Starting with the creation of the Immortal Clan through the compilation of the family genealogy.

Chapter 57 Sect Outlook
Meng Xihong's throat moved slightly, and the question that lingered on the tip of his tongue was almost about to be uttered.

Yun Songzi, however, seemed to have already sensed the turmoil in his heart, and cast a deep gaze at him before he could speak.

That gaze instantly calmed Meng Xihong's restless eagerness to ask questions, causing him to involuntarily hold his breath and concentrate all his attention on the even more thrilling ancient secrets that the old man was about to reveal.

"Finally, the Dao Ancestor, who had been living in seclusion for a long time, appeared, holding a book in his hand, burning his own Dao Fruit and almost all of his origin, not to destroy the demon, but to perform that heaven-defying act."

He forcibly distorted the laws of heaven and earth surrounding the secret realm, folding and peeling away the remaining demons along with that void, sealing them in the cracks outside the mortal world.

The Dao Ancestor, exhausted as a result, lost his Dao and disappeared without a trace. This action was truly a last resort, using supreme supernatural powers to artificially create a prison that 'severs the connection between heaven and earth,' exiling him rather than eradicating him.

"However, although the demon emperor was sealed, his overwhelming resentment before his calamity and some of his primordial demonic blood that had escaped broke through the seal and transformed into the most vicious curse, shaking the foundation of the Heavenly Dao."

Yun Songzi sighed deeply, “His incantation goes: ‘It erodes the foundation of all your laws, decays the root of your path, obscures the wisdom of your race, and forever severs the gate to heaven!’”

"This curse is extremely vicious, directly defiling the fundamental laws of many great paths in the world. The path of body refinement will be ruined, and the way forward will be cut off; the spiritual essence of runes will be dimmed, making it difficult to connect with the world; the foundation of formations will have its laws distorted, and its power will be reduced to less than one-tenth."

As a result, these traditions can now only serve as aids to the path of immortality, and can no longer independently uphold the Great Dao.

The path of body refinement was the first to be affected, and from then on, it became difficult for powerful body cultivators to be born in the world, and the path ahead was completely cut off.

Other major paths were also affected to varying degrees, but those such as Qi Refining, the Path of Literature, and the Path of Swordsmanship, whose foundations placed more emphasis on the cultivation of the soul, talent, and mind, were less affected and have been able to be passed down to this day with great difficulty.

He gently stroked the carvings on the stone wall and shook his head, saying, "These are the secrets recorded in the core classics of my Haoran Academy, and now very few people outside know about them."

As the records show, the methods of body refinement can only be cultivated to a level comparable to the Foundation Establishment stage. Beyond that, it's like water without a source or a tree without roots—impossible to progress.

This gradually degenerated and evolved into the martial arts that ordinary people can now practice.

After saying this, Yun Songzi's face suddenly turned pale, and his aura paused slightly, as if merely recalling and recounting that distant ancient secret had triggered some kind of terrifying backlash from the Great Dao or a causal restriction.

"Senior? What's wrong?" Meng Xihong asked urgently, his gaze sweeping around as he used all his spiritual sense to scan the surroundings, but he only sensed a denser spiritual mist and the powerful vitality of the earth vein nodes, without anything unusual.

Yun Songzi frowned, having quickly suppressed his momentary loss of composure, but the seriousness in his eyes remained.

He slowly shook his head, not immediately answering Meng Xihong's question. Instead, he carefully sensed the situation for a long time before saying in a deep voice, "Perhaps my perception was wrong. I was disturbed by those ancient events... Just now, I felt as if I was being spied on by some indescribable forbidden existence."

But his slightly trembling sleeves suggested that things were not so simple.

He abruptly changed the subject, seemingly unwilling to delve further into that fleeting feeling, and forcefully pulled his attention back to the present: "Alright, let's leave that matter aside for now."

The scourge of evil has been sealed away in ancient times; it is beyond our current concern. Our immediate priority is to seize this opportunity for immortality and build a solid foundation for your Meng family.

With that, he took the lead and walked towards the place where the spiritual light was strongest. Meng Xihong suppressed his doubts and quickly followed.

The closer you get, the more you can feel that extremely pure spiritual energy rushing towards you. You don't even need to use your internal energy; your pores open on their own, greedily absorbing this almost liquefied spiritual energy.

Beneath their feet, the faint spiritual light veins became increasingly clear, converging towards a certain center like the meridians of the human body. Deeper within, a crystalline luster flowed, as if the blood flowing in the earth's veins was not magma, but concentrated spiritual liquid.

"This is... a high-grade spirit stone vein!" Yun Songzi's eyes gleamed as he carefully sensed it.

"Young Xihong, this is truly a stroke of incredible luck! This mine is of excellent quality and appears to have abundant reserves. Your Meng family will not have to worry about cultivation resources for the foreseeable future."

He stroked his beard and pondered, his eyes gleaming with a planning light: "Xi Hong, I have a plan that may help your Meng family establish a lasting legacy for centuries."

"Please speak, senior." Meng Xihong was deeply moved and quickly bowed to ask for guidance. "In my opinion, your Meng family should relocate here as a whole and use this secret realm as the true foundation of your clan." Yun Songzi's words were astonishing.

"The old site of the Yin Sha Sect outside, with its existing mountain gate and buildings, is perfect for serving as the outer sect's gateway, handling worldly affairs, establishing a sect to conceal its true nature, and recruiting peripheral disciples. That low-level spiritual vein is also sufficient to maintain appearances. And this secret realm..."

He gestured towards the entire blessed land, saying, "It will serve as the fundamental location of the inner sect, which will never be revealed to outsiders!"

"The inner sect?" Meng Xihong's eyes lit up.

“Excellent!” Yun Songzi said decisively. “Completely control and conceal the entrance to this secret realm, and set up multiple layers of formations so that only core members of the family and true disciples can enter.”

Building a main hall, a scripture pavilion, and a meditation chamber for core elders at this spiritual vein node can slightly regulate the spiritual energy of the secret realm.

The Soul Tempering Pool, the Inner Sect's Herb Garden, and the Body Forging Hall are all situated within this area, forming a self-contained whole. Coupled with this spirit stone vein, the resources are almost self-sufficient.

"In this way, the outer sect can conceal its true nature while the inner sect focuses on development, keeping its strength hidden. Given time, who would have thought that such a blessed land is hidden within a newly emerging family? This is the true path to long-term stability and steady rise, and we can even use this secret realm to try to rebuild some ancient traditions!"

Standing there, Meng Xihong felt the surging spiritual energy of the mineral vein beneath his feet. The blueprint in his heart suddenly became clear and magnificent because of Yun Songzi's words.

"Senior's insight is truly brilliant. This approach will maximize the value of this place." Meng Xihong's gaze was intense, and he became increasingly composed.

He suppressed his excitement and looked at Yun Songzi with a firm gaze: "Senior, what we have gained from this exploration has laid a solid foundation for the rise of our family. The blueprint is good, but the road ahead is long and full of thorns. I'm afraid it will be difficult for the Meng family to accomplish everything on its own."

"This junior humbly begs the senior, out of consideration for the teacher-student relationship with Yan Wei, to provide you with much support and guidance in the future, and to stand guard for the Meng family for a period of time!"

Looking at the pragmatic yet ambitious young man before him, and thinking of his own disciple, Yun Songzi stroked his beard and laughed, "Good, good, good! You little rascal, you know how to take advantage of a situation."

"Alright, alright. For the sake of my disciple Yan Wei, I will stay for a while to help your Meng family solidify its foundation and pave the way for my disciple's future."

After all, since the fall of the Holy Emperor and his many predecessors, the Haoran Academy had suffered a break in its lineage and was no longer as prosperous as it once was. Now, confined to a corner of the world, the protection it could offer him was truly limited.

Meng Xihong was overjoyed upon hearing this: "So, Senior, you've agreed to stay at our Meng family's residence temporarily?"

Yun Songzi glared at him and laughed, "Hmph, it's just a temporary stay! Don't expect me to be a free henchman for your Meng family. Unless it's a disaster that will wipe out your clan, don't bother me. I'll just give you pointers; you can handle the mundane affairs yourself."

"Of course, of course! To receive guidance from a senior is already a great blessing for the Meng family!" Meng Xihong nodded repeatedly, overjoyed.

With the great Buddha Yun Songzi presiding over and guiding them, even without taking action, they are enough to intimidate all sides, allowing the Meng family to gain valuable initial development time.

Meng Xihong felt much more at ease.

This discovery of the secret realm is not a fleeting, illusory path to immortality, but rather a solid foundation for a family's steady rise and prosperity.

With a firm foothold in the outer sect and a hidden essence in the inner sect, guided by wise mentors above and possessing abundant resources below, all of this has come at the perfect time.

Just as Meng Xihong was lost in thought...

A mysterious and obscure aura, yet subtly resonating with the fragments in Yun Songzi's arms, suddenly emerged.

It was that last fragment of the secret key to the cave!
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(End of this chapter)