Xiao Fei, carrying a large pile of cultivation techniques, announced his secluded cultivation.
During his seclusion, several Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators from the higher echelons of the Lu Sect also announced their own periods of seclusion.
Having experienced countless battles and witnessed life and death numerous times, everyone understood that only by rapidly increasing their strength could they enhance their chances of survival amidst the changing tides of the cultivation world.
As a result, Huang Feifei was the only one left in the entire Lu Sect not in seclusion, temporarily taking charge of the sect's affairs.
The Lu Sect had just relocated to Meteor Island, starting from scratch with nothing. The sect's ancestors were poor, and the disciples were all clad in tattered clothes.
After the great war, many disciples' magical artifacts had been damaged in combat, and they had no money to replace them.
There was also a complete lack of cultivation resources such as spiritual herbs and elixirs.
Upon taking over the management of the sect, Huang Feifei first arranged for the Qi Condensation stage disciples to cultivate spiritual fields on the island, planting spiritual grains and herbs with relatively short maturation periods, which would yield some returns in about three to four years.
The island also contained some spiritual mines, not of the highest grade, but their excavation would be an invaluable gain for the impoverished members of the Lu Sect.
In addition to focusing on internal development, Huang Feifei personally contacted Green Bean Eyes from Black Flood Dragon City, preparing to re-establish trade with them.
The East Sea was vast and rich in resources, but these demonic beasts lagged far behind humans in terms of dexterity and ingenuity. Their techniques for refining artifacts, alchemy, and crafting talismans were backward.
A slight deficiency in artifact refining was acceptable, as their own bodies served as weapons.
They consumed spiritual herbs raw, but compared to elixirs refined by humans, their efficacy was significantly inferior.
Huang Feifei believed that with the Lu Sect situated on Meteor Island, they could leverage their geographical advantage to trade spiritual items between the East Sea and the Eastern Continent, which would undoubtedly be highly profitable.
The primary difficulty lay with the demonic tribes of the East Sea. These tribes were rather stubborn, firmly believing that all humans were wicked, and with their vast resources, they saw no need to trade with humans.
Fortunately, she still had the connection with Green Bean Eyes. Huang Feifei had gotten along very well with Green Bean Eyes in Star Moon City previously.
Huang Feifei personally infiltrated Black Flood Dragon City to find Green Bean Eyes. Green Bean Eyes had recovered from his injuries thanks to a Saint Luo Pill he received from Xiao Fei last time.
When he heard Huang Feifei's intentions, Green Bean Eyes readily agreed.
His son, Golden Fur Rat, had previously cooperated with Xiao Fei and had earned quite a bit during that period.
Unfortunately, their good fortune didn't last, and the business was interrupted due to some incidents.
After discussions, it was agreed that the East Sea operations would be managed by Green Bean Eyes and Old Rat Golden Fur, who would enlist the help of his many rat offspring.
Huang Feifei, controlling the Treasure Pavilion and the Lu Sect cultivators, would be responsible for gathering elixirs and selling East Sea specialties in the human realm.
The Treasure Pavilion, with its numerous branches, possessed strong sales capabilities, and many East Sea specialties were in high demand on the Eastern Continent, easily sold at premium prices.
Many cultivators within the Lu Sect excelled in alchemy, talisman crafting, and artifact refining. They would primarily be responsible for production, especially the Dan Xin Hall, whose alchemy techniques were considered top-notch throughout the cultivation world.
Many raw materials produced in the East Sea would be selected on Meteor Island, with usable items being retained and refined into elixirs before being handed back to Green Bean Eyes for sale.
With this exchange, the Treasure Pavilion, the Lu Sect, and Green Bean Eyes all reaped substantial profits.
Through Huang Feifei's initiatives, the Lu Sect finally secured a relatively stable income and began to recover.
Many disciples acquired new, pristine robes and suitable new magical artifacts. During festivals, they could even afford to indulge in a pill or two.
Having endured hardship, the disciples of the Lu Sect saw their lives gradually improve, filled with hope.
All of this was attributed to Huang Feifei's contributions, and all disciples of the Lu Sect bore this in their hearts, recognizing that Huang Feifei had given them hope.
Huang Feifei's reputation within the Lu Sect rapidly ascended to an unprecedented height.
Crucially, Huang Feifei was also flawlessly beautiful, making her appear even more sacred in the eyes of many disciples, who worshipped her as a goddess in their hearts.
Anyone in the Lu Sect who dared to show disrespect to Huang Feifei would face a bloody disaster within three days.
Previously, a disciple who drooled while looking at a portrait of Huang Feifei was ambushed that night and had his leg broken.
Meanwhile, eight years after the Lu Sect relocated to Meteor Island, the demon race of Eagle Mountain Kingdom unified several surrounding small nations, turning a vast area in the western part of the Eastern Continent into demon territory.
Many humans in these former territories were either massacred, had demonic seeds planted within them, or became lackeys of the demon race.
The demons roamed openly, casually slaughtering human cultivators for amusement or as sustenance.
The western part of the Eastern Continent had completely devolved into a living hell.
In the orthodox human territories of the Eastern Continent, the Qin Kingdom was fully engaged in annexing various nations, leaving them with no capacity to deal with the western threat.
Their plan was to first stabilize the realm before turning their attention to the demonic menace.
This was the prevailing sentiment among the key figures of the Great Qin Kingdom, such as the Grand General.
Thus, the demon race continued to grow and strengthen under the very noses of the humans.
Finally, in the twenty-third year after the Lu Sect's relocation, the Great Qin Kingdom unified all the human nations on the Eastern Continent.
This formed the largest and most powerful dynasty in the history of the Eastern Continent.
Now, the Great Qin Dynasty could finally turn its attention to dealing with the demon race.
However, with the recent establishment of the Great Qin Dynasty, the newly conquered territories had not yet pledged their allegiance, and many powerful individuals from the old kingdoms remained, lurking in the shadows and watching.
Consequently, the forces that the Great Qin Kingdom could temporarily deploy were limited, and the war against the demon race did not proceed as swiftly as initially anticipated.
The two sides engaged in fierce battles along the borders, with each achieving victories and suffering defeats.
Due to prolonged warfare, the production of various spiritual items on the Eastern Continent was disrupted, while consumption increased dramatically.
In the past few decades, the prices of various spiritual items had more than tripled, with some even increasing tenfold or more.
This allowed the Treasure Pavilion, which dealt in the resale of spiritual items, to amass immense wealth. Fei Xin had also gained considerable weight over the years.
As the Lu Sect held a ten percent stake in the Treasure Pavilion through its three halls, the sect also benefited from this venture. In recent years, they had been actively involved in the Treasure Pavilion's affairs, often providing manpower and support.
In his secluded cultivation chamber, Xiao Fei lay on a stone bed, his expression serene. A layer of dust had accumulated on him, along with cobwebs.
His body had remained motionless for many years. If not for the unique constitution of a Nascent Soul cultivator, this body would likely have decomposed long ago.
At this moment, Xiao Fei's primordial spirit had spent a thousand years within the spatial realm.
During this millennium, he had constantly reviewed and comprehended various cultivation techniques.
He meticulously studied the essence of everything from powerful cultivation methods to common street-level manuals.
As of today, he had finally finished reading all the cultivation techniques, marking the completion of his first-stage mission.
Xiao Fei's expression was haggard, but his eyes continually gleamed. With a flash, his primordial spirit returned to his physical body.
In the intervening years, he had only returned his primordial spirit to his physical body when it was on the verge of collapse, allowing the body to nurture his primordial spirit while stuffing a handful of elixirs into his mouth to sustain the body's consumption.
After his primordial spirit returned, Xiao Fei remained lying on the stone bed, showing no intention of getting up. He simply popped a large handful of elixirs into his mouth and then fell into a deep slumber.
He slept for three days and three nights before opening his eyes, his spirit and energy fully restored. He glanced around, then closed his eyes again, his primordial spirit continuing its journey back to the spatial realm.
Next came the most challenging phase: the creation of cultivation techniques!