"I would like to ask you to set up another Spirit-Gathering Array in the sect, Senior Brother, to help our disciples improve their cultivation."
"Senior Brother, would that be all right?"
Zhou Yong looked at Li Dalong apprehensively and spoke with great care.
"Yes. It is time to strengthen the sect. But you must keep the numbers under control. First, select a group of elite disciples whose loyalty to the sect is unwavering, and have them cultivate separately. We should not let too many people know yet, or we will stir up another storm."
Li Dalong considered the matter carefully, then spoke solemnly to Zhou Yong.
"Understood. Sorry for the trouble, Senior Brother. Let us set up the Spirit-Gathering Array on the Back Mountain!"
"Next, I will select a group of loyal elite disciples at the Golden Core Realm or above and send them to the Back Mountain to cultivate in secret."
"You can also help keep an eye on them, Senior Brother. That will ensure nothing goes wrong."
Once Li Dalong agreed, Zhou Yong's expression immediately relaxed. Before coming, he had been on tenterhooks at the thought of making this request, worried that Li Dalong would refuse.
"All right, then. Go attend to your work! Once I have prepared the magical implements needed for the array, I will set it up. I will send you a voice transmission when it is ready."
"Sorry for the trouble, Senior Brother. I will go select the disciples, then find an opportunity to gather them in secret."
"There is no need for such formalities between us, junior brother. Go on!"
"Senior Brother, I will take my leave."
After watching Zhou Yong leave, Li Dalong began checking the materials in his system space. The system's rewards over the years had been quite plentiful, and their grades were far from low. He had more than enough materials to refine everything needed for a large Spirit-Gathering Array.
However, the cost of operating a large Spirit-Gathering Array was also terrifying. He certainly could not afford to burn through Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones, so he could only consider using high-grade spirit stones. Although the concentration of spiritual energy would be much lower, cultivating within it would still be far more effective than cultivating outside. This, too, would be an important step toward the sect's rise.
Li Dalong soon finished refining the necessary magical implements. That evening, he went to the restricted area on the Back Mountain that Zhou Yong had prepared in advance and set up the Spirit-Gathering Array. After activating it with high-grade spirit stones and testing it, he was quite satisfied.
Once the Spirit-Gathering Array was ready, he notified Zhou Yong with his divine sense. Zhou Yong was delighted to hear that Li Dalong had finished setting it up so quickly! That very night, he sent the first group of elite disciples into the array to cultivate. Over the following days, he used various transfers to send the bewildered elite disciples he had selected there to cultivate, one group after another.
The days passed in cultivation, seeming slow yet flying by. Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy gradually grew denser, and the major powers of the Cultivation World began to take notice.
"Ding-dong. Would you like to check in now?"
One day, while Li Dalong was enjoying spiritual tea in his spare time, he heard the system notification sound.
"Check in."
He gave his habitual reply.
"Ding-dong. Check-in successful. Congratulations, you have obtained the Heaven-Dharma Appearance."
"The Law of Heaven and Manifestation of Earth?"
"System, what is the Heaven-Dharma Appearance?"
"The Law of Heaven and Manifestation of Earth is a divine ability from the Immortal Realm. When used, it allows the caster to take on the form of heaven and earth, emulating their scale-modeling oneself after heaven and imitating earth, becoming as tall as heaven and as vast as earth. It is a skill that allows one to stand as high as heaven and earth, and is classified as a greater divine ability."
"The higher a cultivator's cultivation, the stronger the transformed form and the greater its power after using the Heaven-Dharma Appearance." The system provided a fairly detailed explanation.
This was the first divine ability he had received since he began checking in, and it was extraordinary. Delighted, Li Dalong immediately sank his divine sense into the Jade Slip. The Heaven-Dharma Appearance divine ability was instantly imprinted in his mind. The greatest advantage of cultivation methods, spells, and divine abilities obtained as system rewards was that they could essentially be used right away, without having to learn them step by step. But improving and mastering them still required diligent practice and study.
With Li Dalong's current cultivation at the late out-of-body stage, he could use the Heaven-Dharma Appearance divine ability to grow to a maximum of thirty-three times his original size and maintain it for the time it took to drink a cup of tea. It immediately became his greatest trump card.
One day, a group of unusual guests arrived at the Righteous Qi Sect's mountain gate. Each had her own distinctive bearing and appearance, yet all exuded elegance and refinement that inspired awe and admiration. They stopped before the mountain gate, and a middle-aged female immortal stepped forward, her graceful bearing imbued with authority.
She approached the mountain gate, bowed to the Righteous Qi Sect disciples guarding it, and said, "I am Yun Shuangxue, Grand Elder of Cloudmist Palace. Together with Princess Yun Yao of Cloudmist Palace and our companions, I have come to pay a visit to the Righteous Qi Sect's sect master. Fellow Daoist, please announce our arrival!" With that, she handed over Cloudmist Palace's visiting card.
The disciple guarding the mountain gate was stunned by the female immortals of Cloudmist Palace before him. Beautiful-far too beautiful! Even one of them standing there would have been a delight to behold, let alone an entire group. Most striking was the young woman surrounded protectively by the elders, like an immortal lotus standing amid a pool of emerald ripples. For a moment, he could only stare.
Seeing that the disciple receiving them at the mountain gate had not responded, Grand Elder Shuangxue of Cloudmist Palace spoke again. "Sorry for the trouble, Fellow Daoist, but please announce our arrival!"
"Certainly, Elder. Fellow Daoists, please wait a moment. I will report to our elders immediately."
"Grand Elder, fellow Daoists, please come inside and have some spiritual tea first."
"There is no need for such courtesy. We will simply wait here a moment."
Grand Elder Shuangxue declined the invitation from the Righteous Qi Sect's gate disciple, then stepped back to stand with the others from Cloudmist Palace and said nothing more.
Cloudmist Palace was another sect with a long history. Although it ranked only as a third-rate power in the Cultivation World, very few people dared treat its members slightingly. Its cultivators were almost all women, and its disciples and elders frequently married into the upper ranks of the major powers. Thus, though the sect was small, no one dared provoke it. Offending them was easy, but afterward, every step through the Cultivation World would become difficult. Even if they chose not to pursue the matter, plenty of people would punish you to curry favor with them or seize an opportunity to show their goodwill.
Upon receiving the message, Zhou Yong and the Righteous Qi Sect's elders could not fathom the purpose of Cloudmist Palace's visit, as the two sects ordinarily had no dealings. Still, they did not delay. They sent several of their highest-ranking elders to welcome the visitors at the mountain gate, while Sect Master Zhou Yong and the other elders who were not in secluded cultivation waited before the Righteous Qi Hall.
Tang Mingxuan, master of the Righteous Qi Sect's Pill Hall, led several elders to the mountain gate and ordered the disciples on duty to open it immediately to welcome the visitors from Cloudmist Palace.
Then he stepped forward with a smile and bowed. "Forgive us for not coming farther to welcome you! I am Tang Mingxuan of the Pill Hall. Our sect master is already waiting before the Righteous Qi Hall and has sent me to welcome our fellow Daoists from Cloudmist Palace. Your presence brings radiance to our humble abode!"
"You are too kind, Fellow Daoist Tang. We have come uninvited and apologize for the intrusion!"
Grand Elder Shuangxue of Cloudmist Palace returned his bow and replied coolly.
"You are too courteous, Grand Elder. Please!"
Tang Mingxuan stepped aside and gestured toward the Righteous Qi Hall as he politely addressed Grand Elder Shuangxue of Cloudmist Palace.
The female immortals of Cloudmist Palace said nothing more. They followed in silence as Tang Mingxuan and the elders escorted them toward the Righteous Qi Hall.
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