Along with the design drafts, Yang Jinshu also brought some colors that she and Lin Yan had recently created. These colors were tailored to match the designs she had come up with.
Inside the sect's main hall, Lin Xiao took the ten or so drawings and began carefully examining them one by one. He couldn't help but admire Yang Aunty's drawing skills. Even after so many years, her abilities had not dulled at all.
As Lin Xiao looked through the designs, he realized his own sense of aesthetics couldn't compare. Struggling with the choice, Lin Xiao finally resorted to a random selection method and ended up picking a design where the male and female uniforms had slight differences.
For the men, the design featured peach branches and leaves, while the women's version was adorned with peach blossoms. The base color for both was an elegant ivory, with soft silver-pink patterns woven across it. The waistbands were silver with subtle, intricate patterns, and the shoes were pure ivory.
The silver-pink color didn't appear too feminine, as it was mixed with a hint of gray, giving it a unique, understated look.
When Lin Xiao chose this design, Yang Jinshu smiled and said, "That color was actually created by your Sister Yan. When she saw me grinding silver into powder for the paint, she realized that silver could be used to make pigments, and she experimented to create this shade. I thought it was quite special, so I used it for this design."
Hearing this, Lin Xiao was amazed. He picked up the box containing the paints, opened the one labeled "silver powder," and said, "This color was made with real silver?"
To him, silver had always been associated with money or jewelry. It was the first time he had heard that it could be used to make colors.
Yang Jinshu smiled gently, saying nothing more. Back when her family was well-off, she often used silver powder for such purposes. But after being separated from her family and struggling for over ten years just to survive, those days had become distant memories of luxury.
Having experienced the hardships of life, she now viewed such things as wasteful extravagances. If it weren't for her commitment to making the best possible uniforms for the sect—because she believed the sect deserved only the best—she would never have considered using silver in this way again.
With the design finalized, Yang Jinshu left the drawings with Lin Xiao and, with his permission, went to Liu Yunan to withdraw some silver for making the pigments.
A day later, the pigments were ready. Lin Xiao, having also retrieved some spirit silkworm silk from the storage, brought everything—the designs, materials, and pigments—into the sect's main hall. He closed the doors and sat down to begin the process.
After giving the designs one last look to ensure everything was in order, Lin Xiao opened the item synthesizer, ready to place the materials inside.
However, just as he was about to put the designs into the synthesizer, he felt as though something was missing. He glanced at the designs again and suddenly realized what it was.
Of course! With the uniform designs featuring peach branches, leaves, and blossoms, how could he not include a real peach branch?
Quickly, Lin Xiao closed the synthesizer and hurried to the base of the peach blossom tree-lined path. Despite the cool early spring weather, there was a warmth in the air. Yet, for some reason, Lin Xiao couldn't shake the feeling that the tree itself was shivering slightly.
Without thinking too much of it, he swiftly plucked a peach branch full of flowers, with just one small green leaf.
He then remembered that the tree had saved someone not long ago, so, out of courtesy, he pulled out a handful of spirit stones and stood before the tree. "Little Tenli, it's not that I don't care for you, but the sect has needs, and I don't have anything useful for you. See, these spirit stones wouldn't do you any good either, right? So I'll just water you more often as compensa—"
Before he could finish speaking, the trunk of the Tenli Peach Blossom Tree suddenly shot out a flash of pink light, quickly snatching up the spirit stones from his hand before disappearing back into the tree. Everything went silent again.
A gust of spring wind blew, but not a single flower petal or leaf on the tree moved.
Lin Xiao stood there dumbfounded, staring at his now empty hand. Well, it turns out this tree can also eat spirit stones, just like people and spirit beasts.
Silently, he patted the ancient tree's trunk. "So you eat spirit stones too. Don't worry, I won't let you go hungry."
For a moment, the tree's branches swayed gently in the breeze, as if acknowledging his words.
Returning to the sect's main hall, Lin Xiao locked the doors and once again opened the item synthesizer. This time, everything seemed in order. He placed the designs, the spirit silkworm silk, the pigments, and the peach branch inside.
After some hesitation, he gritted his teeth and added two thousand spirit stones into the mix. With more people in the sect now, producing uniforms for everyone would require more resources.
[Item synthesis in progress. Please wait...]
Lin Xiao sighed. It seemed everything required spirit stones. At this rate, with more disciples joining, the spirit stone mines might soon struggle to keep up with demand.
He decided he would need to further develop trade with the outside world and expand their business connections in the cultivation world.
Before long, the system's notification rang in his mind:
[Ding—Item synthesis complete. The items have been stored in your private storage. Please check for details.]
Excitedly, Lin Xiao opened his private storage. Upon seeing the completed uniforms inside, he immediately took one out to examine it.
As soon as he held it, Lin Xiao couldn't help but marvel at the feel of the fabric. It was cool and silky to the touch, with a softness that felt luxurious.
He quickly unfolded the uniform for a closer look. It was beautiful—far better than the design on paper. As expected of something produced by the system, it was flawless!
The uniform Lin Xiao had pulled out was a male version. Under the light, the silver-pink patterns seemed to shimmer faintly, and the delicate peach branch motifs subtly appeared and disappeared, depending on the angle.
Unable to resist, Lin Xiao immediately changed into the new uniform. As with the previous sect uniforms, it adjusted itself to fit perfectly to his body.
The fabric was so light that it felt as though he wasn't wearing anything at all, yet there was no denying that he was fully clothed. The boots were incredibly soft and comfortable.
Lin Xiao walked back and forth in the hall, admiring the uniform as he moved. He even ran his hand over the waistband, pleased with its fine craftsmanship. The silver belt accentuated his slim waist and gave him a tall, elegant appearance.
Extremely satisfied, Lin Xiao retrieved all fifty sets of the newly synthesized uniforms from his private storage. It was time to hand them out!
At the moment, the sect's number of members was still under fifty, so the current batch of uniforms would be more than enough. And once they started accepting new disciples, they could have the newcomers wear the older uniforms, ensuring nothing went to waste.