Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 61 Spirit Seed
"Tomorrow we'll take an oxcart to town and buy a horse-drawn carriage."

Shen Yuan looked at his eldest son, Shen Wenxing, and said, "You are now an official, so you can't just ride in an oxcart all day long. That's not proper."

"Mom, find Wenping and Wen'an a couple of decent outfits tonight."

Hu Yufen nodded in agreement.

"Father, I...I won't go."

Just then, Shen Wenyan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

"On that day, in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, His Majesty issued an edict, and I was confined to my home for ten years."

"If I leave this time, I'm afraid it will implicate my elder brother and you all."

Grounded!?
His words stunned Shen Yuan and the others.

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Hu Yufen asked anxiously.

She clearly couldn't believe that the Emperor Yu had issued such an edict.

Shen Wenyan smiled sadly: "I never intended to leave home."

"As long as Master is still here, I will not go anywhere."

Shen Yuan didn't know if he was telling the truth or not, and sighed slightly, "In that case, let Wen'an and Wenping go."

The second son doesn't even have a ninth-grade bloodline, so he probably wouldn't possess the spiritual roots for cultivating immortality.

The next morning, Shen Yuan drove an oxcart with his three children to Yunshui Town. After buying a horse-drawn carriage, he temporarily left the oxcart at Huang Qingzhou's martial arts school and headed straight for Anyang County.

Tomorrow is the day when the Ascension Pavilion opens its doors to recruit disciples. As an steward of the Ascension Pavilion, Shen Wenxing must arrive in Anyang County before tomorrow.

Inside the carriage, Shen Wenxing looked at his younger siblings and silently prayed.

"Big brother, is it fun to become a disciple of an immortal?"

Shen Wenping suddenly tilted her head and asked.

Fun?

Shen Wenxing smiled helplessly, unsure how to answer.

a long time--

"Becoming a disciple of an immortal allows one to cultivate immortal techniques and become a very powerful immortal."

Shen Wenping looked at Shen Wen'an, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, with a look of understanding but not quite: "Is cultivating immortal techniques really this boring?"

She and Shen Wen'an are twin siblings, but their personalities are completely different.

Shen Wenping is clever and active, the kind of quirky little girl.

Shen Wen'an, on the other hand, was introverted from a young age and seemed to have no interest in anything except martial arts.

Shen Wenping has always felt that her younger brother has something wrong with his mind.

"It should be... even more difficult than this," Shen Wenxing said uncertainly.

My father once said that effort and reward are consistent. Immortals are powerful, and if you want to become an immortal, you'll probably have to work even harder.

"Ah!?" Upon hearing this, Shen Wenping's face changed slightly, and she shook her head, saying, "Then I don't want to cultivate immortality..."

"Big brother, please tell Father to leave me at Sister Lingxiu's house. I'll wait for you to come back."

Seeing the pleading look on her face, Shen Wenxing reached out and pinched her cheek, saying, "It's just a test. The immortal hasn't said he'd take you in yet."

The little girl felt a little relieved after hearing this.

Upon seeing this, Shen Wenxing couldn't help but shake his head.

Of his four siblings, Zhong Liqing had already determined that he lacked the aptitude for cultivating immortality.

Anu is confined to her quarters by imperial decree and cannot go to the county town. The third son, Shen Wenping, is somewhat resistant to cultivating immortality. Now, the only one with the greatest hope is the youngest son, Shen Wen'an.

but……

Looking at his younger brother, who sat as still as an old monk, Shen Wenxing felt a little worried.

Is my younger brother really suited to cultivating immortality?
The carriage moved slowly and arrived in Anyang County near dusk.

The father and his three sons first went to the county magistrate's office to visit Huang Yunxiao.

Then, under Huang Yunxiao's arrangement, they arrived at the newly built Ascension Pavilion in the city.

The entire Ascension Pavilion is three stories high and is very grand in construction.

As a crucial place for immortals to select disciples, the Ascension Pavilion is guarded by four heavily armed soldiers on each side of its main gate.

As soon as Shen Wenxing arrived, two soldiers stopped him.

"I am the newly appointed steward of the Ascension Pavilion, and this is my official seal."

Shen Wenxing took out the seal representing his identity. The two soldiers took it, glanced at it, and then respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Steward Shen."

"We are ordered to guard the Shengxian Pavilion in Anyang County. From now on, we will be at the disposal of Steward Shen!"

Shen Wenxing nodded slightly and looked up at the plaque of the Ascension Pavilion.

"How many of us are there?"

The soldier cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the steward, Anyang Shengxian Pavilion has a total of twenty guards, all of whom are post-natal martial artists."

"In addition, there are two clerks, two granary officials, and several servants."

"Should I summon them all now?"

Shen Wenxing hesitated for a moment and then nodded: "Bring them all over." The pavilion opens tomorrow, and some things need to be arranged in advance to avoid any trouble later.

After receiving the order, the soldiers quickly ran into the pavilion and gathered everyone together.

"Gongyanghe, Left Clerk of Shengxian Pavilion in Anyang County, pays his respects to the official."

"Fang Qing, Right Clerk of Shengxian Pavilion in Anyang County, pays his respects to the official."

After everyone arrived, two middle-aged men, one tall and one short, immediately came forward and spoke.

The duties of the clerks were similar to those of secretaries, and they were responsible for assisting Shen Wenxing in handling matters related to the Shengxian Pavilion.

Shen Wenxing glanced at the two of them and nodded slightly, saying, "Have either of you seen an immortal?"

The two quickly cupped their hands in greeting: "The immortal just left a few days ago and gave us some instructions."

Hearing this, Shen Wenxing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Since the immortal had given instructions, he was truly afraid of being completely clueless and jeopardizing important matters.

"Well then, I'll trouble you two to show me around the Ascension Pavilion later."

After saying this, he gave a brief explanation, telling everyone to do their best and act in accordance with the rules in the future.

After the grand and eloquent words were spoken, the crowd dispersed, each returning to their respective duties.

He then followed Gongyanghe and Fang Qing into the pavilion.

"Please look, Deacon, this is the immortal array for testing spiritual roots."

On the first floor of the Ascension Pavilion, a piece of bluestone about ten feet in diameter, engraved with mysterious and strange runes, is embedded in the ground.

Behind the bluestone slab are two transparent crystal stones.

"This is the immortal array for testing spiritual roots?"

"How to do it?"

Shen Wenxing approached curiously.

The tall and slender Gongyang He quickly stepped forward and said, "The immortal said that all we need to do is have the person being tested stand in it, and we will count the colors on the crystal."

"If the second crystal lights up, it means that the tester has spiritual roots."

"If only the first crystal lights up, and the colors are mixed and varied, it means that there is no aptitude for cultivation at all."

Shen Wenxing nodded. This was quite simple.

He had thought that testing spiritual roots would be very troublesome.

"Your Excellency is young and promising; would you like to give him a try?"

Fang Qing, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke up with a smile, and Gongyang He also looked over with anticipation.

"I?"

Shen Wenxing smiled and shook his head: "The immortal personally examined it for me, so there's no need for testing."

Both of them were somewhat surprised after hearing this.

There have been rumors that this young deacon of Anyang County has a relationship with the immortal, and now it seems that it is indeed true!
"Is there anything else that the Ascension Pavilion needs to do?" Shen Wenxing asked again.

Gongyanghe suppressed his surprise and respectfully gestured, "This way, Deacon."

The three of them passed through the Ascension Pavilion and entered a stone chamber built from a giant rock in the backyard.

"The immortal said that in addition to recruiting disciples, the Ascension Pavilion is also responsible for cultivating spiritual seeds."

"These spiritual seeds include various medicinal herbs and fruit trees. Common people can pay to buy them and plant them in their own fields. If they can be harvested, the Ascension Pavilion can buy them back at a high price."

Oh?
Shen Wenxing was somewhat surprised after hearing this.

Are these spirit seeds difficult to cultivate?

Gongyanghe nodded: "Although the immortals did not say it explicitly, I overheard the two immortals talking privately, saying that the Yangnao land is barren and that ninety percent of the land is probably not suitable for growing these spiritual seeds."

"Moreover, these spirit seeds are expensive. A single spirit tree seed costs at least three taels of silver, and ordinary people probably wouldn't dare to try it easily."

"Those medicinal herb seeds are a bit cheaper, but the immortal also said that medicinal herbs need time to mature. Most of them take at least ten years, and sometimes several decades, to be harvested. I'm afraid no one would be willing to plant them."

Shen Wenxing nodded.

"Any more?"

Gongyanghe frowned in thought, while Fang Qing added, "There's one more thing. The immortal instructed that the Ascension Pavilion also needs to purchase some old medicinal herbs from the mountains on a regular basis, at a price that is 10% higher than the market price."

“Right, right! I almost forgot about that,” Gongyanghe chimed in.

"Is there anything else besides these?"

Shen Wenxing wrote this down in detail.

"That's all for now," Gongyanghe said, bowing.

"Alright, while we still have time, I'd like to trouble Brother Gongyang to take some people to visit the pharmacies in the city. Since we want to buy medicine, we need to know the prices of these medicinal materials."

"Brother Fang, please double-check the matters in the pavilion to ensure there will be no problems when the pavilion opens tomorrow."

Having spent two years in the military, coupled with his naturally calm personality, Shen Wenxing immediately made arrangements.

The two quickly cupped their hands in greeting: "Well... please take a look, Steward. We'll go and get back to work."

Shen Wenxing nodded and watched the two leave. His gaze fell on the stone chamber where the spirit seeds were stored, and an idea popped into his mind.

(End of this chapter)