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

"Are you sure you can do this? If not, we should find someone who can! We spent a fortune on that black market tip about this potentially abandoned Nascent Soul cultivator's cave mansion. Don't drag your feet and let someone else beat us to it!"

The three cultivators were anxious. After all, they had spent 100 spirit stones on this information.

At that price, it was unlikely the black market had sold it exclusively to them.

Having recently reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, their family had sent them out to experience the world before attempting to break through to Foundation Establishment.

Shortly after leaving home, they arrived in Yuanling City, not far from their family. By coincidence, the black market in Yuanling City had just opened, and they managed to snag this piece of information about the cave mansion from the newly established Wanwan Tong, a renowned information broker.

However, once the black market's opening became known, the information would inevitably be sold to others as well.

This was the potential cave mansion of a Nascent Soul cultivator! Soon, other Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core cultivators might come for it, and as Qi Refining cultivators, they'd be left with nothing but scraps.

Even though the tip from the information broker stated that the cave mansion was 80% likely to be real, Wanwan Tong was the most authoritative information source in the entire Southern Spirit Domain. Even these three who had been training in isolation knew of its reputation.

When Wanwan Tong claimed an 80% probability, it was as good as certain!

So, despite the hefty price of 100 spirit stones, they gritted their teeth and bought the information.

They had heard that those who were first to enter cave mansions, based on Wanwan Tong's information, often reaped rewards worth hundreds or even thousands of times the price they paid for the tip!

If they could get inside and seize the Nascent Soul cultivator's treasures, Foundation Establishment would be within reach, and perhaps even the Golden Core stage wouldn't be far off.

However, these three novice Qi Refining cultivators clearly overestimated themselves. They were so focused on the treasures they imagined inside the cave mansion that they overlooked the fact that their cultivation levels might not be enough to even get inside.

These three, all under thirty, had been carefully nurtured by their family as future hopes. Their understanding of the world was mostly theoretical, and now, outside of their family's protective bubble, they were at a loss.

It was nighttime, and the bright moon hung leisurely in the sky, while the stars twinkled, watching over the land below.

Inside the cave mansion, Liao Pantu slept soundly.

He had no idea that three Qi Refining cultivators were scheming outside, intent on claiming his cave mansion.

Meanwhile, far away at Wanwan Tong's Southern Spirit Domain headquarters, in a newly established room responsible for distributing information to Yuanling City, a Golden Core cultivator in a yellow robe walked in and said to the people inside:

"An update just came in from the higher-ups. There's been a surge of activity in the abandoned Nascent Soul cave mansion located 900 miles north of Yuanling City. After a divination by the Seventh Spirit Lord, it's believed that the owner has returned. Quickly, send an urgent message to the Yuanling City branch and stop the sale of this information!"

The Golden Core cultivator inside, who was responsible for sending information to Yuanling City, immediately used Wanwan Tong's special expedited communication method to relay the message to the Yuanling City branch.

Soon, he received a reply.

After hearing it, he turned to the Golden Core cultivator who had delivered the message and said:

"It's done. The information has been retracted. They said the black market just opened today, and there wasn't much traffic. The information was only sold once, to a few low-level Qi Refining cultivators, nothing to worry about."

Hearing this, the yellow-robed cultivator breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good. But even if it's just three Qi Refining cultivators, make sure they keep an eye on the situation. We can't afford to tarnish Wanwan Tong's reputation. If necessary, handle them discreetly. We don't want their backers to find out."

The Golden Core cultivator inside the room smiled and replied, "Don't worry, Wanwan Tong's reputation won't be compromised."

He then added, "But isn't it strange? I remember that the Nascent Soul cave mansion was one of the sites the Third Spirit Lord had divined specifically for Yuanling City's new branch opening, intending to use it as a headline for cave mansion news. It was supposed to have been abandoned for decades without any sign of life. How did this mishap happen right as we opened? The Third Spirit Lord is known for being the most accurate among the Nine Spirit Lords..."

The yellow-robed cultivator shook his head and said, "Who knows? But be careful not to spread this around. If word gets back to the Third Spirit Lord, you might find it hard to stay at Wanwan Tong."

"Of course, senior! I spoke out of turn. Please don't take it to heart."

"Naturally. But remember, in a few days, another batch of information will be sent to Yuanling City to restock. When it arrives, make sure to set aside some of the best cave mansion tips for me."

"Consider it done! No problem, senior."

Satisfied with the response, the yellow-robed cultivator left the Yuanling City liaison office.

But as soon as he stepped outside, the smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a cold, indifferent expression. He glanced disdainfully at the closed door behind him.

He silently scoffed, In a few days, when you secretly pass me the information, that will be the day you're expelled from Wanwan Tong!

The next morning, Lin Xiao finally opened his eyes, waking up to the dark, jade-like ceiling of the Soul Nourishing Wood bed. For a moment, he felt disoriented.

That sleep had been incredibly restful—the most comfortable sleep he had ever experienced.

Sitting up, he saw Liao Pantu not far away, calmly sipping tea at a table that gleamed with gold.

Liao Pantu certainly had a peculiar obsession with tea.

Seeing Lin Xiao awake, Liao Pantu said calmly, "Since you're up, come over here. I'll tell you about the region we're in, the Southern Spirit Domain."

"The cultivation world is vast—so vast that even I, at the Nascent Soul stage, have not explored all of it. We are currently in a region called the Southern Spirit Domain. Within this domain, there are thirty-six cities and eighteen sects, each city home to several cultivation families. However, the Southern Spirit Domain is considered a remote area within the broader cultivation world."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao was shocked. He hadn't expected that even someone as powerful as Liao Pantu hadn't explored the entire cultivation world. And to think that this area, where Liao Pantu had established his cave mansion, was merely considered a remote region!