Get to Work

Lin Xiao said to the three of them:

Hey, Baldy, if you know anyone in the village or the nearby villages who has a good character, you can talk to them and ask if they are willing to join us. But let me make this clear first: don't easily reveal the fact that we can actually cultivate to become immortals! If this isn't handled well and some ill-intentioned person finds out, it could be a lot of trouble if they start plotting against us.

Qin Jianghe listened with great interest, while Tietou scratched the back of his head in confusion.

Baldy, however, gave a grand wave of his hand.

Don't worry, Brother Xiao. To outsiders, we'll just act like we're playing around. We won't let anyone know we actually have the ability to cultivate. That's what you mean, right?

Lin Xiao nodded.

That's exactly it. In the eyes of others, we're still just a few kids. Until we have achieved success in our cultivation, it's best to keep a low profile.

Seeing the confused look on Tietou's face, Lin Xiao asked him:

Tietou, what didn't you understand?

Tietou replied:

Brother Xiao, I understand the gist of what you're saying, but I just don't know what that... malice-granny thing you mentioned is?

Gah! You don't even know that! Before Lin Xiao could explain, Baldy slapped his own thigh and explained for him, That was 'malicious intent.' It means someone is hiding bad thoughts in their heart, you get it now?

Oh, oh, oh! I get it, I get it. Don't worry, Brother Xiao, we definitely won't let anyone else know! Having his confusion cleared, Tietou patted his chest confidently, feeling refreshed.

Qin Jianghe then spoke up:

I think we should do it this way: if we see someone suitable to join us, we'll just find a random excuse to bring them to Brother Xiao, and then let Brother Xiao do the talking. That way, we won't accidentally mess things up.

The others heard this and thought it was a good idea, nodding one after another.

Right, then it's settled!

In the blink of an eye, it was already around two or three in the afternoon.

After they finished chatting, Lin Xiao patted his rear and stood up.

Come on, our sect has an urgent matter to attend to right now. I'll take you back to the sect to show you the way while we're at it.

The three of them immediately followed Lin Xiao out the door in excitement.

When they reached halfway up the mountain, the three of them immediately gasped in awe at the ten-mile stretch of peach trees by the roadside.

Brother Xiao, these peach trees are so beautiful! I've been to the neighboring Peach Blossom Village, and even they don't have peach trees as nice as these!

In a grass hut not far away, Fuzi heard the commotion and walked out.

Lin Yun had already gone down the mountain at noon to return to the old Lin family house to learn carpentry from Old Man Lin.

Tietou! Jianghe! Baldy! Hahaha, you guys are here too!

Fuzi! Hey! I heard from Brother Xiao that you've already started cultivating and have become a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refinement? Not bad, Fuzi!

Fuzi rubbed the back of his head and gave a humble giggle.

No, no, Brother Xiao is the truly amazing one. Brother Xiao is already at the third level of Qi Refinement. I was taught everything by him.

The group gathered together. Even though they had only been apart for a few days, they acted as if they hadn't seen each other in years.

The originally quiet mountainside suddenly became lively.

Lin Xiao interrupted their reunion at the right moment and took the three newcomers on a tour to introduce the current facilities of the sect.

There wasn't much, really—just the peach trees, the grass hut, the herb field, and the sect's defensive barrier.

The sect's stone tablet was completely ignored by the boys, none of whom could read.

The tour and introduction only took a single walk-around.

But even with just these few things, Tietou and the other two were extremely supportive, expressing their amazement over and over again.

Once the tour was over, it was time to talk business.

Lin Xiao said to them:

We have two tasks right now. The first is to construct our sect's Main Hall.

Tietou immediately rolled up his sleeves.

I went with my dad to build houses for people a while back and learned a bit about construction! How do we build it? Brother Xiao, just say the word!

The other three were not to be outdone, all declaring they could start working right away.

Lin Xiao smiled.

We don't need to build the house ourselves. I have a method. We just need to dig up soil and chop down trees.

Hearing this, the boys' eyes widened in surprise. A house could be built without them actually building it?

Baldy was the first to pull himself out of his shock.

From now on, we're going to be cultivators. We can't be making such a big deal out of everything. Think about it—it's just building a house. For us, who will eventually be able to live forever and move mountains and fill seas, is this even worth mentioning?

Hearing him say this, everyone felt it made a lot of sense and suppressed the surprise in their hearts.

Qin Jianghe chimed in:

Baldy is right. We can't embarrass Brother Xiao! In the future, we'll be... what was it called again?

Lin Xiao: Cultivators.

Right, right, right, we'll be cultivators in the future! Our abilities will only get greater and greater! Brother Xiao, am I right?

Lin Xiao nodded with a smile. Correct.

Lin Xiao had already calculated the approximate amount of soil and timber needed in his head. However, regarding the soil, he didn't want to use ordinary dirt. He wanted to find some red clay, as it would be sturdier.

Based on the previous process of the Spirit Grass Soil Synthesizer creating spirit field soil, he guessed that the base materials required by this synthesizer probably followed a 1:1 ratio.

For example, if he was building a house and he put in a certain number of cubic meters of earth and wood, the synthesized building would occupy the maximum space possible using those materials.

Lin Xiao didn't intend to make the Sect Hall too large; otherwise, the few hundred square meters of space on the mountainside wouldn't be enough.

Now that the task required building a cultivation room, he guessed there might be requirements for alchemy rooms or weapon-refining rooms later on.

After all, since spirit fields and herbs had appeared, could alchemy be far behind?

So, he had to leave empty space for these buildings that would likely need to be constructed in the future.

Thus, in Lin Xiao's plan, the new Sect Hall would cover an area of about fifty square meters.

Fifty square meters was certainly enough for now for their sect, which currently had fewer than ten members and likely wouldn't be expanding rapidly in the future.

If it wasn't enough... well, if the ground area wasn't enough, he could find a way to make the hall taller.

As for the cultivation room.

Lin Xiao had thought about that too. Since no one would be doing much in the cultivation room anyway except for sitting quietly to meditate, he would just make it a large open space, put the Spirit Gathering Array inside, and ensure it had good soundproofing.

Lin Xiao had already calculated the amount of earth and wood needed for the Sect Hall. They needed about 60 cubic meters of soil and about fifteen logs with a diameter greater than 15 centimeters and a length of more than three meters.

Then, Lin Xiao took out the large bamboo baskets that Lin Yun had brought up earlier and said to the group:

Our Sect Hall needs a lot of soil. We'll need to carry back about a hundred baskets this size.

The boys looked at the baskets, which were as wide as a person's embrace, and all said it was no problem.

Fearing they would push themselves too hard and exhaust their bodies to carry the soil, Lin Xiao immediately added:

There's no rush for this Sect Hall. You need to keep your bodies in good shape for cultivation. Don't ruin your health just to build a hall. We'll carry it together, just a little bit every day. The rest of the time must be reserved for cultivation!