The Origin Aura of Enlightenment Tea nourished his Spirit Soul like a clear spring, while the Dao Fruit Projection of Yellow Middle Plum seemed to rebuild his foundation like a spiritual medicine. This special sign-in at the quiet garden on Jin'ao Island had brought Lin Xuan (Xuanyuanzi) more than just recovery and improvement. It had transformed him from within. When he reappeared before the members of the Daoist Scripture Spirit Net editorial committee, everyone sensed that Researcher Xuanyuanzi seemed somehow different.
None of them could say exactly how. His cultivation remained at the perfected stage of Refining Essence into Qi, with no breakthrough, but his eyes were deeper and brighter, as if he could see the essence of things. His calm confidence had settled further into his every word and gesture. He no longer showed the slightest edge, yet his presence carried greater weight. When handling complicated affairs, his thinking had become ever more meticulous and clear. He often pinpointed the crux of a problem and proposed solutions that left everyone applauding. His analyses of complex cultivation techniques and his deductions about new formations were especially incisive and original. Even a formation expert like Wuyun Xian often found his own understanding suddenly clarified.
This change further cemented Lin Xuan's authority and reputation within the project team. With his improved condition, the work also proceeded more smoothly.
Yet Lin Xuan was not the only one changing. As the initial framework for the first phase of the Daoist Scripture Spirit Net took shape, and standardized knowledge on artifact refining and formations began to be systematically entered, tangible results started to emerge.
An outer disciple who had been cultivating for fewer than thirty years used the Knowledge Base to look up the standardized, annotated Handbook of Basic Artifact-Refining Material Properties and Common Errors and Corrections in Low-Rank Flying Sword Rune Arrays. He successfully refined his first high-quality Qingfeng Sword on his own, tears of excitement streaming down his face.
Several young disciples from the Array Court consulted the "logic-based" formation manual and Wuyun Xian's case study on dynamically adjusting the Minor Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation. In a small sect competition, they joined forces to lay a composite trapping formation far beyond what their cultivation levels should have allowed. It astonished the entire audience.
Even an elder apprentice-brother in the Alchemy Room, after consulting the Chart of Complementary and Conflicting Properties of Spirit Plants and Medicinal Herbs (First Edition), which Lin Xuan had helped compile, was struck by inspiration. He improved the proportions of auxiliary ingredients in a commonly used pill and successfully raised the yield by five percent.
These seemingly minor successes spread through the increasingly lively networks of communication within the Interception Sect, passing from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred. Like stones thrown into a lake, they sent ripples widening farther and farther. The name "Researcher Xuanyuanzi," along with the novel ideas he championed—"standardization," "Modularization," and "Knowledge Base"—was no longer confined to the upper ranks of Jin'ao Island or the project team. It rapidly spread among the island's tens of thousands of ordinary disciples.
At first, there was curiosity and confusion.
"Have you heard? The Artifact Refining Hall is turning out Flying Swords like people are building with blocks. Their success rate is crazy high!"
"Seriously? Have you seen the Array Court's formation manual? They say if you follow the steps, even an idiot can set up a decent formation!"
"Was all this the work of that Researcher Xuanyuanzi? Who is he, anyway? He's a Human Race cultivator, and his cultivation isn't even that high. How does he have such ability?"
Then came attempts and rewards.
"Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it! I looked up how to grow Dew Condensing Grass on the Daoist Scripture Spirit Net (trial version), then tried the 'standardized light and water regulation method' it described. My precious plants are growing way better than before!"
"Same here! I was stuck at the bottleneck of the third layer of the Qi Guiding Art for ages. I read the Knowledge Base's summary of 'common mistakes in guiding Qi Sensation,' adjusted my Breathing Rhythm, and somehow broke through!"
Finally came admiration and praise.
"Researcher Xuanyuanzi is truly a genius! His methods sound strange, but they really work!"
"Exactly! Before, cultivation depended entirely on a master's guidance and your own trial and error. Everything was so vague. Now that we have these standards and methods, the path is much clearer!"
"I heard he's planning to build a 'Spirit Net' that can hold all the world's knowledge. If he really succeeds, how could our Interception Sect disciples fail to attain the Great Dao?"
Word of mouth was powerful. As more and more lower-ranking disciples benefited in concrete ways from Lin Xuan's ideas, his reputation within the Interception Sect began to soar, rising from the bottom up. In the hearts of countless disciples, the name "Xuanyuanzi" gradually became synonymous with "wisdom," "innovation," and "hope."
Inevitably, this growing excitement began to spread beyond Jin'ao Island.
Kunlun Mountain was vast, and the Interception Sect was not its only power. There was the Chan Sect at Jade Void Palace, of course, as well as the Jade Pool Immortal Realm under the Queen Mother of the West, Daoist Lu Ya's cave dwelling, and the many Blessed Lands belonging to immortals who depended on the great powers. Such a commotion on Jin'ao Island was bound to attract their attention.
In particular, after Guangchengzi returned to Jade Void Palace, he did not trumpet the matter, but his debate with Lin Xuan over their sharply contrasting philosophies, and the changes underway on Jin'ao Island, still stirred discussion among a few of the Chan Sect's upper ranks.
"The atmosphere in the Interception Sect seems... different lately," mused a white-haired Daoist inside Jade Void Palace. "I hear a Human Race cultivator named Xuanyuanzi has come up with some novel ideas, and Uncle-Master Tongtian thinks highly of him."
"Hmph. Mere tricks and gimmicks to attract attention," one of the Chan Sect's Golden Immortals scoffed. "Daoist Magic follows nature; what matters is a solid foundation and insight. Such a rush for quick results is not the proper path."
But some more thoughtful voices disagreed. "Not so. Senior Brother Guangchengzi said that although Xuanyuanzi's cultivation is shallow, his arguments are logically rigorous and form a coherent system. From what he's doing, he can indeed benefit low-ranking disciples across the board. If this continues, the Interception Sect's foundations will only grow stronger. We cannot afford to ignore it."
Similar discussions could also be heard in the Jade Pool and among gatherings of rogue cultivators.
"Xuanyuanzi? I've never heard of him. How did he win Saint Tongtian's favor and stir things up?"
"They say this 'Knowledge Base' he's proposed is quite ambitious. He wants to gather all the world's knowledge into one net!"
"What is this man's background? Could he be the reincarnation of some mighty expert, or perhaps carrying a rare treasure?"
For a time, the name "Xuanyuanzi" became a sudden, rising mystery, the focus of covert attention and speculation among the various powers of Kunlun Mountain. His origins, his aims, and his unconventional theories were all shrouded in mystery.
From the enthusiastic praise of Jin'ao Island's ordinary disciples to the wary glances and suspicions of Kunlun Mountain's various powers, the name "Xuanyuanzi" had spread beyond the Interception Sect. Like a stone dropped into the deep waters of the primordial world, the ripples it raised were spreading into ever broader waters. His growing fame in Kunlun brought opportunity, but it also meant that greater storms were on the way.
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