Being a loose cultivator is not easy; they often encounter life-threatening dangers while traveling, facing numerous challenges such as lack of resources, inadequate cultivation techniques, and insufficient spirit stones. Many loose cultivators perish outside.
Even the famed loose cultivator Han Paopao only went independent after establishing his foundation, having gained some ability to protect himself within the Cultivation Realm.
There are mainly two types of loose cultivators who live well in the Cultivation Realm: one type is like Han Paopao, who has a top-tier Immortal Artifact accompanying him and lacks no resources; the other type is a cultivator who starts with a top-tier Grotto Heaven, where one day outside equals a year inside, nurturing spirit medicine and lacking no resources.
Otherwise, other loose cultivators live quite miserably.
A few daring and fortuitous loose cultivators directly become foundation establishment cultivators.
After becoming a foundation establishment cultivator, this loose cultivator will find a way to shed the identity of a loose cultivator and establish a cultivation clan, relying on the power of the clan, the collective strength, to survive in the Cultivation Realm.
Being a loose cultivator has no future, just like being a bandit has no future; if you're going to be a thief, be the leader of bandits.
"The spiritual energy in the mountains outside is very thin, only a tenth of the family's spirit vein. Cultivating in such a wild environment is too slow," Lu Xuanji analyzed.
The spiritual energy that once seemed free and cheap is now the most precious thing.
Cultivators cultivate through wealth, companions, techniques, and place.
Wealth is not just spirit stones, it also includes spirit pills, magical treasures, arrays, etc.
Companions are not just Dao companions, but also disciples, teachers, clansmen, friends, etc., supporting each other for a long journey.
Techniques are cultivation techniques, as well as pill formulas, array atlases, talisman atlases, etc.
Place refers to spiritual mountains, Grotto Heaven blessed lands, etc. Without a spirit vein, cultivation is impossible.
When the Lu Family was around, they had no shortage of wealth, companions, techniques, or place. Once a member reached the qi cultivation stage, the family would provide them with a free cave mansion, allowing them to peacefully cultivate spirit fields at the mountain's base. At the time, they complained about having to farm after cultivation. But now, it seems like a blessing.
Now, having fallen into being loose cultivators, perhaps just having opened up a spirit field and planted spirit rice would result in bandit cultivators coming to rob them.
On Purple Sun Mountain, there was a third-level spirit vein for cultivation, and an advancement in level every four years; but outside, absorbing the stray spiritual energy would take twenty years for the same advancement.
In the past, things on Purple Sun Mountain were taken for granted because they were easily accessible.
But now, with the fall of the Lu Family, they longed for those days.
No wonder, after establishing themselves, major powers first build spirit veins.
"Brother, the Lu Family has some properties outside, with some foundation establishment cultivators in charge... we can rely on those uncles and elders."
Ye Feixue said.
"When the wall falls, everyone pushes. If the Lu Family were still strong, the properties wouldn't be much of a problem; but now that the Lu Family has fallen, those properties will be seized by some powers. Some powers may still have some face, acting subtly; but some are shameless."
"Those properties could face attacks... The only lucky thing is that father and mother are stationed at the marketplace outside, avoiding this calamity."
Lu Xuanji said.
On Purple Sun Mountain, the Lu Family cultivators faced a devastating blow.
If it were qi cultivation cultivators, there might still be a chance to escape; but foundation establishment cultivators were the primary targets of assassination, with almost zero chance of survival.
The first thing to do was to head to the Lu Family marketplace, looking for other clansmen.
...
Having decided on their target, they headed towards the Lu Family's marketplace.
Throughout their journey, they were extremely low-key, and after two days, they arrived at a marketplace belonging to the Lu Family.
The once-prosperous marketplace was now in ruins, with only blazing fires burning, collapsed houses, and charred bodies, showing the cruelty present there.
"Not good, the Lu Family's marketplace here was attacked by that Purple Mansion cultivator."
"Completely destroyed."
Lu Xuanji's expression was somewhat somber.
The Lu Family's marketplace typically focused on loose cultivator exchanges, featuring shops, spirit fields, and cave mansions. The Lu Family had spent a great deal of effort building this marketplace.
Underneath this marketplace was a second-level spirit vein.
The array laid here guarded the marketplace.
Even if seven or eight foundation establishment cultivators joined forces, they might not breach this marketplace.
It was considered strongly defended, impregnable.
But when the Purple Mansion ancestor struck, no one could resist.
When that Purple Mansion ancestor descended, relying on formidable strength, he breached the array, destroyed the marketplace, and killed the Lu Family cultivators present.
"Let's go."
Lu Xuanji continued walking, heading to other properties belonging to the Lu Family.
Upon reaching a spiritual ore site where spirit stones lay underground and needed extraction by cultivators, the Lu Family could mine over twenty thousand spirit stones annually. But when they arrived, a massive palm print appeared above the ore vein, causing the vein to collapse, burying the Lu Family cultivators within.
They then went to a Red Copper Ore site, which produced red copper, a primary material for artifact refining, only to find it too had been devastated and was now heading towards ruin.
Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue continued to visit several other Lu Family properties, all of which had been completely destroyed, and the cultivators there had been slaughtered.
After walking for a month, they found that all the cultivators at the Lu Family's properties had been completely massacred.
Based on the crime scenes, these events occurred on the same day.
In other words, that Purple Mansion ancestor, with his sword, roamed the land, and in a short time, had slaughtered the Lu Family cultivators scattered everywhere, leaving none alive.
"The Lu Family, I'm not sure if any foundation establishment cultivators survived…"
Lu Xuanji sighed.
The Lu Family had over fifteen hundred cultivators, but only a little more than twenty foundation establishment cultivators.
These twenty-something foundation establishment cultivators were the foundation of the Lu Family's foothold.
Once all the Lu Family's foundation establishment cultivators perished, the Lu Family would lose its qualification as a cultivation clan, and the remaining over five hundred Lu Family cultivators would become loose cultivators, perishing in battles and conflicts.
That Daoist hated the Lu Family too much.
If not for concerns about the Dan Yang Sect and time constraints, he might have slaughtered the qi cultivation stage cultivators one by one as well.
Moreover, as the Lu Family powerhouses were killed, other cultivation clans occupied Lu's mines, spirit fields, spirit veins, and other immovable properties.
Truly, when the Lu Family fell, many people filled their bellies.
Many did not mind adding insult to injury, stepping a few times on the Lu Family's corpse.
Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue looked at each other, sharing a moment of bitterness.
In their bitterness, they changed their attire, adopting low-key and reserved appearances as they headed north, moving away from the Lu Family's direction.
Given the unclear situation, the best option was to lay low for a while, keeping their cultivation hidden.
Cooing.
In a cave, Lu Xuanji hesitated slightly but eventually took out a spirit stone, beginning to absorb the spiritual energy from it.
Not only that, but he also handed ten spirit stones to Ye Feixue, instructing her to absorb the energy from them and enhance her cultivation.
"Brother, using spirit stones for cultivation is too extravagant."
Ye Feixue said.
"It is a bit extravagant, but it's the best way to utilize spirit stones." Lu Xuanji said, "Spirit stones are only money when used; unused spirit stones are just stones."
Although Ye Feixue felt pained, she still took out the spirit stones and absorbed the spiritual energy from them, directly enhancing her cultivation.
In the Cultivation Realm, spirit stones were considered currency—currency with value.
In the Cultivation Realm, spirit stones have two main sources: one comes from underground, where they naturally form after endless years of sedimentation, the other is artificially made by cultivators who compress spiritual energy from a gaseous to a solid state.
A cubic inch of spirit stone is considered a standard spirit stone.
A spirit stone may look small, but the spiritual energy contained within can support a foundation establishment cultivator's cultivation for an entire day.
Of course, no cultivator would be so extravagant as to use a spirit stone directly for cultivation.
Spirit stones are not only trading currency but can also be used in arrays to cultivate spirit veins, or quickly replenish true qi in battle, etc.
Without the spirit vein of Purple Sun Mountain, absorbing only the spiritual energy from the outside would take ten years to advance a minor level; he couldn't afford to wait that long.
Thus, they could only absorb the spiritual energy from spirit stones to accelerate the cultivation speed.
His actions seemed wastefully extravagant, but the cultivation speed increased.