A group returned to the foot of Celestial Eagle Mountain. Fang Qingyuan was not at the front of the procession. Accompanying him was a middle-aged man wearing the tall cap of a Confucian scholar. He wore his lake-blue robe with one arm through a sleeve, the other side left open to reveal the metallic inner armor beneath.

The man had sword-like brows, a long beard, deep-set eyes, and thin lips. He was stern and unsmiling, exuding the air of a deadly warrior, as skilled with the pen as with the sword.

This was Ji Xinlong of the Great Zhou Academy, an Early-stage Golden Core Cultivator. Previously, he had been responsible for leading the hunt for Demon Cultivators deep within White Mountain during the pioneering war. Now, in the aftermath, his role had shifted, and he had become the Steward in charge of demarcating the new Spiritual Lands.

Fang Qingyuan held no superior standing in his presence, especially now that he had left the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect.

"Sect Leader Fang, if there are no objections regarding the borders, then let’s erect the Boundary Stone. You may sign and finalize the agreement."

Ji Xinlong wore a strictly business-like expression. Fang Qingyuan carefully checked the Geomancy Map, confirming that the demarcation of his sect’s territory was perfectly accurate. Only then did he break into a wide smile and say:

"Thank you for all your trouble, Steward Ji. If you have the time, please come inside for a cup of tea."

In response to Fang Qingyuan’s invitation, Ji Xinlong replied curtly:

"What sect gates? You don’t even have them yet. I have to get back to partitioning land for the other families; I have no time for idle chit-chat. The Boundary Stone is in place. For the next three generations, as long as you don’t go looking for death, the Great Zhou Academy guarantees your safety."

With that, Ji Xinlong departed in a hurry, taking with him the dozen or so Cultivators from the Great Zhou Academy who had been surveying and marking the territory.

Once they were gone, the dozen-odd Qi Refining Cultivators who had followed Fang Qingyuan here all broke into smiles.

They were originally disciples of the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, but their positions had been rather marginal. Thus, they had steeled themselves to leave the sect and follow Fang Qingyuan to build a new enterprise.

All dozen or so of them were male disciples, a veritable crew of bachelors. They weren’t young, and Fang Qingyuan felt that without some special stroke of fortune, he would be lucky if even one of them ever reached Foundation Establishment.

"Sect Leader, what’s our next move?"

The Qi Cultivation Cultivator who spoke looked to be in his forties or fifties. His cultivation had only just reached the Late-stage of Qi Cultivation. His name was Mao Cheng, and he had a mature and steady disposition. Though his cultivation was not exceptional, he was highly skilled at managing practical affairs.

The dozen-odd Qi Refining Cultivators gazed at Fang Qingyuan with hopeful eyes. Here, at the foot of Celestial Eagle Mountain, he represented their only hope for the future.

Ji Xinlong and his men were gone. Henceforth, unless an event threatened the very existence of the sect, the Great Zhou Academy would likely not intervene again.

The Academy’s three-generation mandate only guaranteed that no one could try to destroy their Daoist lineage. It offered no protection from ordinary competition.

But for Fang Qingyuan, this was more than enough. He possessed a long lifespan; as long as he lived, the Great Zhou Academy was obligated to protect him. Therefore, ironically, his safety had actually increased after leaving the shelter of the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect.

As long as he remained vigilant against natural disasters and beast hordes, his Qingyuan Sect would be able to enjoy peace for the next several hundred years.

"Alright, first things first," Fang Qingyuan commanded. "Let’s get the various halls and residences built, lest visitors arrive and we don’t even have a proper place to host them for tea."

At Fang Qingyuan’s command, Mao Cheng led the group of disciples. They took various construction Warrior Talismans from their storage bags and summoned dozens of ten-foot-tall Yellow Turban Warriors, who began constructing the future buildings of the Qingyuan Sect.

Leaving the disciples to get busy, Fang Qingyuan headed to the summit of Celestial Eagle Mountain alone. As the Sect Leader, he naturally didn’t need to trouble himself with such menial tasks.

At the summit, the gaping maw of a massive cave-nest was littered with the scattered bones of various animals—the remains of meals left by the former occupant, a Six-winged Flying Eagle.

Aside from the bones, not a single item of value was to be found. Everything had likely been picked clean by the Cultivators who first conquered the mountain.

A faint stench hung in the air of the cave—the accumulated reek of blood from years of kills. The smell had soaked into the surrounding rock walls and would not fade anytime soon.

Looking at the piles of bones that no one had bothered to clear away, Fang Qingyuan frowned slightly. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he moved all the skeletons into his Immortal Mansion.

Inside the Immortal Mansion, Jinbao’s jaw dropped as bones rained down from the sky. An instant later, Fang Qingyuan’s instructions reached its ears. With a dejected expression, Jinbao began digging in the empty stretch of Black Land near the border. It had to bury them all.

With the bones gone, the view was much more pleasant. Fang Qingyuan stood at the cliff’s edge, gazing into the distance.

Focusing his vision, he could see a group of Cultivators bustling about in the far distance. ’Those must be my sect’s future neighbors,’ he thought.

The Qingyuan Sect’s territory wasn’t vast, covering less than two thousand square kilometers in total. Essentially, the land for a hundred *li* in every direction from Celestial Eagle Mountain now belonged to them.

In his past life, this would have been the size of a county. Now, it was a desolate wasteland. Aside from a few birds and beasts, there were no other living creatures; even the Qi Refining Demon Beasts capable of cultivation had been thoroughly cleared out.

That being said, a sect with a hundred-*li* territory was considered one of the larger ones under the purview of a Golden Core Sect. As far as Fang Qingyuan knew, many of his new neighbors only possessed territories of around one thousand square kilometers.

The largest might have fourteen or fifteen hundred square kilometers, while the smaller ones had less than a thousand. Some were even smaller, with a territory of only a few hundred square kilometers spanning just a dozen or so *li*.

These smaller plots of land were favored by Cultivator Clans at the Qi Cultivation level. Lacking the qualifications to establish a proper sect, they could only relocate a branch of their family here to avoid the internal strife that came from competing for scarce resources back home.

While Mao Cheng and the others worked tirelessly on construction at the foot of the mountain, Fang Qingyuan found a spot on the summit, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes, beginning to bask in the abundant Spiritual Qi of his new home.

....

Half a month later, building after building had sprung from the ground. A Guest Reception Building, a Banquet Hall, the Grand Council Hall, a Quiet Hall, the Punishment Hall, the Dungeon—Mao Cheng and his men had built them all.

’Immortal Techniques truly are the greatest means of production,’ Fang Qingyuan marveled as he surveyed the new buildings.

Of course, the buildings themselves were merely a shell. The crucial part would be setting up the various Arrays.

"Sect Leader, where do you plan on purchasing our Mountain Protection Array?"

Mao Cheng sidled up to Fang Qingyuan, raising the most critical question. The Mountain Protection Array was the very foundation of a sect; its selection could not be taken lightly.

Fang Qingyuan thought for a moment before replying,

"I’m planning to check out the Nine-star Marketplace. Since it’s newly opened, there are bound to be plenty of discounts. Who knows, I might even score a real bargain."

Mao Cheng gave a fawning smile and was about to offer some complimentary words when a disciple from the gate came to announce that they had a visitor.

Fang Qingyuan was surprised. His sect had only just been founded, and he didn’t know anyone in the area. ’Who could possibly be visiting?’

But a visitor was a guest, and he couldn’t just turn them away. He told Mao Cheng to welcome them in.

The visitor was a middle-aged man with a sharp aura. He stood tall and straight, like a drawn sword. Accompanied by several Qi Cultivation Cultivators carrying gift boxes, he was led before Fang Qingyuan by Mao Cheng.

"Cui Yuangong of the White Mountain Sword Sect greets the Qingyuan Sect Leader."

Sensing that his guest’s cultivation was at the peak of Foundation Establishment Late-Stage Perfection, Fang Qingyuan’s expression shifted slightly. He quickly returned the courtesy, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two men headed inside the sect gates.

Once they arrived at the newly constructed Guest Reception Building, Fang Qingyuan had his disciples serve Spirit Fruits and Spirit Tea to Cui Yuangong and his followers.

He and Cui Yuangong took the seats of honor and began their conversation. Fang Qingyuan couldn’t fathom the reason for this visit. ’My sect and the White Mountain Sword Sect have nothing to do with each other.’

After a few cups of tea, Cui Yuangong retrieved a small stove from his storage bag, followed by a jar of yellow wine, which he placed on the stove to warm.

"This is the plum wine of our White Mountain Sword Sect. Would Sect Leader Fang care for a taste?"

Fang Qingyuan accepted a cup with a slight smile and savored it slowly.

"Fellow Daoist Cui, you didn’t pay a visit just to drink wine with me, did you? Is there some important matter you wish to discuss?"

Cui Yuangong set down his wine cup, but instead of answering directly, he posed a question of his own.

"This reclamation war has ended, and the Great Zhou Academy will soon be withdrawing from this area. But their departure will leave behind a legacy of trivial squabbles. I don’t see this new Land Realm being very peaceful for the next few decades. So, I would like to ask Sect Leader Fang, in your esteemed opinion, among all the sects and powers in White Mountain, who is worthy of being called the first and foremost?"