Yang Hong not only wanted to ascend to immortality and be free and unfettered himself, but he also wanted those closest to him to ascend with him.
The primary reason he cultivated spiritual plants so diligently was to transform the vast area near Purple Jade Mountain into a habitable and suitable region, and then to migrate more mortals to live there.
Only with more mortals living there would more newborns be born, thus increasing the chances of Li Lizhi, Li Xuefeng, Zhou Fengzhi, and Jia Yuanchun reincarnating within the influence of Clear Wind Mountain Manor.
Since Li Lizhi and the others died protecting Yang Hong in [Black Despair], finding their reincarnated bodies had become an obsession for Yang Hong.
If he could not fulfill this obsession, no matter how high his cultivation, he would be unable to ascend to the upper realm.
As for Clear Wind Mountain Manor, Yang Hong did not particularly care about it. In his eyes, it was merely a tool.
A tool to experiment with destiny, a tool to find Li Lizhi and the others, and a tool to cultivate spiritual plants and develop his forces.
"Now that the tool has a slight issue, I'll go back and fix it."
After completing another round of spiritual plant cultivation, Yang Hong used several earth escape techniques to return to Clear Wind Mountain.
"Dong~ Dong~ Dong~"
The [Soul Suppressing Bell] chimed three times, summoning the disciples to gather.
However, three chimes were only for routine assemblies and discussions, not for urgent mobilization. Only disciples from the outer and inner management levels needed to attend.
An hour later, the thirty-six main disciples of Clear Wind Mountain Manor were assembled in the main hall.
Seeing Yang Hong sitting at the head, his face stern as he pondered, Ke Jimei felt a pang of guilt and tried to hide at the back of the crowd.
But her attempt to cover her ears and steal the bell only made her more conspicuous, as she was nominally the "Senior Disciple" of Clear Wind Mountain Manor.
"Everyone is here. I have a few things to say. Listen carefully, correct your mistakes, and commend yourselves when you are not at fault. Don't wait until I have to kill someone to realize why you died."
"Before we begin, tell me the five essential rules of Clear Wind Mountain Manor that warrant immediate death."
As Yang Hong finished speaking, Ke Jimei, Zhong Chengfeng, and the others began to recite in unison.
"Betraying the sect, death!
Shedding fellow disciple's blood, death!
Bullying the weak, death!
Killing mortals without authorization, death!
Practicing demonic arts, death!"
Hearing their synchronized response, Yang Hong smiled and nodded, saying, "As you can see, out of our Clear Wind Mountain Manor's ninety-nine rules, only five are capital offenses. Isn't that much more lenient than your previous sects?"
"Yes!"
The thirty-six people in the assembly hall quickly responded in unison, somewhat confused by Yang Hong's intent.
"Clear Wind Mountain Manor does not forbid fighting or competition, but there must be a limit. You are all management personnel and must set an example.
While controlling this limit, you must also invigorate the sect, encourage disciples to compete, and foster development."
"..."
Ke Jimei trembled slightly. Although Yang Hong did not name anyone, he was referring to her.
The faces of the other managers also turned pale. Since becoming managers, they had enjoyed many privileges, even using them to suppress other disciples.
The simplest example was that they all occupied the best cave dwellings they could, which was a basic privilege.
As for suppressing other disciples, they dared not do it openly, but these were all old foxes, and it was too easy to suppress others subtly.
"Qiu Kun, this is a ninth-rank Dharma artifact, the [Bright Light Dharma Realm]. It has excellent lie-detecting capabilities. It is now yours to manage."
"Thank~ Thank~ Thank you, Sect Master, for the gift."
Qiu Kun, who was reflecting on whether he had made any mistakes, was surprised by this unexpected windfall.
He quickly raised his hands and received the flying silver-white mirror artifact.
The other disciples' eyes widened in shock and envy, followed by a hint of worry that Qiu Kun might use this opportunity to deal with them.
"Qiu Kun, you are a sword cultivator, and you practice the Sword Heart and Qin Heart. As long as you uphold righteousness and justice in your heart, your cultivation will surely advance by leaps and bounds.
Therefore, I do not wish to see you suffer from qi deviation one day."
"Sect Master, rest assured, your disciple will not fail your expectations. I will manage the Law Enforcement Hall well and ensure fair rewards and punishments."
Qiu Kun held the Bright Light Dharma Realm, knelt down, and kowtowed forcefully to express his loyalty.
He could sense Yang Hong's regard and trust.
Yang Hong nodded in satisfaction. They were all experienced cultivators; no explanation was needed, and they all understood his intentions, which saved him a lot of trouble.
He then signaled Qiu Kun to stand up and, with a flick of his finger, bestowed upon him the Earth-rank top-grade sword art: "Sword Heart Clarity."
"Thank you, Sect Master, for your great kindness in imparting this technique!"
After a long while, Qiu Kun, who had recovered from his shock, knelt down again to express his gratitude.
An Earth-rank top-grade sword art was a legendary cultivation method, something even ninth-rank sects might not possess. It was a true heirloom treasure.
Yang Hong didn't say much more and looked at the other disciples, who were all filled with envy.
"You are all old enough. I'm too lazy to lecture you further. Go back and memorize the sect rules, then think about how to develop the sect."
"Yes~ Disciples know their mistakes and will correct them."
All thirty-five disciples knelt down to admit their errors, secretly feeling fortunate that they were not punished, but also reminded themselves not to give the Sect Master any reason to kill them.
"Alright, you may go and rectify yourselves.
I will be staying at Clear Wind Mountain for three days. If you have any questions, you can come to me."
"Yes~"
When the disciples heard Yang Hong's words, they all breathed a sigh of relief. With Yang Hong's guidance, their task would be much easier.
In fact, several of them thought that with Yang Hong's endorsement, their reforms would at most result in beatings or punishments, but they would generally not die.
However, as Yang Hong looked at the relieved disciples, he found it amusing. Did he really care about the sect rules when he wanted to kill someone?
Nevertheless, the effect Yang Hong desired had been achieved.
The two departments and three halls, which had not been properly functioning for two years, were rapidly improved within three days.
The Internal Affairs Department established task halls for the handyman, outer disciples, and inner disciples. Within three days, they organized thousands of tasks to be released, ensuring that all disciples in the sect were busy.
The Hundred Arts Department classified and established halls for the hundred arts of cultivation. The most skilled individuals in each art were selected to be in charge of the halls. While completing sect tasks, they also taught other disciples secondary skills.
The Dharma Transmission Hall was the most proactive and underwent the most thorough reform. Not only were the Scripture Pavilion, Dharma Research Pavilion, and Dharma Transmission Hall, as mentioned by Yang Hong, perfected, but separate halls were also established for cultivation methods, martial skills, spells, and secret techniques, further refining the goal of targeted teaching.
The Law Enforcement Hall was the simplest. They only needed to establish the [Reward the Good] and [Punish the Evil] halls and thoroughly memorize the sect rules.
The reform of the God of War Hall was completed but required continuous replenishment and expansion.
This was because the entire Li Huo Desert, spanning hundreds of millions of miles, had no ancient ruins or secret realms, not even a single cultivator. The Purple Kun Mountain Range was also just beginning to be rebuilt, and Clear Wind Mountain Manor had no external enemies.
Therefore, the God of War Hall, apart from constant cultivation and training in battle formations, also acted as a merchant caravan, taking Clear Wind Mountain Manor's specialties to the Yu Rou Plains for sale.
With the completion of Clear Wind Mountain Manor's reforms, Yang Hong returned to his days of diligently farming. If nothing unexpected occurred, he could continue farming until the next sect anniversary.