After looking around for a while, Lin Xiao realized that it would be challenging to place the Mirror of True Heart in a location accessible to both the disciples of Qingyun Peak and the elders of Lingxian Sect.
The disciples of Qingyun Peak didn't frequently leave the peak, and even if they later took on various tasks within the sect, those jobs wouldn't require daily travel. The current busyness of the sect was due to a shortage of people and an abundance of tasks, requiring everyone to juggle multiple responsibilities.
Similarly, the elders of Lingxian Sect didn't often need to visit Qingyun Peak. Their daily routines didn't overlap much.
Hmm…
After pondering for about ten seconds, Lin Xiao decided on another approach.
Sitting cross-legged, he placed the Mirror of True Heart in front of him, then raised his right hand. Channeling his spiritual energy, he used his fingers like a blade. In a swift motion, he sliced the Mirror of True Heart in half.
Lin Xiao had already inspected the mirror and confirmed with the system that it wasn't constructed using any complex formations. The mirror was like an ordinary one, and no matter how many pieces it was divided into, each piece would still retain its full properties as the Mirror of True Heart.
Thus, with a clean cut, Lin Xiao divided the mirror into two equal parts.
Now, he had two mirrors, each measuring two and a half meters long and one and a half meters wide.
Satisfied, Lin Xiao nodded approvingly. However, he quickly realized that without a frame, the mirrors lacked grandeur.
Without delay, he grabbed the two mirrors and headed to the Artifact Hall, even though it was late at night.
Due to the busy schedule of Lingxian Sect's elders, most of them had reduced their need for sleep and used the night for cultivation, leaving the Artifact Hall empty at this hour.
Inside the hall, Lin Xiao began selecting materials for crafting frames for the two halves of the Mirror of True Heart.
While working, Lin Xiao reflected on recent events. The generous rewards from the Qingyun Peak completion, along with the system's attitude in other matters, led him to a new hypothesis: actively building the sect might yield better rewards than simply completing assigned tasks.
In other words, instead of relying on the system for straightforward, mindless synthesis, the system seemed to favor independent efforts in sect-building and innovation.
Why would a sect-building system have such a preference?
As Lin Xiao mused, his hands continued to work skillfully on the mirror frames.
Determined to make them impressive, he lavishly used a large chunk of Soul-Nurturing Wood and a piece of premium Condensed Cold Jade—both rare materials.
The Soul-Nurturing Wood had come into his possession after Elder Liao finished using the Soul-Nurturing Pendant, and since then, the wood had been returned to Lin Xiao.
His bold use of such valuable materials was partly due to a recent reward from the system: a sapling of a Soul-Nurturing Tree.
Once the sapling matured, it would provide more Soul-Nurturing Wood, so Lin Xiao felt comfortable using the current stock generously. He hadn't yet planted the sapling, as he had specific plans for its location, but he wasn't too worried about running out of the material in the future.
In the meantime, if the need for Soul-Nurturing Wood became urgent, he figured he could always borrow a bit from Elder Liao's enormous Soul-Nurturing Bed.
As he worked, the contrasting colors of the materials—black and white—shone under his spiritual energy, creating a stunning visual effect.
Crafting the frames wasn't particularly difficult, and Lin Xiao, fully focused, completed them quickly.
The frames were wide, with a white base adorned with intricately carved auspicious clouds. Black lines wove through the designs, giving the frames a sense of majesty and calm.
Pleased with the result, Lin Xiao immediately set about fitting the Mirror of True Heart into the frames.
However, as soon as he embedded the two mirrors into their frames, something unexpected happened.
The two mirrors, now framed, floated into the air, as if an unseen force was pulling them together. They began to revolve around each other.
Under the light of the moon, a faint glow seemed to single out the mirrors, shining upon them.
Gradually, black and white energy emanated from the frames, guided by the mysterious force, and seeped into the mirrors.
Lin Xiao watched in amazement.
As time passed, the light shining on the mirrors became increasingly bright, enveloping them in a glowing sphere.
Suddenly, cracks appeared on the surface of the light sphere!
In the next moment, beams of dazzling light shot out from the cracks. Even Lin Xiao found it hard to look directly at the light.
Without a sound, the sphere exploded, and all the radiance quickly converged onto the mirrors.
Upon closer inspection, Lin Xiao realized that the two mirrors, which had been revolving around each other, were now firmly joined together, with their reflective surfaces facing outward.
As the phenomenon subsided, the space returned to tranquility, and the joined mirrors slowly floated to the ground like feathers.
Lin Xiao picked up the mirrors and stored them in his personal vault before using the system's identification function again.
Yin-Yang Mirror of True Heart: Comprises the Mirror of True Heart. Corrects oneself and reveals the heart, allowing insight into one's nature and the understanding of one's path. When united, it harnesses the power of the sun and moon, forming a Four-Symbol Prison to suppress evil and demons. Note: The more who comprehend the Dao through this mirror, the stronger its combined power.
Lin Xiao couldn't help but smile to himself. As expected, his instincts had been right.
Having obtained two mirrors of great power, he no longer had to worry about where to place them. He quickly found suitable locations for each.
One was placed at the entrance of Qingyun Peak's cultivation hall.
The other was positioned at the entrance to Yaoguang Floating Island.
These locations were strategic—disciples might not always visit the cultivation rooms when returning from their tasks, but they would definitely stop by the island's dining hall. Thus, these two spots ensured that the mirrors would be seen and used frequently.
With the Mirror of True Heart in place, Lin Xiao turned his attention to the new first-tier spiritual vein he had received as a reward.
There was already a spiritual vein in the small mountain spring on the mid-levels of the mountain, and thanks to the nourishing effects of the Condensed Cold Jade dwelling nearby, that spiritual vein was close to evolving into a second-tier vein.
And the Floating Island had the Spirit Mountain to sustain it.
After some consideration, Lin Xiao decided to place the new spiritual vein on Qingyun Peak.
As the sect's first disciple peak, it deserved its own spiritual vein.
Stubborn in his ways, Lin Xiao insisted that spiritual veins should be paired with water sources, so he chose the small spring on Qingyun Peak where the disciples collected their drinking water as the placement site.
Once the decision was made, the placement of the vein took only a moment.
Though the two spiritual veins were in different locations, they weren't far apart, and their areas of influence overlapped significantly.
The closer one was to the spiritual vein, the denser the spiritual energy. Now, with the overlapping coverage of two spiritual veins, the spiritual energy in the surrounding area of Lingxian Sect surged dramatically.
Every sect member in cultivation noticed the sudden rise in spiritual energy immediately.
The next morning, the residents of Xiushui Village woke up feeling unusually refreshed.
Even the crops outside seemed to be growing more vibrantly.
As the villagers prepared to head into the fields with their hoes, their hearts brimmed with joy. Living at the foot of a mountain blessed by immortals truly was a gift. This year promised to be another bountiful harvest!