Remake

By evening, when everyone gathered around the dinner table, the Lock Ring naturally became the main topic of conversation.

“Brother Xiao, can most of the Lock Ring’s manufacturing process be reproduced on a large scale?” Qin Jianghe asked.

After hearing about all the Lock Ring’s functions, his first thought—as the person in charge of managing the sect’s finances—was whether it could be sold outside the sect.

Lin Xiao smiled knowingly.

“Of course. Aside from the materials, the manufacturing process is somewhat complicated, but with enough practice, it can be reproduced in batches.”

There was no need to worry about others making imitations for sale. The formation patterns inside the Lock Ring could not be disassembled and copied by outsiders. The moment they were taken apart, the patterns would collapse completely.

Moreover, one’s spiritual sense could only control the adjustable portions set within the auxiliary formations. The rest of the supporting formations were extremely intricate and precise, with layer upon layer of interlocking composite formations.

Without being personally taught by the maker, it was virtually impossible to reproduce them simply by probing with one’s spiritual sense.

Of course, that was a different matter if one happened to be a mighty expert with extraordinarily powerful spiritual sense and unfathomably deep cultivation.

As for the materials used to make the Lock Ring, most were not a problem. The only issue was that the primary material for the ring itself was Condensed Cold Jade.

Lin Xiao had tried many other materials, most of them a wide variety of artifact-refining materials purchased from the cultivation world. Some were cheap, while others were expensive.

However, because the Lock Ring was so small, none of the other materials could withstand so many complicated and precise formation patterns while also keeping them stable over long-term use.

After testing numerous materials, the Condensed Cold Jade stored within the sect had ultimately performed the best.

That was why Lin Xiao had chosen Condensed Cold Jade for the Lock Rings to be used by the sect’s members.

“I’ve already made two hundred Lock Rings, which is enough for everyone in the sect for now. Later, I’ll teach the Artifact Refinement Hall how to make them. From then on, the Artifact Refinement Hall will take over their research and production.”

Although the sect still had a great deal of Condensed Cold Jade in storage and each Lock Ring consumed only a small amount, long-term sales would naturally require consideration of a sustainable supply of materials.

Thus, in addition to learning how to make the Lock Rings and streamlining the process into an assembly line, the Artifact Refinement Hall would also be responsible for continuing the search for substitute materials.

Hu Liang solemnly took note of the task.

After discussing the Lock Rings, Lin Xiao brought up another matter.

“The Icefield Secret Realm will be opening soon this year. Does anyone want to go in?”

Ever since Lin Xiao had obtained the Secret Realm Key and returned from the Icefield Secret Realm during its first year, only Sun Yigao, Mo Yuanjiao, and Jiang Youfu had entered it in the second year.

Little Luan had wanted to go as well, but Lin Xiao had refused.

The reason was that he possessed only the Secret Realm Key and had not obtained the Secret Realm Core, so he was unable to fully control the secret realm.

The people inside were all cultivators from the cultivation world, and their cultivation was no longer limited to the Qi Condensation Stage.

Most Foundation Establishment cultivators in the cultivation world had already spent decades, or even centuries, cultivating. Their methods and experience were far beyond what Little Luan—who had spent her days wandering around the sect at the time—could compare with.

Putting such a large Core Formation chicken demon among a crowd of cultivators would naturally make her a target. Lin Xiao was extremely worried about her safety.

Although they had the Secret Realm Key and escaping the secret realm would not be difficult, Lin Xiao still refused to let Little Luan enter.

While the sect’s members would eventually need to accumulate experience through training and exploration, Lin Xiao would always prioritize their safety whenever entering the secret realm was not absolutely necessary.

In the third year, Lin Xiao happened to be in seclusion. Liu Yunan was unsure what to do and therefore did not open the entrance to the Icefield Secret Realm on his own initiative.

As a result, most of the people in the Lingxian Sect had yet to enter the Icefield Secret Realm.

“I want to go!” Before anyone else could speak, Jiang Youfu, who had already been there once, eagerly voiced his desire.

His first trip had been more like sightseeing, so he had not been particularly excited about the secret realm itself.

But this time was different.

He wanted to go fishing in the Icefield Secret Realm!

Although the ice pond in the small garden within the sect’s secret realm was stocked with plenty of Silvertail Fish, Little Luan had already taken charge of it.

Apart from Tuantuan, who could occasionally fish there after apparently reaching some secret agreement with Little Luan, no one else was allowed to catch them at will.

However, Silvertail Fish tasted excellent and was suitable for all kinds of cooking methods. It was one of Jiang Youfu’s favorite ingredients.

So this time, he was determined to go again for the sake of the Silvertail Fish!

If Brother Xiao had not told him that he might encounter even more rare and precious ingredients once his cultivation became higher, Jiang Youfu might even have wanted to remain at the Foundation Establishment Stage forever so he could enter the Icefield Secret Realm every year to fish.

He had already made plans. Once he caught the Silvertail Fish and brought it back, he would clean and process it all before having Yunan place it in the ingredient storage area of the sect’s treasury.

He absolutely could not put it in the ice pond, where Little Luan would take charge of it again.

With Jiang Youfu speaking up, the other people who had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage also expressed their desire to go.

After all, although they had been cultivating for three years, aside from the members of the Finance Hall who traveled to the cultivation world to conduct business, very few of them had any real contact with that world.

The sect’s Qi Condensation-stage Verdant Wilds Secret Realm was closed to outsiders. Although it was quite interesting inside, that only made them even more curious about the cultivation world.

And so, the matter of the Lingxian Sect opening the Icefield Secret Realm for the second time was settled.

They would simply wait until the secret realm opened. Once it did, the sect members at the Foundation Establishment Stage would be able to enter and gain experience.

As dinner drew to a close and Liu Yunan finished recording all the various matters, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He looked up at Lin Xiao, his expression troubled and somewhat embarrassed.

“Brother Xiao, there were too many things going on before, and I kept forgetting to tell you. This time, so many people came to the Heart-Questioning Path for the disciple assessment that the control room prompted me to upgrade it. It used a great deal of the spirit stones from our spirit stone mine…”

Lin Xiao had already seen the system notifications about the Heart-Questioning Path’s upgrade amid the mountain of messages that had appeared when he left seclusion.

Seeing Liu Yunan’s troubled expression, he replied casually, “It’s fine. More and more people may come to our sect for assessments in the future. This is an expense we should make.”

Seeing how relaxed Lin Xiao looked, Liu Yunan was reassured. He let out a long breath.

“I thought so too. Besides, I figured the stipends we brothers have accumulated over the years should be enough to cover it, so I approved everything at the time.”

At that, everyone around the table whom he had referred to as his brothers instinctively touched the storage rings they wore specifically to hold their personal spirit stones.

Lin Xiao gave a helpless laugh. “It’s not as exaggerated as all that…”

Then Liu Yunan continued, “Although most of our spirit stone mine has been depleted, the Finance Hall’s income has been increasing steadily over the past two years. It’s more than enough to support the entire sect’s operations, with some left over. If we continue nurturing the mine for a few more years, we should be able to restore some of its reserves.”

“Most of it has been depleted?!” Lin Xiao almost failed to control his voice, the final syllable rising into an odd crack.