While other sects were busy, Lingxian Sect was even busier.
They had many plans for the year.
However, these plans were not devised by just one person; many within the sect had their own projects.
First and foremost was the trade with the cultivation world.
A while ago, after discussing with Qin Jianghe, Lin Xiao traveled to the cultivation world to negotiate a partnership with Su Ji General Store.
Previously, because the Yuan family was already involved in large-scale trade with Yuanling City and many surrounding towns, they had a significant demand for various goods. Lingxian Sect's supplies were sold directly to the Yuan family and the Duobao Pavilion in Yuanling City, which Lin Xiao had initially connected with.
However, these were still other people's channels, and Lingxian Sect could only act as a supplier.
Lin Xiao felt that no matter how good these arrangements were, it was crucial to develop their own business channels.
It wasn't about trust; it was about having control and decision-making power.
They could continue supplying goods, but Lingxian Sect wanted the ability to choose its own business opportunities as well.
After some discussion, Lin Xiao decided that Su Ji General Store would be a good place to start expanding.
Su Ji General Store was run by Su Yaoguang, a close friend of Elder Liu Chun. The Su family was small and had been rooted in Yuanling City for many years. Though they weren't as large as the Yuan family, they had their own connections. As long as Lingxian Sect offered enough benefits, it wouldn't be difficult to make the Su family their affiliate.
Moreover, Su Yaoguang had helped Elder Liu Chun many times and was known for his integrity, which made him a reliable partner.
The negotiations with the Su family went smoothly.
Liu Chun accompanied Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe during the meeting.
With Liu Chun acting as a mediator, Su Yaoguang was easy to work with, and after reviewing the quality and variety of Lingxian Sect's products, he was very impressed.
The most enticing aspect for Su Ji General Store was the offer of cultivation resources.
These weren't the common pills and formations that were available everywhere in Yuanling City, but exclusive formations from Lingxian Sect, such as the Mid-Tier Spirit Gathering Formation.
The difference between the low-tier and mid-tier Spirit Gathering Formation was significant. For the past two years, nearly everyone in Lingxian Sect had used the low-tier formation in combination with the sect's first-grade spirit vein, which was more than enough for their cultivation.
However, the mid-tier Spirit Gathering Formation was far more effective. In fact, using the mid-tier formation in an area without a spirit vein was roughly equivalent to using a low-tier formation in a location with a first-grade spirit vein.
This was highly appealing to many independent cultivators who had no access to spirit veins.
These unaffiliated cultivators had no access to the rich spiritual energy near spirit veins.
Even after saving for years and spending a fortune to buy a Spirit Gathering Formation, if they didn't have access to enough spiritual energy, the cultivation results would be subpar.
But the mid-tier Spirit Gathering Formation was different.
This was a high-demand item in the independent cultivator market, and even those with spirit stones found it hard to acquire.
A year ago, Mo Yuanjiao had already mastered the creation of mid-tier Spirit Gathering Formations. In fact, he could now craft high-tier formations, but the materials required for those were much more expensive. Besides, even if they offered such formations to the Su family, Su Yaoguang, at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, wouldn't be able to protect them once word got out.
Moreover, high-tier Spirit Gathering Formations covered a large area—though they could be scaled down if necessary.
Lingxian Sect was already preparing to upgrade several of its own cultivation areas with high-tier formations.
For the Su family, receiving such a valuable resource was a windfall. In exchange for helping Lingxian Sect expand its sales channels and discreetly selling some rare and high-value items, Su Yaoguang found the deal extremely worthwhile.
Although selling rare items might attract unwanted attention and pose some risks, the Su family had been in business for many years and had encountered such situations countless times. They had their ways of dealing with trouble.
With this arrangement, Lingxian Sect now had three supply channels. With these channels, they could easily handle not only the production output of their own sect but also the output from the more than twenty sects and royal families working with the trade center. Even if their output doubled, they could manage it.
After all, the overall production volume wasn't particularly high.
The external sects and royal families focused on producing large quantities of low-tier items, while Lingxian Sect specialized in smaller quantities of more advanced, high-quality items.
As a result, the disciples and members of Lingxian Sect were busier than ever. They had far more to learn, practice, and produce compared to disciples in other mortal realm sects.
The only one with leisure in the entire sect was Xiao Luan, the Beast Garden's caretaker.
Though the Beast Garden had a decent output, it hadn't reached the point of oversupply.
Under Xiao Luan's careful management, the spirit beasts were growing well, and most of the spirit beast meat was fresh and tender.
Xiao Luan adhered to the principle of "quality over quantity," carefully controlling the reproduction rates of the spirit beasts. He ensured they weren't overbred, prioritizing the quality of the animals.
In fact, there were even some spirit beasts in the Beast Garden showing signs of developing intelligence.
Xiao Luan had already separated these beasts for individual care, eager to see if they could truly unlock intelligence and, if so, how far they could go. He kept meticulous records, controlling variables, and conducting comparative experiments to study the process.
The spirit beasts bred in the Beast Garden were common meat sources for the cultivation world, valued not only for their flavor but also because they were difficult to develop intelligence.
Though these creatures were classified as "spirit beasts" due to their natural spiritual energy, much like spirit plants, they lacked intelligence and operated purely on instinct.
This was something Lin Xiao learned after spending some time managing the Beast Garden.
Initially, he worried that Xiao Luan might feel sympathetic seeing these creatures slaughtered, but when he saw how unbothered Xiao Luan was, Lin Xiao asked him about it. In response, Xiao Luan had given him a disdainful look.
"Those mindless walking slabs of meat can't compare to us, right?" Xiao Luan retorted, clearly unbothered.
After that, Lin Xiao no longer held back. He even told Jiang Youfu to demand as much meat from Xiao Luan as possible!
However, Xiao Luan strictly controlled the number of spirit beasts available for slaughter. No one could get more from him than he allowed.
As a result, the Beast Garden was known for its high quality, though its production volume remained modest.
After supplying the sect's daily needs, there wasn't much left to sell. Lin Xiao didn't fret about this and simply sold the excess to the Yuan family.
So now, while the entire sect was busy, Xiao Luan remained relatively idle.
As for his first disciple, Big Peach, she was busy helping him record the various details of the spirit beasts in the Beast Garden.
Xiao Luan was quite adept at delegating. All the tedious tasks, such as keeping track of the daily growth and changes of the spirit beasts, were naturally handed off to his disciple, while he focused on more important matters.