Mei Clan Ancestral Hall (Unorthodox Sect, Rank 3 Sect)
The grand hall was filled with the elders of the clan, their wrinkled faces grim as they gazed upon their clan head. He sat atop his golden throne; surrounded by a dark aura and his expression hard as he looked down upon the scene before him.
Flanked on either side by armed guards holding sharp spears, a young girl knelt on the cold stone floor. Though she wore no crown or royal finery, her bearing and delicate features marked her as royalty. Princess Ling lifted her head high, defiance flashing in her eyes as she faced the clan head and elders' judgment.
"Mei Ling, don't make this any harder than it needs to be" the clan head spoke in a booming voice. "Being used as a sacrifice to the demon ancestor should be your greatest honor"
Ling rose to her feet. "If it's such a great honor, why don't you do it yourself?" Her voice rang out clear and unafraid.
Angry murmurs rippled through the hall. The clan head slammed his fist upon the arm of his throne. "You dare question my judgement? You have brought only shame to the Mei Clan!"
The princess did not flinch. "The truth brings no shame. All of you are just a bunch of old men who kill fellow clan members for profit in the guise of paying tribute to the demon ancestor. Its people like you that bring shame to the clan's name."
The elders stirred uneasily. Some nodded reluctantly as if her words rang true. The clan head turned red with rage. "Take this traitor to the dungeons!" he bellowed.
The guards seized Ling's arms, though she did not resist. As she was dragged away, she held her head high, a righteous prisoner of conscience.
…
Chen Clan Sect Hall
A piercing scream shattered the quiet of the night. "Mom! Dad! Nooooooo!"
Ling bolted upright in bed, her heart pounding. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the vivid images from her nightmare lingered. She had been back at the fateful moment when her parents died trying to save her from the dungeons.
"No, no, no," she sobbed, wrapping her arms around herself. She rocked back and forth, willing the horrific visions to leave her be. But she could still see the scene clear as day at the back of her mind.
It took a long time for Ling's pounding heart to slow and her tears to dry. The nightmare always left her feeling raw and devastated, like she was losing her parents all over again. She hugged her knees to her chest, wishing she could have saved them.
As dawn's light peeked through the curtains, Ling whispered into the quiet, "Don't worry Mom and Dad, I swear to avenge you someday"
Chen Mo, who had been sitting meditating at the corner of the room thought to himself,
'Just as I thought, this is indeed a main character profile. Even willing to go to a demonic sect for revenge'
"Very brave indeed, but there's nothing you can do about it, the moment you're spotted by anyone who can see through your pure yang body, you'll be captured and used to craft cultivation pills. To put it short, you'll be long dead before you can avenge your parents" he spoke in calm voice.
"And who are you?" she spoke calmly but deep inside, she thought,
'Damn, I let my guard down, I didn't even sense him approaching'
"No need to be on guard little princess, I'm a friend of Yin Mei over there. Sorry, I guess to you its demon ancestor"
"How do you know about the demon ancestor? Not even my clan elders know about her!"
"Don't worry about that, anyway, since you have nowhere to go, why don't you join the new sect I'm about to create"
'The Mo sect has already been abolished and I need at least one disciple to create a sect. If I recruit her, I can create a sect, not to mention that she's a main character profile' he thought to himself as he stretched his hand to her for a handshake.
'What he said is true, if someone notices my pure yang body, I'll be as good as dead. Although I don't trust him fully, I'm sure he won't hurt me since he stabilized the yang poisoning in my body and knows about the ancestor. I'll join his sect for a while' she thought to herself as she stretched out her hand for the handshake.
"Good, now let's go and register our sect"
"What? Register?"
"Yes, didn't I tell you that I was creating a sect?"
"Oh okay"
Ling stepped outside the sect building and froze in shock. The outside of the building looked nothing like the inside. It stood in ruins - its roof caved in, walls crumbling, and grounds utterly neglected.
She had seen how the inside seemed like the epitome of wealth and luxury. Grander than their ancestral hall even.
But now as she gazed about, that illusion lay shattered. Ivy and moss covered the decrepit walls. Many of the windows were smashed, their shards littering the ground. The fountains no longer flowed, their basins dry and cracked. It looked as if no one had tended the grounds in years.
What could have happened? Had the elders of the sect fallen on hard times? Or had they simply lost interest in maintaining the facade of prosperity?
Chen Mo realized her shocked expression and thought to himself that he had fixed the interior of the sect building but forgot to fix the outside. Now that he was at the 3rd level of Foundation Building, he could now use his spiritual energy freely to activate his skills without much burden to his body.
His brain functions were also much faster and he could process much more infonts at a time than he could before breaking through.
He held her gently in his arm and jumped back outside the sect as he stretched out his arm.
'I haven't tested out my limits since I broke through, I used [Update] on my body to make it automatically cultivate and now my body feels full of stamina all the time and I don't need rest or sleep since my body is collecting spiritual energy by itself all the time'
As he stretched out his hand towards the sect, he thought that now that he had enough control over spiritual energy, it wouldn't be hard to recreate a sect building and its environment based on memory.
Chen Mo poured spiritual energy into his hand and used the [Development] skill to create a modern looking sect mansion as well as flowers, fountains and other decorations. He also created some modern apartments for disciples before his spiritual energy ran out.
Mei Ling who had now witnessed the buildings materializing out of seemingly nowhere was shocked beyond belief, 'What was that? Crafting? No, even the best crafter in the continent couldn't craft something this big at such a short time. In the clan's library, I learnt that there are gods who can create things just by thinking about it, is he one of them?'
"Who are you?" she asked in a shocked but respectful tone.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Chen Mo. You can call me Sect Master from now on" he spoke with a smile as he let her down from his arms.