Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

Forty-eight hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Xiaoyao arrived at the Gate of the World on time. This time, four people were already standing around the pillar of light.

Leading the group was a towering, muscular man, at least 1.9 meters tall, with bulging muscles, carrying a massive shield on his shoulder that was taller than himself. The shield was entirely black, with dark red edges that gleamed; it was clearly a high-quality item.

"Iron Wall, Tier 4 Tank." The burly man nodded at Li Xiaoyao, his voice deep and resonant. "So you're the new Psychic?"

Li Xiaoyao nodded: "Xiaoyao, third-tier spirit."

Beside the Iron Wall stood a red-haired youth, lean and wielding a large, extravagantly designed sword with faint flame patterns flowing across its blade. He scrutinized Li Xiaoyao with a scrutinizing look in his eyes.

"Yan Feng, Tier 3 DPS," he said casually. "I heard you just reached Tier 3? What worlds did you explore before?"

Li Xiaoyao modestly replied, "I've passed some second-tier battles, including zombies, ancient tombs, and wastelands. I've just learned all my mental skills and haven't really teamed up to fight any yet."

Yan Feng frowned slightly, about to say something, when a cold and beautiful woman next to him spoke up.

"Frostblade, Tier 3 DPS." Her voice was cold, with two short swords hanging at her waist. "It's okay to be a newbie, just follow orders. Don't wander off or cause trouble."

Li Xiaoyao nodded.

The last person was a girl who looked to be in her early twenties, with pigtails, wearing a loose-fitting robe, and carrying a thick book. She smiled at Li Xiaoyao and greeted him first.

"Hello! My name is Ling Shu, a third-tier support. You just reached third tier and you dare to accept this mission? You've got some nerve!"

Li Xiaoyao smiled and said, "I'm short on points, there's nothing I can do about it."

Ling Shu blinked: "Don't worry, with Brother Tie Bi here, as long as you don't do anything reckless, you won't die."

Tie Bi cleared his throat, interrupting the pleasantries:

"I'll repeat the mission information again—Abyssal Ruins, Tier 3 difficulty, the objective is to find the lost artifacts. The monsters in the ruins are mainly Tier 2 and 3, but there may be hidden Tier 4 elites. Be alert."

He looked at Li Xiaoyao: "Your task is to maintain mental awareness throughout the entire process, and to detect hidden monsters and traps in advance. When encountering enemies that use mental attacks, you are responsible for defense. When controlling the situation, follow my instructions."

Li Xiaoyao nodded: "Understood."

Iron Wall then looked at the others: "Flameblade, Frostblade, you two are in charge of DPS. Spirit Pivot, maintain your buffs and focus on healing. I'll pull the mobs, you guys DPS, Xiao controls the field, and Spirit Pivot provides support. Same rules as always, follow orders and don't be reckless."

Everyone nodded.

Tiebi glanced at the time and said in a deep voice, "It's about time. Prepare to enter."

The five people stood in a circle, and the Gate of the World shone brightly.

The Tier 3 quest "Abyssal Ruins" is about to begin.

[Mission World: The Corrupted Abyss]

[Mission Type: Exploration/Combat]

[Mission Objective: Find and bring back at least three lost artifacts]

[Base reward: 2000 points, with additional bonuses based on performance]

[Countdown: 10, 9, 8...]

The light engulfed everything.

When Li Xiaoyao opened his eyes again, they were already standing in a dimly lit ruin.

The sky was a grayish-purple, the sun was nowhere to be seen, only layers of churning clouds. A putrid stench permeated the air, mixed with a faint smell of sulfur.

The surrounding area is a ruin, but you can still vaguely tell that it was once a magnificent building.

The massive stone pillars collapsed to the ground, black vines climbed the walls, and cracks were everywhere on the ground, from which a faint, dark red light could be seen surging.

"We've arrived," Iron Wall said in a deep voice. "This is the outer perimeter of the ruins. Xiaoyao, sense it."

Li Xiaoyao closed his eyes and spread his divine sense—of course, in the form of a disguised form of telepathy.

A moment later, he opened his eyes:

"One hundred meters to the southeast, there are five life forms, roughly at the second tier, and they are moving. Two hundred meters directly ahead, there is a hollow underground containing a large number of life forms, at least thirty, ranging in strength from the first to the third tier. To the northeast..."

"That's enough," Iron Wall interrupted him. "Clear the outer perimeter first. Lead the way."

Li Xiaoyao nodded and took the lead in walking towards the southeast.

Five minutes later, they encountered the first batch of monsters.

They were five hound-like creatures, larger than normal wolfhounds, covered in black scales, with dark red eyes.

As soon as they noticed someone approaching, they roared and pounced.

"I'll take on the monster!" Iron Wall shouted, charging forward with his giant shield on his back.

The five monsters slammed against the shield with a piercing screeching sound, but they couldn't break through the defenses at all. The iron wall steadily blocked their impact, while a deep voice commanded, "Offensive!"

Flameblade ignited, and with a single strike, a monster was cleaved in two. Frostblade moved swiftly, his twin swords flashing like lightning, instantly slicing seven or eight gashes into the two monsters.

Li Xiaoyao stood at the back, and with a thought, a [mental pressure] enveloped the remaining two monsters.

The two monsters froze, their red eyes flashing a few times, before they collapsed to the ground, trembling.

Yan Feng was taken aback for a moment, then reacted and killed them one by one with his sword.

"Mental pressure?" He looked at Li Xiaoyao, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "It's quite effective."

Li Xiaoyao humbly replied, "It's just right to counter this kind of low-level monster."

Ironwall put away his shield, glanced at the corpse on the ground, and nodded: "Continue."

......

Over the next three hours, the team made steady progress.

Li Xiaoyao maintained his mental awareness throughout, discovering wave after wave of monsters and several hidden traps in advance.

When faced with a large group of monsters, he would use mental pressure to intimidate them, creating opportunities for damage output.

When encountering a lone elite monster, he would use mental manipulation to briefly control it, allowing Flameblade and Frostblade to focus fire and kill it instantly.

The tanks were as solid as a mountain, the Flame Blade and Frostblade were incredibly powerful, and the support from the Spirit Pivot was just right.

The five people worked together more and more seamlessly, and the progress was much faster than expected.

"There's a large hall ahead." Li Xiaoyao suddenly stopped. "Inside there are... eight tier-three monsters, and one... a tier-four monster."

Iron Wall frowned: "Tier 4? The mission information didn't mention a BOSS."

"It might be hidden," Frostblade said coldly.

Ling Shu asked nervously, "A fourth-tier opponent... can we defeat them?"

Tiebi pondered for a moment, then asked, "Xiaoyao, can you tell what type that fourth-tier creature is?"

Li Xiaoyao pretended to sense it for a moment and said, "It looks like a large demon, the kind that's covered in flames. It should be fire-attribute."

"Fire attribute..." Iron Wall looked at Flame Blade, "Do you have fire resistance?"

Yan Feng nodded: "Yes, but not many."

Iron Wall then looked at Spiritual Pivot: "Does it have a fire-resistant buff?"

Ling Shu flipped through the book in his hand and said, "There is one that can increase fire resistance by 30% for ten minutes."

Tiebi thought for a moment and said, "Then let's fight. Xiaoyao, you're in charge of distracting those fourth-tier enemies, stall for as long as you can. We'll take out the eight third-tier enemies first, then focus our fire on the BOSS together."

Li Xiaoyao nodded: "I will try my best."