Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

Li Xiaoyao returned to his cave and took out the five Radiant Stones, placing them in front of him.

The stone was grayish and unremarkable, like an ordinary pebble picked up casually from the roadside.

But after examining it repeatedly with his divine sense, he confirmed that it was indeed a radiant stone, and of excellent quality at that.

He picked one up, and a faint glow emanated from his palm.

The gray outer shell of the stone began to crack, with fine cracks spreading outward from the center, as if something inside was struggling to get out.

The cracks multiplied, became denser, and finally—

"Click."

The outer shell shattered, and a soft light shone through the crack. The light was between red and orange, warm and smooth like jade, yet it also carried the ever-changing nature of rosy clouds.

The stone slowly floated up in his palm, its light growing brighter and brighter until it finally transformed into a ball of light the size of a fist.

Li Xiaoyao held the ball of light in his palm and closed his eyes to sense it.

The fragments of laws contained within the Radiant Stone flowed like a gentle stream, seeping into his meridians and converging into his dantian.

Those fragments were few and not strong, but they were pure—the most primal power of radiant light in the world, unpolluted by any lineage.

With a thought, [Caihua Chen] began to operate on its own.

Seventy-two rays of light surged from his body, weaving a flowing robe around him.

The power of the five orbs of radiant light was absorbed by the robe, and five of the seventy-two rays of light shone slightly, becoming even more solid.

"nice one."

Li Xiaoyao opened his eyes and looked at the stone in his hand, which had become dull.

The five Radiant Stones allowed [Caihua Chen] to progress nearly twice as fast as normal cultivation. Unfortunately, these stones are extremely rare and hard to come by.

The female cultivator said she found it in a ruin, but she didn't know which ruin it was or if there were any more.

He put away the stone and continued his practice.

These five Radiant Stones significantly improved his third supernatural power. But what pleased him even more was that the true power of [Colorful Splendor] was finally beginning to manifest.

These days, he has been honing his supernatural abilities while also taking the time to spar with others at the dueling arena a few times.

The first time, his opponent was a sword cultivator at the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm, whose Gengjin sword technique was extremely fierce. Li Xiaoyao did not use the first two divine abilities, but only used [Caihua Chen] to deal with him.

The swordsman's flying sword pierced through, and a flash of light appeared on his robe. The flying sword seemed to be stuck to something, and the spiritual light on the sword instantly dimmed, causing it to fall crookedly to the ground.

The swordsman stood frozen in place, picked up his flying sword, and infused it with spiritual energy—no response. He tried again, but still nothing.

"What... what kind of supernatural power is this?"

His face was filled with disbelief.

Li Xiaoyao was also somewhat surprised. He knew that [Caihua Chen] had the ability to knock down magical artifacts, but he didn't expect it to be so effective.

The magical artifacts used in the early stages of the Purple Mansion realm completely malfunctioned after a single encounter, becoming no different from fire pokers.

He withdrew his supernatural power, and the flying sword regained its spiritual light. The sword cultivator, holding the sword, looked at Li Xiaoyao with a changed expression.

The second time, his opponent was a mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator specializing in the Five Elements, whose mastery of the Five Elements Dao techniques was unparalleled. Li Xiaoyao once again responded with only [Colorful Splendor].

As the opponent's firebird flew in, a wisp of light rolled up on the robe, and the firebird dispersed; as the opponent's ice blade slashed down, another wisp of light rolled up, and the ice blade melted as well.

The cultivator grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. His Five Elements Daoist techniques struck Li Xiaoyao like mud oxen entering the sea, failing to even create a splash.

On the contrary, he himself was always dazzled by the glow reflected on his robes, making him vulnerable every time he made a move.

After fighting for about half an hour, the cultivator stopped and admitted defeat: "I'm not fighting anymore, your supernatural power is too strange. I can't hurt you, and I can't stop you from hitting me."

Li Xiaoyao smiled but offered no explanation. He only discovered in actual combat that the power of [Caihua Chen] was far greater than he had imagined.

The combination of dissolving the Five Elements Daoist techniques, revealing the opponent's weaknesses, and knocking away magical artifacts and spiritual weapons makes him virtually invincible at the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm.

Of course, he knew this wasn't invincible. If the opponent was a late-stage Purple Mansion cultivator, the effect would be greatly reduced; if the opponent was a Golden Core True Monarch, this power would be even less significant.

But at least among those of the same rank, [Caihua Chen] is enough to give him a foothold.

After these few sparring matches, his reputation gradually spread throughout Tian Shi Yuan.

Many people know that there is a mid-stage Purple Mansion True Person who cultivates the Radiant Light. His robes are very strange and cannot be hit or touched. Magical artifacts will malfunction if they pass by, and Taoist magic will dissipate.

Some came to ask for advice, some came to challenge him, and some came to test him. Li Xiaoyao accepted all comers, treating them all as opportunities to hone his supernatural abilities.

On this day, he won another match on the dueling platform and was about to finish his practice and leave when someone suddenly called out to him.

"Young friend from Shangyuan?"

Li Xiaoyao turned his head and saw a familiar figure standing below the stage. Wearing a grey-white Taoist robe and with a thin face—it was none other than the True Lord of Mount Tai.

"senior?"

Li Xiaoyao strode over, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Taiyue Zhenjun smiled, his gaze falling on the robe of light that was not yet fully concealed on his body: "I heard you've recently made a name for yourself in Tian Shi Yuan, so I came to check it out. Not bad, [Caihua Chen] has reached the right level."

Li Xiaoyao humbly replied, "I'm still far from it."

"Not far off?"

Taiyue Zhenjun shook his head. "Dissolving the Five Elements Daoist techniques, revealing the opponent's weaknesses, and knocking away magical artifacts and spiritual weapons—these are threefold powers. For someone in the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm to have cultivated to this level is already quite impressive."

The two found a quiet teahouse and sat down. Taiyue Zhenjun didn't beat around the bush, taking a jade slip from his sleeve and pushing it in front of him:

"The Ministry of External Affairs has a mission for you, I've got your eye on it. The reward is a direct deduction of fifty years from your queue time for the Mysterious Heart Mirror. Are you interested?"

Li Xiaoyao took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.

"Mission Name: Intelligence Gathering in the Yuan Yang Great World"

"Mission Location: Number [Yuan Yang Great World], a primary plane. This plane is located outside the jurisdiction of the Immortal Sect, at the intersection of multiple great cosmic forces, and has been infiltrated by several forces."

Preliminary investigations have revealed traces of at least the following forces within this dimension: the Paradise of Reincarnation, the Paradise of Vegetable Growing, the Paradise of Dragons and Tigers, the Destroyer Alliance, the Kingdom of Star Gods, and several unidentified solo transmigrators.

"Mission Objective: Enter this plane, gather intelligence on various forces, assess the threat level, and investigate whether there are any conspiracies targeting our universe."

"Mission Requirements: Mid-stage Purple Mansion realm or above, experience in cross-dimensional combat, and intelligence gathering capabilities."

Mission time limit: One year. Rewards: Fifty years' waiting time for the Mysterious Heart Mirror, a certain amount of merit points, and additional rewards depending on completion progress.

"Mission Risk: Extremely High. There are at least Tier 5 combatants in this plane, and the relationships between the various forces are complex, so conflict could break out at any time."

After reading it, Li Xiaoyao frowned slightly: "Fifth-tier combat power..."

"The Purple Mansion level," Taiyue Zhenjun explained. "It's a primary plane. Anyone above the Golden Core level will be suppressed if they enter. More importantly, multiple forces are mutually restraining each other. Whoever uses combat power above the fifth rank first will be held accountable. So don't worry, no Golden Core level beings will suffer any consequences."

Li Xiaoyao thought for a moment, then asked, "Then why choose me?"

Taiyue Zhenjun looked at him, a smile flashing in his eyes: "Because you are suitable."