After breaking through the Eight Springs, Yao Yin moved to the Silver Beach Valley. There, it was much easier to refine silver veins, and as someone with a pure immortal body, who wouldn’t want to pursue a complete silver vein? Who wouldn’t want to aim for the qualifications of a successor?
Li Weiyi, being a complete silver vein himself, naturally had no such need, thus he remained at the Blood Forest Cliff. Living alone without disturbances allowed him to calm down and focus on his cultivation.
By utilizing the spatial power from Buddha's relics to absorb light and nourish his fire, he could practice more recklessly without fear of exposing his secrets. At the same time, he practiced the Cang Wang Forging Method, absorbing the light particles from nature to refine into ninety-six silver veins, aiming to forge gold veins.
No matter how ethereal the Tenth Spring was, he had to give it a try. Unfortunately, after more than twenty days, there wasn’t a bit of change in the ninety-six veins. …
One day, Li Weiyi sat cross-legged in the forest, fingers forming seals as he summoned the law energy from his wind palace, swiftly pouring it into the veins of his right arm, which immediately became scorching hot.
"Whoosh!"
Around his body, countless blood-red leaves were stirred into a swirling dance by the law energy emanating from his arm. He thrust his finger forward! A powerful and bright beam of law energy shot out from his fingertip.
With a loud bang, the cliff wall five zhang away was shattered, sending stones cascading down. Li Weiyi got up and walked over, finding a depression the size of a wine cup and three inches deep on the cliff wall, as if it had been brutally stabbed by a spear.
The stone walls of the Nine Li Bug Valley were mostly composed of metallic mineral rock, extremely hard. The effect from five zhang away was impressive, proving just how refined this finger of law energy was.
"Finally, I've cultivated this Compassionate Voyage pointer to the state of the combination of the heavenly way, making it a surprise killing move. How could an enemy possibly anticipate that a martial artist in the Spring Surge Realm could possess such techniques?"
"Now, with seven moves of law combination in hand, how much of a difference is there between me and Director Yang?"
Li Weiyi left the Blood Forest Cliff, preparing to go try the Five Seas Pillar. For over twenty days, he not only filled himself with medicinal meals every day but also finished off hundreds of pounds of five-hundred-year-old meat cordyceps with the seven Phoenix-Wing Moth Emperors, naturally greatly enhancing his physical strength.
Although he was still merely a mortal, his skin radiated a rich and glossy sheen, and he exuded an aura of vigor and spirit, impressively charming. The qualities of a martial arts expert were beginning to take shape.
As he walked beside the eternally flowing Blood River, utilizing the glow of the luminous plants along the riverbanks, Li Weiyi was surprised to notice a graceful and beautiful figure sitting below the ancient stone inscriptions which read "Nine Li Bug Valley." The grass beneath her formed a soft green carpet.
She wore a light yellow long gown, her long black hair tied with a jade hairpin, and her complexion was fairer than the jade pin itself, giving her an ethereal air. Unfortunately, she was too young, only fifteen years old, her figure still slender, with only a slight curve at her chest.
Li Weiyi knew that this girl was not to be judged by her appearance; she looked harmless, like a crane or an antelope. But in reality, she was a fierce character; after moving to the Silver Beach Valley, within days, she had eliminated all eight springs martial artists.
The sudden attack she had launched at Li Weiyi still remained fresh in his memory. During their first trial, she hadn't attacked him, perhaps truly fearing to disturb the spider swarm. Li Weiyi pondered for a moment, then strolled over.
"What? No opponents left? Preparing to comprehend the battle intent of the God of Nine Li and directly becoming a Hidden Person?"
Yao Yin's eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her stunningly beautiful eyes, raising her graceful swan-like neck to gaze at the four ancient characters filled with the essence of the Dao on the cliff wall. Her red lips parted slightly: "Among this batch of competitors, besides you, who else remains?
But breaking through the Nine Springs within a year is too challenging. Without breaking the Nine Springs, they are definitely not your opponents. So my only chance is left here."
Li Weiyi comforted, "Don't be so pessimistic. What if I die in the trial? Besides, you could kill too, use poison, employ schemes.
Killing someone with straightforward means is the hardest." Yao Yin looked at him with her gem-like green eyes, in a voice as serene as heavenly music: "Are all men this hypocritical? Don’t think I don’t know; Hidden Twenty-Four told me everything.
I understand it all. I may be a bit young, but I am not an idiot." Li Weiyi froze: "What nonsense is she saying this time?"
Yao Yin lowered her gaze to a cluster of brightly colored wildflowers on the grass, her eyes filled with emotion as she whispered: "She said that you would do everything to defeat the three people trapped by the stone wall of thoughts and compete for the Hidden Person. Only that way do I have a chance to live."
"No, I am competing for the Hidden Person..."
Worried that the more he explained, the bigger the misunderstanding would become, Li Weiyi pondered, then switched to another angle: "Anyone who reaches my point would want to directly qualify to become a Hidden Person, right? Thus, my competition for the Hidden Person is solely for myself, not for anyone else.
Don’t be misled by Hidden Twenty-Four; she has always had a prejudice against me. Perhaps it is jealousy; who knows!" Yao Yin whispered: "What is the meaning of their existence?
For a quota they will never obtain, to continue risking their lives to fight? Isn’t that what you said?"
"It is..."
Li Weiyi could not deny it.
"You just said it’s only for yourself. Isn't that contradictory?"
Yao Yin's logic was quite clear as she threw him a steadfast and determined look, like a delicate orchid growing in a hurricane valley: "I know that comprehending the tactical intent of the God of Nine Li is extremely slim, as slim as my life is destined to be short.
But if you are fighting hard, how can I just sit back and benefit? Let us join hands and fight against this cruel fate. As long as one side blossoms and bears fruit… we win!"
With the intensity in her eyes at that moment, Li Weiyi found himself unable to respond. He dared not take her delicate, ice-like hand, exquisitely carved like jade.
"You continue to comprehend; I’ll go settle things with Hidden Twenty-Four."
Li Weiyi turned around as if fleeing, taking a deep breath, telling himself that misunderstandings could be harmful. He couldn’t be too good or too bad; he just wanted to be an ordinary person endowed with decent human feelings. What trouble had he stirred up?
Arriving at the entrance of the Hidden Gate, Li Weiyi bowed to the elder guarding the door: “I trouble you, elder, to help relay. I wish to see Hidden Twenty-Four.” The elder's chest shimmered with bright law energy, then he projected his voice with law energy, shouting toward the inner mountain, “Little Twenty-Four, there is someone wanting to see you.”
His voice was booming, probably able to be heard dozens of miles away, echoing long in the Bug Valley. Li Weiyi hadn’t expected that the elder’s method of relaying was so simple and unadorned, not fearing to disturb other hidden people.
Walking to the side of the Five Seas Pillar, Li Weiyi began to move his body, practicing punches and palms, striving to get himself excited.
“Whoosh!”
Hidden Twenty-Four stepped on her law energy, arriving quickly, transforming into a gust of clear wind, landing next to the elder. Naturally, her gaze first fell upon Li Weiyi not far away. Could he really chase down a body in the Five Seas Realm with a body in the Spring Surge Realm?
“Go!”
With a loud shout, he took a deep horse stance, gripping the Five Seas Pillar with both hands and suddenly exerted force upward. His feet sank while his arms slowly rose, every muscle and bone in his body lightly cracking. Gradually, he managed to lift the Five Seas Pillar.
At least one foot high. After stabilizing for a moment, Li Weiyi finally released it. With a thunderous crash, the five-thousand-five-hundred-pound iron pillar fell back down, shaking the ground.
The elder had already stood up, straining to see. At this moment, he and Hidden Twenty-Four exchanged glances, both feeling incredulous. In less than a month, had his physical strength increased so incredibly?
If he continued training for a year or two, wouldn’t he easily lift the Five Seas Pillar? Li Weiyi couldn’t hide his joy in his eyes as he turned around, “Now I have the qualifications to forge gold veins, right?”
“Of course! You’ve already gone through the Cang Wang Forging Method. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me. You must forge a gold vein; even if it’s just one, that would be completely different.”
The elder was undeniably excited. This generation finally bore a true seed of a Hidden Person. After all, in the Hidden Gate’s view, a Hidden Person must be stronger than a successor to truly be considered the backbone and final line of defense of the Nine Li Clan.
Though Yin Nine was impressive, he still lacked compared to Cang Li. This kid had a chance to stand on equal footing with Cang Li and become the two pillars of the Nine Li Clan in a hundred years. The only flaw was that he was not a true Li people…
He needed to think of a way to tie him down.
“Hidden Twenty-Four, come with me; I have something to discuss with you privately.”
Li Weiyi’s tone was unkind. Hidden Twenty-Four frowned slightly; her gaze was confused, having never seen a trial-taker so arrogant in front of hidden people before. The elder thought he inspected some subtleties and urged, “Hurry up; the whispered conversations between young people are definitely not something we old folks should know.”
After leaving the mountain gate, once they had gotten farther, Li Weiyi spoke frankly, "You are a hidden person in the Five Seas Realm; you have your freedom of speech. I’ll say one thing: don’t talk nonsense in front of Yao Yin anymore; it's already causing problems!” Yao Yin’s name had been volunteered to Li Weiyi by her own initiative.
Hidden Twenty-Four felt a bit puzzled and dissatisfied, “When did I speak nonsense?” Li Weiyi said, “This time, it's mostly my problem, so I won't hold you responsible. But what exactly did you tell her after the spider cave trial?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Hidden Twenty-Four replied. Li Weiyi continued to stare into her eyes, confirming she wasn’t lying, but felt confused internally, “That’s strange; she was clearly very troubled at that time, as if I had some ulterior motive toward her.”
Hidden Twenty-Four seemed to remember something and said, “After the first trial, when I returned from the spider cave, I was the one who sent her back to her cave dwelling. After she woke up, she asked me, ‘Why didn’t you kill her in the spider cave but instead fed her precious medicine?’”
“Back then, I casually replied, ‘Maybe it’s because you are pretty enough.’”
“Was that problematic?”
“Kind of… but it isn’t a major issue.”
Li Weiyi thought carefully and felt that Hidden Twenty-Four didn’t seem to have any reason to deliberately trap him, so he didn’t dwell on it further.
“Let’s leave this matter behind! By the way, have you thought about the business in the spider cave?”
Hidden Twenty-Four quickly glanced left and right before lowering her voice: “You are now being closely monitored; once you leave the valley, it’s hard to evade the two elders. Especially that one who is good at cooking; he has strong mental powers. I advise… wait a bit longer!”
Finally, she had loosened her stance! Li Weiyi had always thought that Hidden Twenty-Four was very principled and wouldn’t be easily swayed, intending to find opportunities to act alone instead. Yet, her principles seemed not to be as strict; this was only the third temptation, and she had already relented, albeit still hesitant, cautious, and looking back and forth.
Seeing the strange look in Li Weiyi’s eyes, Hidden Twenty-Four quickly collected herself and said coldly, “Just this once; no next time.”
“Well then, let’s go take the trial. There’s not much time left, and it will take several days to reach Nine Li City.”
Li Weiyi replied. After spending an hour packing up, Hidden Twenty-Four led Li Weiyi into the Hidden Gate, climbing step by step along the stone path carved into the cliff. Inside the Hidden Gate, the power of the law was even more intense, and mist filled the area like fine silk.
Various martial arts techniques were engraved on the stone walls.
“So the way out is inside the Hidden Gate and not the underground river. The path of the underground river should just be a cover to prevent each trial-taker from being tracked while entering. The Hidden Gate is so cautious that it’s no wonder even the clan leader level insiders don’t know the details within.”
Li Weiyi admired inwardly. After climbing over a thousand steps, they finally reached the top of the cliff. In front of them was a vast stone platform surrounded by cliffs, as if the peak of a stone mountain had been sliced off.
Above was completely shrouded in mist, obscuring the view of the top. Hidden Twenty-Four gently waved her palm, and suddenly a rich law energy surged from her palm, injecting it into the ground.
“Whoosh!”
The ground lit up with green array symbols, connecting into a circular formation with a diameter of four zhang. Li Weiyi entered with a puzzled expression, “Can this array formation allow us to leave the Nine Li Bug Valley?” Hidden Twenty-Four smiled without speaking.
Within the formation, over a hundred array symbols rapidly operated, their glow brightening, coalescing into a cloud of white law energy. A strong feeling of weightlessness followed.
Li Weiyi discovered that, with the support of the array formation and wrapped in the law energy cloud, the two of them flew into the air, feeling like they were soaring towards the clouds. Was this a flying formation? Ascending unknown distances thanks to the "law energy cloud flying formation," it trembled slightly, and the formation halted mid-air.
“Let’s go! We’ve arrived!”
Hidden Twenty-Four was the first to step out of the formation and onto a stone bridge. Li Weiyi had already guessed but still asked, “Where are we?”
“To Nine Li City.”
Hidden Twenty-Four answered.
(End of chapter)