Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

After leaving the shop, Li Xiaoyao led the group to continue strolling around West Street.

The stalls on both sides of the street are full of a dazzling array of items, many of which are rare to find in regular markets.

There were forbidden cultivation manuals on jade slips with covers gleaming with blood, and stolen magical artifacts with dim spiritual light but still exuding murderous intent.

There are also many mineral materials that are tainted with unknown auras and have questionable origins.

Li Xiaoyao simply walked past slowly, his divine sense sweeping over the area briefly, without lingering.

The Li family's foundation is still weak, and it is not advisable for them to get involved with things of dubious origin that could easily cause trouble.

But as he passed an inconspicuous corner stall, he paused slightly.

The stall owner was an old man wearing a mask, whose aura was obscure and difficult to discern.

There was only a gray cloth spread out in front of them, with seven or eight items scattered on it.

Several broken animal bones, two strangely colored pieces of ore, a piece of dried vine, and several seeds of different colors.

What caught Li Xiaoyao's attention was one of the seeds, which was as black as ink and had dark red patterns flowing on its surface.

The seed was no bigger than a fingernail, yet it exuded a pure and eerie... malevolent aura.

No, it's not entirely malevolent energy.

Li Xiaoyao carefully sensed it and discovered that it also contained a strange vitality. The evil energy and vitality were strangely intertwined, forming a unique rhythm.

The masked old man raised his eyelids, his voice hoarse: "Young friend, are you interested?"

Li Xiaoyao crouched down and picked up the black seed: "What is this called? What is its purpose?"

"Devouring Vine," the old man said briefly.

"Born in the most yin and evil place, yet able to absorb evil energy as nourishment, and blossom and bear fruit."

"The fruit can be used to make elixirs to neutralize evil poisons, and the vines are exceptionally tough, making them excellent materials for refining weapons."

Li Xiaoyao's heart stirred. The one thing Bing-749 had in abundance was turbid, malevolent energy.

If this vine can be cultivated, it will not only add a new specialty resource to the family, but may also help improve the environment.

How much?

"Fifty thousand spirit stones, no bargaining." The old man closed his eyes to rest.

Li Xiaoyao pondered for a moment.

This price is exorbitant for a single seed, but if it is truly as the old man said, capable of growing and transforming the evil energy in turbid lands, its value will be considerable in the long run.

"I'll take it." He took out the spirit stone.

The old man took it, put the seeds into a specially made jade box, and handed it to him:

"Cultivate it with yin-attribute spiritual soil and water it regularly with diluted evil energy. It will sprout in three years, mature into a vine in ten years, and bear fruit in a hundred years."

Li Xiaoyao put away the jade box and was about to get up when his gaze swept across the corner of the stall and he saw a palm-sized, dull-colored bronze token.

The token has an ancient design with intricate cloud patterns engraved on its surface and a blurred character "挪" (nuó) in the center.

"This is?"

"The vessel for the Minor Teleportation Talisman."

The old man glanced at it.

"A one-time life-saving item. Once activated, it can randomly teleport you 300 miles away, making it difficult for anyone below the Purple Mansion stage to track you."

"The downside is that the direction is completely random; it might teleport you to the Jedi or it might teleport you to someone else's bed."

Li Xiaoyao's eyes lit up.

This is truly a useful and practical tool! Although there are risks involved, having an extra escape route in a desperate situation is better than anything else.

"How many?"

"That's also 50,000."

Li Xiaoyao readily paid the money and put the bronze token into his pocket.

After leaving the corner stall, Li Xiaoyao led the group on another stroll around West Street.

I bought some practical second-tier talismans—the Swiftness Talisman, the Breath Concealment Talisman, and the Vajra Talisman—all of which can come in handy at crucial moments.

As for those forbidden substances that seemed to have great power but whose side effects were unknown, he didn't touch them at all.

Over the next two days, Li Xiaoyao led the group to explore most of the black market.

Buy what you need to buy, eat what you need to eat, and see what you need to see. Three days later, at noon.

At the city gate, the Xiao family members were already waiting. Xiao Chuhuan greeted Li Xiaoyao with a smile, "Brother Xiaoyao, how was the harvest?"

"I bought a few useful little things," Li Xiaoyao said with a smile. "And Brother Chuheng?"

"We found several rare array materials and also found a 'Void Stone' that can be used to upgrade the flying boat's storage space."

Xiao Chuhuan was clearly in a good mood. "Although this black market is chaotic, there are indeed many good things there."

The two groups met up, left the city together, and returned to Tingzhouping.

Beside Li Xiaoyao's flying boat, the ten-zhang-long "living cabin" had been installed and firmly fixed to the rear of the flying boat's deck.

The manager of the shop was leading his staff in a final check when he saw Li Xiaoyao return and hurriedly went to greet him.

"Distinguished guest, all 10,000 people have been counted and put into storage, and are in good condition. This is the inventory list; please take a look." The steward handed over a jade slip.

Li Xiaoyao scanned the cabin with his divine sense, confirming that the number of humans, green-skinned monsters, minotaurs, and centaurs was correct, and that the ventilation, drinking water, and food reserves inside the cabin were all arranged properly as agreed, before paying the remaining balance.

The manager took his leave with a smile on his face.

Looking at the enormous living quarters, Xiao Chuhuan couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "Brother Xiaoyao, you certainly know how to do business... I admire you."

"Our family's foundation is weak, so we have to put in more effort."

Li Xiaoyao said, "Chuyang City is on the right track. This group of people brought back to Bing-749 will be a good source of manpower to develop the mines."

The two airships slowly rose into the air and left the black market.

Passing through the void rift, we returned to the vast emptiness.

Xiao Chuhuan's flying boat led the way, followed closely by Li Xiaoyao's flying boat, the two boats maintaining a distance of about 100 zhang, sailing towards Bing-749.

The journey was peaceful for the first few days. Occasionally, small meteorites would streak across the void, but they were easily deflected by the airship's protective array.

Li Xiaoyao spent most of his time meditating and regulating his breathing in the cabin, occasionally checking on the situation inside the cabin—the people were divided into sections and guarded by Li family cultivators in shifts, so the order was acceptable.

At noon on the twentieth day, a clear "fork in the road" appeared in the void ahead.

A vast nebula unfolded on the left, the route to the Spirit Soul Realm where the Xiao Family's Chuyang City was located.

On the right, however, lies the relatively familiar direction of Bing-749, where the turbid and malevolent energy can be faintly sensed.

Xiao Chuhuan's flying boat slowed down, and he transmitted a message through a magical artifact: "Brother Xiaoyao, are you going directly back to Bing-749?"

"Exactly," Li Xiaoyao replied. "This group of people needs to be settled as soon as possible. Brother Chu Heng, have a safe journey back to the Spirit Soul Realm."

"Likewise," Xiao Chuhuan said with a smile. "Once Chuyang City is more stable, I'll visit Bing-749 again. We'll have a good drink then."

"We eagerly await your arrival."

The two airships slowly separated in the void, each turning and accelerating in different directions.

Li Xiaoyao stood by the porthole, watching the Xiao family's flying boat gradually disappear into the background of the nebula before turning his gaze away.

"Full speed back to base," he ordered.

The airship changed direction and sped toward the coordinates of plane C-749.

After the flying boat traveled through the void for several more days, a familiar gray orb of light appeared ahead—plane C-749.

As it passed through the turbid clouds, the flying boat's formation automatically activated, purifying the surrounding evil energy.

Li Xiaoyao could sense that after being away for half a year, the concentration of turbid evil energy in Bing-749 seemed to have... decreased slightly?

Was it the cleansing formation that the Li family had been continuously setting up that was working? Or was the plane itself slowly recovering?

As he pondered this, the flying boat had already passed through the clouds, and the outline of Luoxia Market appeared below.