The staircase wasn't long; a few steps brought them to the end.
Above was a more spacious hall with dark wooden floors and bright, clean windows.
A faint scent of sandalwood wafted through the air.
Light filtered through several latticed, carved wooden windows, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
In the center of the hall, a middle-aged man dressed in a black robe sat cross-legged on a deep blue prayer mat.
His eyes were slightly closed, and wisps of extremely faint white mist flowed in and out of his nose and mouth with every breath
.
This person was none other than Xue Sheng.
Jiang Xun stopped at the top of the stairs and went no further. He stood respectfully with his hands at his sides, eyes lowered, waiting quietly.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the white mist around Xue Sheng's nose and mouth slowly receded, and the invisible aura surrounding him settled.
He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze landing directly on Jiang Xun.
That gaze wasn't sharp; instead, it held a hint of appreciation.
Jiang Xun felt a slight chill in his heart. He adjusted his muscles, breathing, and even his heartbeat to their most normal state.
Like an ordinary Mortal who was reverent, nervous, and a bit bewildered.
Sometimes Jiang Xun wondered if he had some sort of histrionic personality.
He took two steps forward, stopping about ten feet away from Xue Sheng. He bowed deeply and cupped his hands.
His voice was respectful yet clear: "This lowly Jiang Xun greets Immortal Master Xue. I do not know why the Immortal Master has summoned me. Whatever your orders, I shall do my utmost."
His posture was impeccable.
Xue Sheng said nothing. He simply stood up slowly and paced to a red sandalwood desk by the window before sitting down.
He gestured toward a nearby stool. "Sit."
Jiang Xun didn't dare to actually sit. He merely moved half a step to stand by the stool, his waist still slightly bowed.
"This lowly one is fine standing while replying."
Xue Sheng didn't insist. He picked up a cup of tea that had long since gone cold from the desk. He didn't drink it, but instead used the lid to gently brush aside the floating leaves, his gaze scrutinizing Jiang Xun.
"In these past two days, has anyone mentioned the 'Ascension Assembly' to you?"
Jiang Xun's heart tightened.
Why this again?
Sang Linger mentioned it, and now Xue Sheng is asking too?
Is this Ascension Assembly some kind of special plot point that can't be avoided?
A look of recollection appeared on his Face at the right moment, and he nodded.
"Replying to the Immortal Master, Miss Sang... did indeed mention it once. She said that in a year's time, the Xuanxiao Immortal Sect would open its mountain gates to recruit many Disciples."
"Oh?" Xue Sheng put down his teacup, his tone unreadable.
"And how did you respond?"
Jiang Xun showed a well-timed wry smile, his voice tinged with self-deprecation and resignation.
"I... I told Miss Sang that I only want to take care of my younger sister and live out this life peacefully. I dare not dream of the Immortal path."
Hearing this, Xue Sheng suddenly laughed.
"Do you know what an Immortal is?" he asked, his tone like a teacher testing a young pupil, with a hint of condescending guidance.
He likely thought Jiang Xun's refusal was because he didn't understand what "cultivating immortality" meant at all.
That made sense.
To the Immortal Sect, the commoners under their rule were essentially just resources.
They didn't need to have thoughts; they only needed to know how to obey.
How could there be any formal education or enlightenment?
It was normal not to know about cultivation.
Jiang Xun understood perfectly, but he put on a simple-minded look of deep thought and hesitated.
"An Immortal... is someone like you, Immortal Master... a great figure revered and worshipped by us Mortals?"
Xue Sheng shook his head, seemingly finding the understanding too shallow, but he didn't bother to explain.
Instead, he spoke in a near-seductive tone, "Then do you know that as long as you participate in this Ascension Assembly and pass the selection, you could become one of the Immortals?"
"Like me, possessing power and status, transcending the mundane, and enjoying a long life?"
He stared at Jiang Xun, wanting to see longing, struggle, or even a tiny bit of ambition on the young man's Face.
Jiang Xun shook his head even more resolutely, a trace of resistance even appearing on his Face.
"Immortal Master... I wouldn't dare. I've heard that in the place where Immortals live, a day in heaven is a year on earth."
"If I go and Cultivate for a few years, by the time I return, my sister... she might... no longer be here."
He spoke with sincere emotion, carrying the simplest fears of a commoner regarding the passage of time and the loss of loved ones. His voice even trembled slightly.
"She is the only family I have left. I don't want... to never see her again."
Jiang Xun carefully weighed every word. He had to appear ignorant and narrow-minded, yet also reasonable.
He couldn't let the other party sense his true thoughts of keeping a respectful distance from the Xuanxiao Immortal Sect.
Go to the Xuanxiao Sect for the Ascension Assembly?
What was that if not walking straight into a trap?
Wouldn't it be better to quietly grow stronger and then find some idle, minor Sect far from this trouble to hide in?
As Xue Sheng listened to him, the smile on his Face gradually faded, and a complex emotion flickered in his eyes.
Looking at Jiang Xun's Face, filled with petty concerns and attachment to family, he somehow thought of himself from many, many years ago.
Back then, he was still young, with parents, a wife, and children, managing a decent family estate.
When he was tested and found to have a Spiritual Root, he was ecstatic. He abandoned everything without hesitation and went up the mountain to join the Sect.
By the time he reached a Minor Achievement in his cultivation and returned home full of joy to see his family... all he saw were a few lonely graves overgrown with weeds.
A great famine had occurred, and his entire family hadn't survived.
Time was never equal for Cultivators and Mortals.
He looked at Jiang Xun, fell silent for a moment, and then suddenly sighed, his tone carrying a rare hint of genuine emotion.
"In the Face of the temptation to ascend to the heavens in a single step, you remain unmoved due to family ties... Kid, your resolve is quite firm."
This evaluation made Jiang Xun's heart skip a beat.
This wasn't the kind of praise he wanted; it was too easy to attract attention.
Xue Sheng said no more. He reached under the desk, took out an object, and handed it over.
It was a fist-sized crystal ball, completely translucent, with what looked like swirling mist inside.
"Hold this," Xue Sheng said.
Jiang Xun did as told and took it with both hands.
The crystal ball felt slightly cool and smooth to the touch.
The moment his fingers gripped the crystal ball—
A chaotic burst of light suddenly erupted from inside the originally transparent crystal ball!
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple... light of every color darted around like a school of startled fish, weaving and colliding randomly within the sphere. The entire crystal ball was filled with a bizarre glow before finally settling into a chaotic, messy grayish-white tone.
The light lasted for about three breaths before gradually fading. The crystal ball returned to transparency, though a lingering murkiness seemed to remain inside.
Xue Sheng had been staring intently at the crystal ball. Now, his brow furrowed slightly. "...It's a Mixed Spiritual Root."
Jiang Xun's heart actually sank a bit.
A Mixed Spiritual Root... the lowest and most disdained Aptitude in the cultivation world. It meant extremely low affinity for Spiritual Qi, terrible absorption and refinement efficiency, and getting half the result with twice the effort. Without a massive Opportunity, one would never achieve anything in their lifetime.
But on the surface, he appropriately showed bewilderment and caution.
"Immortal Master, what... what does this mean? That light just now..."
Xue Sheng glanced at him and explained plainly.
"This object is a Magic Treasure for testing Spiritual Root Aptitude. That light just now means you possess a Spiritual Root and have the qualification to step onto the path of cultivation."
"Really?!"
A huge, pure surprise instantly erupted on Jiang Xun's Face. His eyes lit up as if a beggar had suddenly heard he inherited a vast fortune.
Even though he had known all along that he possessed a Spiritual Root.
But Xue Sheng's subsequent silence and the lingering hesitation between his brows caused Jiang Xun's surprise to freeze at just the right moment.
It then turned into apprehension.
Xue Sheng was indeed in a difficult position.
An external deacon had an important power and responsibility: "recommendation."
If they discovered a prospect with a Spiritual Root in their jurisdiction, they could recommend them to the Sect.
This not only replenished the Sect with fresh blood, but the deacon themselves could also receive corresponding Sect contribution rewards based on the recommendee's Aptitude.
Initially, Xue Sheng was very proactive.
But with the Xuanxiao Immortal Sect's population numbering in the tens of millions, the number of prospects discovered each year whose Aptitude met the Sect's admission standards was few and far between.
And Yunshan Town, which he governed, hadn't produced a single Disciple worth recommending in fifty years.
Over time, Xue Sheng himself had lost heart and basically stopped hoping for it.
Until last night, when Sang Linger visited him personally, requesting his help to recommend a Mortal to participate in the Ascension Assembly.
That Mortal was Jiang Xun.
At the time, Xue Sheng was both surprised and delighted.
Surprised that someone of Sang Linger's status would speak up for a Mortal.
Delighted because if he could pull this off, he might even use the Opportunity to be transferred back to the Sect's heartland, where Spiritual Qi was denser and opportunities more plentiful, instead of wasting away his years in this Qi-barren small town.
He had agreed readily.
But Sang Linger had forgotten, or rather, she didn't realize at all that not everyone was qualified to participate in the Ascension Assembly!
She had grown up in the Sect, surrounded by either Prodigies or elites. Even the servants who served tea probably had average Spiritual Roots.
In her eyes, "having a Spiritual Root" was almost a default assumption.
Jiang Xun did indeed have a Spiritual Root.
But... it was a Mixed Spiritual Root.
With this Aptitude, let alone passing the selection of the Ascension Assembly, he wouldn't even make it through the most basic first round of screening after signing up!
Recommending someone with a Mixed Spiritual Root for the Ascension Assembly?
If word got out, Xue Sheng feared he would become a laughingstock among all the external deacons of the Xuanxiao Sect!
For a moment, Xue Sheng found himself in a difficult position.
Jiang Xun saw Xue Sheng's hesitation clearly. Instead of being disappointed, he was ecstatic!
A Mixed Spiritual Root?
Perfect! Wasn't this the perfect, reasonable excuse to "refuse to participate in the Ascension Assembly"?
As for the difficulty of cultivating with a Mixed Spiritual Root?
What did he have to fear! He had the System, the gains from the Blood Prison Nether Spider's nest as a foundation, and countless pieces of knowledge and experience from his past life's game.
Even in the worst-case scenario, starting as Trash, if he took the right path and had enough opportunities, it wasn't necessarily impossible for a Mixed Spiritual Root to reach the Golden Core or even peek into higher Realms!
He suppressed the smile that was nearly overflowing from his heart and put on a cautious, slightly uneasy look of inquiry.
"Immortal Master... is there some... difficulty?"
Xue Sheng was currently frustrated. Hearing this, he waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing."
His gaze inadvertently drifted out the window, where he happened to see a thin, small figure hiding behind an old locust tree at the street corner across from the Deacons Office, peeking this way with a Face full of worry.
He remembered the town mayor mentioning that Jiang Xun had a younger sister at home.
A thought suddenly occurred to Xue Sheng.
He pointed at the figure outside. His tone returned to its previous flatness, but it carried an undetectable hint of testing. "That is...?"
Jiang Xun looked where he was pointing and thought, "Oh no," but immediately replied.
"Replying to the Immortal Master, that is my younger sister, Jiang Wanxing."
"She is young and doesn't know better. She must have followed because she was worried about me. I'll tell her to go back right now!"
He was about to turn and head downstairs.
"No need," Xue Sheng spoke to stop him, a very faint, almost kindly smile appearing on his Face.
"Since you share such deep sibling affection, it wouldn't be right to leave her waiting outside. Please, invite her up to sit for a while."
His mind was racing.
Since the brother has a Spiritual Root, is it possible the sister does too?
It wasn't uncommon for siblings to have related Spiritual Root Aptitudes.
As long as Jiang Wanxing's Spiritual Root Aptitude wasn't too poor, even if it was just a low-grade Spiritual Root, he could find a way to make it work.
He could say the sister's talent was acceptable, and although the brother's Aptitude was poor, his resolve was firm; since they couldn't bear to be parted, he would request to recommend them both, and so on.
This way, he could fulfill Sang Linger's request and have a plausible reason, preventing himself from losing too much Face.
However, he didn't know that Jiang Wanxing and Jiang Xun weren't biological siblings.
Soon, Jiang Wanxing was brought up by that expressionless servant.
She was clearly terrified, her small Face pale and her fingers tightly clutching the hem of her faded clothes. As soon as she came upstairs, she rushed behind Jiang Xun, only daring to show half her Face as she timidly looked at Xue Sheng sitting behind the desk.
"Wanxing, don't be afraid." Jiang Xun turned slightly and gently patted his sister's thin shoulder, whispering, "This is Immortal Master Xue. Greet him."
Hearing this, Jiang Wanxing's legs went weak, and she was about to kneel and kowtow.
Xue Sheng raised his hand slightly, and a gentle force supported her, preventing her from kneeling. His voice also softened.
"No need for such formalities. Little girl, come here."
He beckoned to Jiang Wanxing. The crystal ball was placed right in front of her.
"Don't be afraid, come and touch it with your hand."
Jiang Xun's heart, at this moment, suddenly tightened.
He watched as his sister looked at him in bewilderment and fear, his hand hidden behind his back quietly clenching into a fist.