Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

"Ugh—!!!"

A agonizing scream, inhuman in its agony, instantly echoed throughout the depression!

The fire did not instantly burn the old priest to ashes, but continued to scorch his body!

Starting from the soles of the feet, the skin and flesh quickly charred and carbonized, emitting a terrifying "sizzling" sound and a pungent, burnt stench.

The flames spread slowly and steadily upwards, from the calves and thighs to the torso...

The old priest's curses turned into desperate wails, and then gradually faded away.

All that remained were unconscious twitches and hissing sounds of air leaking out.

His eyes were wide open, filled with endless pain and fear.

He stared intently at the terrified prisoners of his own kind below.

The entire depression was deathly silent.

Only the sizzling sound of flames burning flesh and the gradually fading screams echoed.

All the prisoners, no matter how angry or defiant they had been before, were now pale and trembling like leaves.

Several even lost control of their bladders, and a foul stench filled the air.

Li Xiaoyao watched expressionlessly until the body completely turned into a charred, barely human-shaped piece of charcoal, and could no longer make a sound.

He tossed aside a piece of trash as if he were just casually discarding it, and waved his sleeve again.

The charred corpse crashed down in front of the pile of prisoners, breaking into pieces and raising a cloud of black ash.

Li Xiaoyao's gaze swept over the terrified prisoners, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable chill, as he addressed Li Tongya:

Tell them I'm only asking once now.

"Do you want to live, or do you want to die?"

In the center of the depression, it was as silent as a grave.

Only the pungent stench emanating from the charred, mangled corpse still lingered in the air.

This reminded all the prisoners of what had just happened.

Li Xiaoyao's line, "Do you want to live, or do you want to die?" was translated quite clearly by Li Tong.

Like the last straw, it broke the last remaining psychological defenses of the twelve indigenous prisoners.

The previous anger, hatred, and madness were all due to the absolute power disparity.

Faced with the brutal sight of his companions being roasted alive, he completely broke down.

The first to react was a relatively young indigenous warrior leader with only a few simple red lines on his face.

He lay prone on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold, charred earth.

He spoke urgently in a dry, hoarse voice, his eyes filled with pleading.

Li Tongya carefully discerned the meaning and translated:

"He said his name was 'Iwazume' and he came from the 'Gray Rock Tribe.' He was willing to tell everything he knew, just to save his life..."

"Furthermore, his tribe is willing to offer all of their 'Holy Crystals' and 'Blood Moss'."

Once there's a first, there's a second, a third...

Soon, apart from two old priests whose eyes were still somewhat vacant and who seemed to have lost their faith and fallen into chaos, there were no others.

The remaining ten prisoners spoke up one after another, their voices a chaotic jumble, mixed with terrified sobs.

Li Xiaoyao frowned and said to Li Tongya:

"Let them speak one by one. Start with the most basic question: what exactly is a 'gatekeeper priest'?"

"Where are they now? How much do they know about this Sanctuary incident?"

The subsequent interrogation went much more smoothly.

Driven by their will to survive, these indigenous prisoners offered a lot of fragmented information.

Then Li Tongya combined his previous language accumulation to sort out, verify and piece together the information.

According to the captives' descriptions, the so-called "gatekeeper priests" were not a single person, but a special and mysterious group.

They have guarded the entrance to the sanctuary for generations and are said to have the ability to communicate with the "sleeping ancestral spirits" and possess powerful "holy power" (i.e., the method of using malevolent energy).

They usually live a secluded life, only appearing during the "Minor Blood Moon" and "Major Blood Moon".

They accept offerings from various tribes and are granted permits to enter specific areas to collect "sacred herbs" (demon herbs).

The ordinary tribal leaders were unaware of the exact number and strength of the gatekeeper priests.

All that is known is that they are extremely powerful and irresistible.

As for this anomaly in the sanctuary, which far exceeded the scale of a typical "small blood moon," these natives were equally terrified and bewildered.

They came simply to pay their tribute according to tradition, waiting for the "Little Blood Moon" to stabilize before receiving their tokens, but instead encountered a surge of malevolent energy and the awakening of monsters.

Amid the chaos, the figure of a gatekeeper priest seemed to be seen flashing around the perimeter of the sanctuary.

He attempted to appease or control the menacing aura of the riot, but to no avail, and then disappeared without a trace.

The indigenous people knew even less about the interior of the sanctuary.

That place is an absolute forbidden zone; only the gatekeeper priests and the chosen "saints" are allowed to enter.

The few words that have been passed down mention that the depths of the sanctuary are the "resting place of ancestral spirits" and the "source of filth," containing the world's greatest secrets and power.

"Sacred Crystal" is a dark red crystal that they worship, which naturally condenses in places with strong malevolent energy.

Containing pure malevolent energy, it is one of the main offerings required by the gatekeeper priest.

"Blood moss" is another type of spiritual material that grows in a specific area outside the sanctuary.

It can be used to refine potions that stimulate blood and energy and temporarily enhance strength.

The interrogation lasted for about fifteen minutes.

Li Xiaoyao and Li Mutian listened silently, exchanging glances.

"The information is limited, but we have a general outline."

Li Mutian pondered for a moment and said:

"The group of gatekeeper priests has a very deep connection with the sanctuary and may possess some of the ancient secrets or powers left behind by this world."

"This unexpected change may have caught them off guard or been beyond their control."

"A group of mysterious local bullies are guarding a time bomb."

Li Xiaoyao's summary is even more straightforward.

"They certainly know far more about the sanctuary than these rabble."

"Unfortunately, we don't know where they've gone now. They've probably gone back to their stronghold to hold out, or... they've also been caught up in the anomaly."

He paused, looking at the prisoners on the ground who were staring at him expectantly:

"What should we do with these guys? Killing them all would be easy, but wasteful; taking them back to work as laborers would require feeding them, and their intentions are hard to predict."

Li Mutian's gaze swept over the prisoners, and after a moment's thought, he said:

"I have a method to set up a 'soul-locking restriction'."

"Using a special method, I remotely extracted a wisp of their heart's essence and blood, mixed it with my magic power and divine consciousness, refined it into a forbidden seed, and then injected it back into their heart meridian and soul."

"The restriction will be triggered if the individual betrays, leaks secrets, or harbors deadly malice towards a specific target (such as members of my Li family)."

"In mild cases, it can cause angina pectoris, a tearing of the soul, and loss of the ability to resist; in severe cases, it can cause blood to rush back to the heart and the soul to be scattered."

"And through this strand of heart's blood, I can roughly sense its location and whether it is alive or dead."

"Oh? Something like a life-or-death talisman or a master-servant contract?"

Li Xiaoyao's eyes lit up.

"This is good, it's sustainable. As long as they're afraid of dying, they can use it."

He did it without hesitation.

Li Mutian pointed his fingers like a sword, seemingly aiming them at the ten prisoners who had submitted.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Dozens of prisoners shuddered simultaneously, their clothes fluttering at their chests without any wind.

Each of them released a drop of blood, dark in color and faintly glowing with crimson light—it was the essence of their heart's blood containing a trace of their life force.

Li Mutian formed hand seals, his magical power flowing, holding ten drops of foreign essence blood in front of him, and then forcing out a wisp of his own pure magical power and divine consciousness to merge into it.

A crimson-gold light flashed, and the ten drops of blood quickly transformed and outlined themselves, turning into ten strangely structured dark red runes, faintly connected to the aura of the prisoners below.

"go!"