.
"Sister-in-law, if you beat her like this, be careful not to hurt her,"
Lu Xuanji couldn't bear to watch any longer and spoke directly.
"Who are you, why meddle in my business..." The woman spoke harshly at first, but seeing the attire of the Immortal Master, she softened her tone: "Immortal Master, this is my family's child bride. This little girl stole food, so she must be beaten."
"I didn't steal any food."
The girl said stubbornly.
Lu Xuanji was speechless.
In the Mortal World, some feudal customs persisted.
In the mortal realm, the status of women was very low.
Many families, unable to afford to raise a girl, would simply drown her upon birth;
Some families, unable to raise a girl, would give her away.
The girl would grow up in the other family and later become that family's son's wife, known as a child bride.
Thus, a mother-in-law beating a daughter-in-law was considered natural.
These matters were difficult to interfere with.
"Girl, I see you haven't tested your Spirit Root. Come and test it," Lu Xuanji said. "Families with child brides or girls, bring them for testing."
"What is there to test for a girl?"
"Does she want to cultivate immortality?"
"A woman's virtue is her lack of talent."
"If the men can't do it, how can the women?"
Some villagers grumbled, seemingly displeased with the girls' testing.
In larger towns, many well-informed people allowed their girls to test; in remote, backward villages, there was much resistance to girls' tests.
Despite resistance, some girls still came forward for testing.
About fifteen girls came out, lining up for the test.
Lu Xuanji sat casually, intending to leave after it was over.
Suddenly, the black stone lit up.
Lu Xuanji focused his attention.
It was the girl who had been beaten by her mother-in-law; her hand now pressed on the stone, which was glowing.
"Not bad, you have a Spirit Root. Stand aside."
Lu Xuanji pointed casually, not overly delighted.
Perhaps it's another Five Spirit Roots bearer.
Then other girls went up to test, but the remaining fourteen had no Spirit Root.
Not bad, at least not a total failure.
"Girl, come with me."
Lu Xuanji said calmly.
"No, she's my son's wife; she can't leave," the woman shouted.
"Haha."
Lu Xuanji laughed and handed over a certificate, "This is proof. With this certificate, your family is exempt from grain taxes, and not just that, you receive ten stones of grain annually. You think this grain can't buy your son another wife?"
"Yes, it can."
The woman happily accepted the certificate.
Turning around, Lu Xuanji asked, "Girl, what's your name?"
"Second Girl."
"That's your nickname, what's your full name?"
"I don't have a full name."
"Never mind, I'll give you a name." Lu Xuanji frowned, about to name the girl, but frowning as he couldn't think of a good name, as he was bad at naming.
"Sir, do you want me to be your wife?"
The little girl asked.
"Haha, to be my wife, at least Three Spirit Roots are necessary." Lu Xuanji said boldly.
"Little girl, let's go."
Saying this, he took a wooden horse out of his storage bag.
Infusing True Qi, the wooden horse immediately enlarged.
The wooden horse became about one and a half meters tall, two meters wide, appearing majestic and extraordinary.
Lu Xuanji went up, lifting the little girl onto the wooden horse, holding her as he activated the horse, which ran off at a speed of fifty meters per second, heading into the distance, leaving only the exclamations of the villagers.
"Ah, ah."
The little girl exclaimed, seemingly a bit scared, yet somewhat delighted.
The wooden horse was considered a low-level talisman, costing only ten Spirit Stones.
After about half an hour, they arrived at Dan Yang County Town.
The wooden horse stopped, began to shrink, and Lu Xuanji put it back into the storage bag.
"Do you like it?"
Lu Xuanji asked with a smile.
"I like it," the little girl said.
"Once you become an Immortal Master, you can buy a wooden horse too."
Lu Xuanji gave her a gentle pat on the head, leading the little girl into the county town.
In Dan Yang County Town, a Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivator resided, and several cultivators from the family held various official positions to maintain order in the town.
They walked to the town's north courtyard.
The courtyard housed four children, now there was one more.
Once the testing was complete, they would take those with Spirit Roots to Purple Sun Mountain.
"Second Girl, let's check your Spirit Root Attribute."
In a small dark room, Lu Xuanji called out for an attribute test. On the table were eight light orbs, representing Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, and Ice.
Second Girl, slightly nervous, placed her hand on the Gold Attribute orb.
But after ten breaths, the orb did not light up.
Seeing the orb unlit, she thought she had done poorly, and Second Girl was about to cry, saying, "Am I doing very badly?"
"No, you're not bad, keep going."
Lu Xuanji smiled.
The Gold orb not lighting up proved Second Girl was at least Four Spirit Roots.
Second Girl then placed her hand on the Wood Attribute orb, holding for ten breaths, but it still didn't light up, making her truly burst into tears, thinking her performance poor.
Drip!
Drip!
Lu Xuanji did not smile, but was delighted inside.
This girl is at least Three Spirit Roots.
Good, good, a Three Spirit Roots could qualify as my wife.
She pressed on the third orb again, but it did not light up.
Second Girl cried even harder.
Great, it's Dual Spirit Roots.
"Damn... it's Dual Spirit Roots."
Lu Xuanji's thoughts were in disarray.
In the Lu Family's thousand-year history, only three Dual Spirit Roots were born.
Dual Spirit Roots, also known as Purple Mansion Seeds.
In ten Dual Spirit Root cultivators, five reached the Purple Mansion Realm.
Second Girl then pressed on the Fire Attribute orb, and the orb lit up.
Seeing the lit orb, a smile appeared on her face.
"It seems you have a Fire-Earth attribute. If Fire is primary and Earth secondary, you're among the better Dual Spirit Roots; if Earth is primary and Fire secondary, you're relatively poorer among Dual Spirit Roots."
Yet, when she placed her hand on the final orb, it didn't light up.
Lu Xuanji's heart was in turmoil.
In any case, at least she has a great talent.
"""