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

After Lin Xiao finished speaking, he didn't immediately start synthesizing the building. Instead, he opened the Item Synthesizer.

When he had bought paper in the county town, he had also purchased a brush, preparing for the synthesis he was about to do. He already had ink, so there was no need to buy that.

As for the inkstone, he had found a stall selling various stones during his wanderings in the town. Since few people in the town were willing to spend money on stones, the stall's business wasn't doing well. Lin Xiao seized the opportunity and bought several pieces at a low price. After a bit of polishing, they turned into rather rustic-looking inkstones.

Lin Xiao also planned to share this method with Jiang He whenever he received his letter. After all, it could be a profitable venture.

Tie Tou, seeing that Lin Xiao was busy with something, quietly sat by without disturbing him.

Lin Xiao first placed the brush into the Synthesizer, followed by a spirit stone. He wanted to see if he could create a brush suitable for drawing talismans.

After a while, as expected, the Synthesizer produced a spirit talisman brush.

Relieved, Lin Xiao began mass-producing ink, paper, and inkstones.

By the time the sect members had all ascended the mountain and entered the cultivation rooms, Lin Xiao had several sets of talisman crafting materials ready.

Since Lin Xiao and Tie Tou were seated behind the large pile of earth, the other sect members didn't notice them.

Once the materials were prepared, Lin Xiao closed the Item Synthesizer and opened the Building Synthesizer.

With Tie Tou's help, Lin Xiao quickly filled the first slot of the Building Synthesizer with the required amount of soil.

Next, he added the beams and columns.

Finally, he placed a complete set of talisman crafting tools—brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones—into the Synthesizer.

Lin Xiao decided to start by synthesizing a Talisman Crafting Room.

Since he didn't currently have any tools for artifact forging or array formation, he didn't plan to synthesize the Artifact Forging Hall or Array Formation Hall just yet. He thought it might be necessary to consult Elder Liao for more information on the necessary tools for these disciplines.

When the system's notification sounded in his mind, a building about 30 square meters in size appeared before him.

[Ding—Talisman Crafting Room successfully synthesized. Please choose a location for placement.]

After some thought, Lin Xiao placed it on the other side of the sect hall, opposite the Pill Refining Room.

[Congratulations, host, on successfully constructing the Talisman Crafting Room. Sect Building Task [Sect Facilities (2)] has been completed. Rewards have been deposited in your storage. Please check them at your convenience.]

Lin Xiao turned to Tie Tou and said, "Tie Tou, it's done. This will be our Talisman Crafting Room, a place dedicated to creating talismans like the teleportation talisman."

Seeing the newly appeared Talisman Crafting Room, Tie Tou was full of amazement and admiration.

Although the other buildings, like the sect hall and cultivation rooms, had also seemingly appeared out of nowhere, he hadn't witnessed their creation firsthand. Seeing it now was an entirely different experience, leaving him deeply impressed.

He scratched his head and chuckled, "Xiao, you're amazing! Is this one of the spells that old immortal taught you?"

Lin Xiao could only nod in acknowledgment, saying, "It's getting late. You should go cultivate."

Tie Tou noticed that Lin Xiao didn't seem ready to leave yet, so he asked, "Aren't you coming?"

Lin Xiao, planning to consult Elder Liao shortly, replied, "I still have something to do. I'll join you later."

Hearing this, Tie Tou didn't press further and quickly ran toward the cultivation room. He was determined to cultivate diligently so that he could help Lin Xiao in more ways and reduce the burden on him.

After Tie Tou left, Lin Xiao opened his storage to check the rewards from the task.

He found two new items:

[Complete Guide to Basic Talisman Crafting] x1, [Lacquer Night Sapling] x10

Oh, and there were also 100 more spirit stones.

But that wasn't important.

Looking at the Lacquer Night Saplings, Lin Xiao thought, "These aren't seeds, so using the Appraisal function should give more detailed information than just 'Lacquer Night Sapling, will grow into a Lacquer Night Tree.'"

So he used the Appraisal function on the saplings.

[Lacquer Night Sapling: Takes 30 years to mature in regular soil, 3 years in spiritual soil. Proper fertilization can reduce the growth period. Once mature, it produces Lacquer Night Resin, an excellent material for crafting talisman ink.]

Seeing the sapling's potential, Lin Xiao was very satisfied. The sect's primary source of ink for talisman crafting was now secured. Once they started cultivating these trees, they'd have a steady supply of ink in the future.

Having checked the rewards, Lin Xiao headed toward the Guiyuan Mountain Residence. He needed to consult Elder Liao about artifact forging and array formation processes and tools.

As usual, Elder Liao was in his small hut, sipping tea.

When he saw Lin Xiao approaching, he stroked his beard and calmly said, "You wouldn't come to the temple for no reason. What brings you here so early in the morning?"

Lin Xiao smiled, flipped the overturned teacup on the side of the tray, poured himself some tea, and sat down.

"Elder, you make it sound like I can't just come to visit."

Elder Liao snorted as he raised his teacup to his lips, "Fine, but don't go asking for favors then."

Savoring the tea, Lin Xiao remarked on its lingering fragrance, took another sip, and then said, "Actually, Elder, I do have something to ask this time."

Elder Liao rolled his eyes, "You're good at sweet-talking, but instead of wasting time on trivial matters, you should focus on cultivating and helping me find my body and soul."

"Don't worry, Elder. I'll keep my promise. It's just that our sect is still in its early stages and there's much I don't know, so I have to take things slowly and rely on your guidance! Once the sect is well-established, everyone will benefit, right? When we're strong enough, I'll even help you catch that enemy of yours and let you deal with him however you want!"

Elder Liao wasn't fooled by the flattery. "Hmph! Just get to the point."

Lin Xiao put down his teacup and sat upright. "Could you tell me about the process of artifact forging and array formation, as well as the tools needed?"

"Ah, that."

Elder Liao also set down his teacup, thought for a moment, and then said, "The processes of artifact forging and array formation can't be explained in just a few words. I haven't delved deeply into either, only dabbling in them during my Foundation Establishment and Core Formation days. As for the processes themselves... you'll understand them better once you start studying them seriously."

"As for the tools, artifact forging mainly requires two things: a spirit hammer for tempering, quenching, and shaping, and an artifact cauldron for refining. For array formation, the primary tools are carving knives and array disks. A spirit brush can also be used for drawing arrays, but true array masters can inscribe formations with other tools as well."

After listening to Elder Liao's explanation, Lin Xiao felt he had gained a better understanding of these two disciplines.