Sights and Sounds of Yuanling City (Part II)

He had already made up his mind. Coming to the cultivation world this time, he couldn't just hastily complete his mission and return immediately. He needed to learn more about the affairs of the cultivation world. What if their sect grew bigger and stronger in the future and wanted to expand here?

Wait, the system task asked him to befriend cultivators or families here. Wasn't that actually hinting that he would have to expand here later?

Otherwise, the system wouldn't issue such a task for no reason.

In Seven Star Street, no one paid attention to this twelve-year-old boy. After all, in Yuanling City, there were quite a few descendants of noble clans wandering around without any cultivation base.

Because of the system's shielding function and the peach leaf pendant he carried with him, to outsiders, he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary twelve-year-old mortal boy.

After asking around, Lin Xiao couldn't help but click his tongue in secret astonishment.

Were there really this many mystic realms near Yuanling City? Just from taking a quick stroll, he had heard the names of no less than five entirely different mystic realms set to open within the next month at most.

Lin Xiao was just about to mention this to Liao Pantu when Liao Pantu preempted him with a telepathic message:

"Lin Xiao! Did you hear that! The Ice Field Mystic Realm!"

Seeing him suddenly so excited, Lin Xiao carefully filtered through the noisy chatter around him and sure enough, he caught the news that "the Ice Field Mystic Realm will open in five days."

"I heard it. What's wrong with this mystic realm?"

"My soul fragment! A Foundation Establishment mystic realm! It's this one!"

"Oh!" Hearing this sudden news, Lin Xiao was very surprised. He had thought Senior Liao's journey to recover his soul fragments would be long and distant, but he didn't expect progress so soon.

As for how Senior Liao knew the name of this mystic realm...

Lin Xiao could guess with his toes. It must be because over the past few decades, the cultivators who entered the mystic realm would always mention its name.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiao said:

"Senior, why don't you just tell me all the names of the mystic realms where your soul fragments are trapped?"

If Liao Pantu were standing in front of Lin Xiao right now, Lin Xiao would definitely see him roll his eyes:

"Do you think I don't want to? Although they are all my soul fragments, due to the barriers of the mystic realms and the distance, plus the fact that I haven't fused my souls for decades, many of the memories I acquired after my soul was split are very blurry when shared among the fragments. I just happened to overhear the name of the Ice Field Mystic Realm, and the memory suddenly became clear."

Lin Xiao expressed his understanding.

This meant Liao Pantu still needed to hear the name of the mystic realm trapping him to remember that he was locked inside it.

It seemed that the journey to find Senior Liao's soul fragments would still be a long one.

He suddenly thought of something and asked Senior Liao:

"Then can I just collect a bunch of mystic realm names and read them to you one by one to see if they ring a bell?"

Hearing this, Liao Pantu paused for a moment and then gave him a rare compliment:

"That's actually a pretty good idea."

Lin Xiao then thought of another thing:

"By the way, Senior, were you... split into soul fragments near Yuanling City back then?"

Recalling that tragic memory, Liao Pantu fell silent for a moment before speaking up:

"Pretty much. It wasn't too far from here."

Seeing that he was unwilling to talk more about it, Lin Xiao didn't press for details and simply said:

"Then is the Green Field Mystic Realm also near Yuanling City? Do you know, Senior?"

"I wasn't in the Southern Spirit Domain during my Qi Condensation stage, so I'm not familiar with this kind of Qi Condensation mystic realm. However, I do recognize the two sects that enter it every year, the Heavenly Profound Sect and the Earthly Fiend Sect. Just like I told you before, they rank in the top five among the eighteen sects of the Southern Spirit Domain, and they aren't too far from Yuanling City. Are you saying..."

Lin Xiao nodded and said:

"Exactly. I'm guessing that the mystic realms trapping your soul fragments should all be in the Southern Spirit Domain, perhaps even all near Yuanling City."

The reason he hadn't thought of this before was entirely because he had no idea that things like mystic realms were so... common in the cultivation world.

He had thought he would have to search the entire world.

He never expected the scope to narrow down so drastically all at once.

However, Liao Pantu snorted softly and said:

"Kid, I knew that long ago. I just deliberately didn't tell you to test if you truly had the heart to help me find them. It seems you're doing alright... Hurry up and go find out the location of the entrance to the Ice Field Mystic Realm."

"Copy that, I guarantee to complete the mission!"

Saying so, Lin Xiao mingled back into the crowd to gather information about the Ice Field Mystic Realm.

Just as he had collected the specific location, the opening time, and various related details of the Ice Field Mystic Realm, he heard a shout from the entrance of Seven Star Street:

"The Yuan family's heir is here!"

"To think that the new heir of the Yuan family is such an ethereal fairy!"

A female cultivator nearby sneered at the man:

"Why make such a fuss over a woman being the heir? Eight out of the ten great families in the neighboring Great Lake City have female heads."

"Listen to you. Since ancient times, when have there ever been more female cultivators than male ones? It's normal for men to be family heads. When a woman leads, the family easily suffers from an excess of yin and a depletion of yang, which goes against the harmony of heaven."

"Bullshit! Does an excess of yang and a depletion of yin not go against the harmony of heaven?!"

...

At the entrance of Seven Star Street, a woman with a transcendent and beautiful face slowly flew in on a white peacock. She looked to be in her twenties, yet her cultivation had already reached the early Foundation Establishment stage. She seemed completely oblivious to the various discussions about her in the street below, her expression completely leisurely.

Looking from afar, Lin Xiao felt that the woman's face looked slightly familiar, but for a moment, he couldn't recall why. Besides, he was sure he had never met this person before.

At this time, someone near Lin Xiao was also praising:

"There's a reason she could secure the position of the Yuan family's heir as a woman. I heard that Yuan Zhiyun is only thirty-five years old this year, yet she is already a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Her outstanding talent truly makes me envious!"

In Lin Xiao's arms, Liao Pantu also spoke up at the right moment:

"To think that the conservative Yuan family would actually allow a woman to be the heir. Rare, truly rare. It seems this woman has quite some means."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao asked curiously:

"Is this Yuan family very famous?"

"The Yuan family is the most powerful family in Yuanling City, and they have some connections with the Heavenly Profound Sect. Every ten years, they can directly secure a few disciple quotas from the Heavenly Profound Sect.

"If you want to befriend some families, the Yuan family is a good choice, but also a dangerous one. After all, their power dynamics are complex. If you aren't careful, you might be swallowed whole by them," Liao Pantu explained patiently.

Lin Xiao had previously mentioned his goal of building connections in the cultivation world on this trip to Liao Pantu, which was why he brought it up now.

Lin Xiao thought about it and said:

"I don't really want to get involved with such large families either. It's too troublesome. I think it's better to start with smaller families."