In the cave, Mo Jian looked at the Obsidian Core Crystal with a bright smile on his face.
Hundreds of runes had suppressed the eerily dark yin energy emanating from it.
Apart from that, the cave was covered by a powerful concealment array formation, making it difficult for anyone to discover its location.
"Thank you, Elder Delan." Mo Jian bowed slightly to the elder.
"It's nothing. I've learned a lot from this formation, and it won't be long before I become a Tier-2 Array Master." He waved his hand, pleased that he had been chosen to set up the formation.
The Sect Master turned to look at his son for a moment before leading the excited elder out of the cave. This was his son's secret—he wouldn't allow anyone to pry into it.
With Elder Delan's departure, Mo Jian began setting up additional array formations on the base transmission array.
Like a layered network, each array complemented the others, bringing out the full potential of the formation.
It took him four hours to set up the transmission array, energy amplification array, storage array, and, lastly, the encryption array.
These were the core modules of the formation.
To complete the final step, he pricked his finger and used his blood to inscribe a security rune onto the Obsidian Core Crystal.
The moment he finished, the crystal trembled, emitting a faint humming sound.
"Finally, I'm done." A bright smile appeared on his face as he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.
Quickly, he left the cave and activated the array formation. Instantly, a surge of powerful spiritual energy rushed toward the cave, and the concealment array enveloped everything.
Apart from the concealment formation, Mo Jian had set up three layers of defense in case of an emergency.
Since this would be the heart of the Spirit Link network, he couldn't be too careful.
"Now, let's test it out," he muttered, taking out a sleek golden Spirit Link and channeling a portion of his spiritual energy into it.
Humm!
The golden Spirit Link vibrated—a signal that it had successfully connected to the main network.
"Haha! It works." His smile deepened. He was getting closer to his goal.
"Son, is it done?" The Sect Master called out from a distance.
"Yes, Father. It's done."
"Good. I need to speak with you."
Back at their quiet villa, the three sat facing each other.
"Father, what is going on?" Mo Jian asked, furrowing his brow.
"The Radiant Sect wants to buy your Spirit Link," his mother said quickly. She was not the patient type.
"Really?"
"Yes." His father nodded. "They sent two elders to negotiate with us. So, what do you think?"
"We sell it to them—but at twice the price." Mo Jian responded without hesitation.
From the news coming from the border, he knew it was only a matter of time before the Spirit Link became a necessity for everyone. And this was just the beginning.
"Haha! Good. This time, they will bleed." His father laughed happily. He couldn't wait to milk them dry.
"Look at your face. Hmph! What you couldn't do, your son did easily—without even fighting," Liu Zexian scoffed, a bright smile on her face.
"Who cares? As long as one of us did it, I'm satisfied." His father responded shamelessly.
Before his wife could retort, Mo Jian rushed to interrupt the lovebirds.
"Father, we still have work to do."
"What work? I thought you were done?" His parents looked at him in confusion.
"That was just the foundation. The next step is just as important." He spoke seriously.
"Mother, how long would it take you to reach Sky Ridge City?" he asked, turning to her.
"At full speed, half an incense stick's time. Why do you ask?" she responded.
"We need to test my new Spirit Link." He took out a golden Spirit Link and handed it to his mother. "Mother, please help me."
"Alright." She was free anyway.
"Mother, when you're halfway there, call us. It works just like the normal Spirit Link."
She nodded and vanished from sight.
Whoosh!
Watching her leave, anticipation shone in Mo Jian's eyes as he took out another golden Spirit Link.
He had made two golden Spirit Links specifically for this test.
"Son, is this what I think it is?" His father's expression was one of disbelief.
"Yes. With this, we should be able to communicate with anyone in our region." Mo Jian responded confidently.
"Really?!"
"Yes."
"Good. Good. My sect will rise from its ashes from now on." His father muttered, his face filled with excitement and anticipation.
"Son, just tell me whatever you need."
After a few minutes, the golden Spirit Link vibrated, and Mo Jian answered the call.
"Son, I'm halfway there." His mother's voice came through the Spirit Link.
"Okay, Mom. Keep going."
They ended the call and waited for her next message. Finally, when she reached Sky Ridge City, she made the final call.
With that, they had confirmed the basic range of the main network.
Now, I just need to set up multiple relays across the region.
Shortly after, his mother returned, a bead of sweat on her forehead.
"Mother, you've worked hard. Let me make you some tea."
"Hahaha, my son has grown up," she teased, pinching his cheek.
"Mom!"
"What?"
He sighed and served the tea. He knew his mother's personality and decided to just go along with it.
With his mother back, he took out a large map from his pouch and spread it on the table. Pointing to several locations, he said:
"Father, I need the sect's help in setting up arrays in these locations."
"Alright, leave it to me."
"Also, I need access to the Refining Hall for the next phase of my plan," Mo Jian added.
He was determined to complete the mission in one go. Instead of rolling out an upgraded version of the Spirit Link, he planned to create something akin to a smartphone in one clean sweep.
Meanwhile, inside the grand hall of the Radiant Sect, the elders gathered, their expressions solemn.
"Sect Master, why must we buy from the Dust Valley Sect? We can easily have our Refining Hall reverse-engineer it," an elder said with a deep frown.
"I know…" Their Sect Master, an old man with a long white beard, responded calmly.
"This is all part of the plan—to make the Dust Valley Sect lower their guard while our Refining Hall works on reverse-engineering it."
"Apart from that, we must find out who created the artifact and convince them to join our sect."