And Then What

But since the man refused to say it outright, he instead kept speaking in roundabout hints, with hidden implications woven through his words.

Clearly, he had come looking for him.

And given how unfamiliar they were with each other, the man had apparently decided to use a little intimidation to achieve his goal.

As for the influence of yin energy, that was merely an opening.

Tsk. He looked so young, yet he had so many schemes.

Lin Xiao naturally had no wish for the Lingxian Sect to attract the attention of the cultivation world so soon. Still, he was not particularly worried that He Yi would go back and blab about anything.

After all, He Yi was only at the Core Formation stage. No matter how much he looked down on the sects of the mortal world, he would not dare come alone to threaten the Lingxian Sect unless he had something substantial to rely on.

This suggested that whatever he wanted was probably not so unreasonable that their sect would rather fight him to the death than accept it.

Secondly, through his increasing contact with the cultivation world over the past few years, Lin Xiao had gained a general understanding of its basic power structure, as well as the attitudes of its leading sects and clans toward the sects of the mortal world.

That attitude was essentially no attitude at all.

To them, the sects of the mortal world were merely specks of dust in the distance—remote and insignificant.

Even if He Yi returned and told them, “Brothers, there’s a newly established sect in the mortal world that has gathered a huge amount of yin energy! They must be plotting something suspicious!”

He would be lucky if anyone was bored enough to humor him for the time it took to burn a stick of incense, let alone travel thousands of miles to this remote, impoverished corner of the mortal world to uphold some grand notion of heavenly justice.

That was the importance of information.

If this had been an ordinary sect in the mortal world, one with virtually no contact or understanding of the cultivation world, then He Yi’s words would naturally have been enough to intimidate them.

He had originally intended to use the information gap to make Lin Xiao panic. Unfortunately, that information gap was not very effective against Lin Xiao.

Besides…

Lin Xiao had some thoughts about He Yi.

Not that kind of thoughts.

He meant perfectly proper thoughts.

He simply felt that He Yi did not seem to be doing very well in the cultivation world. Three years ago, at least, he had been rather isolated. Lin Xiao had no idea whether his situation had changed since then, so he would have the members of the Finance Hall who traveled to the cultivation world make some discreet inquiries.

Although He Yi had given the Lingxian Sect a small threat the moment he arrived, Lin Xiao could understand. They were strangers, after all.

If He Yi’s request turned out to be reasonable, Lin Xiao was not opposed to granting it, within reason.

After all… this was the champion of the Talisman Master Tournament!

And it was impossible to say whether He Yi had deliberately held back when he competed in that tournament.

He was not merely a talented individual. He was a genius who had already accumulated considerable experience and expertise while developing his abilities!

If they could befriend him and have him give Elder Liu some guidance, it would be tremendously beneficial not only to Liu Chun, but also to the sect’s entire talisman-making enterprise!

Thus, when faced with He Yi, Lin Xiao decisively nodded.

“The envoy is right!”

“Does the envoy have any other questions?”

He Yi: “…”

He had thought that Sect Master Lin would either try to win him over or become angry, insisting that his sect was completely aboveboard and could not be threatened.

The atmosphere that followed should have been either obsequious or tense.

So how had it become this peaceful?

Besides, the so-called “first question” had merely been an opening gambit to steer the conversation toward what came next. According to his plan, the other party should have reacted by trying to silence him. He could then respond based on Lin Xiao’s reaction and smoothly put forward his actual request.

That way, he would remain in the dominant position, leaving Lin Xiao with no choice but to agree.

But Lin Xiao clearly did not seem to care much. If He Yi forcibly tried to steer the conversation in that direction, he would only end up putting himself at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, the many doubts he had raised about the Lingxian Sect and Lin Xiao himself were not entirely fabricated. For now, he could only continue along that line of questioning and wait for a better opportunity to act.

With that, he continued with his “questions.”

“As for the second question… On my way into the mortal world, I passed through many regions and observed how the common people lived. Yet I discovered that only the Lingxian Sect truly takes the people to heart. Not only do you help them overcome all kinds of difficulties in surviving, you even establish academies to teach ordinary people how to read and write.

“Such actions may be noble and righteous, but they are also time-consuming and laborious. Aside from earning some goodwill among the common people, they bring no practical benefit at all. Why do you do it?”

If people with status and wealth among the mortals did such things, He Yi could understand. After all, mortals needed the support of other mortals.

But for cultivators, who possessed the power to wipe out mortals with the turn of a hand, such things were as useless as a rib cage on a snake.

The mortals who managed to survive in the cultivation world did so because cultivators regarded them as ants. In the end, there were always some menial tasks that needed to be handled by someone, and hiring mortals was far cheaper than hiring cultivators. That was the only reason mortals had been granted even the slightest space in which to survive.

He Yi had grown up in an environment like that. Thus, as he entered Hufang Province and heard the various rumors about the Lingxian Sect, his established understanding of the world was thoroughly overturned.

Hearing the question, Lin Xiao was stunned.

Uh…

How was he supposed to answer that?

Should he say that they cared about the people’s well-being and were a group of kind, righteous, compassionate people who loved helping others?

No, no. Saying that himself would make him sound unbearably immodest.

Lin Xiao stared blankly at He Yi. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally managing to say,

“…What else are we supposed to do?”

He Yi was even more bewildered. What did he mean by “what else are we supposed to do”?

“Cultivators should naturally devote themselves to cultivation, increase their strength, make sure no one dares provoke them, and ascend to immortality as soon as possible,” He Yi explained.

“We do cultivate diligently,” Lin Xiao replied.

“Then how do you still have the leisure to concern yourselves with mortals?” He Yi asked, unconvinced.

“We can’t just spend all our time cultivating and do nothing else, can we? What’s the point of cultivating, then?” Lin Xiao said, clearly disagreeing.

“Cultivation is naturally for the sake of finding the Great Dao, attaining immortality, and living as long as the heavens,” He Yi patiently explained.

“And then what?”

“And then?”

“Exactly. You live as long as the heavens—and then what?” Lin Xiao asked sincerely.

He Yi stood up, flicked back his sleeve, and clasped his hands behind his back as he gazed at the sky outside.

“At that point, naturally, one will perform the deeds of an immortal.”

There were no great beings in the cultivation world who had successfully attained the Dao and ascended, leaving behind even a single word about what came afterward. How was he supposed to know what immortals did once they became immortals?

After thinking it over, He Yi realized that he seemed to have been led off topic. He quickly turned back to Lin Xiao.

“Besides, during the intervals between cultivation, one can also diligently study various arts and techniques, granting oneself skills worthy of others’ regard as well as the means to protect oneself. That is how one ensures that the road toward the Great Dao is as free of obstacles as possible.

“Instead of wasting time on mortals who have nothing to do with you, you could devote that time to cultivation. Who knows how much you might improve? Time is extremely precious to cultivators.”