Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

Li Xiaoyao led the group into the largest shop.

The shop has an ordinary exterior; it's a three-story wooden building with a pale green lantern hanging above the door.

Two maids greet guests outside and open the door for them.

As soon as Li Xiaoyao and his group entered, the scene before them changed abruptly!

The interior space has been expanded at least tenfold!

The spacious hall was a hundred feet square and more than ten feet high.

The hall was divided into dozens of areas, each surrounded by iron fences, and filled with people—or rather, humanoid creatures.

The area on the left is where normal humans are imprisoned, including men, women, and children, most of whom are dressed in rags and have blank expressions.

The central area features various half-human, half-beast creatures—minoes with human bodies, horses with human heads, rams with human horns, and so on…

The area on the right contains some more peculiar humanoid races, with varying skin colors, some covered in scales, and others with thin wings on their backs.

The shop manager was a chubby cultivator at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, wearing a smiling mask.

Upon seeing Li Xiaoyao and his group enter, their eyes lit up, and they quickly went to greet them.

"Distinguished guest! Are you looking to hire labor?"

The manager, all smiles, said, "Our store has ample stock, fair prices, and we guarantee your satisfaction!"

Li Xiaoyao said calmly, "Take a look at the human race."

"Alright! Please follow me."

The manager led the group toward the human area on the left.

"This group of refugees was taken in from the 'Ash Realm'. They are strong, obedient, and hardworking."

Li Xiaoyao glanced inside the fence. About two thousand people were crammed together, the air thick with the stench. Most had vacant eyes, and only a few children were still weeping softly.

"Only young and middle-aged men and women are accepted."

Li Xiaoyao said, "Five hundred for men, five hundred for women. No elderly or children."

"Okay!"

The manager's smile widened. "Would you like to choose for yourself, or will we provide them for you?"

Li Xiaoyao looked at Li Tongya and Li Chijing: "Tongya, Chijing, you two go and choose."

Li Tongya took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Li Chijing bit her lip and followed.

The fence was opened, and the supervisor ordered all able-bodied men and women to be driven out and lined up in an open space. There were approximately eight hundred men and six hundred women.

Li Tongya walked to the front of the men's line and observed them carefully.

With a single sweep of divine sense, one can clearly perceive the physical condition of these people, judging the strength of their bones and muscles, and whether they have any hidden ailments.

"I don't want this one because I have an old injury on my left leg."

"This one has unfocused eyes and is mentally exhausted; we don't want him."

"This one... has weak breathing and has been ill. I don't want it."

Li Tongya was meticulous and ruthless in his selection process. In his eyes, these were not people, but "goods." Those who met the standards were kept, and those who did were discarded.

Li Chijing stood in front of the women's line, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Most of the women kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact with him.

He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to calm down, and, like Li Tongya, observed everyone's condition.

Half an hour later, the two men each selected five hundred people.

Li Xiaoyao glanced at it and nodded slightly.

The men chosen by Li Tongya were not necessarily the strongest physically, but their eyes were mostly resolute and determined. The women chosen by Li Chijing were also mostly those with clear eyes and dignified demeanor.

That's all.

Li Tongya said to the person in charge.

"Shopkeeper, what's the price of these?"

The shopkeeper fiddled with the abacus: "For young and strong men, thirty spirit stones each, and for women, twenty-five."

"The batch you've chosen is of good quality. The men's are priced at 28, and the women's at 23. How does that sound?"

Li Xiaoyao listened from the side without interrupting.

Li Tongya frowned: "Shopkeeper, this price is too high. I asked elsewhere, and it's twenty-five for men and twenty for women."

"Oh, sir, our goods are all from clean sources and have a clean history. There's a reason why they're expensive."

The shopkeeper laughed and said, "How about this, the man is twenty-six and the woman is twenty-one, that's the lowest we can go."

"Twenty-five, nineteen."

Li Tongya stood firm, "We'll take this batch of goods, but the price has to be this. If it's not right, we'll go to another supplier."

After some haggling, the two finally agreed on a price of 25 spirit stones for men and 20 spirit stones for women. For a thousand people, the total was 22,500 spirit stones.

"Shopkeeper, we also need to see what the humanoid race is like."

Only then did Li Xiaoyao speak.

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up: "This way, sir!"

He then led the group to the right side of the area.

"These are humanoids, cheaper and easier to feed than humans. Take a look—"

He pointed to a fence: "'Minotaur,' incredibly strong, suitable for mining and heavy manual labor. Fifteen spirit stones each."

Inside the fence, dozens of creatures nearly ten feet tall, with bull heads and human bodies, were either sitting or standing.

They have bulging muscles, puffs of white air from their nostrils, and their eyes are mostly docile—at least on the surface.

The fence next to them is made of "half-horsemen," with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse. They are slender and move swiftly. "Suitable for patrolling and transportation, twelve spirit stones per head."

Next to it was a group of creatures with green skin, pointed ears, large eyes, and slender limbs.

They were the most numerous, huddled together, making a noisy chattering noise.

"This is the 'Green Monster'."

The steward explained, "They have low intelligence, but high fertility, eat little, and are easy to raise. Each one costs only five spirit stones!"

"Moreover, they have good learning abilities and can understand simple instructions if trained properly."

Li Xiaoyao noticed that among these three types of humanoid beings, a few individuals wore red armbands or yellow hats.

"What are those?"

"Oh, the red-armed ones are trained; they can understand human speech and execute simple commands. The yellow-hatted ones are the tribal leaders; buying them will allow us to better manage the tribe."

The manager chuckled, "If our distinguished guests buy a lot, we'll give away these leaders and well-trained soldiers for free!"

Li Xiaoyao quickly made a mental calculation.

One thousand humans, five hundred men and five hundred women, require twenty-two thousand five hundred spirit stones.

Humanoids... He needs labor, not warriors. Green-skinned monsters are the cheapest, and supposedly highly adaptable.

"Green-skinned monster, five thousand."

Li Xiaoyao said, "One thousand minotaurs and three thousand centaurs. We need the trained ones and their leaders."

The manager's eyes crinkled with an even wider smile:

"Yes, esteemed guest, please wait a moment, I will arrange for my men to prepare the goods for you."

Li Xiaoyao asked calmly, "What's the total price?"

The steward deftly took out his abacus and rattled off a few words: "Five thousand green-skinned monsters, five coins each, that's twenty-five thousand spirit stones; one thousand minotaurs, fifteen coins each, that's fifteen thousand; three thousand centaurs, twelve coins each, that's thirty-six thousand... a total of ninety-eight thousand five hundred spirit stones!"

He paused, then added, "However, since you buy a lot, we can offer a discount—98,000!"

"Furthermore, it comes with a 'housing cabin,' a specially designed extended cargo hold that can accommodate 10,000 people for convenient transportation!"

Li Xiaoyao nodded: "Okay. But I need to inspect the goods first."

"Of course, of course!"

The steward quickly said, "Please come with me to the backyard!"

The backyard was even more spacious, divided into several large enclosures.

The green-skinned monster, the minotaur, and the centaur each lived in their own place.

Li Xiaoyao scanned the area with his divine sense and confirmed that the number was correct and that most of them were healthy.

Those green-skinned monsters wearing red armbands can indeed understand simple commands; they will stand when told to stand and sit when told to sit.

The leader wearing a yellow hat can command the tribe using simple hand gestures.

"good."

Li Xiaoyao said, "On the afternoon of the third day, at the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), deliver the goods to the boat-stopping area outside the city, in the B-37 region. My flying boat will be parked there."

He took out a storage bag and poured out 20,000 spirit stones as a deposit: "The balance will be paid upon delivery."

"Okay!"

The steward accepted the spirit stones with a beaming smile, "You're a very generous guest!"

After leaving the shop, Li Xiaoyao led the group to continue strolling around West Street.