Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

Chapter 224 The Vast Border

The flying boat departed from the Immortal Sect's headquarters and headed west.

The Immortal Sect's territory is vast, stretching from the central region to the western border, spanning dozens of star fields and hundreds of planes.

Li Xiaoyao thought he would arrive in a few days, but the flying boat took three days to reach the first transit point—a huge city floating in the void, named "Tianguan".

"Are you going to Zhenxiguan, senior?"

The Foundation Establishment cultivator who received him checked the route. "It will require several transfers through teleportation arrays. The next stop after Tianguan is Yuntai, then Cangwu, then Luoxing, and finally the void anchorage of Zhenxiguan. The whole journey will take about... twenty days."

Li Xiaoyao nodded without saying anything more.

Following the instructions, he waited in line in front of the void teleportation array at the Heavenly Gate.

The teleportation array is a huge circular stone platform, covered with spatial array patterns. It opens once every half hour, and can teleport dozens of people each time.

When it was Li Xiaoyao's turn, he stepped onto the stone platform, the array patterns lit up, and his vision blurred.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in another city—Yuntai.

This process was repeated over and over.

Yuntai, Cangwu, Luoxing, one stop after another.

Each stop presented a similar scene: majestic cities, busy cultivators, and shimmering teleportation arrays.

The atmosphere at the border grew increasingly tense the further west you went; you could even see scorch marks left by magical bombardment on the walls of Falling Star City.

On the twenty-first day, Li Xiaoyao finally arrived at the Void Anchorage of Zhenxiguan.

The fortress was small, built on a floating, empty meteorite, and only about ten miles in circumference.

The meteorite's surface was covered with a dense array of defensive formations, shimmering with spiritual light, which kept the surrounding void dust at bay.

Above the main gate of the fortress hangs a plaque with three simple and ancient characters: "Zhenxiguan".

As soon as Li Xiaoyao stepped out of the teleportation array, he felt a strong sense of killing intent.

It wasn't an illusion—dark red marks could be seen on the fortress walls, the base of the array, and even in the cracks between the stone bricks on the ground.

That was blood, dried blood, seeping deep into the stone, indelible and impossible to wash away or smooth out.

A middle-aged man dressed in black armor was standing at the edge of the teleportation array waiting for him.

This man had a resolute face, a long scar running from his left eye to his chin, and a deep aura about him, clearly indicating that he was at the late stage of the Purple Mansion realm.

"Shangyuan Zhenren?" he asked, his voice low.

"Indeed." Li Xiaoyao cupped his hands in greeting. "May I ask how I should address you, fellow Daoist?"

"Zhenyue," the man said, "the rotating commander of Zhenxi Pass."

Li Xiaoyao was slightly taken aback. Zhenyue—the Zhenyue Zhenren he knew was a late-stage Purple Mansion cultivator of the Gentu Dao lineage, and they had fought side by side in the Heavenly Demon Realm.

Although the person in front of me has the same name, their aura is completely different.

The man saw his expression and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, as if he was used to this kind of reaction: "My name is Zhenyue, but I am not the Zhenyue you know."

Same name, different person. I cultivate the Geng Metal Dao lineage; you can just call me "Zhen Yue."

He paused, then added, "You'll encounter this kind of thing again in the future."

"The Immortal Sect is so vast, there are countless people with the same name and Daoist title. You'll get used to it."

Li Xiaoyao nodded: "Fellow Daoist Zhenyue, thank you for your trouble."

Zhen Yue turned and walked into the fortress, saying as he went, "The rules are simple. It's a one-year mandatory period. During this year, you cannot leave the area within ten thousand miles of Zhenxi Pass."

Their daily task is to patrol the border, from the gravel plains in the north to the Netherfire Sea in the south, a total distance of 30,000 li, which they complete every three days. If they encounter any demons crossing the border, they are first warned; if they ignore the warning, they are killed.

"Do demons frequently cross the border?"

"often."

Zhenyue pushed open the door to the main hall of the fortress, which led to a small council room with a huge star map hanging on the wall.

"Although the Cangmang Demon Kingdom has signed a treaty with the Immortal Sect, promising not to interfere with those above the Golden Core stage, the demon race below will not listen to reason."

They always try to infiltrate the Immortal Sect, seizing resources, occupying territory, and capturing humans as slaves. Especially those small tribes, driven mad by poverty, will do anything.

He stopped in front of the star map and pointed to several locations marked with red dots: "These are areas where the demon race has frequently appeared over the past year. The most dangerous place is here—"

He pointed to a place marked "Blood River Valley" on the west side of the star map.

"Blood River Valley is the territory of the Blood Wolf Tribe, a medium-sized tribe in the Cangmang Demon Kingdom. Their leader is a Blood Wolf Demon King at the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm, and they also have three Lesser Demon Kings at the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm under their command."

In recent years, they have been expanding towards the Immortal Sect, and have already clashed with the Inspector General several times.

Looking at the star map, Li Xiaoyao asked, "What was the casualty situation of the patrol envoys on duty before?"

Zhen Yue was silent for a moment: "Two of them died last year. One was in the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm, and was surrounded and killed by the little demon king of the Blood Wolf tribe; the other was in the middle stage of the Purple Mansion realm, and was ambushed deep in the Blood River Valley and did not return."

He turned around and looked at Li Xiaoyao: "So, don't think you're safe just because you're in the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm. This is the border; there are no rules, no morality, only life and death."

Li Xiaoyao nodded: "I understand."

Zhen Yue took a token off the wall and handed it to him: "This is your patrol token. After the blood oath is performed, you can sense the location of other patrol envoys within a range of 30,000 li."

If you encounter danger, you can call for help. But remember—it will take at least half an hour for help to arrive. You'll have to endure that half hour yourself.

Li Xiaoyao took the token, and a drop of blood fell onto it.

The token glowed slightly, and his divine sense immediately detected several faint points of light—the locations of the other patrol envoys, scattered throughout the border.

"Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Zhenyue thought for a moment: "Your predecessor—the previous inspector—was a rogue cultivator in the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm, surnamed Zhou, with the Daoist name Qingzhu."

He disappeared near Blood River Valley; there's no trace of him, neither alive nor dead. If you happen to be passing through that area, keep an eye out.

If his belongings can be found and brought back, the Immortal Sect will provide additional compensation to his family.

Li Xiaoyao nodded in agreement.

Zhenyue turned and walked towards the door: "Your lodging is over here. Get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, you'll come with me on the first patrol."

Li Xiaoyao followed Zhen Yue through a long corridor and arrived at a stone chamber.

The stone chamber was small, containing a bed, a table, and a chair. In the corner were several empty pill bottles—left behind by the previous inspector.

Zhenyue glanced at the empty bottles, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Li Xiaoyao entered the stone chamber and closed the door.

Instead of lying down to rest, he sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the patrol token in his palm and probing it with his divine sense.

The token contains a detailed star map of this border region, marking every void reef, every spatial rift, and every demon stronghold.

He spent a full hour memorizing the star map.

Blood River Valley.

Blood Wolf Clan.

Three are in the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm, and one is in the middle stage of the Purple Mansion realm.

He thought of the Heavenly Demon Realm. That year, he had killed no fewer than dozens, if not hundreds, of demons—demigods and demon kings alike.

Those battles allowed him to grow from a novice in the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm to a mid-stage Purple Mansion realm expert with three supernatural powers at his disposal.

Today, [Caihua Chen] is far better than he was back then.

He wanted to see what the difference was between the demons of the Cangmang Demon Kingdom and those of the Heavenly Demon Realm.