The Moon-Locking Pool, which had been quiet and deserted for twenty or thirty years since its last True Disciple left, had become thoroughly bustling these past few days.

Bai Zichen had conveyed his intention to renovate the Moon-Locking Pool to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. In just three short days, they had dispatched over thirty servant disciples and Firework Daoists, as well as two Stewards with extensive construction experience who had participated in building the Sect’s main halls.

At the same time, all sorts of construction materials poured in like a river.

They delivered twenty logs of hundred-year-old Shuimu Wood alone, along with two thousand Tier One Jade Stones, twelve Tier One Mid-Grade Dancing Princess Lotuses... The Moon-Locking Pool was instantly transformed into a small construction site.

Bai Zichen left all the trivial matters in Su Lie’s hands, holing himself up in his Quiet Chamber to focus on his Cultivation.

According to the plan from the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, the entire renovation project was expected to take about a month to complete.

"Junior Brother Lu, do you think Senior Brother Bai will agree to let us live near the Moon-Locking Pool?"

Upon learning that Bai Zichen had become a True Disciple, Cai Heng and the others had come to offer their congratulations at the first opportunity.

However, as mere servant disciples, their information network was poor. It took them several days of searching, only finding the correct location after the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall began shipping large quantities of materials to the Moon-Locking Pool.

After visiting Bai Zichen, the group volunteered to stay behind and lend a hand with the manual labor.

The area where servant disciples lived only had Tier Two Low Grade Spiritual Qi, so of course Cai Heng and his group wanted to move here.

The biggest downside would be the inconvenience of travel, but compared to the improvement in their Cultivation environment, that was a challenge they could overcome.

But Cai Heng wasn’t sure if Bai Zichen would agree to let them stay.

After all, Bai Zichen was the one who had done them favors so far; their group had yet to demonstrate any particular use to a True Disciple.

All they could do was work themselves to the bone every day, scrambling to do the most arduous tasks like hauling lumber and wading into the water to clear dead branches and sludge. They were even more diligent than the Firework Daoists who were officially assigned the duty.

"All we can do is our best. It would be ideal if we could stay, but if not, we mustn’t harbor any resentment. You have to realize how rare it is for a few servant disciples like us to even be on a True Disciple’s radar and form a connection. Look at how dedicated those two Stewards from the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall have been these past few days, paying their respects every morning and evening just to become a familiar face to Senior Brother Bai. That alone shows how much of an advantage we already have."

Lu Songx was also delighted by Bai Zichen’s promotion to True Disciple.

It meant he was one big step closer to opening the Secret Realm.

’I’ll probably have no problem staying, given our private cooperative relationship,’ Lu Songx thought. ’But for Cai Heng and the others, with their ordinary Cultivation and no special skills, whether they can receive this benefit will really come down to luck.’

"Junior Brother Lu is right. I heard the Elders have already marked Senior Brother Bai as the True Disciple of this generation most likely to succeed in Foundation Establishment. Our aptitudes are mediocre. Besides Junior Brother Xun, who is still young enough to have a shot at becoming an Outer Sect Disciple, I’ll probably have to become a Firework Daoist in a few years. We have to seize this opportunity!"

After bolstering his flagging spirits, Cai Heng and the other three went to find Su Lie and receive their work assignments for the day.

With a group of Cultivators acting as construction workers, the work at the Moon-Locking Pool progressed at lightning speed. You could see the changes day by day, and the project was completed five days ahead of schedule.

First was the Pool Heart Bamboo House. All the furnishings were replaced with brand-new ones, still woven from Spiritual Bamboo.

Then, the entire Moon-Locking Pool was cleaned out, and the twelve Dancing Princess Lotuses were planted. The Miscellaneous Affairs Hall even specially assigned a Spirit Plant Master to stay for a while to ensure the lotuses would survive and thrive.

Several pavilions in a simple, elegant style were built along the edge of the pool, forming a connected row that lay across one of its slanted banks.

Furthermore, the old trees and wild grasses nearby were all cleared away and replaced with beautiful, easy-to-grow Spirit Plants. Thousands of Exotic Stones were also brought in and stacked to create rockeries of fantastic peaks, grottoes, and perilous cliffs.

In just one month, the entire area’s appearance was transformed.

"You wish to stay at the Moon-Locking Pool?"

After the final inspection was approved, Bai Zichen saw off the contingent from the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. He then looked at the four people standing before him and rubbed his forehead.

"Yes. We decided that day to pledge ourselves to you, Senior Brother Bai, to be at your command. You are a peerless talent with a boundless future. It is not worth your time to handle trivial matters personally. We hope you can give us brothers a chance to work for you."

Cai Heng bowed deeply, his voice sincere.

"You are not my official escort, so according to Sect rules, you are not qualified to enjoy a Spirit Land... However, I suppose fate has brought us together. I will give you a chance."

Not wanting to waste much effort on such a small matter, Bai Zichen gestured toward Su Lie.

"For three years, you will first assist Su Lie. It doesn’t matter if it’s gathering information or running errands. After three years, if you’ve made no mistakes, you may move to the Moon-Locking Pool."

’Who gets to enjoy the overflowing Spiritual Qi from the Moon-Locking Pool is ultimately up to me,’ Bai Zichen thought. ’Is the Law Enforcement Hall really going to investigate a True Disciple like me over it? I have a decent opinion of Cai Heng and his group anyway. If not for their invitation on that trip to the abandoned cave, I would never have obtained the Taibai Sword Sect’s inheritance. It’s fine to grant their request.’

However, he had always believed that favors given too easily are not cherished, so he casually set up a small hurdle for them.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Bai! We will do our utmost from now on."

Not a hint of dissatisfaction showed on Cai Heng’s face. He joyfully pulled the others into a bow of thanks before following Su Lie to withdraw.

...

Time flew by. At the Moon-Locking Pool, the Dancing Princess Lotuses had once again borne clusters of seed pods, their weight pressing the lily pads deep into the water.

Inside the Quiet Chamber, Bai Zichen completed a full Circulation of the ninth layer of the Chang Chun Skill and slowly withdrew his power.

’It’s already been almost two years since I moved to the Moon-Locking Pool,’ he mused. ’They say time has no meaning in Cultivation. No wonder so many Cultivators who have no hope of attaining the Great Dao indulge in pleasure and revelry.’

Bai Zichen walked slowly along the paved path to a high platform, poured himself a cup of the Spirit Tea that was prepared fresh daily, and admired the Dancing Princess Lotuses in the pool.

He reached out, plucked a seed pod, and shelled a few seeds. Each one had a crisp, sweet flavor with a pleasant aftertaste.

’Without Purple Ginseng Pills for this latter part, my Cultivation speed has clearly slowed down a lot. But I’m not far from Qi Refining Great Perfection, and I need to consider tempering my body to expel the Erysipelas. Reducing my intake of Purple Ginseng Pills might not be a bad thing after all.’

For the past two years, Bai Zichen had been single-mindedly engrossed in his Cultivation and the study of Swordsmanship.

At first, a constant stream of visitors came to his door, but aside from Elders, whom he would meet, he refused all unfamiliar disciples on the grounds of being in seclusion.

Over time, the number of visitors dwindled significantly.

In addition to Breaking Realm to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer a few days ago, he had also mastered a dual-wielding combination technique with his pair of Peach Wood Swords, Ghost Slayer and Demon Suppression.

Back on the dueling platform that day, Bai Zichen had noticed that although this pair of Peach Wood Swords was less powerful than other Flying Swords, their corresponding Magical Power consumption was also lower.

With his current Cultivation, he could now simultaneously wield the Ghost Slayer and Demon Suppression Peach Wood Swords as true Flying Swords, barely managing to sustain the fight for over a dozen rounds.

’Without the help of elixirs, even in a Tier Three Spirit Land, it would take me three or four years to reach the Peak of Ninth-Layer Qi Refining... I should probably get some more. The Qi Refining Perfection bottleneck won’t stop me. Once I break through that, I’ll need to start preparing for Foundation Establishment. I should start getting ready based on the notes I copied from the Transmission Hall.’

Bai Zichen’s expression turned solemn. He could calmly disregard the bottlenecks of the Qi Refining realm, but the Foundation Establishment Stage demanded his full attention.

Only by stepping into Foundation Establishment could one be said to have truly begun walking the path of the Great Dao.