It was clear that Liao Pantu and the others were well-suited to being part of Lingxian Sect's education and research group, each having their unique strengths.
Sun Yigao and Mo Yuanjiao were incredibly talented, learning quickly, while Liao Pantu and Yang Jinshu, though not as fast, had their own breadth of experience and knowledge.
As a result, they didn't often need to trouble Lin Xiao with questions. Once they got past the initial learning phase, they began not only studying the techniques but also making notes on potential learning challenges and developing teaching plans to prepare for the future courses.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao continued his own research project.
All the spatial arrays in his private storage had been successfully paired in twos. Afterward, he began the more complex process of pairing those already-combined arrays into even larger composite arrays.
In essence, he was stringing together four original spatial arrays into a single, unified whole.
While this task sounded simple, the complexity of constructing and operating the arrays was far beyond the difficulty of the initial pairing.
However, Lin Xiao had thoroughly researched every step of this project before starting. After the initial success, the following operations, though more complicated, followed a similar logic—just more time-consuming and energy-intensive.
Having briefly participated in his cousin's wedding, the sect master of Lingxian Sect soon buried himself once more in his work, dedicating himself to this long-term project.
Days passed in this manner.
After his wedding, Lin Lei resumed the same routine he had three years ago: cultivating on the mountain during the day and returning home at night to rest.
At noon, he'd even take the time to go home and have lunch with his wife.
Since the Lingxian Sect's dining hall didn't provide lunch, his wife prepared their midday meals. Not wanting her to be burdened with household chores, Lin Lei made arrangements with Qin Jianghe to pay a monthly amount of spirit stones, covering the cost of their meals.
Lin Lei understood the boundaries between the sect and his own household. Even though the sect leader was his younger cousin, the sect was a collective effort, and until his wife officially joined the sect, she was not a member. Paying this contribution felt only fair to him.
Though no one in the sect would likely have raised an issue if he hadn't paid, Lin Lei knew that small problems could grow into larger issues if not addressed. He didn't want his younger cousin's carefully established sect to suffer from small, overlooked details.
As a family member, Lin Lei believed he should set an example and avoid causing trouble for Xiao.
Every evening, Jiang Youfu would pack two portions of dinner for Lin Lei to take home and share with his wife.
After dinner, Lin Lei would read her stories from the books Lin Xiao had gifted him, using these stories to teach her how to read. He also subtly introduced her to the ideas and values of their sect during these storytelling sessions.
Their relationship was harmonious and full of warmth.
After about half a month of this routine, Lin Lei's grandmother and aunt began to frequently visit the old family home in the village for short stays. After all, this was the first daughter-in-law of the Lin family, and they wanted to spend more time with her. They had already restrained themselves for over two weeks!
Even Lin Ying and Lin Yan would often bring little trinkets down the mountain to chat with their new sister-in-law, Huang Manying, a lively and straightforward woman. Both Lin Ying and Lin Yan grew fond of her quickly.
They knew their older brother hoped that his wife could eventually join the sect, so they took turns coming down during the day to help teach her. When their brother was busy, they would handle her lessons, and the three of them, with their shared goal of cultivation, got along well.
As laughter and conversations filled the Lin family's old home once again, it didn't take long for more visitors to start frequenting the village.
The news that the immortals of the Lin family were temporarily living at the old family home began to spread among the regular visitors to Xiushui Village.
However, most people were considerate and didn't publicize this too widely. Out of respect, no one gathered outside the Lin family home to gawk, and many even helped reduce the flow of traffic near the house.
Visitors kept their distance, worried about disturbing the immortals' time in the mortal world and causing them to retreat back to the mountain, leaving them with no chance to catch even a glimpse of the celestial beings.
Though this was the desire of most, it was impossible to fully contain the news. After a while, a surge of tourists descended upon Xiushui Village.
For the first time in years, the village experienced a sudden spike in activity, causing a brief period of chaos.
Fortunately, thanks to the experience they'd gained over the years, the village quickly stabilized under the direction of the village chief, Du Liushui, and managed to organize the influx of tourists.
But this was not a long-term solution.
After careful consideration overnight, Du Liushui decided to visit the foot of Beishan early the next morning, where the entrance to the Wenxin Path was located. There, he rang the Lingxian Sect's bell.
This bell wasn't something just anyone could ring whenever they felt like it.
The sect bell, besides being a direct line of communication to the Lingxian Sect, had another important feature: it could determine whether the ringer's intentions were malicious.
Anyone with ill intent would be unable to ring the bell.
This feature was made possible by incorporating a piece of the Wenxin Stone into its construction.
Even though the Wenxin Path was already complete, the Lingxian Sect still occasionally purchased Wenxin Stones whenever available and reasonably priced. This was a direct request from Lin Xiao.
Qin Jianghe never fully understood what use Wenxin Stones had in the mortal world. As far as he knew, none of the sects in the mortal realm used anything like the Wenxin Path.
Considering the financial capabilities of most mortal sects and their general focus on spiritual roots over heart refinement, it seemed unlikely they would ever spend spirit stones on something like a Wenxin Path to test their disciples.
Thus, Wenxin Stones had no real market in the mortal realm.
Still, since the stones occasionally appeared near Yuanling City and weren't overly expensive, the finance hall hadn't rejected Lin Xiao's request.
The sect bell rang through the halls of the Lingxian Sect, where it was connected to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.
Now that the sect had more disciples, the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall had been staffed around the clock to handle tasks like assigning missions and processing exchanges.
As soon as the bell rang, Liu Yunan received the report.