The size of this small world wasn't particularly large. It spanned about five or six hundred meters in diameter, and beyond that lay a blank, white expanse where Lin Xiao couldn't venture any further.
He looked up, noting that the light and time in this small world seemed to correspond with the outside world. It appeared that the flow of time here wasn't different from the outside world, contrary to his earlier assumptions.
Lin Xiao wandered around the Crescent Lake, noting nothing particularly unusual, except for the remarkably clear water. He cupped some water in his hand and stored it in his private vault, using the system's identification function.
[Crescent Lake Water, sourced from the Yaoguang Small World. High-quality water. When paired with any spirit vein, it can be upgraded to premium spiritual lake water.]
Upon seeing this identification result, Lin Xiao was pleasantly surprised.
He hadn't expected much from the barren Yaoguang Floating Island, yet this small world attached to it was quite promising.
Given this, he began to have higher expectations for the value of the various flowers blooming throughout the small world. They might be of considerable worth as well. However, for now, this wasn't a pressing matter—especially since he didn't have any spare spirit veins available.
What mattered most right now was expanding the sect. The current cultivation rooms were becoming quite cramped!
Having toured the small world, Lin Xiao quickly left through the entrance and returned to the Yaoguang Floating Island.
Without changing the entrance location or starting any major plans, he opened the Resident Management tab and clicked on the option to add new residents. The sect's member list appeared, and Lin Xiao immediately added everyone.
This ensured that all the sect members could access the floating island.
Once this was done, Lin Xiao wasted no time descending back to the main sect grounds. He was eager to show everyone the floating island and see their reactions.
A floating island in the sky—how cool was that?
He could already imagine his father's astonished expression when he saw it.
Forgetting that he had told Liu Yunan earlier about being busy, Lin Xiao excitedly summoned all the sect members to gather in front of the small garden that led to the secret realm.
The gathered members, seeing Lin Xiao's excitement, were confused but thrilled that their sect master had returned. They all greeted him warmly, asking about his adventures in the cultivation world.
After signaling everyone to quiet down, Lin Xiao grinned and waved them over.
"Everyone, follow me!" he said, taking the lead.
The group trailed behind Lin Xiao, following him to the newly appeared stone platform. Jiang Youfu squinted to see past the others in front of him and spotted the stone platform.
"Huh? Lin Xiao, is this something new you've added?" Jiang Youfu asked curiously.
Standing before the stone platform, Lin Xiao turned around and nodded.
"That's right. What I'm about to show you is up there," he said, pointing toward the sky.
Everyone followed his gesture and looked up.
"Huh? What's that big black thing up there?" someone asked.
"No idea. It's pretty big, but it's not moving or anything. Just hanging there."
"I don't know why, but the more I look at it, the more it looks like an upside-down mountain," another remarked.
"That's impossible! How could a mountain flip upside-down and float in the sky? Wait… actually, it does look like a mountain…"
Amused by the chatter, Lin Xiao decided not to keep them in suspense any longer. "Everyone, follow me. We're going up there right now!"
Without waiting for more questions, Lin Xiao stepped onto the stone platform. In an instant, a flash of white light enveloped him, and he disappeared.
Jiang Youfu was the first to follow, rushing forward. "Lin Xiao, wait for me!" he called, stepping onto the platform and vanishing in a similar flash of light.
Lin Da You, Lin Yun, and Liu Yunan quickly followed suit, with others behind them.
Upon arriving on the floating island, Lin Xiao felt someone bump into him from behind. Thankfully, he was stable enough to remain standing. Turning around, he saw Jiang Youfu rubbing his forehead.
"Lin Xiao, your head is so hard! That hurt," Jiang Youfu complained.
Before Lin Xiao could respond, another flash of light signaled the arrival of more people. He quickly pulled Jiang Youfu aside to avoid a collision. Lin Da You, Lin Yun, and Liu Yunan emerged, and Lin Xiao had to pull them aside as well to prevent any mishaps as more sect members began appearing.
Among the next group to arrive was Tie Tou, who was accompanied by two young girls, along with Xiao Luan and Da Tao.
In total, each transport brought up to five people at a time. Lin Xiao confirmed with everyone that they had tried stepping onto the platform in larger groups, but it seemed that five was the maximum capacity per trip.
"Maybe the number will increase as the island upgrades," Lin Xiao thought, pondering the system's potential.
When all the sect members had gathered on the island, they looked around at the vast, empty expanse of land, surrounded by a thick mist.
Jiang Youfu was the first to speak up. "Lin Xiao, where are we?"
Lin Xiao smiled. "This is the place we saw from below earlier. We're standing on a floating island, high in the sky."
His words caused a wave of disbelief to ripple through the crowd. The members quickly scattered, heading for the island's edges.
Upon reaching the island's perimeter, they were amazed to see the drifting clouds below and felt a mix of awe and disbelief.
Tentatively, some leaned over to peer down, spotting their now-miniaturized sect buildings and even Xiushui Village in the distance.
"We're really in the sky!" someone exclaimed.
"I can see the sect's main hall from here!" another cried out.
"This is amazing! Are we really like immortals now? We can live in the heavens!" others chimed in excitedly.
Though they had been cultivating for some time, the notion of living in the sky still felt surreal. Even with the ability to use techniques to fly temporarily, they had always expected to eventually return to the ground.
Living permanently in the sky had never seemed possible.
Seeing how delighted everyone was and noting that no one appeared particularly afraid of heights, Lin Xiao felt relieved. He then addressed the group:
"As you all know, the space on the mountainside isn't enough to accommodate our future growth. Although we've been expanding towards Beishan, that's mainly for the new disciples we'll recruit later.
"For now, we'll keep the mountainside as our public-facing area, but the more important matters and facilities—those we'll move up here."