Chapter 1 Mud Monkey

"Children! Take the pills and sit down where you are. When I call your number, come forward..."

In an open space outside Longxing Town, an old man in a Taoist robe with a fairy-like appearance put one hand behind his back and looked at more than 30 children in front of him, with a gleam of expectation in his eyes.

These children ranged from eight or nine years old to thirteen or fourteen years old. Each of them held a pill containing five colors of gold, green, blue, red and brown, and they all looked excited.

The old Taoist and the children were surrounded by people from Longxing Town and surrounding villages, most of whom were parents of these children. They all hoped that their children would be selected, not only for cultivation, but more importantly, to get silver bills.

Yes, Longxing Town is located in Liangzhou, a wilderness in the northeast of Dagan Country, and most of the people are hungry. Although they have almost no idea about cultivation, they know that if their children can be selected by the immortal, they will immediately get 1,000 taels of silver bills, and from then on they will leave the deserted village and live in the town or a better place.

This is what the parents think. As for what the children think, it is unknown.

Under the expectant eyes and noise of the crowd, the children have eaten the pills in their hands one after another, and then sat on the ground obediently, holding up the number plates in their hands, waiting for the old Taoist to speak.

Seeing this, the old Taoist immediately scanned the children with a pair of shining eyes.

Ten breaths.

Fifty breaths.

One hundred breaths...

Suddenly, the old Taoist's face was happy, and he looked at a chubby little girl at the back and shouted: "Number 33!"

Hearing the voice, the children turned back and looked at the little girl, only to see a faint mist coming out of her body, and they couldn't help but envy.

"Xiao Yun, Xiao Yun was selected! That's great, that's great..."

In the crowd, a middle-aged woman with a sallow face covered her face and cried, and was so excited that she almost fainted. The villagers next to her quickly helped her up.

"I didn't expect that silly girl actually has the talent of an immortal. The Ling family is really blessed. I hope my kid can work harder and earn me a thousand taels..."

"Yes, the Ling family is rich now... a full thousand taels."

"..."

When the villagers heard the old Taoist call out the names, they were immediately filled with emotion and envy. Many people secretly pinched the corners of their clothes and looked a little nervous. They hoped that their children could also be selected.

After a while.

"Number 20!"

The old Taoist suddenly looked at an eight or nine-year-old child sitting in the middle of the third row. There was also a faint mist coming out of that person.

"Haha, Xiaohu, Xiaohu was selected!"

Instantly, another exclamation came from the crowd. A sturdy middle-aged man was so excited that he trembled all over and patted the shoulder of an old man next to him, "Village chief, did you see it? It's Xiaohu, it's Xiaohu... I'm rich!"

"..."

Two people have been selected by the Taoist, and the rest of the people can't help but become a little nervous. Qingyang Sect has only selected two people at most in the past. Now that two people have been selected, I'm afraid there is not much hope for the rest.

Time passed, and half a quarter of an hour passed in a blink of an eye.

Unfortunately, since Xiaoyun and Xiaohu were selected, no one has been named, as if this Longxing Town really only has two people at most at a time.

The old Taoist's hopeful eyes gradually dimmed.

The pill he gave was called the Awakening Pill, which can help people who have not practiced to awaken their spiritual roots. Under normal circumstances, if the awakening is not successful for more than half a quarter of an hour, it means that the person does not have spiritual roots, at least less than five spiritual roots.

Those with less than five spiritual roots are called mixed spiritual roots, and it is often possible to have seven, eight, or nine spiritual roots. Although mixed spiritual roots can absorb spiritual energy, it is probably difficult to open up a meridian in a lifetime and cannot enter the first level of Qi training.

In the cultivation world, let alone mixed spiritual roots, even five spiritual roots are called pseudo spiritual roots, which are also the lowest level of existence. No one will spend all resources to help a person who may have mixed spiritual roots awaken.

After waiting for a while, the old Taoist shook his head helplessly, looked at the children sitting on the ground and said: "Okay, the awakening ceremony is over. You all don't have spiritual roots, and you have no chance to cultivate immortals. Go away."

The children immediately looked distraught when they heard this, and the crowd of onlookers immediately sighed, and parents came forward to take their children back.

"I don't think I can't cultivate immortality even though I'm so fat."

The sturdy boy put his hand on the shoulder of the thin and dark boy next to him, and muttered as he walked, "Nihou, tell me, did I eat too much and block my spiritual roots?"

The boy named Nihou was also depressed at this time, and rolled his eyes when he heard it, "How should I know."

"Nihou, Fatty Chen, wait for me."

At this time, a thin boy who was about the same age as the two of them caught up, put his hand on Nihou's other shoulder, and said very intimately:

"Nihou, you said that Fatty Chen and I, two rough people who can't read a word, can't cultivate immortality, but you shouldn't be like this. You don't know how many books you have read since you were a child, how come you are the same as us."

"Oh, it's God's will." Nihou shook his head, unable to hide some disappointment.

His father used to be a teacher in Dashi Village. He did read a lot of books since he was a child, but what's the use? After all, this world is not the world of scholars.

If reading a lot makes one powerful, his father wouldn't have been eaten by wild beasts in the mountains.

Nihou's real name is Lu Li. Because he is as thin as a monkey, he is called Nihou by the two.

The three are from Dashi Village, 20 miles away from Longxing Town. In addition to Lu Li, the fat man is named Chen Zhong, nicknamed Chen Pangzi, and the other thin boy is named Qin Shouren, nicknamed Beast.

The three are all 13 years old this year. They grew up together and have a good relationship. They can also stand on their own in Dashi Village, so this time, Chen Zhong and Qin Shouren's parents did not accompany them to awaken.

As for Lu Li, his mother died when he was born, and his father unfortunately died in a beast attack two years ago.

Since then, he has been thinking about cultivating immortals to strengthen his body, but fate makes him play tricks on him. After all, he does not have the qualifications of an immortal.

Behind the three, there is a nine-year-old child named Li Xiangyun, who is also from Dashi Village. This time, his parents did not come, but only entrusted Lu Li and the other two to take care of him.

It was June at this time, and the weather was hot and stuffy.

In a blink of an eye, the group came to a small river. Because Qin Shouren didn't want to go back to help with farm work, they discussed going down to the river to catch fish and go back after dark.

This river is called Tanshui River. Lu Li and the other two often come here to bathe. They are very familiar with the water conditions here. When they arrived at the river, they jumped in without taking off their clothes.

Although Li Xiangyun is young, he also loves to play in the water and is a good swimmer. Seeing this, he called out and followed.

"The water is deep here, Xiangyun, go down." Lu Li swam to the deep water while calling Li Xiangyun. Although the other party can swim, there is no guarantee that there will be no accidents. I am afraid that I will not be able to explain to Li Xiangyun's father.

"Oh." Li Xiangyun responded and swam obediently downstream to the shallow water.

"Haha, seven stars, I caught a seven-star!" At this moment, Qin Shouren suddenly emerged from the water, holding a yellow-brown seven-star perch in his hand, and shouted happily.

"I also touched one!" Chen Zhong's big head also emerged from the water, holding a loach in his hand.

"Watch me!"

Lu Li was not to be outdone, and also dived in and groped in the cracks of the rocks. Suddenly, Lu Li frowned, feeling that he had touched something that didn't look like a fish, it was numb and a little bit rough.

He was about to take it out to see what it was, but he used too much force and the sharp cracks in the rocks cut a cut on his hand, and blood flowed instantly. Lu Li felt pain and quickly let go of the thing and pulled his hand back.

But just when Lu Li was about to go ashore to bandage it, something strange happened...