Beneath the blood mist, a barrier that transitioned from soft to firm blocked his fingers, preventing him from delving any deeper. Li Weiyi used his hands to peel away the layers of blood mist, faintly catching glimpses of the outside.
He saw the towering and majestic Fusang Divine Tree and the boundless Tanggu Sea flash before his eyes, only to be replaced by a desolate expanse of reddish-brown wasteland. Just now... was that a trick of the eyes?
He tried moving in different directions, but each time he was blocked by the blood mist, confined to a small area of only a few zhang in radius. The spirit tablet elder wasn’t entirely sure what was happening either. He analyzed, “It’s likely that your spiritual power isn’t strong enough yet.
To venture further and fully grasp the mysterious power of Shaoyang Star, you’ll need more spiritual light and a higher cultivation realm.” Li Weiyi asked, “Three masters, how did you all ascend to Shaoyang Star back then? Why did you gather here?
And what exactly happened during the great war a thousand years ago?” After a long silence, it was the stone coffin elder who spoke first.
“Knowing too much right now isn’t necessarily a good thing for you. Just focus on cultivating steadily.”
The jar elder was even more direct.
“To be honest, we don’t know much either.”
The spirit tablet elder added, “That’s right. Although the three of us know some things, our understanding is incomplete. Telling you might even mislead you.
Whether you see it as a planet or as the Buddha’s relic, you’ll need to walk further along the path of spiritual power to uncover its secrets.”
“This is your path. You’ll have to explore it slowly on your own.”
The stone coffin elder seemed to recall something and said, “There are two things I can tell you, though. The first is that those who participated in the great war back then can return to Shaoyang Star to heal their wounds or nourish their souls. The condition is that you must personally guide them.”
“That’s right!”
The jar elder was as excited as ever.
“If you bury my ashes in this blood-soaked soil and mold them into a human shape, there’s a chance I might grow bones and flesh again, gaining a new form of life. Though the chances are slim!”
The spirit tablet elder sighed, “I’m not so lucky. My physical body was completely destroyed, leaving only a wisp of my soul.” The stone coffin elder said, “You’ve always walked the path of spiritual power, cultivating your mind.
The physical body isn’t as important to you. Even a remnant soul can be nourished and strengthened on Shaoyang Star, following the path of the departed spirits. If it weren’t for the bronze ship being cut off from the outside world over the past thousand years, we might not be in such a pitiful state.” ...
Listening to their conversation, Li Weiyi was utterly stunned. He found it increasingly difficult to comprehend what this planet—or rather, the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish—truly was. The cause and effect behind it all seemed beyond imagination.
Li Weiyi asked, “How many people on the bronze ship haven’t completely died? Why not bury all of them on Shaoyang Star? Wouldn’t that give them all a chance at a new form of life?”
The jar elder sighed deeply.
“Aside from the three of us, there’s only Chanhai Guanwu and Yu Tuonan. Otherwise, why would the master of the bronze ship send the three of us to guide you? Because we also need your help, though the chances are slim.”
“A thousand years ago, we should have been buried on Shaoyang Star, but something went wrong with the bronze ship. Its master also seemed to be in an unusual state,” the stone coffin elder added.
The spirit tablet elder said, “Many participated in the great war a thousand years ago. Those on the bronze ship were only a fraction of them—perhaps one percent or even less. There were many survivors, and many like us who are barely clinging to life...
All those who participated in the war are connected to your karma. You won’t understand it now, but you will in the future. Perhaps some survivors from back then will seek you out...
Whether it’s a blessing or a curse is hard to say.” The stone coffin elder continued, “The second thing I know about Shaoyang Star is that it possesses extraordinary spatial properties.”
“The amount of light particles you absorbed in such a short time is comparable to what a top-tier genius on the spiritual path would absorb in seven days. The fact that you were able to open your Yintang Spirit Realm is largely due to the spatial power of Shaoyang Star.”
“It’s this spatial power that’s pulling light particles from the surrounding space and drawing them to you.”
The spirit tablet elder explained, “Simply put, with the help of Shaoyang Star’s spatial power, your spiritual cultivation speed will be more than ten times faster than those so-called geniuses. Of course, once you reach the level of a Spirit Sense Master, the speed will slow down. At that point, it won’t just be about absorbing light particles.”
“More than ten times faster... Does that mean I could catch up to ten years of someone else’s hard work in just one year? Or a hundred years in ten years? The road ahead is long and arduous!”
Li Weiyi couldn’t see the expressions of his three masters, but he could imagine them gritting their teeth. He secretly speculated that his Fusang Divine Tree meditation technique might also have some benefits. He felt a mix of joy, surprise, and worry.
The worry came from his rationality. He wouldn’t let himself get carried away. While spatial power could make the path of spiritual power easier, absorbing a large number of light particles would inevitably cause drastic changes in the environment.
For example, the surrounding area might become dimly lit. This would make him an easy target! Unless he cultivated in a place far from human activity.
“By the way, three elders, if Shaoyang Star is a planet, why does it hang around my neck without any weight? And... how do I get back...”
Before he could finish speaking, Li Weiyi felt a strong sense of weightlessness. His vision darkened, as if he had been pulled into space or the Earth’s core in an instant. ... In the dense forest.
Xue Zheng had already caught Li Weiyi’s scent. Holding a long blade, he circulated his spiritual energy to lighten his body as much as possible, carefully moving forward. From a distance, he was stunned.
At the end of the trail of scent, there was no sign of Li Weiyi. Instead, there was a pale red, pearl-like object floating three feet above the ground. Countless light particles surrounded it.
“What is this?”
Xue Zheng was extremely curious. Could this be the reason why the light in this area had dimmed earlier? Gradually, the light particles around the pearl began to diminish...
“Whoosh—” Ripples appeared in the space within a few zhang.
Li Weiyi’s body materialized out of thin air and fell to the ground with a thud. He immediately checked the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish and found that the Buddha’s relic had returned to the fish’s eye. Had he really been inside that tiny relic just now?
Before Li Weiyi could think further, he sensed danger. Looking up, he saw Xue Zheng leaping toward him, his blade gleaming with powerful spiritual energy. Li Weiyi picked up the Yellow Dragon Sword from the ground and met the attack head-on.
He knew that Xue Zheng’s strength was even more terrifying than Yao Zhengsheng’s natural divine power, so he didn’t engage in a direct clash. Instead, he used the agility of his sword techniques, deflecting and entangling before rolling away to escape.
“How did he catch up so quickly?”
As Li Weiyi fled, he glanced up. It wasn’t morning anymore. It was already past noon, well into the afternoon.
At the same time, he noticed that in just half a day, his injuries had healed by fifty to sixty percent. His internal injuries, in particular, no longer felt like they were burning and about to tear apart. The small flame of spiritual light in his Yintang Spirit Realm alone couldn’t have such healing power.
Xue Zheng chased closely behind Li Weiyi, his eyes sharp. He had already realized that the young man in front of him possessed an extraordinary spatial treasure. This spatial treasure wasn’t just a storage-type magical tool.
It was more like a legendary rare treasure that could help martial practitioners open their energy sea and assist spirit masters in expanding their Yintang Spirit Realm during breakthroughs. What kind of value did that hold? Not even Yang Qingxi, let alone Yao Qian, the top disciple of the Sui Sect, would go mad for such an opportunity.
And now, he was the only one who knew about it.
“Twang!”
The sound of a bowstring echoed from deep within the forest. A two-meter-long, four-feathered arrow shot out faster than sound, piercing through ancient trees and sending leaves swirling in its wake. By the time Li Weiyi sensed the danger, the arrow was already upon him.
He had no choice but to roll to the side, narrowly avoiding it. His shoulder was grazed.
“Boom!”
A tree as thick as a barrel was struck by the arrow, its trunk splitting apart with a deafening crash. Murong Xiao’s archery was unparalleled, and with the aid of her magical bow, she was even more dangerous hidden in the shadows than she was in the open. The spirit tablet elder’s voice echoed from within the Buddha’s relic.
“Try using your spiritual power. Use the flame of spiritual light in your Yintang Spirit Realm to sense what’s behind you and around you. From now on, your body doesn’t exist.”
Li Weiyi was highly talented. Even in such a perilous situation, he could quickly turn the spirit tablet elder’s teachings into reality. After exchanging over a dozen blows with Xue Zheng, Li Weiyi’s perception became even clearer.
It was as if a lamp had been lit between his eyebrows. His skull felt transparent, and his vision had no blind spots. He could see in all directions—not with his eyes, but with his spiritual power.
Murong Xiao’s second arrow, shot from dozens of zhang away, came at him from behind. Li Weiyi didn’t even turn around. He simply shifted slightly and dodged it.
This was the advantage of cultivating both martial arts and spiritual power. A pure martial artist or a pure spirit master would have found it difficult to dodge such an arrow.
“Your flame of spiritual light is still weak and sparse. This state won’t last long. End the battle as quickly as possible. If you can’t defeat them, lead them to the King’s Tomb. I’ll guide you there. But my spiritual power is limited. I can only sense the outside world once every hour. Head south for now!” the spirit tablet elder instructed.
“Then let’s end this battle!”
After repelling Xue Zheng once more, Li Weiyi didn’t hesitate. He pulled out the black iron seal. Channeling his spiritual energy into it, he struck the seal with the hilt of his sword.
Li Weiyi had long wanted to give Xue Zheng a heavy blow. He felt that Xue Zheng’s metallic, semi-immortal body would be highly conductive to lightning. He hadn’t used the black iron seal during the pursuit along the Sui River because its power was too conspicuous.
It was clearly not a low-level magical tool, and using it would have surely drawn Yang Qingxi’s direct intervention.
“Boom!”
A thunderous roar echoed. A bright bolt of lightning, as thick as a wrist, shot out.
“How does he still have a magical tool...?”
Xue Zheng gritted his teeth, unsure how to describe his current emotions. He immediately dodged, but the lightning bolt curved and chased after him. Even though he raised his blade to block in time, he was still struck and sent flying.
He crashed heavily into the fallen leaves, his clothes reduced to ashes. His silver-toned arms were now charred black.
(End of Chapter)