Time flew like an arrow, the days and months shuttled past, and in the blink of an eye, it was year 3160 of the Xu Xin Calendar, the thirtieth year of the Incense Accumulation Calendar.
On an island floating in the sky above the sea, Li Ling called for his young servants.
"Qingfeng, Mingyue, where are you?"
After waiting a good while without a response, he sighed softly and said helplessly, "Those troublesome little rascals. Who knows where they've run off to play this time?"
Qingfeng and Mingyue were both children from families of sect disciples. Only after three consecutive generations had entered the Inner Sect had their families earned them a place here to study.
The adults all knew what a glorious honor this was, but children were fickle by nature and wanted only to play all day.
He had taken his eyes off them for a moment, and they had vanished.
Li Ling could not be bothered to search with his spiritual consciousness, so he simply began clearing the table himself.
Several large cabinets stood in the room, their drawers neatly stocked with incense ingredients rich in spiritual resonance. Li Ling used neither divine abilities nor spells. Instead, he walked over like an ordinary person, finding and weighing each ingredient by scent.
After somewhat less than an hour, he had deftly blended several varieties of incense, poured them into separate ceramic jars, and sealed their lids.
Only then did footsteps sound outside.
"Ah, Old Ancestor!"
A clear-featured, bright-eyed boy with his hair tied in two tufts poked his head in and called out. Behind him followed a girl of about the same age, likewise with rosy lips, pearly teeth, and eyes alive with spiritual resonance.
Both wore the guilty looks of children who knew they had done wrong.