They lay there on the grass, their eyes vacant, watching as the dawn sky slowly shifted from pitch black to dark blue, and then gradually to a pale white.
Thanks to the spiritual vein nearby, everyone finally began to recover from their state of utter exhaustion and numbness. They couldn't help but think how demanding this work had been. It was hard to imagine how much manpower, resources, and time it would take if mortals were tasked with such a job.
But as they turned their heads and looked at the faintly visible, winding, and neatly carved stone steps on the distant mountain, now glowing softly in the early morning light, they suddenly felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
This was the result of all their hard work. Once the construction on this mountain was complete, all the disciples of their sect would be able to traverse this path daily.
Near the stone steps were terraced fields Lin Xiao had previously created. Thanks to the array in the spiritual fields, the crops were still flourishing, even in the winter months, creating a scene where nature and human effort were perfectly intertwined.
Little Luan and Tuan Tuan, the chicken and the cat, were each controlling large banana leaves, fanning the group with some effort. They had often seen the elders fanning themselves under the shade, so they were mimicking them.
Big Tao, whose cultivation was still low, couldn't yet manipulate objects like the others, so it busied itself by scurrying around on its short legs, blowing on each person one by one.
Sun Yigao, who had come to help after finishing his class in the afternoon, was also lying among the group, enjoying the peaceful and comfortable moment.
Today was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the day of rest for Sun Yigao's private school. Though originally not supposed to resume classes for a few more days, his students had begged him to start early when they came to deliver New Year's gifts. He had relented, starting classes a few days earlier, but they would still have one more day off today.
Tomorrow, Qin Jianghe would take his mother and Tie Tou's mother back to Songyang County.
As the sky brightened, the group finally felt rested enough. They stretched, yawned, and began sitting up one by one.
Liao Pantu admired the mountain path between the cliffs and trees in the distance. It was the first time in over five hundred years of cultivation that he had personally worked to build something like this. Most of the items in his cave residence had been purchased, and much of the sect's infrastructure had already been completed long before he arrived.
For over five hundred years, he had either been cultivating or wandering through secret realms, buying and selling treasures. It was through these ventures that he had made a lifelong enemy, Yin Xuanzi.
Back when Liao Pantu was still at the Golden Core stage, the two of them had entered a secret realm together but got separated. Liao Pantu stumbled upon an item Yin Xuanzi had left behind to suppress the formation, mistaking it for an ownerless treasure, and took it. He later sold it. Unfortunately for him, it turned out to be a cherished memento left by Yin Xuanzi's deceased wife.
Yin Xuanzi, who had been on the verge of breaking through in the secret realm, nearly lost control of his cultivation because of the missing item. When he emerged, his first priority was to track it down. However, Liao Pantu's black market connections were so reliable that it was impossible to trace the buyer.
Thus began Yin Xuanzi's long pursuit of Liao Pantu. Over the years, the enmity between them only deepened. Since they were both from the same sect and had sworn a divine oath not to harm each other, Yin Xuanzi devised numerous schemes to get back at Liao Pantu without breaking the oath.
At the time, Liao Pantu was over 160 years old, while Yin Xuanzi was already more than 300 years old. Driven by his desire for revenge, Yin Xuanzi, who had previously seen no hope of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, used countless longevity pills to extend his life and finally made his breakthrough.
Just as he was about to seek out Liao Pantu, however, Liao Pantu entered seclusion to attempt his own breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage. Liao Pantu, not wanting his cultivation efforts to be disrupted by Yin Xuanzi's vendetta, tried to avoid him whenever possible.
Thus, the two of them ended up in a cat-and-mouse game, with Yin Xuanzi persistently pursuing Liao Pantu.
In the end, Yin Xuanzi's persistence paid off.
Over 300 years later, when Liao Pantu heard about the discovery of a long-lost alchemical formula, he went to retrieve it but fell into a trap set by Yin Xuanzi. He was captured and had his soul split.
Every time Liao Pantu thought about this incident, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. How was he supposed to know that the carelessly placed item belonged to Yin Xuanzi? It wasn't like the man had engraved his name on it! Plus, Yin Xuanzi was notoriously stingy, never showing off any of his treasures, so how was Liao Pantu supposed to recognize it in the secret realm?
Lost in thought, Liao Pantu shook his head and brought his attention back to the present, looking at the mountain path in the distance. He took out a large, polished stone that looked as though it had been handled for decades. It had an irregular shape but possessed an inexplicable beauty, its surface smooth as water.
Liao Pantu carried the stone to the edge of the mountain path and planted it firmly into the ground. Then he turned to shout toward the spiritual spring where Lin Xiao was resting, "Sect Leader! Come over and give this a name!"
Lin Xiao walked over and looked at the beautiful stone in front of him. He asked, "Elder Liao, this stone surely isn't ordinary, right?"
Liao Pantu waved dismissively, "This is a Mountain-Stabilizing Stone. It reinforces the mountain, preventing landslides or instability. Nothing too special, really. No need to be polite—just come up with a name, and I'll carve it."
It wasn't that Liao Pantu was trying to take over the task, but he had seen the inscription of "Lingxian Sect" on the stone tablet near the entrance earlier, and the quality of the handwriting had left much to be desired. He didn't want his Mountain-Stabilizing Stone to be marred by Lin Xiao's poor handwriting.
What Liao Pantu didn't know was that the inscription hadn't been written by Lin Xiao at all. The sect's emblem and name had automatically improved as the sect's rank increased. In the early days, the scrawled words on the entrance's signboard were even more atrocious.
Lin Xiao wasn't bothered. He had seen Liao Pantu's calligraphy before—it was grand and majestic. Having him do the inscription would certainly add a touch of class.
The others who had been resting near the spiritual spring gathered around to admire the Mountain-Stabilizing Stone. They, too, were impressed by its appearance.
Lin Xiao, staring up at the path they had all worked together to create, pondered for a moment before saying, "Let's call it The First Path. How does that sound?"
Liao Pantu nodded in approval, "It's simple and to the point. Are we settled on that?"
Lin Xiao turned to the others and asked, "Does anyone have any other suggestions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"No objections. Brother Xiao, the name is yours to decide."
"Yeah, Brother Xiao, we trust your judgment."
"The Sect Leader's choice is surely the right one."
With everyone agreeing, Liao Pantu pulled out his peachwood sword, condensed his energy into the blade, and began to carve the words "The First Path" onto the Mountain-Stabilizing Stone. His movements were so swift that they left afterimages, though to the spectators, it appeared as if he was carving slowly and carefully.