We should take our time selling a bit of what we have and then keep the rest for once we get the sect up and running.

It would be a while before they returned to the Three-River Valley, though once they did he planned on officially constructing a site to house his sect members. By that time he would have already recruited dozens of Otherworlders, perhaps hundreds depending on how many he would encounter on North Island. Not only that, but he would actively recruit young disciples from the five clans that dominated over the valley, and would openly recruit on his way back to the Dragon’s Tail after he and his friends finished their business in the CMA's territory. With all of the wealth that they had saved up, it wouldn’t be hard to create a perfect environment for any disciples that decided to join the sect, not to mention that he and his friends were capable of creating meditation circle arrayments, which seemed to be a lost art considering the rarity of the Desolate Spirit Tower.

And I’m also an alchemist…

He gave his head a shake to free himself from the grips of greed, dipping his mouth beneath the surface of the dew and taking a small sip. Massive amounts of energy began pouring into his body, his stomach warm as the perfectly pure Origin Energy within the dense dew rushed into his dantian after almost instantaneous filtration into inner essence. Not only that, but his spiritual space was slowly but gradually expanding.

In order to maximize the amount of energy he could take in, he circulated his inner essence and activated the White Flame Scripture, his absorption rate almost instantly eclipsing what it had been moments ago.

Nolan revelled in the seamless and comfortable method of cultivation that he was currently enjoying, wondering if anyone else on the continent was able to casually make use of such miraculous cultivation resources. Ingesting small amounts of heavenly dew would normally suffice on its own for his current purposes, but he and his friends had discovered that if they submerged their entire bodies in the golden liquid then not only did their dantians devour more energy but the effect on their spiritual spaces was many times greater.

Wondering if he would be able to reach the seventh level of the Integration stage by the end of the week, Nolan lost himself in a state of meditation that lasted for nearly twelve hours. By the time he climbed out of his crate—the contents of which had only decreased by a negligible amount—he had achieved a minor breakthrough to the middle phase of his current level.

Can’t let any of this stuff go to waste now, he thought, gathering up all of the spilled dew with spiritual energy and returning it to the container. Once he was finished tidying up, he absorbed all of the residual energy that still clung to his body and then bathed in a barrel of Divine Spirit Fountain water before dressing himself in a set of fine silk clothes with a silver-on-black colour scheme.

As Nolan took a seat at one of the many tables that were spread throughout the suite’s living area and began to pour himself a glass of his treasured fountain water, May suddenly emerged from a room at the far end of the nearest wall. Bypassing the soft, cushiony rugs and padded sofa chairs that littered the area, she approached Nolan with a slow, alluring gait that put her long legs on full display. His eyes couldn’t help but wander as he took in her appearance, though he got a feeling that this was exactly what she wanted. Why else would she wear such a skimpy robe that was barely hemmed halfway to her knees? Every step that she took allowed a brief glimpse between her thighs, though not enough to catch any daring snippets of what lay behind the thin fabric.

“That’s a nice robe,” he said, blushing slightly. “It looks good on you.”

Her rosy lips rose at the corners, though she didn’t comment on his compliment. Instead, she snatched his cup from in front of him and took a long, satisfied sip, her long, auburn hair damp from a recent bath.

Observing her quietly, Nolan suppressed a gulp. Travelling with beautiful girls in his group was something that he both loved and felt exasperation towards. He wasn’t normally one to ogle or stare at somebody for longer than was polite, though he had a difficult time averting his gaze when it came to girls such as May, Nyla, Delia, or Hala…

“What’s on your mind, Sect Master?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he smiled.

Leaning into his hand, he massaged his head in a circular motion in an attempt to calm himself down. These were the problems of a fortunate man, he figured, so what use was there in worrying over them? Besides, it wasn’t like he lacked all self-control. Lyra was just as beautiful as the other girls, but he rarely looked at her with such eyes. Yes, he told himself, her relation to Ian and her boorish personality had nothing to do with the fact.

“That’s why I asked,” she said, taking a seat beside him and pulling her chair up close. “Are you worried about Tems?”

“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t worried about what’s coming, but it’s nothing too serious.”

Intelligent hazel eyes stared directly into his own, their faces not far apart as she leaned in to get a closer look. “Do you have a plan in mind?”

“Sort of,” he said, thinking of one of the few formations that Uncle Grey had bothered to teach him and Nyla. “It’ll take a couple of days to set up, but I think I’ve got a way to deal with that guy and whoever he brings along with him. We just need to raise everyone’s strengths to a certain standard in order to make that happen.”

Even if it was only an intermediate formation, such a technique from Uncle Grey’s time was likely viewed as a grand formation in the modern era of Venara. He just hoped that everything went smoothly, since he had never actually attempted to activate the technique in question before. A formation was essentially many spiritual arrayments combined with one another in linked collaboration, through the use of talismans or essence fusion objects as mediums. He was quite adept as an arrayment practitioner these days, since the process was similar to solving mathematical puzzles or equations, so he was fairly confident in his success rate.

“It’s a shame that our time’s limited,” sighed May, who crossed one leg over the other as she faced him. “The Earth Sect might be small, but its benefits are far superior to the Falling Rain Sect's. With resources like these—” she waved an arm in the direction of the room at large—“everyone could grow so much stronger if we only had the time.”

Many of the tables were littered with jars of medicinal pellets that Nolan had created to aid in cultivation, along with small piles of superior spirit stones, relevant medicinal herbs, and anything else that he and his friends could ever want or need for their current intents and purposes.

“There’ll be plenty of time to train in the future,” he assured her, “especially when we visit Uncle Grey.”

“I’m excited to finally meet the grandmaster. To think that someone capable of creating an independent space is actually backing you lot, it’s amazing. The fact that I have a chance to learn from such a person is an untold blessing.” She grasped at his sleeve and gave it a light, playful tug. “One that I would never have gotten if it weren’t for you.”

Her stare was strong enough to penetrate his thick skin, forcing him to turn his head away lest he become bewitched by her beauty. “I’m happy to help.”

Her fingers traced up and down the fabric of his tunic. “You look so handsome today.”

“T—thank you.” Finding himself a bit flustered, he stood up and cleared his throat. “Oh yeah. Didn’t you say that you wanted to walk around town earlier? Everyone seems busy right now, so would you want to go do that?”

She followed him to her feet and put on a victorious smile. “That would be great! I’ve been cooped up in that room for so long, I’m starting to forget what fresh air smells like.” She took a few eager steps toward the room that she had just mentioned, stopping to balance on the balls of her feet as she spoke in a cautioning tone. “I’m going to change first. You’d better not change your mind.”

“It depends on how long you take.”