Immortals from the Immortal Cultivation World visit Lotus Village every ten years to accept disciples, evaluating children between the ages of three and fifteen for their qualifications.

Lin Qingxu, now fourteen, came of age in June. Ten years ago, when the Immortals last visited, it was said that the original owner of her body was only four years old and had been feverish, causing her to miss the opportunity.

Reflecting on it now, Lin Qingxu wonders if this might be her chance.

On the way home, Lin Qingwan felt uneasy, noticing her elder sister’s unusual excitement.

“Auntie, we’re back!” Lin Qingwan called out as they entered the house. Without hesitation, she snatched the tool from Lin Qingxu’s hand and tossed it into the corner, startling a red-feathered rooster nearby, causing it to flap its wings and take flight. Grabbing Lin Qingxu’s arm, Lin Qingwan hurried her toward the Fang Xiu house.

Lin Qingxu, in high spirits, wasn’t sure what her little sister was up to, but she happily followed along.

“What’s the rush?” Fang Xiu hurried to finish the last stitch before her two daughters entered, sighing in relief as she gave them a mildly irritated glance.

“Mother, sister…she…”Lin Qingwan hesitated, sneaking a glance at Lingxu, whose excitement hadn’t waned. She wanted to speak but held back.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that her sister was acting strangely today.

Seeing the concern in Lin Qingwan’s eyes, Lin Qingxu suddenly realized she had been overly expressive. She quickly composed herself, blinking innocently as she said, “I’m fine, really! Nothing’s wrong ah!”

Lin Qingwan still frowned as she looked at her sister, unease clear on her young face.

As Fang Xiu tidied up her embroidery thread, she gave Lin Qingxu another look. Her gaze was calm but penetrating, making Lin Qingxu feel a sudden pang of unease.

Then Fang Xiu said, “Alright, we’ll talk about it later. I see that A’xu is in pretty good spirits right now.” At least she’s full of energy!

With that, Fang Xiu dismissed them both in a single sentence, sending them out the door.

“Sister, tell me, is something wrong with you?” Lin Qingwan asked persistently as they sat on the wooden stools under the eaves, one on the left and one on the right.

Lin Qingxu curled her lips and gave her a sideways glance.

Does she really want to ask if there’s something wrong with her brain?

Sorry, no comment!

But Lin Qingwan, still a child under ten, quickly let her emotions shift and move on.

“Mother, tomorrow an Immortal will come to the village to openly accept disciples. You should take sister and me to go together!” Lin Qingwan said, her mouth full of rice, cheeks puffed out as she chewed.

Lin Qingxu glanced at her sister, her face greasy but determined, and suppressed a smile as she focused on her own meal.

She couldn’t help but feel that the image of a smart, elegant, and eloquent heroine she had in mind was slowly slipping away…

Fang Xiu rolled her eyes in disgust at Lin Qingwan’s ravenous look and refused, “I’m too lazy to go. If you want to join in the fun, go by yourselves. But let me tell you, with your level, you definitely won’t be chosen!” She said this with a dismissive expression.

Immortals from the Cultivation World came every ten years, but very few were ever chosen

Mortals all dream of entering the Immortal World, but it’s a rare opportunity. If anyone could be chosen, the mystique of Immortal Cultivation and the difficulty of joining would be lost.

Fang Xiu understood this well and didn’t want her daughters to dream too deeply, so she knocked some sense into them in her own way.

Lin Qingxu, having been toughened by her mother since childhood, was immune to such remarks and just smiled without saying anything.

Lin Qingwan swallowed a mouthful of rice and loudly declared, “Who says we won’t be chosen? Maybe my sister and I have outstanding potential and will be picked right away! Then,” she added with a mischievous grin, twisting her head to the side and shoveling another big spoonful of rice into her mouth, “when we’re both off to the Immortal World, Mother, you’ll definitely cry!”

Fang Xiu pretended to be fierce, tapping her bowl with chopsticks. “Cry? You little rascal, if you go to the Immortal World, with no one to protect or help you, you’ll be the one crying every day!”

“No way!” Lin Qingwan protested, struggling to swallow the food in her mouth. “My sister and I will be together, and she’ll look out for me!”

Fang Xiu shot her another disapproving look but didn’t say anything harsh. “Don’t forget, your elder sister is getting married soon. She won’t have time to accompany you.”

Lin Qingxu’s hand paused mid-air, her good mood dissipating.

What if she wasn’t chosen…? Lin Qingxu quickly shook off the thought, closing her eyes for a moment.

The journey hadn’t even begun—she couldn’t let doubt creep in already!

Even though Lin Qingwan had been deflated by Fang Xiu’s words the night before, she bounced back the next morning, as lively and feisty as ever.

Lin Qingxu was groggy when Lin Qingwan practically yanked her out of bed.

“Sister, let’s hurry up and get ready! If we go early, we can get a good spot!”

Lin Qingxu squinted at the misty morning sky, Lin Qingwan’s excited voice echoing in her head and making her brain ache.

“What’s the point of going so early? Didn’t you say it lasts for ten days? We can still get in line later, can’t we?”

Lin Qingxu mumbled sleepily, signaling that she wanted to lie down a bit longer. After all, her body was only fourteen and still growing.

But Lin Qingwan was insistent. With a firm grip, she yanked Lin Qingxu up just as she was about to collapse back onto the bed. Lin Qingxu’s long hair was caught in the pull, and the sudden tug made her wince in pain, causing tears to spring to her eyes.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Sister!” Lin Qingwan quickly let go of Lin Qingxu’s arm, trying to cover up her mistake by hiding the few strands of Lin Qingxu’s long black hair she had pulled under the bed. She quickly changed the subject. “Let’s go early so we can watch the action for a bit longer. The first day is bound to be the most crowded!”

Lin Qingxu gritted her teeth and wiped away the tears from her eyes.

So, her main goal was just to watch the commotion, huh?!

The two of them quickly finished their breakfast and arrived at the village head’s place just as the sky was brightening.

The tester places his hand on the crystal ball. If a person has a spiritual root, the crystal ball will display five different colors—representing ‘gold, wood, water, fire, and earth’—corresponding to the attributes of their spiritual root. The number and purity of these spiritual roots indicate the person’s qualifications.

Generally, having one or two spiritual roots was preferable. Multiple spiritual roots can lead to imbalance during cultivation. Even if you focus on one, the effectiveness will not match that of a pure single spiritual root.

The purity of the spiritual root reflects its inherent quality. Although cultivators can use pills or magical items to cleanse their spiritual roots, initial qualifications show how receptive they are to cultivation. Those with higher qualifications naturally find cultivation more beneficial than those with weaker ones.

As expected, the first day was bustling with people. There were three lines in total, each with nearly a hundred people standing in it.

Lin Qingxu chose a slightly shorter line, and Lin Qingwan took her place at the end. Seeing Lin Qingwan standing on her tiptoes, constantly looking around, Lin Qingxu couldn’t help but give her a light smack on the back.

“Sister, what’s wrong?” Lin Qingwan turned around, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Lin Qingxu sighed inwardly at her sister’s eager expression. “What are you looking at, A’wan?”

As she glanced at the ever-lengthening line while threading sugar gourds, her heart felt empty.

It became clear to Lin Qingxu that Lin Qingwan was truly here just to enjoy the spectacle. The excitement and promises made the night before with Fang Xiu were nothing more than a casual bet…

Lin Qingwan, unaware of Lin Qingxu’s feelings, mistook her silence for a request for attention. She eagerly leaned in and whispered in her ear.

Nearby, a little boy was shouting hoarsely about being hungry. He was from a neighboring village, and his mother had promised to take him for a meal after the test, but he was still clinging to the spot. Lin Qingwan commented that if he were her brother, she’d make sure he got a proper beating every day!

In the next line, a boy who had just finished his test had proudly declared the day before that his father had said he had excellent qualifications and would definitely be selected. Now, he had disappeared, looking defeated and downtrodden.

The little girl standing six or seven spots ahead of them was petite and had been loudly criticizing Lotus Village since they arrived. Lin Qingwan was fuming and thought that if the girl’s father weren’t present, she’d have given the girl a piece of her mind!

……

Lin Qingxu listened in silence to Lin Qingwan’s fervent complaints, her forehead lined with black lines.

It seemed that her future heroine sister had a rather extreme perspective, which was a bit unsettling ah!

The process of testing spiritual roots was straightforward, but many parents, unable to accept their children’s mediocrity and hoping for their rise to the Immortal Realm, insisted on repeated tests. This created delays and slowed down the overall process.

The anxiety Lin Qingxu had felt upon arriving was gradually eroded by Lin Qingwan’s unconventional thoughts. As the queue in front of them grew shorter and shorter, with only five people remaining, her nerves tightened, and she began to let her mind wander.

“A’wan, do you think you’ll be chosen?” she asked quietly. The two young cultivators at the front of the line seemed to hear her question and glanced her way. However, with so many people asking similar questions, they simply glanced briefly before returning to their duties.

Lin Qingwan, however, was far from anxious. Bouncing on her feet, she remained as lively as ever.

She shook her head with a broad smile, showing her bright white teeth. “I don’t know. We’re here to have fun, after all. The most important thing is to enjoy ourselves! If we’re not chosen, we’ll just go home. If we really end up leaving mother alone, I won’t go to the Immortal Cultivation Realm. Staying in Lotus Village isn’t so bad!” Lin Qingwan tilted her head again, her smile widening. “I want to live the life I enjoy without worrying too much about the future!”

Lin Qingwan’s spirited words left Lin Qingxu momentarily stunned.

She stared at her sister, feeling a sudden revelation that left her unable to calm down for a while.

“Sister, what are you thinking about? It’s almost our turn,” Lin Qingwan said, furrowing her brow and waving her hand in front of Lin Qingxu’s eyes. Lin Qingxu blinked as she managed a smile, and sighed with relief inwardly.

Since discovering that she was in a novel, Lin Qingxu had been trapped in its plot, desperately trying to avoid the same fate as the original Lin Qingxu. She had been trying to atone for her past mistakes, including her marriage to Su Yan, and hoped that entering the Immortal Cultivation World would help her escape the invisible constraints placed on her.

Her heart was in turmoil, lost in the illusion of the novel’s narrative while ignoring the reality around her.

Although future events should be shaped by her own choices, she felt like she was being controlled by something beyond her.

This was a real world, not a manipulated story, and her decisions should be hers alone to make.

Yet…

Lin Qingxu stared at the unmoving crystal ball in her hand, her face set in a rigid expression, she couldn’t help but mutter, “Damn it!”

She had come to terms with her situation, but was the God of Thieves truly so relentless? Couldn’t there be even a small sign of change?

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