Gu Wanhao brought Gu Huan onto the flying sword, and in a moment they disappeared from the sight of Gu Shan and his wife.
“Yurong, be at ease.
Father will certainly be able to take good care of Huan’er.” Gu Shan tried to comfort her.
He, too, hated to see the boy leave, but pride outweighed his reluctance.
Fang Yurong nodded.
“I know.
But a mother never stops worrying about her child, however old he grows.
And Huan’er is going into a world we don’t fully understand.” With Gu Huan accompanying him, Gu Wanhao flew more slowly.
At the sight of the pale red sword light, the mortals of Jade Clear Town dropped to their knees.
“Paying respects to the immortal!” “It’s an immortal!” Only after the sword light had gone far did the kneeling mortals stand up.
“Didn’t that immortal just leave our Jade Clear Town?” “It should be an immortal from the main family coming to visit descendants in the mortal world, right?
Jade Clear Town has many offspring of immortals,” a hunchbacked old man said.
“If only I could also become an immortal!” Someone sighed.
“You?
You can’t even beat your own wife, and you still want to become an immortal?” The fat man standing beside him sneered.
“You’re one to talk, Fatty Zhuang!
Who was it whose wife dragged him out of the tavern by the ear a few days ago?” the man retorted.
There were also people thinking: Today I saw an immortal; tonight at Paijiu I’ll definitely be able to win two more rounds!
The crowd joked and chattered, but their words were full of reverence for cultivators.
The outward journey had taken Gu Wanhao about a quarter of an hour; the return took a little under an hour.
It was Gu Huan’s first time flying in the air.
Although he was somewhat afraid, more than that he was excited, which also saved Gu Wanhao quite a bit of effort.
Very soon, the two arrived at Emerald Maple Mountain.
On his first visit to Emerald Maple Mountain, Gu Huan was curious about everything.
He kept looking about, scarcely able to take it all in.
So this is the Emerald Maple Mountain that Father and Mother often mention?
The scenery here is too beautiful!
Even the paradises in storybooks could be no lovelier.
He had never seen trees so tall, and the air here felt soothing and comforting.
All his nervousness from the flight melted away.
“Huan’er, Grandpa will take you to meet the Clan Patriarch, all right?
The Clan Patriarch is the leader of our Gu Clan.
The cultivators of our Gu Clan all must listen to his words.” Gu Wanhao said to Gu Huan.
Hearing Gu Wanhao’s words, Gu Huan answered without hesitation: “Whatever you say, Grandpa!
Is the patriarch my grandpa too?” “Of course!
The Clan Patriarch ranks ninth in the Gu Clan’s Wan generation.
He is Huan’er’s Ninth Grandpa.
However, Huan’er still must address Ninth Grandpa as Clan Patriarch to show respect.
The Clan Patriarch will definitely also like our Huan’er!” Gu Wanhao stroked his beard.
He had already begun imagining the Clan Patriarch’s expression when he learned that Gu Huan possessed a spiritual body.
Meanwhile, the Gu Clan patriarch, Gu Wanchang, sat on a meditation cushion.
His left eyelid had been twitching all day—a sign of good fortune—but he could not think where that good fortune might come from.
“Ninth Brother, I’ve returned!” Gu Wanhao called out from outside Gu Wanchang’s cave dwelling, with Gu Huan beside him.
Gu Wanchang opened a passage through the formation guarding his cave dwelling, and grandfather and grandson entered.
Seeing Gu Huan, Gu Wanchang slapped his thigh.
Without waiting for Gu Wanhao to speak, he said first: “Wait!
Let me guess.
This child has spirit roots, and the spirit roots are quite good!
Am I right?” Gu Wanhao gave him a look that said, How did you know?
I haven’t told you anything yet.
“Yes and no.
Ninth Brother, activate your formation.” Gu Wanhao’s solemn manner brought Gu Wanchang back to his senses.
He activated the formation around his cave dwelling.
“You can speak now.
With this formation fully active, even a Purple Mansion cultivator cannot find out what goes on inside.” Gu Wanhao looked at Gu Huan and did not directly speak of Gu Huan’s spiritual body.
“This is Gu Shan’s son, my grandson, named Gu Huan.” Gu Huan stepped forward and bowed: “Greetings to Clan Patriarch Grandpa.” So it’s Gu Shan’s child!
Gu Wanchang felt a warm sense of satisfaction.
He had never taken a dual-cultivation partner himself, but he had often seen Gu Shan as a child.
Sadly, Gu Shan had no spiritual roots and had been sent to live among the mortals after turning seven.
“Good child.
You are Wanhao’s grandson.
According to the clan’s generational sequence, from now on you shall be called Gu Changhuan.” “Changhuan understands.” Gu Changhuan nodded, his small face serious and earnest.
The sight filled Gu Wanchang with affection.
He took a Jade Jue from his storage bag and offered it to Gu Changhuan.
“A little gift for our first meeting, Changhuan.
Remember to come and visit your Patriarch Grandpa often!” Seeing that Gu Wanhao had no intention of stopping him, Gu Changhuan received the Jade Jue with both hands, smiling so widely his eyes narrowed.
Gu Wanchang chuckled to himself.
A little treasure-lover, this one.
“I’ve given my gift.
Twelfth Brother, you can surely tell me about your precious grandson’s spirit roots now, right?
Could it be Dual Spirit Roots?” Gu Wanchang asked.
In the cultivation world, anyone with dual spiritual roots qualified as a genius.
Barring mishaps, a little effort and luck could take them to the Purple Mansion Realm, where they could protect an entire region.
“This child has Five Spirit Roots,” Gu Wanhao said slowly.
Five Spirit Roots?
Five Spirit Roots very commonly had imbalanced Five Elements and were usually considered the worst spirit roots.
Gu Wanchang was a little disappointed.
Yet something about Gu Wanhao’s deliberately mysterious air told him there was more to it.
“This child has balanced Five Elements?” If the Five Elements were balanced, there was still the possibility of Foundation Establishment, and five-spirit-root cultivators of the same rank were reputed to be invincible.
That would also be fortunate for the clan.
“He has five spiritual roots.
Each measures nine cun and nine fen.” “Nine cun nine fen!
Each attribute!” Gu Wanchang was greatly shocked!
This was truly extraordinary.
Nine-cun-nine-fen spirit roots were extremely broad.
Changhuan’s future cultivation speed would likely match some ordinary triple-spirit-root cultivators.
Gu Changhuan looked at his grandfather.
Why did Grandpa keep telling him only half the story?
Was he teasing Patriarch Grandpa…?
“Our Changhuan possesses a spiritual body!” Gu Wanhao took out the Heaven-Testing Pearl and once again handed it to Gu Changhuan.
Dazzling light appeared once more.
Gu Wanchang excitedly stood up at once.
He stared fixedly at the Heaven-Testing Pearl and Gu Changhuan, as if he had seen some peerless treasure.
“Good, good, good!
The ancestors bless us!
Heaven prospers our Gu Clan!” After three delighted cries of approval, Gu Wanchang burst into laughter.
“But Ninth Brother, the Gu Clan doesn’t have a cultivation technique suitable for Changhuan’s practice.” Gu Wanhao’s words dampened Gu Wanchang’s delight like a splash of cold water.
Gu Wanchang paced back and forth a few steps.
“Let him start with a basic Qi Condensation art.
Meanwhile, we old fellows will ask around and try to find a suitable five-element cultivation method for him.
The priority is to teach Changhuan to cultivate.
Then we can find out exactly what kind of spiritual body he has.” “By the way, who else knows about Changhuan possessing a spiritual body?” Gu Wanchang asked.
In this kind of matter, no amount of caution was excessive.
One careless mistake might bring the disaster of clan extermination.
“Only you, me, and Changhuan.
His parents were not there when I tested him, and I have told him he must keep it secret.” To keep the secret safe, he had not even sent the patriarch a Communication Talisman beforehand.
“Twelfth Brother, you did very well.
Our Gu Clan is merely a small Foundation Establishment clan.
If this matter were to leak out, both Changhuan and the entire Gu Clan might face the calamity of annihilation.” Gu Wanchang was not exaggerating.
A cultivator could seize the body of someone with lower cultivation.
Many powerful cultivators who struggled to break through would seek a weaker cultivator with exceptional aptitude, hoping to advance further on the path to longevity.
Fortunately, a cultivator could seize another body only once in a lifetime.
Nor did possession itself extend their lifespan.
They usually needed several days to gain full control of the new body, and during that time could use only about a third of its abilities.
Seizing another body was no easy undertaking.
But as long as the benefits were large enough, there would be no shortage of people willing to risk danger.
The fear that someone might seize Gu Changhuan’s body also prevented the Gu Clan from sending him to a sect.