Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

Deep within the realm's ruins, chaotic laws surge like boiling magma.

The closer you get to the core, the less stable the space becomes.

Sometimes the ground beneath your feet is solid black rock, and sometimes you step into thin air and realize that you are in an upside-down abyss.

The Time-Stabilizing Pearl trembled violently in Li Xiaoyao's arms, the fluctuating flow of time tearing at his senses.

The vast ocean light of Master Shuyu tightly protected the two of them, barely maintaining a basic spacetime anchor.

The puppets were almost completely destroyed. The surviving six-legged exploration puppet had entered a quiet zone three-quarters of an hour ago and lost contact instantly.

Li Xiaoyao neither stopped nor released any new content.

There's no need to scout ahead anymore.

The core is right ahead.

They held their breath when they saw it.

That was a heart.

Suspended in the center of a void at the deepest part of the Realm Ruins, it was pitch black and covered with ancient dark gold runes.

The runes moved and writhed slowly like living things, and with each inch they moved, a faint halo flowed, like forbidden blood surging in veins.

The heart is about ten feet tall, contracting and relaxing with a steady rhythm.

Each time the boundary shroud contracts, the space around it trembles.

Those chaotic fragments of laws were drawn together, slowly rotating, sinking, and annihilating around the heart.

Around the heart, the void cracked like a spiderweb.

Deep within the cracks, the remains of an even older and larger seal can be faintly seen, already shattered and beyond saving.

Li Xiaoyao remained silent.

The jade slip containing his image had already been activated, recording this scene completely.

From the moment I entered the Realm Ruins until now, all my encounters, all my paths, Changqing's last words, and the posture of this heart have been recorded.

Three breaths.

He only looked for three breaths.

Master Shuyu clenched his fingers tightly, and the Vast Ocean Pearl was on the verge of breaking.

Her voice transmission was extremely soft and fast: "They're watching us."

Li Xiaoyao did not turn around, nor did he release his divine sense.

He simply nodded slightly, and then—

"Walk."

A burst of rosy light and blue glow erupted simultaneously!

The two transformed into a nearly transparent beam of light, shooting backward without looking back along the distorted and chaotic spatial rift from which they had come.

Behind me, my heart seemed to stop beating for a moment.

Immediately, those dark gold runes lit up!

Countless tendrils of law, denser and more terrifying than those on the Pale Plain, grew wildly from the surface of the heart.

It grabbed in the direction the two had fled!

However, Li Xiaoyao had no intention of fighting.

He didn't even look back.

The four seasons reflect the four colors in rotation, and the rosy clouds roll back like a celestial river, enveloping True Person Shuyu. At the cost of burning his original magical power, he forcibly tore open a brief passage in the chaotic spacetime of the Realm Ruins.

The tentacled creature chased after them for a hundred feet, fifty feet, and ten feet—

"break!"

Li Xiaoyao let out a low shout, and a one-time teleportation talisman that he had prepared for a long time exploded in his palm.

Space distorted violently, and the two figures were forcibly pulled into a void rift and disappeared.

The tentacles missed their target, frantically tearing and searching along the edge of the rift, before finally retreating in vain to the area around the heart.

Zhixu Station.

The teleportation array flashed, and two figures stumbled out.

Li Xiaoyao's face was deathly pale, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his spiritual energy was almost depleted.

The Jade Maiden was no better off; the Vast Ocean Pearl shattered completely at the last moment, and she silently put the remaining fragments into her sleeve.

The two exchanged a glance, but said nothing more.

"Healing, half an hour," Li Xiaoyao said hoarsely.

"Is that enough?" asked Master Shuyu.

That's enough.

One hour later.

Chuixing Post Station, the top floor of Shangong Pavilion.

Emergency Communications Room.

Li Xiaoyao embedded the image jade slip into the center of the array plate and took a deep breath.

"The guardian of Luoxia Realm, Elder Shangyuan of the outer sect, together with True Person Shuyu, completed the exploration mission of the unnamed realm in the Desolate Ruins Corridor."

"A mission report containing critical intelligence is hereby submitted. Request for encrypted direct transmission to the Immortal Sect's External Affairs Hall—Emergency Level: Top A."

The disciple on the other end of the communication array was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed drastically.

A Level A signifies a major threat at the dimensional level.

"Please... Elder, please wait a moment, we will immediately connect you with the duty hall master!"

…………

Three days later.

Qingxiao Immortal Sect, External Affairs Hall.

Li Xiaoyao and Master Shuyu stood in the hall, with several Purple Mansion Elders on both sides looking deep in thought. On the huge crystal screen in the center, the image of the black heart was playing repeatedly.

The temple master was an elderly man with a dignified face and white hair, whose Taoist name was "Xuanzhen" and whose Purple Mansion was at its peak.

After the video finished playing, the hall remained silent for a long time.

Master Xuanzhen slowly spoke: "Changqing... the former garrison commander of the Yi Si San outpost who went missing three hundred years ago."

Back then, we only thought that everyone had perished in the chaos of the Boundary Ruins, but we never imagined...

He looked at Li Xiaoyao with a complicated expression: "You brought back his remains; that's a great achievement."

Li Xiaoyao cupped his hands in greeting: "It's my duty."

"You're saying there are remnants of an ancient seal around that heart?"

"Yes. It's broken beyond repair."

Master Xuanzhen closed his eyes and sighed after a long while: "A late-stage Purple Mansion cultivator died trapped inside, and even his last words could only be entrusted to a descendant who may arrive at any time..."

This Heart of the Demonic Ruins requires at least the intervention of a True Monarch, and possibly more than one. It is beyond our reach to discuss.

He paused, his tone turning cold:

"This matter has exceeded the scope of a regular mission. You have brought back the intelligence, the mission is complete, and your merits and contribution points will be awarded at the highest level."

The remains and token of the Immortal Changqing will be brought back to the sect for enshrinement on a chosen day.

"As for that realm ruins..."

He glanced at the elders in the hall and said, "Immediately seal off the void surrounding the Zhixu Station and designate it as a high-risk restricted area."

All exploration missions related to the new Realm Ruins in the Desolate Ruins Corridor are suspended indefinitely.

This matter will be reported to the Sect Leader and the True Lords of the Inner Sect for a decision.

Li Xiaoyao lowered his head and said nothing more.

When I stepped out of the Outer Affairs Hall, the daylight was just right.

Under a clear blue sky with white clouds drifting by, the scene seemed worlds apart from the dark red fleshy walls and pitch-black heart within the Boundary Ruins.

Shuyu Zhenren stood under the corridor, her robes fluttering in the breeze.

"What are your plans next, fellow Daoist?" she asked.

Li Xiaoyao gazed calmly toward the direction of Luoxia Realm.

"Go home and go into seclusion."

"The second immortal foundation still needs polishing. The essence of the Horned Wood left by Senior Changqing also needs to be slowly comprehended."

He paused.

"More importantly, I have to stay alive."

"Live long enough, be strong enough."

"When the sect's True Monarchs deal with that heart—at least they'll be qualified to burn incense for Senior Changqing."

Master Shuyu nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

"Take care of yourself."

"Take care of yourself."

Two streaks of light, one blue and one rosy, parted ways outside the hall.

One headed north, returning to the realm of sunset.

One headed south, towards the sea area she guarded.

……

Sunset Glow Realm, Qixia Peak.

The moment the light fell, it was dusk in the Sunset Realm.

The sky was ablaze with rosy clouds, a blend of crimson and purple, spreading out in layers like ink splashed by a celestial being.

Li Xiaoyao stood on the cloud platform outside Chengxia Palace, gazing at the sky full of rosy clouds, feeling as if he had been transported to another world.

Ten days in the border town felt like three months in the human world.

Second Uncle!

Li Chijing's voice came from inside the hall, filled with barely suppressed joy.

He strode out to greet them, followed by Li Mutian, Li Tongya, and Li Xiangping. Even the usually composed Li Changhu stood at the palace gate, his eyes slightly red.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

Li Mutian repeated it twice, then patted Li Xiaoyao's shoulder heavily with his rough hand.

Without asking about the mission's progress or the results, she simply scrutinized his face repeatedly to confirm that the familiar figure was unharmed.

Li Xiaoyao did not say much about the matter of the Realm Ruins.

They simply said the mission was complete and the Immortal Sect had already issued a reward.

It was only mentioned that they encountered a senior whose remains had been brought back by the sect and buried in the Immortal Sect's Martyrs' Garden.

Just say—

"I need to go into seclusion for a while."