Establishing a Clan in the Eastern Wilderness: A Daily Divination, Cultivating Longevity in a Grotto

In the quiet room, spiritual energy suddenly surged!

That powerful and profound life force, like spring rain nourishing parched land, inch by inch, nourished my grandmother's aging meridians and declining blood and energy. A few strands of her gray hair even turned faintly gray-blue; the crisscrossing wrinkles on her face, though not completely smoothed out, had become much more relaxed and were no longer so withered.

What's even more astonishing is her cultivation level—

Qi Refining Level 1... Qi Refining Level 1 Peak... Qi Refining Level 2...

breakthrough!

Qi Refining Level 2... Qi Refining Level 2 Peak... Qi Refining Level 3!

"Buzz—"

A soft buzzing sound emanated from the grandmother's body.

Her aura suddenly surged, and she actually stopped steadily at the third level of Qi Refining!

Li Changsheng's gaze narrowed slightly.

My grandmother's spiritual aptitude... was far higher than she had shown.

The reason why he only managed to draw in Qi at the age of sixty and progressed as slowly as a snail was not because he was dull-witted, but because he was old and his Qi and blood were declining, which suppressed his true talent.

Now that his old age has passed and his destiny has entered his body, the suppression has been broken, and his true talent has been revealed.

"Grandmother, how are you feeling?" Li Changsheng stepped forward.

Grandmother slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were no longer the kind, gentle, and slightly cloudy ones of the past, but instead had become clearer and sharper.

"I..." she murmured, a hint of disbelief in her voice, "I've already... reached the third level of Qi Refining?"

Li Changsheng had not expected this either.

A destiny of "still vigorous in old age" allowed my grandmother to break through two realms from the first level of Qi Refining, directly reaching the third level.

"Grandmother, do you still remember your relatives from your maternal family?" Li Changsheng asked softly.

Given that my grandmother possessed such talent, her bloodline likely also traced back to a lineage of immortal cultivation.

Grandmother snapped out of her reverie and shook her head:

"I was picked up from the mountain by your great-grandfather."

"That year, the mountains were blocked by heavy snow. Your great-grandfather went to chop firewood and heard a baby crying in the woods. When he went to find me, I was lying in a snowdrift, wrapped in a tattered silk swaddle, my face blue from the cold."

She paused:

"There was an embroidered flower on the swaddling clothes, like some kind of clan emblem, but your great-grandfather was illiterate, and later the swaddling clothes tore and were thrown away. I will never know who my real parents are or where I came from in this lifetime."

If there is an opportunity in the future.

We could try contacting my grandmother's family.

Li Changsheng took out the last rock berry from his pocket.

"Once Grandmother's realm is stable," he paused, "she can use this item to try to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining."

"Alright. I'll listen to you."

With a thought, Li Changsheng's talent for appraising celestial books quietly activated, and a piece of information entered his consciousness:

[Clan member: Li (grandmother)]

Loyalty: 98% → 100% (Die-hard Loyalist)

[Talent Assessment: Weaving (5th Rank Potential)]

Fifth rank.

Li Changsheng felt a slight tremor in his heart.

My grandmother's weaving talent was as high as the fifth grade!

This is comparable to the younger sister's array skills and Xiao Chang'an's spiritual plants within the entire Li family.

...

...

Li Changsheng returned to the quiet room and summoned the flying horse Xiaobai.

Xiao Bai affectionately rubbed against his hand.

It is now at the mid-stage of the first tier, and its size is more than one size larger than before. Its fur is even whiter and smoother, and when its wings are spread, there are faint blue wind patterns flowing around them.

"For the next period of time, you will stay with my father." Li Changsheng stroked its neck. "Don't go out of the mountain unless absolutely necessary."

Little White snorted, as if in agreement.

Li Changsheng went to the underground river behind the mountain again, handed Xiaobai to his father, and gave him a few simple instructions.

Li's father didn't ask any further questions, but simply nodded: "You can go into seclusion without worry."

When leaving.

Li Changsheng's thoughts were focused on the Book of Destiny.

He silently passed on the clan leader's skill of "malice perception" to his father.

Everything is arranged properly.

Li Changsheng returned to the quiet room and set up a protective barrier.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing. Outside the window, the night breeze from Qinglan Mountain swept through the forest, carrying the scent of red marrow rice ripening in the distant spiritual fields.

In less than three months, it will be the autumn harvest.

He took out the bottle of Qi-boosting pills from his pocket.

As you uncork the bottle, a pure, spiritual aura wafts out.

He poured one out and put it in his mouth.

The medicinal properties dissolved, flowing into his meridians like a gentle stream. He closed his eyes, circulated the "Chaos Primordial Scripture," and entered a long period of seclusion.

Outside the quiet room, night was deepening.

...

...

The Cheng family, the small courtyard where Cheng Lao Er lives alone.

It's been half a month.

For a full half month, Kuang Daoyu remained completely out of contact, and the two clansmen sent to keep watch over the Li family also received no news.

Cheng Lao Er was restless. His spies returned in droves, and the answers were always the same:

Not found, no news.

Today, he personally went to the market.

The cave dwelling that Kuang Daoyu rented had intact restrictions on the door, but no one answered.

The unaffiliated monk from the market management office told him:

Kuang Daoyu left home half a month ago and has not returned.

Cheng Lao Er felt a chill run down his spine.

He finally steeled himself and stepped into the study of the old patriarch of the Cheng family.

"...Father." He quietly recounted the whole story, picking out the parts he could tell.

After hearing this, Elder Cheng remained silent for a long time.

The study was so quiet that you could hear the leaves falling outside the window.

Then, a resounding slap.

"Snapped!"

Cheng Lao Er staggered from the slap, his face burning with pain, but he dared not raise his head.

"You—you—" Elder Cheng pointed at his son, his fingers trembling, "You hired someone to kill! You killed a clan leader appointed by the imperial court! Did you think the Zhenshi Division was just for show? Did you think the people of the Yun family's eldest branch were blind?"

"Father, I..."

"Two clansmen! Those are members of my Cheng family's immortal cultivation bloodline!" The old patriarch Cheng's voice was extremely low, yet it was as cold as ice. "What happened right in front of the Li family's mountain gate was clearly the work of the Li family, and you still want to go through all that trouble to investigate for half a month?! You are truly as stupid as a pig!"

Cheng Lao Er's face turned ugly after being scolded:

"Father, Kuang Daoyu is at the fourth level of Qi Refining! Li Changsheng is only at the third level. I don't think it could be the work of a member of the Li family..."

Elder Cheng sneered, "Have you forgotten how the third brother died?"

Cheng Lao Er was speechless.

"The world of cultivation is full of opportunities." Elder Cheng slumped back into his chair, his aged face full of exhaustion. "Some people are born with extraordinary talent and can defeat the strong with the weak; some people possess secret treasures and can kill enemies of higher levels. What you think is impossible is just because your vision is too narrow."

He closed his eyes and exhaled a deep breath.

"So be it...so be it. It's come to this now, with no sign of him alive or dead. This debt will have to be settled for now."

Cheng Lao Er suddenly looked up: "Father, are we just going to let it go like this?"

"I didn't say forget it." Elder Cheng opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife. "I said, remember this first."

He got up, walked to the window, and looked at the old locust tree in the Cheng family's courtyard that was already showing signs of autumn.

"With the autumn harvest just around the corner, bandits come every year. If the Li family manages to escape this calamity, their strength will be severely weakened. At that time, what will they use to fight the Cheng family? Why would you need to send people to stake out the area, or hire someone to kill them?"

Cheng Lao Er lowered his head.

"Your sister has sent a message." Elder Cheng's tone suddenly changed.

Cheng Lao Er suddenly looked up.

"She's pregnant." A hint of warmth finally appeared in Elder Cheng's voice. "Four months, the pregnancy is stable. Once she gives birth to a child, she'll be able to truly stand firm before the Second Elder of the Yun family."

This is the only good news the Cheng family has received in the past two weeks.

Cheng Lao Er listened intently, lost in thought.

"If you really can't swallow that insult and really want to avenge yourself—" Elder Cheng turned his head and looked at this impulsive and reckless middle-aged man, who was also his only adult son, "then go into seclusion."

"Seclusion?"

"After the autumn harvest, the Yun family will be holding a grand competition among aristocratic families. Are you aware of this?" Elder Cheng asked in a deep voice. "All the Qi-refining families under its jurisdiction must send someone to participate."

Cheng Lao Er's expression turned slightly stern.

"If you can make a name for yourself in front of the Second Elder of the Yun family and enter the competition with your mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation, why would you be afraid of not having a chance? If Li Changsheng is lucky enough to survive, you can kill him on the competition stage openly and honestly, and no one can say a word against it. It's a hundred times better than staking out, hiring someone, or stealing chickens and dogs."

Cheng Lao Er's eyes lit up instantly, and he suddenly understood:

"Father's teachings I will heed. From this day forward, I will go into seclusion and will not emerge until I have reached the fourth level of Qi Refining."