Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

The tea gathering under the long corridor lasted for another half hour.

Jingqing was a talkative person, chatting about everything from interesting anecdotes about Wuyoutian to recent gossip about the Immortal Sect, from the Daoist titles of newly promoted Purple Mansions to embarrassing stories of a certain True Lord in his youth.

Hengwu occasionally chimed in, Shuangxu quietly drank her tea, while Shuyu would glance at Li Xiaoyao from time to time, her eyes filled with a hint of unspoken words.

Li Xiaoyao agreed to everything, but in his heart he was planning something else.

The fourth supernatural power.

The third divine power, [Caihua Chen], has been completed. It possesses the triple power of dissolving the five elements' magic, reflecting the opponent's weaknesses, and knocking away magical artifacts and spiritual weapons. It is already quite remarkable among those of the same level.

However, to progress from the mid to late stage of the Purple Mansion realm, four divine abilities need to be perfected. He is still missing one. And he has no clue how to achieve this divine ability.

There was no direction, no inspiration, not even a vague outline.

He needs time.

It will take a lot of time.

He will use the century of time spent on the immortal artifact and the ten years of seclusion in Wuyoutian to deduce the fourth divine power.

The century of Immortal Artifacts was the main battlefield, while the ten years of Worry-Free Heaven were a supplement.

Together, the two amounts to 110 years, which is enough for him to deduce the prototype of the fourth supernatural power.

"Fellow Daoist Shangyuan?" Shuyu's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Li Xiaoyao came to his senses and found Jingqing smiling at him, while Hengwu and Shuangxu also put down their teacups.

Shuyu tilted her head slightly, her eyes showing concern.

"Thinking about something?"

Li Xiaoyao nodded, stood up, cupped his hands and said, "I had a very pleasant chat with you all today, but I have some things to take care of, so I'll take my leave now."

Jingqing sighed, "Leaving so soon? It's a rare opportunity to come, why not stay a little longer?"

Li Xiaoyao smiled and said, "I'll definitely do it next time."

Shuyu also stood up, looked at him, her lips moved, and finally she only said, "Take care."

Li Xiaoyao nodded and turned to walk out of the corridor. After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned back: "Fellow Daoist Shuyu, will I be able to drink your spiritual tea again next time?"

Shuyu paused for a moment, then smiled: "I'm ready anytime."

Jingqing let out an "Oh—" from the side, but Hengwu quickly covered her mouth.

Li Xiaoyao smiled, raised his hand and waved it back to his ordinary, illusory face, then stepped away and disappeared into the crowd.

The exit of Wuyoutian is at the north end of the square, which is a rotating light gate.

Li Xiaoyao stepped through the portal of light, his consciousness withdrawing from the realm of illusion and returning to his cave.

He opened his eyes; it was already dark outside the window.

He didn't rush to the Hall of External Affairs, but sat cross-legged for a while, reviewing what he had seen and heard that day and his future plans in his mind.

The waiting time for celestial artifacts is still sixty or seventy years. These sixty or seventy years cannot be wasted.

While seclusion and meditation can certainly hone the third supernatural power, the deduction of the fourth supernatural power requires inspiration, a collision of ideas, and a sudden enlightenment between life and death.

Sitting in the cave, lost in thought, even after a hundred years, there will be no result.

He needs to fight. Not a casual sparring match on a dueling platform, but a real, all-out battle where the slightest mistake could be fatal.

Only that kind of battle could push his supernatural powers to their limits, make him see his own shortcomings, and provide the most realistic reference for him on the path of deriving his fourth supernatural power.

Li Xiaoyao stood up, pushed open the door, and walked towards the Hall of External Affairs.

The lights in the Foreign Affairs Hall stayed on all night. When he arrived, it was already 9 PM, and there were still seven or eight people queuing inside.

He found an empty seat and waited for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before it was his turn.

He was greeted by the same Foundation Establishment female cultivator from last time.

She was slightly taken aback when she saw Li Xiaoyao, then respectfully asked, "Senior Shangyuan, are you here to accept a mission?"

"I'll take it." Li Xiaoyao nodded. "Long-term combat missions. They need to truly hone my supernatural abilities."

The female cultivator looked down and checked for a moment, then looked up and said, "There is a mission that might meet your requirements, senior. It's about being a patrol officer on the border of the Western Wilderness Demon Kingdom."

Li Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow: "The Vast Demon Kingdom?"

The female cultivator nodded and took a jade slip from the shelf, handing it to him: "Senior, please take a look. This is a simplified map of the territory of my Immortal Sect's Great Universe."

Li Xiaoyao took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense. A magnificent star map unfolded in his mind.

At the center of the vast universe lies a vast, interconnected network of brilliant star fields—the core territory of the Immortal Sect, cultivated over tens of thousands of years, with layers upon layers of planes densely packed like a honeycomb.

The four sides of the central star field are marked with different colors.

In the west, a vast expanse of dark green stretches out, marked with four large characters: The Wilderness Demon Kingdom.

"The Cangmang Demon Kingdom occupies the western territory of the Great Universe. It is vast in area and has a complex web of internal forces."

The female cultivator's voice rang in my ears, "The demon kingdom is a melting pot of all sorts of people, including not only the native demon race, but also many infiltrators and spies from outside the region."

The Immortal Sect, the Vast Demon Kingdom, and other forces signed a treaty thousands of years ago: above the Golden Core stage, there will be no more fighting. Below the Golden Core stage, all are free to do as they please.

Li Xiaoyao pondered, "So the border skirmishes are all between those below the Golden Core stage?"

"That's right," the female cultivator said. "The Immortal Sect has established the position of Inspector on the western border, recruiting Purple Mansion True Persons to take turns on duty all year round to resist the invasion and harassment of the demon races under the Cangmang Demon Kingdom."

"How exactly is the task calculated?"

The female cultivator flipped through the records: "The patrol mission has a mandatory one-year term when you first accept it. During this year, you must be stationed at the border outpost and participate in daily patrols and combat."

After one year, you are free to choose—continue if you want, return if you want, simply report to the Immortal Sect to hand over your mission.

Li Xiaoyao nodded: "What about the reward for good deeds?"

"The basic reward is 10,000 merit points." The female cultivator paused, "Kill rewards are calculated separately—for each demon in the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm killed, an additional 50,000 merit points are awarded; for the middle stage, 80,000; and for the late stage, 120,000."

Li Xiaoyao's eyes lit up slightly. With a base reward of 10,000, plus the kill reward, this quest was far more lucrative than the previous ones.

Moreover, he had killed quite a few demons in the Heavenly Demon Realm—demigods and demon kings, at least dozens or even hundreds. He was experienced in killing demons.

Are there many people willing to take on this task?

The female cultivator hesitated for a moment: "Not many. Because the patrol envoys are located at the very front of the border, where battles frequently break out."

In the past century, seven Purple Mansion True Persons have perished during their rotations. Therefore, the Immortal Sect has been recruiting, but fewer and fewer people are accepting the offers.

Currently, it's basically being sustained by the Immortal Sect's own Purple Mansion and a few independent cultivators willing to take risks.

Li Xiaoyao remained silent for a moment. People could die. This wasn't a dueling arena, nor a training ground; people could really die.

But that's exactly what he needs. Only in that kind of place can his supernatural abilities be truly honed to their fullest potential.

"I accepted it."

The female cultivator didn't try to persuade him any further and handed him the mission token.

Li Xiaoyao took the token and probed with his divine sense—the location of the border outposts, the known list of Purple Mansions in the Cangmang Demon Kingdom, the star map of the border region, and the experience records of past patrol envoys…

The information was detailed, filling more than half of the jade slip.

He put away the token, got up and left the outer hall.

Standing on the steps, the sky was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

He raised his hand, and a ray of light overflowed from his fingertips, transforming into a stream of light that flew towards the direction of Luoxia Realm—it was a message to his family to let them know he was safe.

The message was short: "I have a mission, don't worry."

Then he turned and walked toward the Void Anchorage.

A small flying boat was docked at the edge of the anchorage, with the Immortal Sect's mark engraved on its hull.

Li Xiaoyao boarded the flying boat and set the coordinates—the western border, towards the Cangmang Demon Kingdom.

The flying boat trembled slightly and entered the void.