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

Chapter 120 A Good Start, Sword Grass, Remains

Li Changsheng suddenly stood up and walked to the cave entrance.

Dusk had fallen. On the mountain ridge, wisps of grayish-white mist rose silently from the mountain streams, like hands reaching out from the earth. The mist thickened and swirled on the ridge, swallowing up the moonlight and the starlight.

Then, light shone from within the fog.

The grayish-white light, dim and cold, flickered one after another, like will-o'-the-wisps.

It's not a will-o'-the-wisp.

They were withered, yellow grasses, suspended in mid-air. Their leaves were withered and curled, their stems shriveled; they should have been dead long ago, yet now they seemed to be lifted up by some invisible hand, suspended in mid-air, slowly rotating. Each blade of grass was covered with a layer of grayish-white light, which twisted like distorted faces—the features were blurred, and the mouths opened and closed, emitting silent roars.

Evil spirits.

The evil spirit attached to the seeds of the sword grass.

Peak of Tier 1. Thirty or forty plants. They floated in a circle, leaves facing outwards and stems inwards, slowly rotating like a precise sword formation. The edges of each sword grass's leaves gleamed with a cold light; even before the sword energy was unleashed, the air was already being torn apart, emitting a faint hissing sound, like a snake flicking its tongue.

Li Changle stood behind him, her voice strained: "Brother, what is that thing?"

"Evil spirits. Attached to the seeds of the sword grass." Li Changsheng stared at the slowly rotating sword grass, his gaze sharp. "Peak first tier, in groups, capable of using sword formations."

Li Changmo emerged from the cave, expressionless, a pill clutched in his hand. His gaze swept over the sword herbs, his pupils slightly contracting. But instead of retreating, he took a step forward, getting closer to Li Changle.

The sword formation moved.

Without warning, without a sound, thirty or forty sword grasses simultaneously accelerated their rotation, and a sudden burst of grayish-white light shone forth, like a pale moon falling onto the mountain ridge. The next moment, sword energy poured down like a torrential rain.

It wasn't just one strike at a time, but an overwhelming barrage. Countless sword energies tore through the air, emitting sharp whistles, and slashed towards the cave entrance from all directions.

"Little sister!"

Li Changle had already grasped the array plate in his hand, frantically pouring in spiritual power. The Spirit-Trapping Array and the Bewildering Array were activated simultaneously, and the spiritual light barrier tightly protected the cave entrance. Sword energy struck the light barrier, exploding into bursts of blinding white light, causing rubble to fall from the cave walls. The light barrier trembled violently, its spiritual light flashing wildly, but it withstood the first wave.

A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of Li Changle's mouth, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

The second wave followed immediately.

Faster, denser, and more ruthless than the first wave. The howling of sword energy merged into one, like the wailing of countless vengeful ghosts. Cracks appeared on the light screen of the Spirit-Trapping Array—one, two, countless, spreading like a spider web. The mist of the Bewitching Array was torn to shreds by the sword energy, unable to reassemble in time.

"Click"

The light screen shattered.

Li Changle groaned, her body swayed, and blood flowed from her nose. But she held on tightly to the array plate and even activated the remaining array to add a thin layer of light shield.

Li Changsheng did not hesitate. He rushed out of the cave.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Umbrella opened above his head, enveloping him in a seven-colored glazed light shield. He activated the umbrella, unleashing a rain of glazed swords that collided head-on with the sword energy of the sword formation. The rain of swords and the sword energy exploded in the air, bursts of dazzling light illuminating the entire mountain ridge and revealing the twisted, ghostly faces on the sword grass.

But there are too many evil spirits.

Thirty or forty sword herbs, thirty or forty sword energies, continuous and relentless, an unstoppable onslaught. Several sword energies pierced through the interception of the glazed sword rain, striking the light shield of the Seven Treasures Glazed Umbrella. The light shield trembled violently, and Li Changsheng was forced back several steps, his hands numb, his blood churning. Another sword energy grazed his shoulder, slicing off a piece of his clothing.

"Black jade!"

Mo Yu emerged from the Hundred Ghost Banner, cradling a pipa, her delicate hands plucking the strings. The sonic waves of the Soul-Shattering Thorn transformed into invisible blades, piercing the evil spirits within the sword grass. Several sword grasses were struck; the gray-white light on their leaves flickered violently, and distorted ghost faces emitted silent shrieks, yet they did not fall. The evil spirits clung to the sword grasses; as long as the sword grasses lived, the evil spirits would not perish.

"Akaha!"

Crimson Feather leaped from the spirit beast pouch, its wings flapping, illuminating the mountain ridge with crimson-gold light. It opened its mouth and spewed a blazing fireball, blasting it into the sword formation. The fireball exploded, engulfing several sword herbs in flames, their leaves crackling and burning. But the evil spirits on the sword herbs immediately channeled their sword energy, extinguishing the flames. The sword formation remained undisturbed, continuing to spin and unleash its sword energy.

The sword formation drew ever closer.

Li Changle's formation shattered completely. She collapsed to the ground, blood dripping from her nose onto her clothes, but she gritted her teeth and pulled out a handful of talismans from her storage bag—a first-grade, high-quality Golden Armor Talisman. She affixed them one by one to Li Changsheng and Li Changmo with astonishing speed.

Li Changmo made a move.

He didn't rush out. He walked to Li Changle's side, squatted down, and placed his palm on her back. Emerald green light surged from his palm and entered her body. Li Changle felt a warm current flow into her meridians, and her spiritual power, which had been mostly depleted, was instantly restored. Her nosebleed stopped, and the wound at the corner of her mouth began to heal slowly.

The seed of endless life. Healing the spirit.

Then he walked behind Li Changsheng and placed his palm on him. Emerald green light surged forth again. Li Changsheng's depleted spiritual energy rapidly recovered, and his turbulent blood and qi were calmed. He glanced back at Ji Changmo. Li Changmo was expressionless, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, but his gaze was as steady as an unsheathed sword.

"That's enough." Li Changsheng withdrew his gaze.

He reached into his robes and took out a golden talisman.

Second-tier, low-grade, Heavenly Thunder and Fire Talisman.

Ye Wushuang had kept the most valuable items in his storage bag, items he had never been willing to use.

As soon as the talisman was unleashed, the sword formation suddenly froze. The ghostly faces on the sword grass all turned towards Li Changsheng, their grayish-white light flashing violently—they were filled with fear.

Li Changsheng closed his eyes, probed the talisman with his divine sense, and activated it.

The talisman lit up.

A burst of golden light ignited the entire mountain ridge, illuminating it as if it were daytime. A bolt of golden lightning, as thick as an arm, roared forth from the talisman, carrying a devastating force that cleaved straight into the sword formation. The instant the lightning exploded, only one sound remained in the world—BOOM!

Lightning and fire scattered, transforming into a sky full of golden flames that engulfed the entire mountain ridge.

The sword formation shattered. The evil spirits on the sword grass melted instantly in the thunder and fire, like ice and snow meeting the sun. They didn't even have time to scream before being burned to nothingness by the golden flames. The sword grass was burned by the thunder and fire; its leaves curled, its stems broke, and it fell to the ground with a crackling sound. But the sword grass seeds were intact—the golden seeds tumbled in the thunder and fire, their grayish-white light completely dissipating, falling to the ground like a layer of golden grains.

The thunder and fire lasted for three breaths.

Three breaths later, the ridge returned to silence. The wind stopped, the insects ceased their chirping, and even the distant shrieks of evil spirits vanished. Only the acrid smell of burning lightning lingered in the air.

The moonlight shone down again.

The ground was covered with sword grass seeds, golden and gleaming warmly in the moonlight. Scattered among them were soul crystals of various sizes, ranging from mid-grade to top-grade first rank, like dull gems.

The talisman in Li Changsheng's hand turned to ashes and drifted away from between his fingers.

He looked at the spoils scattered on the ground, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Li Changle was the first to rush out. She squatted on the ground, grabbing sword grass seeds in one hand and soul crystals in the other, stuffing them into her storage bag, her little face beaming with joy: "We're rich! We're rich! We're rich! Brother, we're rich!"

As she picked them up, she counted, "—Eighteen, nineteen, twenty—Wow, this soul crystal is huge! A top-tier, first-class one! How many merit points can I get for it!"

Li Changmo stood at the cave entrance, his face pale, but his eyes bright. He didn't rush out to pick them up; he simply watched the golden light spread across the ground, his lips twitching slightly—it wasn't exactly a smile, but anyone who knew him would recognize it as one.

Li Changsheng walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "Well done."

Li Changmo didn't speak, lowered his eyes, but his shoulders relaxed slightly.

Zhao Cai popped out of Li Changsheng's sleeve at some point, perched on his shoulder, its round eyes wide open, staring at the glittering golden things on the ground, its mouth practically watering. With a "squeak," it darted off, carrying a top-grade first-tier soul crystal, and ran back.

Li Changsheng grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and snatched the soul crystal back: "This is what we're handing over."

The little cat was kicking its four paws wildly and squeaking incessantly, as if to say, "You're eating meat, but I can't even get a sip of soup?"

Li Changsheng took out a spirit fruit from his storage bag and gave it to Zhaocai. Zhaocai hugged the spirit fruit, squatted down and ate it, its eyes still fixed on the pile of soul crystals, looking unwilling.

Li Changle laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight: "Zhaocai, where did you learn this greedy habit from?"

Zhao Cai rolled her eyes at her and continued eating her fruit.

The Heavenly Book Trembled:

[Thirty-seven evil spirits were slain, and one hundred and twenty-four sword grass seeds and thirty-seven soul crystals were obtained.]

[Family Luck Value, Current: 19000/20000]

[Court Merit Points, Current: 8000/10000]

I only need two thousand merit points to advance to the ninth rank of a noble family.

Li Changsheng put the sword grass seeds into a separate storage bag and then mentally entered the Heavenly Book space.

Outside the wooden house, Ye Wushuang was squatting by the spirit field watering the Foundation Establishment main medicine. When she saw Li Changsheng enter, she quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Master, you've arrived."

Li Changsheng tossed him the storage bag: "Sword Grass seeds, plant them on the pasture."

Ye Wushuang took the storage bag, probed it with his divine sense, and his eyes lit up: "Sword Grass? This is a good thing! It turns into swords upon landing, and ripens once a year!" He scurried to the edge of the pasture, squatted down, and began to till the soil, muttering to himself, "First loosen the soil, then fertilize, then sow the seeds. They can't be planted too densely, nor too sparsely—"

Li Changsheng ignored his rambling and with a thought, exited the space.

.

The next morning, as dawn broke, Li Changsheng awoke from his meditation and the first thing he did was to communicate with the Heavenly Book.

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

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

[Wulong Mountain - Yun Family Remains]

About thirty miles southeast of here lies an abandoned mine. Deep within the mine are the remains of a disciple of the Yun family. This man was named Yun Yi, a member of a collateral branch of the Yun family. Thirty years ago, he entered the Five Dragons Mountain with his family for training. He encountered a demonic beast...

In the pursuit, he fled in panic and strayed into a hidden underground river, which swept him to the outer area. Severely wounded, he managed to crawl into the mine, but his injuries proved too great to allow him to return, and he eventually died there.

This person possesses a silver token that grants access to the central region of Five Dragons Mountain. Obtaining this token would allow one to break through the outer perimeter restrictions and enter the more resource-rich central area.

A group of about fifty late-stage Tier 1 vampire bats inhabit the mine. These bats are vampires that feed on flesh and blood and are extremely sensitive to the aura of living souls; they are very difficult to deal with when they attack in swarms. Deep within the mine also dwells a peak Tier 1 cave python, which feeds on vampire bats year-round. It is enormous, incredibly strong, and adept at constricting and strangling.

Li Changsheng put away the Heavenly Book, took out a map from his pocket, and unfolded it to take a look. The location of the mine was right on the only way to Xingluo Creek, and taking a detour would add two days to the journey.

"Little sister, Changmo, pack your things, let's go."

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