As the Island of Enlightenment settled into the Spiritual Lake, the other grand vessels and skiffs followed suit, gradually descending into the water.
Protected by the Dragon Spirit, the surroundings felt instantly different as the vessels touched down.
Previously, hovering before the Gate of Nine Nether, everyone had felt a sense of unease.
But once the vessels and skiffs entered the Spiritual Lake, a feeling of peace and comfort washed over them, as if they were still within Tongtian Academy.
After everyone had settled down, Yan Luoshuang's voice rang out again.
"Those in the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages, rest for a while. Those in the Golden Core stage and above, follow me!"
"Yes!"
With a chorus of assent, the nearly a thousand people aboard the grand vessels took to the sky, slowly advancing towards the Gate of Nine Nether.
As for Yun Ze and the others… they could only watch from the Spiritual Lake.
With their cultivation levels, even if they went to the Gate of Nine Nether now, they would only be fodder.
"Senior Brother."
Dan Chenyu excitedly approached, "When do you think we'll be able to study the Gate of Nine Nether up close?"
"Probably after the Dean and the others confirm it's not fatally dangerous for us," Yun Ze replied, looking around. "Speaking of which, this Spiritual Lake looks too much like Tongtian Academy's layout. Was Tongtian Academy perhaps created in a similar way?"
"Eh, Senior Brother, you don't know?" Dan Chenyu asked back, then continued, "The Spiritual Lake where Tongtian Academy is located is one of the largest in Southeastern Heaven. It was originally the territory of a Confucian ancient clan, but after the clan was annihilated, Tongtian Academy inherited it.
I heard there are even inheritances of ancient clan sages at the bottom of the lake, but no one has confirmed their authenticity."
"I wasn't concerned with these things before," Yun Ze was saying when he saw a skiff approaching him from not far away.
"Hey!"
Yun Ze looked up, following the direction of the voice. He saw Luo Miaoyu standing on a skiff, looking displeased at the people on it. "Tu Sheng, the Senior Brother wants your Lingxiao Courtyard to claim your territory. Hurry up and go."
"Alright."
Yun Ze calmly responded, not paying attention to her attitude.
This woman disliked Tu Sheng, what did it have to do with him, Yun Ze?
He guided his skiff towards the Island of Enlightenment. As he reached the outskirts, he saw nine skiffs anchored outside the island.
Eight of them were empty, with only nine people standing on one skiff.
The eight were gathered around one person, pointing at a newly drawn map and discussing something.
It seemed they weren't waiting for him.
Yun Ze didn't dwell on it, turning to Ji Xiu and the other two. "Wait for me here. You don't need to come up."
Dan Chenyu had no objections; she wanted to interact with as few people as possible right now.
But Ji Xiu pouted upon hearing this. He didn't want to stay with a certain shrew; he wanted to go with his master to see the world.
However, Yun Ze would naturally not take him.
With a tap of his toe, he landed on the skiff.
"Junior Brother Tu has arrived."
A fair-faced youth at the head of the group looked up and waved enthusiastically at Tu Sheng. "Come, we're discussing how to set up our outer defenses. Staying on the Spiritual Lake all the time isn't feasible."
Tu Sheng was unfamiliar with this person. The jade slip given by Yun Xiao only contained a name and a likeness.
Yan Yan.
Although he was a relative of the Dean, he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage through his own talent and strength. He had even ranked in the top ten of the Qi Condensation Heaven Ranking before.
He was just a bit timid.
When he heard that Xiu Yun had broken through to the ninth level of Qi Sea, he was one of those who had also broken through, ultimately stopping at the eighth level of Qi Sea.
But even at the eighth level of Qi Sea, it was extremely difficult.
Even after breaking through to Foundation Establishment, it only took him half a year to advance his Confucian Dao from the Entry Dao realm to the Condensation Dao realm.
This alone was enough to make most disciples sigh in admiration.
Although he was not old, after defeating the previous Senior Brother with a single word, he became the current Senior Brother. Coupled with his appropriate conduct, no one among the inner disciples of Tongtian Academy was unconvinced by him.
Learning has no hierarchy; the accomplished are teachers.
This was one of Tongtian Academy's tenets.
"Senior Brother Yan."
Yun Ze cupped his hands and greeted him.
"Mm."
Yan Yan responded, first drawing two red circles outside the Spiritual Lake. "There are two plans now. See which one is suitable.
One is to divide the territory equally among the ten courtyards. This area would be your Lingxiao Courtyard's responsibility. You would need to build new houses and defensive fortifications here and be responsible for handling the demonic pollution from this direction.
However, your Lingxiao Courtyard has too few people. It would indeed be inappropriate to let you be solely responsible for this.
The second plan is to divide this red circle equally among the other nine courtyards. You would retain one-tenth of it, and your responsibilities would be the same as I just mentioned.
Both plans are acceptable, it just depends on your Lingxiao Courtyard's choice."
This was quite a show of respect.
Everyone turned to look at Yun Ze, silently awaiting his decision.
The people here had their own thoughts. Some wanted more territory, while others were unwilling to bear the risk.
The former thought of the benefits brought by the Gate of Nine Nether, while the latter were unwilling to take responsibility.
This difficult problem was now thrown directly to Lingxiao Courtyard, a special existence. No matter what he chose, future generations who came to the Gate of Nine Nether would only remember that the current situation was caused by him, and others were irrelevant.
"The second plan is fine."
Yun Ze made a quick decision, knowing that no one in Lingxiao Courtyard would care about this small piece of territory.
Whether it was Yun Xiao, or Ji Xiu who was still in Qi Condensation, their goal was beneath the Nine Nether!
There was no need to fight over things above the Nine Nether.
After speaking, Yun Ze continued to ask, "Senior Brother Yan, after the territory is divided, when can we descend into the Gate of Nine Nether?"
"Junior Brother Tu is indeed impatient," Yan Yan smiled, then casually erased another large circle, and wrote the name Lingxiao Courtyard on the small circle. "This will have to wait until the Golden Core stage seniors have investigated clearly. It will be at least half a month later.
During this time, I will have to trouble Junior Brother to pay attention to the construction of the territory, as the Gate of Nine Nether is not something that can be resolved overnight.
We must leave some convenience for those who come after us, right?"
"Then I will take my leave, Junior Brother."
Yun Ze frowned, his dissatisfaction flashing across his face before quickly disappearing.
He didn't chat with everyone. After confirming the area of Lingxiao Courtyard's territory, how the remaining land would be divided was their business.
As Yun Ze turned and boarded the skiff, he was immediately met with curious gazes from Ji Xiu and Dan Chenyu.
In such a short time, they both wanted to know what Yun Ze had discussed on the skiff.
But Yun Ze said nothing, only guiding the skiff towards the area outside the Spiritual Lake, which was the territory Yan Yan had allocated to him!
Ridiculous!
With the Gate of Nine Nether present, they weren't thinking about when to investigate it, but were busy dividing the spoils first?
And they called it thinking of future generations?
It was just that the Gate of Nine Nether would affect the surrounding spiritual plants and beasts, right? After dividing the territory, they could start reaping the benefits.
But there were even more heavenly treasures beneath the Gate of Nine Nether. Why weren't they in a hurry to go down and see what was happening?
Wasn't it just fear of death?
Seeing Yun Ze's dark expression and silence, Dan Chenyu couldn't help but turn to Ji Xiu, encouraging him with her eyes to go and talk.
But Ji Xiu wasn't stupid. Knowing that Yun Ze was in a bad mood, why would he court trouble?
He was sharp-tongued, not foolish.
When Yun Ze brought the two of them to the shore, he put away the skiff and went into the forest by the lake.
Before them was a ten-li wide and twenty-li long area, which was Lingxiao Courtyard's responsibility.
It wasn't entirely barren, but over ninety percent of the area was covered by a strange purple mist, with only the area near the Spiritual Lake remaining normal.
"This is our future base."
Yun Ze said, "First, let's find a way to remove these weeds and see if there's any way to clear this purple mist."
"That's simple."
Dan Chenyu stepped forward and said, "I saw them researching this purple mist in the Immortal Mansion. All we need is a spirit stone of grade two or higher to set up a spirit gathering formation.
For the current land area, thirty-six grade two spirit stones should last for three days."
Yun Ze was stunned upon hearing this.
Thirty-six grade two spirit stones, only for three days!?
If it lasted for ten days, wouldn't that cost a first-tier spirit artifact?
And this was only one-tenth of the original area.
If they had chosen the slightly larger option, it would be one first-tier spirit artifact per day.
Who could afford that!
"Cough, cough."
As Yun Ze was contemplating, a light cough came from behind him.
Everyone turned to see a grand vessel approaching.
This was the only grand vessel that had not gone to the Gate of Nine Nether. Its owner was naturally Yun Xiao.
Her cultivation was only at Foundation Establishment, so she was not involved in investigating the Gate of Nine Nether.
Right!
Yun Ze smiled wryly. It was just a first-tier spirit artifact.
With this person's immense wealth, one second-tier spirit artifact a day might not even be considered much. He didn't need to worry about this matter at all.
"Master, this spirit gathering formation?"
Yun Xiao said nothing more, but waved her hand. Seventy-two spirit stones fell into the forest before them, sinking several meters into the soil.
Instantly!
A bright light erupted, and the surrounding dense purple mist dissipated.
"I've seen the formations in the Immortal Mansion and made some slight improvements. With seventy-two spirit stones, it should provide protection for ten days."
Yun Xiao replied calmly, then looked at Yun Ze. "You, take Little Xiu and go chop wood. With the abundant spiritual energy here, it's perfect for you two to cultivate."
"Yes, Master."
Yun Ze responded, then asked, "And… after chopping wood?"
"When night falls and no one is watching you, you can go wherever you want, of course," Yun Xiao said casually.
She turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Yun Ze and Dan Chenyu. "You two little ones, don't think I don't know what you're planning. As long as you don't get discovered by others, I can't stop you from doing whatever you want."
Yun Ze immediately turned and exchanged glances with Dan Chenyu. They both saw joy in each other's eyes.
What were they planning?
Did they even need to say it!
Of course, it was to enter the Gate of Nine Nether!
They had originally thought they would have to wait for half a month, after building up the base, before leaving. Now, with Yun Xiao's words, they might be able to set off tomorrow!
"However…"
Before Yun Ze and the two could get too happy, Yun Xiao's voice rang out again. They could only hold their breath and look at her again.