Li Weiyi was jolted awake, his heart racing. He reached out beside him, feeling the presence of other bodies and limbs. It dawned on him that he was no longer in the vehicle.
He was likely already on his way to the Hidden Sect. But he couldn’t see or hear anything, leaving him completely unaware of his surroundings. How long had he been asleep?
Suddenly, someone tapped him on the head, and the black cloth bag covering his face loosened with a soft rustle. His hearing returned, and the sound of water splashing against a boat filled his ears. Li Weiyi quickly removed the bag, revealing a golden haze of smoke around him.
He was on a flat boat, about ten meters long, surrounded by twenty to thirty young men and women, all tightly packed together. Most of them had already removed their bags, while a few were still in the process. These were no ordinary individuals.
After a brief moment of chaos, they quickly composed themselves, sitting upright and taking in their surroundings. Only one pair of gem-like green eyes glared at Li Weiyi with fury. The girl’s teeth were clenched, her red lips trembling, and her fists tightly clenched on her lap.
She was the owner of the leg that had pressed painfully against Li Weiyi’s chest earlier. She sat right next to him, and the boat was too cramped for her to move away. When they had first boarded, this scoundrel had grabbed her leg and pinned her down, making it impossible for her to break free.
Her cultivation was incredibly high. Every time she tried to escape, he would pull her back even more forcefully, leaving her thigh numb and her calf cramping, as if it no longer belonged to her. He had definitely done it on purpose.
Which clan had sent such a shameless person? How could they stoop so low? Li Weiyi looked at her, surprised.
She was a Pure Immortal Body. Which clan had invested so heavily in her? Didn’t they know that only one person sent to the Hidden Sect each year would survive?
Yao Yin was from the Medicine Li Clan of the Nine Li Tribe. At just fifteen years old, she had already opened seven springs and possessed a Pure Immortal Body, making her future limitless. Her flawless skin, like translucent jade, emitted a faint white glow.
The beauty of a Pure Immortal Body was something mortals could only dream of, and Yao Yin carried that ethereal aura, her hair shimmering with a radiant sheen. Feeling the chill in her gaze, Li Weiyi realized who he had accidentally groped when he first woke up. Embarrassed, he wanted to jump off the boat.
How mortifying!
He quickly apologized, “I’m sorry! I was just waking up, and my senses were still clouded… Anyway, I’m really sorry!”
After apologizing, Li Weiyi couldn’t bear to face her any longer and turned away, reaching for his Yellow Dragon Sword and insect container. Both were still on his back. The container had been opened, but the seven Phoenix Wing Moth Emperors inside hadn’t been recognized, so they were all still safely tucked away.
Li Weiyi looked toward the front of the boat, where a tall, robust man sat cross-legged, facing forward. His broad shoulders were draped with a dark red cloak that fluttered in the wind, exuding an imposing and authoritative aura. The golden smoke emanated from a bronze lamp beside him.
The lamp’s golden light was bright, illuminating the darkness of the underground river. Li Weiyi spotted Li Qing. Li Qing’s calm eyes also fell on him, a sharp glint flashing briefly before he quickly looked away.
That single glance told Li Weiyi a lot: “He knows I was sent by the Earth Wolf King Army!”
“But when I boarded the vehicle, he was already wearing a black cloth bag. That means after I fell asleep, someone—likely the mysterious old man—removed his bag, deliberately making him remember me.”
“There must be a reason I slept so deeply.”
“Why did they want him to remember me? Is it so he can kill me in the Hidden Sect?”
Li Weiyi didn’t want to get involved in the power struggles between the Earth Wolf King Army, the Nine Li Tribe, and the higher-ups of Coffin Mountain. That was beyond his control. For now, he needed to be cautious and stay on guard against Li Qing.
The flat boat sailed along a wide underground river. The man at the front of the boat exuded strands of spiritual energy, remotely controlling the oars. The person removing the black cloth bags from everyone’s heads was a young girl in black.
She stood as straight as a spear, no older than sixteen or seventeen. After removing the last bag from a young boy’s head, she stood at the stern of the boat, her voice clear and crisp: “We are currently traveling through an underground river on our way to the Nine Li Hidden Sect.
All of you have shown remarkable composure, neither panicking nor showing fear.”
“But I must make this clear: the underground is a world ruled by insects. We must remain as quiet as possible.”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
At that moment, a chorus of insect sounds erupted from the riverbanks. In the darkness, countless pairs of red eyes lit up. The girl in black continued, “You don’t need to worry too much.
The lamp on the boat is fueled by the cocoon of a Commander-level Strange Insect, the Tiger-Striped Golden Cicada. Ordinary insect swarms won’t attack us.” Commander-level insects were a cut above Soldier-level and General-level insects, which were known as Fierce Insects.
Only Commander-level insects could be called Strange Insects. A single adult Commander-level Strange Insect could pose a threat to a Martial Arts Practitioner at the Dao Seed Realm.
“Let me introduce myself. I arrived here two years before you, as part of the Hidden Sect’s twenty-fourth cohort in this Great Era. You can call me Hidden Twenty-Four,” the girl said.
The young men and women on the boat looked at her with newfound respect. This was someone who had survived the selection process and emerged as the last one standing! And she was even younger than many of them.
She was no ordinary person. Hidden Twenty-Four continued, “This year’s batch of candidates is at least twice as strong as last year’s. There’s someone who has opened nine springs, a Pure Immortal Body, and four individuals who have opened eight springs.
It seems that after the Nine Li Tribe’s successor was decided, all the clans knew that the selection of the Divine Hidden One would follow shortly, and they’re all vying for the position.”
“You’ve all come here knowing the cruelty of the Hidden Sect, right? Only one person survives each year to become the Hidden One. Only the Hidden One has the right to compete for the title of Divine Hidden One. All the losers will become the Hidden Servants of the Divine Hidden One for this Great Era.”
“It’s brutal, extremely brutal. But the cultivation resources and environment here are unmatched anywhere else.”
“Two years ago, I entered the Hidden Sect at fourteen, having opened seven springs. Now, two years later, I’ve opened nine springs and entered the Five Seas Realm just eight days ago. With my talent, I would never have opened nine springs or broken through to the Five Seas Realm so quickly if I had cultivated outside.”
“That’s the power of the Hidden Sect!”
A sixteen-year-old at the Nine Springs and Five Seas Realm? How monstrous was that? How many of the so-called prodigies of the Li Tribe could compare?
Li Qing, who prided himself on his exceptional talent and only regarded Cang Li as a rival within the Nine Li Tribe, felt a blow to his confidence. He asked, “Hidden Twenty-Four, are you the fastest among the Hidden Ones to break through to the Nine Springs and Five Seas Realm?” Hidden Twenty-Four’s eyes flashed with mockery.
“I can only tell you this: every Hidden One must strive to open nine springs. All resources will be provided to you, all relevant texts are available for you to study, and you’ll have the guidance of the previous Great Era’s Hidden Ones, who are now elders.”
The boat erupted in murmurs. They had to strive for nine springs? Yao Yin asked, “What if we can’t break through?”
“Then you’ll remain at the Spring Surge Realm until you open the ninth spring, only then can you enter the Five Seas Realm,” Hidden Twenty-Four replied.
Yao Yin said, “Striving for the ninth spring is dangerous. Forcing it could kill you.”
“Do you think no one has died trying? I’m Hidden Twenty-Four, but of the Hidden Ones from this Great Era, only seventeen are still alive.”
Hidden Twenty-Four added, “Without a strong will, without the determination to either die or win, I doubt any of you would be on this boat. The cruelty exists because the Hidden Sect is the Nine Li Tribe’s last line of defense. If we’re not cruel now, our enemies will be cruel to our people in the future.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing which of you will be the last one standing—Hidden Twenty-Six.”
“It will be me,” declared a young man who had opened eight springs.
Li Qing chuckled, “Let’s see if you can break through to nine springs first.” Hidden Twenty-Four said, “It’s not just about cultivation level. Half of you here are children who have only opened four or five springs.
You’re more malleable, and under the Hidden Sect’s guidance, you’ll grow faster and more solidly. In the future, someone among you might surpass the rest.” Li Weiyi had already realized this.
Perhaps the Hidden Sect’s true intention was for the nine major clans to send these semi-mature children who had opened four or five springs and already possessed independent consciousness.
Those with higher cultivation levels and older ages were likely sent by the clans in the hope that their higher cultivation would give them a better chance of becoming the Hidden One, or even the Divine Hidden One.
“Splash!”
The underground river’s current suddenly grew rapid, and the boat sped up. Large splashes of water hit Li Weiyi. He wiped his face, his hand coming away red.
He sniffed it: “The water in this underground river is just like the Blood Sea’s water.” Yao Yin, who had nearly fallen into his lap due to the sudden surge, snorted, “Ignorant! Beneath the Lingxiao Living Realm, there are countless blood rivers, crisscrossing like a maze, along with vast valleys, mining areas, insect territories, and demon lairs.
The surface is one world, and the underground is another.”
“The Earth Wolf King Army, one of the three infamous barbarian forces of the Southern Realm, used to hide in the underground world. Otherwise, they would have been wiped out by the Lingxiao Palace long ago.”
By the light of the bronze lamp, Li Weiyi saw many tributaries of the blood river. The underground was indeed a labyrinth. How did the man at the front of the boat find the right path?
Over the next few days, the boat continued to speed forward, descending deeper into the earth. Along the way, they passed an underground blood sea, over two hundred miles wide. There was no food on the boat, but Hidden Twenty-Four gave each person a hundred-year-old treasure herb.
Eating it would keep them full for days. Li Weiyi silently calculated that just these few dozen treasure herbs were worth millions of copper coins. The Hidden Sect was incredibly wealthy.
He wondered if the nine major clans provided this annually or if the Hidden Sect had its own cultivation resources. On the sixth day, the boat finally slowed as it entered a narrow tributary of the underground river. As soon as they entered, everyone heard a piercing cicada cry, sharp as a knife cutting into their minds.
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Two golden lights burst from the dark cave walls, forming the shapes of tigers. Upon closer inspection, the tiger shapes were actually two palm-sized golden cicadas. The man at the front of the boat finally stood up, wearing a metal mask.
“Don’t be alarmed. These are two Tiger-Striped Golden Cicadas guarding the entrance to the Nine Li Insect Valley. I am the Divine Hidden One from the previous Great Era. You may now call me Hidden Lord.”
Two Commander-level Strange Insects guarding the entrance? This Hidden Lord didn’t seem like someone to be trifled with either. Li Weiyi immediately understood the Hidden Sect’s strength.
The Earth Wolf King Army would suffer greatly if they tried to challenge the Nine Li Hidden Sect. A clan with thousands of years of history was far more formidable than it appeared. The boat continued its journey, and light gradually appeared in the depths.
Light of various colors. After passing through an ancient stone gate, the view opened up, revealing a vast underground valley filled with the fragrance of plants. The blood river’s red ribbon-like banks gave way to a sprawling valley.
The valley was shrouded in mist—not real mist, but something akin to the fog-like spiritual energy of a Dao Domain.
“There must be a massive Heavenly Law Earth Spring here!”
Li Weiyi thought, gazing into the valley. The ground was covered in glowing plants of all colors, and in the distance, towering trees that resembled a glowing forest. Along the blood river’s banks stood many stone tablets, some inscribed with characters or scriptures, others with human figures demonstrating martial techniques.
In the distance, on a towering cliff, four ancient and massive characters were carved, radiating unparalleled divinity and drawing everyone’s gaze. The boat stopped. Hidden Lord was the first to disembark, followed by Hidden Twenty-Four.
The twenty-six young men, women, and children were then led to the base of the cliff. Hidden Lord spoke in a deep voice, “The four characters on the cliff, ‘Nine Li Insect Valley,’ were carved by the Nine Li God himself. All who enter the valley must bow before them.
Whoever can comprehend a trace of the Nine Li God’s battle intent from these characters will directly become the Divine Hidden One.”
(End of Chapter)