At this moment, in the first-floor hall, many common people gathered at the entrance, stretching their necks with envy to look inside.

Around them, many servants of the Ascension Pavilion were also excitedly watching the young girl, about eight years old, on the array plate.

Shen Wenxing approached, and Fang Qing hurriedly came up.

"Steward, she has a Fire Spirit Root. Although her aptitude isn't as strong as Young Master Wen'an, she successfully lit up the second crystal stone!"

Bai Yue from Yu Village in Huangyan Town.

Shen Wenxing glanced at the girl's name and address in the registry and slowly stepped forward.

The little girl looked bewildered and nervous, clearly unaware of what was happening.

"Is your name Bai Yue?"

The little girl timidly nodded.

"Who came with you?"

"My Ah Die."

"Where is your Ah Die?"

The little girl pointed through the crowd at a young man.

Shen Wenxing turned to look and said to a servant, "Invite her father inside."

The servant bowed and came to the crowd, "Who is Bai Yue's father?"

The young man nervously stepped forward, "Master, I... I am."

The servant glanced at him and smiled slightly, "The Steward invites you over."

The young man approached, and Shen Wenxing stood up and said, "Congratulations, your daughter possesses a Spirit Root. You and your daughter shall stay in the county for a few days, and all expenses will be covered by the Ascension Pavilion."

The young man was initially stunned, then overjoyed!

"Thank you, Master!"

"Thank you, Master!"

Shen Wenxing smiled gently, "This is her destiny, there's no need to thank me."

"Clerk Fang, arrange for someone to take them away, and take good care of them."

This little girl called Bai Yue is a future disciple of the Immortal Sect. If anything happens, the entire Ascension Pavilion in Anyang County would be in trouble.

"Continue testing."

Looking at the long queue outside, Shen Wenxing sighed and said.

In the eyes of these common people, the Spirit Root test is a chance to defy fate, and everyone holds onto hope.

However, Shen Wenxing estimated that the number of people with Spirit Roots in all of Anyang County might not exceed the fingers on one hand.

Jinliu Village.

Ever since the Spirit Seed of the Purple Star Fruit was brought back, Shen Yuan and Uncle Ya had been studying it.

Being an expert in agricultural studies, Uncle Ya studied it for several days, combining the cultivation insights from the book, and finally decided to try cultivating using the water-soaking germination method.

The so-called water-soaking germination method involves cleaning the seeds of the Purple Star Fruit, fixing them with wooden sticks, soaking them in water, sunning them every hour, and changing the water every two days.

According to Uncle Ya's estimation, it should take five to seven days for the seeds to develop roots.

To be safe, they tried with only one seed the first time, and the water used for cultivating the seed was from the Black Water Pool.

After all, each seed costs three taels of silver, so they couldn't afford to waste it.

As days went by, it was already the sixth day.

That day, just as Shen Yuan was about to move the jar containing the Purple Star Fruit seed outside to sun it as usual, he suddenly noticed that the seed, the size of a peach pit, had a crack with a pale purple root emerging from the hard seed coat.

After confirming repeatedly, Shen Yuan excitedly called Uncle Ya over.

Uncle Ya carefully took the seed out, and upon seeing the delicate root, a smile appeared on his face.

"The method is correct, you can treat the other seeds in the same way."

He wrote these words with his finger dipped in water on the bluestone.

Shen Yuan nodded and immediately took out the remaining nineteen seeds.

"Uncle Ya, please take care of these seeds. I'll go to the back mountain to choose a suitable piece of land."

Having discovered the germination method for the Spirit Seed, the next step was the planting issue.

To avoid revealing the secret of the Black Water Pool later, it was necessary to choose a place suitable for the growth of the Purple Star Fruit. Shen Yuan walked around the back mountain for half a day and finally chose a relatively secluded small ravine.

The small ravine was about two acres wide, with steep surroundings, a hundred-zhang cliff on the south side, and entry required ropes.

This area had abundant sunlight, and a spring seemed to seep out from the rocks nearby.

Later, by carefully digging, a small stream could be led out.

While Uncle Ya meticulously tended to the seeds, Shen Yuan would daily carry a machete to clear the shrubs, weeds, and stones in the ravine.

Afterward, he brought some soft soil from the foot of the mountain, mixed it with well-fermented manure, and carried it to the ravine basket by basket.

Half a month passed quickly.

Under Uncle Ya's careful care, the Purple Star Fruit had sprouted into seedlings.

Unfortunately, two Purple Star Fruits developed roots during germination but never grew into seedlings, withering midway.

The two of them took the eighteen Purple Star Fruit seedlings and, with the help of ropes, descended into the ravine.

"This ravine is large; some land should be left for planting other things in the future."

Uncle Ya surveyed the cleared ravine, writing on paper with a pen.

Shen Yuan nodded, having the same intention.

The ravine was two acres large, where other Spirit Seeds could be planted in the future. These eighteen Purple Star Fruits would be planted in a corner.

In the evening, after a busy day, the two of them returned home.

Shen Wenyan came over.

"Ah Die, I need a favor from you."

Shen Yuan, brushing off the dirt from his body, curiously asked, "What is it?"

Shen Wenyan handed over a pouch of money, "Master wants to listen to the zither, I want you to help buy a guqin."

Listen to the zither?

Shen Yuan looked in the direction of the backyard.

Lu Zhiyuan had been staying there for some time, and it had been over a month since they last saw him come out.

"There might not be a good guqin in town. How about this, write a letter to your brother, and ask him to bring one back for you."

Shen Wenyan nodded and said nothing more, turning to head to the backyard.

Beside them, Hu Yufen, witnessing all this, walked over with some concern.

"If Ah Nu continues like this, he might ruin himself."

Since returning from the Royal City, the once lively and talkative son had become like this, and as a mother, Hu Yufen was deeply worried.

With three sons, the youngest, Shen Wen'an, was the same, and now the second son has also become like this, causing her endless worry.

Shen Yuan smiled and comforted, "Don't worry, he's quite normal."

Initially, Shen Yuan also feared that the matter with Master Lu would greatly impact his son.

He even had a special talk with Shen Wenyan about it.

During the conversation, Shen Wenyan showed no signs of mental distress, and instead of the expected blow, the Royal City incident had strengthened his resolve.

Shen Yuan always adhered to one principle in educating his children.

As long as the child is positive and striving, he doesn't interfere excessively.

Moreover, in recent times, he often found Shen Wenyan diligently studying various classical texts more rigorously than before.

Studying to cultivate the character.

The second son's previous nature was somewhat rebellious; if he could change, it might not be a bad thing.

Hu Yufen sighed, with a hint of resentment in her eyes.

She always felt that her husband's method of raising children was like herding sheep.

As April approached.

The tense Spirit Root testing at the Ascension Pavilion had finally come to a temporary halt.

For Shen Wenxing and the others, the busy period at the Ascension Pavilion was only during this time; later, they would merely collect herbs, cultivate Spirit Seeds, with Spirit Root testing being a rare event annually.

With the wedding date approaching, Shen Wenxing went to the County Government in Anyang County this day to request leave from the new County Magistrate, Tang Xian.

Tang Xian, though a rigid person, was not ignorant of social customs.

After approving Shen Wenxing's leave, he also took out ten taels of silver.

"Tang is busy with affairs and cannot make time, so here are ten taels of silver as a gift, and in advance, congratulations to Steward Shen."

After thanking Tang Xian, Shen Wenxing collected the silver.

Returning to the Ascension Pavilion, he instructed the clerks and assistants about various matters, then rode his horse towards Jinliu Village.

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