Liu Yunan, recalling the preparations Lin Xiao had asked him to make the previous day, asked:
"Brother Xiao, yesterday you mentioned that the New Year's banquet was planned to include Prefect Tong's family and the Li royal family. Should we also send an invitation to the Qinghe Sect now?"
"Send it," Lin Xiao nodded.
"And don't forget Zhao Guozhu of Huanyou Kingdom."
Liu Yunan responded, "Don't worry, Brother Xiao, I've already prepared the invitation for Zhao Guozhu."
To make a good start for the trading center, networking was crucial. They needed more connections to help spread the word, as relying solely on the Li royal family's slow dissemination wouldn't be enough.
Thus, Lin Xiao planned to take advantage of the New Year's banquet by inviting various groups with decent relationships with the Lingxian Sect.
It was time for their sect to start revealing its strength to the outside world.
With that thought, Lin Xiao felt that just inviting these few parties might not be sufficient.
"Let's also send invitations to the three major sects. We need more people to help spread the news about our trading center."
"And send one to Qinglian Sect of Jin Yuan Kingdom as well."
He remembered how, during the trip to the Jishi Mine, Qinglian Sect had quickly brought out their ancestral treasure to protect everyone from the deadly Qi. Even though there had been little contact between the Lingxian Sect and Qinglian Sect in recent years, Lin Xiao had a good impression of them.
Additionally, they prepared a few blank invitations, which they handed over to the Li royal family to invite some well-regarded sects from other nations.
With this, the plans for the New Year's banquet were set.
Next came the busy preparations.
Liu Yunan and Qin Jianghe took care of the various aspects of the banquet, while Yang Jinshu assisted.
Lin Xiao, meanwhile, focused on getting the city for the trading center ready, with Mo Yuanjiao and Mo Que helping him.
As for the building materials, the suppliers had promised that all materials would be delivered by the 29th of the month.
So, for the next few days, Lin Xiao and his team sorted the materials that had already arrived while making sure all necessary formations were in place.
Lin Xiao also took Mo Yuanjiao to the Refining Hall, where they refined many decorative items to enhance the construction.
At the same time, he used the building fusion function to pre-assemble several structures, which would be used later for various management offices in the city.
With the fusion function's upgrade, the buildings no longer had to be placed immediately. There was now a storage area within the fusion function where completed buildings could be temporarily held, which was quite convenient for Lin Xiao during the city construction.
Meanwhile, the hundred mu of farmland gifted to the sect by the villagers of Xiushui Village had long since been transformed into spirit fields by Lin Lao, who led the Spirit Field team to plant a variety of spirit plants.
The addition of this small estate had brought great joy to the Spirit Field team.
However, they were aware that this area would be open to outsiders in the future, so they mostly planted common and low-value spirit grains.
These ordinary spirit grains were commonly grown by major sects in the mortal world. However, due to differences in spiritual energy, planting techniques, resources, and the scarcity and high cost of medicinal pills, these spirit grains served as substitutes for spirit pills in mortal sects.
The reason they were substitutes was that the mortal sects lacked skilled spirit chefs.
They couldn't use these spirit plants to achieve effects greater than those of medicinal pills. This was why, as the reputation of the Lingxian Sect had spread over the past two years, the Lingxian Restaurant in Xiushui Village had caught the attention of many cultivators.
But since no cultivator had proactively spread the news about the restaurant's highly effective spirit food, Lingxian Restaurant had yet to achieve widespread fame.
After all, there were already enough people lining up for a meal, and any more would make it impossible to get a table.
Moreover, even though the cultivators had spiritual power, they couldn't use their strength to bully others in this area—because it was Lingxian Sect's territory.
Previously, there had been a Foundation Establishment cultivator who tried to intimidate some mortals into giving up their spot at the Lingxian Restaurant. He was immediately ejected from Xiushui Village by an unknown force.
Since then, no one had dared to cause trouble in Xiushui Village.
After Lin Xiao and Mo Yuanjiao refurbished the small estate at the foot of the mountain and completed the office buildings, along with preparing a myriad of other items, the building materials supplier arrived on New Year's Eve as promised, delivering all the materials ordered by the Lingxian Sect.
The amount of materials needed to build a city was enormous, and the cost was substantial.
However, money was not an issue for the Lingxian Sect. Over the years, they had established various businesses in the mortal world, and the income from the Lingxian Restaurant, as well as their share of profits from the Xiushui Village taverns, was significant.
Moreover, since the trading center was being built within Pusi Kingdom, which would be a natural beneficiary, Qin Jianghe had no hesitation in asking the Li royal family to cover part of the cost.
Li Zhouxuan, who had been asked for a substantial amount of money, was not only unoffended but cheerfully sent the funds immediately, even asking if they needed more.
So, in terms of finances, the Lingxian Sect faced no shortage.
With all the materials now in hand, the sect's storage rooms were filled to capacity. Lin Xiao didn't want to take up more space in the sect, so he stored everything in his private vault.
Mo Yuanjiao watched in amazement and exclaimed, "Sect Leader, your storage space is enormous! When will I be able to have one too?"
Lin Xiao merely smiled without saying anything.
"That might be a bit difficult," he thought.
"All you need to do is keep cultivating. Once your cultivation is strong enough, you'll have one," he encouraged Mo Yuanjiao.
Among the remaining Golden Core stage cultivators in the sect, Mo Yuanjiao had progressed the fastest in his cultivation, and Lin Xiao had high hopes for him to become the sect's next Nascent Soul cultivator.
With this, the Lingxian Sect would have three Nascent Soul cultivators, making their position in the mortal world secure enough to fully support the trading center.
By the way, since he had now reached the Nascent Soul stage, Lin Xiao also needed to take some time to lead Senior Liao on a trip to the cultivation world to search for the last part of his soul.
Lin Xiao kept this task in mind as he organized the materials in his private vault and prepared to start fusing the city.
Mo Yuanjiao watched from the side, both nervous and excited, his eyes shining as he gazed at Lin Xiao.
"Sect Leader, are we about to start building the city?"
Lin Xiao nodded.
"Yes. Tomorrow, our sect's New Year's banquet will host many guests from other sects. I want to establish the city today, so after tomorrow, they can spread the word about our trading center, allowing it to start operating as soon as possible."
"Then soon all the sects will come here to trade! Our mountain's foot will become a bustling city, full of cultivators from all around. Haha, just thinking about it is thrilling! I can't believe our sect is actually going to build a city!" Mo Yuanjiao was overwhelmed with excitement.
This was too exciting!