The Pseudo-Base
Mo Yuanjiao raised his hand to rub his clean-shaven chin and said, "If the Yuan Household is really in a difficult position, what do you think about us opening our own shop in the Immortal Cultivation Realm?"
Bai Zhu was taken aback. He asked, puzzled, "But the Yuan Household already has a well-established network of shops and connections. If they can't do it, won't it be even harder for us to start our own shops from scratch?"
"It will be more difficult, but if we succeed, we can be self-sufficient and won't have to rely on others for everything. Getting started right now will definitely be tough, but there's always a first step. Let's take the first step first," Mo Yuanjiao, while secretly wondering when he could find some time to research a method to prevent beard growth, so he wouldn't have to shave every few days.
Although shaving with Law Technique is quick and convenient, it's even more convenient not to shave at all.
"That's what they say, but shouldn't we be thinking about how to solve the current problem? Opening a shop is a long-term solution that can't address the immediate crisis," Han Weishu said.
Mo Yuanjiao then said, "Anyway, there's no good solution right now. The Yuan Household said that even with a trial sale, we still have to wait for the results. Since that's the case, why just wait and wait instead of opening the store directly? It won't affect anything anyway."
Xuanyuan Haoyue said somewhat helplessly, "It really doesn't affect anything, it's just that we really don't have enough manpower. We were already stretched thin managing the auction house in Xiushui City before. If we want to expand the shops on a large scale here, the goods and Spirit Stone are fine, but where are we going to get the manpower?"
Mo Yuanjiao recalled Lin Xiao mentioning in a previous conversation that he planned to establish a sect base in the Immortal Cultivation Realm within the next ten years. "We should have enough manpower..."
"?" All seven of them looked at him.
Do they not know how many people are in their sect? When they're busy, each person has to be used like ten people. When they're not so busy, each person still has to do the work of two or three people. This made Lin Xiao, who originally didn't plan to recruit disciples for the second time too soon, ask Liu Yunan to prepare for the second recruitment meeting. They'll start after their summer camp ends and all the work in Xiushui City is completely stable.
Could it be that Elder Mo is referring to this person?
"Even if we go back, the sect will have already started accepting the second batch of disciples. It will take time to train them. If they take on all the affairs as soon as they enter the sect, then they won't have time to cultivate," Han Weishu said.
Mo Yuanjiao looked at her. "Sect Master said he plans to build a sect base here in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, and maybe he'll recruit disciples here too. Our sect doesn't have an age limit for recruiting people, and there are so many Rogue Cultivator with cultivation here in the Immortal Cultivation Realm. Who knows, some of them might be able to pass the Heart-Questioning Road. Even if they convert to our sect's cultivation method, it won't affect their cultivation. Then we'll have ready-made manpower."
"Doesn't this sound like our sect recruits disciples just to have more manpower to do the work?" Tong Jialiang said somewhat embarrassedly.
Everyone except Yuan Jinsheng turned to look at him, Mo Yuanjiao even said matter-of-factly, "Isn't that right?"
Yuan Jinsheng, the only one present who had already cultivated when he joined the sect: Thank you, I feel a bit insulted.
Xuanyuan Haoyue coughed lightly and said, "You can't say that. It's only right that everyone who joins the sect should do things for the sect while enjoying its Cultivation Resources."
Han Weishu nodded in agreement. "Many elders in the sect often say that you should only take on as much responsibility as you are capable of. It's reasonable for those with higher cultivation levels to do more. Aren't we all cultivating under the protection of the sect leader and all the seniors?"
"In short, for many Rogue Cultivator, having a sect is definitely better than fighting alone, right? Elder Liao always describes the Immortal Cultivation Realm to us as so cruel, and the cultivation life of Rogue Cultivator is so difficult. Even if our sect doesn't have the fame and resources of those big sects in the Immortal Cultivation Realm right now, we can definitely get better and better if everyone works together. Moreover, they don't need to return to the Mortal Realm to manage the sect's shops here, and the Spiritual Qi here is so much more abundant than in our Mortal Realm," Xuanyuan Haoyue continued.
Gu Yuxiao listened with great interest and asked, "When will our sect build a sect headquarters here and recruit new disciples?"
"Hmm..." Everyone fell silent for a moment.
How would they know? It all depends on when the sect leader decides on the location of the headquarters.
"Otherwise," Mo Yuanjiao spoke up after a moment of silence, "How about we set up a pseudo-base ourselves first? Then we can complete our assignments while looking for people of good character, have them join our pseudo-base, and after reporting to and getting approval from our sect leader, we can take them back to walk the Heart-Questioning Road."
"You're going to act first and report later?" Xuanyuan Haoyue crossed her arms. "Then why not just report to the sect leader before taking any action?"
Mo Yuanjiao gestured with his chin toward her hand adorned with the Lock Ring: "Try it. Yesterday, as soon as I left the secret realm, I tried to call my sect leader, but he didn't respond. Later, I tried contacting him every half hour, but he ignored me and didn't reply to my messages." He even suspected that he had been blocked by his sect leader because he had been trying to contact him too frequently.
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Haoyue tried it with his own Lock Ring, but as expected, there was no response.
"Huh? Could something have happened to the sect leader?"
It's understandable that the sect leader ignores Mo Yuanjiao, but he probably wouldn't ignore Xuanyuan Haoyue, since the latter is a normal and capable disciple, while the former likes to chat with his senior brother, the sect leader, whenever he has free time.
Seeing this, the others also tried it with their own Lock Ring, but none of them received any response.
"Could something really have happened to our Sect Master?" Mo Yuanjiao stood up anxiously. "I'll stop doing my homework and go find him. I remember he mentioned the second level of the Chongxiao Domain earlier."
"Don't panic," Xuanyuan Haoyue said calmly. "Our Lock Ring are all bound to our personal Divine Sense and Spiritual Power. If the sect leader were injured or... our Lock Ring would show that the sect leader's communication signal was lost. Right now, we just can't contact him temporarily, but the Lock Ring show that everything is normal, which means that the sect leader is at least not in mortal danger right now."
Yuan Jinsheng nodded and said, "The sect leader is powerful, so he should be fine. Let's wait a few more days. If we still can't contact him after a few days, don't do anything rash. We'd better tell Elder Liao."
Elder Liao is currently the most powerful cultivator in their entire sect. If the sect leader encounters something he can't handle, then they, a group of Golden Core Foundation Establishment, certainly won't be able to do anything either. Therefore, asking Elder Liao for help is the most reliable option.
Hearing this, Mo Yuanjiao calmed down. What they said made a lot of sense. He nodded and sat down. "You're right. Let's wait three days. If there's still no news from Senior Brother Sect Master in three days, we'll go find Senior Liao. I'll go tell Senior Liao now."