"I think this line of thought is feasible."
Having heard Zhou Jianmin's report, Lin Huaian displayed his customary boldness.
"Jianmin, I'll leave this matter in your hands. If needed, coordinate with Comrade Zhang Kai from Section 307."
Zhou Jianmin's expression turned solemn. "Understood!"
***
Just as a new round of sub-projects began rolling out in the home world,
Over in the Tianling Realm,
Within the Guihua Sect,
Lin Yi, having just learned of the two discoveries from Pan Yongnian, departed the forbidden ground and made his way to the Sect Meeting Hall.
After taking a brief rest inside, he released a Flying Bird Talisman used for communication.
Roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea later,
Six figures appeared from various directions, some flying and others on foot, converging in haste outside the hall. Led by Lin Yi's eldest disciple, Zhao Ping, they filed inside.
Upon seeing Lin Yi in the master's seat, the six bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Master / Grand Elder."
Lin Yi nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the six in turn.
Aside from Zhao Ping and Su Qing,
The remaining four were two middle-aged men of contrasting heights and builds, a thin, wizened old man in his seventies with dark skin, and a handsome young man whose looks fell only slightly short of the dashing readers from before Lin Yi's transmigration.
None of the four were strangers to him.
They were the sect's only four cultivators in the Qi Condensation Late Stage: deacons Zeng Kefan and Wei Tong, Armorer Lu Yang, and Wei Chongshan, the eldest disciple of the third generation.
Wei Chongshan's status was slightly lower than the others', and strictly speaking, he was not yet considered sect leadership.
Even so, Lin Yi and Zhao Ping frequently summoned him to important meetings, signaling that he was being groomed as the next-generation successor.
With four spiritual roots, his aptitude was well worth such attention.
Lin Yi then waved his hand casually, gesturing for them to take their seats.
Now that communication between the home world and the Tianling Realm had stabilized, it was time to tend to sect affairs.
After all, the Guihua Sect was his base of operations. If turmoil broke out internally, it could easily disrupt the cross-realm logistics from the home world.
Once the group had settled into their seats, Lin Yi paused in thought before looking first at his youngest disciple, Su Qing.
"Su Qing, how are the spiritual fields doing lately?"
Though she was a quintessential timid homebody, she was thoroughly dependable when it came to her specialty. Hearing the question, she answered respectfully at once,
"Reporting to Master, the low-grade spiritual plants sown last year are thriving, with hardly any issues."
"Barring any accidents, disciple estimates the first batch should be ready for harvest in a little over a month."
Lin Yi nodded as he listened.
Unlike sects that prized brute martial power or ran extensive commercial ventures,
The Guihua Sect had always kept a gentle, low profile. The sect's primary income—aside from Lin Yi taking odd jobs—came from cultivating spiritual herbs and breeding spiritual rice in exchange for spirit stones.
Through more than thirty years of effort by Lin Yi and the others, the sect's spiritual plant industry had grown relatively mature, earning a modest reputation in nearby markets.
After all, for people of Huaxia, farming was practically second nature.
After a moment's consideration, Lin Yi's gaze settled on Su Qing and the plump deacon, Wei Tong, his plan taking shape.
"Su Qing, Wei Tong. Since the spiritual plants are nearing maturity, the two of you will oversee the matter together for the coming period."
"Su Qing knows breeding and care, while Wei Tong will direct the odd-job disciples and manage the ledgers. Ensure that the first harvest in a month proceeds without a hitch."
Su Qing and Wei Tong bowed. "Understood."
Lin Yi gave a slight nod, then shifted his gaze to the other deacon, Zeng Kefan.
"Kefan, this old man's lifespan is drawing to a close, and it is no exaggeration to say that this delivery of spiritual plants concerns the very survival of our sect."
"I therefore intend to establish an advance trading post in Anyuan City. I wish to entrust this task to you. Are you willing?"
Zeng Kefan froze for a second before a flicker of delight crossed his eyes. He hurriedly stood, his face full of deference.
"Disciple obeys!"
Lin Yi noted Zeng Kefan's reaction, but chose not to expose his petty schemes.
Or rather, Lin Yi had done this deliberately.
Both Zeng Kefan and Wei Tong were disciples of Lin Yi's close friend, Wu Xiangnan.
Yet the two were quite different.
Wei Tong was upright and kind, a veritable pillar of virtue. Though his cultivation realm and aptitude were unremarkable, he commanded widespread respect among the sect's disciples.
Zeng Kefan, however, was harder to praise.
Especially after becoming a deacon, he had seized plenty of chances to pocket illicit profits.
Still, Wu Xiangnan had specifically entrusted both disciples to Lin Yi's care before attempting his tribulation. Furthermore, Zeng Kefan had always kept his greed within very precise limits, so Lin Yi had turned a blind eye and let it slide.
Now, however, with the light ring in the forbidden ground and the inevitable shifts that cross-realm interaction would bring, Lin Yi deemed it best to send this unpredictable element away for safety's sake.
Anyuan City was far smaller than Jiuwu City and lay a thousand li from the Guihua Sect, its main industry being the wholesale trade of various spiritual plants.
In function, it resembled the small herb-trading towns from before his transmigration.
In the past, roughly half of the Guihua Sect's transactions had taken place in Anyuan City.
Dispatching Zeng Kefan there was entirely reasonable and simultaneously removed a major liability.
As for Zeng Kefan himself...
If he carried out his duties faithfully in Anyuan City, Lin Yi could overlook a little skimming off the top.
Given the current situation involving the home world, spending ten or twenty spirit stones to ensure internal stability was well worth the price.
Yet if his hands reached too far, or if he interfered with the transfer of cross-realm supplies...
Lin Yi shook his head faintly.
Hopefully, things would never come to that.
With matters regarding the spiritual plants settled, Lin Yi turned his gaze to the sect's sole armorer, Lu Yang.
With a flick of his wrist, a bundle flew from his Storage Pouch and landed at Lu Yang's feet.
"Lu Yang, there are some decent materials inside. Take them and see what you can craft."
"If you can forge six Dharma artifacts within a month, regardless of their grade, this old man will reward you handsomely."
Lu Yang opened the bag to look, and his cloudy eyes lit up at once.
"Elder, put your mind at ease. Old Lu will not fail you!"
Lin Yi's demeanor toward Lu Yang was noticeably warmer, and he gave a gentle nod.
In the Tianling Realm,
Armorers, alchemists, and talisman masters were professions with high barriers to entry; without sufficient aptitude and years of dedication, reaching any level of accomplishment was difficult.
Lu Yang was a guest elder Lin Yi had recruited by chance. He was at the Qi Condensation Late Stage and had been with the sect for thirty years.
Though technically an outsider, he was far more reliable than Zeng Kefan.
A few days earlier—while sorting through the materials of the Golden-Eyed Crimson-Scale Beast—Su Qing had reported how everyone in the sect had behaved when preparing to flee.
According to her,
When word spread that Lin Yi planned to burn through the remainder of his lifespan to buy them time, both Lu Yang and Wei Tong had approached Zhao Ping of their own accord, volunteering to stay behind to delay the demon beasts.
Lu Yang had even cited his advanced age and few remaining years as reason to entrust all his belongings to Su Qing, intending to self-detonate alongside Lin Yi to hold off the enemy.
Zeng Kefan, by contrast, had not uttered a single word from beginning to end.
...
Chapter 59