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

After opening the exit, Liao Pantu, stroking his beard, shrank back into the Soul Nourishing Pendant and floated over to Lin Xiao.

"Put me in your chest pocket."

Obediently, Lin Xiao took the pendant and tucked it inside his clothes.

Then, he heard Liao Pantu's voice through sound transmission, "Outside, we'll communicate like this. Alright, you should head out now. The exit will close automatically in a moment."

Without wasting any time, Lin Xiao quickly made his way out through the opened exit.

Upon stepping outside, he realized that Liao Pantu's cave mansion was hidden within an unremarkable wilderness.

Although it was a desolate mountain, it was quite towering, surrounded by wild and chaotic vegetation. Lin Xiao used his Floating Technique to ascend into the air, ensuring he left no traces behind.

In his mind, Liao Pantu's voice echoed again, "It's good that you're being cautious, but let me tell you, the exit of my cave mansion changes location every time it's opened. It's not like those low-grade cave entrances that are easily discovered."

"But why were we able to use the teleportation array to enter?" Lin Xiao asked.

Liao Pantu paused for a moment, then replied, somewhat reluctantly, "Your teleportation array is of a high grade, and it only works because the user has been to the location before. If it weren't for me, anyone else using that array, even knowing the approximate location, wouldn't be able to teleport directly into my cave mansion. They'd still be unable to enter. What's the problem with that?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiao curiously asked, "So, since I've been inside now, does that mean I can teleport directly into it next time?"

Liao Pantu seemed taken aback by this realization and, after a brief silence, slowly replied, "If you come again in the future, make sure not to bring anyone else into my cave mansion... other than my good disciple, Yi Gao. My cave mansion has only had you, this little kid, as a guest, and no one else."

Following Liao Pantu's directions, Lin Xiao eventually reached the outskirts of Yuanling City by noon.

To his surprise, the distance from Liao Pantu's cave mansion to Yuanling City was quite far. Even with his Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivation, it had taken him several hours to get there.

Yuanling City was vastly different from cities in the mortal world.

From a distance, Lin Xiao could see the towering city walls, which were made of a dense and smooth material, appearing incredibly sturdy. The walls were about a hundred meters high, stretching far into the distance, making it impossible to see the ends.

As he approached, an overwhelming sense of pressure washed over him.

The southern city gate, where Lin Xiao arrived, was as massive as the city itself. According to Liao Pantu, this was the South Gate.

The South Gate actually had three entrances—one large and two smaller ones.

The largest gate towered over fifty meters high and was about forty meters wide, but it was tightly closed at the moment.

The two smaller gates on either side were open, yet even these "smaller" gates were still twenty to thirty meters wide.

Such a grand city would have been nearly impossible to build in the mortal world, yet in the cultivation world, it seemed almost effortless.

Sensing Lin Xiao's thoughts, Liao Pantu transmitted his voice again, "Building a city isn't the hardest part. What's difficult is defending it. The Thirty-Six Cities of the Southern Spirit Region all rival Yuanling City in grandeur, and each city has formidable defensive formations. However, very few know the true identity of these cities' rulers or who set up those powerful formations."

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and added, "When you enter the city, you'll need to pay an entrance fee. I remember it was two spirit stones eighty years ago, but I'm not sure what it is now. And remember, you can't use your spiritual power openly in the city."

Lin Xiao nodded in understanding, "Does Yuanling City have some sort of formation that forbids the use of spiritual power for fighting or casting spells, and would suppress anyone who tries?"

Liao Pantu was surprised by Lin Xiao's knowledge and paused before replying, "How did you know that?"

Lin Xiao chuckled and changed the subject, "Just a guess. Being the city's ruler must be great, right? Just lying back and collecting a steady stream of spirit stones every day."

At the city gate, a steady stream of people flowed in and out.

Looking around, Lin Xiao noticed that there were no guards stationed at the gate.

Everyone entering the city held spirit stones in their hands, and as they passed through the gate, Lin Xiao saw the stones disappear into thin air, as if absorbed by something in the void.

Since the area was filled with cultivators, probing others with divine sense would only cause unnecessary trouble. So, Liao Pantu peeked out from Lin Xiao's chest and took a glance at the city gate before transmitting his voice again.

"They're paying five spirit stones now. Tsk, the entrance fee has increased by quite a bit."

At that moment, Lin Xiao wasn't too concerned about the spirit stone fee. He asked, "Their spirit stones just vanished—what's going on?"

Liao Pantu explained, "That's a condition-triggered restriction. Pay a spirit stone and it lets you in."

He then remembered that all of Lin Xiao's spirit stones were still with him, so he took out the storage ring and handed it over.

Lin Xiao saw a translucent hand suddenly extend from under his clothes, holding the storage ring filled with fifty thousand spirit stones.

"Here, take it."

"Okay..." Lin Xiao worriedly wondered if the restriction that absorbed spirit stones might also take the ones inside his storage ring.

After accepting the storage ring, Lin Xiao didn't wear it on his finger but instead tucked it into his chest pocket. He took out five spirit stones and walked toward one of the smaller gates, mimicking the actions of the others as he entered.

As soon as he stepped into the gate, the five spirit stones he had been holding disappeared in an instant.

Lin Xiao couldn't help but check the spirit stones inside his storage ring.

Seeing that the ring was still filled to the brim with spirit stones and that none had disappeared along with the five he had just paid, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Liao Pantu, sensing Lin Xiao's thoughts, didn't mock him but instead warned through voice transmission, "Don't be complacent. While it's rare for these cities to pull such tricks, it's not unheard of. Once, I passed through a city where the new city lord had squandered the city's finances. Later, they even modified the entry restriction to steal all the spirit stones from those entering the city."

Lin Xiao was surprised. "Didn't anyone resist?"

"Of course, but what could low-level cultivators do? However, that city soon became a ruin."