Sect Leader! Please strengthen our Dao Sect!

Spring goes and winter comes.

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye, and the Taoist temple halfway up the mountain has disappeared into a white expanse.

Having already changed into a cotton-padded coat, Shen Lingxi exhaled a puff of white breath, rubbed her slightly reddened little hands, and obediently began sweeping the snow in the temple by herself.

"Phew~"

After cleaning the temple thoroughly, Shen Lingxi wiped away non-existent beads of sweat from her forehead, put down the broom, and skipped off to the kitchen.

With swift and efficient movements, they took out a pot of water to boil and added the millet.

Wisps of smoke rose straight up and disappeared into the snow-covered mountains.

"Slurp~"

The girl sat in front of her senior brother's room, contentedly drinking hot porridge, occasionally glancing back at the door that had been tightly closed for more than half a year.

Every time I look back, it's as if I'm hoping that door will open.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and the girl couldn't help but shiver.

In just over half a year, Shen Lingxi had broken through from the fourth level of Qi Refining to the fifth level. Such a cultivation speed would definitely make her a genius sought after by all the major immortal sects.

Unfortunately, Shen Lingxi was unaware of her own genius, and even if she had, this carefree girl probably wouldn't have cared.

"Ouch~ It's so cold."

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky and fell into the steaming bowl of porridge.

Just as Shen Lingxi finished speaking, a snowflake that had been drifting down suddenly stopped in front of her.

"what?"

suck~

While being curious, the girl also took a sip of rice porridge and gently touched it with her delicate finger, which immediately stirred up a ripple.

Dazzling runes appeared in the air, and the once chilly temple suddenly became warm.

With a creak.

The girl's red ear tips twitched slightly, and ignoring the strange sight in front of her, she quickly put down the bowl of porridge in her hand.

Like a nimble hare, she leaped into the arms of the young man in the Taoist robe who walked out of the door.

"Senior brother, you've finally emerged from seclusion!"

Feeling that familiar warmth, Shen Lingxi was unwilling to let go.

"Not bad, you've made progress; you've actually broken through."

Shen Shanshui did not scold her, but instead affectionately stroked the girl's hair and gave her a rare compliment.

This time, she's been in seclusion for so long; this lively girl must be incredibly lonely.

"Senior brother, what was that just now?"

After lingering for a while, Shen Lingxi finally spoke up out of curiosity, pointing to the faintly visible array in the courtyard.

"A simple Yang-gathering array, but unfortunately it was only temporarily constructed using my spiritual power and cannot be maintained for a long time."

"Amazing!" Shen Lingxi didn't understand formations, but that didn't stop her from admiring her senior brother.

"Senior brother, you've been in seclusion for quite a long time this time. Is it true that the higher a cultivator's cultivation level, the longer their seclusion period?"

Shen Lingxi looked at Shen Shanshui with worry in her eyes. If her senior brother always went into seclusion for such a long time, wouldn't that mean she wouldn't see him for a long time every now and then?

"Probably. Cultivation is not measured in years. A Foundation Establishment stage retreat can last from a few months to several years."

If one is at the Golden Core stage, a single period of seclusion... could very well equal a lifetime for an ordinary person.

The lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is no more than a thousand years, while the lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator can exceed ten thousand years! All the affairs of the mortal world are truly but a fleeting moment.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lingxi, who had been overjoyed that her senior brother had emerged from seclusion, suddenly fell silent, biting her red lips without saying a word.

How could Shen Shanshui not know what his junior sister was thinking? He raised his hand and gently tapped Shen Lingxi's head.

"Cultivate diligently; your talent is no less than mine. Once you have perfected your Qi cultivation, I will grant you the opportunity to establish your foundation."

"Pack your things, we'll be going down the mountain for training tomorrow, and the return date is uncertain."

Let's offer incense to Master together later.

"When we return next time, our Heavenly Dao Sect will surely be completely renewed."

……

……

Inside Qingyang City.

Two figures, one tall and one short, walked through the bustling city, attracting the attention of passersby.

"Senior brother, where are we going for our training?"

As she spoke, Shen Lingxi was occasionally drawn in by the delicious aromas from the food stalls lining both sides of the street.

With a cultivation level of five, even if one doesn't eat for ten days or half a month, one won't starve to death. Not to mention that Shen Shanshui has already established his foundation and cultivated the grains.

But people always have desires for food and drink, and monks are no exception.

Shen Lingxi bought things and ate them along the way.

Shen Shanshui touched his increasingly depleted money pouch and smiled bitterly to himself. Thankfully, his master had left them some savings; otherwise, they would have had to travel on a shoestring budget this time.

"Go to the official residence first."

"I plan to equip our sect with a spirit-gathering array and refine some Qi-refining pills. This is to prepare for the future opening of the sect and recruitment of new members," Shen Shanshui said truthfully without deliberately hiding anything.

"I see."

Shen Lingxi was only slightly surprised and did not think too much about it. She just felt that her senior brother seemed to know a lot of things all of a sudden.

"But senior brother, setting up the formation and refining the pills will cost a lot of spirit stones, right? Where are our spirit stones?"

Purchasing cultivation materials naturally cannot be done with ordinary currency; items belonging to cultivators are priceless and unavailable to ordinary people.

"Yes, where are our spirit stones?"

Shen Shanshui looked up at the sky; he also wanted to know the answer to this question.

Right now, earning spirit stones is the most important thing.

Under the rule of the Great Qin Dynasty, the path of immortality flourished. In addition to the disciples of the major immortal sects, the number of independent cultivators was also extremely large.

Those who lack the qualifications to enter the immortal sect for further study will either be hired as guards by powerful sects, or open their own cultivation halls or serve as local leaders, becoming unofficial members of the Qin Dynasty.

However, compared to the vast number of independent cultivators, this narrow employment path ultimately cannot accommodate everyone.

Moreover, most independent cultivators are proud and unwilling to be bound by rules.

In the world of immortals, it is the immortals who use their skills to commit offenses.

Therefore, in order to solve the employment and livelihood problems of independent practitioners and prevent a large number of unemployed independent practitioners from going down a path of no return.

The Qin Dynasty established official residences in various places and hired the Wanyin Sect, who were skilled in communication techniques, to design an extremely complex communication array network.

When Shen Shanshui first heard about the existence of the official residence after arriving in this world, he was utterly shocked.

Indeed, no matter what the rules of heaven and earth are, human wisdom is always astonishing.

The Qin Dynasty was far too authoritative! They actually managed to create the Internet using magical techniques!

The authorities will issue bounty missions, such as gathering information, capturing fugitives, and exploring dangerous locations.

In addition to official bounties, the Qin Dynasty also required all officially registered immortal sects to regularly send out a batch of bounty missions to the official residence.

In addition, the official residence also accepts bounties from private individuals. Because of the official backing, tasks such as long-distance escorts, purchasing elixirs and precious materials, and even offering large sums of money for the divination of a certain fairy are quite common.

As for private bounties, is there a risk of double-crossing among those offering them?

That sophisticated communication array system was not just for show; besides ensuring the timeliness and speed of mission communication, it also served as a massive surveillance network.

If a rogue cultivator were to attack his employer or abscond with treasures, he would be met with the ruthless iron fist of the Immortal Dynasty of Law and Justice.

……