Chapter 24: Testing the Spiritual Root

On the side of the willow forest road, a girl in a colorful costume stood and stood, and a mist floated under the red satin crepe skirt. Her face was pale, she bit her lip lightly, her clenched fists trembled slightly, and her angry eyes glistened in the shade of the willows.

"Princess. The maid beside her, Yin Chan, said hatefully, "That Zining charmed the lady not to say, but dared to seduce the prince of Tanglin, and in a few days, I am afraid that the entire palace will be stirred up by her." The princess must not be allowed to indulge her. ”

Princess Tong stood indifferently, her eyes shrouded in a dull mist, as quiet as a ghost.

Brother Tanglin -

The handsome figure in green clothes under the green willows, whenever she thinks about it, she will feel happy and sad. Tsing Yi, who once peeked at him alone, has lingered countless times near the Spirit Cave in Houshan, happy, sad, and cried, but the owner of Tsing Yi didn't know.

She often went to the willow forest with white mist, and trampled the road he walked back and forth countless times, and the wicker he touched was picked back by her, inserted in a bottle, and raised quietly. The dawn is sunny at night, the rainy night is cold, as long as you see the fresh and green of the strips, the mood will be happy.

The capital is a gentleman who is as gentle as jade, and in the heart of Princess Tong, all the good rhetoric is not enough to describe Tanglin. His eyebrows and eyes have always been as indifferent as the wind, the smile on his lips is also gentle, and his eyes are surging with coldness and depth, and once he falls in, he can't get out again.

Such a young man of the fairy clan was arbitrarily confronted and teased by Zining. There was a faint flame in Princess Tong's eyes, "You dare...... Be unkind to Brother Tanglin, I won't let you succeed!"

In the distance, under the shade of the willows, the prince of Tanglin stood solemnly, his face was pale, and his eyes were quiet, like a jade carving. Princess Tong's heart was sour, and when she landed, she turned into ten thousand wisps of tenderness, and couldn't help but murmur softly: "Brother Tanglin ......"

looked at each other from afar, but he never paid attention, and his eyes at the moment were only looking at Zi Ning.

At this time, the silver cicada raised her hand and pointed and shouted urgently: "Look, princess, that stinky girl is gone." I saw a little maid running to call Zining, Tanglin Gongzi said a few words, nodded slightly, and then watched them leave.

Zi Ning didn't know that Princess Tong saw this scene in the distance, she was talking to the prince of Tanglin, but she forgot the time. It wasn't until Huan Ling hurriedly ran to find her that she knew that the inner palace stewards had already gone to the outer palace gate, and the maids were queuing up to order the booklet to choose the maids, and if they were late, they would be punished with ten sticks.

Before leaving, Bai Qiu was coquettish, and he had to play with Tanglin for a while, and patted his furry chest to promise Zi Ning that he would go home after dark. Zi Ning saw that it was holding the yellow sunflower with a pair of small paws, carrying it on her shoulders with satisfaction, wearing a shiny blue mask on her head, and her small eyes were slippery, and the more she looked at it, the more she looked like Zorro, the masked man.

I thought that Baiqiu had followed me for the past two days, and I hadn't even eaten a full meal, and I regarded a sunflower as a treasure, which was really pitiful. Suddenly felt a little guilty, seeing that it was very stubborn, and he was reluctant to give up on Donglin, so he had to let it go.

Bidding farewell to the prince of Tanglin, the two held hands and ran in the direction of the outer palace gate.

Zi Ning ran a few steps, couldn't help but look back, through the wisps of fluttering weeping green willows, only to see the white ball twisting its small body, sticking to Donglin's body and rubbing around, very happy. The mood is suddenly a little complicated, and his pet goes to play with others, which is really faceless for the owner.

Seeing that the hour was not early, the two did not dare to delay any longer, and immediately ran away along the path of green willows and begonias.

When I entered the hanging flower partition building at the gate of the outer palace, I saw from a distance that there were black people standing in the square, mostly rough maids, all with their heads hooked, cowering and huddled together like quails, mixed with all kinds of whispers and weepings. Many men and women gathered on the periphery, discussing something in groups.

A little maid who had just tied her hair saw them, and shouted loudly: "Zining, Huanling, hurry up, I just taught my mother-in-law to point to your booklet!"

The square is quite spacious, surrounded by a towering vermilion palace wall, and in the center are three luxuriant almond trees, whose branches and leaves are joined in mid-air, and the flowers that bloom all over the place are lined with overlapping leaves, shading a dense shade. Large pieces of pink and white petals fell on the ground, trampled by everyone's footsteps.

On the stone bench under the apricot tree, a palace concubine with her hair in a bun leaned over and was talking to the steward Fang Yan sitting on a bamboo rattan rocking chair. Fang Yan looked calm and relaxed, her eyes were half-squinted, and her eyes drifted to the maids standing aside.

There was a depressing atmosphere in the air, and hundreds of maids of varying heights stood upright, their skirts ringing and green, and their faces were different. The ground is covered with cool blue bricks and stones, and even if the sun shines, it still looks a little cold.

A short old woman with a yellow paper book in her hand raised her eyes and glanced around, and when she saw the crowd crowded with dirty children and inferior slaves, she raised her sleeves in disgust and covered her mouth and nose, and frowned deeply.

"Next, Huancui!" the old palace concubine shouted sharply, and immediately a timid little maid came out, her eyes blinking in horror, and her sallow little face was full of fear. Fang Yan said impatiently: "Reach out and try the Spirit Root Ball." ”

On the stone table was a round transparent crystal ball, surrounded by a trace of aura. Zi Ning pulled Huan Ling to squeeze in front of the crowd, and saw the crystal clear spirit root ball at a glance, shining dazzlingly in the sun, and couldn't help but secretly exclaim, "What kind of treasure is this, it's like a crystal basketball." ”

The little maid timidly approached the Linggen Ball, the corners of her mouth twitched, and she opened her palm and put it on the surface of the Linggen Ball, and everyone's eyes immediately gathered.

After waiting for a long time, the Linggen Ball did not make a sound, nor did it change color, and there was no reaction at all. The old palace concubine frowned, and shouted impatiently: "Another miscellaneous spirit root." Hurry up next, Haruka ......"

More than 300 unmarried maids in the outer palace gate have all been tested with spiritual root balls, and less than 30 have pure spiritual roots. And the miscellaneous spirit root lacks the talent for cultivation, so he can only be a mortal for a lifetime. The selected maiden must be a pure spiritual root to make a cultivation furnace.

Seeing the mediocre appearance of these maids who were determined to be pure spiritual roots, Fang Yan felt very upset, and a pair of thin eyes swept over, like the wings of a single goose flying alone, revealing an indescribable chill, and said: "The maid should have a good appearance, a soft temperament, the best sensible and obedient, and the foundation of cultivation should also be finer." The other Taoist caves all send their maids, and we can't let them compare with the people selected by the Dove Country!"

An old palace concubine smiled and said: "What Steward Fang said is reasonable, the choice of a concubine is to give it as a gift, if you send some stupid and dull girls with ugly appearances, the dove country will have no face, and the immortal clan will not be welcome." Maybe he has to complain that the emperor deliberately got some ugly girls, and the congratulatory gifts can't be made, and he has to let the immortals spend rations to feed them. ”

A trace of impatience floated across Fang Yan's face, and she turned her head sideways and said to the old palace concubine behind her: "There are only these girls?" After picking for a long time, there are only seven who can see people in a neat and neat manner. If it's really from the outer palace gate, all of them are gray and dirty, what kind of goods are they, and sending them out makes people laugh and lose their big teeth!"

Mrs. Chen, who was standing behind her with a yellow paper booklet in her hand, immediately stepped forward and said with a smile: "Steward Fang, don't worry, there are two more." His eyes wandered through the crowd, and when he saw Zi Ning and Huan Ling, his eyes lit up, and he said, "You always raise your eyes and look at those two girls." He raised his hand and pointed at them.

Fang Yan glanced at them, stroked her smooth forehead slightly, and said, "Look at the booklet to see if it fits." The yellow paper booklet was flipped over, and Chen Po glanced at the record in the booklet and said: "Huanling fifteen, both parents died, since childhood, she has been a slave who sells herself in the book, and a rough maid in the big dining room. ”

Immediately, a palace concubine came over and instructed Huan Ling to reach out and try it on the spirit root ball.

Huan Ling was very nervous, holding cold sweat in his hands, hanging his head and not daring to step forward. She didn't want to be a concubine, and she was worried about separating from Zining, so she hesitated.

Zi Ning comforted her in a low voice, "Why not give it a try, I'll accompany you." Seeing that he couldn't dodge, Huan Ling had to pluck up his courage and walked over and stretched out his hand to put it on the Linggen Ball.

A red light flashed out of the ground, and the spiritual root ball emitted a dazzling red bright color when it landed.

"Fire Spirit Root!" the old palace concubine exclaimed, the muscles on her face twitched, and she looked at Huan Ling incredulously.

There are five types of pure spiritual roots: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, which are measured by the spiritual root ball, which are white, green, black, red, and yellow. In the case of the Miscellaneous Root, the orb only has a transparent and colorless reaction.

Among the five pure spirit roots, the Earth Spirit Root had the most cultivators, and it was more suitable for cultivating formations. The number of fire spirit roots is very small, and women are even more rare, because the inner pill of the spirit root is born from the heavenly fire, and it is the most suitable physique for alchemy.

Take a closer look at Huanling's appearance, although he is young, he has a thin waist and shaved shoulders, and a pair of big eyes are innocent and shiny. The old palace concubine took Huanling's hand, looked at her eyes carefully, and said with a smile: "This girl is pitiful, she will grow up in two years, but she is a Peugeot beauty, and she chose to be a concubine, and she must be a favored life." ”

In the amazement and envy of everyone, Huan Ling was about to cry, and he flattened his mouth very aggrievedly, looking at Zi Ning pitifully. Without waiting for her to speak, she was pulled aside by the two old palace concubines and stood with the selected maids.

Chen Po paused for a while, flipped through the booklet again, and said, "Zi Ning is a maid who sells herself in the palace register, and works as a cook in the big dining room. Sixteen this year, I haven't promised to be married, and an old lady in the family is surnamed Lin. Then he looked up and motioned to her, "You girl, go and try the Spirit Root Ball too." ”

Zi Ning saw that Huan Ling was chosen, and also hoped that he would have a pure spiritual root, so that he would not have to be separated from Huan Ling. Hearing Chen Po call her, her eyes froze, she pursed her lips, and took a step towards the Linggen Ball.

Everyone's eyes looked at her, and they all knew that there had been a lot of ridiculous things in the palace in the past few days, which were related to this girl named Zining. Yesterday, the Emperor took her away to heal, and the matter had already spread throughout the entire Hair Dove Country, and a group of maids were envious, thinking: "If Zi Ning is a pure spiritual root, the Emperor will definitely take her as a maid." ”

A chill drifted through Fang Yan's eyes, and when she saw her walking up to Linggen Qiu, the corners of her mouth hooked up with a jealous expression, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Zi Ning, you wait, I won't spare you!"

The spirit root ball placed on the stone table was crystal clear, Zi Ning stood in front of her, her heart was pounding, and a loud voice appeared in her head: "If I want to cultivate, it must be a pure spirit root, it must be a pure spirit root!" The cold palm stretched out and gently touched the spirit root ball, and a faint coolness passed into the fingertips.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the Spirit Root Ball.

The moment of waiting seemed to be very long, Zi Ning's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and a pair of eyes stared nervously at the transparent ball. Soon, her five fingers were slowly sucked by the cold orb, and the feeling of coolness penetrated into her heart.

After waiting for a long time, the Linggen Ball did not move at all, it was still an extremely transparent color, and it shone brightly and dazzlingly in the sun.

"Shhh

There was a mess in his mind, and a roar swirled, and he couldn't believe such a result, "Impossible, how can there be no pure spirit root?" Yue Hengtang said that as long as I cultivate, I can go to Kunlun,...... But why is this happening? Can't Yue Hengtang and I be together?"

Kunlun Immortal Realm has been a fairyland since the opening of the flood wilderness, and mortals have never been accepted to enter the sect, and immortal cultivators must at least break through the cultivation skills of the third order or more before they can pass the Four Realms Spirit Tablet of the Kunlun Array Gate.

The people watching around also sighed, some people were glad for Zi Ning, although they couldn't cultivate without a pure spirit root, they didn't have to be a lowly furnace, but they were blessed. Such a clever and beautiful maid, who is promised to be married to a solid family and live a stable life, is a hundred times better than being a maid.

There are also people who regret that everything in the immortal world is mainly about cultivating immortals, and if you have a pure spiritual root, being a woman is not a bad thing. After going to the immortal clan, there are all kinds of elixirs and spiritual herbs, and the maiden coaxes the master to be happy, and it is also possible to cultivate to the level of the goddess herself.

A mortal can live for a maximum of 100 years, and if he cultivates to the level of a goddess, he can live for an extra 1,000 years. It is clear at a glance which is better and which is bad.

Fang Yan looked at the transparent spiritual root ball, her eyes revealed a contemptuous and mocking look, and snorted coldly: "Look at this girl, she looks really smart, I thought it was a good material, it turned out to be just a waste miscellaneous spiritual root, we were bluffed by her." ”

Deng Shi lost interest in Zining, thinking to himself that I am a steward of the Dove Palace, and I am also an upper-class person who cultivates the Tao and cultivates immortals.

Fang Yan raised her hand and waved, impatience floating between her eyebrows, and shouted coldly: "A cheap maid with mixed spirit roots, what are you doing standing there, don't go down quickly!" turned her head and instructed the old palace concubine, "Choose these few today, and be careful to take back the spirit root ball." "Loosen your sore shoulders and back, and finally relax after a busy morning.

Zi Ning's heart seemed to have been pierced by countless steel needles, bitter and painful, a sad color appeared on her face, her eyes didn't dare to blink, lest the tears fall uncontrollably, and secretly thought: "Fate dictates, I can't force ......."

Huan Ling looked at her from the side, and her heart was as painful as a knife, her lips bit tightly, and she whimpered: "Ning'er, don't be sad......"

Zi Ning's heart trembled, yes, she was indeed very sad......

I'm sad that I can't cultivate, I can't be with Yue Hengtang, and I'm sad that I'm separated from Huanling from now on. For a while, there were mixed feelings in his chest, his fingers trembled slightly, and even the spiritual root ball trembled.

An old palace concubine walked up, frowned, her face was full of annoyance, and sneered: "No matter how much you touch that ball, you can't touch the pure spirit root......!

Zi Ning's body shook, and her right hand was tightly glued by the spirit root ball, and she couldn't pull it back. Her face flushed, she lowered her head, and bit her lip hard.

This scene is too embarrassing, I really don't want to stand here and be embarrassed. She immediately stretched out her left hand to break her right hand, but in an instant, even her left hand was stuck and couldn't move.

Suddenly, a burst of white mist churned out of the Linggen Ball, hot and cold, spraying onto her palm one by one, and in an instant, countless dazzling lights flashed out of the Linggen Ball, as if the colorful red glow was entwined, turning and circling rapidly, violently colliding from the inside, making a dull sound of "boom".

"Huh?" exclaimed the crowd, "look, look, the Spirit Root Ball is glowing, it's colored lightβ€”"

"Oh my God, what kind of spiritual root she is, I've never seen such a strange color. ”

"Look at the ball, isn't it...... It's going to explode?" Everyone screamed in unison, and when they saw the Spirit Root Ball bouncing on the stone table, they were all a little shocked, and they couldn't help but retreat back.

Zi Ning was also dumbfounded at the moment, and there was an indescribable feeling all over her body.

Seven incomparably strong immortal qi were released from the spirit root ball, rushing into the meridians, as if the ancient vast qi was roaring majestically, and it stirred up the long-dormant true qi in the dantian, tumbling and surging.

Fang Yan looked stunned, supported the armrests of the rocking chair with both hands, stood up uneasily, and shouted sharply: "Go quickly, grab the spirit root ball-" She saw the spirit root ball trembling under Zi Ning's palm, making a muffled sound, as if it was about to explode.

Suddenly, there were bursts of "boom" sounds in the air, and countless white mist-like spiritual qi surged from all directions, and the breath was majestic and mighty. The white aura that came from the "whoosh" gathered into a thick rope, and all of them were poured into Zi Ning's body.

The crowd around them was terrified and looked up in amazement, and the floating clouds seemed to wriggle and deform. I don't know who shouted, "It's not good, the aura of the back mountain has been absorbed, and there is a spirit gathering array on that girl's body!"

The Spirit Gathering Array is a formation set up by immortal cultivators in order to gather spiritual energy, which is very complicated and cumbersome, and is generally only used in the important places of the sect.

When everyone heard that Zi Ning had a spirit gathering array on her body, they all felt incredible, what ability did such a little maid have to set up a huge spirit gathering array and absorb all the spiritual energy within a radius of several miles?

Unless she has a powerful immortal magic weapon hidden in her body, everyone thinks the same, "This spirit gathering magic weapon is so domineering, it must have been given to her by the Absolute Emperor!"

There are a total of twelve cultivation spirit caves in the mountain behind the palace of the Fat Dove King, which were built with countless spirit stones and spirit crystals, and the aura is incomparably rich and rushing. At this time, everyone's faces were full of anxiety, seeing that the aura in the back mountain was sucked by Zi Ning, endlessly, rolling and tumbling, if she was sucked dry, the spiritual caves in the back mountain would all be invalidated.

Fang Yan's face was ugly, she slapped the armrest of the rocking chair fiercely, and shouted: "Catch this cheap quickly, I really don't want to live anymore, dare to secretly use the Spirit Gathering Array to steal the aura of the back mountain." ”

As soon as the words fell, I heard a crisp "click" sound from the Linggen Ball, and then cracked.

Fang Yan narrowed her eyes and saw that the colorful ball was split into thousands of traces, and in the blink of an eye, it shattered into countless flakes like ice crystals.

When the last rays of light were inhaled into Zi Ning's hand, the pile of shiny fragments eclipsed and instantly turned into dusty ashes.

Everyone was stunned, as if they had been immobilized by a spell, and they were stunned on the ground. The top-grade spirit root ball, one of the magic weapons treasured by Emperor Hairdove, was destroyed by a small maid at the gate of the outer palace.

The sky soon returned to calm, and the clouds were clear, blowing up a pinch of ash on the stone table. Fang Yan felt a cramp in her heart, what a good spiritual root ball, it has turned into a pile of fly ashes!

――――

Q version:

Huanling: Ning'er, you're so good, you sucked up all the spirit root balls.

Zining: I didn't mean to.

Huanling: What kind of spiritual root are you?

Zining: I don't know.

Huanling: Then do you have the magic weapon of the Spirit Gathering Array?

Zining: I don't know.

Huanling: ......

――――