He still remembered his shock when Bai Shu, his fellow disciple, had responded to his question with confusion.
"Spiritual roots? What are those?"
To He Yi, this was utterly ridiculous!
A cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining who had no idea what spiritual roots were?
After getting Bai Shu's permission, He Yi had personally checked his spiritual roots, only to find that he had none!
This fellow disciple, who had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining in just a few months after joining the sect, didn't even have the slightest trace of spiritual roots—not even mixed or inferior ones! Yet, despite lacking spiritual roots, his cultivation speed was astonishing.
Once again, He Yi felt as if his twenty-plus years of understanding had been upended.
He stared blankly for a while before finally coming back to his senses and starting to eat his dinner.
Who could have guessed that, by a twist of fate, he would end up joining such a hidden powerhouse of a sect in the mortal realm?
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Are you there? It's me."
The voice unmistakably belonged to Lin Xiao. He Yi immediately deactivated the restriction on the door and called out, "Come in."
As soon as Lin Xiao entered, he saw that He Yi had barely touched his dinner.
"Hey, eating already? Looks like I arrived just in time," Lin Xiao remarked.
He Yi: ?
Before He Yi could question what Lin Xiao meant by 'just in time,' he watched as Lin Xiao walked straight over to the table, sat down beside him, and pulled out a meal box identical to his own. Lin Xiao opened the box, revealing the same food He Yi had in front of him.
It turned out that after returning to the sect, Lin Xiao had sent a message to Liu Yunan, who used the food delivery baskets to send him his meal.
Lin Xiao then took out a pair of chopsticks, looked up at He Yi, who was still frozen, and gestured for him to start eating. "Why are you just sitting there? Dig in," he said before diving into his own meal.
He Yi was speechless for a moment.
This sect master really loved to eat.
But in fairness, the food from Lingxian Sect's Spirit Food Hall was indeed delicious, so He Yi obediently picked up his chopsticks and ate alongside Lin Xiao.
Of course, eating didn't interfere with talking—after all, cultivators wouldn't get choked while speaking.
"Have you given it some thought?" He Yi asked.
Lin Xiao didn't even lift his head. "About what?"
"Opening the Fujing Treasure Array," He Yi clarified.
Lin Xiao continued eating as he responded, "What exactly is the situation?"
He Yi didn't mind and carefully explained, "Recently, many Jie cultivators have been captured in the Southern and Northern Spirit Domains, significantly weakening their forces. It seems they will have to lie low for a while and recuperate, so there's no immediate rush."
"You may not know this, but the Southern and Northern Spirit Domains are quite barren areas in the cultivation world, as they are close to the mortal realm and lack strong spiritual energy. In fact, the name Southern and Northern Spirit Domains simply refers to the seventh domain, a large region that isn't part of the other six. Because of its size, the people here have divided it into the Southern and Northern Spirit Domains over time."
"The domain adjacent to the Southern and Northern Spirit Domains is called Xuanji Domain. After the large-scale manhunt for Jie cultivators in the Southern and Northern Spirit Domains, some traces of them have appeared in Xuanji Domain as well."
Hearing the name Xuanji Domain, Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow.
A new map?
He had never heard of this place before. Elder Liao had mentioned that he didn't visit other domains often and didn't know much about them, so he never really brought them up. Though Lin Xiao knew other spirit domains existed beyond the Southern and Northern Spirit Domains, he was entirely clueless about their specifics. Meanwhile, He Yi continued:
"Xuanji Domain is home to a renowned auction, held once every hundred years, where only priceless treasures are allowed to be auctioned. In the neighboring Hongshan Domain, within the ancient sect of Chengyuan Sect, there is a Black Moon Jie Crystal sealed away. For Jie cultivators, this crystal is invaluable."
"Xuanji Domain is planning to organize an operation. They want to persuade Chengyuan Sect to auction off the Black Moon Jie Crystal, hoping to lure the Jie cultivators out of hiding. At that time, the Fujing Treasure Array will need to be set up near the auction to catch the Jie cultivators in one fell swoop."
After hearing He Yi's explanation, Lin Xiao understood the situation. He didn't immediately agree or decline but asked:
"When is this auction?"
"In fifteen years," He Yi replied.
Upon hearing that, Lin Xiao couldn't help but marvel at the cultivation world's long-term planning, where everything is scheduled in years.
He then lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
If he agreed to this plan, it meant that the sect would have fifteen years to grow.
They needed to develop to the point where, even if their sect's situation was exposed, they would be strong enough not to fear anyone's ill intentions.
And clearly, there was no upper limit to that goal—the stronger, the better.
As Lin Xiao considered this, he mentally asked the system:
"Hey, how strong is the Mountain Protection Array? What's the most powerful attack it can withstand?"
"System-quality guaranteed. The Mountain Protection Array, born from the essence of this world's laws based on the sect created by the host, will defend against all external attacks within its protective range. The host may use it without concern," the system responded, its mechanical voice ringing in his mind.
Perfect.
With the system's assurance, Lin Xiao felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.
Now, even if trouble did come, as long as the Mountain Protection Array was in place, they would have a solid defense. Even if their sect attracted unwanted attention, they would have a shield to protect them.
However, he did realize that Shuishui Village, located outside the sect's domain, would not be covered by the array.
That thought gave Lin Xiao a bit of a headache.
At that moment, a sudden system notification interrupted his thoughts:
"Ding—congratulations! The sect has reached a foundational stage with all essential elements in place. The next phase is rapid, comprehensive development. Congratulations on unlocking Sect Construction 2.0."
"To activate the new version, the system will undergo a full update, taking 24 hours. During the update, all features except the personal vault will remain in their current state and cannot be operated. Please be patient during the update."
"Update countdown: 3, 2, 1. Beginning update."
Lin Xiao was dumbfounded by the system's sudden announcement.
Why was it updating out of the blue?
And just when he was in the middle of making plans!
No matter how much Lin Xiao tried to call out to the system, it remained silent.
Oh well, he was used to the system's capricious nature by now.
Since the update would only take a day, he decided to wait and see what the 2.0 version had in store.
Turning to He Yi, Lin Xiao said, "Let me think about it."
He Yi: …
Dodging again.
Knowing that Lin Xiao wouldn't easily agree, He Yi sighed quietly.
But he wasn't discouraged. He just had to keep trying.
After all, the plan would proceed even without Lin Xiao's cooperation. The only difference was that, without the Fujing Treasure Array, it would be much harder to capture all the Jie cultivators.
Originally, the plan had been set with or without Lin Xiao's help.
However, since He Yi had discovered that Lin Xiao might possess the ability to cultivate with Primordial Qi, he had hoped to recruit him into the effort.