Is It Reasonable for Me to Start a Sect at 12?

Lin Xiao had already made up his mind. This time, his visit to the cultivation world wouldn't be a rushed mission followed by a swift return. He needed to gather as much information as possible about the cultivation world. After all, if his sect grew strong enough, they might expand into this realm in the future.

No, actually, the system's mission to establish connections with cultivators and families here might already be hinting that he needed to develop ties in this area. Otherwise, the system wouldn't have randomly given him such a task.

In Qixing Street, no one paid much attention to this twelve-year-old boy. After all, in Yuanling City, it wasn't uncommon to see young heirs from noble families wandering around without any cultivation.

Thanks to the system's concealment function and the peach leaf pendant he carried, to outsiders, he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary twelve-year-old mortal boy.

After gathering some information, Lin Xiao couldn't help but marvel at what he learned.

Was Yuanling City really surrounded by so many secret realms? Just from walking around and listening, he had already heard the names of at least five different secret realms, all of which were set to open within the next month.

Lin Xiao was about to mention this to Liao Pantu when the latter suddenly transmitted a message to him:

"Lin Xiao! Did you hear that? The Icefield Secret Realm!"

Surprised by Liao Pantu's sudden excitement, Lin Xiao focused on the surrounding noise and indeed caught wind of someone mentioning that the Icefield Secret Realm would open in five days.

"I heard it. What's special about this secret realm?"

"My soul fragment! The Foundation Establishment secret realm! This is the one!"

"Really?" Lin Xiao was taken aback. He had thought that the search for Liao Pantu's soul fragments would be a long and arduous journey, but it seemed like they were already making progress.

As for how Liao Pantu recognized the name of this secret realm, Lin Xiao could easily guess that it must have been mentioned by some of the cultivators who had entered the secret realm over the years.

With this in mind, Lin Xiao suggested, "Senior, why don't you tell me the names of all the secret realms where your soul fragments are trapped?"

If Liao Pantu were standing before Lin Xiao, he would have rolled his eyes. "Do you think I wouldn't have done that already if I could? Although they're my soul fragments, the barriers between secret realms and the passage of time have made the connections blurry. After decades of separation, the memories between the fragments aren't as clear. It was only by chance that I remembered the Icefield Secret Realm when I overheard its name."

Lin Xiao understood. In other words, they still needed to hear the names of the secret realms where the fragments were trapped for Liao Pantu to recall which ones they were.

It seemed that the journey to reunite Liao Pantu's soul would still be a long one.

Suddenly, Lin Xiao had an idea and asked, "Does that mean I could collect the names of various secret realms and recite them to you to see if any sound familiar?"

Liao Pantu paused for a moment before finally praising him, "That's not a bad idea."

Then Lin Xiao thought of something else and asked, "By the way, Senior, were you separated from your soul fragments somewhere near Yuanling City?"

Recalling the painful memories of that time, Liao Pantu remained silent for a moment before responding, "More or less, it wasn't too far from here."

Seeing that Liao Pantu was reluctant to discuss it further, Lin Xiao didn't press the issue and simply asked, "Do you know if the Green Wilderness Secret Realm is also near Yuanling City, Senior?"

"When I was in the Qi Refinement stage, I wasn't in the Southern Spirit Region. I'm not familiar with Qi Refinement secret realms. However, I do know the two sects that enter that secret realm every year—Heavenly Profound Sect and Earth Fiend Sect. They're among the top five sects in the Southern Spirit Region's eighteen sects, and they're not too far from Yuanling City. Are you suggesting…?"

Lin Xiao nodded and said, "Exactly. I suspect that the secret realms trapping your soul fragments might all be located within the Southern Spirit Region, or even near Yuanling City."

He hadn't considered this possibility earlier because he didn't realize that secret realms were so common in the cultivation world.

He had assumed that he would have to search the entire world for them. But now, it seemed the scope had been significantly narrowed.

However, Liao Pantu let out a light humph and said, "Kid, I've known that all along. I just wanted to test your sincerity in helping me find my soul fragments, which is why I didn't tell you. But it seems you're doing well so far… Now, go find out the exact location of the Icefield Secret Realm."

"Understood! I'll complete the mission!"

With that, Lin Xiao dove back into the crowd, gathering all the information he could about the Icefield Secret Realm.

After collecting detailed information about the secret realm's location, timing, and other related details, Lin Xiao suddenly heard a commotion near the entrance of Qixing Street:

"The Yuan Family's Young Master is here!"

"Who would've thought the new Young Master of the Yuan Family is such an extraordinary fairy!"

A female cultivator nearby scoffed at the comment, saying, "Why is it such a big deal for a woman to be a young master? In the ten great families of Giant Lake City, eight of the family heads are women."

"That's different. Throughout history, there have always been more male cultivators than female. It's normal for men to be family heads, but when women take charge, the family can become imbalanced, which goes against the natural order."

"That's nonsense! And having too many men in charge doesn't go against the natural order?"

…

At the entrance to Qixing Street, a stunningly beautiful woman was seated atop a white peacock, slowly flying over. She looked to be in her early twenties, yet her cultivation had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. She seemed completely indifferent to the discussions happening on the streets below, her expression calm and leisurely.

From a distance, Lin Xiao found the woman's face somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite recall where he had seen her before. He was certain that he had never met her in person.

Meanwhile, those around him were also marveling:

"No wonder she became the Young Master of the Yuan Family, even as a woman. I heard that Yuan Zhiyun is only thirty-five years old this year, yet she's already a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Her exceptional talent truly makes me envious!"

At that moment, Liao Pantu's voice echoed from the Soul Nourishing Pendant, "I never expected the conservative Yuan Family to let a woman become their Young Master. Impressive, impressive. This woman must have some skill."

Curious, Lin Xiao asked, "Is the Yuan Family well-known?"

"The Yuan Family is the most powerful family in Yuanling City, and they have close ties with the Heavenly Profound Sect. Every ten years, they secure a few spots for disciples to join the sect. If you're looking to establish connections with influential families, the Yuan Family is a good choice, but be careful—they're complex, and if you're not careful, you might find yourself getting swallowed up by their schemes."

Liao Pantu patiently explained.

Lin Xiao had already mentioned his goal of building connections in the cultivation world to Liao Pantu, which was why the latter brought it up now.

After considering it for a moment, Lin Xiao replied, "I don't want to get involved with such a large family. It's too troublesome. It's probably better to start with smaller families."