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"Master, I’ve found out," Yi Kong put down his phone and called out.

The old monk stood outside Ling City Botanical Garden, raising his hand he said, "Let’s talk about it later."

"Oh," Yi Kong glanced at his master, noticing his excited expression. Following his gaze, a verdant expanse of grass and trees came into view.

"Is this?" Yi Kong was stunned for a few seconds, murmuring, "Ling City’s greening is so good? The air is also very fresh, huh... the spiritual energy here is so rich, it’s hardly any less than that of Da Lin Temple."

The old monk smiled and said, "This area has a Spirit Gathering Array, it’s just unknown which master’s work this is."

Yi Kong asked, "Should we check it out?"

"Hmm, let’s take a look," the old monk had a thought in his heart.

Whoever could set up such a Great Spirit Gathering Formation was definitely not an ordinary person. If they could make acquaintances with such a person, it could only be beneficial for Da Lin Temple. Of course, if the array master who set up the formation was no longer present, then perhaps, they could use some methods to claim this Great Spirit Gathering Formation for their own.

Da Lin Temple had been situated in Canglan Mountain for over a thousand years, and the heads of each generation had entertained the thought of relocating the old site. But for a major sect to move its location, it was not as simple as just moving house.

For so many years, Da Lin Temple had been searching for a new location. They had initially even considered first-tier cities, but as the economy rapidly developed, they realized it was not very realistic to establish a sect in a first-tier city.

What they were concerned about was not a matter of money. Any of the Eight Great Sects of Xuan Country could rival a dynasty in wealth.

Their worries lay with feng shui and spiritual energy.

Ancient Sects had very high requirements for the feng shui of a new site; spiritual energy came second.

The so-called feng shui refers to the potential impact of a new site on the future prospects of a major sect, including fortunes and development.

Spiritual energy is simple, yet not simple. If there was a great Array Master, then the influence of spiritual energy wouldn’t be such a big deal.

However, even for a great Array Master, capabilities are quite limited. To set up a large formation on one’s own is a task of extreme difficulty.

This is why the old monk was so excited to discover this botanical garden at the heart of Ling City.

This was essentially a readymade Great Spirit Gathering Formation, extensive enough to encompass the entire Da Lin Temple.

As for the feng shui of this city, the old monk took a quick look, and it was very good.

Many emperors had chosen Ling City as their capital since ancient times, with significant alterations made to the city’s layout. In the eyes of generations of geomancers, Ling City had always been seen as a place that was favored by royal qi, suitable for a dynasty’s capital.

"Master, I’ve found out, this botanical garden belongs to Li Xiaoyao," Yi Kong’s face looked a bit troubled. Although he did not possess the old monk’s keen vision, he too sensed that there was something extraordinary about this place.

"Oh? This Li Xiaoyao, he is indeed talented." The old monk smiled and said, "This place is good, it can serve as the second location for our Da Lin Temple."

"What about the spiritual energy here?"

"With a Great Spirit Gathering Formation here, if we’re talking about spiritual energy, it could contend with Canglan Mountain."

Yi Kong also knew quite a bit, and immediately asked, "What about Feng Shui?"

"Feng Shui..." The elder monk lifted his eyes and looked around, the high-rise buildings could not block his view.

He raised his hand and pointed in all directions: "To the east of the city is Zhong Mountain with its coiling dragon, to the west is Shi Tou Mountain with its crouching tiger, the Qinhuai River defends the south, and to the north is Xuan Ming Lake. This forms the pattern of the ’Four Feng Shui Beasts’—the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—protecting the area. According to legend, at the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, Li Si ordered the cutting of the mountain ridges in Shi Tou City to release the imperial Qi, resulting in the severance of the dragon vein. Since then, any dynasty that chose Ling City as its capital met with a short-lived fate, with the Ming Dynasty moving its capital to Jindu in its second generation. In recent years, Ling City’s economy has lagged noticeably behind the surrounding areas—it is an indisputable fact. Whether in the cultural sphere or business community, Ling City lacks influential figures nationwide. The wealthy districts in Ling City are relatively few. If one looks at the map of Xuan Country as the nine palaces and eight trigrams, Ling City sits precisely at the ’death gate,’ which is why dynasties located in Ling City tend to be short-lived. Furthermore, Ling City has too many famous tombs—the Zhongshan Mausoleum, the Yuhuatai, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, and the Memorial for those who died tragically in the Jiangdongmen Massacre all add a touch of overbearing death energy. The ancients often saw the Yangtze River as a natural moat to stop invasions from the north but didn’t consider the Feng Shui taboo of water flowing straight and fast, which fails to gather Qi and can carry away good fortune."

The elder monk sighed, Ling City’s Feng Shui was admittedly beyond doubt, but at the same time, it did not have the grandness and momentum of the imperial capital, Jindu.

"In establishing a nation’s capital, it must be either at the foot of great mountains or above vast rivers. Its high ground should not be arid but have sufficient water supply, and its low ground should not be waterlogged but have well-maintained drainage. Making use of natural resources and taking advantage of the location, the city walls do not have to follow rigid patterns, and the roads do not have to be dead straight."

"The Feng Shui of Ling City is indeed excellent, but if it were to be used as a national capital, it still lacks maturity. In thirty-one years of establishing the nation, the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty had already exhausted the dragon Qi nurtured in Ling City for a thousand years." The elder monk’s tone shifted, and a glint of light flickered in his eyes: "But Ling City has Feng Shui treasures for Yin and Yang residences that are inestimably valuable. Jindu may claim to have the best Feng Shui, but Ling City proudly takes second place."

Although he didn’t quite understand the elder monk’s profound and cryptic words, he could roughly make out their various flavors. That is, with Ling City’s Feng Shui, nurturing a place like Da Lin Temple was more than sufficient.

The elder monk was in good spirits; leaving Da Lin Temple, he had intended to search for Li Xiaoyao, but unexpectedly had this pleasant surprise in Ling City.

"Where is Li Xiaoyao now?"

Yi Kong promptly said, "He was taken away by the Li Family of Xuan Country."

"The Li Family of Xuan Country?" The elder monk’s eyebrows rose, asking, "Do you know why?"

"Mhm." Yi Kong nodded and said, "The news I heard suggests that this Li Xiaoyao might be from the Li family."

"Oh? A member of the Li family? This gets interesting." The elder monk squinted and pondered for a few seconds, then said, "Book a plane ticket, let’s go to the Li family."

"Master, to the Li family?" Yi Kong was startled for a moment, wondering why suddenly they needed to visit the Li family.

"It has been a long time since I’ve seen some old friends; it’s time for a visit. Moreover, isn’t the Human Realm about to open soon? It’s time to connect and foster relationships."

...

"Thud thud thud!"

"Come in." Li Xiaoyao, sitting cross-legged on the bed, opened his eyes, somewhat helpless.

Ever since that life-and-death battle, when he had struck down Li Gu with lightning-fast methods, there had been a continuous stream of visitors at his door, coming under the guise of paying a visit and dragging him into all sorts of conversations.

At first, Li Xiaoyao had been very accommodating to these clan members, chatting patiently with them, but later, he discovered that these fellows didn’t quite get the message, leaving him without time even for cultivation.

Eventually, he turned away all visitors and hung a sign at the entrance of the courtyard: Visits Not Welcome.

This move was quite effective; at least these people knew he was not very hospitable, and it deterred many visitors.

However, while it was fine to turn away common clan members, it wasn’t so easy to do the same to the External Elders—that face had to be given.

After all, Li Xiaoyao was now legitimately a member of the Li family; even if he did not give face to these External Elders, he still had to consider his father Li Chengfeng’s status within the Li family.