He still remembered how that fellow disciple, Baizhu, had reacted when He Yi expressed his surprise at the time.
“Spiritual roots? What are those?”
To He Yi, this was utterly absurd!
A cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining had no idea what spiritual roots were.
After obtaining Baizhu’s permission, He Yi personally examined his spiritual roots, only to discover that he had none!
This fellow disciple, who had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining after entering the sect for only a few months, actually possessed no spiritual roots at all—not even mixed spiritual roots! Yet despite having no spiritual roots, his cultivation speed was astonishingly fast.
He Yi felt that his understanding of the world, built over more than twenty years, had once again been shattered by reality.
After standing there in a daze for a while, he finally came back to his senses, let out a long breath, and began eating the dinner in front of him.
Who would have thought that, by a twist of fate, he would end up joining such a deeply hidden sect in the mortal world?
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Are you there? It’s me.”
He Yi recognized the voice immediately. Who else could it be but Lin Xiao? He promptly released the restriction at the entrance and called out:
“Come in.”
The moment Lin Xiao entered, he saw the meal in front of He Yi, who had only just taken two bites.
“Oh, you’re eating. I came at just the right time.”
He Yi: “?”
While he was still wondering what Lin Xiao meant by “the right time,” Lin Xiao walked straight over to the table and sat down beside him. He then pulled out a food container identical to the one in front of He Yi and opened it. Inside was the exact same assortment of dishes.
After returning to the sect earlier, Lin Xiao had sent a voice transmission to Liu Yunan, who had delivered the meal to him via the food-delivery flying basket.
Lin Xiao took out a pair of chopsticks. When he noticed that He Yi was still sitting motionless, he called out:
“What are you waiting for? Eat.”
With that, he lowered his head and started digging in.
He Yi was left speechless.
This Sect Master Lin really did love to eat.
That said, the spirit food prepared by the sect’s spirit-food hall was indeed delicious. He Yi obediently picked up his chopsticks and began eating alongside Lin Xiao.
Of course, eating did not interfere with conversation.
After all, cultivators would not choke or have food go down the wrong way.
“How have you decided, Sect Master?” He Yi asked.
Lin Xiao did not even look up. “Decided what?”
“Whether to activate the Binding-Ji Treasure Formation,” He Yi explained.
“What exactly is the situation?” Lin Xiao continued to bury his head in his food.
He Yi did not mind. He simply explained in detail:
“Recently, many Ji cultivators have been captured across the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms. Their forces have been greatly weakened, so they will likely lie low and bide their time for a while. There is no immediate rush.”
“You may not know this, but the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms are relatively close to the mortal world and have thin spiritual energy. In the cultivation world, they are considered a rather desolate region. In reality, the so-called Southern and Northern Spirit Realms are merely one enormous seventh region, apart from the other six realms. Because this area is far larger than the other six realms, the people living here gradually divided it according to direction, calling the two sections the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms.”
“The realm bordering the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms is called the Profound Extremity Realm. After an extensive search for Ji cultivators had been carried out in the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms for some time, traces of them began appearing there as well.”
At the mention of the Profound Extremity Realm, Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow.
A new map had appeared.
He had never heard of it before.
Senior Liao had said that he rarely visited the other realms and did not know much about them. In any case, they had little contact with the other realms, so there was no need to mention them. For that reason, he had never told Lin Xiao and the others much about those places.
Thus, although Lin Xiao knew that there were other realms beyond the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms, he truly knew nothing about what they were like.
Beside him, He Yi continued:
“The Profound Extremity Realm is home to a renowned auction. Held once every hundred years, it accepts only priceless treasures for bidding. In the ancient Chengyuan Sect, which lies next to the Profound Extremity Realm in the Red Mountain Realm, a Black Moon Ji Crystal is sealed away. To those Ji cultivators, that Black Moon Ji Crystal is an absolutely priceless treasure.”
“The Profound Extremity Realm has already decided to take the lead and persuade the Chengyuan Sect to put the Black Moon Ji Crystal up for auction, using it to lure the Ji cultivators out of hiding. When the time comes, we will need to deploy the Binding-Ji Treasure Formation near the auction in order to catch all the fish that take the bait.”
After listening, Lin Xiao understood.
He did not immediately agree or refuse. Instead, he asked:
“When will this auction be held?”
“Fifteen years from now,” He Yi replied.
Upon hearing that, Lin Xiao sighed inwardly.
As expected of the cultivation world—plans were made in units of years.
He lowered his eyes and fell into thought.
In other words, if he agreed to this matter, their sect still had fifteen years.
They would need to develop to the point where, even if the true state of their sect were exposed, they would no longer need to fear anyone harboring malicious intentions.
As for what level that meant, there was clearly no upper limit. The stronger they were, the better.
After thinking for a moment, he asked the system in his mind:
“Sys, how strong is our sect’s mountain-protecting formation? What is the strongest attack it can withstand?”
[Products made by the system are guaranteed to be excellent. The mountain-protecting formation formed in accordance with the sect established by the host is, in essence, the power of this world’s laws. As long as they are within the formation’s defensive range, they will be immune to all external attacks. Please rest assured, Host.]
Excellent.
Lin Xiao felt greatly reassured by the system’s answer.
With the mountain-protecting formation in place, even if they encountered a genuine crisis, they would have a solid shield backing them. Even if the outside world grew envious and a whole crowd came looking for trouble, they would still have protection.
The only problem was that Splendid Water Village at the foot of the mountain was not part of the sect’s territory, so it could not be covered by the sect’s mountain-protecting formation.
At the thought of this, Lin Xiao felt another headache coming on.
[Ding—the host’s sect has now begun to take shape. Though small, it possesses all the necessary departments and functions. Next comes the stage of rapid, all-around development. Congratulations, Host, on successfully unlocking Sect Development 2.0.]
[To launch the new version, the system will undergo a comprehensive update. The update will take twenty-four hours. During the update, all functions except the private storage will remain in their current operating state but cannot be used. Please wait patiently.]
[Update countdown: 3, 2, 1. Update commencing. Beep—]
The system’s sudden update notification left Lin Xiao completely dumbfounded.
Why had it suddenly decided to update out of nowhere?
He had been in the middle of thinking!
However, no matter how Lin Xiao called out to the system in his mind, it did not make a sound.
Forget it, forget it. This system was rather willful, and he was used to it by now.
It would only take a day anyway. He could wait and see what the system managed to add in version 2.0.
Thus, Lin Xiao said to He Yi:
“Let me think about it.”
He Yi: “...”
He was putting it off again.
Knowing that Lin Xiao would not agree so easily, He Yi silently sighed.
Still, he was not discouraged. He would simply continue doing his best.
The plan had originally been intended to proceed even without Lin Xiao’s agreement. It was just that without the assistance of the Binding-Ji Treasure Formation, they would probably be unable to catch them all in one sweep.
That had always been accounted for in the plan.
It was only because He Yi had suddenly realized that Lin Xiao might possess the ability to cultivate primordial energy that he wanted to make another attempt to win him over.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
