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

Li Changsheng glanced at his surroundings and frowned.

At the entrance to the barrier, there were only messy traces of a fight and the remains of a puppet beast.

The unconscious female cultivator has disappeared.

Bloodstains remained on the ground, and the trail was pointing towards the palace.

The bloodstains were fresh, clearly just left behind—she had woken up.

Li Changsheng's heart sank.

"Boom!"

Suddenly.

A loud noise came from behind the city wall ahead.

The woman had already opened the palace gates.

Suddenly, Zhaocai, hidden in Li Changsheng's sleeve, darted out and perched on his shoulder. Its little nose twitched, its round eyes widened, and drool dripped from its mouth. It stretched out its tiny paws, pointing frantically towards the palace, squeaking anxiously—there was treasure ahead, an incredible treasure!

"Good fortune, don't move!"

The divination in the Heavenly Book clearly stated that the palace contained what he needed: Soul-Transforming Grass, Azure Sand, Soul-Nourishing Wood, and the Void Stone that could evolve the Heavenly Book. Each of these items was urgently needed; if he missed this opportunity, who knew when he would have to wait again.

But the female cultivator had already woken up.

Even if a high-level cultivator's cultivation is suppressed to the peak of Qi Refining, their divine sense still remains. Mo Yu's Shadowless Invisibility Technique can deceive a Qi Refining cultivator, but it absolutely cannot deceive this opponent. Once you get close, you will inevitably be discovered.

Li Changsheng took a deep breath, having already made up his mind.

He sat cross-legged and began to practice the Turtle Breathing Feign Death Technique.

The heartbeat gradually slowed. From nearly a hundred beats per minute, it dropped to sixty, forty, twenty, until it was almost imperceptible. The body temperature slowly decreased. From warm to icy cold, it became indistinguishable from the surrounding stone walls. The breath dissipated little by little. Breathing stopped, pores closed, and even the fluctuations of spiritual energy completely disappeared.

Mo Yu floated out from the Hundred Ghosts Banner and subconsciously reached out to check his breath—no breath. She then felt his pulse—no beat. Her face changed, and she almost cried out in alarm.

Li Changsheng opened his eyes and shook his head at her.

Mo Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Return to the Hundred Ghost Banner," Li Changsheng transmitted his voice. "Do not come out without my summons."

Mo Yu nodded, then transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into the banner.

Li Changsheng stood up, his figure completely merging into the void. It wasn't the kind of concealment that Mo Yu achieved through spiritual energy, but rather a true "non-existence."

He went around to the corner gate of the city wall and passed through it silently.

……

After passing through the side gate, a bright and open space suddenly appeared before us.

This is a vast Taoist temple, paved with bluestone, and several hundred feet in circumference. On both sides of the temple stand dozens of thick stone pillars, carved with ancient runes and patterns—some depicting flying apsaras, others mythical beasts. Despite enduring thousands of years of wind and rain, their former grandeur is still evident.

At the end of the temple grounds stood a magnificent palace.

Three courtyards and three entrances, layer upon layer. Flying eaves and brackets, carved beams and painted rafters.

The main hall is about ten zhang high, with a roof covered in golden glazed tiles that still gleam faintly in the dim light. The side halls on either side are slightly lower, but equally imposing. On the steps in front of the halls, two stone lions crouch on either side, lifelike, as if they might come to life at any moment.

Li Changsheng stood in the shadow of the side gate, gazing at the palace, his heart filled with awe.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of one of the ten ancient sects.

What a magnificent sight it must have been during its heyday!

He focused his mind and activated his [Malice Perception] at full power.

Strangely, he didn't sense any malice in this area.

That female cultivator isn't here.

He glanced down at Zhaocai.

Zhao Cai was perched on his shoulder, its little nose twitching rapidly, its round eyes fixed on the side hall on the left, and drool was already dripping onto his collar.

Li Changsheng followed its gaze—to the left side hall.

"Walk."

He silently darted toward the left side hall.

……

Behind the side hall lies a quiet courtyard.

The courtyard is small, surrounded by walls on all four sides, and has a clear spring in the middle.

Spring water gushed from the ground, forming a square pool about ten feet in size in the courtyard. The water was crystal clear, emitting a faint fluorescent glow. The spring water was icy cold, and a thin layer of white mist floated on the surface of the pool—this was a Yin Spring, a spring formed from the condensation of Yin energy, which was extremely rare.

Beside the Yin Spring, clumps of jet-black spiritual herbs with ink-black leaves grow scattered about.

Soul-transforming grass.

Li Changsheng's eyes lit up.

This is precisely the main ingredient of the Soul Transformation Pill he needs to cultivate the second level of the "Refining God Technique"! Something that has long since disappeared from the outside world is growing in large numbers here!

Zhao Cai saw it too, and squeaked excitedly, tugging at Li Changsheng's sleeve with its little paws, wishing it could pounce on him immediately.

With a thought, Li Changsheng put it into his spirit beast pouch.

There is something in the Yin Spring.

Within the [Malice Perception], a surge of malice welled up from the depths of the spring—cold, brutal, and bloodthirsty. Though not intense, the malice carried a chilling sense of oppression, as if it might leap from the spring at any moment.

Li Changsheng held his breath and remained motionless.

wow-

The water surface exploded.

A massive, jet-black serpent sprang from the dark spring. It was as thick as a water bucket and several meters long, its scales gleaming with a cold, eerie light, like iron armor. A single horn grew from its head, its tip glowing with a ghostly green light, and its vertical pupils were blood-red like agate, flicking their black tongues.

A third-tier Yin Beast, the One-Horned Yin Serpent. It prefers the yin and dislikes the yang, dwelling year-round in yin springs, feeding on yin energy. It is ferocious and has an extremely strong sense of territory. Its horn contains potent venom; those struck by it will have their spiritual power dissipated and die within ten breaths.

The unicorn-like serpent's vertical pupils swept across the courtyard, its tongue flickering as it scanned the air for any scent. It had caught a whiff of something—just a moment ago, a trace of the wealth-bringing aura had been leaked.

But it was only a trace.

Li Changsheng stood in the corner, his heartbeat zero, his body temperature zero, his breath zero. The vertical pupils of the one-horned Yin Serpent swept over him without lingering. It searched for a long time but found no trace of the intruder. Finally, it impatiently flicked its tail and sank back into the Yin Spring.

The water droplets fell, and the courtyard returned to silence.

Li Changsheng waited for a long time, confirming that there was no more movement in the Yin Spring, before silently approaching its edge. He crouched down and picked the Soul-Transforming Grass one by one, storing them in his jade box. His movements were extremely light and slow, not daring to make the slightest sound.

As he put the last Soul-Transforming Grass into the box, he exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

I've got the Soul-Transforming Grass.

He glanced at Yin Quan, then turned and sped out of the courtyard.

Zhao Cai paced anxiously in the spirit beast pouch—there were still treasures inside, why did its master leave? Li Changsheng patted the spirit beast pouch and transmitted his voice:

"Don't rush, take it one step at a time."

at this time.

The celestial book reveals:

[Family Luck Value +80, Current: 8780/10000]

...

...

Li Changsheng came out of the side hall, made sure no one was around, and then released Zhaocai from the spirit beast bag.

As soon as Zhao Cai landed, it squatted down, its little paws crossed over its chest, its round eyes looking at him with a pitiful expression, its little mouth pouting so much it could hang an oil bottle. Its appearance clearly said—Master, you're bullying me! You won't even let me touch the Soul-Transforming Grass.

Li Changsheng was both amused and annoyed. He took out a spirit fruit from his storage bag and handed it to Zhao Cai. Zhao Cai's eyes lit up, and it grabbed the fruit, crunching away and munching away, juice splashing everywhere. Its grievances were long forgotten.

After finishing the spirit fruit, Zhao Cai licked its paws, twitched its little nose a few times, and darted towards the second courtyard. After running a few steps, it turned back to look at him, squeaking and urging him on.

Li Changsheng followed.

……

The second courtyard is completely different from the first.

There are no dark springs or spiritual herbs here, only rows of low stone houses, neatly arranged on both sides of the courtyard. Ancient runes are carved on the lintels of the stone houses, some with the character "丹" (dan, elixir) and others with the character "器" (qi, vessel). A faint smell of sulfur permeates the air, and the ground underfoot is warm, getting hotter the further you go in.

The House of Earthly Fire.

Li Changsheng pushed open the door of the nearest stone house, and a wave of heat rushed towards him.

In the center of the room was a three-foot square alchemy furnace, beneath which was a bottomless hole, from which a faint red light flickered—that was the earth fire, but it had been extinguished, leaving only residual heat.

He crouched down and carefully examined the rune array on the ground.

It was an octagonal array plate, with spirit jade as its base and red copper as its veins, covered with densely packed runes. The lines of the runes were ancient and vigorous, unlike any talisman he had ever seen. In the center of the array plate was a fist-sized crimson spirit stone—a fire-attribute spirit stone—serving as the key to ignite the earth fire. At each of the eight corners was a thumb-sized spirit stone, arranged in the eight trigrams, together forming a complete "Earth Fire Guiding Vein Array".

This formation uses fire-attribute spirit stones as a guide, and the power of the Eight Trigrams to draw the magma fire from deep underground into the alchemy furnace.

Materials required for setting up the array: 81 pieces of spirit jade, 36 catties of red copper essence, 9 fire-attribute spirit stones, plus an array plate personally carved by a second-tier array master. The materials are expensive, and the process is complicated, beyond the reach of ordinary forces.

The walls, floor, and ceiling of the stone house are all paved with a bluish-black brick.

Li Changsheng reached out and touched it; it was warm to the touch and faintly contained spiritual energy.

This is obsidian, a second-tier spiritual material that is fire-resistant, pressure-resistant, and corrosion-resistant. It is often used to build alchemy and weapon-forging rooms and can withstand thousands of years of earth fire without breaking. The cost of just the bricks and stones for this one stone house would be enough to bankrupt a small Qi-refining family.

Li Changsheng sighed inwardly, his gaze falling on the shelf beside the alchemy furnace.

The shelf was empty except for a single jade slip lying there all alone, covered in dust. He picked up the jade slip.

The Heavenly Book trembled:

[Discovery of a cultivation technique lineage: The first level of the Seven Apertures Elixir Classic]

[The ancient alchemy tradition has seven levels; this jade slip only contains the first level. Upon reaching mastery, one can open the heart aperture within the body, greatly enhancing their talent for alchemy.]

Li Changsheng's heart skipped a beat, and his consciousness sank into the jade slip.

Lines of ancient seal script appeared in my mind:

"The wonder of alchemy lies in the mind. The mind is the master of the spirit. If even one orifice is blocked, alchemy is difficult to achieve. Therefore, the sages created this method to open the seven orifices in the mind. Once one orifice is opened, all orifices are opened..."

The scripture was obscure and profound, and Li Changsheng managed to understand the general meaning.

The first level of the Seven Apertures Elixir Classic requires opening an additional aperture in the heart—the Heart Aperture. The method involves using one's own essence and blood as a guide and divine consciousness as a tool to carve an "opening talisman" in the heart. On the day the talisman is completed, the Heart Aperture opens, and one's aptitude for alchemy greatly increases.

Required preparations: 49 drops of essence blood, divine sense must reach the second level of the Divine Refinement Technique to give birth to divine sense, and a "Spirit Opening Talisman" embryo is also needed - this embryo needs to be made by a second-level talisman maker with special spiritual materials and cannot be bought on the market.

However, once the mind's aperture is opened, the benefits are enormous—the perception of spiritual herbs is greatly enhanced, and one can distinguish extremely subtle differences in their properties; the control of the heat during alchemy becomes more precise, increasing the success rate by at least 30%; and with long-term cultivation, one can even open the fire of the mind's aperture.

Li Changsheng carefully put the jade slip into his storage bag.

Of all the arts of cultivation, he has a natural talent for alchemy. This "Seven Apertures Alchemy Classic" is just the right time for him to come, and it will allow him to go further on the path of alchemy in the future.

The heavenly book trembled:

[Family Luck Value +220, Current: 9000/10000]

……

When Li Changsheng came out of the alchemy room, he found that Zhao Cai was gone.

He searched the courtyard and finally found it in a weapon-refining room. Zhao Cai was squatting among a pile of broken copper and iron, with something in its mouth, wagging its tail proudly.

It was a palm-sized magical artifact, shaped like a flat gourd, entirely black, with fine runes engraved on its surface. Li Changsheng took it, shook it, and heard a rustling sound coming from inside. He unscrewed the gourd's mouth and poured out some fine sand.

The sand grains were as fine as dust, bluish-gray in color, and glowed faintly in the dim light. They were warm to the touch and seemed to have a subtle flow of spiritual energy.

Sky blue sand.

The celestial book appeared at the opportune moment:

[Azure Sand: Can repair cracks in the ribs of the Seven Treasures Glazed Umbrella. After repair, the umbrella's defense is greatly enhanced, capable of withstanding all attacks below Tier 2. Requires a Tier 2 Refiner to operate.]

Li Changsheng was overjoyed. Finally, there was a way to repair the cracks in the Seven Treasures Glazed Umbrella.

He carefully put the azure sand into his storage bag and patted Zhaocai's head: "Well done."

Zhao Cai puffed out its little chest, squeaked twice, and looked like it was "of course".

The Heavenly Book trembled slightly.

[Family Luck Value +200, Current: 9200/10000]

……

Li Changsheng walked around the courtyard, his gaze landing on the row of houses made of earth fire. If these obsidian stones could be moved back to Qinglan Mountain, the Li family could build their own alchemy and weapon-forging rooms. He summoned Chi Yu and asked it to try cutting them.

A wisp of wind blade from the Crimson Feather struck the wall, sparks flying, leaving only a faint white mark. The Crimson Feather unleashed several more wind blades, but the Obsidian Stone remained unmoved. Undeterred, it unleashed a fireball, which exploded, leaving the wall completely undamaged.

"The entire House of Earth and Fire is a single entity." Li Changsheng squatted down and carefully examined the seams in the corner of the wall. He discovered that the obsidian stones were bonded together with some kind of special spiritual liquid, making them an inseparable whole.

He shook his head: "Forget it, we can't move it."

Akabane was unwilling to give up, and slashed another wind blade at the ground—this time not the wall, but the ground itself.

The rune array on the ground was struck by the wind blades, its spiritual light flashing wildly. Suddenly, the fire-attribute spirit stone at the center of the array glowed. Immediately afterward, a deep rumble came from the hole beneath the alchemy furnace, and a crimson flame shot out from it!

The ground fire ignited.

The intense heat instantly transformed the entire stone house into a furnace. Chi Yu was startled and flapped her wings, flying away. Li Changsheng, however, remained still. He stood before the furnace, feeling the steady and intense heat of the earth fire, his eyes brightening.

This temperature is much more stable and higher than the fire he usually uses to burn spiritual materials. Using earth fire to refine pills can increase the success rate by at least 20%, and the quality of the pills will also be better.

He almost couldn't resist opening the furnace on the spot and refining the Soul-Transforming Pill.

But he held back.

The most important treasure—the Void Stone—has not yet been found.

He turned and walked out of the stone house, put the red feather back into his spirit beast pouch, and patted Zhaocai's head: "Let's go to the next one."

Zhao Cai squeaked and darted toward the third courtyard.