C1 The Young Man and the Jar

Gold City Mountain, nestled in the northern reaches of Chu, was a land ringed by mountains and blanketed by dense forests that obscured the sky. Poisonous miasma would occasionally seep through, making the environment extremely unforgiving.

Despite this, a few villages were dotted throughout the area. In the past, the villagers lived a meager existence, subsisting solely on what the mountains and rivers provided.

Yet, about a decade ago, life in this region took a dramatic turn for the better.

Every family found prosperity. They constructed tiled houses and traveled in donkey-drawn carts, and the streets became tidier.

At this particular moment, inside the central ancestral hall of the village, rows of children were seated, each with a green herb in their mouth. These youngsters were roughly seven or eight years old.

At an age when liveliness is the norm, they now sat still, eyes tightly shut, cheeks puffing in and out as they concentrated on the herbs they were chewing.

Before long, children began to rise, one by one, coughing violently and spitting out the herbs, their faces contorted in agony. Eventually, only three remained.

A misty vapor started to rise from the foreheads of two of the children, while the one in the middle showed no such sign.

"I have to hold on. Once the effects of the spirit grass are fully absorbed, I'm sure I can awaken my Spirit Root just like Liu Ao and the others!" Ye Chen mentally cheered himself on. As the de facto leader of the village children, he watched his two friends begin to awaken their Spirit Roots and knew he couldn't fall behind.

At the head of the ancestral hall sat a middle-aged man in a brocade robe, elegantly embroidered with the likeness of small mountains, exuding opulence. In contrast, the village chief, clad in humble hemp, seemed to belong to an entirely different world.

The man in the brocade robe sipped his hot tea, his eyes sweeping over the children before him. "Impressive, particularly Liu Ao. His Spirit Root is unmistakable. Hsu Qi seems to be doing quite well too."

Upon hearing this, the village chief, unable to hide his smile, couldn't resist asking, "Do you think Ye Chen still has a chance?"

"Well, I have a fondness for Ye Chen. Before he awakened his Spirit Root, the pain he endured from swallowing those spirit herbs was something few could bear. Let's give it another two days; maybe a miracle will occur."

The village chief, with a beaming smile, rubbed his hands together and inquired, "Divine Immortal Zhang, if our village indeed has three children who awaken their Spirit Roots, might we receive additional supplies?"

"Hmph, let's not dwell on that. If Ye Chen succeeds in awakening, expanding the village territory by five kilometers will be no issue."

It was apparent that the man known as Divine Immortal Zhang was growing impatient.

"Alright, alright, alright..."

At that moment, Ye Chen, fighting through the severe pain wracking his body, managed to fully assimilate the medicinal power of the spirit herbs. Liu Ao and Hsu Qi also opened their eyes, looking quite at ease, without a hint of discomfort, which made Ye Chen quite envious.

"If I can awaken my Spirit Root and join the Void Returning Sect, I'll become a Cultivator like Divine Immortal Zhang. Then I can bring my parents over, and we'll surely live a much better life than we do now."

Holding onto this hope, Ye Chen took another Spiritual Herb from his pocket, ready to swallow it once more.

Upon witnessing Ye Chen's determination, Liu Ao scoffed, "Give it up, Mr. Ye. You're not destined for this path; why put yourself through such agony?"

Though Liu Ao called him 'big brother,' it was clear he no longer regarded Ye Chen with the same respect. Previously, Ye Chen was the leader among the village children, but now that Liu Ao had awakened his Spirit Root, he expected Ye Chen to be subservient to him.

"Liu Ao, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll give you a thrashing!"

Hsu Qi, upon hearing this, clenched his fists, ready to act.

"Liu Ao, Mr. Ye might only have the village to stay in, but we're off to the Void Returning Sect. Remember to look out for him in the future."

At this, Hsu Qi was about to charge at Liu Ao with a punch, but Ye Chen grabbed him and pulled him out of the ancestral hall.

Still, Hsu Qi was seething inside. "Mr. Ye, he's always spewing rubbish. If you hadn't held me back, I would've definitely ripped his mouth to shreds!"

"Hey, they weren't wrong," Ye Chen said, turning to face a bewildered Hsu Qi. "If I truly can't awaken my Spirit Root, you two will need to take care of each other once you join the Void Returning Sect."

"Of course, there's still a chance I might succeed. Hahaha, nobody can really know for sure."

Upon hearing this, Hsu Qi cracked a smile and responded, "Mr. Ye, if we're to take care of each other, it should be you and me. I have faith that you'll make it."

"Alright!"

Hsu Qi had to go back to inform his family, so he left shortly after without further conversation.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen made his way to the small river on the outskirts of the village. With no one around to disturb him, he squatted down to wash up a bit before continuing to pop Spiritual Grass into his mouth.

This herb possessed a faint spiritual essence, perfect for stimulating the Spirit Root within a human's body.

For someone with a Spirit Root, simply chewing the herb a few times would naturally activate it, causing it to emerge from the top of the head as a mist.

Without a Spirit Root, an ordinary person would experience excruciating pain, akin to being scorched by fire, which is why no one else would subject themselves to such agony as Ye Chen had, trying over and over again in solitude.

"Just a bit more, if I can just endure it, maybe I can join Liu Ao and the others at the Void Returning Sect."

A look of resolve spread across Ye Chen's youthful face. Growing up in a mountain village, he had matured faster than his peers from the outside world.

Time moved on, and dusk fell, but despair had taken hold of Ye Chen's features. He had used up all nine Spiritual Grasses, yet that nagging sense of being so close yet so far remained unchanged.

Liu Ao's taunts echoed in his ears as Ye Chen began to resign himself to his fate. The Spiritual Grass was highly valued in the village.

They were only brought by Immortal Zhang when he came searching for spirit children. The ten that Hsu Qi had given Ye Chen were leftovers since he had already awakened his Spirit Root and no longer needed them. Generously, he had passed them on.

Despite this, Ye Chen's efforts had yet to bear fruit.

"Sigh, it seems it's just not meant to be. But really, there's nothing wrong with staying in the village. Living a peaceful life can be quite nice."

While speaking, Ye Chen tossed the last spirit herb into the small river and sat down to console himself for a moment. After gathering his composure, he stood up, ready to head home, determined not to carry his gloominess back with him.

As he walked, a spirit herb drifted past him. Initially, he thought nothing of it, but then a second one followed.

That's odd. I only threw in one, didn't I?

As Ye Chen puzzled over this, a third spirit herb floated by nonchalantly. This time, Ye Chen couldn't stay calm; he instinctively looked upstream.

To his astonishment, the spirit herbs were almost forming a line. He quickly made his way against the current, gathering the herbs as he went. In total, there were more than a dozen.

Eventually, Ye Chen found the source of the spirit herbs: a broken jar deep in the river. It was evident that it had been buried under mud and sand for a long time, perhaps only recently unearthed by the flowing water.

Struggling to contain his excitement, Ye Chen examined the jar and discovered it contained 45 spirit herbs!

Ye Chen was flabbergasted. Though he couldn't fathom why, one thing seemed certain: there was hope for his Spirit Root to awaken.

He emptied the jar of mud, sand, and spirit herbs, cleaning it out. It seemed to be just an ordinary jar with nothing out of the ordinary.

But something didn't sit right with Ye Chen as he thought back on the events that had unfolded since he threw the herb into the river. Deciding to test his hunch, he placed a spirit herb inside the jar, and what happened next was nothing short of miraculous.

The jar emitted a burst of purple light, and the single spirit herb at the bottom duplicated, becoming two. Then two became four, four became eight, and before long, he had a jar brimming with forty to fifty spirit herbs.

Ye Chen was astounded. To confirm his suspicion, he tossed a stone into the jar, and the same phenomenon occurred—a jar full of stones materialized before him.

This unassuming jar had the incredible ability to replicate whatever was placed inside!