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

Chapter 105 Species Sprouts, Advancement

Chi Yu carried Li Changsheng and the unconscious girl as they approached the sky above the village.

On the city wall, the villagers on duty were dozing off.

Suddenly a gust of wind swept overhead, and he instinctively looked up—a bright red mass was rapidly approaching: "Hades—Hades has descended the mountain!!"

decades.

After the annual sacrifice, that thing never leaves the back mountain.

But this year—why did it come down?

The villager's sleepiness vanished instantly. He quickly got up, grabbed the wooden mallet from the city tower, and frantically struck the warning bell that had been hanging there for decades without ever ringing.

"—Lieutenant—," the bell tolled in the night sky, rapid and sharp, like a death scream.

"Pluto—Pluto has entered the village!"

At the east end of the village; at Widow Wang's house.

Widow Wang was sewing shoe soles under the lamp when she heard the bell toll. Her hand trembled, and the needle pricked her fingertip. Bright red blood welled up, but ignoring the pain, she grabbed a wood-chopping knife from the corner and rushed into the courtyard. The gate was ajar, and she peered through the crack at the empty street, where only white lanterns swayed in the wind.

"Mother—" came the daughter's timid voice from inside the house.

"Don't come out!" Widow Wang shouted sharply, her hand gripping the wood-chopping knife trembling.

She wasn't afraid of dying; she was afraid her daughter would be sent to be a bride.

The village chief's house.

The village chief's wife was a plump woman in her forties, usually loud and short-tempered, who acted like a tyrant throughout the village. Now, she paced back and forth in the main room like a frightened hen, muttering to herself, "It's all over, it's all over, the King of Hell must be angry—I told you we couldn't change the person, we couldn't change the person—that old man's granddaughter impersonated our daughter, the King of Hell must have seen through it—"

"Shut up!" Village chief Zhao Dezhu sat in a grand chair, his face ashen, his hands trembling slightly.

The woman didn't shut up; instead, her voice rose even louder: "I told you from the beginning, let our daughter go. At worst, we'd have a good cry and it'd be over. But you insisted on sending someone else, saying that the old man's granddaughter had been raised for so many years and should contribute to the village. Now look what's happened! The King of Hell is angry! What are we going to do? What are we going to do?!"

"I told you to shut up!" Zhao Dezhu suddenly stood up and slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to jump up and shatter into pieces on the ground.

The woman was terrified; she opened her mouth but dared not utter another sound.

Zhao Dezhu took a deep breath, suppressing his panic, and said in a deep voice, "Go, take your daughter and son into the underground secret room and lock the door. No matter what happens outside, don't come out."

The woman stammered a reply and turned to run into the inner room. A moment later, the sounds of a child crying and the woman coaxing him came from inside, followed by the sound of the cellar door opening and closing.

Zhao Dezhu took an iron sword from the wall and then pulled a yellowed talisman from a drawer, sticking it to his chest. He pushed open the door and went out.

Outside the courtyard gate, the four burly men who had carried the coffin had gathered. Their faces were deathly pale, and their legs were trembling. Upon seeing Zhao Dezhu, they seemed to have found their pillar of support and quickly surrounded him.

"Village chief, is it because we changed brides that the King of Hell is angry?" a man's voice trembled.

"Village chief, why don't we hurry back and carry your daughter out, then send her back?"

"Yes, yes, it's not too late to return it now!"

Zhao Dezhu glared at them and hissed, "What's the panic! Go out and check the situation first!"

He carried his iron sword and strode towards the village entrance. The four men exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and followed him.

Village entrance.

The bell on the city tower is still ringing.

The villagers gathered in twos and threes on the street, some carrying hoes, some holding kitchen knives, and some holding torches.

however.

When everyone saw what the newcomer was, they were all stunned: "Huh?"

"This... doesn't seem like Hades descending from the mountain?"

A large, crimson bird circled above the village once before landing on the open ground at the village entrance. A young man leaped down from its back, cradling a young woman in a red wedding dress in his arms. Moonlight bathed him, his robes fluttering in the breeze, highlighting his exquisite features.

This is no Yama, the King of Hell.

-

He's clearly a living god!

"Greetings, Immortal Master!" Widow Wang exclaimed excitedly.

The villagers realized what was happening and knelt down one after another.

"Greetings, Immortal Master!"

"Immortal Master, please save us from suffering!"

'

'

When village chief Zhao Dezhu arrived at the village entrance, he witnessed this scene.

His steps faltered, and his expression changed repeatedly.

He saw the girl in the immortal's arms, who should have been in a coffin, being sent to Yama, the King of Hell, to be his bride. She had returned alive.

Zhao Dezhu's heart sank to the bottom.

"If the King of Hell can't get the bride, he'll massacre the entire village tomorrow! This so-called 'immortal master' is just meddling in other people's business!!"

Li Changsheng held the girl in one arm, and with the other hand, he patted his storage bag. A jade box flew out of the bag and hovered in mid-air. The lid opened, revealing a palm-sized clay doll, completely black, with a ferocious face, bound with red ropes and sealed with talismans.

"The spirits you worship have been sealed away by me." Li Changsheng's voice wasn't loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone present thanks to the enhancement of spiritual power. "From this day forward, the village no longer needs to offer brides as tribute."

A deathly silence.

Then, Widow Wang was the first to burst into tears. She knelt on the ground, covered her face, and cried uncontrollably. Her daughter was fourteen years old this year, and according to the order of the draw, it would be her family's turn next year.

"No need to escort the bride anymore—no need to escort her anymore—" she muttered repeatedly, as if to confirm that this was not a dream.

Carpenter Li knelt on the ground, his axe lying at his feet. The burly man's eyes reddened. His daughter was only ten years old, but he still lived in constant fear, afraid that the lottery would draw their daughter's name. Now, he no longer needed to fear.

"The Immortal Master is a living bodhisattva who saves people from suffering!"

"We, the Immortal Master, will never forget your great kindness and virtue, generation after generation!"

The villagers kowtowed repeatedly, their cries, laughter, and expressions of gratitude blending together.

Li Changsheng raised his hand to quell the noise, and once the sound subsided, he continued, "If you wish to leave this place and find another place to settle, you can go to Qilin Town in Qinglan County, the fiefdom of my Li family. Qilin Town is protected by the Heavenly Dragon Temple, and evil spirits will not invade, so you can live and work in peace. Tomorrow morning, go to Old Zhao's house at the end of the village to collect your identity tokens. With the tokens, you can enter Qilin Town. The town mayor will allocate homesteads and farmland to you."

77

The villagers looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief. Leaving Shuangjie Village? Going to live a peaceful and prosperous life where the immortal master resided? This was something they dared not even imagine.

"Immortal Master, can we really leave this place?" someone asked in a trembling voice.

"Alright." Li Changsheng nodded. "Those who are willing to go can collect their tokens tomorrow."

He said no more, urged his red feathers, and flew towards the end of the village.

At the end of the village, in Old Zhao's courtyard.

Old Zhao knelt at the courtyard gate, his hands clasped together, muttering incantations. His eyes were fixed on the sky, his neck aching from looking up, but he dared not blink.

Akabane landed in the courtyard.

Li Changsheng jumped down with the girl in his arms. The girl had already woken up. She opened her eyes groggily and saw her grandfather. Tears welled up in her eyes immediately.

"grandfather----"

"Ling'er!" Old Zhao rushed over and hugged his granddaughter, tears streaming down his face. He looked her up and down, touched her face and her hands, and only after confirming that she was not hurt did he let out a long sigh of relief.

"It's good that you're alright—it's good that you're alright—"

He pulled his granddaughter, turned around, and knelt down in front of Li Changsheng with a thud, kowtowing three times.

"Immortal Master! This old man kowtows to you! You saved my granddaughter's life, and I will repay you with my life, even if it means serving you like an ox or a horse!"

"Old man, please get up." Li Changsheng helped him up. "It was nothing, no need for that."

He took out a stack of tokens from his storage bag and handed them to Old Zhao. The tokens were palm-sized, with the character "Li" engraved on the front and the characters "Qilin" on the back. They were special entry credentials made by the Li family for Qilin Town.

"Tomorrow, I'll trouble you, elder, to distribute these tokens to the villagers who are willing to go to Qilin Town," Li Changsheng said. "I have already informed the clan that someone will come to guide them tomorrow."

Old Zhao took the token, holding it in his hands as if it were the most precious treasure in the world. His hands trembled, and tears streamed down his face.

"Rest assured, Immortal Master, this old man will certainly handle it well! He will definitely handle it well!"

Li Changsheng nodded, took out a bottle of healing pills from his storage bag, and handed it to Old Zhao: "Take one pill for your chest wound, and it will heal in three days."

Old Zhao took the elixir bottle, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

Within Li Changsheng's sea of ​​consciousness, the Heavenly Book trembled slightly:

[Recruiting villagers from Shuangjie Village adds new believers to the Tianlong Temple, increasing family fortune value by 550]

[Current Family Luck Value: 13600/16000]

Li Changsheng returned to the small house arranged by Elder Zhao, closed the door, took out several array flags from his storage bag, and set up a simple soundproof and concealment array in the corner of the room.

Everything is in order.

With a thought, he entered the Heavenly Book Space.

Inside the thatched hut, the celestial book on the altar shimmered with golden light.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, holding the Netherworld Flower in his palm, closed his eyes, and circulated his spiritual power, drawing out the pure Yin-attribute spiritual power contained in the flower bud bit by bit and guiding it into his dantian.

Within its dantian, the ancient, exotic seed sensed the arrival of this spiritual energy and trembled slightly, like a seed that had slumbered for a thousand years finally receiving spring rain. It greedily absorbed the spiritual energy of the Netherworld Flower, and fine patterns began to appear on its surface.

Spiritual energy continued to flow in.

The buds of the Netherworld Flower gradually withered, and the petals fell one by one, turning into black powder that drifted through the gaps between the fingers.

-

Within the dantian, a thin crack appeared on the surface of the ancient alien species.

A tender green leaf peeked out from the crack, curled up like the clenched fingers of a newborn baby. The leaf slowly unfolded, revealing clear veins and edges that shimmered with a faint golden light.

The first leaf is now complete.

The alien plant trembled slightly, and a warm energy surged from its leaves, flowing through its meridians and throughout its entire body. This energy was completely different from the chilling aura of the Netherworld Flower; it was warm, gentle, and full of life. It seeped into every muscle, every bone, and every meridian of Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng suddenly felt hot all over.

A layer of grayish oil seeped from the surface of my skin, emitting a faint sour odor—exactly the same feeling as when I was cleansing my marrow and essence.

He was overjoyed and quickly used his cleaning technique to clean the dirt off his body.

A faint, refreshing fragrance emanated from his skin—not the scent of flowers or fruit, but a pure, invigorating aroma that lifted his spirits. He took a deep breath and felt the surrounding spiritual energy become more welcoming and clearer than before.

The Heavenly Book Trembled:

[Spiritual Root Talent: Rank 7 (10/100) → Rank 7 (40/100)]

Within the dantian, the information about the ancient, exotic species was also updated:

[Ancient Species: Mid-Tier 1 (10/100)]

Bloodline Spell: Soul-Binding Red Rope

A red rope, condensed from a foreign power, binds the target's soul. The bound soul is paralyzed, unable to mobilize spiritual energy, activate magical artifacts, or cast spells. Effective against cultivators at the peak of Qi Refining or below. The duration depends on the target's cultivation level, ranging from a minimum of three breaths to a maximum of ten breaths. Can be used three times daily.

Li Changsheng opened his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Three to ten breaths of mental stagnation was enough for him to do a lot of things.

With a thought, he withdrew from the Heavenly Book Space.

Outside the window, the sky was already turning white. The sound of roosters crowing came from afar, and the village gradually awoke in the morning light. Li Changsheng put away the array flags, pushed open the door, and Chi Yu jumped down from the windowsill, landed on his shoulder, and preened his feathers with his beak.

"Today's divination result is 'open'."