Chapter 274 - 266: Looking for a Guide

Chapter 274: Chapter 266: Looking for a Guide

Jiang Xu could see what he was thinking and said reassuringly,

"Don’t be alarmed, old sir. I am a Loose Cultivator who has been in seclusion in the mountains for several decades."

"I just came out of seclusion and feel as though much time has passed and the world has changed. I’ve forgotten many things, so I wish to ask you a few questions, old sir. I would be most grateful if you could answer them truthfully."

Hearing this from Jiang Xu, Elder Liu was immediately startled.

’Good heavens!’

’Several decades?’

’He looks so young, but is he actually older than me?’

’No wonder he’s so powerful, able to subdue that terrifying Sea Serpent with his bare hands. He’s an Elder Immortal!’

"What would you like to know, Elder Immortal? I will tell you everything I know without reservation!"

’Elder Immortal?’

Jiang Xu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he didn’t bother correcting him.

"Old sir, could you please tell me the specifics of this area? I want to see how different it is from my memories."

Elder Liu pondered for a moment before speaking.

"This is the remote and desolate easternmost region of Greed Wolf Island. Our Liu Family Village and six other villages live here."

"My Liu Family Village has over three hundred people, and the other villages are about the same. The largest one only has a little over four hundred."

At this point, Elder Liu glanced at Jiang Xu’s expression and realized he didn’t seem interested in these details. After a moment’s thought, he changed the subject.

"Upper Immortal, you probably aren’t interested in us mortals. In that case, I will speak of the Sun Immortal Race, who are also an Immortal Family."

Hearing this, Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow, understanding that the main event was beginning.

"The Sun Immortal Race resides in a town located more towards the center of the island, and they govern hundreds of villages of various sizes."

"A village like ours, Liu Family Village, must pay a tax of resources equivalent to sixty Spirit Stones every three months. Other villages are larger or smaller, so their taxes are higher or lower, but on average, each village pays about fifty Spirit Stones."

’That much?’

Jiang Xu was a little surprised.

A quick calculation showed that the Sun Clan could collect over ten thousand Spirit Stones every three months from taxes alone.

Such a huge sum of Spirit Stones was enough to move even Jiang Xu.

He wondered who exactly was in this Sun Clan and what the Cultivation Realms of its members were.

"Old sir, do you happen to know how many Immortal Cultivators—that is, Immortals—are in the Sun Immortal Race?"

Elder Liu shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know.

"How could we common mortals know the internal affairs of an Immortal Family?"

Jiang Xu was quite disappointed, then asked,

"Then do you know any other news about the Sun Clan?"

Elder Liu gave a wry smile and said,

"Upper Immortal, you may not know this, but every time people from the Sun Immortal Race come to collect taxes, they take the items and leave immediately, without the slightest delay."

"It’s as if staying in our village for even a moment longer would tarnish them as Immortals."

"Even when we try to bribe the Upper Immortals with things we consider precious, they don’t even spare a glance. They have no reaction at all—no anger, no smile—they just leave directly."

Jiang Xu was also quite stunned to hear this.

’No reaction at all?’

’It seems they don’t see these mortals as anything at all.’

’They just see mortals as ants by the roadside—ignoring them, completely indifferent.’

’Wait, something’s not right.’

"Does the Sun Immortal Race come to your villages every so often to look for children with Spirit Roots? Or perhaps other Sects?"

In Dinghai State, Sects like the Profound Origin Sect would conduct large-scale searches for children with Spirit Roots within their sphere of influence every so often, allowing them to enter the Sect and thus replenish its strength.

Jiang Xu himself had been recruited and brought into his Sect in this very manner.

If that were the case for these villages, then at least one or two children with Spirit Roots would have been recruited from them.

In that case, if many Immortal Cultivators had come from the villages, the tax collectors shouldn’t be so cold and indifferent.

After all, they might have come from the same village. Immortal Cultivators in the Qi Cultivation Realm were not yet so detached from the mortal world that they would act with such an attitude.

At the mention of this, Elder Liu’s body stiffened for a moment, and then he slowly shook his head.

"Upper Immortal, you may not know this, but the vast majority of people in our villages don’t actually understand what a so-called Spirit Root is."

"It was only by a stroke of luck in my early years that I came to understand what a Spirit Root is, and I also came to understand the truth: that our Liu Family Village and the other villages are fated to remain mortals for generations, serving as tributaries for the Sun Immortal Race."

"I can only keep this secret buried in my heart forever."

"It’s not that the Immortal Race would do anything to me if I spoke of it; in truth, they don’t care about us at all."

"The reason I keep this secret is that ignorance is bliss. For ordinary mortals like us, there is no need to know so much."

"Even if we knew, it would only add to our worries and resentment, serving no purpose at all."

Then, Elder Liu explained what he knew about Spirit Roots.

The Spirit Root is the dividing line between immortal and mortal.

Having a Spirit Root means you have a ticket to the Immortal Path.

Even if your Spirit Root is exceptionally poor and you can’t go far, you have still crossed the threshold. It means you have already transcended the mundane.

Among mortals, if neither parent has a Spirit Root, the probability of their offspring being born with one is one in several thousand, or even one in ten thousand.

This probability is terrifyingly low, and even if a child is born with a Spirit Root, the vast majority are just extremely common, impure Spirit Roots.