Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

At night, the Li family camp was brightly lit, creating an atmosphere completely different from the deathly silence and dimness outside.

The firelight flickered, illuminating tired yet excited faces.

In the temporary meeting area cleared from the main cabin, the enormous corpse of the Golden Scaled Serpent had been completely dismembered.

The dark gold, thick, and menacing scales were piled up like mountains, gleaming with a cold, eerie light in the firelight.

The broken horn, carefully sealed inside a jade box, still exudes a chilling aura.

A fist-sized demon beast core, its dark red and pale gold hues intertwined, floated within a simple binding array, slowly rotating and drawing upon the sparse baleful energy around it.

There were also several large barrels of thick, dark red demonic blood, as thick as mercury, suppressed by special magical talismans.

The most eye-catching thing was the cluster of "Golden Fiery Heart Ore" that was shrouded in several layers of crimson-gold restrictive light and suspended in the center of the group.

Even with the barriers separating them, the pure and violent aura of the metal and fire essence still faintly emanated, causing those who cultivated fire and metal elemental techniques to feel their blood boiling and their energy stirring.

Li Xiaoyao sat in the position closest to the Golden Fiery Heart Mine, his old green robe seemingly edged with gold under the light of the ore core.

With his eyes closed, he stroked the barrier with his fingers, as if trying to sense the flow of every wisp of golden fire within it. His expression was focused, excited, and mixed with a complex mix of emotions, as if a long-cherished wish was about to be fulfilled.

This wondrous object of heaven and earth is the perfect key for him to forge a fire-attribute immortal foundation and unlock the gate to foundation building!

Li Mutian sat at the head of the table, looked around at the people, and spoke:

"I've got the item, and I'm on the path to Foundation Establishment. But Foundation Establishment is no small matter. I need to find a safe place with plenty of spiritual energy, and nothing can disturb me."

He pointed to the gloomy sky outside the cabin:

"This wretched place is polluted, the demons are wild, it won't do."

"We need to find a foothold, at least a second-tier spiritual vein. Only with a spiritual vein can the Foundation Establishment of the Carefree Realm be stable, and only then can we truly establish ourselves here."

Everyone's spirits lifted upon hearing this, but their hearts sank as well. Second-tier spiritual veins—where were they so easy to find?

"What you say is absolutely right, elder brother."

Li Xiaoyao opened his eyes, his excitement subsiding slightly as he regained his usual calm and analytical demeanor:

"My attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage takes anywhere from a few months to a year, during which I cannot tolerate too much interference. Moreover, once I successfully establish my foundation, I will draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish and refine me, which will inevitably cause quite a stir. Without spiritual veins and formations to shield and protect me, I could easily attract powerful demonic beasts or... other unforeseen events."

He looked at Li Mutian and said, "Although the place where the Golden Scaled Fiend Python is coiled has earth fissures where the fiend energy is concentrated and the golden fire fiend energy is rich, it is mixed and violent, and it is more like the 'old method' environment. It is not compatible with our cultivation method. Forcibly setting up a purification array would consume a lot of energy and would easily disrupt the fragile balance of fiend energy there. It may cause changes and is not a good choice."

Li Mutian nodded: "That's right. The battlefield ruins are shrouded in malevolent energy, death energy, and resentment. Even with a rare treasure like the Golden Fiery Core Ore, it's still not a safe place."

"What we need to find are relatively 'pure' spiritual vein nodes—at least those that can be quickly transformed by our cultivation techniques and formations."

"Although this realm is dominated by turbid and evil, the creation of heaven and earth, the balance of yin and yang, means that even with such an extreme metal and fire evil land, there should also be relatively peaceful spiritual veins hidden within."

"Father, today we are exploring. We are going 25 miles east. The further east we go, the stronger the malevolent energy becomes, but the earth's veins also seem to be more active."

Li Tongya took out the simple map he had drawn that day, spread it out, and pointed to several marked points on it:

"These few faint points of spiritual energy leakage, though of poor quality, vaguely point further east. Perhaps..."

"Deep within the source of the evil energy in the East, there may be even more powerful demonic beasts, or there may be hidden spiritual veins that have not been completely tainted by the evil energy."

Li Xiangping chimed in, a fighting spirit igniting in his eyes, "Who cares what they are? We'll see when we get there!"

"Don't be reckless." Li Xiaoyao shook his head. "Although Big Brother won yesterday, it took him a lot of effort."

"With that evil python dead here, the 'backbone' of this malevolent energy is gone. It might attract other powerful creatures. We need to hurry, but we also need to be careful."

He drew a line on the map with his finger: "I'm thinking of splitting our forces into two groups."

"Big brother, you take the main force, along with the tracking rats and detection artifacts, and continue to probe deeper into the east to find a definite clue about the spiritual vein. Try not to make a big commotion."

"On the other side, I'll take Xiang Ping, Chang Hu, Scar Wolf, Iron Bow, and some craftsmen to find a high and easily defensible spot between the camp and yesterday's battlefield. We'll use the scales of the Fiend Python to build a sturdy outpost."

"Firstly, it gives us a way out, and secondly, we can try to deal with the stagnant air here and see how we can transform it into something useful."

Li Mutian pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Xiaoyao:

"Second brother, now that you have the Golden Fiery Heart Mine, your priority should be adjusting your condition and preparing for Foundation Establishment. As for building the camp..."

"Brother," Li Xiaoyao said earnestly, "Foundation Building can't be rushed. I need to thoroughly understand my physical and mental state and the refining methods."

"Building a camp and testing my turbid energy will help me become more familiar with this place and also temper my character."

"Once my elder brother finds news of the spiritual vein, my camp will have a solid foundation. It will be safest for me to go into seclusion then."

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Li Mutian nodded:

"Alright, I'll do as you say. Xiang Ping, Chang Hu, you two take half of the best men and go with Xiao Yao to set up camp. Be careful."

"Tongya, Chijing, and also Dusou and Liugu, come with me eastward tomorrow."

Before dawn, the two teams set off separately.

Li Xiaoyao led his men to build a new stronghold.

Li Mutian's side traveled light, with only Li Tongya and his brother, Poison Old Man, and Aunt Liu, along with ten clansmen who were in the mid-to-late stage of Qi Refining, quick and agile, and skilled at scouting.

The stalking rats that Liu Gu had fed with special medicinal bait had become more sensitive to spiritual energy and were now restless on her shoulder.

"Let's go, eastward."

At Li Mutian's command, the team plunged into the thicker morning fog.

This time, no more beating around the bush, straight to the goal.

Li Mutian's Foundation Establishment stage divine sense spread out completely, like a fine net, sweeping through how the spiritual energy flowed underground and how the earth's veins trembled.

The tracking rat occasionally squeaked and pointed in a direction. The old man watched the changes in the stones and clods of earth on the ground.

They moved quickly and were more vigilant, avoiding areas where monsters might be present.

When he encountered a few groups of ignorant little demons, Li Mutian took direct action, quickly cutting through the mess without causing a major disturbance.

The further east you go, the darker the ground becomes, turning from dark red to blackish brown. The soil is hard, and the small stones are uncomfortable to walk on.

The heavy, oppressive "turbidity" in the air didn't seem to get any hotter, but the sharp metallic scent and the thick, earthy smell were noticeably stronger.

The weathered rocky mountains are even higher and stranger, resembling the bones of giant beasts.

"The malevolent energy here is increasing in the metal and earth elements, while the fire element is slightly weakened."

As they walked, Li Mutian explained to Li Chijing beside him:

"Among the five elements, earth generates metal. This change in landform and atmosphere indicates that there may be a large mineral deposit ahead, or... a significant change in the earth's vein structure."

Just then, the tribesmen who were scouting ahead suddenly sent back a signal: they had discovered unusual terrain!

The crowd rushed forward, and the sight before them caused them to gasp slightly.