Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

The airship deck remained deathly silent for a full three breaths.

The sixty cultivators stared at the crimson bird hovering in the air, and then all looked at Li Xiaoyao.

His eyes were full of surprise and confusion.

Xiao Chuhuan's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice a little dry: "Brother Xiao...you really know how to...that?"

Li Xiaoyao felt a slight chill run down his spine. What could he do? Could he speak Pokémon? Even he found it absurd.

But he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

The firebird did indeed respond to his spiritual thought of "hello," and it was with a nod, a very human-like gesture.

What does this mean? It means that this creature, which resembles a phoenix, is extremely intelligent and may even... be able to communicate.

"I have a rudimentary understanding of how to communicate with spirit beasts."

Li Xiaoyao remained expressionless and made up a barely plausible reason.

"The supernatural power I cultivate has a high affinity with living beings, and when combined with divine sense, it can transmit simple thoughts."

It's a fact that he cultivates the [Longevity Gate] and has strong interpersonal skills. As for whether he knows the art of communication—well, since he says he does, no one can immediately refute it.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chuhuan's doubts lessened slightly, then transformed into intense excitement: "Brother Xiaoyao actually possesses such skills! That's wonderful!"

"If we can communicate with these spiritual birds, our chances of expanding into this plane will greatly increase!"

He stared intently at the firebird, then glanced at the three silver-gray wind wolves circling behind him, their bodies wreathed in swirling winds, clearly displaying hostility:

"Then Brother Xiaoyao might ask... what are they doing?"

Li Xiaoyao composed himself and looked at the firebird again.

The firebird remained hovering there, its crimson eyes clear and bright, filled with scrutiny and inquiry.

He occasionally glanced at the menacing wind wolves behind him, a hint of impatience and contempt flashing in his eyes.

Its posture was elegant and composed. Although it was being chased, it was not in a bad state. It was more like it was... playing with the three wind wolves.

Li Xiaoyao attempted to transmit his thoughts again, this time more specifically:

"You're being chased by them?"

Firebird tilted its head, a human-like "You just realized that?" look flashing in its eyes.

It chirped softly, its voice clear and melodious, carrying a certain rhythm.

At the same time, a vague thought intermittently entered Li Xiaoyao's sea of ​​consciousness; it was not language, but more like fragments of emotions and images:

A vast volcano, boiling lava, a giant, shimmering egg, three stealthy silver shadows sneaking in, the moment the eggshell cracks, a furious pursuit of flames...

The information was fragmented, but Li Xiaoyao managed to piece together the general outline:

The firebird appeared to have hatched from an egg not long ago. Somehow, these three wind wolves sneaked into its birthplace, perhaps intending to steal the egg or do something else, but they angered the newly hatched phoenix and were chased all the way out.

Newly born? Li Xiaoyao carefully examined the firebird.

With a wingspan of three zhang, an aura approaching the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, solidified flames surrounding its body, and magnificent plumage... This is what you call newly born? How strong must its parents be?

No, wait a minute.

Li Xiaoyao suddenly thought of the Pokémon lore, where some legendary Pokémon are born in their final form or have special incubation conditions.

Could it be that this firebird...?

He then conveyed a thought: "You, were you just born? Your parents?"

A look of bewilderment flashed in the firebird's eyes, followed by a faint sadness and aloofness.

It shook its head, conveying a simpler message: "One, without kin."

Without parents, born and raised by nature, a unique being.

Li Xiaoyao's heart skipped a beat. This setting was more like some legendary mythical beast.

"Brother Xiaoyao, how is it?"

Seeing Li Xiaoyao and the firebird staring at each other for a long time, Xiao Chuhuan couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Li Xiaoyao sorted through the fragmented information conveyed by the firebird, deleting the overly absurd parts, and carefully stated:

"This firebird seems to be a naturally born and raised bird of this place, and it was born not long ago."

"Those three wind wolves once broke into its birthplace with ulterior motives, and after being discovered, they chased it all the way here."

He paused, then added, "The firebird is highly intelligent and doesn't harbor strong hostility towards us, but it's very wary. Those three wind wolves... are quite bloodthirsty."

As soon as he finished speaking, as if to prove his point.

The largest of the three wind wolves suddenly let out a low roar, and the wind around its body surged, transforming into three cyan wind blades that tore through the air and slashed towards the firebird!

A fierce glint flashed in the firebird's eyes. Without dodging or avoiding, it suddenly flapped its wings, and a blazing wave of fire rose into the sky, engulfing all the wind blades.

However, it was clearly struggling to fight three opponents at once, and its flames flickered as they were cut by the subsequent barrage of wind blades.

"How dare you, you beast!"

Xiao Chuhuan's face darkened. The pioneering team had just arrived and already encountered infighting among the natives, which was originally a good thing.

But if they allow the firebird to suffer a loss or even be killed right under their noses, they might not only miss a potential communication bridge, but also make themselves, these "foreign powerhouses," look too incompetent.

"Xiao family cultivators, form the array! Trapped by those three wind wolves!"

Xiao Chuhuan shouted, "Capture him alive if possible!"

"Li family cultivators, provide flank support and block their retreat!"

Li Xiaoyao also gave the order at the same time.

The sixty cultivators sprang into action instantly.

The forty members of the Xiao family were well-trained and quickly formed the Four Symbols Spirit-Trapping Array. Chains of spiritual energy flew from their hands, intertwining into a net that enveloped the three wind wolves.

The twenty members of the Li family, led by Scarface and Iron Bow, dispersed and occupied positions in all four directions, their talismans and magic arrows poised to be unleashed.

The three wind wolves clearly hadn't expected these "strange" creatures to suddenly intervene, and to cooperate so seamlessly.

The lead wind wolf let out a sharp howl, and the three wolves immediately abandoned their attack on the firebird. They spun around themselves, their speed increasing dramatically, as they tried to break through the encirclement.

However, the Spirit-Trapping Array was already in place, and the chains of spiritual energy followed them like shadows. In addition, the Li family cultivators interfered from the side, and the three wolves struggled left and right, but for a time they could not break free.

The firebird hovered in the air, watching the battle that had suddenly broken out below, a look of surprise flashing in its crimson eyes.

He then looked at Li Xiaoyao, conveying a questioning thought: "You...help...me?"

Li Xiaoyao responded, "They attack first. We dislike ambushes."

This reason is "righteous" and conforms to the logic of human cultivators.

A hint of a smile seemed to flicker in the firebird's eyes.

It let out a long cry and suddenly swooped down, its wings blazing with crimson flames, its target the largest wind wolf leader.

The Wind Wolf leader, whose hind legs were bound by three chains of spiritual energy, was filled with shock and rage upon seeing this. He opened his mouth and spat out an extremely solid column of azure wind, attempting to force the firebird back.

The firebird neither dodged nor avoided, and the three tufts of feathers on its head suddenly lit up with a dazzling red light. A more condensed line of fire, almost pure gold in color, shot out from its mouth!

laugh--!

The fire and the wind column collided, producing a tearing sound that made your teeth ache.

The stalemate lasted only a moment before the golden and red fire line pierced through the wind pillar with overwhelming force, striking the wind wolf leader hard in the chest!

"Awooo—!"

The leader of the wind wolves let out a shrill scream, his chest charred black, and his life force instantly waned.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Xiao family cultivators tightened their spiritual energy chains, firmly binding the injured Wind Wolf leader.

The other two wind wolves panicked even more when they saw their leader captured, and desperately tried to break free, but the spirit-trapping array tightened more and more.

With the firebird watching intently from the side, it was eventually bound by layers of chains, and its struggles gradually weakened.

The battle lasted less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

Three wind wolves in the early stages of Foundation Establishment were captured alive.

The Xiao family cultivators quickly stepped forward and took out a specially made "Spirit-Trapping Cage"—

It was a cage made of some kind of metal and spirit wood, with imprisoning runes engraved inside—three dying wind wolves were locked inside.

The firebird circled once in the air before slowly landing at the front of the airship's deck.

It was enormous, yet it landed lightly and silently, its flames receding, leaving only the edges of its feathers shimmering with a faint golden-red glow—a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

The people on the deck instinctively took a few steps back to make room, their expressions filled with awe.

The firebird looked at Li Xiaoyao, then at the three spirit-trapping cages, and conveyed its thoughts: "They are bad. They stole my Fire Marrow Crystal."

Fire Marrow Crystal? Li Xiaoyao's heart stirred. That should be a treasure from the birthplace of the Firebird, and perhaps the key to its hatching or growth.

"The Fire Marrow Crystal, is it still there?"

Li Xiaoyao asked.

Firebird nodded: "It's hidden."

It paused, then transmitted a clearer message, tinged with probing: "You are very strong. What are you doing here?"

Finally, they've gotten to the crucial question.