Suddenly, in front of Lin Xiao, a seven-story translucent building appeared, floating in midair, awaiting placement.
Since he planned to allocate the areas around Lingyun Mountain for facilities that needed more spiritual energy, Lin Xiao decided not to place the Library Pavilion near the mountain. Instead, he chose a spot farther from Lingyun Mountain but still relatively close to the entrance. The mountain stood almost directly opposite the entrance, and Lin Xiao left some space between the pavilion and the edge of the water channel, placing the library in that area.
As soon as the Library Pavilion touched the ground, a faint, pleasant aroma of books wafted through the air. The pavilion spanned seven floors and covered about 250 square meters, giving off an ancient and dignified aura.
Breathing in the faint scent of books surrounding him, Lin Xiao couldn't wait to push open the door and step inside. Upon entering, he was greeted by a tall counter, likely intended for the library's caretaker, though it currently remained empty. Moving further in, he found the first floor's bookshelves neatly arranged, all made of wood but feeling as smooth as jade to the touch.
Numerous seating areas were placed around for reading, and large windows on three sides allowed plenty of natural light to filter in. Above, many lamps hung from the ceiling, providing additional light. The interior of the pavilion felt much larger than it appeared from outside—at least 500 square meters.
At the very back, there was a faintly glowing doorway with the words "To the Second Floor" written above it. Lin Xiao stepped through and, in an instant, found himself on the second floor. The layout was similar to the first, though slightly smaller. However, the door leading to the third floor indicated that only those with a Library Pavilion jade token could access it.
Of course, as the creator, Lin Xiao was exempt from this restriction. He quickly explored all seven floors and found that only the bottom four were designated for books, while the top three were reserved for spiritual inheritance techniques. The clear division of floors seemed to categorize the levels of the books.
Although Lin Xiao had over a thousand books in his private storage, it seemed even placing all of them here would only fill a small portion of the pavilion. Nonetheless, he didn't have the time to organize and categorize them properly just yet.
Returning to the first floor, Lin Xiao considered for a moment, then pulled out all the books from his storage. He planned to pile them on the floor for now and later find some help to categorize and shelve them properly. However, to his surprise, as soon as he placed the books on the ground, they began to float as if guided by an invisible force. The books flew toward different parts of the pavilion and gently settled onto the shelves, automatically sorted by content and level.
Lin Xiao inspected the arrangement closely and found that the books had been classified perfectly. Most of them were ordinary books and had been placed on the first floor, with only a small number classified into the second floor. Out of the 1,300 books, none were placed on the third floor, let alone the fourth.
Lin Xiao wasn't disappointed by this outcome; after all, he knew what kind of books they had purchased. He couldn't help but wonder where the sect's future cultivation techniques, manuals, and foundational knowledge would be classified.
Knowing the Library Pavilion had an automatic classification function reassured Lin Xiao greatly.
Just then, the system chimed in:
Ding—Congratulations, host, for completing the sect construction task for Sect Facilities (8). Reward has been delivered to the private storage.
With the task completed, Lin Xiao quickly checked his mission list to see what remained. He noticed he still had a task to build a breeding facility.
This reminded him that his private storage still contained quite a few captured spirit beasts. Thinking of those beasts, Lin Xiao realized he also needed to establish a field to grow their feed. A bit overwhelmed by the growing to-do list, he sighed internally.
"So many tasks, I hardly have time to cultivate."
He decided it was best to finish everything quickly. However, stepping out of the Library Pavilion, Lin Xiao hesitated, looking around.
Should he build the breeding facility on the floating island? It didn't seem like the best place.
Just as he was puzzling over this dilemma, Liao Pantou emerged from the small world, looking quite pleased. He casually waved at Lin Xiao in greeting, "Morning, Sect Master."
He seemed ready to head down to the island to do something.
"Wait, Elder Liao!" Lin Xiao quickly called out, stopping him.
Liao Pantou paused, puzzled. "What is it? Don't hold me up. I need to tend to those flowers."
Lin Xiao quickly explained, "Elder, I was wondering where you think we should build the breeding facility for the spirit beasts? Could you give me a suggestion?"
Hearing this, Liao Pantou glanced around the floating island. He also thought of the already crowded mountainside. After all, a breeding facility wouldn't be ideal close to the areas where they lived and cultivated. Plus, the space needed to be large enough to house all the spirit beasts Lin Xiao had captured.
After a moment of thought, he finally suggested, "How about this: let me finish clearing a space in the small world for my medicine garden. Once it's moved, you can use the garden's current location in the valley to build your facility."
It seemed like a reasonable solution. Lin Xiao then asked, "Or should I place the breeding facility inside the small world as well?"
Liao Pantou's eyes widened in shock. "Are you crazy? You want to let those beasts loose in there to wreck everything? What about my precious flowers?"
With that, the decision was made. The breeding facility would be built in the valley, once the medicine garden had been relocated.
By noon, the daily cultivation session at Lingxian Sect had concluded. Except for Sun Yigao, who was teaching students at the private academy, everyone else had gathered on the floating island.
Upon seeing Lin Xiao, Xiao Luan came running up, squawking, "There's someone still standing on the path, staring blankly! Should I toss him out?"
Lin Xiao immediately knew Xiao Luan was referring to Yuan Qing, who was still undergoing the heart-testing trial on the Heart-Testing Path. He explained, "That cultivator is fine. He's undergoing the trial, and if he passes, he'll be one of our sect members. Just keep an eye on him, and if he succeeds, bring him to me."
Xiao Luan let out a disappointed squawk, "Got it," then turned and stomped off with its big claws.
Seeing Da Tao staring blankly at the newly built Library Pavilion, Xiao Luan gave it a customary kick, sending it flying through the air.
Lin Xiao sighed slightly. He wasn't sure if Da Tao was lucky or unlucky to have Xiao Luan as its mentor.
Thinking about Yuan Qing, Lin Xiao wasn't too concerned. After all, the difficulty of the Heart-Testing Path had increased, so it was normal for the trial to take longer than usual.