Under the clear starry sky, Qi Xiu rushed back impatiently. Even though he could use spirit stones to help power his flying item, the long-term drain on his Qi still left him feeling pretty exhausted.
When he saw the warm glow coming from the small temple, he felt a comforting sense of being home, and all his fatigue seemed worth it.
"Sect Leader, you're back!"
As soon as Qi Xiu landed, a figure suddenly appeared from the darkness to greet him.
Qi Xiu recognized the person. "Oh, Zhan Yuan. Why are you still here so late? The smell outside is terrible, so don't stay out too long. I was going to—"
Zhan Yuan gave him urgent signals toward the temple and Qi Xiu immediately stopped talking.
There was an outsider inside! Understanding Zhan Yuan's hint, Qi Xiu's heart skipped a beat. It seemed like things were not too serious, though, judging by Zhan Yuan's expression. He furrowed his brow and headed into the small temple.
In the main hall, a cultivator in green robes was sitting cross-legged, discussing Daoism with the disciples who were respectfully kneeling and listening.
When Qi Xiu entered, the disciples greeted him one by one, and the cultivator stopped his teaching. Without standing, he gave Qi Xiu a slight nod as a form of acknowledgment.
"Senior Kan here is a cultivator from the White Mountain," Zhang Shishi introduced. "He happened to pass by, and when He Yu and I saw his profound understanding of the Dao, we boldly asked him to help us with our questions. We've been troubling him until now." Then he turned to Senior Kan. "This is our sect leader, Qi."
Qi Xiu realized that this person was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and likely came to the small temple to rest. But since he, as the sect leader, was not present, Zhang Shishi did not dare to request him to stay.
Qi Xiu quickly stepped forward to greet him and invited him to stay the night.
Kan Lin made no pretense and nodded, agreeing.
Qi Xiu first took Zhan Yuan to tidy up the sect leader's inner chamber. Zhan Yuan, along with Huang He and Pan Rong, handled the items they had brought back from the nearby mortal village—things like simple household tools and bedding.
Everything was arranged neatly. They cleared out the dried meat and water jars, leaving behind the best bedding, a small table, a tea set, and a small plate with four pieces of pastry.
This was the best hospitality the Chu Qin Sect could offer at the moment. Qi Xiu then took out a small firefly stone from his bag and placed it on the ceiling for lighting before stepping out of the room with Zhan Yuan.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator in green robes was named Kan Lin. Though he appeared to be around Qi Xiu's age, he was likely fifty or sixty years old. His appearance and demeanor were gentle and modest, naturally evoking a sense of goodwill at first glance.
He was not pretentious either; at this moment, he was being pestered by He Yu to teach, and he was explaining a fundamental text on the Five Elements, The Wood Vitality Sutra. His words were simple yet profound, subtly conveying deep truths of the Great Dao.
The members of the Chu Qin Sect listened with rapt attention. Even those who didn't specialize in this particular path of cultivation felt they had gained much from his teachings.
Qi Xiu waited until Kan Lin had finished his lecture before stepping forward to invite him to rest for the night. Kan Lin nodded, stopped his teaching, and walked into the inner chamber to rest.
Though Foundation Establishment cultivators could recover by merely meditating, Kan Lin had traveled a great distance to reach this place and was somewhat fatigued.
As was his custom, Kan Lin had planned to stop and rest at Black River Peak, not expecting that this place had become the property of the Chu Qin Sect.
Noticing his slight awkwardness, Zhang Shishi had initiated a conversation about cultivation to ease the situation. One thing led to another, and that's how the scene Qi Xiu witnessed on his return had unfolded.
Seeing He Yu still brimming with curiosity and reluctance to let the lecture end, Qi Xiu offered a few comforting words.
Given the close proximity, nothing could be hidden from the spiritual sense of the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Qi Xiu exchanged a knowing glance with Zhang Shishi and Zhan Yuan, signaling that they would discuss things later. He then arranged for everyone to sleep together on a large communal mat in the main hall.
After completing a cycle of the "Eternal Spring Technique," Qi Xiu saw that Gu Ji and Qin Weiyu and the other had fallen asleep. Exhausted himself, he laid down next to them, and thus, the entire Chu Qin Sect slept in a row, spending their first night in South Xinjiang.
When Qi Xiu woke up, he found that Kan Lin had already left at some point during the night. On the small table in the inner room, there was a 1st-tier talisman, a Healing Charm, likely left as a token of appreciation for the Chu Qin Sect's hospitality.
The jade slip mentioned that most White Mountain cultivators are not of good character and that Chu Youmin would offer some care. Qi Xiu thought to himself. Although Kan Lin might not represent all Baishan cultivators, judging by Chu Youmin's attitude, it doesn't seem like he will provide any real assistance. Even the protective mountain formation was offered at a price higher than the market rate! Now, it seems that what was stated in the jade slip isn't entirely accurate.
Qi Xiu was holding the talisman, lost in his thoughts when Zhang Shishi and Zhan Yuan walked in.
"Sect Leader, while we've managed to secure enough food and water for now, relying solely on the flying artifact to transport supplies back and forth is really draining our manpower," Zhan Yuan said with a worried expression. "Plus, we still haven't solved the problem of daily washing water. We can't keep relying on Cleaning Talismans; it's too expensive."
Zhang Shishi nodded in agreement and added, "And the bigger issue is that our sect lacks any profitable ventures. If we keep this up, we'll burn through our resources in no time."
Qi Xiu originally planned to first investigate the pool at the foot of the mountain and then decide on the scope of the mountain-protection formation. After that, he intended to complete the trade with the Spreading Blossom Sect using the crimson jade formation plate, and with the spirit stones obtained, purchase a proper mountain-protection formation.
This would solve both defense and water supply issues, marking the first step in establishing a foothold here. However, he couldn't yet discuss the pool and red jade formation plate with the others.
As for the future direction of the sect, with the surrounding environment still unclear, it was better to hold off on making any decisions.
After a moment of contemplation, Qi Xiu shared his observations from the meeting with Chu Youmin. Zhang Shishi and Zhan Yuan were dismayed to learn that this crucial Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Chu family was so unwelcoming. Both sighed in frustration.
"From north to south, haven't we faced enough cold shoulders and neglect?" Zhang Shishi lamented.
"We'll have to take it step by step. For now, let's set up a basic protective formation. The smell at Black River Peak is unbearable, and if we're exposed to it for too long, it could harm our health. We can't keep everyone cooped up in the hall all the time," Qi Xiu said. "As for the washing water, we'll have to endure for now. If it gets really bad, we can use Cleaning Talismans temporarily. I'll figure out a more permanent solution."
He then took out the equipment for the Yellow Sand Illusion Formation—a dozen stone formation plates, a yellow jade central plate, and a book titled Detailed Explanation of the Yellow Sand Illusion Formation.
He called He Yu in, and the four of them gathered to discuss how to set up the formation.
Setting up this 1st-grade mid-tier mountain-protection formation wasn't too complicated. Zhang Shishi and He Yu, both with Earth Spiritual Roots, had a good grasp of Earth-element energy applications.
After seven days of effort, the entire Chu Qin Sect worked together to successfully set up the array.
During this time, a few passing cultivators had landed at Black River Peak. They were all lone cultivators at the Qi Condesmation stage. Seeing the number of people from the Chu Qin sect, they had inquired about the situation and just left, causing no trouble.
Some even hastening to leave midway when they saw the crowd, quickly taking off on their flying items.
Qi Xiu set up the central formation plate in his quarters and, under the watchful eyes of everyone, inserted several second-tier spirit stones into the slots on the plate. He then took out the sect leader's token and activated it.
The central formation disk glowed brightly with yellow light, and the stone formation plates embedded in the ground outside the hall responded by lighting up as well.
"Rise!" Qi Xiu commanded softly.
A yellow light surged dramatically before vanishing. As the Yellow Sand Illusion Formation began to operate, a semi-circular barrier of spiritual energy enveloped the small temple and half of the surrounding peak.
Anyone outside with insufficient cultivation would see only a yellow mist covering the area, making the small temple completely invisible.
The 2nd-grade spirit stones were included with the formation, and fortunately, the supplier from the Ninth Three Courtyards wasn't too greedy.
Qi Xiu, however, didn't attempt to test the formation's full offensive and defensive capabilities due to the high spirit stone consumption, which pained him to use.
With the formation in place, the Chu Qin Sect members felt significantly safer, and the foul odor from Black River was pushed outside the formation.
Everyone, delighted, stepped out of the small temple for the first time in seven days to breathe fresh air.
Zhan Yuan estimated the area covered by the formation. "If we can build a few houses in the open space within this formation next, we won't have to stay packed together all the time," he said.
For the past few days, the nine of them had been sleeping in the main hall. While there was ample space, cultivators were simply not used to such communal living, and it felt quite inconvenient. When Zhan Yuan made his suggestion, everyone agreed, and Qi Xiu nodded in agreement as well.
"Are we supposed to build the houses ourselves? Who even knows how to do that?" Gu Ji, still with a childlike demeanor, asked.