Do You Think That's Appropriate?
Lin Xiao has been extremely Tuantuan these days.
After returning to the Artifact Refining Hall and finishing refining the key high-grade magic Law Artifact for this Law Artifact with Hu Liang, he was preparing to help the Artifact Refining Hall rush to produce some other goods. It wasn't that he was biased, but other things like the Alchemy Chamber had Yigao, the Formation Hall had Mo Yuanjiao, and the Spirit Field Group probably had too much production and too much stockpiling, so there was no worry about low production and difficulty in shipping.
The talisman-making room is overseen by two powerful figures He Yi and Liu Chun, the first and thirty-ninth place finishers in the Talisman Master Assembly, respectively. The herb garden has Senior Liao, and the beast garden sells very little.
Therefore, only the Artifact Refining Hall is facing slightly more difficulties.
Hu Liang's weapon-refining skills started from scratch. Even though his progress was quite rapid, it still couldn't keep up with the terrifying learning speed of Sun Yigao and Mo Yuanjiao. Everyone in the sect was worried that he was under too much pressure, so when Lin Xiao wasn't in seclusion, he would take time to come and refine weapons with him, while also teaching Hu Liang some more difficult Law Artifact.
If Lin Xiao goes into seclusion, the other members of the sect will take turns helping him.
Hu Liang saw and remembered everyone's tolerance and help. He usually spent most of his time in the Artifact Refining Hall studying various weapon-refining techniques and insights, often forgetting to eat the dinner that Fuzi made.
Although Hu Liang's situation wasn't exactly easy, he felt very happy, much happier than when he was living with his large family in Xiushui Village at the foot of the mountain before he started cultivating.
He felt at ease having something to do every day, unlike before when his uncles and aunts would scheme against his family, and he no longer had to be restrained by poverty.
As long as he works hard to cultivate and learn weapon crafting, he can see results every day and feel a great sense of accomplishment. He likes this kind of life.
Hu Liang didn't feel pressured by the help he received, whether overt or covert, because that's how they'd grown up.
If someone's fields are infested with pests, their seedlings are sick, or they face famine, the others will save some food from their own rations to make do. If someone's family has a conflict, they'll argue or even fight, and the other friends will take them out to play in the mountains and rivers to cheer them up and shake off their bad moods... Everyone has always been like this. Now, there's just one more person cultivating immortality and having their own career, but nothing has changed.
Lin Xiao was busy in the Artifact Refining Hall until evening before he stopped.
He has already prepared most of the high-grade goods for the Artifact Refining Hall this month, and now he will have time to arrange the following matters.
Remembering what He Yi had told him before, Lin Xiao went to the herb garden on Alkaid Floating Island to find Senior Liao after leaving the Artifact Refining Hall.
At this time, it had only been half a month since Liao Pantu had emerged from seclusion. He was currently consolidating his cultivation in the flower pavilion of the herb garden, and everything in the herb garden was being managed in an orderly manner according to his arrangements.
As soon as Lin Xiao entered the herb garden, he saw a sea of flowers in full bloom, and several small figures were busy in the distance. They must be the disciples responsible for the daily maintenance of the herb garden.
Beneath the flower pavilion beside the Crescent Lake lake in the very center of the entire medicinal garden, a figure was quietly meditating.
Before Lin Xiao could even get close, Liao Pantu seemed to sense the approaching person and opened his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" Liao Pantu said disdainfully. "Instead of having time, why don't you go and cultivate more? I've already reached the Nascent Spirit Transformation, and you, as the leader of a sect, are only at the Core Nascent Soul. Do you think that's appropriate?"
Lin Xiao smiled and walked over to him, sitting down on the ground. He casually set up a soundproof array around them, saying nonchalantly, "What's wrong with that? Isn't it normal for an elder in a sect to have a higher cultivation level than the sect leader?"
"Hmph, you've expanded your operations so much, yet you're not focusing on improving your cultivation. If you develop too quickly and attract too much attention, one Spirit Transformation like me might not be enough," Liao Pantu said.
As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. Although Liao Pantu had only been in the Mortal Realm for a few years and rarely left his home, so he was not familiar with the information about the Mortal Realm, this did not prevent him from feeling worried after seeing the sect's current development plans.
When it came to serious matters, Lin Xiao stopped joking around and simply recounted everything He Yi had told him that day.
"Such a thing is true?" Liao Pantu exclaimed in surprise. "I never imagined that Myriad Connections not only ran rampant in the South Spirit Domain and North Spirit Domain, but had even extended his reach here."
"This isn't even considered mere interference; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Mortal Realm is completely under Myriad Connections's control," Lin Xiao added.
Liao Pantu glanced at him, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Judging from your unhurried manner, do you already have a plan in mind?"
Lin Xiao chuckled and touched his nose, saying, "I do have some ideas. That's why I came to discuss the feasibility with you. I might also need your help in some way."
Liao Pantu sneered, "I knew you wouldn't come here unless you had something to ask."
After expressing his disdain, he still asked, "So, what do you want to do?"
Lin Xiao then asked, "What do you think about us arresting them all? Whether they're Myriad Connections's spies or the cultivators sent by sects in the Immortal Cultivation Realm to investigate?"
Liao Pantu:...
"Your actions make it hard to believe you're an accomplice of the Execution Stone Party," Liao Pantu said, speechless. "And those cultivators from major sects are one thing, they're all out in the open and don't even try to hide, but how are you going to find Myriad Connections's spies? Do you even know how many there are?"
"Senior, you've overlooked the cultivators in the Mortal Realm. Myriad Connections has been planting spies in the Mortal Realm for a long time. These sects and royal families in the Mortal Realm must know exactly who those spies are, but they don't have the strength to resist, so they can only choose to let them go," Lin Xiao said.
"And I'm not saying we should arrest and wipe them out. It's just to prevent them from sending messages to the Immortal Cultivation Realm. Let us develop properly first, and we'll do what we need to do when we're strong enough."
Liao Pantu thought for a moment, then asked, "But whether it's Myriad Connections or those major sects, they'll definitely know something's wrong if their own people have been missing for too long without any news. They'll just send more people over, and who knows, the people they send might be more powerful than the current ones. What do you plan to do then?"
Lin Xiao said, "Myriad Connections shouldn't find out too quickly. The Mortal Realm and the Immortal Cultivation Realm are separated by the Spiritless Land, and a round trip takes a considerable amount of time. They certainly won't be sending messages very frequently. Besides, I've put myself in their shoes. If I were in charge of Myriad Connections, I would definitely send a high-level cultivator who can make decisions to a certain extent, and then let the Myriad Connections staff in the Mortal Realm handle some minor, unimportant matters themselves."
"If we only send a message to headquarters when there's a major event like someone about to break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm, we can't just report every trivial matter, can we? Unless Myriad Connections has a very convenient teleportation array like us, and is willing to spend a lot of Spirit Stone on round-trip expenses."