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

Li Changsheng opened his eyes and was greeted by an unfamiliar rooftop.

He lay on a stone bed, beneath which were cold stone slabs, and surrounded by mottled walls.

cabin.

In the third courtyard, there is a small wooden house where the Soul-Nourishing Wood grows.

He propped himself up and sat up, his mind a complete blank, as if he had been struck hard with a blunt object. He tried to recall, but his memory only went back to the second courtyard—he passed through the moon gate, entered the third courtyard, saw the Yin Spring and Yang Spring, saw the Tai Chi diagram, entered the small wooden house, and then… then what? He couldn't remember.

It felt like a piece of my memory had been forcibly ripped out.

"It was most likely Fairy Murong who did it."

He rubbed his temples, deciding not to dwell on it any longer. If he couldn't remember, he wouldn't think about it anymore. He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the entire wooden hut. The spirit spring well was still there, the stone table was still there, the futon was still there. The remains were gone, along with the void stone. Only beside the spirit spring well remained a small seedling, growing forlornly in a crack in the rock.

The seedling was jet black, no more than two inches tall, with two tender leaves just unfolding, and a faint glow flowing between the veins.

Seedlings of the Soul-Nourishing Wood.

Li Changsheng's eyes lit up.

Although we couldn't get the mature Soul-Nourishing Tree, the seedling is still a treasure.

He crouched down and carefully dug the seedling out, roots and all, and put it into the jade box.

The Heavenly Book vibrated at the opportune moment:

[Obtained one Soul-Nourishing Wood Sapling, Current Stats: 10050/10000]

[Conditions met. Shall we begin a new page in the Heavenly Book?]

Li Changsheng was overjoyed.

It's time to open the Heavenly Book again.

But he did not start it immediately. Instead, he walked out of the cabin, through the third courtyard, and headed out of the palace.

"this……"

At the entrance to the forbidden area, a curtain of light stretched out in front.

Runes flowed and spiritual light surged on the light screen, emanating a chilling pressure. He cast the Yun family's token into his incantation, but the light screen remained completely still.

With his abilities, he simply couldn't open it from the inside.

"If we can't get out, so be it..."

He had feigned death, and the aftereffects were about to hit—a splitting headache, severe blood and qi depletion, requiring months of bed rest. This forbidden area was actually the safest place. Outside, ghost soldiers roamed freely, and powerful families fought amongst themselves; for him, in his weakened state, to go out would be suicide.

He turned and walked towards the second courtyard.

……

The House of Earthly Fire.

Li Changsheng pushed open the door to a pill-refining room. A fire rose from the ground, making the room warm and cozy. He sat cross-legged before the furnace, took out a spirit fruit, and released Zhaocai from his spirit beast pouch.

Zhao Cai perched on his shoulder, munching on a spirit fruit, juice splashing everywhere, its round eyes filled with satisfaction.

My mind sank into the heavenly book:

"Start a new page".

boom--

The new pages of the celestial book slowly unfold.

A brilliant golden light shone forth, and a phantom image of a destiny seed, shaped like a wine vessel and shimmering with an amber glow, materialized, accompanied by the following annotation:

[The Immortal of Wine]

Those born into this clan possess an extraordinary talent for brewing. They can sense the optimal ratio of spiritual ingredients and control the subtle timing of fermentation, increasing the quality of their brewed spirit wine by 30% and doubling the success rate. This destiny holds unparalleled value for the clan's winemakers.

"A wine connoisseur?!"

Li Changsheng nodded slightly.

This seed of magic perfectly complements the wine gourd he won from Steward Zhou. In the future, the red marrow rice produced from the spirit field can be used not only for consumption and sale, but also to brew spirit wine, doubling the profits.

He continued to look at the celestial book.

Another golden light entered my consciousness:

[Chief's Power - Resolution of Aftereffects:]

For the weakness of Qi and blood caused by the feigned death technique and the sequelae of bed rest, we offer a first-grade superior medicine formula, "Qi and Blood Restoration Pill".

This elixir is made primarily from Qi-blood herb, angelica flower, astragalus fruit, and Ganoderma lucidum dew, supplemented with twelve other medicinal herbs including Panax notoginseng and Rhodiola rosea. After consumption, it can rapidly replenish Qi and blood, repair damaged meridians, and reduce the time spent in bed for months to just one day.

This elixir formula is unique to the Heavenly Book; there is no other copy in the cultivation world.

Li Changsheng's eyes lit up.

One day, not several months.

This means he doesn't need to lie in the forbidden area for months; he can be mobile again in a day.

He carefully studied the prescription and wrote down all the necessary spiritual materials.

He had seen these four main medicinal herbs—Qi-blood grass, angelica flower, astragalus fruit, and Ganoderma lucidum dew—in his previous hauls, and he happened to have them in his storage bag. He also didn't lack auxiliary herbs, all of which were common spiritual materials.

The Heavenly Book trembled once more:

[The clan leader's alchemy talent has been detected and can be improved. Do you want to choose a direction for improvement?]

"Improve your alchemy talent."

Mysterious power descended from the void.

[Alchemy Talent: Rank 9 (20/100) → Rank 9 (40/100)]

Li Changsheng opened his eyes and took out the Hundred Herbs Cauldron from his storage bag.

The cauldron was entirely bluish-gray, with three legs and two handles, and its body was engraved with ancient runes and floral patterns. He had seized it from the storage bag offered by the Cheng family, but had not yet had time to refine it.

A spell was cast in.

The Hundred Herbs Cauldron trembled slightly.

The runes and floral patterns suddenly lit up, then dimmed again.

"what?"

After activation.

The runes on the cauldron were peeling away and dissipating piece by piece, and the floral patterns were also disappearing one by one. After a moment, the entire cauldron became as clean as new, its surface completely blank, with nothing on it.

It seems to be waiting for a new owner to leave a new mark on it.

Li Changsheng bit his fingertip and dripped a drop of his blood into the cauldron.

The blood seeped into the cauldron, and the Hundred Herbs Cauldron hummed, establishing a faint connection with him. He then poured his spiritual energy into the cauldron, which flowed slowly along its inner wall. Impurities were gradually removed, and the cauldron's walls became increasingly smooth and warm to the touch.

The ritual lasted for half an hour.

The Hundred Herbs Cauldron floated in front of him, its entire body shimmering with a faint bluish-gray light, and its surface radiating a subtle spiritual glow, but the runes and patterns did not reappear.

Li Changsheng retrieved the Hundred Herbs Cauldron and studied the elixir formula once more.

He memorized the order, dosage, and timing of each of the medicinal herbs: Qi Xue Cao, Dang Gui Hua, Huang Qi Guo, Ling Zhi Lu, San Qi, Hong Jing Tian...

Start the furnace.

He cast a spell into the talisman array beneath the alchemy furnace, and the earth fire roared to life, crimson flames gushing from the holes and licking the bottom of the Hundred Herbs Cauldron. He adjusted the temperature of the earth fire, and once the cauldron was evenly heated, he first added the Qi and Blood Grass into it.

The spiritual energy transformed into invisible hands, peeling away the impurities from the Qi and Blood Grass, leaving only the pure medicinal liquid.

Angelica flowers, Astragalus fruit, and Ganoderma lucidum extract—one ingredient after another—are purified, blended, and refined.

Every step was smoother than ever before—after cultivating the first level of the "Refining God Technique," his spiritual power increased significantly, and his perception of medicinal properties became more acute; his mana became purer after being tempered through dual cultivation, and his control over the heat became more precise; his alchemy talent increased by forty percent, and his understanding of alchemy deepened; the earth fire was stable and intense, many times stronger than the fire generated by burning spiritual materials; although the Hundred Herbs Cauldron was not of a high grade, it was extremely compatible with his spiritual power.

With all five factors considered, his alchemy efficiency more than doubled compared to before.

In the first batch, the medicinal liquid successfully fused, swirling and concentrating within the cauldron. He manipulated the pill-condensing incantation, channeling spiritual energy into the cauldron, attempting to condense the liquid into a pill. However, he hadn't fully mastered the temperature of the earth fire—it was too high. The medicinal liquid was scorched the moment it attempted to condense, turning into a cloud of black smoke.

failure.

Undeterred, Li Changsheng cleaned the residue from the cauldron and started again.

The second batch. He lowered the temperature of the earth fire, proceeding with extreme caution at every step. Purification, fusion, and tempering were all completed in one smooth motion. When condensing the elixir, he slowed down the speed of his incantations, allowing the medicinal liquid to gradually shrink and condense within the cauldron.

A pill was formed.

The pill is about the size of a longan, entirely red, with a faint sheen on its surface.

Inferior quality.

Li Changsheng put the elixir into a jade bottle and continued.

The third batch. This time, he was more skilled at controlling the earth fire and more precise in timing the addition. The medicinal liquid churned, blended, and concentrated in the cauldron. At the moment of condensation, he felt three clumps of medicinal liquid forming simultaneously in the cauldron.

Three.

He made a hand seal, and three pills flew out of the cauldron and landed in the jade bottle in his hand.

The first pill is of low quality, the second is of medium quality, and the third—with faint cloud patterns appearing on its surface, a rich medicinal fragrance, and a restrained spiritual light—is of high quality.

Li Changsheng smiled and put the jade bottle into his storage bag.

Just then, the Hundred Herbs Cauldron suddenly hummed.