Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

With your feet firmly planted on solid ground, the feeling of that rich, pure spiritual energy becomes even more pronounced.

He concealed his aura, channeled the true essence of the [Xuanhuang Pass] within, and cautiously probed the cave entrance with his divine sense.

The cave entrance is about two zhang high and more than three zhang wide. The interior is deep and dark, with a pale yellow halo shining from the depths.

Apart from those huge skeletons, there were no other signs of life near the cave entrance.

The divine sense probed several feet into the cave without encountering any obstruction or sensing any obvious life force. Only the pure earth and metal spiritual energy fluctuated slowly like breathing.

Li Mutian felt a little more at ease and stepped into the cave.

The passage inside the cave was initially narrow, but after walking no more than ten feet, it suddenly opened up! A huge, naturally formed grotto appeared before our eyes!

The top of the grotto has countless tiny holes, through which faint sunlight shines in, blending with the pale yellow glow emanating from the depths of the grotto to create a hazy, luminous atmosphere.

The most breathtaking part is the center of the grotto—

It wasn't the spiritual spring or crystal clusters I had imagined, but rather a small patch of "land" about half an acre in size!

The soil was a warm, bright yellow, quite different from the dark rocks around it. On it grew a dozen or so strange plants that were short, with thick, jade-like leaves and pale gold patterns on the edges!

The pure earth and metal spiritual energy emanates from this "land" and the plants on it!

"This is... 'Spirit-Nourishing Soil'? And the accompanying 'Golden-Patterned Lichen'?"

Li Mutian was shocked!

Spirit-nourishing soil is a special type of soil formed by the essence of spiritual veins nourishing the earth. It is an excellent treasure for setting up formations and cultivating spiritual plants, and it is also a sign of stabilizing spiritual vein nodes!

Golden-patterned lichen is a second-tier spiritual plant, used as a material for refining certain earth and metal elemental pills and talisman ink!

Although this area of ​​spiritual soil is not large, its quality is extremely high. The spiritual energy contained within it is abundant and stable, definitely meeting the standard of a second-tier spiritual vein!

Moreover, due to its earth and metal properties being heavy and solid, the spiritual energy field it forms has a stable and defensive characteristic, making it extremely suitable for establishing stronghold formations!

Li Mutian suppressed his excitement and carefully scanned the entire grotto with his divine sense.

Besides the spiritual soil and lichen, there were some dried weeds and even more huge skeletons piled up in the corner of the cave.

This place once seemed to be the lair of some demonic beast, but now it is empty, with only a faint remnant of demonic energy remaining, which is now very weak.

Deep within the grotto, several fine cracks appeared on the rock wall, from which pure spiritual energy seeped out in wisps and flowed into the spiritual soil.

"It seems the monster that once occupied this place has been dead for a long time. The skeletons outside the cave are probably its spoils or leftover food. This place is temporarily unclaimed!"

Li Mutian felt relieved and was immediately overjoyed!

This is a land blessed by heaven! It's practically tailor-made for the Li family right now!

The terrain is easy to defend and difficult to attack, with a stable and pure second-tier earth and metal elemental vein, as well as readily available spiritual soil and spiritual plants!

He didn't linger, quickly left the cave, and returned to the other side.

"how?"

Everyone asked eagerly.

Li Mutian finally revealed a relieved yet hopeful smile, his voice firm and resolute:

"The spiritual vein has been confirmed; it's a second-tier earth-metal attribute, of excellent quality! There's no immediate danger inside the cave, and it contains 'Spirit-Nourishing Soil' and 'Golden-Patterned Lichen'!"

"This is where my Li family's new foundation lies in this realm!"

"Very good!"

The crowd cheered, as if the repression, adventure, and uncertainty of the past few days had been rewarded at this moment.

"Return to camp immediately!"

Li Mutian decisively ordered, "Tongya, make more concealed markings along the way. We need to inform Xiaoyao of the good news as soon as possible, gather all our forces, and move here!"

"With this spiritual vein as our foundation, we can set up an array to defend it, and then the carefree Foundation Establishment will be within reach. Only then can our Li family truly be considered to have taken root in this other world!"

The group quickly retraced their steps, their pace much lighter.

Good news swept back to camp like the wind.

"Found it! A second-tier spirit vein! At the bottom of the rift valley!"

The clansmen who had come to investigate rushed in, their faces flushed red.

The camp erupted in chaos. Li Xiangping, who was leading his men in piling stones, threw down his hammer. Li Changhu looked up from the array plate, and even the rogue cultivators like Scarface and Iron Bow stopped what they were doing and all turned to look at Li Mutian.

"Father, is it true?" Li Xiangping asked loudly.

"really."

Li Mutian nodded and described the situation of the cave at the bottom of the valley, the spiritual soil, and the golden-patterned lichen in detail. "The place is secluded, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and has abundant spiritual energy. It is a treasure land."

Li Xiaoyao remained silent, tapping his fingers lightly on his knee. Only after his elder brother finished speaking did he open his mouth:

"Earth is of the metal element, heavy and solid, its advantage lies in stability. Metal can generate water, and earth can bear things. Using this place as a foundation, combined with the 'Golden Fiery Heart Ore', we will first forge a fire-attribute immortal foundation, and then gradually build upon it."

He looked at Li Mutian: "Brother, there's no time to lose. The spiritual vein is unclaimed, and things could get complicated if we delay. We need to move the flying boat and personnel there as soon as possible and set up a protective array so that I can safely go into seclusion and attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."

"That's exactly right."

Li Mutian immediately ordered, "Xiang Ping, Chang Hu, take inventory of all supplies in the camp immediately. Load all that can be taken with you onto the ship, and hide or destroy what you can't take."

"Scar Wolf, Iron Bow, lead the men to clear a simple path leading to the Rift Valley, removing any obvious obstacles."

"Tongya and Chijing, assist your second uncle in loading the materials for building the outpost and the most valuable parts of that fiendish python onto the ship first!"

At the command, the entire camp sprang into action like clockwork. No one complained of being tired; their faces were beaming. The root had been found; hope was within reach.

Transport, load, and clean. In less than half a day, the gray-black void airship rose again, carrying all personnel and most of their belongings, and slowly flew towards the Eastern Rift Valley under Li Mutian's guidance.

The flying boat hovered above the rift valley. The group looked down at the deep crevice below, feeling the malevolent energy rising from the valley floor along with the pure spiritual energy, their emotions a mixture of feelings.

"Descend, target: the mudflats in front of the spirit vein cave entrance."

Li Mutian stood before the control array, personally guiding the way. Runes flowed around the flying boat as it cautiously descended vertically, piercing through layers of murky fog.

The valley floor was dimly lit, and the shadows cast by the airship added to the sense of oppression.

Finally, the airship landed steadily on a relatively flat mudflat at the bend of the underground river, no more than a hundred paces away from the cave entrance that emitted a pale yellow glow.

"Quickly! Disembark! Establish a defensive line!"

Li Xiangping was the first to jump off the gangway and directed his people to quickly set up an outer perimeter around the flying boat.

Li Mutian then led Li Xiaoyao, Li Tongya, Du Sou, and others directly into the grotto.

The scene inside the grotto moved Li Xiaoyao, who was entering for the first time. He walked to the bright yellow spiritual soil, squatted down, and picked up a handful of soil.

The soil is warm and delicate, containing pure and rich spiritual energy that seeps into the meridians along the palm.

"Good soil."

He sighed in admiration, then looked at the dozen or so golden-veined lichens. "With these two, setting up a protective array will be twice as effective with half the effort."

"Second brother, what do you think is the best way to arrange the formation?"

Li Mutian asked. Although he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, his understanding of formations was not as profound as Li Xiaoyao's.

Li Xiaoyao surveyed the cave, then walked to the entrance to examine the surrounding terrain, and pondered:

"This place is backed by a sheer cliff and has an underground river forming a moat in front, making its terrain inherently treacherous. The key is to focus on the three words: 'fortification,' 'concealment,' and 'transformation.'"