Yin Shisan Dao said, “In recent months, strange medicinal pills touched by Immortal Mist have been appearing near Burial Immortal Town. Some can help open up your Wind Mansion, Ancestor Field, or even your Qi Sea, while others can assist in transforming a Pure Immortal Body. This is a tremendous opportunity for the elders!”
“It is precisely because of this opportunity that many from the Nine Li Tribe, Sui Sect, Three Chen Palace, Tianyi Sect, and Coffin Sea Pavilion have recently seen the rise of several Nine Springs Adepts. Some mortals and mutated beings on the verge of breaking through Nine Springs have used this chance to transform into Pure Immortal Bodies, becoming the leading figures among the young generation.”
“The Sui Sect and Three Chen Palace are full of ambition—they have even used the Immortal Mist pills to nurture the seed of an inheritor. Each of them wishes to become a sect of millions. The Gatekeeper Elder already knew about these Immortal Mist pills; just like that Xue Zheng, who used the pill to transform into a Pure Immortal Body—and if he had managed to break through his Nine Springs Ancestor Field, he would have become an inheritor seed. Unfortunately, Li Weiyi killed him, which has infuriated the Xue clan.”
Elder Aoshan said, “That was just a false seed! A true inheritor seed must have more than a hundred marks in the meridian. It is not something that can be easily increased by a mere pill.”
“But transforming into a Pure Immortal Body brings a fundamental boost to one’s combat strength and future potential at the same realm,” the Gatekeeper Elder said with a solemn expression as he pondered the matter carefully.
Yin Shisan Dao continued, “After the expansion of the Immortal Mist space within Burial Immortal Town, the Immortal Mist pills have been appearing frequently. That is why I feel it necessary to return and see Lord Yin. For my part, all the Yin Sect folks are Nine Springs Adepts.
If we acquire some of these pills and transform a few into Pure Immortal Bodies, it will bring countless benefits.”
“And as for you, Burial Immortal Town is located in Li Prefecture. Shouldn’t the resources within be under the authority of the Nine Li Tribe?”
“These resources are not something trivial; they are vital to the survival of an entire tribe and will deeply influence the layout of Li Prefecture for the next hundred years.”
“I have heard that some areas in the Immortal Mist space can only be entered by martial cultivators under the Dao Seed stage, some only by Spring Surge Realm cultivators, and others even only by those who have achieved Pure Immortal Body.”
“In nine days’ time at the grand sacrifice on Mang Mountain, both the divine temple and Dao Academy have unanimously decided to change the traditional method of testing. Instead, they will enter the Immortal Mist space in Burial Immortal Town in search of opportunities. They will use this to determine their ranking.”
Seeing Yin Shisan Dao’s anxious expression, the Gatekeeper Elder maintained his calm tone and said, “The higher your cultivation, the harder it is to transform into a Pure Immortal Body.
A martial cultivator from Spring Surge Realm might only need to ingest one of those pills to transform, while reaching the First Realm of Five Seas may require three or four. The Second Realm of Five Seas will be even more difficult. There isn’t any easy shortcut.”
Yin Shisan Dao breathed a slight sigh of relief. It turned out that the Yin Sect had indeed been keeping an eye on the situation in Burial Immortal Town and had never underestimated it. In the plaza, Li Weiyi had already finished meditating and restored his peak state, and now he stood up.
He pressed his palm against the Psychic Energy stone wall as he challenged the third challenger—Ling Xiao Jia Shou.
“Whoosh!”
The light of spiritual energy, divine power, and scriptures flowing along the stone wall was much brighter than the previous two times. In the mural on the stone wall, the figure of Zuo Qiu Ling, portrayed as the head of the Jia Clan, stood colossal and upright. He was clad in tiger-beast armor and stood nearly two meters tall.
Yet he exuded not a savage air but a fierce arrogance and solitary pride. In his hand he held the mighty Nine Nether Cudgel, which had the appearance of a priest’s rake, with nine prongs engraved on it. The handle of the cudgel was almost as long as his body.
It was said that the Nine Nether Cudgel was forged from a special immortal material that could continuously enhance its power and grade.
Although the mural figure of Zuo Qiu Ling appeared to possess an incredible physique, in fact he was only thirteen years old and had yet to reach the peak state of “an eight-foot tall figure, sitting like a sacred mountain, lying like a dark dragon, and moving as fast as the chasing sun and moon.”
Even someone as formidable as Yao Qian could only be recognized as Li Prefecture’s Jia Shou in the Southern Lands because of that insurmountable mountain on his head. The first person recorded in the Book of Great Eras, Nine Nether Cudgel, Zuo Qiu Ling.
Everyone present held their breath at his arrival; part of it was due to the awe inspired by his undefeated reputation in countless battles.
“Begin!”
Li Weiyi declared. He felt that Zuo Qiu Ling was far stronger than Yang Shen Realm even. Yet, by simply standing there, one could not detect any weakness in him.
Like a divine mountain, only overwhelming combat strength could shake him—there was no room for clever stratagems. Without any hesitation, Li Weiyi mobilized all the divine energy within his Wind Mansion.
“Whoosh!”
With a single sword strike that cut through the sea, a sword aura of yellow brilliance extending over a little more than ten feet was unleashed. Facing Li Weiyi’s all-out attack in that one sword strike, even formidable Zuo Qiu Ling did not dare to rely on his standard battle strength.
He immediately activated his Ancestor Field’s divine energy in defense. Wielding his cudgel, he slashed out; the nine prongs traced nine bright streaks through the air.
“Boom!”
At the collision of their blows, both men were forced to retreat simultaneously. Just when everyone was fully expecting an epic battle between two dragons and tigers, Li Weiyi suddenly conceded defeat.
“As expected of Ling Xiao Jia Shou. I put my all into this strike, and yet it seems I can only match you in stature. Since this strike can do nothing but meet you on equal ground, there is no need for me to launch a second attack!”
“There is always another mountain beyond a mountain, another rival among men beyond men. I have indeed underestimated the heroes of this world!”
Li Weiyi murmured, then turned around to leave. He had decided to quickly break through his Ninth Spring Ancestor Field. To try to surpass one’s realm and defeat the number one existence in the world is nothing short of a fool’s dream.
Yin Shisan Dao’s brows furrowed like two raised blades as he could not understand, “After one clash of blows, it was so evenly matched—why did you immediately concede? If you could defeat Zuo Qiu Ling, wouldn’t he then be recognized as a true Yin Sect person? Does he not want to be one?”
The Gatekeeper Elder, still trying to process the shock in his heart, dismissed Yin Shisan Dao’s query with a calm tone, “Let us go now and meet Lord Yin. Since Burial Immortal Town has once again undergone a massive change, and even the Mang Mountain Grand Sacrifice is being held there, the Yin Sect must take action.”
Overjoyed, Yin Shisan Dao hurried after him and said, “Why not let that kid go? He is in the Spring Surge Realm; in my view, he could take on a whole group by himself.”
“What do you mean by that kid? Don’t you see that he is destined to become a Yin Sect person? Watch your words, kid,” the Gatekeeper Elder replied. …
Yao Yin hurried to catch up with Li Weiyi, who was about to return to his cave for cultivation. She was surrounded by a gentle fragrance as she softly said, “For the past couple of months, I’ve come looking for you outside your cave many times, but you’ve always been in seclusion.
I have so many things I want to talk to you about.” Li Weiyi replied, “Now is the time; I am short on time.” Yao Yin could sense Li Weiyi’s cold attitude.
Though her heart sank a bit, she understood; after all, she had been devoted from the start while he remained restrained. She had long rehearsed her words many times and finally began, “First of all, I want to apologize. It really was a misunderstanding before!
Yin Ershi has explained everything to me, and I am very grateful. I know I owe you a huge favor.” Li Weiyi, his mind still occupied with thoughts of breaking through the Ninth Spring, barely listened and only responded with a curt, “It’s nothing!”
Yao Yin hurried after him, “Secondly, I… I actually want to ask you: On the ship to the Yin Sect, why were you holding onto my leg so tightly? And in the Flying Wing White Spider Cave, why did you rescue me?”
“Ah?”
At last, Li Weiyi’s attention shifted to her. With an awkward smile, he said, “The first time on the ship was an accident. Consider the second time as my apology for that accident.”
“But when you stopped Li Qing from killing me, that definitely wasn’t an accident, was it?”
Yao Yin asked timidly, while staring fixedly at him. Li Weiyi looked at her for a long while—so long that Yao Yin started to feel at a loss for what to say—until suddenly he said, “Baseball bat, you know?”
“…”
Yao Yin had no idea what he was talking about. Li Weiyi continued, “Just like the sword that a sword cultivator wields—in time, once used, it carries some sentiment with it.”
“Sentiment?”
Yao Yin’s eyes shifted, growing ever brighter, but in an instant her cheeks flushed hot red.
“Forget it, I can’t explain it clearly right now. Earlier I said nothing at all because my mind was elsewhere.”
Li Weiyi entered his cave, closed the stone door, and activated the formation array. Yin Ershi, trailing behind the two, had followed them to the cave’s entrance. Seeing Yao Yin locked out, a surge of inexplicable anger welled inside him: “Has he lost control in his cultivation practice?”
“It seems just a little,” Yao Yin said with a smile, “but when in that state, he appears capable of unconsciously speaking some heartfelt words.”
Inside the cave, as Li Weiyi stepped in, seven Feng Wing Moth Emperors immediately flurried in. Recently, Li Weiyi’s focus on seclusion had left them neglected. The seven moths were so famished that even the medicated meals couldn’t satisfy them; their bodies even seemed to be acting up.
Li Weiyi caught each of the seven Feng Wing Moth Emperors and measured their body lengths. They were just slightly short of reaching two inches in length. Their bodies were no longer growing!
Upon entering the Blood Mud Space, Li Weiyi consulted his Spiritual Position Master.
“They are all on the verge of breaking through their realms. They need a dose of a grand medicinal pill to transform to the level comparable to a martial cultivator in the Five Seas Realm,” came the voice from the spirit tablet. …
Yao Yin and Yin Ershi had just left and taken only a dozen or so steps when suddenly the stone door behind them opened. Li Weiyi emerged from inside. Noticing the two women looking back, he said mysteriously, “Time is of the essence.
Act immediately.”
In that instant, Yin Ershi understood exactly what he meant and nodded lightly, “I will arrange a boat to depart from the Silver Beach Valley. That place is not easily noticed.”
“Where are you all going?”
Curiosity lit up Yao Yin’s face as her eyes brimmed with expectation, “May I come along?”
“No, this journey is too dangerous,” Yin Ershi replied firmly.
“She is right,” Li Weiyi added.
Returning to his cave, Li Weiyi slung his insect tube over his back and took up the Yellow Dragon Sword. This was the first time Yao Yin had entered his cave. In her eyes gleamed a smart and wise light as she asked cautiously, “Are you heading for that underground river cave where the Flying Wing White Spiders gather?”
“How did you guess?”
Li Weiyi asked. She replied, “Since you joined the Yin Sect, you have only taken part in that one trial. Where else would you go?
There wouldn’t be any treasured medicinal pills there, would there?” Li Weiyi fell silent for a moment. Yao Yin continued, “Please let me come along.
I might be able to help a bit. I don’t need the medicinal pills—I’ll just take it as an opportunity to hone my skills and gain experience dealing with danger.” Finding no reason to refuse, Li Weiyi agreed.
Meanwhile, Yin Ershi sat on a small boat at the edge of Silver Beach Valley, watching the approaching man and woman with a cold expression.
“She clearly said she only wants to contribute, not to get any medicinal pills. That was made clear in advance,” Li Weiyi remarked.
With that, he leapt gracefully onto the boat. Seeing Yao Yin climb aboard right after him, Yin Ershi knew that nothing more could be said now. He murmured something softly, the words nearly inaudible, and then released his divine energy to propel the small boat toward the spider lair.
In order to return as quickly as possible and avoid detection by the Yin Sect, the three of them charged straight into the spider lair. Yin Ershi and Li Weiyi led the way at the bow. Each time Li Weiyi swung the Yellow Dragon Sword, it ripped through the thick layers of spiderwebs as if clearing a path with ease.
Yin Ershi followed close behind, his palms launching gusts of divine energy like a whirlwind that swept the Flying Wing White Spiders away, one after another. Yao Yin stood in the middle of the boat, clearing any spiders that managed to slip through the layers.
At the stern, the seven Feng Wing Moth Emperors fought valiantly against the pursuing swarm of spiders. They clearly understood the purpose of this journey and labored with all their might. Their little eyes shone with excitement.
In just over an hour, Li Weiyi’s gaze fell once again to the right side of the Blood River channel, where deep within the cavern a purple radiance emerged. He could also detect a rich medicinal fragrance. The area of purple Cistanche was about fifty to sixty zhang away from the river channel.
In its very center, the medicinal aura was so dense that it had transformed into a swirling purple mist. The seven Feng Wing Moth Emperors, upon catching the scent of the herbs, became elated. They flapped their wings in a rush, scrambling forward one after the other.
But then an eerie sight unfolded that turned the three on board completely cold. As the seven moths flew into the purple mist region, instead of alighting on the Cistanche, they vanished into thin air. From deep within the cavern, an uncanny rustling sound arose, and the purple mist region suddenly expanded several times in size.
Li Weiyi’s face turned ashen. Ignoring Yao Yin’s attempts to stop him, he immediately landed onshore.
“Yao Yin, stay behind and guard the boat!”
“Yin Ershi, stick close behind me—keep about ten zhang distance. Watch out for that Spider King with four bloodstained wings.”
Li Weiyi tied a rope, made from spun spider silk, around himself and handed the other end to Yin Ershi.
“If anything unexpected happens, pull me back immediately.” …
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(The chapter ends)