Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

A flash of light, and the scene before Li Xiaoyao's eyes changed abruptly.

nothingness.

Boundless nothingness.

There is no sky, no earth, no direction, and no boundaries.

There was only a hazy, gray void, like the chaos before the creation of heaven and earth.

Li Xiaoyao spread his divine sense, but could not sense anything—there was no aura of Taiyue Zhenjun, no aura of Jiyun Zhenren, and not even his own aura.

"Independent space," he murmured.

Just as Senior Taiyue said, the immortal artifact creates an independent space for each person, so that they do not interfere with each other.

Here, he will spend a hundred years alone.

Li Xiaoyao took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged.

He took out a storage ring from his pocket—it contained various resources he had exchanged for with good deeds before entering.

Upon probing with divine sense, ten crystal-clear jade bottles floated silently, each containing a pill or rare herb that could enhance comprehension for up to ten years.

Ten pieces, exactly one hundred years.

He then took out another storage ring containing hundreds of jade slips—these were cultivation techniques for the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages of various Daoist traditions, which he had obtained through good deeds.

The Five Elements and Twelve Qi, unorthodox methods and heretical practices, are all available.

He did not intend to practice these techniques, but rather to extract from them the essence that would benefit his Hongxia Daoist lineage.

"Let's begin."

Li Xiaoyao swallowed the first pill and closed his eyes.

As the medicine took effect, a refreshing sensation rushed into his mind.

Li Xiaoyao felt his mind was clearer than ever before, and the scriptures that were once obscure and difficult to understand now seemed to have become clear.

However, he did not begin studying it immediately.

Instead, slowly relax your mind and let yourself fall asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, wisps of ethereal energy emerged from his body amidst the void, slowly emanating from him.

Those auras gathered, intertwined, and condensed in front of him, gradually outlining a phantom shape.

The outline became clearer and clearer, eventually transforming into a physical entity—a figure exactly like Li Xiaoyao, sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, fast asleep.

Li Xiaoyao's original body vanished silently into nothingness the instant this avatar took shape.

The next moment, the avatar opened its eyes.

Li Xiaoyao looked down at his hands, feeling the body that was exactly the same as his original one. The divine abilities and techniques, the circulation of spiritual energy, were all identical to those of his original self.

But he knew in his heart that this was just a virtual body generated for him by the immortal artifact, and no matter what he experienced here, it would not harm his real body.

"Alright, let's begin."

He raised his hand and made a pressing motion.

Two supernatural powers manifested simultaneously—[Imperial Cloud Heaven] and [Visiting the Cloud Curtain].

In an instant, the void was filled with a sky full of rosy light.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, gold, silver, and white intertwine, creating endless variations.

This once desolate void was instantly transformed into a radiant arena, dazzlingly beautiful.

Li Xiaoyao sat cross-legged in the glow of the sunset and began to peruse the jade slips containing cultivation techniques.

One jade slip after another rotated in his hands.

The fierceness of the Yin Fire tradition, the scorching heat of the Mu Fire tradition, the purity of the Zhen Fire tradition; the sharpness of Geng Metal, the fierceness of Dui Metal, the elusiveness of Xiao Metal; the vitality of Geng Wood, the resilience of Jiao Wood, the protection of Bao Wood; the gentleness of Lu Water, the inclusiveness of Pin Water, the vastness of Fu Water; the weight of Xuan Earth, the nobility of Bao Earth, the bearing of Wu Earth, the suppressing power of Gen Earth, the final destination of Gui Earth…

There are also the various changes of Yin and Yang and the twelve Qi: the coldness of Taiyin, the warmth of Shaoyin, the profundity of Jueyin, the blazing of Taiyang, the growth of Shaoyang, and the domineering nature of Yangming...

Every lineage of Taoism has its unique laws, unique perspectives, and unique solutions.

Li Xiaoyao absorbed it with great eagerness, peeling away, recording, and integrating the essence that resonated with the rosy clouds.

The splendor of the morning glow is connected to the fire and the sun.

The tranquility of the sunset is in harmony with the Yin and Yang energies.

The ever-changing clouds correspond to the elements of gold and wind.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Xiaoyao opened his eyes, swallowed the second pill, and once again immersed himself in the deduction.

The second decade: He began to conceive of the third supernatural power.

In terms of offense, he possesses the [Royal Cloud Heaven], which can transform into countless rays of light to kill enemies.

In his domain, he possesses the [Yexiaowei], which can trap enemies and protect allies.

Although he lacks specialized supernatural powers, his [Seal] has the ability to isolate, and his Four Seasons Mirror has been upgraded, containing space that can trap enemies within the mirror.

The only thing he lacks is a true protective divine power.

"If one could have a method of self-defense, one internal and one external, one defensive and one encircling, then one would be capable of both offense and defense."

Li Xiaoyao closed his eyes and pondered, and the supernatural powers from the fantasy novels he had read in his previous life suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The five-colored divine light can brush away anything.

If the seventy-two rays of rainbow light were woven into a robe, the flowing light could neutralize the five elements' magic, reveal the opponent's weaknesses, and even knock away the enemy's magical artifacts...

"feasible."

He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and piercing.

There are seventy-two rainbows, divided into three categories: twenty-four morning glows, twenty-four evening glows, and twenty-four cloud glows.

The three types of rosy clouds each have their own characteristics: the morning glow is vibrant, the evening glow is serene, and the cloud glow is ever-changing.

If these elements can be combined and woven into a single robe, it will possess the strengths of all three.

"Let's call her... [Caihua Chen]."

He named it "Supernatural Power" and began to devise specific methods for its cultivation.

In the following time, Li Xiaoyao began to conceive of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to be used for the new Qi refining technique of his third divine power.

Li Xiaoyao thought of using the seventy-two rays of light to refine a special and entirely new spiritual energy.

But how easy is it to merge seventy-two rays of light into a completely new spiritual energy of heaven and earth?

Li Xiaoyao sat cross-legged in the void, his hands constantly forming hand seals.

Rays of light were drawn in from all directions, gathering, compressing, and merging in his palm.

Every fusion is a delicate balance—the vibrancy of the morning glow cannot overwhelm the serenity of the evening glow, and the ever-changing clouds cannot disrupt the overall stability.

failure.

failure.

failure.

After countless failures, that new wisp of spiritual energy finally took shape in his palm.

It exists between reality and illusion, seemingly light yet not light, seemingly air yet not air, and in its flow it carries seventy-two subtle color changes.

Li Xiaoyao sensed the laws contained within, which contained the vitality of the morning glow, the tranquility of the evening glow, and the unpredictability of the clouds.

"Let's call it... [Rainbow Cloud True Essence]."

He murmured to himself, absorbing the wisp of spiritual energy into his body.

With the [Rainbow Cloud True Essence], the next step is to rebuild from the Qi Refining stage, step by step.

Li Xiaoyao sat cross-legged and began to draw qi into his body according to the method he had deduced.

The first time, the meridians could not withstand the impact of the seventy-two rays of light and instantly shattered. The avatar trembled violently and then collapsed and dissipated.

But a moment later, a new avatar was formed again—this was the power of a celestial artifact, capable of infinite rebirth.

The second time, the spiritual energy was only halfway through its circulation when it suddenly went out of control and exploded into dust.

The third time, he barely managed to draw the energy into his dantian, but failed at the last moment when trying to condense the qi vortex.

The fourth time, the fifth time, the tenth time, the hundredth time...

Every failure is a painful experience.

The excruciating pain of his meridians being torn apart, the torment of his spiritual energy running rampant, and the dizziness of his soul being shaken were tormenting him again and again.

But Li Xiaoyao did not give up.

After each failure, he would calm down, analyze the reasons for the failure, adjust his cultivation methods, and then try again.

On the last day of the fifteenth year, he finally succeeded in introducing the [Rainbow Cloud True Essence] into his dantian, condensing it into the first strand of spiritual power at the Qi Refining stage.

At that moment, a faint glow shimmered above the incarnation.

"The first step is complete."

He opened his eyes, but there wasn't much joy in them.

Because he knew that the road ahead would be even more difficult.

To progress from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, one needs to condense spiritual energy into an Immortal Foundation.

While one can use rare and wondrous objects from heaven and earth to aid in breakthroughs in the outside world, where could he possibly find suitable rare and wondrous objects from heaven and earth to assist in cultivating a foundation for immortality with this entirely new supernatural power?

Therefore, he could only try the most difficult method first: constructing a foundation for immortality using pure spiritual energy.

This step is a hundred times more difficult than drawing qi into the body.

Li Xiaoyao tried again and again, and failed time and time again.

Each failure means the collapse of one's immortal foundation, the dissipation of one's cultivation, and the dissipation of one's avatar. Then one must rebuild, draw in energy again, and try once more.

The first year was a failure.

The following year, it failed.

The tenth year ended in failure.

The twentieth year: failure.

The fiftieth year, failure.

……

He didn't know how many times he had failed. A thousand times? Ten thousand times?

Every failure is a painful restart.

But he persevered through gritted teeth, carefully analyzing the reasons and fine-tuning his methods after each failure.

During this period, he would wake up once every ten years, take a pill to keep his comprehension at its peak, and then sink back into his avatar to continue his deductions.

In his fifty-eighth year, he finally touched the edge of success.

That time, the immortal foundation had been mostly formed, but it failed at the last moment.

But Li Xiaoyao had already seen the light at the end of the tunnel—he knew that he was on the right track, but the details were not yet perfect.

In the fifty-ninth year, he adjusted the fusion ratio of the seventy-two rays of light, making the balance of the morning glow, evening glow, and cloud glow even more exquisite.

The sixtieth year, the final year.

He took the last pill, bringing his comprehension to its peak in a century, and then sank into his avatar.

This time, he held his breath and took each step with utmost care.

The qi was successfully drawn into the body.

The spiritual energy circulated successfully.

The nascent immortal foundation has been successfully formed.

When the seventy-two rays of light perfectly merged within his dantian, transforming into a magnificent immortal foundation, Li Xiaoyao knew—

He succeeded.

The immortal foundation was like a flowing rosy cloud, yet it was also as solid as a mountain, existing between the real and the illusory.

Within the immortal foundation, countless tiny runes could be faintly seen flowing, the culmination of his century of painstaking effort.

"This is his third immortal foundation... [Caihua Chen]"

He said softly.

Beyond his avatar, he seemed to hear a distant bell tolling.

That was a reminder from the celestial artifact—the hundred-year period was about to end.

Li Xiaoyao took a deep breath and took one last look at this void that had accompanied him for a hundred years.

Then, a light shone forth and engulfed him.