"My lady, shouldn't you be resting?"
Huang Zihuan had just finished his nightly check of the residence when he found his lady at her laptop, frowning.
"Tang Tianjie just sent over the rough village plans."
The young woman spoke calmly while turning the screen to show the elderly butler.
It showed a large-scale structure and layout resembling a small village. Huang Zihuan found the project impressive—worthy of a collaboration between the two great regional clans.
"This looks excellent, my lady."
"Mm... but I want to adjust it a bit."
Her response surprised him.
"Is there something you'd like to change, my lady?"
The elderly butler asked quickly. This project needed Bai Fanxian as its centerpiece. If she wanted changes, they should know early.
"...Look at this for me. Can it be done like this?"
They stayed up all night working on revisions. But Huang Zihuan's cultivation hadn't reached Grandmaster—unlike higher-level cultivators, he couldn't go without sleep. He'd had to rely on restorative elixirs to stay awake through the night.
The next morning, Bai Fanxian visited Barbatos again with her two small disciples. The children returned with two large bags of snacks—who knew how many victims Hui'er's palms had claimed today. After dropping off the children, Bai Fanxian dragged Wu Jia from the workshop. He'd been studying ten-thousand-year herbs with notes spread before him and clearly didn't want to leave.
The clinic operated normally today. But patients were surprised to find construction barriers going up around the adjacent area. Materials were being moved in to prepare the site.
"What are they building here?"
"...That's a serious number of people."
They weren't wrong. Both clans were going all-in. They spared no effort sending their people to make construction proceed as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
"There are so many cultivators."
Besides ordinary workers in construction gear, they spotted numerous cultivators. These people used their qi to move things or level the ground.
Patients watched them use strange tools to fell multiple trees with one swing, or punch the ground with qi to create holes and pits. They'd never seen work like this—hundreds of cultivators and ordinary workers coordinating seamlessly. The moment an area cleared, large groups rushed in to clean up. By mid-afternoon, the first phase of work was nearly done.
Whoosh!
Just then, a beautiful young woman in casual white appeared in the sky. Who else but Bai Fanxian, having just sent off the last patient.
"Grandmaster Bai!"
As she quietly observed the cleared area, excited voices called from below—a group of elderly men including Tang Tianjie, Zhu Jinming, and Xie Zizhou who'd hurried down from the north, practically rushing toward her with excitement.
More importantly, Elder Chen Deming, acting chairman of the Alchemist Association, was among them.
"It's been a while." The old man bowed respectfully. Though he lived far away, he'd heard many rumors that this young woman could produce miraculous pills with ease. His respect for her only deepened.
"...What brings you here?"
Bai Fanxian asked in surprise. She rarely saw this man venture out personally. Normally he'd send Master Sun to find her instead.
"The Alchemist Association will establish an eastern branch here. I came to scout the location and see if I can help."
His words caught her attention. "The Association is buying property here as well?"
"Grandmaster Bai, besides houses, we've converted some areas into public spaces to attract tourism. There are also facilities, shops, and agencies starting to show interest in opening branches here."
Hearing the explanation, she nodded. That would be good.
"Have you seen the city plan I sent...?"
Bai Fanxian changed the subject. At this mention, the old men brightened.
"I saw it! It's absolutely incredible!"
"I didn't think it could actually be done..."
"That's why I had to come myself."
They talked over each other until Tang Tianjie pulled out papers showing the village's structural layout and spread them on a hastily assembled table.
"I never imagined... you'd really use the entire village to create a Border."
They were looking at the village plan Bai Fanxian and Huang Zihuan had spent all night drawing. That morning she'd sent it to Tang Tianjie to refine into something functional.
In the design, all buildings were strategically positioned to enhance the Border's strength. However, destroying those buildings wouldn't bring down the Border. As long as the core pillars remained intact, it could restore itself.
"We'll pay for the raw materials ourselves."
They understood what a Border required and how many materials beyond the buildings themselves were needed.
"But I should warn you... this Border won't be as strong as my house or the clinic." Bai Fanxian cautioned. The wider a Border's scope, the more energy and materials it needed. What she would create wouldn't function as protective walls—just improve the climate and increase life force in the area.
"We understand."
The old men nodded eagerly. Just those benefits alone were enough to make them want to move here permanently. After all, at their age, what could be more valuable than an environment that could extend their lives and maintain their health?
"Then I'll begin..."
Bai Fanxian looked toward the workers finishing up. The area was large enough for a small village. She walked to the center, and many workers and cultivators turned to watch with confused expressions.
Many knew her. They worked for the two great clans that served under Bai Fanxian. But they wondered—what was she doing here?
"Now..."
BOOM!
A thunderous sound like something falling from the sky made everyone jump. Even cultivators stared in shock as a massive pillar appeared mid-air and plunged several meters deep. Dimensional rifts appeared all around the perimeter. They watched white pillars float out and embed themselves in a circle.
"...Begin."
Rumble...
Workers scattered away from Bai Fanxian in alarm. An unfathomable pressure manifested around her. Even Martial Master cultivators could only tremble and retreat.
All sixteen pillars glowed simultaneously, responding to her qi. White lines formed connections with Bai Fanxian at the center.
Strange characters gradually glowed on the ground. Those still in the area panicked, fearing danger. But the characters merely floated through them and arranged themselves in circles.
"..."
Bai Fanxian murmured an incantation. Materials she'd prepared floated around her, fusing with the white pillars to create a strange sight.
Tang Tianjie watching this could barely contain his emotions. His decision to sell off businesses had been the right investment. As long as the Tang clan followed this young woman, those few billion yuan wouldn't matter.
The moment the energy and characters connected completely, everyone within the Border felt the atmosphere changing.
Though beside the sea, no one felt any stickiness. The wind across their faces was so refreshing they breathed it in several times. The gathered old men closed their eyes, clearly sensing the life force slowly increasing.
The formation filled with unknown characters glowed one final time before dissipating. The white pillars sank several more meters underground, leaving an empty lot. Bai Fanxian still stood at the center. Despite the large area, she'd used only low-grade materials—except for those sixteen pillars made from grade-four materials.
But they weren't as valuable as ancient herbs. Bai Fanxian had kept these stored away unused for ages. She might as well put them to use.
She watched the people within the Border. They walked back and forth with disbelieving expressions. Some began thinking that living here might extend their lives considerably.
What no one knew was this wasn't over. Bai Fanxian had one more experiment she hadn't tried.
She extended her hand and closed her eyes, sensing the Eternal Myriad Heavens within her body. Before, she'd used it to improve medicines' properties and grades. But this would be the first time using it to enhance a Border —deliberately, by her own intention.
Flash!
The white light reappeared. Bai Fanxian touched those ancient characters with her fingertips. The power of Eternal Myriad Heavens within her released tremendously, causing the newly-created Border to tremble. She quickly stopped before it could collapse. But an astounding result had already occurred!
Life force from Eternal Myriad Heavens had successfully integrated with the Border!
Fortunately Bai Fanxian stopped in time. She'd never released so much at once and found herself startled. She felt the medicine power in her body decrease, but it was rapidly recovering.
What mattered most wasn't that. The life force concentration within this Border felt very familiar to her.
This was... like ten thousand years ago?
Bai Fanxian wasn't alone in her shock. The gathered old men were trembling. They slowly sensed the energy in the air, barely able to believe it. With this power level, even old Martial Masters like them believed they could advance to Grandmaster within a few years.
Tang Tianjie swallowed hard. He turned toward the young woman at the Border's center, eyes closed and face upturned.
It seemed this time Grandmaster Bai had created something extraordinary once again.
Something that every cultivator in the world would yearn for—
A true Cultivators' Paradise!