Over the following days, Li Weiyi focused solely on practicing the move "Taiyi Opens the Sea," striving to recapture the overwhelming momentum he had felt during his battle with Yao Zhengsheng, as if he could split the ocean with a single sword strike. Master Guan had told him that this was the state of "Heavenly Dao Harmony."
Li Weiyi practiced this move hundreds of times each day. Every strike was executed with full force, pushing his physical and spiritual energy to their limits before stopping. He repeated the process over and over, gradually gaining insights.
After thousands of strikes, he still couldn't achieve Heavenly Dao Harmony at will. However, in the following days, he managed to align with it once or twice each day.
"Practicing like this alone won't be enough. You need to fight, to temper yourself, to engage in life-and-death battles with experts. Otherwise, it will take you years to achieve mastery," Master Guan had said.
When Master Guan spoke these words, his heart was filled with mixed emotions. Because when his own master had said the same thing, he had added, "Otherwise, it will take you decades to achieve mastery."
After all, who could believe that Li Weiyi, after just half a month of practice, could already grasp the subtleties of the Harmony state, even if his success rate was still low?
In the mornings and evenings, during the transitions between day and night, Li Weiyi, Cai Yutong, and Qin Ke would follow the guidance of their spiritual predecessors to cultivate their spiritual senses and perceive spiritual light.
At the same time, every couple of days, Li Weiyi would take Zhao Zhizhuo to the inn to seek the help of a senior expert in reconstructing his spring. ... Time flew by, and twenty-two days had passed since the attack on Divine Dragon Avenue.
Zhao Zhizhuo, wearing a bamboo hat, stepped out of the inn and saw Li Weiyi waiting under the shade of a tree across the street. He quickly crossed the street to meet him.
"How did it go? Did the eighth spring reconstruction succeed?"
Li Weiyi asked with a smile. Zhao Zhizhuo led Li Weiyi along the river to a secluded spot before removing his hat, revealing a face glowing with vitality and an ancient, robust appearance. His eyes were brimming with excitement.
He clasped his hands and bowed deeply. Li Weiyi said, "Don't stand on ceremony! Since the eighth spring has been reconstructed and you've returned to the peak of the Spring Surge Realm, remember to repay me for the spring liquid.
It was ninety-three drops, totaling ninety-three thousand silver coins. I'll round it down to ninety thousand."
"The spring liquid is one thing, but the senior expert agreed to help me reconstruct my spring because of your face, Brother Li. This act of rebirth is a debt I can never fully repay."
After stubbornly bowing, Zhao Zhizhuo said, "Don't round it down. I'll make it an even hundred thousand silver coins. I'll write you an IOU!"
"A hundred thousand? You said it yourself. I won't be polite!"
Li Weiyi replied. Zhao Zhizhuo, in high spirits, laughed, "Haha, please don't be polite. With my current cultivation, earning a hundred thousand silver coins shouldn't take more than a few years."
After sharing a laugh, Li Weiyi asked Zhao Zhizhuo to wait while he went back to the inn to bid farewell to the senior expert. He briefly returned to the inn to place the stone coffin into the Evil Camel Bell, and the two of them headed toward the city gate. As the initial excitement faded, Zhao Zhizhuo grew serious.
"The one-month deadline is almost up. What are you thinking, Brother Li? Honestly, joining the Dao Academy is a great path. Almost all the experts of the Nine Li Tribe have spent time cultivating there."
Half a month ago, the young clan leader, Cang Li, had visited Li Weiyi's residence, assuring them that they need not worry about safety for the next month. He also invited Li Weiyi, Cai Yutong, and Zhao Meng to study at the Cang Li Clan School or compete for a spot at the Nine Li Dao Academy.
Li Weiyi had already made up his mind.
"Don't worry, I'll personally visit the clan school in the next few days to pay my respects and thank Senior Jia Shou. I'll make my decision then. By the way, I've heard that repairing the Qi Sea is far more difficult than reconstructing a spring. It seems to require blood crystals."
Zhao Zhizhuo didn't dare to dream of returning to the Five Seas Realm. Being able to restore his eight springs was already more than enough for him, so he spoke with a relaxed demeanor.
"The Five Seas in the Five Seas Realm refer to the five lobes of the lungs within the human body. To open a Qi Sea, one must use spiritual energy to repeatedly refine a lung lobe until it reaches a critical point, giving birth to an internal oceanic world."
"Back then, all five of my lung lobes were pierced, and the five internal oceanic worlds withered and shrank. The blood crystals you mentioned can only repair the lung lobes. To rebuild the internal oceanic worlds, one must either rely on the rare Five Seas Pill or use a legendary spatial artifact."
Li Weiyi wasn't sure if the Evil Camel Bell counted as a spatial artifact, so he listened as Zhao Zhizhuo continued.
"Five Seas Pills are extremely hard to come by now. Even within the Cang Li Tribe, they are in severe shortage. Each pill is exchanged for a large number of coffins from other realms. Given my situation, the chances are slim. Taking one would likely just be a waste."
"Being able to restore my eight springs is already more than I could have hoped for. I won't trouble the young clan leader or the clan leader further."
"That's all I can do, but you're different, Brother Li. If you marry the Fourth Miss, your future will be boundless. With my eight-spring cultivation, I should be qualified to guard your gate or drive your carriage, right?"
Li Weiyi laughed, "If I don't marry her, does that mean my future is bleak?" Zhao Zhizhuo was just joking and didn't press the matter.
"Should we go find Yao Zhengsheng, capture him, and bring him to the young clan leader or Senior Jia Shou?"
Clearly, with his eight springs restored, Zhao Zhizhuo's confidence had also returned. Li Weiyi's smile faded.
"Yao Zhengsheng is just a tool. Capturing him won't bring down Yang Yun. Don't forget the relationship between the Cang Li Tribe and the Yang Clan. Yang Yun is a direct descendant of the Yang Clan, an eight-spring prodigy. What are we in the Cang Li Tribe?"
Zhao Zhizhuo fell silent for a moment before saying quietly, "Yang Yun has his eyes on the Fourth Miss and the artifact in your possession. He nearly got us killed. Let me plan something.
We'll try a covert strike." Li Weiyi was startled. He hadn't expected Old Zhao to become so bold all of a sudden.
He quickly said, "Don't act recklessly. The Yang Clan is backed by the Sui Sect. Forget about the old masters; just provoking Yang Qingxi would be enough to cause us serious trouble."
It was already April, and the weather was gradually turning hot. The people on the streets were dressed more lightly. The two of them walked out of the city gate, crossed a wooden bridge spanning over ten zhang, and followed the stone-paved road along the moat back home.
The stone road was five zhang wide, with the other side leading to an endless expanse of countryside. Under the eaves, long stone steps were filled with children wearing straw sandals and tattered clothes. They were around five or six years old, their faces sallow and thin, as if they had traveled a long distance.
Their feet were worn, and their faces were covered in a thick layer of dust. There were about a hundred of them, seemingly taking a temporary rest. As Li Weiyi walked, he observed these children.
From under the eaves, pairs of round eyes stared back at him and Zhao Zhizhuo.
"Why are there so many children?"
Li Weiyi found it unusual. Zhao Zhizhuo, however, was unfazed.
"Take a closer look. Almost all of them are twins."
Li Weiyi indeed noticed this. There were always two children who looked strikingly similar, with only a few exceptions. Why was the proportion of twins so high?
It was too strange! Zhao Zhizhuo explained, "They are Rice People, the 'rice' as in rice plants."
"What do you mean?"
Li Weiyi was puzzled. Zhao Zhizhuo asked, "Have you heard of Benevolent Rice?" Li Weiyi shook his head.
"Benevolent Rice is also known as Human Rice."
"The 'benevolent' here refers to both kindness and the core of a fruit."
"Benevolent Rice originally comes from the depths of the Ghost Realm, where it serves as food for some mysterious beings of the underworld. It was later introduced to the living world."
"A single stalk of rice can grow several, even over a dozen, fetuses, always in even numbers. Those growing on either side of the stalk look almost identical, like twins."
"I've heard that in other regions, various factions have started cultivating Benevolent Rice on a large scale."
"First, to select exceptionally talented individuals and train them as death warriors. Second, to rapidly increase the labor force. Third... humans are a resource and a commodity. Buying and selling Rice People doesn't cause many disputes, and no one stands up for them."
"I've heard that some brutal rebel armies even use Rice People to feed their beast mounts."
"In Li Prefecture, several elders of the Nine Li Tribe strongly opposed the cultivation of Benevolent Rice, believing it violated human ethics. They also feared that over time, the increasing proportion of Rice People would lead to uncontrollable turmoil."
"But as far as I know, some within the tribe are secretly cultivating it in the Mang Mountain Range."
While marveling at this, Li Weiyi felt a heavy weight in his heart. The existence of Rice People would undoubtedly lead to many ethical issues. Looking back at the children sitting by the roadside, he couldn't help but feel sympathy and pity.
They had no parents. Without parents, who in the world would truly care for them? Forget about their happiness; no one would even care if they lived or died.
"Ah Yin, you need to tie your shoes properly, or your feet will get blistered. Just bear with it a little longer. We'll be there soon..."
A woman dressed in white Buddhist robes knelt on the ground, tying the straw sandals of a Rice People girl. Her voice was both melodious and gentle, like a summer breeze, impossible to forget after hearing it once. After tying the shoes, she stood up.
She was tall and slender. Her robes were loose, but one could tell she had long arms and legs. On her right wrist was a string of red prayer beads, as red as congealed blood.
The white-robed nun noticed Li Weiyi's gaze and turned to him, nodding with a smile. She softly chanted a Buddhist mantra, "Amitabha!" Li Weiyi clearly heard the mantra and was momentarily stunned, his heart surging with shock.
This wasn't Earth! How could this world also have Amitabha? Amitabha, also known as the "Infinite Buddha," is the ruler of the Western Pure Land in mythological legends.
Finally encountering a genuine Buddhist practitioner, Li Weiyi was considering whether to approach her for guidance when she walked over first. The white-robed nun was in her twenties, with sallow skin and average features, her cheekbones slightly prominent.
She bowed respectfully and spoke in that melodious, gentle voice, "Benefactor, you seem to have a compassionate heart, with a soft light of empathy in your eyes. May this humble nun boldly ask for a bowl of vegetarian food?" Though Li Weiyi valued silver coins greatly, a bowl of vegetarian food was nothing.
He returned the bow and said, "Forget just one bowl. Bring all the children. I think they're starving."
(End of Chapter)