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

Du Liuniang staggered into the main hall, and Li Changsheng slammed the door shut.

In that instant, his constantly activated [Malice Sense] suddenly issued a warning—a strong sense of malice was not outside the door, nor in the courtyard, but rather—

"The left window!"

He gave a low shout, grabbed the arm of the nearest Du Liuniang, and pulled Xiaomei up with his other hand, rushing towards the headless statue in the center of the main hall!

Chen Wenyuan reacted very quickly, rolling on the spot.

The four of them barely managed to hide behind the statue—

"boom!"

Suddenly, the window frame on the left shattered, and a jet-black string, like a venomous snake, shot in, passing right where they had just stood, and pierced through a pillar as thick as a bowl inside the hall! Wood chips flew everywhere, leaving a smooth, mirror-like hole in the pillar.

Du Liuniang's face turned deathly pale, and she covered her mouth tightly, not daring to make a sound.

The string slowly retracted.

Then, a jet-black pipa floated in through the broken window.

It hovered in mid-air inside the hall, and the distorted human face on the zither slowly rotated, its empty eye sockets scanning the entire main hall.

The strings vibrated again, poised to strike.

Veins bulged on Chen Wenyuan's forehead. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "Clan leader, I'll go out and distract it. You all find a chance to leave—"

Just as he was about to get up, Li Changsheng grabbed his shoulder with astonishing force, pressing him firmly to the spot.

"Don't move."

The strings were already aimed at the direction where they were hiding—

hum!

Just then.

The headless statue suddenly lit up.

A faint golden light emanated from the statue's broken body.

As soon as the golden light appeared, the Ghost Pipa seemed to have encountered its natural enemy. The distorted human face on the zither suddenly twisted into a terrified shape, let out a silent shriek, and turned to flee!

The golden light arrived in an instant.

Before the ghost pipa could even let out a scream, it turned into a cloud of pink smoke and vanished with a bang.

With a clang, a pipa, entirely black with silver strings, fell to the ground, next to which lay a soul crystal gleaming with a faint pink light.

It's certain that Gui Pipa is dead beyond any doubt.

Chen Wenyuan finally managed to exhale a trembling breath: "I...I survived..."

Li Changle also peeked out from behind the statue, her face pale, but she couldn't help but stare at the pipa with shining eyes.

Li Changsheng did not move.

He closed his eyes, maximizing his [Malice Perception], and meticulously scanned the entire main hall, the entire courtyard, and even the area outside the temple walls. Only after confirming that there was no more malice did he stand up.

He walked up to the statue, straightened his clothes, and respectfully bowed three times.

"Thank you, God, for saving my life."

Chen Wenyuan and Li Changle also bowed. Du Liuniang struggled to her feet and bowed deeply as well.

Li Changle swiftly snatched the pipa and the soul crystal into her hands, her little face filled with surprise and delight.

"Brother! This pipa... it's a near-second-tier magic weapon! Although it's not as good as the Qingqiu Array Plate Master gave me, it's not far off! If you took it to the market, it would be worth at least several hundred spirit stones!"

"We still have a near-second-tier soul crystal, which is equivalent to ten top-grade first-tier soul crystals! We've hit the jackpot!!"

Li Changsheng took the pipa and probed it with his spiritual power.

This pipa is undoubtedly a powerful weapon for cultivators who excel at musical attacks.

Unfortunately, the Li family currently has no one proficient in music, so we'll keep it for now and deal with it later.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the Heavenly Book emitted a familiar vibration:

[Slayed a near-second-tier evil spirit, seized one near-second-tier magic weapon "Soul-Devouring Pipa" and one near-second-tier soul crystal, family fortune value +200, imperial merit value +200.]

[Current Family Luck Value: 3950/5000]

[Current Imperial Merit Points: 1650/10000]

Li Changsheng put the pipa and soul crystal into his storage bag and glanced around the hall.

Du Liuniang was grieving as she placed Du Changfeng and his two clansmen into coffins.

Li Changle was soft-hearted and wanted to go forward to comfort her, but Li Changsheng stopped her.

"Let her be by herself for a while."

Some wounds cannot be healed with just a few words of comfort.

From another perspective, Du Changfeng's death might not be entirely a bad thing for Du Liuniang. With the eldest branch of the Du family losing its leader, the obstacles to Du Liuniang taking over the family in the future will be reduced by at least half.

He would never say that aloud.

Li Changle nodded as if she understood, then her eyes suddenly lit up. She tugged at Li Changsheng's sleeve and said, "Brother, do you think we can bring this statue back to our Qinglan Mountain when we go down the mountain tomorrow?"

Li Changsheng did indeed have this intention.

Li Changle said earnestly:

"This statue protected us all night; without it, we would have died long ago. But it's been abandoned in this desolate wilderness, with no one even offering incense—how pitiful! Let's take it back and properly worship it, letting it enjoy the Li family's offerings—firstly, to repay its life-saving grace, and secondly, with it guarding Qinglan Mountain, the clan will have more protection in the future. A win-win situation, isn't that wonderful!"

Li Changsheng glanced at the headless statue and nodded slightly: "Alright."

Chen Wenyuan leaned closer: "Clan chief, with this statue here, evil spirits dare not enter the temple. Why don't we take the initiative and attack?"

This move is still somewhat risky.

Chen Wenyuan, however, was in high spirits:

"I'll go out and lure the evil spirits into the courtyard. You and my little sister can set up traps beforehand, and kill them one by one, or two by two. If we can defeat them, we'll fight them; if we can't, we'll retreat into the main hall—anyway, with this temple here, the evil spirits can't get in."

He became more and more excited as he spoke:

"Each time you slay an evil spirit, you gain Soul Crystals, the items the spirit possesses, and Imperial Merit Points. Most importantly—you can advance to the next round. It's a win-win-win situation, so why not?"

After considering it for a moment, Li Changsheng nodded:

"Can!"

He was determined to obtain the subsequent cultivation techniques of the "Chaos Primordial Scripture" from the Five Dragon Mountains. To secure a spot, he needed to slay enough evil spirits to ensure his advancement.

"Clan Chief Li," Du Liuniang also came closer, her face still showing grief, her voice a little hoarse, "Count me in for luring and killing evil spirits."

Li Changsheng hadn't expected that Du Liuniang wouldn't be defeated, but instead would become stronger with each setback. However, considering her injuries, he still offered a word of advice:

"Clan Chief Du, have you thought this through?"

"Yes, I have already lost two members of my clan. If I return empty-handed, not only will I be letting down their spirits in heaven, but the people of the eldest branch of the clan will definitely use this as an excuse to stir up trouble and usurp my position as clan leader."

Du Liuniang looked at Li Changsheng, fearing he might refuse:

"Although I am alone, I possess a top-tier, first-class trapping and killing formation."

"good!"

Li Changsheng was not one to waste time; every additional person meant an extra bit of strength.

Du Liuniang finally showed joy and said, "I have experience in dealing with evil spirits, so I will go out as bait."

"No," Li Changsheng shook his head. "It's too dangerous for one person. Two people should go out each time, taking turns."

Chen Wenyuan volunteered: "I'll go with Chief Du."

Li Changsheng thought for a moment, then called Chiyu to his side and patted its head: "Follow your brother-in-law and listen to him. If things go wrong, retreat immediately—your life is the most important thing."

Akabane glanced at Chen Wenyuan with her head tilted, then reluctantly jumped onto his shoulder.

Du Liuniang and Chen Wenyuan each checked the ritual implements, pushed open the temple door, and disappeared into the night.