"Jin'er..." A sweet, endearing voice called, filled with happiness and love.
Mao Jin looked at his mother, and a bright smile appeared on his face. "Mother..."
Liu Zexian stopped feeding the spirit fish when she saw her only son. Others might have seen him as trash, but to her, he meant the world.
"Come, come. Has anyone bullied you?" she asked, checking his body for any bruises or injuries.
Looking at his mother treating him like he was still a child, Mao Jin wore a helpless smile. "Mother, no one dares to bully me. Besides, I'm no longer a kid."
"Good." She nodded and led him to a small pavilion in the courtyard, preparing tea for him.
Many would have expected the wife of the sect master to have many servants and maids, but she had none.
There wasn't a single servant or maid in their small villa. She loved a peaceful and calm environment where she could be herself and be closer to nature.
Thus, the sect master built a small villa deep in the core area, where only a few could visit.
Mao Jin took a sip of the spirit tea and felt a stream of pure spiritual energy wash through his meridians, causing his cultivation to increase slightly.
Previously, with his low talent, he had not understood the importance of spirit tea, but now he knew.
"Mother, can I have a few spirit tea leaves?" he asked.
"Of course, you can. Anything for my baby," Liu Zexian responded dotingly as she brought out a jade box filled with spirit tea leaves.
After placing the spirit tea box in his spatial pouch, the mother and son chatted idly for a moment before Mao Jin asked, "Where is my father?"
"Are you not here to see your mother?" Liu Zexian feigned a sad expression.
"Of course, I'm here to see my beautiful mother," Mao Jin responded quickly.
"Haha, good. I know my son loves me the most." A sweet smile appeared on her face. "Your father is having a meeting with the elders. Tell me what you need, and I'll give it to you."
Mao Jin smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Mother, I need soul contracts."
After thinking for a day, he had come up with a plan to employ more disciples in creating the Spirit Links and Relay Hubs.
Just like an assembly line, each part of the device would be made by a different team while he would complete the finishing touches.
"Why would you need a soul contract?" Liu Zexian asked with a slight frown. She could indulge her son's shenanigans, but she wouldn't allow him to stray onto the evil path.
Looking at his mother, he knew he needed to convince her, or he could forget about getting the soul contracts.
"Mother, do you trust your son?" he asked, his face filled with seriousness.
Watching the serious expression on his face, she was shocked. This was the first time she had ever seen her son .
"Yes. If I don't trust you, who would I trust?" she responded with a light smile.
"I'll explain everything to you and Father if I succeed in what I'm doing. But for now, I want to keep it a secret. And if you're worried about me stepping onto the evil path, you don't have to worry."
"With such a beautiful mother, why would I waste my time on such a useless path?" Mao Jin's voice was full of confidence and disdain for the evil path.
Liu Zexian did not respond immediately and stared at her son for a moment. She did not know when her son had become so eloquent, filled with confidence and pride.
She had been worried about her son's mental health. Having such low talent was a difficult burden to bear, but now it seemed her son had overcome it.
"Since I trust you, I won't question it any further," she finally said. "But you must not keep me waiting."
"How many do you need?"
She was shocked for a moment but chose to trust her son. She disappeared, leaving only her voice behind.
Five minutes later, she returned and gave him ten soul contracts. "Be careful with this contract. The only ones who could break it are Nascent Soul experts."
"I will," Mao Jin responded.
With the soul contracts in hand, he did not delay any longer and departed. Every minute counted, as he couldn't wait to begin the next phase of his plan.
Meanwhile, Zhao Tian acted swiftly, and news about the Spirit Links spread like wildfire. Servants and maids whispered in twos and threes.
"Is it true we can talk with our parents if we buy the ancient artifact?"
"Yes, I saw my mistress holding a palm-sized jade, talking all night with her friend."
"Not only you, I saw my master and his friend holding the palm-sized jade. I think it's true."
"Ah, I wish I could buy the artifact, but I don't have one thousand lower spirit stones."
"You don't need that much. You just need to sign an IOU with Zhao Tian, and you'll get one."
"Yes. I heard that if we don't buy it now, the price will increase next week."
As news of the ancient artifact spread through the inner sect, with Zhao Tian making bold claims, many who had been uninterested before immediately placed orders.
In a courtyard, Zhao Tian stood before three inner elders. Two were playing a game of Go.
"Tian, do you mean what you said about this artifact?" one of the elders playing Go asked skeptically.
"Yes. Why would I lie to you?" he responded confidently.
"This is the first model of the artifact. If you don't buy this model, you won't be able to use the second model, which will allow you to talk to your friends beyond the sect. And it won't be limited to five people—it will allow you to talk to hundreds."
"Apart from that, the price will be ten times the original, and you might not even have the opportunity to buy it then."
The inner elder playing Go stopped and looked at Zhao Tian. "Let's see this magical device," one of the elders remarked.
A bright smile appeared on Zhao Tian as he brought out the Spirit Link and Relay Hub.
Looking at the crudely made Spirit Link, the three elders exchanged subtle glances but did not comment.
He taught them how to use the Spirit Link and register their device on the Relay Hub.
"Old Tiger, go to the sect gate."
The inner elder called Old Tiger nodded and disappeared. The two remaining elders looked at each other, and one sent a portion of his spiritual energy into the Spirit Link.
The Spirit Link vibrated, and a moment later, Old Tiger's voice came from the device.
Hearing his voice so clearly, the two elders were stupefied.
Looking at their dumbfounded expressions, Zhao Tian knew the fish had taken the bait.
Meanwhile, Mao Jin had ten talented disciples in runes and formations sign a soul contract, and the third phase of the plan was about to begin.