While everyone in the sect was busy with various tasks, Lin Xiao sat quietly in meditation within the Natural Platform.
He had been sitting there for an entire year.
If it weren't for his steady, rhythmic breathing, he could easily be mistaken for a vivid statue, completely blended into the surroundings of the Natural Platform.
During this year of seclusion, Lin Xiao's appearance had fully matured. His once youthful and innocent face now carried the sharp angles and vibrancy of a young man. His closed eyes and more defined features added depth to his countenance, giving him an air of intensity.
Although a year had passed in the outside world, Lin Xiao was unaware of this. He was at a crucial point in his cultivation.
Back when his spiritual energy transformed into yuan qi, his golden core underwent a remarkable change, taking on a sheen of ethereal glaze, like a rebirth. At the time, he had assumed it was the result of mastering the ability to use yuan qi, but through continuous cultivation, he realized that it was closely tied to the cultivation technique he was practicing—The Origin Sutra.
With the transformation of spiritual energy into yuan qi, his core and cultivation technique had also evolved. According to the system, golden cores were categorized into three grades: Heaven, Earth, and Human.
The system explained to Lin Xiao that all the cultivators he had encountered thus far possessed human-grade cores, as had Lin Xiao himself before. However, after his transformation, his core had upgraded to the Earth grade.
As for the Heaven grade, only cultivators with natural immortal bones could form such cores.
Lin Xiao had a vague understanding of the concept of "natural immortal bones" but didn't grasp the specifics. He had once asked Elder Liao, who, despite his vast knowledge, was equally puzzled and admitted that he had never heard of such a constitution.
Later, after persistent inquiry, the system reluctantly provided a definition for "natural immortal bones." Lin Xiao, excited at first, lost interest after reading it.
The reason was simple: the chances of encountering someone with natural immortal bones were exceedingly slim. According to the entry, natural immortal bones could only occur in the descendants of cultivators who had successfully ascended and possessed immortal bodies. Not only was this probability incredibly low, but Lin Xiao had never even heard of anyone achieving ascension, much less met such a person. The only mention of such figures came from fantastical tales within the cultivation world.
Compared to the vast majority of cultivators, Lin Xiao's Earth-grade core was already exceptionally rare. Upon hearing about it, Elder Liao immediately cast a forgetfulness spell on himself out of sheer disbelief.
As Lin Xiao continued to absorb the external spiritual energy, converting it into his own yuan qi, this energy repeatedly washed over his meridians and flowed into his core. His golden core expanded, growing larger and larger within him, until it enveloped his flesh and cradled his bones, eventually encompassing his entire being.
In that instant, time seemed to freeze.
At that moment, Lin Xiao's sea of consciousness was quieter than it had ever been, as if he had stepped into the vast, silent expanse of the universe.
But in the next instant, the surging yuan qi became a roaring river, propelling everything forward. The concentrated energy filled every part of his body, saturating every corner with an unprecedented sense of fullness.
In that moment, Lin Xiao's soul resonated deeply with the energy, sending waves of euphoric tremors through his entire being.
As the euphoria slowly subsided, something within him began to contract. However, instead of shrinking back into a round core, the energy took on the shape of his body, maintaining its proportions as it condensed. In the faint glow of the contraction, one could even make out the same facial features as Lin Xiao himself.
Time flew by outside, but Lin Xiao remained oblivious, fully immersed in breaking through to his new realm.
The next day.
Thanks to everyone's hard work, the Lingxian Sect's plaza had taken shape.
This was their very first plaza, and it was an impressively grand one.
Looking at the result of their own hands, everyone felt a surge of pride and joy.
The construction fervor was so contagious that, after a casual suggestion from someone, the group also decided to build a training hall over the next few days.
This training hall was designed specifically for the new disciples and was much larger than the current training rooms used by the sect members. However, it wasn't built at the halfway point of the mountain but was located on the adjacent peak near the new plaza, making it closer to the new disciples' quarters.
The primary reason for expanding into this area was that the previously developed sections of the sect were running out of space. They had no choice but to expand into the surrounding peaks.
Currently, the layout of Lingxian Sect was as follows: The North Mountain nearest Xiushui Village had a path leading up to the halfway point, which was where the original grass hut stood. To the left of the halfway point was a small peak with only one side in use—Guiyuan Residence. Beneath the halfway point in the valley behind was the former medicinal garden, now converted into the Beast Garden after the medicinal plants were moved.
The first peak to the right of the halfway point was the newly developed area with Initial Path, which led to the new disciples' quarters. Beyond this peak, the plaza and training hall were built on the second peak.
Both peaks were spacious, leaving ample room for future expansion of living quarters and other facilities.
Although they had plenty of space now, if the sect continued to grow according to Lin Xiao's vision, the number of members would undoubtedly increase significantly. The current development of just two peaks was only the beginning, and in the future, they would surely expand even further.
Fortunately, the entire North Mountain range had been granted to the Lingxian Sect by the imperial court, so they could use and develop the land as they saw fit.
Of course, this was only what they had developed on the surface. In the skies 5,000 meters above, a floating island hovered, which contained an additional pocket dimension.
All in all, the current size of Lingxian Sect's domain was more than sufficient.
With this thought, everyone felt immense satisfaction.
Not only had they managed to create a grand plaza, but their sect's prestige was also bound to rise. It would certainly impress the incoming disciples!
With the main construction done, the final touches, such as landscaping and decorations, were left to Yang Jinshu and his team.
While most members helped the Miscellaneous Hall with preparations for the disciple recruitment, Sun Yigao had already finished refining the top-grade Fasting Pills.