Emerging from the courtyard, he led the three women directly towards the dining hall. Breakfast was typically taken in their own private quarters, but lunch was a different affair.

Under normal circumstances, Ye Wen's disciples would gather here for their midday meal, though occasionally they might join their own disciples for lunch. Those without disciples, however, were invariably present.

Beyond this, it was the evening meal where virtually no one missed attendance. It was possible to miss lunch if one were preoccupied with other matters, but dinner served as the crucial occasion for this group to convene, converse, and strengthen their fellowship as fellow sect members—no one would skip it.

As the Shu Mountain Sect gradually expanded, its disciples increased in number, prompting Ye Wen to place ever greater importance on their bond, fearing that a lack of interaction over time might erode their fraternity, potentially leading to internal conflict.

Fortunately, his current disciples generally got along well; even those with less intimate friendships harbored no significant discord.

Taking his seat at the head of the table, he found the expansive board already crowded. A quick glance revealed an unusually full attendance today. Spotting Li Xiaoyao earnestly conversing with Yuwentuo, Ye Wen immediately understood that the disciples had gathered partly to meet their newest junior brother.

They had also, of course, come to see their new Shiniang!

Artemis settled down next to Ye Wen. Huayi willingly ceded her original seat, partly to signal to everyone that this was their new Hua Niang, and partly to prevent Artemis from feeling awkward in such a setting.

Huayi then took a seat beside Artemis, with Xu Xian and Huang Rongrong occupying the next spot. Further down the table sat the rest of the disciples.

Mino, however, had somehow managed to squeeze in. If the table hadn't been so large and chairs so plentiful, finding a spot might have been a genuine issue. Sitting there, he surveyed Xu Xian while continuously glancing around, seemingly searching for Lingzhu.

Huayi was also looking, and after failing to spot him for a moment, she asked Zhiruo, who was seated nearby, "Where is Lingzhu?"

Zhou Zhiruo looked utterly perplexed; she had no idea where Lingzhu had gone. Nangong Huang, sitting nearby, chuckled, "Junior Brother Lingzhu seems to have suffered some sort of shock; he hasn't left his room since yesterday!"

Hearing this, Huayi instantly understood, covered her mouth, and chuckled softly. "In that case, we shouldn't worry about him. Let's just eat!"

Ye Wen, however, felt a stirring of curiosity. Recalling Lingzhu running off in tears yesterday and Huayi’s remark just now, he surmised there was some hidden story and pressed further, "Yesterday, Lingzhu eagerly waited at the mountain gate, only to run away crying shortly after. Is there a tale behind this?"

Since he did not pick up his chopsticks, no one dared to start eating! Artemis stared blankly at the pair of small wooden sticks before her. She was unfamiliar with the Eastern custom of eating with such implements and wondered if they were expected to revert to eating with their hands.

Consequently, everyone fixed their attention on Huayi, assuming that if she didn't answer, this meal would not commence. Huayi reluctantly recounted the entire affair, eliciting reactions from the group that ranged from wry smiles to outright schadenfreude.

It turned out that ever since Lingzhu became Huayi's disciple, his life had been pure agony. Although the reformed Heavenly Demon Art incorporated certain concepts from the Tai Chi Divine Skill, its overall methodology remained true to the Heavenly Demon Art lineage.

As is widely known, the Heavenly Demon Art is designed for female practitioners. Setting aside the sheer awkwardness of a male like Lingzhu learning it, the accompanying techniques, such as the Heavenly Demon Dance, were enough to make Lingzhu depressed to the point of despair.

Huayi began by teaching him the very basics of dance. When inspiration struck, she even incorporated elements from yoga, flexibility exercises, and rhythmic gymnastics. Lingzhu initially didn't question it, but the more he practiced, the more something felt fundamentally wrong. He might not have known what these activities were, but he certainly wasn't an idiot.

The effeminate movements, combined with the embarrassing outfits his master occasionally insisted he try on, made Lingzhu increasingly uneasy. By this time, regretting his decision was too late; Huayi had already imparted most of the foundational skills, and he was beginning to achieve proficiency in the Heavenly Demon Art. Now, if Lingzhu simply stood still without speaking, he looked precisely like a young girl.

Later, Huayi grew bolder, simply having Lingzhu wear women's clothing. Under the implicit pressure of his master, Lingzhu naturally dared not refuse, though he did voice a small protest, arguing that as a man, he shouldn't always wear women's attire!

Huayi countered with, "You look perfectly suited to it! Besides, with your features, you hardly look like a man. Even in male attire, people might mistake you for a woman in disguise!"

Lingzhu felt his self-esteem deeply wounded. He vowed to prove to his master that he still possessed genuine manliness and was indeed unsuited for feminine clothing. It was at this crucial moment that Ye Wen returned with his newly accepted disciple, Yuwentuo. Huayi told Lingzhu, "Go greet your Junior Brother Yuwen. If he can tell you are a man, then it proves you are not suited for female attire; if the opposite proves true..." Everyone in Shu Mountain knew Lingzhu's true identity, making him unsuitable for the test, so they needed someone who had never met him. Hearing his master's words, Lingzhu thought this was a perfect plan, so he excitedly rushed to the mountain gate to await Ye Wen and the others' arrival. The result... well, the result speaks for itself.

After learning the truth, Ye Wen was speechless, choosing not to offer any commentary on his wife's peculiar sense of humor. While Lingzhu's talent had indeed improved somewhat, surely this method of instruction was excessive? How would he ever marry in the future? Snapping back to reality, Ye Wen realized that in the cultivation world, worrying about getting a wife seemed somewhat superfluous.

Yuwentuo also felt a twinge of awkwardness, realizing he had inadvertently become an accessory to this situation. It felt akin to someone teetering on the edge of a cliff, desperately reaching out for help, only for oneself to deliver a final kick that sent them plunging down.

With that thought, Yuwentuo spoke up, "Perhaps... I should go apologize to Senior Brother Lingzhu?"

"No need. Since he has taken me as his master, he must inherit my legacy!" Huayi stated this with solemn seriousness, though everyone present understood clearly that Huayi's true ultimate skill was the Five-Colored Divine Light; while the Heavenly Demon Art possessed considerable might, it was no longer her greatest technique.

As for the Five-Colored Divine Light... surely that didn't necessitate wearing women's clothing? However, no one voiced these thoughts, letting the matter pass—after all, it wasn't they who were suffering.

"Speaking of which, that Peacock Great Bright King, Kong Xuan, also possessed an appearance akin to a woman. Could this be fate?" Ye Wen's thoughts drifted further. He mused that if Lingzhu inherited Huayi's legacy, he would inevitably practice the Five-Colored Divine Light, which was Kong Xuan's unique skill. Kong Xuan's original form was a peacock, and even in human shape, he was strikingly beautiful, hardly the image of a typical man...

Shaking his head, Ye Wen dismissed these matters from his mind. He picked up his chopsticks and announced, "Eat!" Then, he casually picked up a piece of chicken breast and offered it to his junior sister.

He immediately followed by picking up a piece of fish for Artemis, and then a cut of pork heart for Huayi. It was then that Ye Wen noticed—why were most of the dishes today meat-based?

"Master, you are unaware. Hunting near Shu Mountain is scarce, but vegetables rely entirely on our own cultivation. With so many disciples, greens are limited!"

"Didn't Senior Cui help us secure some vegetable plots? Aren't they sufficient?"

Cui Jun was not present, so he couldn't inquire with that Gourd Immortal. Ye Wen instead turned to Zheng Ying, who offered a wry smile. "Initially, we focused only on the issues of rice and flour, neglecting vegetables! However, I have already started expanding the vegetable fields with Senior Cui. In a few months, the shortage of vegetables won't be an issue!"

Ye Wen nodded. Though the Shu Mountain Sect had flourished over the past decade, the primary focus had been on enhancing individual strength; mundane matters like material comfort had lagged behind.

However, Zheng Ying hadn't been idle these ten years. He had actually managed to install running water and electricity in every single structure within Shu Mountain. Now, people no longer needed to draw water from the few fixed wells.

Furthermore, the old latrines had been renovated into new, flushing commodes, and the number of bathrooms had significantly increased. Fewer modifications were made in the inner courtyard because most residents there didn't require such facilities.

It was rumored that Zheng Ying's next plan was to equip every room with a private bathing area, but this project was substantial, potentially requiring the reconstruction of some buildings, and was still in the planning stages.

While eating and listening to the report from this 'Shu Mountain Chief Engineer,' Ye Wen felt an increasing sense of strangeness, as if he were presiding over not an immortal sect, but a city.

"In addition, the first batch of the immortal realm version of the mobile phone is ready. Senior Cui is arranging to begin trial sales. If the response is good, we can launch the official version!" A major hurdle for the immortal version of the phone was signal strength, but with omnipotent immortal arts, a solution was not impossible. Cui Jun and Zheng Ying spent considerable time researching and ultimately solved the problem without needing satellites.

The solution relied on arrays! Simply put, each phone contained an array, part of which was unique to that specific device. Zheng Ying even used numbers as identifiers for each phone. For another phone to contact it, the corresponding 'key'—the dialing process—needed to be entered.

Once dialed successfully, the arrays within the two phones established a direct connection. Immortal arts, transmitted directly without a satellite intermediary, allowed the signal to instantly bridge distance, completely ignoring terrain.

In essence, the functionality of this phone was comparable to those on Earth, yet far superior—it required almost no charging! It was also more durable and included a video function!

These features held significant appeal even for Golden Immortals, let alone the Earth Immortals who constituted the vast majority of the population in the immortal realm. Widespread adoption, perhaps even one phone per person, was inevitable. The Shu Mountain Sect could leverage this to raise the necessary resources for its development.

High-end resources were hard to earn, but mid-to-low-grade resources formed the crucial foundation of any sect. The resources supplied by Yang Jian in support of Shu Mountain were nearly exhausted. If the sect lacked a new method, its development risked reverting to the old path of relying solely on individual fortuitous encounters and comprehension for breakthroughs.

Without even the most basic personal magical artifacts, Shu Mountain disciples would lack status when traveling—it would be too shabby!

If the mobile phone could be successfully launched, setting other benefits aside, Shu Mountain disciples would at least cease worrying about their own artifacts, and Ye Wen's ring could finally unleash its true power.

Over the years, conscious of Shu Mountain's limited resources, Ye Wen had hesitated to summon recklessly. He only experimented occasionally, carefully selecting schematics suitable for the sect's development and utility before sharing them, such as the Sun-Moon Divine Sword, which he passed to Zheng Ying because its manufacturing was simple, required few materials, and it could be mass-produced and sold.

As for the genuine Silver Flood Dragon Sword, after reviewing the schematic, Ye Wen realized it demanded too much. Although he possessed the blueprint, he kept it hidden. It was an artifact inferior to the Purple Clear Twin Swords, and manufacturing it would likely empty Shu Mountain’s treasury instantly.

Of course, many counterfeit versions had been produced. For example, the Sun and Moon Golden Wheels, a pair of artifacts for which Ye Wen had summoned counterfeit blueprints long ago, were not difficult to manufacture since the sect already possessed similar prototypes. Upon completion, they were immediately given to the sect's Xuan Tian Sect leader for use.

Moreover, Xuan Tian Sect diligently cultivated, mastering his original sect's Water Mist Palm to its peak and achieving the Circular Barrier of Reversion, a defensive technique that had left a profound impression on Ye Wen years ago. He even referenced principles from this technique when using his Purple Star River Vitality.

Now that Xuan Tian Sect had mastered it, with his power far surpassing that of the Nine Sword Immortal back then, combined with the protection of the Sun and Moon Golden Wheels, even if he couldn't defeat others, it would be extremely difficult for others to defeat him.

Besides Xuan Tian Sect, Dan Chenzi—the disciple of Zhou Zhiruo, who was herself the disciple of Chang Mei Daoist, and whom Ye Wen had specifically designated—now possessed his own magical artifact. Despite his usual Taoist robes, when engaging in combat, he wore gleaming silver armor, complemented by a large pair of wings composed of sharp blades attached to his back.

When Ye Wen first gave him that Taoist title, he harbored this very image, and in ten years, his disciple Zheng Ying had made it a reality!

After Dan Chenzi matured, Zheng Ying claimed he wanted to give him a gift. Dan Chenzi had expected Ye Wen to draw the schematic for the iron wings, but after waiting in vain, Zheng Ying took matters into his own hands and designed them himself.

Thus, while Dan Chenzi's wings might appear simple, valued mainly for their sharpness, Zheng Ying invested considerable effort into them, embedding numerous subtle functions and restrictions within the structure.

Cui Jun also contributed suggestions, such as embedding arrays that utilized the 'Mustard Seed Universe' principle. If Dan Chenzi activated them fully, the cluster of iron wings could expand to three or five hundred meters wide, leaving nothing intact within several hundred meters when wielded. If Dan Chenzi's own cultivation was formidable, and he unleashed sword energy, expanding the wings to a thousand meters was theoretically possible.

However, Zheng Ying dismissed the 'thousand-meter giant wings' as merely a bluff with little practical value, so Dan Chenzi didn't take the possibility too seriously. More importantly, achieving the full expansion would require cultivation at least up to the peak of the Earth Immortal realm.

In addition to this, the wings could generate wind and thunder, a feature suggested by Cui Jun, inspired by Lei Zhenzi of the Heavenly Court's Thunder Department, who possessed similar Wind and Thunder Wings. Cui Jun incorporated analogous arrays into Dan Chenzi's wings, though the power of the wind and thunder they could summon was far less potent than Lei Zhenzi’s set.

As for Dan Chenzi’s master, Chang Mei Daoist, he carried a set of imitation Purple Firmament and Green Cable swords. Though they were imitations, they were enhanced ones—not the standard products manufactured for mass sale within Shu Mountain. These were finely crafted; while not overwhelmingly powerful, they were sufficient for Chang Mei at his current level.

Apart from these few disciples, few others in Shu Mountain possessed such unique magical artifacts. These individuals were among the elite of the younger generation and thus merited their own specialized equipment.

After finishing the meal and learning about the current situation of his junior disciples, Ye Wen inquired about his grand-disciples: Chang Qing, Ling Shan, and Liu Mengli.

He learned that Liu Mengli was currently in deep seclusion, preparing to attempt the breakthrough to Earth Immortal. Chang Qing and Ling Shan had also grown up and begun their cultivation in earnest. Naturally, they still attended classes in literature under Xu Xian and Wei Hong. From appearances, both children possessed decent aptitude and should, hopefully, reach the Earth Immortal realm.

He then asked Zheng Ying about his recent plans. Upon hearing that the young man had started collaborating with Cui Jun on the immortal realm versions of 'cars and airplanes,' Ye Wen decided to stop asking. He felt he couldn't keep up with his disciple's thought process, especially as the verbose Zheng Ying hinted at a plan to transform the entire Shu Mountain into a massive, mobile super-battleship, causing Ye Wen to constantly wipe sweat from his brow.

"Once successful, we can crush anyone we encounter!"

The long-winded Zheng Ying concluded his extensive discourse—filled with jargon or, as others might call it, 'nonsense'—with that single declaration, before returning his attention to his food, his rice bowl barely touched even near the meal’s end.

No longer disturbing Zheng Ying, Ye Wen turned to Li Xiaoyao. The young man and Nangong Huang were deep in conversation again, now joined by Yuwentuo. Ye Wen leaned in slightly and caught Li Xiaoyao saying, "Let's guess when Master will bring back a Chen Jingqiu."

"I think the next one will be Wang Xiaohu; Jing Tian is also possible!"

"Can't it be Seth?" Yuwentuo covered his mouth slightly. "Didn't you see Master already took in the Moon Goddess? It probably won't be long before he has a son. I recall the goddesses of Mount Olympus are quite fertile!"

"What does that have to do with Seth?" Nangong Huang, despite years of intensive study of necessary knowledge, lacked such detailed trivia.

Yuwentuo and Li Xiaoyao exchanged knowing, mischievous grins. "Mixed blood, of course! And Master will have to choose a Western name to accommodate the Moon Goddess!" Nangong Huang, finally grasping the implication, glanced at Li Xiaoyao. "If we're going by that logic, I think you have a chance too!"

"A chance for what?" Li Xiaoyao asked, confused as to why he was suddenly involved.

Nangong Huang winked, then gestured towards the side. "A chance to be Seth's father!"