Chapter 1: The Golden Core Clan

“Twelve years. How time flies so slowly!”

Ye Qingxuan walked out of the library wearing a simple green robe. A look of contentment rested on his handsome face, and after stretching, he sighed slightly.

He had been in this world for twelve years.

According to what he had gathered so far, this world was called the Earth Profound Realm, divided into nine regions.

These consisted of the five inner regions: the Central, Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern Regions.

And the four outer regions: the Eastern Extremity, Southern Barbarian, Western Desolation, and Northern Li.

Each region was divided into ninety-nine great provinces, and even the smallest of these provinces was over a hundred times larger than the Earth he had lived on in his previous life.

It could be said to be vast and boundless; an ordinary person could spend their entire life without ever leaving a single great province, and the number of counties and prefectures within each province was countless.

Beyond that, there were endless seas that far exceeded the area of the nine regions, as well as countless islands and continents of all sizes scattered like stars within those seas.

The region where Ye Qingxuan currently resided was the Eastern Region of the Earth Profound Realm—Qing Province—Daoguang County—Qingmu Prefecture—the Ye Clan’s Immortal City.

More importantly, this world possessed the system of cultivators he had yearned for in his past life.

He had learned all this information from the library he had just stepped out of.

The library had been established by the Ye Clan specifically to broaden the horizons of their mortal kin; it contained general knowledge and information regarding Qing Province.

Because the Ye Clan’s Immortal City was so vast, there were over a thousand such libraries scattered throughout the city.

Having died accidentally in his previous life, he never expected to be reborn into this world, encountering the kind of destiny usually reserved for protagonists in the novels he used to read.

When he first arrived in this world, after the initial panic, he was filled with curiosity.

Therefore, ever since he learned to read, he had frequented the library to understand this world.

In this life, although he was born into an ordinary family, he was a mortal member of the Ye Clan, a Golden Core family.

While it wasn't a perfect start, it wasn't too bad either.

“I’m really looking forward to it! Tomorrow is the family’s annual spiritual root testing day. I’m twelve years old this year, so I’ve finally reached the age to be tested.”

As this thought crossed his mind, Ye Qingxuan felt a mix of anticipation and nervousness, and his pace toward home quickened without him realizing it.

Ever since he learned of the existence of cultivators, he had been looking forward to this moment, yet also fearing it.

“Spiritual roots...

These twelve years have been a torment. But tomorrow, there will be a result. This feeling of having one’s fate beyond one’s own control is truly unsettling.”

Ye Qingxuan suddenly stopped, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. After calming his emotions, he continued forward.

Along the way, the streets were filled with Ye clansmen coming and going, but Ye Qingxuan was not familiar with most of them.

This was because, although the Ye Clan’s Immortal City was just one city, its area was astonishing, with a population of over ten million.

However, most of the people in the city were mortals without any cultivation. The true cultivators of the Ye Clan mostly lived and practiced on the spiritual veins in the mountains not far outside the city.

Although the Ye Clan was only a Golden Core family, it had been passed down for ten thousand years.

Through the accumulation of such a long time, the Ye Clan had tens of thousands of cultivators and over ten million mortal kin.

And this was only because the Ye Clan had tried to control the population due to limited territory; otherwise, there would be even more.

There was no help for it. Even though the Ye Clan was a Golden Core family, they were not considered very strong in the region of Qing Province, and the territory they were allotted was only the size of one city.

However, the land for ten thousand miles outside this city was all Ye Clan territory.

It was just that mortals were too fragile and could only live within the city and various resource strongholds under the protection of the cultivators, which limited their numbers.

After all, the birth of a single demonic beast in the outside world was enough to make mortals helpless.

Ye Qingxuan walked for quite a while before arriving at the entrance of a courtyard house.

Walking inside, Ye Qingxuan looked at his mother, who was busy working, and said

“Mom, I’m home!”

Ye Qingxin looked up at the sound, seeing her precious son, and was very happy

“Xuan’er, sit down first. Dinner will be ready in a moment.”

Hearing his mother’s words, Ye Qingxuan nodded and scanned the courtyard. Not seeing his father’s figure, he asked

“Mom, where’s Dad? Is he not back yet?”

Seeing Ye Qingxuan ask, Ye Qingxin stopped what she was doing, put her hands on her hips, and said coldly

“Your father went out to play chess again. He’s gone all day long without a shadow. If he has the ability, he shouldn't come back for dinner! Hmph!”

Seeing his mother’s reaction, Ye Qingxuan wisely chose not to respond. He pursed his lips and shook his head helplessly, though he didn't take it to heart.

As mortal members of the Ye Clan, although most could not become wealthy, they could live without worry by relying on the clan.

They didn't need to labor hard; they only needed to occasionally take on small tasks assigned by the clan to live quite comfortably.

A moment later, just as his mother was finishing dinner, a middle-aged man walked in slowly.

As soon as the man entered, he glanced at his mother’s sour expression, rubbed his head, looked at Ye Qingxuan, and laughed

“Xuan’er, you’re back! Tomorrow is the day for the family’s spiritual root test. How is it? Are you nervous?”

Ye Qingxuan shook his head, smiled, and said

“Dad, I’m not nervous!”

Yet, his hands were involuntarily clenched tight.

Seeing his son’s state, Ye Qingyou stepped forward and patted Ye Qingxuan on the shoulder

“Heh, don’t be nervous. When I was tested, it was just like that—no spiritual roots. Didn’t your old man still live quite comfortably? Hahaha!”

Ye Qingyou didn't hold much hope. Spiritual roots were one in a thousand; it was normal if his son didn't have one.

He just saw that Ye Qingxuan was nervous and wanted to guide him, to help his son relax.

At this moment, his mother walked over, pinched his father’s ear, and scolded

“Enough, you’re idle all day, don’t corrupt our son. What’s wrong with our son? Maybe Xuan’er has spiritual roots!”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch! Mother of my child, let go, I was wrong, okay?”

Seeing his parents bickering, Ye Qingxuan felt his heart relax.

He had already gained by being able to live a second life; why fret over gains and losses he couldn't control?

Besides, he wasn't without a trump card.

After dinner, Ye Qingxuan returned to his room, sat cross-legged on his bed, and focused his attention on his mind.

Having lived two lives, Ye Qingxuan’s soul seemed to have undergone a special tempering. Even without cultivation, he could perform introspection of his mental space.

He saw that in a special space at the center of his mind, a phantom of himself was slowly emerging.

And in front of him, at the center of the mental space, floated a mysterious yellow bead and a small glazed-colored turtle!

This bead was an heirloom from his previous life that he had always carried with him; he hadn't expected it to travel with him to this world.

However, so far, Ye Qingxuan had not obtained any information from the bead.

As for the small glazed turtle, it was a clone he had accidentally contracted when he traveled here—the Eternal Turtle!

The Eternal Turtle was a creature of the heavens, existing only in the depths of dimensional space and never appearing in the human world. It possessed two characteristics: immunity to all laws and eternal life.

The only drawback was that it had no offensive power.

However, for some reason, the Eternal Turtle clone in his mind could not be released; it seemed to be suppressed by some force.

Fortunately, after Ye Qingxuan traveled here and accidentally contracted the Eternal Turtle as a clone, his main body inherited one of its characteristics: eternal life.

It was a pity that it was eternal life, not eternal vitality. Although he no longer had a limit on his lifespan, he was still not immune to external harm.

But even so, with the characteristic of eternal life, as long as he could obtain spiritual roots, no matter what his talent was, he was confident he could reach the peak.

Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes again, a fiery look in them that could not be calmed for a long time.

With such an opportunity, he didn't believe he wouldn't have spiritual roots.

(End of chapter)