Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

A hint of approval flashed in Yuan Chen Zhenjun's eyes as he slowly spoke:

"Young friend Shangyuan, there's no need to be confused. I'll tell you why."

"There are three positions: the primary position, the intercalary position, and the secondary position. The primary position is unique, while the intercalary and secondary positions can exist in multiple places. Whether it is the righteous path, the demonic path, the demonic cultivation, or the Buddhist path, they all have one thing in common—holding the unique primary position and remotely controlling the intercalary and secondary positions."

"I, the Earth element, have only one rightful position. I have held it for eight hundred years, and now that Mount Tai has achieved its goal, it is right for him to take over."

However, the one in the proper position possesses a spirit, and without guidance, it will surely vanish into the depths of the void, never to be found again. Therefore, the four fellow Daoists intervened, using the power of their respective positions to guide the one in the proper position and assist Mount Tai in attaining enlightenment.

Li Xiaoyao seemed to be deep in thought, and then asked, "Then Senior Taiyue... how was he able to attain the Dao and take his rightful place? I've heard that many true masters who attained the Dao were those with the rank of Runyu or Yu."

True Lord Yuanchen nodded, his tone tinged with pride:

"Taiyue became my disciple eight hundred years ago, initially as a nominal disciple. But he fought for the Immortal Sect, accumulating merits, and gradually distinguished himself."

After he perfected the Five Arts, the Immortal Sect conducted a century-long test on him—examining his aptitude, character, and loyalty in every aspect.

He was only given this opportunity after it was confirmed that he was qualified to inherit the proper position of Earth.

"If we can't get past the Immortal Sect, even if I agree, it won't work."

Li Xiaoyao felt a chill run down his spine and asked again, "Then... this junior has another question."

"explain."

"Why must a True Lord relinquish their rank after reaching the middle stage of cultivation? Isn't having a rank a good thing?"

Yuan Chen Zhenjun looked at him, his eyes filled with even greater satisfaction.

"Young friend, you have a good eye and can see the key point at a glance. That's what I'm going to talk about next."

He paused, his voice becoming distant:

"Ancient immortal cultivation emphasized the dual cultivation of nature and life. At that time, the world had not changed, and the laws of nature and life were complete."

In ancient times, immortal cultivators cultivated both their nature and destiny, but this ancient method had an extremely high threshold; only a handful of chosen ones in each realm could cultivate it. While their combat power was high, their cultivation was slow.

"At this critical moment, the laws of the various realms of the Great Universe are in turmoil, and extraterrestrial demons from other Great Universes are invading. Our ancient immortal cultivators have not yet reached the highest realm, and their numbers are few. If this continues, they will surely be wiped out."

"Therefore, the strongest ancient immortal cultivators joined forces to burn everything and enter the pseudo-supreme realm, and at the last moment, they jointly changed the cultivation laws of the great universe."

Li Xiaoyao listened intently.

"The revised rules have become cultivating one's nature, not one's destiny."

Upon reaching the Purple Mansion realm through cultivation, attaining the Golden Core stage, and stepping onto the Golden Core fruition position, the missing destiny will be replenished by the fruition position—achieving perfection in both nature and destiny.

"However," Yuan Chen Zhenjun changed the subject, "the Nascent Soul and Dao Embryo realms above Zhenjun emphasize transcending life and death."

At this point, the position of enlightenment becomes a shackle. If one clings to that position indefinitely, one will never be able to enter the Nascent Soul stage.

"Therefore, the Immortal Sect stipulates that a True Lord who has attained the Dao and reached the correct position must relinquish his ordination position after reaching the middle stage of cultivation."

In the initial stage, one's life force is not yet complete. By the middle stage, it is complete. At this point, separating the two will reduce one's cultivation level by one level, but one's life force will no longer be incomplete.

Li Xiaoyao suddenly realized.

"Then...why does the Immortal Sect insist on maintaining its rightful position?"

Yuan Chen Zhenjun smiled slightly and looked at the figure breaking through in the distance.

"In order to give all the Purple Mansion True Persons a chance."

"The first sect leader of the Immortal Sect used domineering methods to subdue everything and firmly held the positions of the Five Elements and Twelve Qi lineages within the Immortal Sect. As for the positions of the Demonic Path, Buddhist Path, and Emptiness Path lineages, the Immortal Sect did not care."

"Why not do nothing?"

"Because if all the positions of power were truly held, the world would fall into the tyrannical rule of the immortal sects and be on the verge of collapse."

If the Immortal Sect ever shows weakness, the world will inevitably change drastically, and all realms will rise up in rebellion. People from other great universes will also take advantage of the situation.

"At that time, the Immortal Sect will destroy itself before all the ancestors of the past and present, turning the efforts of countless predecessors into nothingness."

Li Xiaoyao remained silent for a long time after hearing this.

He looked at the figure in the distance who was activating the Earth element in the fruit position, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart.

Eight hundred years of accumulation, eight hundred years of waiting, eight hundred years of testing...

Today, it's finally going to happen.

In the void, the position of Wutu Fruit was finally drawn by the four True Lords and slowly landed above Taiyue True Man.

In an instant, the sky was filled with a magnificent glow.

The aura around Master Taiyue surged, and the barrier between his Purple Mansion and Golden Core shattered with a deafening roar.

The Earth element law and his Rainbow Cloud Daoist lineage interacted and stirred each other, creating boundless phenomena in the void—earthy yellow clouds filled the sky, a perfect blend of weight and splendor.

That is his way.

That was his eight-hundred-year journey.

Li Xiaoyao stood behind Yuan Chen Zhenjun, watching intently.

He saw the Taiyue Master open his eyes, his eyes filled with relief, a sense of calm, and a faint trace of reluctance.

He saw the Taiyue Master looking in his direction, smiling slightly, his lips moving slightly.

There was no sound, but Li Xiaoyao understood.

他 说:

"I am not alone on my path."

Li Xiaoyao bowed deeply and remained so for a long time.

In the void, Master Taiyue took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

The next moment, he moved.

As soon as the first step was taken, the energy of Earth element surged throughout the body.

He raised his hand and a warm, jade-like yellow light emerged from his palm. The light was gentle yet not dazzling, carrying a vibrant vitality and a profound sense of inclusiveness.

"That is the [Breath of Earth Light]."

The voice of Yuan Chen Zhenjun rang in Li Xiaoyao's ears, "The first divine power of Wutu is derived from the meaning of the Breath of Earth, which is endless and has great virtue to support all things."

Li Xiaoyao stared intently at it.

The yellow light rose from Taiyue's palm, gradually spreading and transforming into a boundless, fertile phantom.

On the fertile soil, grass and trees sprout, and all things grow, as if a new world has been born.

In the void, the ball of Wutu fruit trembled slightly, seemingly attracted by this divine power, and slowly drooped down a little.

The True Man of Mount Taiyue took his second step.

He formed a hand seal, and a vast power of law rose from his body. That law—encompassing all things, all living beings, and the heavens and earth.

[By imperial pardon].

A majestic phantom appeared, the outline of heaven and earth, but unlike ordinary celestial phenomena—the sky was below and the earth was above, as if heaven and earth were upside down.

But upon closer inspection, it is not an inversion, but rather a balance: the earth supports the sky, and the sky covers the earth, yin and yang are in harmony, and heaven and earth are in balance.

The Earth element in the Earthly Branch trembled again and drooped down a little.

third step.

The figure of Master Taiyue suddenly became hunched over, as if he were carrying an immense burden.

His spine was slightly bent, but the bend revealed his indomitable spirit, his resilience, and his resolute determination to go even if there were thousands of people against him.

【Old Man Who Carries the Mountain】

The phantom of a giant mountain pressed down on his back. This mountain was no ordinary mountain; it was the ancestor of all mountains, the root of the earth's veins, and the extreme of the Earth element.

The True Man of Mount Tai carried this mountain on his back, step by step forward, each step causing the void to tremble.

The Earth element descended for the third time, now less than a hundred feet from the top of his head.

Step 4.

Master Taiyue raised his hand and made a grasping motion, and a hazy gray light shot out from his fingertips. Wherever that light passed, the void turned into dust, the dust condensed into soil, and the soil piled up into mountains.

【Kang Fuchen】.

An endless, desolate phantom appeared. This desert was not lifeless, but rather contained an ancient vitality—Kangfu, the Lord of War, governs both slaughter and new life. Where the dust settled, new life was being conceived.

The Earth element descended for the fourth time, no more than thirty feet from the top of his head.

Step 5.

The True Man of Mount Taiyue spread his arms wide, embracing the void. An invisible boundary spread out from his body, and wherever that boundary passed, heaven and earth were separated, and territories were formed.

【Boundary Lines】.

A magnificent panorama slowly unfolds—mountains and rivers, cities and villages, fields and paths, all are contained within it.

That was his territory, his domain, his world.

At the edge of the scroll, a faint golden light descended, like a curtain or a screen, protecting everything within.

The Earth element descended for the fifth time, hanging three zhang above his head.

Five supernatural powers, five layers of imagery, suspended in the void.

The five images—the fertile soil of the radiant earth, the inverted heaven and earth that receive the heavenly pardon, the ancestor of all mountains that bears the mountain, the desert rebirth of the dusty father, and the landscape painting with its borders hanging high—are independent of each other, yet subtly echo each other.

Taiyue Zhenren stood in the center, slowly bringing his hands together.

The five images began to merge.

Fertile soil merges with heaven and earth, heaven and earth support mountains, mountains fall into deserts, deserts give birth to borders, and borders return to fertile soil.

The five layers of imagery cycle endlessly, gradually merging into one.

Finally, a chaotic light appeared in the void.

The light was neither yellow nor black, neither clear nor turbid, but existed in a state between color and colorlessness.

It rotates slowly, like the first ray of light at the beginning of creation, or like the last shadow at the end of all things.

"The Qi of Xuanhuang".

Yuan Chen Zhenjun's voice carried a hint of emotion, "The ultimate manifestation of the Wu Earth origin."

The primordial yellow energy slowly rose, connecting with the Earth element above his head.

The fruit trembled violently, and streams of law power descended from it, merging with the primordial energy.

Li Xiaoyao stared intently.

"Young friend, do you know what that Xuanhuang Qi is?" Yuan Chen Zhenjun suddenly asked.

Li Xiaoyao shook his head.

"That is the metal element of Mount Tai," said Yuan Chen Zhenjun. "When a Purple Mansion True Person has perfected and integrated the five supernatural powers, a radiant light will condense within their body."

This radiance varies from person to person, from lineage to lineage, and from the supernatural powers cultivated; hence it is called the Golden Nature.

"Once the golden nature is formed, the foundation for enlightenment is established. The next step is to use the golden nature to connect with the attainment of enlightenment and draw the attainment into oneself. This step is called 'melting gold'."

Li Xiaoyao seemed to be deep in thought: "So, Senior Taiyue now..."

"Yes. His metallic nature has been fully refined and is now connecting with his fruition. Once his fruition is successfully integrated with his metallic nature, he will have attained enlightenment."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dazzling light suddenly burst forth from the void.

The mass of Earth elemental energy crashed down, completely merging into the primordial yellow energy.

The primordial energy surged violently, then slowly contracted, finally transforming into a human-shaped silhouette—that was the True Man of Mount Tai.

He opened his eyes.

In an instant, boundless aura of the Earth element burst forth from his body. The illusory image of the earth filled the void, with mountains and rivers appearing within it, and the sun, moon, and stars revolving around it. That was his world, his domain, his path.

The True Man of Mount Tai looked around, then suddenly spoke, reciting aloud:

"I suddenly opened the window and saw the old green mountains, bathed in the setting sun and rosy clouds. I laughed at the green mountains, wondering if they still possessed their former pride."

Startled, I realized silver threads had wrapped around my head. Lamenting my fading youth, my spirit had waned; looking back, I sighed, the pride of my youth gone.

After reciting the poem, he stood with his hands behind his back and said in a loud voice:

"I, Taiyue, today attain enlightenment at Zhongshan, achieving the [Wu Guang Xia Yuan Hun Yi Xing], and ascend to the rank of True Lord!"

The void trembled.

The five True Lords who were observing the ceremony rose in unison and offered their congratulations with clasped hands:

"Congratulations to True Lord Taiyue Xiayuan!"

The sound was as loud as thunder, echoing throughout the void.

Three thousand Purple Mansion Immortals simultaneously bowed in respect:

"Greetings to the True Lord Wuguang Xiayuan Hunyi!"

Below, countless Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators also knelt down:

"Greetings to the True Lord Wuguang Xiayuan Hunyi!"

Li Xiaoyao stood behind Yuan Chen Zhenjun and bowed deeply.

An indescribable excitement welled up in his heart.

This is the path to enlightenment.

This is the Golden Elixir.

This is the path he will take in the future.

In the distance, Taiyue Zhenjun—no, Taiyue Xiayuan Zhenjun—looked in his direction and smiled slightly.

Li Xiaoyao straightened up, looking at the figure bathed in the glow of the Earthly Branches, and silently thought to himself:

"I will not let you down."