Is It Reasonable for Me to Start a Sect at 12?

After all, Yuan Zhiyun wasn't the only notable figure here. The others probably had some level of status as well. Even if they didn't, seeing the Yuan family offer a reward, they'd feel obligated to contribute something, right? After all, they were disciples of Tianxuan Sect.

The disciples of Tianxuan Sect had saved them, so a token of appreciation seemed fitting.

With that in mind, the two gatekeeping cultivators sat contentedly under a large tree, having contacted both their sect and the Yuan family. They were more than willing to stand guard over the unconscious cultivators.

After all, this was a field full of gratitude rewards waiting to be collected!

It wasn't long before members of the Yuan family arrived. Leading them was Yuan Zhiyun's father, Yuan Bi, the current head of the Yuan family.

As soon as Yuan Bi, walking at the front, spotted his daughter lying among the crowd, he immediately signaled with a wave of his hand. Two attendants stepped forward and, as expected, presented the gatekeepers with a generous reward.

After confirming that his daughter was only unconscious and had no other issues, Yuan Bi picked her up and, after thanking the two gatekeepers, hurriedly left with his people.

Seeing the Yuan family head leave in such a rush, the two gatekeepers didn't dare try to stop him. After all, he was a Golden Core cultivator. They could only lament that the other cultivators lying on the ground hadn't witnessed the Yuan family's reward-giving gesture. They hoped that these people would show some gratitude when they woke up.

Soon after, Tianxuan Sect's Qixing Peak also sent senior brothers to retrieve Hu Guanyu, the young disciple.

The other cultivators, who were still unconscious and unrecognized by the gatekeepers, remained on the ground, awaiting their eventual awakening.

At this time, the effects of the "Foundation Collapse" drug hadn't worn off yet, so Lin Xiao, feeling a bit bored, decided to take a light nap on the ground.

When morning arrived and the sky began to brighten, Lin Xiao noticed some movement among the unconscious cultivators, signaling that they were starting to wake up.

Quickly, Lin Xiao pretended to have just woken up as well, groggily opening his eyes and sitting up.

After reluctantly contributing his share of fifty spirit stones as a gratitude fee, Lin Xiao swiftly left this place of financial pain.

There had been at least a hundred people there, and those two gatekeepers must have made close to five thousand spirit stones just from gratitude fees alone!

On his way back to Yuanling City, Lin Xiao did some quick calculations and found himself envying those two gatekeepers. They had earned more than he did!

And he had to pay for the "Foundation Collapse" drug.

With nothing else to do, he indulged in a little jealousy before soon finding himself back in Yuanling City.

First, he returned to the inn where he had previously stayed and settled in. After getting comfortable, he began to ponder how to acquire the Heart-Testing Stone.

Considering that Yuan Zhiyun had just returned from the secret realm, unconscious, she probably wouldn't be leaving home for the next couple of days. It didn't make sense for him to just sit around waiting.

Instead, he decided to explore the markets in Yuanling City.

Previously, he had focused on gathering information about the secret realm and hadn't paid much attention to anything else. Now that Elder Liao's soul had merged and he had obtained a secret realm key with a Foundation Establishment limit, he felt his journey had been quite fruitful.

If he could also secure the Heart-Testing Stone and complete the task of expanding his network, he'd feel perfectly justified in returning to his village and staying there for a long time!

With that thought in mind, Lin Xiao felt a surge of motivation, eager to complete all these tasks so he could return to Shuishui Village and settle down.

After a brief rest, Lin Xiao grabbed his spirit stone pouch and headed out to explore the city.

Yuanling City had several marketplaces, the largest of which was located in the western part of the city. The market was filled with various shops, big and small.

However, none of the shops seemed to be selling Heart-Testing Stones.

That made sense—after all, such items were usually needed by sects or similar organizations for testing the temperament of their disciples. Most ordinary people had no use for them, so naturally, few would go to the trouble of transporting large stones from afar just to sell them.

Still, while no one seemed to be selling them, Lin Xiao learned that they weren't particularly rare or expensive. He managed to get a general idea of the price.

First, he strolled around the market, chatting with shopkeepers by selling a small portion of ice stone grass. Through these conversations, he gained a better understanding of the going rates for Heart-Testing Stones and other common items.

Satisfied with the information he'd gathered, Lin Xiao left the shops without making any purchases. The shopkeepers enthusiastically waved him off, inviting him to return anytime.

After learning about the pricing, Lin Xiao realized that the cost of a Heart-Testing Stone wasn't fixed. For example, near the Heart-Testing Cliff in the Heart-Testing City, the price for a stone was quite low, around just over a hundred spirit stones.

If it weren't for the toxic miasma at the base of the Heart-Testing Cliff and the occasional appearance of low-level monsters nearby, coupled with the fact that Heart-Testing Stones were quite large and difficult to store in basic storage bags, they wouldn't even fetch a hundred spirit stones.

However, because Heart-Testing Stones were a unique, irreplaceable local specialty found only near the Heart-Testing Cliff, the price increased with distance from the source.

For instance, in Yuanling City, far from the Heart-Testing Cliff, ordering a Heart-Testing Stone from a shop would cost at least twelve hundred spirit stones—a tenfold increase.

Even so, the stone wasn't a common trade item, despite the apparent profit margin. After all, apart from some rare cases, who would buy such a useless stone for fun?

Mostly, it was new sects or families that needed them. But generally, people capable of establishing sects or families could fetch the stones themselves. And founding a sect or family wasn't an everyday occurrence, so demand was low. Therefore, few people bothered with the trade.

After learning this, Lin Xiao abandoned the idea of exchanging for Yuan Zhiyun's Heart-Testing Stone.

As the young mistress of a prominent family, she wouldn't carry a Heart-Testing Stone without reason. There had to be a purpose behind it.

It wouldn't be appropriate for him to approach her and say he wanted to trade for something in her storage bag. Explaining how he knew about the stone would be difficult, and it wouldn't leave a good impression.

Besides, he still hadn't completed his task of expanding his network.

It wouldn't be wise to start off on the wrong foot with the young mistress of a powerful family.

So, the next day, Lin Xiao went to the most reputable store in Yuanling City, the five-hundred-year-old Duobao Pavilion, and placed an order for the Heart-Testing Stone.