Inside the sect's main hall, Lin Xiao and Liao Pantou sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by various items. Liao Pantou tossed a few storage rings and pouches to Lin Xiao, asking him to help sort through the spoils.
In no time, the area around them was cluttered with all sorts of objects. Soon, Liu Yunan arrived and joined the group, adding to the pile as they continued to sort through their haul.
There was a wide assortment of items, with spirit stones making up the majority. They also found various colorful pills that didn't seem particularly high-grade, along with a plethora of low-grade refining materials.
Many of these basic materials were likely stockpiled over the years in the main warehouse of Shangyang Sect, now taken by Wei Hai for himself. Wei Hai, a cultivator from the mortal realm, had spent centuries gathering resources to advance his cultivation, which explained why his personal wealth wasn't particularly vast.
Unlike Liao Pantou, who, aside from cultivating, also spent time refining various skills and amassing wealth, every cultivator's journey was different.
"Hmm, what's this?" Liu Yunan suddenly said, holding up a pitch-black stone about the size of a fist.
The stone had a peculiar texture, with a faint, dark light flowing across its surface, indicating it was no ordinary item.
He handed the stone to Lin Xiao, who examined it briefly before passing it to Liao Pantou. Surprisingly, even Liao Pantou, who was usually knowledgeable about such things, shook his head after studying it for a while.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao retrieved the stone and placed it into his private storage, activating the identification function on it.
[Activated Taiyin Sealing Array Stone: One of the stones from the Taiyin Sealing Array. Aside from returning it to its place in the array where it serves an irreplaceable function, it might only be useful for physical attacks or as a decoration.]
Upon reading this, Lin Xiao asked Liao Pantou, "Senior, have you heard of the Taiyin Sealing Array?"
"Taiyin?" Liao Pantou furrowed his brows in thought but eventually shook his head. "I've heard of various sealing arrays, but I've never come across one called the Taiyin Sealing Array. However, I've heard that deep within the cultivation world, in the remote and seldom-visited Ascension Domain, there's something called the Sun Array. I'm not sure if it's a sealing array or what it's used for, though."
"Is this stone part of that Taiyin Sealing Array?" Liao Pantou asked, now curious.
Lin Xiao nodded. "It seems to be one of the stones from the Taiyin Sealing Array."
Liu Yunan, who had been listening to their conversation, finally spoke up, his curiosity piqued. "Senior Liao, is this Ascension Domain similar to the Nansheng Domain where you went before? Like, is it a larger region, like a province in the mortal world?"
Liao Pantou chuckled at the comparison. "Something like that. But the regions in the cultivation world are much larger than those in the mortal realm. As for the Ascension Domain, no one has ever fully mapped it out, so no one knows its exact size. Of course, it's possible someone has, but it hasn't been made public. At least, I haven't heard of it."
Liu Yunan nodded thoughtfully, falling silent again.
Lin Xiao then said to the others, "This array stone doesn't seem to have much use for our sect right now, so I'll hold onto it. Who knows? If it really is an important piece, we might find a way to return it to where it belongs."
He suspected that Wei Hai might have removed the stone from the array or acquired it from someone else. Lin Xiao couldn't help but wonder what the Taiyin Sealing Array was designed to seal. The name alone suggested it wasn't something trivial. If it was sealing something dangerous, it would be best to return the stone to its rightful place. Until then, it might be wise to carry the stone with him—just in case he ever encountered the array it belonged to.
Liu Yunan and Liao Pantou had no objections, so Lin Xiao stored the stone away in his private collection.
Suddenly, Lin Xiao considered another possibility. "Do you think this Taiyin Sealing Array might have belonged to Shangyang Sect?"
Liao Pantou stroked his beard thoughtfully. "It's not impossible. You could try to investigate."
"Perfect timing," Lin Xiao said, "since that Shangyang Sect disciple is still around. We could ask him some probing questions and see what we find out."
The day before, a disciple from Shangyang Sect had been thrown onto the Path of Reflection but unfortunately failed to pass its trials. After taking an antidote pill made by Sun Yigao, the poison from the pill Wei Hai had forced him to take was neutralized.
Originally, the disciple had intended to return to Shangyang Sect after expressing his gratitude, despite the sect being in disarray with no leader or elders left and most of its accumulated resources gone. He had nowhere else to go. As for the fellow disciples who had been sent out with him to find Lingxian Sect's location, who knew where they had gone? He hadn't seen a trace of them during his day and night in Xiushui Village.
Realizing that a powerful sect capable of defeating Wei Hai existed here, he had considered joining Lingxian Sect. However, after failing to pass the Path of Reflection, he had little choice but to return to Shangyang Sect and reassess his options.
Just as he was about to leave, the royal ancestor Li Zhanying intercepted him. Li Zhanying told the disciple that he was feeling rather lonely in this rural area and wondered if the young man would be willing to stay and accompany him.
Naturally, the disciple agreed. This was a Nascent Soul elder! Even if the elder wasn't taking him as a disciple, staying by his side was still a great opportunity. Who knew? Perhaps in time, the elder might take a liking to him and formally accept him.
Previously, under his Golden Core master at Shangyang Sect, he had been one of the less favored disciples for over fifty years. His master only showed favor to those with exceptional talent and fast cultivation progress, while treating others with polite indifference.
But now, things were different. He had the chance to be in close company with a Nascent Soul elder, someone truly powerful.
And so, this Shangyang Sect disciple remained in Xiushui Village for the time being.
Oh, by the way, this disciple's name was Wang Goudan.