As Qing Ling's manipulation became more practiced with each of his ten thousand repetitions, his hand speed grew even swifter. With three lines of spiritual materials, his fingers danced and intertwined, bringing a small puppet figure to life.
He named these hundred thousand giant puppets the Three Lines Legion. In a future era of flourishing immortal cultivation, they would be known as the Three Lines Dao Soldiers, crafted from spiritual materials of water, earth, and wood.
The small puppets were for reconnaissance. He had only refined slightly over twenty thousand, covering the territories of the ten tribes surrounding Xi Mountain. These small puppets were certainly not meant for monitoring Golden Immortals, but they were more than sufficient for surveying large-scale tribal migrations.
With scouts and main combat units accounted for, both large and small, only the army's commanders were missing.
With this thought, Qing Ling turned his gaze to the twelve figures slumbering within the spiritual pool.
Through the slightly blurred vision beneath the clear pool water, eleven towering figures lay dormant at the lakebed, resembling terrifying behemoths, exuding an oppressive aura.
The twelfth figure was You, the substitute puppet.
After tens of thousands of years of nurturing, these puppets had gained a slight increase in sentience, though their journey was still long and arduous. However, their strength had advanced relatively quickly. All eleven spiritual puppets had already achieved Heavenly tier strength. This was not only due to the nurturing from the Three Lines Spiritual Ground but also because he had infused each puppet's core with Nine Yuan Heavy Water, allowing for such rapid progress.
Qing Ling beckoned, and the Sea Stabilizing Divine Pearl was drawn from his sleeve. This was one of the reasons Granny Hua Geng had asked him to emerge from seclusion.
Conveniently, his Xuan Tian Vine had not consumed vital energy for a long time.
Qing Ling emerged from Bai Chun Valley and ascended directly towards the plaza atop Xi Mountain's peak. Flying was prohibited for tribespeople on Tai Chong Peak as a sign of respect for Xi Mountain's ancestral land.
However, only Golden Immortals and certain special positions were exempt from this prohibition.
Naturally, as the Saint Son of the tribe, Qing Ling was one of them.
By the time he reached the summit of Xi Mountain, the plaza was already crowded with a sea of people, gathered in their respective groups. Some chatted and discussed with acquaintances, while others stood alone at the edges, eyes closed in meditation. Each tribesperson had their own personality; not all could be enthusiastic and outgoing. Were they still cold-blooded serpents?
However, tribal gatherings nowadays were far better than they had been. At the very least, they no longer appeared to be a chaotic mix of humans and serpents. Everyone present was of Heavenly tier, having fully transformed and received the tribe's teachings.
Compared to the last epoch, when a sparse thirty-odd Heavenly tiers and a ground full of snake-people were present, this was a scene of civilization and enlightenment.
Qing Ling descended, landing on the mountain-top altar, standing tall before the assembled multitude. The mountain breeze gently billowed his blue robes, and the silk of the Sky-Shrouding Rope fluttered behind him. His handsome face was like the third month of spring, radiant and brilliant.
"Greetings, Saint Son!"
The moment Qing Ling appeared, the over two hundred tribespeople below turned solemn, bowed respectfully in unison, and hailed him.
The sight of over two hundred people bowing simultaneously was quite magnificent, especially when viewed from above. This sense of looking down upon others, as if controlling all beings, was indeed quite pleasant for Qing Ling.
Qing Ling smiled gently and said, "Esteemed tribespeople, you are too kind. Please rise quickly."
A large group below then rose, but they remained standing straight, their faces solemn and reverent, not a trace of their earlier casual demeanor.
Qing Ling couldn't help but praise inwardly. The tribe's education system had truly become established. The Xi Mountain Snake Tribe was increasingly displaying the bearing of a great clan.
However, he also discovered a rather awkward situation.
He had nothing to say.
He stood alone on the altar in the Saint Son's position. The Patriarch's seat higher up behind him and the seats of the other elders beside him were all empty.
The over two hundred people below stared straight ahead. Although their gazes did not meet due to the height difference, Qing Ling, facing over two hundred people standing respectfully and awaiting his speech, found himself unsure of what to say.
He was neither the Patriarch nor an elder, merely the Saint Son. Having been in seclusion for many years, he was not entirely clear on the division of tribal affairs. Thus, Qing Ling stood silently on the high platform, outwardly appearing as serene and noble as the spring breeze, but inwardly feeling a touch of awkwardness.
Qing Ling finally understood why those important figures always arrived last. The experience of arriving early was unpleasant, even though many wished to feel the sensation of power.
As his divine sense swept over the crowd below, he noticed that Xi Mountain had developed so rapidly in recent years, with over two hundred Heavenly tiers present.
And this did not include everyone, as Qi was not even present.
Among these tribespeople, there were many new faces and few old ones, a constant cycle of renewal. There were also over a dozen tribespeople with seemingly excellent foundations, and several who had reached the peak of Heavenly tier, showing potential to break through to the Golden Immortal realm.
However, as he observed these tribespeople, his divine sense suddenly picked up numerous voices.
"Wow, is this the Saint Son? He's not putting on any airs at all, arriving earlier than the elders."
"Why isn't the Saint Son speaking? Is he worried we won't listen to him?"
"Saint Son..."
A young man beside a maiden suddenly transmitted telepathically to interrupt her: "Hey, aren't you being annoying? We're transmitting, and the Saint Son might hear us."
"Ah? Is that possible? After all, although the Saint Son holds a noble status, he is only at the mid-Heavenly tier. With such a small difference in cultivation, a Golden Immortal's divine sense shouldn't be able to pry into our transmissions, right?" the maiden replied with a hint of doubt.
"That's true. The Saint Son probably can't hear us. But the Saint Son is truly the most handsome snake in the tribe, probably the most beautiful too. I saw that pervert from next door to our cave. When the spring seasons changed, he would smile foolishly at the Saint Son's statue and even preserved it using a spirit-imaging stone, keeping it with him at all times. I also heard..."
Qing Ling, standing on the high platform, froze in surprise. He felt speechless, wishing he could suddenly interject, "Who told you I couldn't hear you?" The feeling of standing above and listening to people secretly discussing him was truly...
With Qing Ling's powerful divine sense, comparable to that of a Golden Immortal, these telepathic transmissions were as clear as if spoken directly into his ear with a little focus. They were completely unhidden.
The other tribespeople below were also mostly engaged in hushed discussions in pairs.
"The Saint Son has been in seclusion for fifty thousand years, yet he's still only at the mid-Heavenly tier?"
"Who knows? Only the elders might know. Perhaps the Saint Son used all his cultivated spiritual energy to guide the spring season for us, which is why he's only at the Heavenly tier after so long."
"Alas, I see. So, both the Great and Small Spring Seasons were blessings bestowed upon us by the Saint Son, who depleted his own spiritual energy for Xi Mountain. The Saint Son truly lives up to his title as Xi Mountain's Spring God."
The more these two youths talked, the more their respect for Qing Ling intensified, and their postures became even straighter.
"Hey, hey, is this really our Saint Son? This is my first time seeing the Saint Son in person since I reached the Heavenly tier! He's even more beautiful than the statue of Xi Mountain's Spring God, which is worshipped every five thousand years during the Great Spring."
"Right, every eight hundred years for the Small Spring and five thousand years for the Great Spring. Even my grandmother worships Xi Mountain during each spring manifestation. My grandmother said it's a divine blessing and hope for countless spiritual snakes of Xi Mountain."
"Exactly. When my grandmother found out I'd reached the Heavenly tier and could come to Xi Mountain, she told me to greet the Saint Son on her behalf if I saw him. If I could get even a bit of spring essence, she told me to definitely bring it back and enshrine it in our cave. But with the tribal rules here on the plaza, I don't dare approach and ask."
Qing Ling listened, increasingly surprised. He had not expected his status among these new-generation Heavenly tier tribespeople to be so high. It seemed he would need to put in more effort and dedication for the Small Spring every eight hundred years and the Great Spring every five thousand years.
Just as Qing Ling was wondering when the elders would arrive, several streams of light shot out from below Xi Mountain, soaring over the heads of the crowd and landing beside Qing Ling.
As the colorful lights dissipated, Granny Hua Geng, holding the Patriarch's authority in the form of the Myriad Serpent Xuan Staff, appeared in the Patriarch's seat on the platform. Beside her, Venerables Chi, Du, and Chi Li successively appeared.
The "secret" transmissions from below instantly ceased, and everyone bowed in unison: "Greetings, Patriarch, greetings, Venerable Elders."
Granny Hua Geng stood at the head of the table and raised her hand with a smile, saying, "Please rise, everyone."
After everyone had risen, she smiled and said, "It has been a long time since the tribe convened a meeting. Today, we have gathered you here to discuss important matters of Xi Mountain according to tribal rules.
The next Great Beast War is approaching. Xi Mountain has grown to its current state, far surpassing the combined strength of the surrounding minor tribes. Therefore, you all must hold great expectations for this war!
However..."
Granny Hua Geng's tone shifted, and everyone's hearts tightened, fearing something unexpected was about to happen.
Hua Geng swept her gaze over the crowd below and then raised her voice with a smile, saying, "However, before the Great Beast War, there is an even greater piece of good news for the tribe!"
The tribespeople's hearts relaxed, and they let out a collective sigh of relief.
Hua Geng continued, "Before the Great Tribulation of the Primordial Ferocious Beasts, Xi Mountain was ranked seventeenth among the thirty-six Grotto-Heavens of the Primordial World, capable of housing and nurturing a hundred Golden Immortals. But with the outbreak of the ferocious beast tribulation, Xi Mountain was directly destroyed, falling from innate to acquired status, its spiritual energy greatly diminished, and it was removed from the thirty-six Grotto-Heavens.
Even so, Xi Mountain's spiritual脉 remains the most spiritually abundant among the surrounding hundred tribes, excluding the upper-tier clans.
However, it is still an acquired spiritual land. As our tribe gradually strengthens, Xi Mountain's spiritual脉 may one day be insufficient to support the cultivation of more tribespeople.
While this is not the case now, it may happen in the future.
Therefore, after consulting with the four elders, we have resolved to restore Xi Mountain's spiritual脉 to an innate spiritual land. This will allow Xi Mountain's internal spiritual energy to circulate, drawing in innate spiritual energy. Not only will it accommodate more powerful cultivators, but the natural laws and spiritual energy density within the grotto-heaven will also significantly increase. At that time... the benefits for all of you from Xi Mountain will be self-evident."
At these words, everyone below became extremely excited. Cultivating in an innate spiritual land was far superior to cultivating on an ordinary spiritual脉, and it also aided Heavenly tier cultivators in breaking through to Golden Immortals by allowing them to better comprehend the laws of heaven and earth and the intent of innateness.
Even Qing Ling was astonished. He had not expected Granny Hua Geng to possess such means to restore an innate spiritual land. It turned out Xi Mountain had once been one of the thirty-six Grotto-Heavens. No wonder his Bai Chun Valley could gather three lines of spiritual materials.
It seemed that the Sea Stabilizing Divine Pearl in his hand, along with other innate spiritual items of the tribe, would be needed to elevate Xi Mountain!