No spiritual root? I devour the origins of all paths.

Chapter 1 The Ling Family's Useless Child

Eastern Wilderness, Qingzhou, Ling Family.

On the training ground, hundreds of young disciples sat cross-legged, breathing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Ling Chen squatted in a corner by the field, holding a hard, dry steamed bun in his hand, carefully breaking it in half.

"Little sister, have something to eat first."

The little girl beside her was only twelve or thirteen years old, with innocent features, yet one could already see the outline of a woman who would one day be stunningly beautiful. Ling Xue took the steamed bun and nibbled on it in small bites, her eyes fixed on the stone tablet in the center of the martial arts arena that tested spiritual roots.

"Brother, do you think... Father really did have a celestial spiritual root detected back then?"

Ling Chen paused for a moment, then nodded: "Mm."

"Then why...?"

"Ling Chen!"

A cold shout interrupted their conversation.

On the training ground, the Second Elder Ling Tieshan, who was in charge of today's assessment, walked over with his hands behind his back. When his gaze fell on Ling Chen, he made no attempt to hide his disgust.

"Today is the day for the younger generation of the clan to test their cultivation. You are a piece of trash without spiritual roots. Just hide in the corner with your sister and don't get in the way of others."

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

Several boys who were meditating opened their eyes and looked at Ling Chen with mockery in their eyes.

"Second Elder, why bother arguing with a good-for-nothing?" The young man who spoke was handsome and talented, Ling Hao, a member of a collateral branch of the Ling family. "He doesn't even have spiritual roots. At most, he'll reach the peak of the Body Tempering Realm in this lifetime. He can't even touch the threshold of the Qi Gathering Realm."

"That's right, that's right. If it weren't for the fact that Ling Chen is just a piece of trash, he would have been kicked out of the Ling family long ago."

"It's a pity his father died young, otherwise, seeing his son like this, he would probably be so angry that he would crawl out of his grave."

Laughter erupted from all sides.

Ling Chen clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, but he kept his head down and remained silent.

Over the past five years, he has become accustomed to it.

My father, Ling Tianxiao, was once the most dazzling genius of the Ling family. He broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm at the age of thirty, making him the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator in the Eastern Wilderness. However, he mysteriously perished five years ago, leaving no trace of his body.

From that moment on, everything changed.

The clan elders, citing his "youth and ignorance," seized the cultivation resources that rightfully belonged to him. Meanwhile, members of the collateral branches of the clan began to stir, coveting the power and wealth of the main lineage.

As for Ling Chen, because he failed to awaken his spiritual root for so long, he became the biggest joke in the entire Ling family.

That's enough.

An aged voice rang out.

The training ground fell silent immediately.

Elder Ling Tiefeng, the true ruler of the Ling family, walked over slowly. His gaze paused briefly when it swept over Ling Chen before moving away.

"Today's assessment officially begins."

Ling Hao was the first to step forward, placing his palm on the testing stone tablet. In an instant, a bright crimson light shone forth, dazzling and brilliant.

"A superior-grade fire-type spiritual root! Cultivation at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm!"

The Second Elder nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, Hao'er has been working hard these past few days."

Ling Hao stood tall and proud, and as he left, he deliberately passed by Ling Chen, lowering his voice to say, "You good-for-nothing young master, watch closely and see what a true genius is."

Ling Chen did not respond.

He silently broke off the last piece of steamed bun, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it vigorously.

"elder brother……"

Ling Xue tugged at his sleeve, her eyes slightly red.

"It's okay." Ling Chen patted his sister's head and forced a smile. "Brother doesn't hurt."

But in his palm, his fingernails had already pierced through his flesh.

-

By the time the assessment ended, it was nearly dusk.

Ling Chen took Ling Xue's hand and led her back to the dilapidated courtyard along a secluded path.

This was once the most magnificent residence of the Ling family. When their father, Ling Tianxiao, was alive, the house was always bustling with visitors, with cultivators coming in droves. But now, the courtyard walls are crumbling, overgrown with weeds, and not a single servant remains.

"Xue'er, go inside and cultivate. I'll go offer incense to Father."

Ling Xue nodded obediently, then carried the half-eaten steamed bun she couldn't bear to finish back into the house.

Deep within the courtyard lies a dimly lit ancestral hall.

There are only one memorial tablet.

"The memorial tablet of my late father, Ling Tianxiao".

Ling Chen lit three incense sticks, placed them in the incense burner, knelt on the prayer mat, and remained silent for a long time.

"father……"

His voice went hoarse as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Today is the day of the clan's assessment. Brother Hao said he has reached the peak of Body Tempering, and the elders are all very happy."

"Xue'er has been cultivating very diligently lately. Her fire-type spiritual root awakened smoothly, much better than mine."

"I……"

He paused.

"I still don't have a spiritual root."

"Dad, am I really that useless?"

"They all say I'm useless, that I've tarnished your reputation, and that I'm unworthy to be the young master of the Ling family."

"I'm not afraid of their scolding. But I'm afraid... afraid that I really can't do anything, that I can't even protect Xue'er."

Ling Chen lowered his head, his forehead pressed against the cold stone slab.

He didn't cry.

In the past five years, he has long since cried all his tears.

"Father, if you are watching over me from heaven, can you tell me... what should I do?"

No one answered.

Only the flickering candlelight illuminated the cold inscriptions on the memorial tablets in the ancestral hall.

Ling Chen knelt for a long time before slowly getting up.

Just as he turned to leave, something caught his eye out of the corner of his eye—

Below the memorial tablet, an inconspicuous blue brick appears to be somewhat loose.

Ling Chen was stunned.

My father valued this ancestral hall most during his lifetime, personally overseeing its construction and demanding that every brick and stone fit perfectly. How could there be a loose one?

He squatted down as if possessed and reached out to press the blue brick.

pat.

The blue brick sank down and then slid open, revealing a hidden compartment.

In the hidden compartment, a jade slip lay quietly.

The jade slip was ancient and its surface was covered with cracks, as if it had withstood the erosion of countless years. But the moment Ling Chen's fingers touched it—

boom!

A terrifying force surged into his body like a tidal wave.

Ling Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

He "saw" it.

I saw an endless starry sky, I saw gods and demons fighting in the starry sky, I saw the earth crack and the mountains and rivers collapse.

He saw a figure.

The figure stood between heaven and earth, surrounded by the light of countless great Daos. With every gesture, stars fell and the void collapsed.

But he couldn't see the person's face clearly.

A voice, desolate and weary, seemed to have traveled through time from eternity past—

"I... have ultimately been defeated..."

"But these three realms... will not perish..."

"Those who come after... shall inherit my teachings..."

"Let those myriad paths of the heavens..."

"Returning to one place..."

boom!

All the images shattered, turning into countless fragments that surged into the depths of Ling Chen's soul.

At the same time, a chilling message suddenly appeared in his mind—

"Host awakening conditions detected."

"The 'Map of Ten Thousand Paths Returning to the Ruins' has been activated to recognize its owner."

"The first level of the heaven-defying cultivation technique, 'The Myriad Paths Heavenly Venerable Technique,' is being infused..."

Ling Chen trembled violently.

An overwhelming and domineering force exploded from his dantian, washing over his limbs and bones. His meridians were forcibly widened, his flesh was crushed and then reassembled, and excruciating pain swept over every nerve like a landslide and a tsunami.

He opened his mouth wide, but no sound came out.

I don't know how much time passed.

It may be a moment, or it may be ten thousand years.

When Ling Chen opened his eyes again, the ancestral hall was still dark, and the candlelight was still flickering.

But the whole world looked completely different to him.

He could "see" the spiritual energy flowing in the air, "hear" the sounds of insects crawling outside the courtyard, and "perceive" the even breathing of Ling Xue dozens of feet away.

He could even sense that something had appeared in his dantian.

It was a scroll.

Ancient, desolate, and boundless.

On the scroll were nine obscure seals. At this moment, the first seal had loosened, revealing a deep vortex.

The vortex spun slowly, inhaling and exhaling the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

The spiritual energy surged into his body, circulating on its own, following some mysterious trajectory throughout his body.

Body Tempering Realm: Early Stage... Mid Stage... Advanced Stage...

In just a few breaths, his physical strength had increased by several levels.

And this is just the beginning.

Ling Chen lowered his head, looked at the lines on his palm, and suddenly smiled.

That smile contained bitterness, relief, and the madness of finally finding a way out after suppressing it for five whole years.

"father……"

"So you... had prepared everything for me all along."

He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Five years.

Five whole years.

Everyone said he was a good-for-nothing.

Everyone felt he didn't deserve to live.

Everyone was waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

But he finally got to see this day.

"Ling Hao".

"Ling Tieshan".

"And those who harmed my father behind his back..."

Ling Chen raised his head, his eyes burning with a cold flame.

"You, one at a time."

"What they owe me, what they owe my father, what they owe Xue'er..."

"I, Ling Chen, will take it back myself."

The night wind blew through the dilapidated courtyard gate, stirring the candlelight in the ancestral hall.

The memorial tablet flickered in the candlelight, as if a pair of eyes were watching the kneeling boy with satisfaction.

Outside the courtyard, Ling Xue pushed open the door and peeked out.

"Brother? Why have you been kneeling for so long?"

Ling Chen took a deep breath, suppressed all his emotions, stood up, and walked to the door.

The moonlight fell on his face, revealing a face that was still somewhat immature but had already shed its timidity.

He gently ruffled his sister's hair.

"It's nothing, I just talked to Dad for a while."

Ling Xue blinked: "What did you say?"

Ling Chen turned around and glanced at the memorial tablet.

"explain……"

"From today onwards, no one will bully us anymore."

Ling Xue was stunned.

She didn't know what had happened.

But she could sense that her brother seemed to have changed.

Those eyes no longer held any restraint or timidity; instead, they held a light she had never seen before.

It's like... a sleeping beast that has finally awakened.

Night was falling.

No one in the Ling family knew that the good-for-nothing young master they had mocked for five years had undergone a complete transformation tonight.

And that scroll, which contained the secrets of eternity, was quietly floating in his dantian.

waiting.

Waiting for the day when all the seals are broken.

Waiting for the moment when all the myriad paths of the heavens converge into one.

In the distant depths of the spirit realm, beyond the reach of mortals, an ancient voice slowly resounded.

"The aura of the Celestial Venerable... has finally returned."

"The structure of the Three Realms..."

"Things are about to change."

-

[End of Chapter One]