Chapter 1: Immortal Root World
The Nine Provinces World, Wuzhou City.
It was an early spring morning when swallows skimmed their scissor-like tails across a lake surface green as a gemstone, sending out ripples. All things were awakening; tender grass pushed up new shoots. The newly risen sun shone upon a single dewdrop at the tip of a blade of grass, refracting a hazy glow of seven colors.
Ding Hao stood by the latticed window, gazing at the spring scenery outside, then lowered his head to look at the coarse hemp robe he was wearing. At last, he confirmed one thing.
"Holy crap, I've actually transmigrated!"
In his previous life, he had lived in a place on Earth called Xingxiu Sea in Huaxia. He had no proper occupation and no useful skills; his only hobby was practicing martial arts. But he didn't practice other people's martial arts—he only loved cultivating his family's own Star-Absorbing Art.
That's right, he was the forty-second generation descendant of Ding Chunqiu, the Old Fiend of Power-Dissolving.
Ding Chunqiu had refined the Power-Dissolving Art into the Star-Absorbing Art. But unfortunately, Earth was a world of science and technology—forget spiritual energy and immortal qi, barely anyone even possessed internal martial force. The pitiful Ding Hao had mastered the Star-Absorbing Art, yet there were no stars for him to absorb.
Strangest of all, it happened on the Nth time he was fiddling with a black stone left behind by Ding Chunqiu—he inexplicably transmigrated.
Most people would panic at such a thing, but Ding Hao felt surprisingly calm. He picked up the bronze mirror on the table and looked at himself, finding it strange even to himself. "Also named Ding Hao, and his face is seven or eight parts similar to mine... Could it be that I lived on Earth for more than twenty years just waiting to transmigrate over?"
Without much difficulty, Ding Hao quickly digested all the memories of this fifteen-year-old youth and gained a general understanding of this unfamiliar world.
"This... is actually a small world composed of the descendants of immortals!"
The Nine Provinces World, also called the Nine Provinces Lesser World, was a lower plane made up of the descendants of immortals. In other words, every person in this world possessed immortal bloodline! They all had immortal roots! They could all cultivate immortality!
"Amazing—everyone has immortal roots! Never mind the martial cultivators, spell cultivators, spirit cultivators, and ghost cultivators—even the tailors and shoemakers, even the farmers tilling the fields, all of them have immortal roots!"
This discovery overturned Ding Hao's memory-based impression of immortals.
The immortal root inheritance of the Nine Provinces Lesser World spanned a million years, and the entire immortal root system was extremely complex. You could say that of the three hundred and sixty trades, every trade had its immortal roots—all kinds of immortal roots, numbering in the thousands!
Of course, not everyone with an immortal root went on to cultivate immortality. For example, someone with an Iron Hammer immortal root would simply find smithing work twice as effective with half the effort and eventually become a master at the blacksmith's shop. Someone with a Kitchen Knife immortal root, pursuing the culinary arts, was bound to make a name for himself.
"So that's how it is. An immortal root is essentially just exceptional aptitude in some particular area! Only those who possess powerful and special combat-type or spell-type immortal roots can eventually become immortal masters and enter sects in the Immortal Refining Great World!"
Discovering that immortal roots in this world were as common as dogs, Ding Hao couldn't help but laugh. "Farming peasants are also immortal descendants with immortal roots—immortal roots really aren't worth anything, are they!"
But when Ding Hao examined his own situation, he suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.
"What? Having an immortal root still requires an awakening!"
Awakening was a crucial matter. Everyone had immortal roots, and most people could awaken them. But... there were some who could not awaken. That is to say, the Nine Provinces Lesser World also had mortals!
In any other world, a mortal could take up some lowly trade and live out an ordinary life. But this world was different. Mining and smithing were all taken by those with Hammer immortal roots; farming and tilling were all done by those with Hoe immortal roots; sewing and mending had been snatched away by those with Scissors immortal roots.
What could a mortal possibly do?
In this world, a mortal was a waste—a true waste! They could only survive by begging!
Most critically, Ding Hao had reached the age of fifteen without awakening.
"Some people begin awakening their immortal roots as early as six or seven, with the largest number awakening at eight! Then the numbers decline—at twelve or thirteen, it gets rarer and rarer; after fourteen, rarer still. By fifteen without awakening, you might as well prepare your begging bowl. After sixteen, upon reaching adulthood, all hope is gone forever—the immortal aperture seals shut, the meridians harden, and there will never be another chance to awaken!"
"Heavens! How could I transmigrate into a body like this!"
Ding Hao was stunned, nearly toppling to the floor in a faint. "Can't I just transmigrate back?"
A sealed immortal aperture and blocked meridians meant a cripple! A waste! Trash!
In short, a total washout!
At that very moment, the door creaked open, and in walked a middle-aged man with a mustache styled in two horizontal strokes. Though he wore the clothes of a household servant, his face wore an arrogant, overbearing expression.
This was the Ding family's vicious steward, Ding Laosi!
Ding Hao vaguely recalled that the original Ding Hao had once asked Ding Laosi to go find some texts about immortal root awakening.
Sure enough, Ding Laosi held a book in his hand. Upon entering, he slapped it down on the table and said viciously, "This book cost ten taels of silver! Where would your Ding household get any money? All of this came out of my own pocket. Being steward of your Ding family, I must have suffered eight lifetimes of terrible luck! No salary to speak of, and I keep losing money on top of it!"
What surfaced in Ding Hao's mind were images of all the ways this Ding Laosi had tormented, mocked, and taunted the boy over the years. Suppressing the anger rising in his heart, he snorted coldly. "You've worked hard, Steward. If you truly object, no one will force you. Put down every key to the Ding household right now, take your wife and son, and get out of the Ding family!"
"You—!" Ding Laosi froze at first, never expecting that the timid, submissive Ding Hao of the past would seem like a completely different person today.
He gave Ding Hao a look and saw that it was still that all-too-familiar youth—no extra heads or arms had sprouted. So he sneered, "Oh my, the little waste has gotten a sharp tongue! If you're so capable, why don't you go find the awakening books yourself! Fifteen years old and your immortal root still hasn't awakened—my eldest son Ding Junjie awakened at eleven. Have you no shame? I advise you to save your energy. This Ding family's immortal seed status will sooner or later be taken over by my son Ding Junjie!"
"What? Seed usurpation!" Flames shot from Ding Hao's eyes.
By the rules of the Nine Provinces World, if someone in a family was an immortal master of the upper realm, the blessing extended for five generations, with the eldest son or grandson of each generation inheriting the immortal seed status by hereditary succession! They enjoyed all kinds of privileges! If the eldest son failed to awaken, the status passed to the second son, and so on. If no descendant of the Ding family could inherit it, a promising candidate could be selected from among household relatives and adopted in to usurp the seed!
Immortal seed status was a privilege granted by the Emperor and the City Lord to the descendants of all immortal cultivation powerhouses. Not only could they receive fifty taels of silver from the state and three pills from the City Lord's residence each month, they also received priority recommendation to enter the Nine Provinces Academy to cultivate foundational techniques—all in preparation for entering the Immortal Refining World!
By Ding Hao's generation, the Ding family had only him, this single sprout! If he failed to awaken, then the steward Ding Laosi's son would naturally be adopted into the Ding family's main line, become the head of the Ding household, and receive the immortal seed status!
That was seed usurpation!
"No! I will absolutely not allow that to happen! Never!"
"Not allowing it won't change anything. A trash fool like you—how could you possibly awaken?" Ding Laosi said with contempt.
The present Ding Hao was no longer that cowardly youth. Having come from Earth, he knew there was no need to be polite to a lackey dog like this. He slapped the table and rose, roaring, "Ding Laosi, watch your mouth! Though I haven't yet awakened my immortal root, the immortal seed status is mine until I turn sixteen! I don't even have to kneel and kowtow when meeting the City Lord! What the hell are you? A mere servant of the Ding family, a clay chicken and pottery dog! If you've got the guts, come with me to the City Lord's residence right now and repeat what you just said!"
"You—!" Ding Laosi, having been shouted down, flew into a rage and rushed over, raising his hand to strike Ding Hao.
You should know, Ding Laosi had also awakened an immortal root—albeit the unflattering Rank Nine Rat immortal root. Still, beating down a youngster like Ding Hao would be child's play for him.
Ding Hao knew he couldn't beat him, so he simply stood there without moving and said, "Then go ahead and hit me! After you do, I will definitely report you to the City Lord's residence. If I never awaken, it will be thanks to this slap of yours. When the City Lord's residence comes to punish the crime, you, Ding Laosi, may well lose your life!"
"Blast it!" At those words, Ding Laosi could no longer bring the slap down.
Injuring an immortal seed and causing him to fail his awakening—that was no ordinary offense! He, Ding Laosi, could not bear it!
"Little waste, you have half a year left! When the time comes and you still haven't awakened your immortal root, let's see what you have to say!" With that, Ding Laosi stormed out, slamming the door. Once outside Ding Hao's room, he suddenly thought to himself: why was he even getting worked up over this little waste? The boy had only half a year left—how could he possibly awaken?
With that thought, he laughed heartily, then turned back and spat viciously, "Little waste, let's see who gets thrown out of the Ding family then! Let me tell you plainly—your begging bowl is already prepared for you! Little beggar!"
...
Ding Laosi was gone. Ding Hao let out a breath. After more than a decade of bottled-up frustration, he had finally vented today!
But once that breath was out, Ding Hao clearly understood that the current situation was dire!
"Half a year left. If I can't awaken my immortal root, the immortal seed status will sooner or later be handed over to someone else!"
With that thought, Ding Hao began flipping through the text Ding Laosi had just delivered.
"Ten Methods of Immortal Root Awakening—this is exactly what I need."
Only upon reading did Ding Hao feel his horizons broaden. The methods of immortal root awakening were truly varied. Some people woke up from sleep and suddenly felt their aperture open, awakening their immortal root. Others, in the middle of a dream, were startled awake and their immortal aperture burst open, their root awakening. There were even those who, while walking along normally, suddenly tripped and fell—and from then on, their immortal root awakened.
Of course, these were all rather abnormal methods of awakening.
In truth, the most common—and most normal—methods were two: the first was called Stillness Entry, the second Visualization. Of course, the two could also be combined: Stillness Entry plus Visualization.
Stillness Entry, also called Meditative Stilling, meant sitting cross-legged in meditation, quieting one's thoughts, concentrating the mind, and reaching a certain state! As the book put it: "Alone in a quiet room, dismiss all attendants, clarify the spirit and calm the mind, without selfish desire or worldly pursuit." Ultimately one attained the highest realm of "nothing in the heart, not a single thought stirring."
The higher the quality of Stillness Entry, the easier it was to open the immortal aperture and awaken the immortal root!
Stillness Entry was generally divided into three grades: high, middle, and low. There was also something called Perfect Stillness Entry, which very few ever achieved.
It was said that achieving Perfect Stillness Entry, even for just one second, made instantaneous awakening possible!
The other method was Visualization. For example, someone who saw a flying dragon pass by in the daytime might awaken the Sky-Roaming Flying Dragon immortal root that night. Someone who labored in the fields all day would awaken the Rice Grain immortal root.
In short, immortal roots had nine ranks, and which rank awakened was closely tied to what one visualized. Thus many people carried portraits of mighty forebears and sages on their persons, or paintings of famous swords and fierce beasts, hoping to awaken a higher-grade immortal root.
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