"Another magical artifact."

Yan Qingqing was stunned, hardly believing it, and she’d never encountered a weirdo like this before. Li Ling was almost speechless. She felt that Li Weiyi was far too scheming.

Even though he had enough strength to stand against the two in the rear, he let a wounded person hit by a flying needle take the lead. And in front of her brother, he even pretended to be a Seven Springs Martial Arts Practitioner.

"Don’t let him get away. His cultivation isn’t even high."

Xing Wanxing wasn’t angry; instead, he was excited. Because that mysterious odd fellow’s cultivation wasn’t high. He should only have unlocked Seven Springs at most, so if they took him down, they could obtain several magical artifacts. …

Ahead, the roar of water filled the air. They were about to break out of Burial Immortal Town and reach the Slaughter Dragon Mouth Waterfall. But Li Weiyi suddenly stopped.

In the eastern exit of the town, beneath a thousand-year-old apricot tree, stood a tall and lean monk in a robe. Fang Tong, the seventh disciple of Nine Stone Chamber, had his back to Li Weiyi and Li Ling, his gaze fixed on the giant silver bones of an enormous giant inside a white-silver coffin.

Under the silver light, his shadow stretched all the way along the street right to the feet of Li Weiyi and Li Ling. In the Nine Stone Chamber, the rank of a disciple was not based on age but on his cultivation level. Fang Tong’s battle strength was naturally higher than that of Yan Qingqing.

"With a star of celestial method as its heart, and silver as its framework – these are the bones of the Silver Skeleton Heavenly Clan. In history, such a coffin from another world has appeared once before, sparking a chaotic war lasting nearly twenty years, and countless cultivators seeking to seize it died."

"If this coffin is not opened, its value is three hundred million. Once opened, its worth is far beyond a trillion."

Fang Tong continued, "Logically speaking, since the Silver Skeleton is here, the celestial method star located in its heart should be inside the coffin. Who among you will open this coffin?" His voice was low, yet everyone in the town clearly heard him, displaying his profound magical cultivation.

Xing Wanxing, who had caught up, was frightened by Fang Tong’s words and quickly explained: "This has nothing to do with us! It was opened long ago by the Cang Li Tribe. The celestial method star you mentioned must have been taken by them beforehand."

Fang Tong turned around, showing a long, donkey-like face.

"It’s best that it has nothing to do with you! A treasure like the celestial method star—no matter if it’s your master or even the Heavenly King—will stop at nothing to seize it. The entire Southern Realm will be shaken. I will report everything truthfully."

Yan Qingqing said, "Anyway, by the time I got here, the coffin had already been opened." Xing Wanxing silently cursed that bitch. Even though she could have testified for him, she chose to wash her hands completely.

He looked at Li Weiyi and Li Ling and, in a moment of inspiration, said, "Those two reached Burial Immortal Town before I did, and they have several magical artifacts on them. It’s very likely they took them from the coffin." Fang Tong’s gaze finally fell on Li Weiyi and Li Ling.

Li Ling was in a really bad state. All the light traces were withdrawn to her brow as she whispered, "If they have any more trump cards, show them quickly, because this donkey-faced man is probably even tougher to deal with than those deformed half-breeds." She wasn’t very hopeful.

That Xie Jin guy—if his cultivation were strong enough to take on Seven Springs Martial Arts Practitioners, how could he still be fleeing so miserably? But as long as they broke through and charged toward the Slaughter Dragon Mouth Waterfall, there would be a chance.

The river beneath the waterfall flowed directly into the Departing Spirit Fog Domain and the Blood Sea Coffin Dock, places where these people would surely dare not follow.

"Then I only have one last move; I must summon… a helper!"

Li Weiyi cut open his wrist with his sword, letting his blood fall onto the ground. He was completely out of options! Li Ling was also at the end of her rope.

If it were only Xing Wanxing and Yan Qingqing, they might stand a chance. But now a tougher, donkey-faced man had shown up. Perhaps only that famously unorthodox Protector Wife could help him get through this crisis.

"No matter who I summon, it won’t change the fact that today, you are doomed."

Yan Qingqing brandished a three-foot flexible sword and dashed off. Li Ling snorted. A bright light appeared at the fingertip of her right index finger.

With a swift gesture in the air, an arc of light several meters long shot out, forcing Yan Qingqing back. Elsewhere, Xing Wanxing’s palms began to glow with magical light as he closed in on Li Weiyi. Li Weiyi swung his sword in a broad, dazzling burst of yellow light.

Xing Wanxing wouldn’t dare try to intercept the magical artifact with his palms, and quickly dodged. With the speed granted by his scripture belt, within a short time, the two were exchanging blows evenly.

Li Weiyi furrowed his brows, for the first time doubting his own strength, "Could it be that I can leap across three realms and stand equal to the Six Springs Martial Arts Practitioners? But a pure immortal body can only cross one realm to suppress an opponent." Li Weiyi quickly dismissed the thought.

As a mortal who had only been cultivating for less than a month, he dared not be overconfident. Those who become arrogant never end well. Fang Tong saw that Yan Qingqing and Xing Wanxing were having a hard time taking down the two.

He was about to step in himself when his pupils shrank. He saw that on the ground where Li Weiyi had spilled his blood, the blood qi quickly spread out.

"Pa!"

Pa!

"A hand, wrapped in ghostly flames, burst through the soil, followed by a head, torso, and legs… A middle-aged man with disheveled long hair crawled out from underground, his whole body enveloped in ghostfire. On his forehead, there was a bloodstained, strange ancient character. Fang Tong’s face changed abruptly. In that middle-aged man, he felt a power not inferior to his own."

He really did summon something bizarre and formidable!

""Pa!

""Pa!"…

On the street, by an ancient well, inside a ruined house… one after another, hands burst from the soil, and one after another, ghostfire figures with strange ancient characters on their foreheads emerged. Elderly people, children, men, women—each possessed strong cultivation, as if the entire Burial Immortal Town were coming back to life.

All the soldiers of the Earth Wolf King Army were stunned and terrified. Yan Qingqing and Xing Wanxing also turned ashen; the scene before their eyes was both magnificent and terrifying. They had never heard of such a savage blood sacrifice summoning technique!

"Did you summon all these? Didn’t you say just one…?"

Li Ling looked at Li Weiyi.

"Quick, run!"

Li Weiyi was already utterly confused. This had nothing to do with him at all. He suspected that Burial Immortal Town itself was abnormal.

The town’s name, its location, the giant stone statues within… Who knew if the underground was already filled with things that were neither fully dead nor alive? One after the other, the two of them charged out of the town.

They didn’t choose to jump off the waterfall. Instead, they rushed down the steep, dense jungle slope under the Slaughter Dragon Mouth. Just as they reached just below the waterfall, they heard a whooshing sound as a gust of wind broke through, with a gray mass of magical power covering the sky.

"It’s Nine Stone Chamber."

Recognizing the familiar aura, Li Weiyi was so shocked he felt as if his very skull might be pried open. Without a second thought, he grabbed Li Ling and jumped into the raging Sui River, holding his breath at the bottom, letting the current carry him downstream.

Moments later, the peerless and proud figure of Nine Stone Chamber appeared by the edge of a pool below the waterfall. Within his gray magical power cloud, he had contained Fang Tong, Yan Qingqing, and Xing Wanxing. The other Earth Wolf King Army soldiers trapped in Burial Immortal Town had no time to be saved.

Nine Stone Chamber scratched his head and patted it, clearly in pain as he scolded,"There really isn’t a single person here who can handle things on their own. Even trying to retrieve a coffin, something always goes wrong. If I hadn’t arrived in time, wouldn’t you all have been wiped out?"

Nine Stone Chamber had originally gone to capture Cang Li, but he was ambushed by three tribal chiefs of the Nine Li Tribe and had to escape in disgrace. Of course, such an embarrassing matter, he would never mention even a single word in front of his disciples.

Yan Qingqing trembled as she said,"That mysterious man who was with Li Ling is incredibly powerful…" Before she could finish, Nine Stone Chamber said,"How powerful? If he were truly that formidable, how are you even still alive?"

Fang Tong said,"His true cultivation is only around Seven Springs, but he has many magical artifacts as trump cards."

"Seven Springs!"

Nine Stone Chamber laughed bitterly and then roared,"Hurry up and follow the water flow to find him. If you can’t find him, don’t even bother coming back. You’ll be stuck here for the rest of your lives."

"Yes, sir!"

Yan Qingqing and Xing Wanxing had never seen their master so furious. Immediately, they rushed downstream along the Sui River, hoping to catch up before those two slipped into the Departing Spirit Fog Domain. Otherwise, no matter how dangerous the Departing Spirit Fog Domain was, they would just have to grit their teeth and chase after them.

Fang Tong said,"Master, there’s not all bad news. Inside that white-silver coffin, there might be a celestial method star that is about to be born. If it isn’t in the hands of those two, then it’s with the Cang Li Tribe.

As a disciple, I favor the latter!"

"Celestial method star!"

Nine Stone Chamber was moved. If it were truly that fabled thing, even he had no right to touch it; he must immediately notify the Heavenly King. He said,"It looks like chaos in Li Prefecture is inevitable.

Although the Cang Li Tribe has obtained the treasure, it is also the treasure that brings the sin of obliterating their entire tribe."

"I need to go back for a while. I’ll leave the rest to you!"

Nine Stone Chamber threw a necklace with a four-inch-long wolf’s fang hanging from it to Fang Tong.

"Take along the Snow Wolf King. Both of you must survive. If you can’t take them down, I won’t be able to plead for you with the Heavenly King."

This was a death order! Fang Tong’s face changed, and he whispered,"Understood."… The Departing Spirit Fog Domain was only two hundred miles wide, but its reputation was fearsome.

Not only were various departed spirits and evil souls active there, but a constant dense fog also meant that even cultivators with high strength could easily become lost. The Sui River flowed along high mountains and deep valleys to this place. The river widened, the current slowed, and it gradually vanished into the fog.

Dragging Li Ling, Li Weiyi trudged up onto the riverbank. Looking up, his eyes were met with nothing but dark, oppressive mist. Only a few scattered points of light from strange insects in the brush and grass illuminated the foggy domain just a bit.

She had already passed out. Li Weiyi lay down on the ground and focused his Seven Springs magical power near his right ear. Within a mile, he heard no footsteps from pursuing enemies.

The gray magical power cloud from earlier was undoubtedly from Nine Stone Chamber himself. Had he delayed even a bit in jumping into the river, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Huu!"

He let out a long breath, releasing the tension built up. After resting for a short while, Li Weiyi looked at Li Ling lying next to him. He checked her breathing and then inspected the wound on her waist and abdomen caused by Yan Qingqing’s sword strike.

Once he was sure her life was not in danger, he tossed her onto the bank and pressed on alone toward the Blood Sea. After all, most of the Earth Wolf King Army wouldn’t dare to break into the Departing Spirit Fog Domain. He had done his duty.

From behind, Li Ling suddenly sat up,"Hey, you really just left like that? Not even caring about whether I live or die?"

"Aren’t all women such drama queens?"

In that moment, Li Weiyi instantly realized that she had been faking unconsciousness the whole time. He continued,"If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t have dragged you onto the bank. If I had taken someone else, you might have been left to die in the water."

Of course, Li Ling understood why Li Weiyi could be so cold and unfeeling.

"You didn’t act or lie. Do you know why I’ve been following you all along? The root cause is that you lied in front of my brother, and you couldn’t fool my sharp eyes. An actor who lies, and then accuses me of the same, are you not?"

At that moment, she managed to resemble a young maiden. Yet the contrast was just too great. Within her, it seemed as if two people resided.

Li Weiyi had begun to feel that way. For the sake of Gao Huan, who had gone to the Nine Li Academy, and for the sake of the exam team who needed a place to take shelter, he said,"I mean no harm. I only wish to secure a way of life for our displaced companions."

Li Ling stood up, her body soaking wet and clinging tightly to herself. With an air of smug satisfaction she walked over and laughed,"You’re not good at lying, are you? But I am.

I’m great at seeing through lies. The perception of a Spirit Sense Master is extremely subtle—you didn’t speak a genuine word at Yao Pass Zao Mei Manor."

"I mean no harm."

Li Weiyi repeated emphatically. Li Ling nodded and smiled gently,"Now I can believe you mean no harm, because you… you’re actually a decent person. But back in Yao Pass, how was I supposed to trust you, a stranger?"

"So you pretended to faint earlier to test me?"

Li Weiyi asked.

(End of Chapter)