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

Chapter 114 Soul-Piercing Thorn, Grand Celebration

Li Changsheng came out from the backyard with thirty or forty sand bamboo rats in his spirit beast bag.

The little creatures huddled together in the bag, squeaking and wriggling their plump bodies. He walked across the mountain path toward the bamboo grove halfway up the mountain.

The bamboo grove was newly established by Li Chang'an and his clansmen, covering an area of ​​about two acres. It contained spirit bamboo that had been transplanted from the underground river behind the mountain. The bamboo had only been planted recently, and the bamboo stalks were still thin and the leaves were sparse. They rustled in the wind and looked rather frail.

Li Changle was already waiting in the bamboo garden.

She crouched at the edge of the bamboo grove, took out several array flags from her storage bag, and inserted them into the soil in specific positions. As the flags entered the ground, a faint light flashed, and an invisible light screen enveloped the entire bamboo grove. The light screen was very thin, almost invisible, but Li Changsheng knew that this mid-grade first-level spirit-trapping array was enough to trap the sand bamboo rats—although these little guys were good at burrowing and escaping, the array's light screen penetrated three feet into the ground, and they couldn't get out.

"Brother, all done." Li Changle patted the mud off his hands and stood up.

Li Changsheng opened the spirit beast bag and poured thirty or forty sand bamboo rats into the bamboo garden.

The bamboo rats, seeing the light of day again, were initially stunned, then scattered and fled. Some burrowed under bamboo roots, some into the soil, and some darted about in the bamboo forest. After a while, realizing they couldn't escape, they gradually calmed down and began to nibble on the bamboo roots and leaves.

Li Chang'an walked in from outside the bamboo grove, holding a booklet in his hands, flipping through it as he went. He squatted down by the bamboo grove, carefully observing the habits of the bamboo rats, and writing and drawing in the booklet.

"Chieftain," he looked up, his brow furrowing slightly, "the bamboo forest hasn't fully matured yet; there aren't enough bamboo roots, and the leaves aren't dense enough. These sand bamboo rats have huge appetites, and the things in the bamboo forest alone won't last a year or two. We need to buy feed to raise them."

"What feed do you want to buy?" Li's mother's voice came from behind. She was wearing an apron and her hands were still covered in flour, so she had obviously just run from the kitchen.

"Mother, what brings you here?" Li Changsheng asked.

"I heard from your father that you brought back a batch of sand bamboo rats, so I came to see them." Mother Li squatted by the bamboo grove, her eyes lighting up as she looked at the round little creatures. "I've seen descriptions of these things in the Hundred Beasts Compendium. They're easy to raise and not picky eaters. They'll eat anything—spirit bamboo leaves, spirit grass roots, sweet potatoes, corn." She stood up, clapped her hands, and said, "Leave the feed to me. I have experience raising fire-cloud chickens; raising sand bamboo rats is much the same."

Li Changsheng glanced at his mother and nodded.

Since refining the Hundred Flavors Harmony Seed, Mother's enthusiasm for spiritual cuisine has soared. Now she has also taken on the task of raising the sand bamboo rats, which is killing two birds with one stone—they can be raised and put directly into the kitchen.

"Then I'll trouble you, Mother."

Li's mother waved her hand, already squatting by the bamboo grove, and began to plan how much feed to buy and how to mix it.

Qilin Town, Tianlong Temple.

Li Changsheng came down from Qinglan Mountain and walked along the bluestone path toward the temple.

Before even reaching the temple gate, we saw Old Man Jiang.

When Li Changsheng first met Old Man Jiang, he was on his deathbed, hunched over, and panting after just a few steps. Now, although he still has a full head of white hair and wrinkles on his face, he looks refreshed, as if he has been cleansed by something, his eyes are bright, and he even walks with a spring in his step.

"Clan Chief!" Old Man Jiang saw Li Changsheng and quickly came to greet him, his face crinkling into a smile. "You've arrived!"

Li Changsheng looked at him and asked, "Elder Jiang, you look much better."

Old Man Jiang touched his face and grinned, "I don't know what happened. Ever since I entered this temple, I've felt so relaxed, like something has been lifted off my body." He lowered his voice, "I think it might be that the Heavenly Dragon God purified the curse on me."

Li Changsheng nodded.

He knew that the temple possessed purifying power.

Old Man Jiang had been scavenging for scraps on the edge of the Bloodstained Forbidden Land for over a decade, accumulating a considerable amount of yin and evil energy. It was normal for him to be purified after spending so much time in the temple.

Old Man Jiang respectfully led him through the front hall and towards the back courtyard. Along the way, Li Changsheng saw many worshippers kneeling and praying in the hall, the incense burning brighter than the last time he visited.

In the backyard, Grandfather Li Shiren sat at the stone table, talking to Old Zhao and Zhao Ling'er from Shuangjie Village. The old man was dressed in a clean long robe, his back straight, and he looked very energetic. Zhao Ling'er had changed into a simple dress, her hair tied up with a silver hairpin, and she sat quietly beside her grandfather with her head down.

"Chang Sheng has arrived." Li Shiren stood up and said to the old man and Zhao Ling'er, "You two go back and think it over carefully. There's no rush to give an answer."

The old man quickly stood up, pulled Zhao Ling'er to bow to Li Changsheng, and said, "Clan Chief Li, we will never forget your great kindness and virtue."

Zhao Ling'er also bowed deeply, and when she raised her head, her eyes were full of gratitude.

Li Changsheng waved his hand, indicating that they didn't need to be so polite. The old man pulled Zhao Ling'er out, and after taking a few steps, Zhao Ling'er suddenly turned back, glanced at Li Changsheng, then quickly lowered her head and followed her grandfather away.

Li Shiren watched the grandfather and granddaughter's retreating figures, stroking his beard as he said, "This girl is quite good. I've been observing her for a while and I've discovered she's a natural-born temple keeper. I was just talking to her about baptism, and she's still hesitating."

This woman is a witch spirit.

Naturally, the temple keeper would be the best choice.

Li Changsheng didn't reveal his intentions. He walked to the stone table, sat down, and took out a jade box from his robes, placing it on the table. "Grandfather, I've sealed this clay doll. During the triennial celebration of the Heavenly Dragon Temple, you can use the power of the Heavenly Dragon God to refine it. This will allow you to display your divine might in front of the people."

Li Shiren opened the jade box, glanced at the grotesque clay doll inside, and nodded: "The celebration is fifty days away. As the clan leader, you must attend."

"Grandson has remembered." Li Changsheng stood up. "Grandfather, I'll head back now."

Quiet room.

Li Changsheng sat cross-legged and, with a thought, entered the Heavenly Book space.

Inside the wooden hut, a calming power flowed into his consciousness like silk threads. The "Refining Spirit Technique" operated on its own, and his spiritual power slowly increased. He closed his eyes, his mind sinking into the depths of the second level of the technique, where there was a spell he had never touched before.

The second level of the Divine Refinement Technique, besides refining divine sense, also includes a spell that attacks the soul. He hadn't cultivated it until now, when his divine sense was complete; it was time.

The heavenly book revealed its characters at the opportune moment:

【Soul-Breaking Thrust: A first-tier, high-grade soul attack spell】

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It condenses divine sense into a thorn, piercing the target's soul. Those struck suffer excruciating pain; at best, they lose consciousness briefly, at worst, their soul is damaged, leaving them unconscious. It is highly effective against cultivators of the same or lower level, but its effect is halved against those one level higher. It can be used three times daily; exceeding this limit will result in depleted divine sense and a splitting headache.

Li Changsheng's eyes lit up.

A soul attack, impossible to defend against.

With this spell, he had a better chance of winning against cultivators at the peak of Qi Refining.

He closed his eyes, immersing his mind in the scriptures of the cultivation method.

"The spirit is the pivot of the soul. Consciousness is the dwelling place of the spirit. The way to break the soul lies in concentrating the spirit as a thorn, transforming the illusory into the real. One thought arises, and ten thousand thoughts vanish—"

The scriptures were obscure, but with the foundation of the first two levels, Li Changsheng quickly grasped their mysteries. He condensed his divine sense into a single thread, as fine as silk, and slowly rotated, compressed, and coalesced within his sea of ​​consciousness.

The threads of divine consciousness grew finer and denser, eventually coalescing into a silver needle as thin as a cow's hair. The silver needle floated in the sea of ​​consciousness, its tip gleaming with a cold light, trembling slightly, as if it might shoot out at any moment.

The first Soul-Shattering Thorn is complete.

Li Changsheng didn't stop; he condensed a second, then a third—

The calming power flowed into his mind like silk threads.

That power was cool as water, yet it possessed a strange vitality, as if it were alive, flowing slowly through his sea of ​​consciousness. With the blessing of this power, the "Refining God Technique" circulated several times faster than the outside world, and his divine sense grew by leaps and bounds.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, nine Soul-Piercing Silver Needles floating in his sea of ​​consciousness, their tips gleaming with a cold light. Following the instructions in the cultivation technique, he slowly fused the nine needles together. One, two, three—guided by his divine sense, the nine needles joined end to end, condensing into a thicker, longer, and sharper thorn.

Soul-Shattering Thrust, Minor Success.

He opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the outside of the wooden house.

Ye Wushuang was squatting on the pasture, wielding a hoe to till the land. He was full of energy; with each stroke of the hoe, the black soil turned over, releasing a faint scent of grass and trees. His movements were skilled and powerful, clearly those of an experienced farmer.

With a thought, Li Changsheng silently shot out the Soul-Shattering Thorn, which pierced into Ye Wushuang's sea of ​​consciousness.

Ye Wushuang's movements suddenly froze. He remained motionless, holding the hoe, like a stone statue. His one eye was wide open, his mouth slightly agape, and the expression on his face was frozen in time. It wasn't pain or fear, but a sudden, irresistible stillness.

Three breaths. Five breaths. Seven breaths.

Ye Wushuang's body trembled violently, the hoe slipped from his hand and crashed to the ground with a dull thud. He gasped for breath, clutching his head, his face deathly pale, his single eye filled with horror. He looked up towards the wooden house, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

Li Changsheng withdrew the Soul-Shattering Thorn, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Seven breaths. With his Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivation, a single Soul-Shattering Thorn was able to immobilize a Foundation Establishment cultivator for a full seven breaths. Although Ye Wushuang's cultivation was suppressed to the peak of Qi Refining, his soul essence was still Foundation Establishment. This shows that the Soul-Shattering Thorn was equally effective against Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Seven breaths is enough for him to do a lot of things.

He stood up and walked out of the wooden house. Ye Wushuang was still squatting on the ground, panting. When she saw him come out, she quickly got up, bowing and scraping. The shock in her eyes had not completely faded, but a layer of awe had been added.

"Master—Master, your magic is amazing—" He swallowed hard.

Li Changsheng didn't reply, but simply said, "Keep working."

"Yes! Yes!" Ye Wushuang picked up the hoe and continued to cultivate the pasture, working even harder than before.

Li Changsheng returned to the wooden house, sat cross-legged, and communicated with the Heavenly Book through his mind.

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

A yellow light flowed, and the deduced text slowly emerged:

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