Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

The candle did not answer. He stared at the bead for a long time.

"Someone who has been waiting for a long time," he said, his voice even softer than before, "so long that he has forgotten what he was waiting for. He only remembers that he has to wait."

Li Xiaoyao remained silent.

The candle suddenly smiled, a faint smile: "You don't need to know who I am. You only need to know that this bead is useless to you, but useful to me."

I helped you get the key and escape the pursuit of the Paradise of Reincarnation. In exchange, this bead is mine. Is that fair?

fair.

But Li Xiaoyao did not agree immediately.

"Mo Yan told me to stay away from you."

"Mo Yan?" Zhu's smile turned cold. "Do you know who Mo Yan is?"

Li Xiaoyao shook his head.

"He's from the Paradise of Reincarnation," Candle said. "He always has been. He asked you to cooperate, gave you false information, and led you to investigate those three places, all to confirm one thing—whether you are the one who can open this ruin."

You are, so he won't stop you. But he'll wait outside, waiting for you to come out, waiting for you to bring what's inside out, and then—he'll close the net.

Li Xiaoyao felt a chill run down his spine.

"How long has the Paradise of Reincarnation been deployed in the Eastern Wilderness?"

Thirty years.

"Just for this historical site?"

"Just for this ruin." Candle looked at him. "You think you're using me?"

No, from the moment you stepped into Yongning City, the Paradise of Reincarnation has been using you. Mo Yan is using you. I'm using you too. Everyone is using you.

Li Xiaoyao wasn't angry, nor was he surprised. From the moment Mo Yan gave him false information, he knew he had been used. But he still came.

Because he needs what's in this ruin? No, he doesn't.

What he needs is time—the waiting time for Xuanxin Jian. And this task can offset fifty years.

"so what?"

"So just keep moving forward," Candle said. "You don't need to know who the pieces are or who the players are. You just need to know that what you're looking for is deeper within the ruins."

Li Xiaoyao looked at him: "How did you know?"

"Because I've been here before," the candle said softly, "a long, long time ago."

The stone chamber fell silent. Only the light on the surface of the beads flowed slowly, casting the shadows of the two people swaying on the stone wall.

Li Xiaoyao remained silent. He knew what Zhu was waiting for—for him to give him the bead. He needed the bead, but he couldn't have it.

So he was waiting for Li Xiaoyao to make a decision.

Li Xiaoyao didn't hesitate for long.

He turned around, picked up the bead from the stone platform, and handed it to the candle.

The bead was warm to the touch and did not cause any rejection—not because he was some kind of primordial being, but because he was not a cultivator of the primordial immortal path at all. Whether the bead recognized him or not, it could not harm him.

The warnings that "any non-original body will be harmed upon contact" only apply to those who practice the Daoist methods of this realm.

He comes from a celestial sect. His path is different from that of this world.

Zhu took the bead, his fingers trembling slightly. He looked down at the bead in his palm for a long time.

Then he looked up, and something shattered in his golden pupils, while something else lit up again.

"Thank you," he said.

This was the first time he had said thank you.

Li Xiaoyao didn't ask him why he had waited so long, nor did he ask what he was waiting for. He simply asked, "What's deeper inside?"

Zhu carefully put the beads away and turned to walk towards the other side of the stone chamber. There was an inconspicuous crack in the stone wall, just wide enough for one person to pass through sideways.

He stopped in front of the crack and glanced back at Li Xiaoyao.

"You want to offset fifty years of waiting time? Intelligence alone is not enough."

"Deepest within the ruins lies a stone tablet inscribed with a complete list of all external forces in the Yuan Yang Great World—including their backers, their objectives, and their weaknesses. Obtain that tablet, and your mission will be complete."

"And what about you?"

"I got what I wanted." Zhu smiled. "The rest of the way, you're on your own."

He turned sideways and disappeared into the crevice, vanishing into the darkness.

Li Xiaoyao stood in the stone chamber, staring at the crack, and remained silent for a long time.

Mo Yan is from the Paradise of Reincarnation. Zhu is of unknown origin. He himself is from the Immortal Sect. Everyone has their own agenda, and everyone is using others.

Mo Yan used him to test the authenticity of the ruins, Zhu used him to obtain the bead, and the Paradise of Reincarnation used him to open the ruins—and he used all of this to complete his own mission.

Who are the pieces? Who are the players?

None of that matters.

The important thing is that he needs to move forward.

Li Xiaoyao turned around and walked deeper into the passageway.

Behind him, on the stone platform where the beads had once been placed, the rolled-up animal skin was still there.

He didn't take it. The primordial immortal path recorded on it didn't belong to him, nor to his era. Let it be left to the one who deserves it.

The light in the stone chamber gradually dimmed, leaving only the sound of his footsteps echoing in the passageway.

.....

The moment Li Xiaoyao got his hands on the stone tablet, he knew his mission was complete.

It was a three-foot square bluestone tablet, its surface smooth as a mirror, densely covered with tiny characters carved into it—

The distribution of the Reincarnation Paradise's strongholds, the infiltration routes of the Starry Sky God Kingdom, the troop deployment of the Dragon and Tiger Paradise, the spiritual plant cultivation plan of the Vegetable Garden Paradise, and even several faction code names he had never heard of before, as well as the coordinates of the "Greater Universe" that they were connected to.

This is the complete answer sheet of the power struggles among various forces in the Yuanyang Great World over the past few centuries. Who is setting up the strategy, who is making the moves, who is the pawn, and who is the player—it's all there.

Li Xiaoyao put the stone tablet into his storage ring and turned to walk towards the exit.

The passageway was very long; it took half an hour to walk there, but the return trip felt unusually short.

As he walked, he mentally reviewed the events of the past few days. Mo Yan, Zhu, the Paradise of Reincarnation, the Starry Sky Kingdom of Gods…

Every face rotated in his mind, and he repeatedly pondered every word and every expression.

Then he suddenly stopped.

Wait! How did Zhu find out about his mission?

"If you want to offset fifty years of waiting time, intelligence alone is not enough. Deep within the ruins, there is a stone tablet with a complete list of all foreign forces in the Yuan Yang Great World engraved on it—once you obtain that stone tablet, your mission will be complete."

These words were spoken by the candle in front of the crack.

He only told Taiyue Zhenjun about offsetting fifty years of queuing time. At the Immortal Sect headquarters, in the Outer Affairs Hall, and in front of Taiyue Zhenjun.

He didn't tell Mo Yan, nor did he tell anyone in the Yuanyang Great World.

How did the candle know?

unless……

Li Xiaoyao felt a chill run down his spine.

Who exactly is Zhu?

He had no time to think it through. His footsteps had already led him out of the ruins.

With one step, the world changed dramatically.

In the vast void, the stars were dim, and dozens of figures stood suspended in the vast emptiness from all directions.

They were near or far, in the light or in the shadows, but the aura emanating from each of them made Li Xiaoyao's skin tighten slightly.

Fifth order.

Purple Mansion.

They were all waiting for him.