Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

Chapter 62 Flaming Mountain

Li Xiaoyao and Xiao Chuhuan exchanged a glance. Xiao Chuhuan nodded slightly, signaling for him to speak.

Li Xiaoyao pondered for a moment and decided to tell the truth—or at least part of the truth:

"We come from the outside. To explore this world. To seek resources and knowledge. Not to kill indiscriminately."

He pointed to the trapped wind wolves: "Like them, they attack first, and then we retaliate."

The firebird listened quietly, its crimson eyes flashing as if trying to determine the truth of the words.

After a long silence, it conveyed its message: "The world is vast. There are many powerful beings. In the south, there is the Thunder Swamp, where thunder beasts gather. In the west, there are mountains, where the Stone Monster King resides. In the north, there is the Ice Plains, where the Snow Demon Lord dwells. In the east, there is the forest, where the Wood Spirit Alliance resides. In the center... lies my Flaming Mountain."

It looked at Li Xiaoyao, its eyes solemn: "You may explore. But you must not destroy the foundation. You must not slaughter the innocent."

These words were clearly articulated, and subtly conveyed a warning and a clear line.

Li Xiaoyao became increasingly certain that this firebird's intelligence was no less than that of humans, and might even be higher.

It seems to have a considerable understanding of this world, and... a sense of guardianship?

"We agree."

Li Xiaoyao solemnly replied, "I will only take what I need, without harming the fundamentals."

The firebird nodded, seemingly satisfied.

It suddenly flapped its wings and took flight, circling once above the flying boat, letting out a long cry, before flying off in the southwest direction.

It flew a short distance, then turned back to look at Li Xiaoyao.

A thought came to me: "Come with me. I will take you to see the real world."

Li Xiaoyao looked at Xiao Chuhuan.

Xiao Chuhuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said in a low voice:

"Follow it. This firebird holds a high position here. With it leading the way, we can save ourselves a lot of trouble and avoid many dangerous areas."

Is it believable?

"At least for now, it doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards us. And..."

Xiao Chuhuan glanced at the three spirit-trapping cages. "It still needs our help to deal with these 'bad guys.' A mutually beneficial arrangement is more believable."

Li Xiaoyao nodded and ordered the flying boat to turn and follow the firebird.

The firebird flew at a slow speed, seemingly deliberately yielding to the airship.

It sometimes flies high, sometimes skims low, and occasionally lets out a clear, melodious cry, as if introducing this land.

The view below flowed slowly past the porthole.

As the firebirds flew over a vast lake, they cried out, and the lake surface suddenly boiled. Several large fish, with their bodies entirely blue and their heads covered in crystalline horns, leaped out of the water, nodded slightly toward the firebirds, and then sank back into the water.

"That's a Water Dragon Fish, a water-type demon beast with a gentle nature and a talent for controlling water currents."

Xiao Chuhuan looked at the jade slip and said in a low voice.

As we flew over a misty valley, swarms of colorful creatures with transparent four wings on their backs, shaped like butterflies but as large as eagles, danced gracefully, scattering specks of firefly light, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

"The Illusionary Winged Spirits are suspected of possessing illusion abilities. They are of low rank but have a large population."

As the aircraft flew over a rugged Gobi desert, the ground suddenly rose up, and several beasts resembling pangolins but with dark gold shells and sharp claws emerged, letting out threatening growls towards the airship.

With a soft cry from the firebirds, they reluctantly burrowed back underground.

"Golden Armored Earth Dragon, possessing both earth and metal attributes, has extremely strong defense and excels at burrowing underground to launch surprise attacks."

Li Xiaoyao watched silently, the absurd list in his mind growing longer and longer.

Water, Flying, Bug, Ground, Rock...

He even saw a group of small monkeys leaping through the forest with flames on their tails (fire + fighting?), and several pink, spherical creatures squatting by the river, using telekinesis (?) to control the water flow and catch fish (superpower + water?).

This is practically a living, breathing alternative Pokémon world!

The airship followed the firebird for about half a day, and then a crimson mountain range appeared on the horizon ahead.

Even before you get close, a scorching heat hits you.

Above the mountains, the air was slightly distorted due to the high temperature.

The mountain is dark red with jagged rocks, and lava flows slowly in many places, forming streams of fire.

Flaming Mountain.

The Firebird's Home.

The firebird let out a joyful cry, quickened its pace, and flew toward the highest crater in the center of the mountain range.

Two airships followed closely behind.

The closer you are to the volcano, the higher the temperature.

The airship's protective array activated automatically, emitting a faint glow. The cultivators also began circulating their spiritual energy to resist the high temperature.

The crater is over a hundred feet in diameter and its depth is unfathomable, with the dark red magma flowing below faintly visible.

Strangely, the crater rim is not bare rock; instead, it is covered with many strange, reddish plants, some of which bear flame-shaped fruits.

The firebird landed on a protruding platform on the edge of the crater and folded its wings.

Li Xiaoyao hovered the flying boat outside the platform, and he and Xiao Chuhuan, along with several core members, flew down.

With his feet on the warm rocks, Li Xiaoyao looked around.

The view here is excellent, offering a panoramic view of almost half of Plane C-937.

In the distance, forests, grasslands, lakes, and deserts display different colors under the sunlight, vibrant with life yet concealing countless unknowns.

Firebird walked to a rock wall on the inner side of the platform, where there was a cave entrance hidden by crimson vines.

It used its claws to push aside the vines, gesturing for everyone to go inside.

The entrance to the cave was small, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. But once inside, the space opened up dramatically.

This is a naturally formed cave, about three zhang high, with a pool of lava flowing slowly in its depths, providing light and heat.

The cave is not cluttered; on the contrary, it has a peculiar sense of "cleanliness."

Several fist-sized crystals with a golden-red glow were embedded in one side of the rock wall—presumably "Fire Marrow Crystals".

On the other side was a thick "bed" made of some kind of red down.

The most striking feature is in the center of the cave, where there is a small pile of things.

Several pieces of ore shimmering with different attributes (fire stone? thunder stone? water stone?), several strangely shaped spiritual herbs (perhaps they should be called tree fruits?), and even a few large scales or feathers of different colors that had fallen off (remains of other powerful monsters?).

It doesn't resemble a beast's lair; it's more like... a collector's treasure trove.

The firebird walked up to the pile of "collectibles," rummaged through them with its claws, picked out a crystal that was entirely crimson and seemed to have flames flowing inside, picked it up, and put it down in front of Li Xiaoyao.

A thought transmitted: "A gift of gratitude. Help. Expel the villain."

Li Xiaoyao bent down and picked up the crystal. It felt warm to the touch, and the fire elemental energy inside was pure and surging, indicating it was at least a third-tier spiritual material, quite valuable.

"This item is precious, and we didn't put in much effort."

Li Xiaoyao spoke the truth. The main damage dealer was still the Firebird itself; the others were just there to help control the battlefield.

Firebird shook its head: "Rules. Help comes with a reward."

It paused, then conveyed an even more important message: "You, in your exploration, need a guide. I can, recommend one."

"An introduction?"

Xiao Chuhuan couldn't help but speak up.