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

Since there are no Soul-Nourishing Wood or Void Stones in the first two courtyards, they must be in the third courtyard.

And the mysterious Fairy Murong is most likely among them.

Fortunately, he used the Turtle Breathing technique to feign death.

Pass through the moon gate.

Li Changsheng was stunned.

What lay before them was not an ordinary courtyard, but a giant Tai Chi diagram.

On the left is a pool of dark, mirror-like water, emanating a chilling aura—the Yin Spring. On the right is a pool of crimson water, steaming with heat and faintly flickering with firelight—the Yang Spring. The two springs, one Yin and one Yang, one cold and one hot, form a yin-yang symbol, converging at a central point.

At the heart of the formation stands an octagonal platform, about ten feet square.

This formation is called the "Yin-Yang Chaos Transformation Formation," which is said to have been used by ancient major sects to harmonize Yin and Yang and transform spiritual energy. It uses the Yin energy of the Yin Spring and the Yang energy of the Yang Spring as a guide, transforming them through the formation platform into pure chaotic primordial energy, which is then injected into the central pavilion.

The pavilion in the center stands alone in the very center of the Tai Chi diagram.

The pavilion's door was open, and inside, a mystical atmosphere filled the air, with white mist obscuring everything. Only the gentle sound of flowing water emanated from within, clear and melodious like a zither or a stringed instrument.

Li Changsheng activated [Malice Perception].

Strangely, there was no malice in this third courtyard.

Isn't Fairy Murong here?

Or perhaps her malice has been shielded by some force?

He didn't approach rashly, but first walked around the edge of the courtyard to make sure there were no traps before heading towards the central pavilion.

The closer you get to the pavilion, the denser the chaotic primordial energy becomes.

The Chaos Primordial Scripture he cultivated operated on its own, greedily absorbing the chaotic primordial energy and refining the magical power within his body. Although there were no subsequent cultivation methods, making it difficult for his cultivation level to advance, the purity of his magical power was slowly increasing.

Step into the pavilion.

A misty fog rushed towards us, and our vision was limited to no more than three feet.

The sound of flowing water grew closer and clearer.

He followed the sound, and as the spiritual mist gradually thinned, a bathing pool about ten feet square appeared before him.

In the bath, a woman leaned against the wall with her back to him.

Her shoulders were bare, her skin as white as snow and as smooth as satin. Her long, black hair cascaded down her shoulders, a few strands clinging to her neck. Water droplets slid down her hair, lingering for a moment at her collarbone before continuing their descent. The pool water reached above her waist, and a few emerald green leaves floated on the surface, obscuring the view beneath.

A fleeting glimpse.

Li Changsheng immediately looked away, not daring to look any longer.

He quickly glanced around the entire pavilion.

The bath occupied most of the pavilion's space, with a protruding spirit stone in the center of the pool, bubbling with chaotic primordial energy—the source of the pavilion's spiritual energy. Opposite the bath was a small wooden hut, its door tightly shut, the doorframe covered in cobwebs, clearly indicating that no one had entered for a long time.

The Fairy Murong seemed to be using the bath to heal her wounds.

Li Changsheng silently retreated to the corner of the room and glanced at the small wooden house.

With the ability to pass through walls, I should be able to get in.

He made a hand seal, his body blended into the wall, and he passed through it silently.

……

The small wooden house was not large, about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) square.

The room was simply furnished with only a stone table, a futon, and a well with a sacred spring.

On the stone table sat a jade pot covered in dust, and the futon was worn and tattered. Yet, the spirit spring well still gushed forth spiritual energy. The spiritual energy was so concentrated that it was almost condensed into liquid, many times stronger than the spirit spring well on Qinglan Mountain—a fifth-order spirit spring well.

Beside the Lingquan Well, a small tree, over three feet tall and entirely black, grows quietly. Its trunk is as black as ink, its branches and leaves as black as lacquer, and its canopy, like an umbrella, emits a faint, ethereal glow.

Soul nourishing wood.

Li Changsheng was overjoyed; he had finally found it.

On the other side of the Soul-Nourishing Wood, a skeleton sits cross-legged.

The remains were remarkably well-preserved. Though the flesh was dried out, the bones remained intact, and the facial features were still faintly discernible, revealing a middle-aged Murong fairy. She wore an ancient Taoist robe embroidered with patterns of the sun, moon, and stars, its former splendor still evident despite the passage of thousands of years. Her hands were folded on her knees, her right hand holding a fist-sized stone.

The stone was entirely grayish-black, with a pitted and uneven surface, and was quite unremarkable.

But the moment Li Changsheng saw it, the Heavenly Book in his sea of ​​consciousness trembled violently, almost bursting out of his body.

Void Stone.

The materials needed for the evolution of the Heavenly Book are right before your eyes.

But Li Changsheng did not move.

After experiencing Ye Gongfeng's possession, he became more wary of everything.

The remains were so well preserved—uncorrupted for thousands of years. This wasn't due to the spiritual spring, but rather because the person's cultivation was exceptionally high during their lifetime, and their physical body had reached a state of incorruptibility. Would such a person have no contingency plans after death?

[Malicious Sensing] is operating at full capacity.

A powerful malice emanated from the remains. It wasn't the malice of the living, but a dormant, lurking malice waiting to be awakened. It was deeply hidden, and he wouldn't have noticed it if his senses hadn't been sharp enough.

There's something wrong with these remains.

……

wow-

The sound of water came from the bathtub.

The fairy Murong had already gotten up from the bath.

Riding the wind.

Within this forbidden area, her cultivation was no longer suppressed. Above Foundation Establishment, Golden Core? Or even higher? Li Changsheng didn't know, but he knew that this woman could crush him with a flick of her wrist.

Fairy Murong landed in front of the small wooden house, and with a wave of her sleeve, the spider web on the door was dispersed by her spiritual power, and the wooden door opened with a sound.

Instead of immediately stepping forward, she took out a drum from her storage bag.

The drum was about the size of a palm, its surface as black as ink, and its body made of some kind of dark red wood, covered with eerie runes. The drumstick was a slender bone rod, with a blood-red gem inlaid at the top. This drum was called the "Soul-Suppressing Drum," originating from the northern frontier, and was a magical artifact specifically designed to target spirits and ghosts. When the drum sounded, spirits trembled; at best, they would lose their senses, and at worst, their souls would be scattered.

Fairy Murong infused her spiritual power, and the drumsticks gently struck the drumhead.

"Thump—"

A muffled drumbeat resounded, and the sound waves condensed into a blood-red rune in the air. With a whoosh, the rune disappeared into the remains.

The remains remained motionless.

Fairy Murong knocked three more times.

Three drumbeats sounded, and three blood-red runes disappeared into the remains.

"what?"

A gasp of surprise rang out in the wooden house.

It wasn't Fairy Murong's voice, but rather the voice emanating from the Soul-Nourishing Wood.

A faint light appeared on the Soul-Nourishing Wood.

The eerie light gradually coalesced, transforming into a semi-transparent figure—a woman, middle-aged in appearance, with a beautiful face, yet her brows held an indescribable sharpness. Her soul was as solid as a real person's, clearly indicating that she had possessed extremely high cultivation in her previous life.

She looked at Fairy Murong and sighed softly:

"After waiting for so many years, I have finally found a kindred spirit. Little one, we are destined to meet, and I am willing to impart all that I have learned in my life—"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Fairy Murong struck the Soul-Suppressing Drum once more, this time not as a test, but as a killing blow. The drumbeats thundered, and runes rained down, overwhelming the soul.

"You don't know what's good for you!" The spirit sneered, its kind expression vanishing instantly, replaced by a ferocious and ruthless expression. "If you won't listen to reason, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

With a wave of her hand, a faint light blocked the storm of runes, and in a flash, she pounced towards Fairy Murong.

Two figures were locked in combat inside the wooden house.

Li Changsheng retreated quickly.

He never considered the idea of ​​"when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits"—in a battle of this level, he wasn't even qualified to be the fisherman.

Treasures are precious, but life is more important.

Just as he was about to pass through the moon gate—

hum!

Suddenly, the entire courtyard was illuminated by a blinding light.

A huge light curtain rose from the ground, enveloping the entire third courtyard.

Just one step away.

Li Changsheng was trapped inside the light curtain, unable to move forward or backward.

...

...

Outside the wooden house, in the training ground, two figures were locked in combat, the aftershocks of their spiritual energy collision shattering the bluestone on the ground.

The two fought their way from the wooden house to the courtyard, and then from the courtyard to above the Tai Chi diagram.

The Yin Spring and Yang Spring surged violently under the impact of spiritual energy, splashing water out of the pool and converging in the air. The collision of Yin and Yang energies did not result in an explosion or a roar, but rather they silently merged together, transforming into a colorless and odorless gas that spread out without a sound.

Li Changsheng suddenly felt his breathing become rapid.

It wasn't nervousness, but rather a natural bodily reaction.

His heart was racing, his blood was flowing faster, and an unnatural flush rose to his skin. His entire body felt like it was crawling with countless ants, itchy and hot, an indescribable discomfort.

He was startled and quickly held his breath, but the burning sensation did not subside—the poison did not enter through breathing, but rather directly through the skin and into the bloodstream.

On the other side, Fairy Murong also noticed something was wrong.

Her swordplay suddenly slowed, and an unnatural flush appeared on her face. The flush spread from her cheeks to her ears, and then from her ears to her neck, making her feel as if she were being roasted over a fire. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to continue attacking, but her swordplay was clearly not as sharp as before.

The illusory image of the spirit remained unaffected.

She floated in the air, looking down at Fairy Murong, a smug smile playing on her lips.

"Little one, how are you feeling?" Her voice carried a hint of mockery. "I put a lot of thought into designing this Yin-Yang Formation back then. The convergence of Yin and Yang springs was originally intended to transform chaotic primordial energy, but I deliberately left a contingency plan—when Yin and Yang are out of balance, a strange poison will be generated. It is colorless, odorless, formless, and intangible; those below the Golden Core stage have no cure."

Fairy Murong gritted her teeth and didn't reply.

The spirit continued, "I won't hide the effects of this poison from you. If you can't find a partner for dual cultivation within half an incense stick's time, your spiritual power will surge backward through your meridians, causing you to bleed from all seven orifices and die. The gruesome death is too painful for me to describe."

"Vicious!" Fairy Murong cursed through gritted teeth.

Shenhun didn't take it seriously and laughed, "Vicious? I was known as the 'Poison Bodhisattva' back in the day, and that name wasn't given for nothing."

Fairy Murong sneered, "You say this poison is incurable? Then if you possess my body, won't you also suffer from this poison?"

The spirit shook its head, looking at her with pity: "Little child, I am a spirit, without a physical body, so this poison has no effect on me. Once I possess your body, this poison will have long since dissipated along with your physical form."

Without another word, she flashed forward and pounced on Fairy Murong. Fairy Murong swung her sword to defend herself, but the poison within her body was flaring up more and more severely, making her swordplay slower and weaker, and she was on the verge of collapse.

With a swift palm strike, a chilling force emanated from the blow, forcing Fairy Murong back several steps. She smiled triumphantly, about to press her advantage—

Suddenly, she stopped.

She turned her head, her gaze passing through the courtyard and landing on Li Changsheng. A strange light flashed in his deep eyes, and then the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

"Oh? There's also a little mouse."

She raised her hand and cast a spell. Li Changsheng felt an invisible force envelop him, and his body was involuntarily thrown out of his hiding place, crashing heavily onto the dojo.

His figure was exposed.

When Fairy Murong saw Li Changsheng, her expression changed drastically.

A mere cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining had unknowingly stumbled upon this place, and she was completely unaware. If her divine soul hadn't forced him out, she wouldn't have known there was a third person in this forbidden area.

Just now.

"Guanyin Seal!"

With a low shout, Shenhun formed a hand seal, and a golden phantom of Guanyin appeared behind her. Guanyin had a thousand hands and a thousand eyes, each holding a magical artifact, exuding astonishing power. The moment the phantom appeared, the air in the entire courtyard seemed to freeze.

Fairy Murong's face turned pale, but she did not back down.

She closed her eyes, and a five-petaled mark appeared between her brows—a five-petaled plum blossom, each petal containing pure spiritual power. One petal fell from her brow, transforming into a beam of white light that shot out from between her brows.

The light was as pure as snow, as dazzling as the sun, silent yet carrying a power that could change the very fabric of the world.

The illusory image of Guanyin shattered like paper before that light.

Shenhun's expression changed drastically. She tried to escape, but the light had already locked onto her, leaving her no way to avoid it.

"Who—who exactly are you?!"

She screamed in terror, her voice filled with disbelief. The light entered her body, and her soul, like ice and snow under the blazing sun, vanished.

……

Exhausted, Fairy Murong struggled to retrieve various antidote pills from her storage bag and stuff them into her mouth—Clarity Pill, Antidote Pill, Calamity-Breaking Pill, Myriad Spirit Pill… bottle after bottle, pill after pill. But all the pills seemed to sink without a trace, having no effect whatsoever. The burning sensation not only failed to subside but intensified, as if countless ants were gnawing at her entire body, and her consciousness began to blur.

She looked at Li Changsheng.

A lowly cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining stood in the corner, his face flushed and his breathing rapid, clearly also poisoned. But his eyes remained clear, without the slightest panic, nor any intention to take advantage of the situation.

Fairy Murong gritted her teeth.

With a flick of her sleeve, she used spiritual energy to lift Li Changsheng up and drop him into the bath.

The pool water was cool, but it couldn't extinguish the heat inside my body.

Before Li Changsheng could react, Fairy Murong had already pressed herself against him, placing her hands on his shoulders and pinning him against the pool wall.

Her eyes were half-closed, and her veil had long since fallen away, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.

"Don't move."