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

Yu Feng led the Yun family's array masters, with the assistance of Li Changle, and worked for seven whole days.

Array flags, array plates, spirit stones, talismans... one by one, they were set up throughout Qinglan Mountain. Yu Feng personally surveyed the direction of the earth's veins, selected the spiritual pivot nodes, and inserted 108 array flags into the mountain according to the numbers of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends. Li Changle followed behind him, helping and recording as he went, his small notebook filled with his insights.

The seventh day at dusk.

Standing atop the mountain peak beside the Spirit Spring Well, gazing at the continuous mountain range below, Yu Feng said to Li Chang Le, "Go and call your brother here; it's time to activate the formation."

Li Changle responded and ran down the mountain in a flash.

A moment later, Li Changsheng arrived at the mountain peak. Yu Feng pointed to the array platform, about ten feet square, next to the spirit spring well, and said, "Put ten thousand spirit stones into the groove of the array platform."

Li Changsheng patted his storage bag, and ten thousand low-grade spirit stones poured out like water, neatly stacking them into the ninety-nine grooves of the array platform. As the spirit stones entered the grooves, the dense runes on the surface of the array platform lit up one by one, their spiritual light flowing and illuminating the entire mountain peak as bright as day.

Yu Feng formed hand seals and cast a spell into the array platform.

"rise!"

boom--

The entire Qinglan Mountain was trembling.

Deep underground, it was as if a slumbering dragon had been awakened, emitting a deep rumble. The spiritual veins, like the dragon's body, slowly writhed, stretched, and expanded deep within the mountain. Those originally narrow and congested branches of the spiritual veins were widened and cleared by the erosion of spiritual energy. The tentacles of the spiritual veins extended in all directions, passing through the mountains, crossing rivers, and reaching all the way towards Qilin Town.

Backyard of Tianlong Temple.

Grandfather Li Shouren was discussing the procedures for the triennial grand ceremony at the Tianlong Temple with the town mayor of Qilin Town. The mayor, surnamed Zhou and named Zhengde, was in his forties, burly, and a Xiantian martial artist. He deeply admired immortal masters like Li Shouren, and because Li Shouren was the temple keeper of the Tianlong Temple, he respected him even more, not daring to straighten his back when he spoke.

"Mayor Zhou, the grand ceremony held every three years must be grand," Li Shouren said slowly, stroking his beard. "Firstly, it's to demonstrate divine power, ensuring the people never forget the Heavenly Dragon God, and over time, it will become a set of rituals within our Li family. Secondly, through the grand ceremony, we can promote the Heavenly Dragon God and attract more pilgrims. Ideally, we can also attract villagers from the neighboring two counties."

Zhou Zhengde nodded repeatedly, about to speak, when suddenly a violent tremor came from beneath his feet.

"An earthquake?" His expression changed.

Immediately afterwards, the ground in the corner of the backyard suddenly rose up, the soil cracked open, and a milky white spiritual spring gushed out from the crack, drawing a graceful arc in the air before settling into a small puddle on the ground. The spring gurgled, filled with spiritual energy, and exuded a refreshing fragrance.

A mid-grade first-level spiritual spring well.

Zhou Zhengde's eyes widened, and he immediately knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly towards the direction of the Spirit Spring Well: "The Heavenly Dragon God has manifested! The Heavenly Dragon God sensed that we were going to hold a grand ceremony for him and has bestowed his blessings!"

Li Shouren was stunned for a moment, then realized—this was the upgrade of his family's spiritual vein, with its spiritual energy extending to the Heavenly Dragon Temple. He didn't reveal it, but instead clasped his hands together, adopted a devout expression, closed his eyes, and said, "Heavenly Dragon God, you are merciful, protecting this region."

After kowtowing, Zhou Zhengde was so excited that his face turned red: "Temple Keeper, I will definitely spread the word when I get back, so that people from all around will know about the miraculous appearance of the Heavenly Dragon God!"

Li Shouren nodded and instructed, "We must spread the word of the people's piety, so that the Heavenly Dragon God will sense the incense offerings and bestow more blessings upon them."

Zhou Zhengde readily agreed, eager to fly back to town immediately and spread the news far and wide with fanfare.

……

The underground river behind the mountain.

Li's mother and father stood by the river, gazing at the lush mulberry trees, discussing the possibility of expanding their planting.

"Father, these spirit mulberry trees are growing very well. We can build a temporary structure above the underground river," Mother Li said, pointing to the space above the river. "The spiritual energy here is abundant. If we add spirit soil to the temporary structure, we can grow spirit mulberry trees. These trees are hardy and don't pick and choose their soil."

Father Li nodded and pondered, "We can put the mulberry seedlings in the Hall of Merit and let the clansmen exchange them for merit. Every household can plant a dozen or so in front of or behind their doors. When the silkworm industry expands in the future, we won't have to worry about not having mulberry leaves."

He paused, then added, "Spirit Mulberry is also a first-grade spiritual material. Although the price isn't high, every little bit helps. Little by little, it adds up to a considerable income."

Mother Li said with a smile, "Our second daughter is so good at business, she must have inherited it from you."

Mr. Li laughed heartily.

As soon as the words were spoken, a muffled sound came from the edge of the dark river. The earth cracked open, and a new spiritual spring gushed forth, its milky white mist drifting across the river's surface. The couple exchanged a glance, their smiles wide and uncontrollable.

"This is a sign of the family's prosperity!" Mother Li clasped her hands together and bowed in the direction of the Heavenly Dragon Temple.

……

Halfway up the mountain.

Li Chang'an squatted beside the newly cultivated few acres of spirit fields, holding a handful of soil in his hand. He sniffed it, then rubbed it between his fingers. The soil quality wasn't bad, but the spiritual energy was thin, and the fertility was insufficient. At this rate, it would probably take several more years to fertilize the land before spirit plants could be planted.

He frowned, deep in thought, when suddenly the ground beneath his feet trembled. Not far away, the earth bulged up, and a spiritual spring gushed forth, its milky white spiritual energy spreading like a thin mist.

Li Chang'an's eyes lit up, and his worried brows instantly relaxed. With the nourishment of this spiritual spring well, the fertility of these few acres of spiritual fields could reach the required level at least one or two years ahead of schedule. Next year, they could officially begin planting!

He stood up and shouted, "Come on, we can cultivate a few more acres here! With the spiritual vein upgraded and the spiritual energy abundant, let's cultivate as many acres as possible!"

An elderly man, acting as Li Chang'an's deputy, walked over with a smile, secretly nodding in approval at Li'an's energetic demeanor. Although the boy was only a teenager, he was methodical and never put on airs; everyone in the clan respected him.

The old man suggested, "Chang'an, why not use this area halfway up the mountain for the spirit tree stumps that the clan chief brought back? If cultivated well, this place can become a forest, and we can raise sand bamboo rats here."

Li Chang'an's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly: "Great idea! Let's do it that way!"

……

With the spiritual veins upgraded, spiritual energy surged throughout Qinglan Mountain.

Besides the spiritual spring well at the mountain peak that was upgraded to a mid-grade first-order spiritual spring, a total of eight low-grade first-order spiritual spring wells and three mid-grade first-order spiritual spring wells emerged from the underground river behind the mountain, halfway up the mountain, beside the spiritual fields, and in the courtyards where the clansmen lived.

The concentration of spiritual energy in Qinglan Mountain has more than doubled compared to before.

……

At the mountain peak, in front of the battle platform.

Li Changsheng took out a spirit stone bag from his storage bag and handed it to Yu Feng with both hands: "Uncle Yu, this is your reward for the array masters of the Yun family."

Yu Feng waved his hand, refusing to accept the spirit stones: "We're family, why would I need spirit stones? Le'er is my disciple, helping her is helping myself. Keep the spirit stones; you'll have plenty of money to spend in the future."

Li Changsheng did not insist. He took back the spirit stone bag and then took out a jade box from his storage bag, presenting it with both hands: "Uncle Yu, this is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it."

Yu Feng took the jade box and opened it—inside lay a palm-sized piece of ore, entirely crimson, with faint flame patterns flowing across its surface, and warm to the touch. A second-tier spiritual material, fire-patterned red copper, it could be used to refine array plates and array flags, with a particularly significant amplification effect on fire-attribute arrays.

Yu Feng's eyes lit up. Fire-patterned red copper was quite rare in the market; he had searched for a long time without success. He looked up at Li Changsheng, stroked his beard, and smiled, "You're a thoughtful child." He put the jade box into his storage bag and added, "The next time a spiritual vein advances to the first-grade upper level, it will require 30,000 spirit stones. Keep that in mind."

Li Changsheng cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Yu."

Li Changle stepped forward, tugging at Yu Feng's sleeve, reluctant to part: "Master, are you leaving already? Stay a few more days!"

Yu Feng smiled and ruffled her hair: "I'll come see you again once the spiritual veins are stable. Study the Dao of Arrays diligently, and don't be lazy."

Li Changle nodded vigorously.

Yu Feng led the Yun family's array masters onto the treasure ship, which then soared into the sky and disappeared into the clouds.

……

Li Changsheng stood outside the mountain gate, watching the treasure ship sail away, when suddenly a familiar tremor came from his sea of ​​consciousness.

The celestial book shimmered with golden light, and lines of text appeared:

[Family Spiritual Vein Advancement: Tier 1, Low Grade → Tier 1, Mid Grade]

[New Spirit Spring Wells: 8 Low-grade Tier 1 Wells, 3 Mid-grade Tier 1 Wells]

[Family Luck Value +2400, Current: 13000/12000]

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

Li Changsheng's lips curled up slightly.

It's time to open the Heavenly Book again.