Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

That morning.

Zhang Li controlled the Heavenly Sun Sword to smooth out the last area. Suddenly, a muffled rumble came from the distant sky, startling flocks of birds in the mountains and causing ripples to spread across the lake.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a huge black shadow suddenly appear in the distant sky, heading towards him at an extremely fast speed.

In a short while, the shadowy figure was only a hundred feet away from him.

At this moment, Zhang Li finally saw clearly what the black shadow was. It was a flying spirit boat that was about several tens of feet long and several tens of feet wide. The spirit boat was dark blue all over, and a flag with the Qingxuan Sect logo was flying on the mast.

Before long, the giant ship slowly slowed down and landed gently in the nearby forest, crushing a large number of trees, and the heavy planks came down with a loud thud.

A monk dressed in a gray steward's robe was the first to step off the deck, followed by dozens of farmers.

Because it was necessary to cultivate spiritual fields and build fish farms, these farmers were mainly young and middle-aged people, including two teenagers who clearly had cultivation and should be menial servants in the sect.

Zhang Li stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother. I am Zhang Li. Senior Brother, you have come all the way from the Immortal City. You must be tired from your journey."

"Qian Hong." The steward waved his hand, glanced at the lakeside clearing that had been repaired, and nodded, saying, "It's not hard work, it's all for the sect. But Junior Brother Zhang has really worked hard these past few days repairing the terrain."

"It's all for the sect's sake," Zhang Li said, waving his hand.

After exchanging pleasantries, Qian Hong got straight to the point: "The people who came with me to Crescent Lake are all here, including two handyman disciples, two spirit planters, two spirit cultivation masters, twenty-eight ordinary farmers, and all the materials needed to build the spirit field, as well as the fish fry, are here."

As he spoke, Qian Hong took out a storage bag and a spirit beast bag from his sleeve, along with a list of supplies, and handed them to Zhang Li.

"Junior brother, please check the quantity first to confirm it is correct, then affix the guard seal. I still need to take the spirit boat to another resource point for handover, so we can't delay."

Zhang Li reached out and took the three items, then checked them one by one according to the supplies list.

He knew that the protective array, the Ink Blood Spirit Rice Seeds, and the fish fry were the foundation of the entire spirit field, and no mistakes could be tolerated. Therefore, he prioritized inspecting these three types of essential materials.

Upon opening the spirit beast pouch, one by one, fresh fish fry swam among them, their size and quantity matching the list. Afterward, the spirit seeds in the storage bag were checked, and there were no problems.

As for the other supplies, Zhang Li quickly checked the list and then said, "The quantities of all supplies are correct."

After speaking, Zhang Li took out the jade tablet, infused it with a trace of magic power, and left a clear mark below the supply list.

"The handover is complete. These people are now in your care, Junior Brother." Qian Hong clasped his hands in a fist salute as he received the supplies list and said, "Take care, Junior Brother Zhang."

"Take care of yourself."

After speaking, Qian Hong boarded the ship again. The spirit ship's engine roared once more, and the dark blue giant ship slowly rose into the air, crushing the clouds above, and headed towards the next resource point.

Once the spirit boat had flown far away, Zhang Li looked at the group of farmers and two young servants standing in a neat row in front of him.

Upon seeing this, all the farmers and laborers immediately bowed and paid their respects, showing the utmost deference.

These farmers are ordinary people who have relied on the Qingxuan Sect for generations. They rely on managing the spiritual fields to exchange for the sect's protection and worldly stability. The servant disciples know that Zhang Li, who is stationed here, is their superior. His word can determine life and death, and they cannot afford to offend him.

"We have come to pay our respects to the Immortal Master!"

"No need for formalities." Zhang Li's tone was calm, without putting on any airs. "I am Zhang Li, the guardian of Crescent Lake. For the next seven years, I will be in charge of all matters related to the entire spiritual fields, the lake's fishing grounds, and taxes. You only need to work diligently and conscientiously, and you will be rewarded with money and spiritual rice at the end of the year. If anyone tries to cheat or shirk their duties, the sect's rules will take care of it."

"Yes, we will remember the Immortal Master's instructions!" the crowd replied hastily.

Seeing this, Zhang Li nodded and continued, "The first thing to do is to use local materials to build houses."

As he spoke, Zhang Li took out the spiritual field planning map customized by the sect and pointed to a flat highland on the opposite shore of the small island in the lake: "That flat land is sunny and sheltered from the wind. It is not far from the spiritual field lake and it is convenient to fetch water. We will build a row of wooden houses here. Wang Mu and Li He, you two have cultivation, so you can assist from the side."

"Yes!" Wang Mu and Li He immediately accepted the order.

The farmers immediately changed direction, took out their own tools, and began digging foundations to prepare for building their houses.

After the farmers dispersed and began their work, Li Mu hesitated for a moment, then quickly walked to Zhang Li's side, bowed, and asked in a low voice, "Immortal Master, these houses along the shore are for the farmers to live in. Where will your courtyard for daily living and cultivation be built?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Li looked up at the small island in the middle of the lake and said calmly, "From now on, you two can call me Senior Brother. Don't worry about my accommodation for now. You should focus on helping the farmers build their shelters first."

"Yes, senior brother." Li Mu and Wang Mu bowed in unison.

The farmers have their own things to do, and so does he. Now that the protective array has arrived, it's time to set it up.

"First, set up the outermost perimeter of the defensive formation."

Having made up his mind, Zhang Li took out four cyan-patterned array plates from his storage bag. Setting up the outermost warning array was not difficult; he only needed to bury the array plates underground according to the predetermined positions and depths on the blueprints.

Setting up the inner defensive array is much more difficult. Several key array plates must be buried precisely on several spiritual vein nodes, otherwise it will affect the array plates' ability to absorb the spiritual vein's power, resulting in a weakening of the defensive array plates' power.

Logically speaking, such delicate work should be entrusted to specialized monks.

Unfortunately, spirit array masters are extremely valuable, even more so than alchemists. They are few and far between within sects, and most of them are stationed in core and important locations such as sects and immortal cities. It is simply impossible to assign a spirit array master to a remote and peripheral spirit field like Crescent Lake.

Therefore, this task could only fall to him.

Fortunately, the layout and precautions were clearly marked on the planning drawings.

It's a bit troublesome, but as long as you follow the instructions, nothing will go wrong.

After a flurry of activity, it was already midnight. Zhang Li buried the last array plate in the center of the path in the lake, then took out the central token that controlled the two arrays and injected a stream of magic power into it.

hum-

A low, subtle vibration traveled along the underground spiritual veins throughout the entire lake area. First, a nearly transparent, circular light shield rose from all sides and closed in, enveloping the entire spiritual field.

"The outer boundary array is fine."

Then Zhang Li injected another burst of magical power into the central spirit plate.

The next instant, thick, dark spiritual light surged forth from the four spiritual vein nodes in the inner circle, and the four light curtains connected and converged, forming a solid protective shield in the core area of ​​the spiritual field.

Then another low tremor came from underground, and the inner and outer protective shields trembled slightly before disappearing into nothingness, becoming imperceptible to the naked eye.

"It's done!"

Only after confirming that the two formations were working smoothly together did Zhang Li breathe a sigh of relief.

Just then, two hurried footsteps came from the path on the bank. Wang Mu and Li He quickly walked up to Zhang Li and bowed.

"Senior Brother Zhang, the entire row of wooden houses where the farmers live has been completed," Wang Mu reported.

"Well done." Zhang Li nodded lightly. "Give the order that everyone get a good rest tonight and meet at the riverbank at noon tomorrow."

"Yes, senior brother." The two bowed and accepted the order, then left the small island in the lake.

With the protective formations already in place and the farmers settled in, the Crescent Lake spiritual site has finally been established.