Lin Xiao quickly checked the range of each part of the city, ensuring that once the city was placed, it would blend seamlessly with the existing structures of Xiushui Village.
Since the city plan had originally been designed with Xiushui Village's layout in mind, this wasn't difficult.
Soon, Lin Xiao selected the exact placement.
He was about to notify Liu Yunan to reassure the tourists in the village, so they wouldn't be alarmed by the sudden changes, when the system suddenly popped up with a message.
[Ding—Congratulations, sect member Liao Pantu has successfully advanced to the Deity Transformation stage. This sect member has extracted concepts from the "Benyuan Heart Sutra" and the core of the "Soul Refining Art" to create a new advanced cultivation method, "Benyuan Soul Sutra." Liao Pantu has become the sect's first Deity Transformation cultivator and creator of an original cultivation method. A reward has been sent to the private vault. Please check it. Note: 'Advanced' refers to breaking away from the original framework of the Heart Sutra to form a new core, distinguishing it from the derivative branches of the original Heart Sutra.]
What?!
In just a little over a month, Senior Liao had silently reached the Deity Transformation stage and even created a completely new advanced cultivation method, the Benyuan Soul Sutra?
Lin Xiao was utterly shocked.
But his shock quickly turned into uncontrollable joy.
With this development, their Lingxian Sect could practically walk across the mortal realm unchallenged!
Not that he actually intended to act arrogantly, of course.
Still, this newfound strength allowed them to be a little more high-profile.
For instance, if he had known earlier that Senior Liao would reach the Deity Transformation stage, he wouldn't have bothered sending out a limited number of invitations for the upcoming banquet. He could have just printed a ton of invitations and sent them to the entire mortal realm!
But with the banquet happening tomorrow, it was too late to send more invitations now.
Though he was curious about the rewards in his private vault, the most pressing matter was still completing the city setup in time to greet tomorrow's guests.
Once Lin Xiao saw from the sky that Liu Yunan had already calmed the villagers, he aligned the giant city projection with the predetermined location and chose to confirm its placement.
A deep, resonating hum vibrated through the air.
Moments later, the people on the ground felt a tremor, as though the earth itself was shaking beneath their feet, followed by the sound of howling wind coming from all directions.
The commotion startled the wildlife in the surrounding forests, causing animals to flee in every direction.
Dust rose from the ground.
"What's happening?!"
"Heavens! Is the mountain god angry?" Despite the efforts of Liu Yunan and the villagers to keep everyone calm, some people couldn't help but panic at the sudden and intense disturbance.
"Don't panic, everyone! It's just the immortals of Lingxian Sect building the city! Stay calm, stay calm!" The villagers, seeing that Liu Yunan and the others couldn't reach everyone, stepped in to help explain the situation to the uneasy tourists.
The tremors continued, as if something massive was shifting underground.
After about ten seconds, the tremors began to subside and eventually ceased.
Just as people thought it was over, the ground shook again, but this time, the source wasn't beneath them—it was coming from further away.
With a loud "rumble," people looked up to see a towering wall suddenly rising in the distance.
Though the wall was too far away for them to make out the details, its sheer size made it clear that it encircled a vast area, with Xiushui Village at its center.
The surrounding villages were also included within its boundaries.
These villages had been informed in advance by Liu Yunan's team. When the villagers learned that the city being built would include their homes, they were overjoyed.
Over the past few years, the nearby villages had benefited greatly from having a cultivation sect like Lingxian Sect nearby. Not only had the marriage prospects for their young people improved, but when natural disasters occurred, the sect would send disciples to assist. The influx of tourists to Xiushui Village also brought economic benefits to the surrounding villages, making them much more prosperous.
Initially, when they heard that Xiushui Village was going to become a town, they were simply pleased that they wouldn't have to travel all the way to Cuifeng Town to do business or shopping.
But now, they had the chance to become residents of a city.
As with Xiushui Village, the nearby villages had developed a deep trust in Lingxian Sect. The sect even offered to help families who didn't want to live within the city's boundaries by providing financial assistance for them to relocate outside the city.
Where else could you find such considerate immortals?
The nearby villagers also witnessed the rising walls and, while they felt a mix of fear and awe, their excitement far outweighed their anxiety when they saw the massive wall rising into the sky.
Once the towering wall stopped growing, the ground trembled again.
This time, it was as if a massive, invisible machine was rolling over the land, leveling the ground and paving it with smooth, glossy black stone. These black stones covered the entire area within the walls, crisscrossing into neat, wide streets that stretched all the way into each village, including the small paths.
In an instant, elegant and grand buildings began to rise, right before people's eyes. Some stood atop the hills, while others lay by the water's edge.
Everyone who witnessed this was so astonished that they forgot to speak. All they could do was gape in stunned silence at the miraculous transformation.
Even the spies from other nations were in awe.
Yes, since the emergence of Lingxian Sect, especially in the past two years, several countries had sent spies to Xiushui Village.
However, these spies were ordinary people, and the information they reported back was nothing more than the fact that Pusi Kingdom had gained a new sect called Lingxian Sect.
The information they could send back to their superiors was limited to observations about Lingxian Sect's frequent interactions with ordinary people, unlike other sects that distanced themselves from the mortal world. Their superiors didn't consider such information important enough to pass on.
But now, seeing the miraculous changes happening before their eyes, these people realized for the first time what it meant to witness the handiwork of immortals.
And in places unseen by ordinary eyes, even more changes were quietly unfolding in every corner of the new city.
...
When the city was finally placed, Lin Xiao received another notification from the system:
[City placement complete. Please name the city, Host.]
It was time to name it.
This time, Lin Xiao didn't hesitate—he had already decided on the name long ago.
[City name: Xiushui City. Confirm?]
"Confirm."