Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

The world spun around.

Li Xiaoyao was no stranger to this feeling—

I've had similar experiences crossing boundary barriers, stepping into void rifts, and being swept up by teleportation arrays.

But this time, it's different.

The tearing sensation lasted for a full ten breaths, more than three times longer than a normal crossing of realms.

The Time-Stabilizing Pearl trembled violently in his arms, almost flying out of his body.

If the three hadn't been connected by their magical powers and supported each other, the spatial turbulence at the entrance alone would have been enough to tear a cultivator in the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm to shreds.

Ten breaths later, the ground beneath my feet became solid.

Li Xiaoyao staggered half a step, steadied himself, and immediately scanned his surroundings.

Then, he froze.

This is a world where ice and fire intertwine.

Beneath their feet lay solid, deep blue ice, several meters thick, its surface as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the enormous, pale-flaming "sun" overhead.

The sun was not a real star, but a manifestation of some kind of law, hanging extremely high, radiating a scorching yet eerie light.

A hundred feet above their heads, parallel to the ice surface, lay a vast expanse of burning fire.

The sea of ​​fire hangs upside down, the flames displaying an eerie, ghostly blue hue, creating a stark contrast with the ice surface below.

Flames licked at the void, yet not a single spark fell, as if bound tightly by some invisible force.

Between the ice and the sea of ​​fire lies a void about a hundred feet wide.

The three of them stood in the center of this void, with ice beneath their feet, fire above their heads, and nothing in front, behind, or to the left or right.

"This is……"

Master Shuyu's pupils contracted slightly, and the watery light around his body instinctively began to flow, protecting his entire body.

Xiao Xiting looked up at the inverted sea of ​​fire, then looked down at the ice beneath his feet, and slowly said, "A variant of the Yin-Yang Micro Dust Array."

With ice and fire as its two poles, it forms its own little world.

He paused, his tone becoming somewhat solemn: "This work is indeed the work of a Golden Core True Monarch."

Li Xiaoyao remained silent, simply sensing the fluctuations of the laws around him.

This place is completely different from the outside world.

The laws were highly compressed and distorted, and the conflict between ice and fire created a strange balance.

If one uses magical powers without authorization, the slightest carelessness could disrupt this balance and lead to unpredictable consequences.

"Fellow Daoist Shuyu."

He suddenly spoke up, "Look at the depths of that sea of ​​fire."

Shuyu looked in the direction he pointed.

Deep within the inverted sea of ​​fire, a massive outline could be vaguely seen.

Its outline was circular with smooth edges, appearing and disappearing in the glow of the dark blue flames, resembling either a door or an inverted giant bell.

"What is that...?"

Xiao Xiting narrowed his eyes, looked for a moment, and suddenly said, "The core of the cave."

He pointed to the outline: "If I'm not mistaken, that is the true location of the Xuanming True Lord's cave heaven."

The place where we are standing now is merely the gateway to the outer edge of the grotto-heaven—or rather, a test.

Shuyu frowned slightly: "A test?"

"nature."

Xiao Xiting stroked his beard. "The cave of the Golden Core True Lord is not a place that anyone can enter at will."

Since Xuanming Zhenjun left behind a backup plan, allowing the entrance to open periodically, he must have also set up a screening mechanism.

Only those who pass the test are qualified to enter the core and inherit his legacy.

Li Xiaoyao looked at the void between the ice and the sea of ​​fire: "So, these two extremes of ice and fire are the first test?"

"more than."

Xiao Xiting shook his head and pointed into the distance.

At the end of the ice surface, an ice sculpture can be vaguely seen.

The ice sculpture is in the shape of a human, sitting cross-legged, its body covered by a thick layer of ice, making its face impossible to see.

On the other side of the sea of ​​fire, there was also a fire sculpture, enveloped in layers of eerie blue flames, facing the ice sculpture from afar.

"Those two statues..."

Shuyu's pupils contracted slightly. "It's a person?"

"It used to be."

Xiao Xiting said calmly, "It should be a cultivator who accidentally entered this place eight thousand years ago."

They failed the test and were left here forever.

Li Xiaoyao felt a chill run down his spine.

The test set by the Golden Core True Monarch was indeed perilous.

These two people, who were able to get this far, must have at least reached the Purple Mansion level of cultivation, yet they still perished here.

"Senior Xiting," he began, "do you have a solution?"

Xiao Xiting pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Although I have lived for hundreds of years, this is the first time I have ever seen such a dual-elemental formation of ice and fire. However..."

He looked at Shuyu and Shangyuan, his gaze calm:

"I cultivate the Kan Water, which is the same source as Fellow Daoist Shuyu."

Ice is the condensed form of water. Although it is not my own path, I can still sense it.

"Young friend Shangyuan has a complete foundation, and is even close to that inverted sea of ​​fire."

"If I am not mistaken, the key to this test lies in balance."

He pointed to the two statues: "The reason those two perished was probably because they only cared about their own attributes and forcibly resisted the other extreme, which ultimately broke the balance between ice and fire, and they were strangled by the backlash of the formation."

"Therefore, what we need to do is not to confront, but to adapt."

Shuyu pondered for a moment: "Senior means... that I and Fellow Daoist Shangyuan should each enter the extremes of ice and fire to comprehend the laws within?"

"Exactly."

Xiao Xiting nodded, "You and I are both Kan water. You enter the ice surface and comprehend the true meaning of ice."

Entering the sea of ​​fire at the Shangyuan Festival, one senses the law of fire separation.

"I will remain in the center, using the foundation of Kan water to sense the changes between the two poles, and stabilize the formation for you."

"Once you two have mastered the technique and resonated with the two poles, the portal to this formation will naturally open."

Li Xiaoyao remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "What if we fail to comprehend it?"

Xiao Xiting smiled, a smile that conveyed a sense of composure.

"Then stay here forever, just like those two."

……

Ice surface.

Master Shuyu sat cross-legged, his body surrounded by flowing water.

The moment I stepped onto the ice, a bone-chilling cold surged from all directions, penetrating straight to my soul.

That was a coldness at the level of laws, not simply a decrease in temperature, but an extreme compression and solidification of the essence of water.

She did not resist, but simply felt the chill.

She repaired the embankment, for water was her source.

Ice is another form of water; it is the "stillness" and "freezing" of water.

For her, comprehending the true meaning of ice was an excellent opportunity to complete her own path.

The chill grew stronger and stronger, gradually enveloping her entire body.

But she didn't panic.

She simply closed her eyes and focused her mind on the illusory image of the [Vast Sea] deep within her dantian.

……

A sea of ​​fire.

The moment Li Xiaoyao stepped into the sea of ​​fire, the scorching heat hit him in the face.

That was a heat completely different from ordinary flames—

Bearing the imprint of laws, carrying a certain ancient and pure sense of "burning".

The flames licked at his protective glow, hissing, but could not penetrate it even slightly.

He did not rush to go deeper, but stopped at the edge of the dark blue flames, quietly sensing the fluctuations of the laws within.

Fire element.

Remove from heat.

This is a field he is familiar with.

However, he did not use [Royal Cloud Heaven] to counter it, nor did he use [Visiting the Cloud Curtain] to isolate it.

He simply stood there quietly, letting the flames lick at the protective glow around him.

He allowed that scorching heat to seep in, merging, colliding, and resonating with his magical power.

Gradually, he sensed something.

Deep within that sea of ​​fire, there was an extremely faint yet incredibly clear will.

That was the lingering resentment left behind by the True Lord of the Dark Abyss—

It's not aimed at any one person, but at all those who dare to step into this place later.

"Those who can enter a sea of ​​fire without being burned can attain the true meaning of fire."

"Those who can comprehend the true meaning of the Fire of Separation can receive my inheritance."

Li Xiaoyao opened his eyes, his gaze as radiant as the sunset.

He stepped forward and walked into the depths of the inferno.