Li Weiyi, with senses far superior to those of others at his cultivation level, had carefully observed all the streets outside the courtyard. He indeed spotted several suspicious figures. Clearly, they had already been watched.
“We haven’t picked a fight with anyone. We just moved in and now we’re in such big trouble. It turns out Nine Li City isn’t a safe place to settle down. We only want to survive, to live peacefully. Why does it have to be so hard?”
Qin Ke said anxiously, unable to sit still. She hadn’t drunk any Golden Crow Blood. Most of the team members on the scientific expedition who did ended up with huge bird-like heads like Old Liu.
The transformations of Professor Xu and Gao Huan’s Pure Immortal Bodies had only happened by chance. Still, she cared a lot about preserving human appearances.
“Survival is the same everywhere. Every place has its own difficulties,” Zhao Zhizhuo explained to the newcomers.
“For any gang to establish a solid foothold in the outskirts of Nine Li City, there must be some Five Seas Realm practitioners in charge. We can’t afford to provoke them. It wasn’t like this before, but now this Changlin Gang doesn’t seem to have anyone backing them and they’ve become too bold. How about we take advantage of the daylight to first go into the city and spend a night there? Or even give up on the residence altogether, since it’s only a rented place.”
“But that costs 2,600 silver coins, one deposit and one payment,” Li Weiyi added, sitting on the step under the eaves of the house.
“Besides, they’ve already set their sights on us. How could they let us escape into the city? If we run now, it would only reveal our weakness. They will surely think we’re easy targets and act even more recklessly.”
Zhao Zhizhuo then came up with another idea.
“I could pretend to be out shopping for supplies and actually go into the city to see the Young Clan Leader. If he shows up, the Changlin Gang will surely think twice.”
“Just worry that the Changlin Gang might act with perfect caution and not give us that opportunity,” someone murmured.
For the safety of everyone in the residence, Li Weiyi, even if unwilling to get entangled with the Cang Li Tribe, had to compromise. He was also worried that Zhao Zhizhuo might meet with misfortune after leaving the courtyard. Zhao Zhizhuo smiled.
“My life should have ended at Burial Immortal Town. It was Brother Li who saved me and kept me alive until now. Now that we face danger, we must fight for our survival. I won’t hold back. And besides, the Changlin Gang might not be as cautious as we think.”
When life was at stake, Li Weiyi could no longer fuss about small details. As he saw Zhao Zhizhuo off, he solemnly said, “If we all get through this, there will be a great reward in the future.”
“Master Guan, how on earth do we use this broken spring needle?”
Someone asked.
Li Weiyi wasn’t sure when the Changlin Gang would make a move, nor how strong the enemy really was. But from reading the Water Margin, he knew that surrender was useless – it would only lead to a worse fate. Only fighting would pave the way for survival.
Only by fighting could one carve out a pillar of strength. Only by fighting could one create a haven of peace. Right now, he desperately needed more power.
If he could break through to open the Fifth Spring, he would be able to control the Evil Camel Bell to a certain degree and better face the turbulent waves that might come tonight. Inside the room that had just been cleaned, Li Weiyi took off his shirt and sat cross-legged.
He opened the jade box containing the broken spring needles. The broken spring needle was as thin as a strand of hair, yet it shone with ice-clear crystals and exuded a chill, as if condensed from some kind of medicinal spring.
“First, adjust your state to the optimum. Once the broken spring needle pierces your central acupoint, it will quickly dissolve. With the medicine inherent inside it, it will soften the barrier so that you can more easily open the spring eye.”
“A single broken spring needle’s medicinal power only lasts for half an hour… Hm, it’s only been a little over ten days since you opened the Fourth Spring, and trying to break through the Fifth Spring is no simple task. You must be prepared mentally.”
“Whoa!”
A wisp of soul mist drifted out from the blue-and-white funerary urn, coalescing into a half-real, half-illusory hand as it picked up the broken spring needle. After performing the breathing techniques, Li Weiyi clearly sensed a difference from before.
The Dao laws in the world seemed unusually concentrated and active; even the flow of power through the forty-eight meridian channels in his body quickened a bit. This was one benefit of living in a large metropolis like the state capital city—a cultivation environment incomparable to other places. Living here long term would definitely accelerate his breakthrough.
Soon he entered a state of quiet harmony with nature. All his senses gathered at the central acupoint in his back, feeling his own body, the power of the laws in heaven and earth, and the barrier in between.
“Sssss––” The broken spring needle shot out and struck squarely at the central acupoint, sinking into the barrier.
A rush of cold energy instantly spread from the central point throughout his body. Li Weiyi’s whole body shuddered, as if plunging into an icy cavern. His limbs went numb, as though he had lost all sensation.
Only the power in the forty-eight meridian channels continued to flow steadily. No wonder Master Guan had warned that opening the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Springs carried a certain danger—it was indeed quite different from the first four springs. Fortunately, Master Guan’s skills were superb; his use of the broken spring needle was just right.
Had any other martial artist been so eager to rush things, the risk would have been tremendous. As time passed, with the breathing method mobilizing the nature laws’ energy, and under the combined erosion of his blood qi, power, and the broken spring needle’s effect, that barrier noticeably thinned.
But even after the needle’s medicinal power was exhausted, the barrier was not entirely broken through.
“Use the second one,” Li Weiyi said.
“Now? There’s no rule about using them continuously,” Master Guan worried that his body might not be able to handle it.
“I haven’t felt any discomfort. It should be alright,” Li Weiyi replied.
“That’s odd! After using a broken spring needle, the acupoint should ache for a long time—taking several days to recover. Your body seems to bear it better than even a Pure Immortal Body.”
While muttering to himself, Master Guan picked up the second broken spring needle and drove it in. After half an hour, when the medicinal power of the second needle was spent, Li Weiyi finally felt a pain at his central acupoint, but the barrier still remained, thin though it was.
With normal cultivation, in a few more days, it would naturally break through. But Li Weiyi didn’t know what might happen tonight; he had to break through to the Fifth Spring.
“Use the third one. I can handle it.”
“It’s not a matter of whether you can handle it or not…”
Master Guan hesitated. Using the third broken spring needle, he had no certainty in his heart.
“Don’t worry. I hate playing with my life. I’m not just being stubborn. I genuinely feel that the pain at the central acupoint is still within my endurance,” Li Weiyi insisted. …
In another room, Zhao Meng was also practicing the breathing technique. Perhaps it was because the nature laws of Nine Li City were so potent, or maybe external pressures were too great, or perhaps he had accumulated enough power. In one bold burst, he shattered through the spring at his feet, opening the First Spring.
As the power flowed along his meridian channels through his body, his normally slightly golden skin now shone with a luster like pure gold. His long hair, red-gold in color, burned like flames atop his head.
Such physique, such an aura—uncertain if real or not, cultivators might very well think he possessed at least the combat strength of a Five Seas Realm practitioner. … As dusk gradually fell, Qin Ke prepared the meal. But the old Liu and old Guan waiting in the courtyard were too anxious to eat a bite.
Their eyes kept glancing between the main door and the rooms. After all this time, Zhao Zhizhuo still hadn’t returned. It was highly likely something had gone wrong.
The two who were cultivating also kept the door firmly closed. When the sunset completely vanished behind the gloomy Mangshan Mountains, the vast residence was swallowed by darkness. No one dared to light a lamp.
Timid as she was, Qin Ke crouched in a corner, saying nothing, as though even the slightest sound could make her tremble with fear.
“Creak!”
Zhao Meng came out of the main hall’s door on the third floor. His body no longer glowed, having returned to normal, and he grumbled, “This door is way too small. Once I make money, I must build a big house and have an eight-meter-long bed.
What are you all doing over there? Light up the lamps, or people will think we’re scared!” At that moment, Li Weiyi also pushed open a door.
“That’s right! Even if we die, we must die in a well-lit place. You must be starving by now. Qin, go heat up the dishes. Uncle Liu, Uncle Guan, move the table under that poplar tree and take the lamps over there. We’ll dine in the courtyard.”
Seeing Li Weiyi so calm and at ease, Qin Ke and the others seemed to be infected by his bold spirit; most of their fear subsided as they busied themselves. Zhao Meng sat under a tree like a giant Buddha and said, “Zhao Zhizhuo has surely met with misfortune. Tonight, no one will come to rescue us.
It’s up to us to fend for ourselves.” The table was laden with steaming, fragrant dishes. The four of them sat at the table, each at one edge.
Li Weiyi ate heartily, enduring the pain at his central acupoint, as he held his bowl and continuously served himself. When he heard Zhao Meng say that, he paused slightly and said, “Then let the Jade Emperor be our protector. Tonight, may the Changlin Gang never let me live.
Otherwise, I will definitely make them pay the most brutal price!”
“When it’s time to act, everyone should hide inside. Senior brother, you protect them!”
As the night deepened, the lively sounds outside gradually faded away. Only the bustling noise from a large pleasure house about a hundred paces diagonally from the courtyard could be heard, accompanied by the sounds of bamboo flutes, drums, the clatter of wheels and horses, and the mingled sounds of flirtatious laughter and sharp insults carried on the wind.
Along the directions of the moat and city walls, layers upon layers of protective light veils rose, far more brilliant and bright than during the day. Li Weiyi sat alone under an old poplar. Overhead, a bone lamp hung from a branch, and the Yellow Dragon Sword stood leaning against the tree. …
On the third floor of the pleasure house in the distance, two middle-aged men stood by the window, looking out at that solitary lamp and lone silhouette in the dim courtyard. One tall, thin middle-aged man with a black mole between his brows said, “He’s so calm. He’s got nerve.
And what is that on the table beside him… a spirit tablet?”
“Is that set up for us? So arrogant!”
Another middle-aged man with a thick beard and streaks of white in his sideburns said, “Let Master Qi handle it. Let’s first see what his true caliber is.” … Hearing the commotion outside, Li Weiyi ceased studying the Spirit God Cultivation Method with the spirit tablet of his predecessor.
His eyes turned toward the open main door several meters away.
“I don’t like needless killing. Tonight, this threshold shall be the boundary. Trespassers die.”
“Swish! Swish!”
In response, two black arrows flew out from the darkness of the courtyard. They made almost no sound as they cut through the air, moving at incredible speed – clearly not ordinary arrows. Had he not broken through to the Fifth Spring and greatly enhanced his perception, he might not have sensed them in time.
Li Weiyi leapt from his seat, his body moving in a flash. At the same moment, he reached out and caught the two black arrows. Each arrow was about one foot long, thin as an iron wire, yet extremely hard and mysteriously heavy – weighing over a jin.
Having learned the art of flying needles, in an instant the two black arrows left his grasp and flew off. With two muffled thuds, they pierced through the half-foot-thick courtyard wall. Moments later, in the darkness outside came two low, agonized moans, followed by the sound of bodies hitting the ground.
Suddenly, “Rustle, rustle!” Strange sounds emanated from underground. The surface began to turn uneven, and wisps of black smoke rose from the soil. …
Damn, I messed up the schedule today – Chapter 46 was set for another time.
(End of Chapter)