Suddenly, the myriad golden threads tightened sharply. Shen Xian let out a muffled groan, feeling as though countless fine needles were piercing every vein in his body.

Those golden threads, once merely connected to Daoist insights, had now transformed into conduits for raw power. They forcefully poured an ocean-like torrent of spiritual energy directly into his spiritual root.

Ugh—

Veins bulged violently on Shen Xian’s forehead. His ninth-grade spiritual root screamed in agony under the onslaught of such immense pressure.

He could clearly feel his spiritual root—rough and grainy like coarse sand—crumbling inch by inch.

“Only through destruction can the true self emerge,” Shen Changsheng’s voice echoed in his mind.

Amidst the excruciating pain, Shen Xian vaguely saw a golden seed floating within his dantian—a primordial essence condensed from the Li Fire True Seal.

The seed bobbed and weaved amidst the torrent of spiritual energy, its surface gradually cracking like a spiderweb.

Crack!

With a crisp sound audible only to Shen Xian, the golden seed shattered completely.

But instead of the anticipated dispersal of chaotic energy, he was met with an unprecedented clarity.

“Hmm?” Shen Changsheng suddenly murmured softly. “Is this… the essence of the Li Realm?”

It was only then that he noticed the Li Fire True Seal residing within the youth.

This meant the boy had received recognition from the Li Realm.

Truly extraordinary.

Though Shen Changsheng was the creator of this seventh-grade magical array, in reality, he had merely repaired and completed an ancient foundation. Its origins reached back into the primordial history of the Shen family.

Thus, seeing Shen Xian receive recognition from the Li Realm surprised even him.

“Who would have thought this young man possessed such great fortune,” Shen Changsheng sighed.

Only at his level did one truly understand that innate talent and aptitude paled in comparison to absolute fortune. The former could be enhanced through external means, but the latter remained profoundly mysterious and elusive.

This stirred a flicker of another thought within him.

Shen Xian had now entered a profound state.

He looked inward at his dantian and saw that the fragments of his former spiritual root—once rough and impure—were reorganizing themselves. They gradually coalesced into a new form, crystalline and jade-like.

“This is…”

Two mysterious patterns appeared on the surface of the new spiritual root: one crimson and one golden, entwined like two dancing dragons.

Even more astonishingly, the body of the spiritual root itself had taken on a rare, glass-like texture, emitting a gentle glow within the dantian.

A dual-element spiritual root!

In the cultivation world, high-grade spiritual roots were typically dual-element. If the elements were mutually reinforcing, cultivation proceeded smoothly; if they were mutually antagonistic, special techniques were required to harmonize them.

As his spiritual root transformed, Shen Xian felt his consciousness drawn into a strange realm where blazing flames burned on the left and apocalyptic thunder raged on the right.

He stood at the intersection of these two extreme forces, experiencing their paradoxical yet symbiotic essence.

“Just a second-grade spiritual root?” Outside, Shen Changsheng observed this scene, his words tinged with a hint of disappointment.

Originally, he had estimated that the boy would at least awaken an Earth Spiritual Root. Yet he never imagined it would ultimately transform into merely a second-grade spiritual root.

Though it was considered high-grade, it was far from sufficient for his expectations…

His talent was simply too poor!

Shen Changsheng sighed inwardly. This caused the thoughts he had initially entertained to waver once again.

As time passed, Shen Xian finally adapted to the changes brought about by the transformation. He slowly opened his eyes, his entire body radiating an inexplicable aura.

He subconsciously activated his cultivation technique and found that his previously obscure and obstructed meridians now flowed as smoothly as rushing rivers.

“Is this… the power of a second-grade spiritual root?”

Shen Xian gazed in disbelief at his hands, which glowed with a jade-like luster.

What had once taken half a day to complete—a single circulation of Qi around the body—could now be achieved in a single breath.

“Thank you, Ancestor, for your blessings!” he said with a joyful heart, bowing once more to Shen Changsheng.

Shen Changsheng, however, stood with his hands behind his back. His pupils shimmered with shifting light as he retraced the events that had transpired within the entire magical array, seeking to determine whether this descendant was worthy to receive that treasure.

In the first trial, he saw the boy wielding a sword, wreaking havoc everywhere. He emanated power clearly equivalent to a Golden Core cultivator, yet strangely, Shen Changsheng couldn’t discern his true cultivation level. Truly odd.

In the second trial, he witnessed the vast spiritual awareness employed by the boy within the Li Realm—a power no Foundation Establishment cultivator could possibly possess.

And in the third trial, aided by the Li Fire True Seal, this young man solved the puzzle with unusual speed, seemingly mastering some powerful cultivation technique along the way.

Shen Changsheng came to his senses and looked once more at the person before him. His shifting gaze revealed no discernible emotion.

Meanwhile, Shen Xian maintained his respectful posture, making no rash movements.

“Very well.”

He sighed softly. His eyes, glowing with the brilliance of the sun and moon, suddenly burst forth with dazzling spiritual light, causing the entire Ancestral Hall to tremble.

Shen Changsheng stood with his hands behind his back, his robes billowing without wind. The chaotic energy swirling around him condensed into palpable pressure.

“Shen Xian.”

This call seemed to come from ancient times, carrying the weight of millennia.

The Daoist inscriptions etched into the walls of the Ancestral Hall lit up simultaneously, amplifying the voice of the Founding Ancestor layer upon layer, creating ripples in the void.

“The head of this family asks you…”

Each word fell like a thunderclap, shaking Shen Xian’s spirit and soul.

“If the Shen family declines and falls to the status of a third-rate clan…”

Shen Changsheng’s voice suddenly soared. The thirty-six eternal lamps in the Ancestral Hall’s dome erupted in blinding light.

“Do you have the confidence…”

“To restore it to its former glory!”

“To become the foremost family on the continent!”

The final phrase transformed into tangible golden runes, hanging over Shen Xian’s head like Mount Tai pressing down. Each stroke brimmed with suffocating power.

The air in the Ancestral Hall seemed to solidify. Even time itself stood still, leaving only this question echoing endlessly in the void.

Shen Xian responded almost involuntarily.

“Yes!”

Just a single word, yet it sounded extraordinarily weighty at this moment.

He raised his head, staring directly into the overwhelming pressure, his voice terrifyingly resolute.

Shen Changsheng had been watching him the entire time. When the boy gave his answer, the ancestor’s pupils revealed a peculiar glint.

This question was merely to test the boy’s Dao Heart.

Yet the response was even more resolute than that of the previous young man, Shen Xing.

Why was this so?

After all, his innate talent and aptitude were inferior to Shen Xing’s. What source of confidence could he possibly have?

In fact, Shen Xian’s unwavering resolve stemmed purely from his confidence in the Empress.

He believed that his Empress would one day return to her peak. With the system’s blessings, he himself needed no effort at all—simply sleeping each day would suffice to reach the pinnacle of the world and ascend to the celestial heights.

If that were the case, what difficulty could there be in protecting a family?

Even conceding everything else, if the Empress failed, could he not find another Dao Companion?

With the blessing of fate in relationships, Shen Xian saw only a bright path straight to the celestial realm.

He didn’t even need to walk; he could lie down and arrive at the destination.

“Excellent!”

Shen Changsheng’s eyes flared with divine light, his voice reverberating like a great bell throughout the Ancestral Hall.

He gazed at Shen Xian, his eyes filled with rare admiration.

“A Dao Heart of iron, blessed by fortune—only then can one forge one’s own path in the immortal journey.”

The Combined Body True Venerable stood with his hands behind his back, chaotic energy swirling around him like dragons.

The doubts he had held earlier had vanished completely, replaced by the joy of discovering a raw gem.

“Since that is so…”

He raised his hand and lightly touched the void, his fingertips blossoming with myriad patterns.

These patterns intertwined and transformed, eventually coalescing before Shen Xian into an ancient scripture.

“Today, the head of this family bestows upon you the Ancestral Dao Scripture of the Shen family, to aid you in comprehending the mysteries of the Dao and mastering the essence of this array.”