"Does he have... golden vein marks on him?"
Yao Yin asked. Yin Twenty-Four narrowed his eyes, the light within refracting, and coldly replied, "It's very likely; otherwise, how could he, with his Eight Springs cultivation, defeat a Nine Springs Pure Immortal Body with fully silver veins?" Yao Yin responded, "But I've heard that refining even one or two golden vein marks is already an extraordinary achievement.
He has one, two... it's impossible to count them..." Li Weiyi suddenly burst into laughter, "I understand now! We were drawn here by that purple meat cistanche, leading us mistakenly into this Ash Region.
But why could we see it in the spider hole? If I’m not mistaken, we need to rely on it to get back."
"It is the root and source of everything!"
Under the illumination of the golden vein marks on his body, the illusions in the Ash Region could not deceive Li Weiyi's Heavenly Eye. He found the correct location of the purple meat cistanche; it was not ahead but behind, beside a distant sand dune.
It was several miles away, but its purple glow could be seen from afar, like a purple divine lamp, shining in the dark depths.
"Go, follow closely behind me, don't fall behind, and don't be influenced by other illusions."
Li Weiyi maintained the golden vein marks and the golden Heavenly Eye on him, giving Yin Twenty-Four and Yao Yin a glance. His expression froze, and he immediately averted his gaze, not daring to look a second time.
With one hand forming a finger gesture and the other wielding the Yellow Dragon Sword, he walked in front at a brisk pace towards the sand dune where the meat cistanche was located. After walking several hundred meters, suddenly, the wind picked up.
"Rustle!"
The wind blew up the black sandy soil, and many sparks flew out from beneath it, emitting scorching light, like unsnuffed bonfires. As the wind blew, the sandy earth, reminiscent of the ashes of plants, started to burn. It wasn't just one place; large areas appeared.
Yao Yin nervously said, "I remember! My grandfather once said that in the Ash Region, the ash is just a facade, the real terror lies in the embers."
"What embers?"
Li Weiyi dared not turn around. The thought techniques taught by his spiritual master were too tricky, difficult to control. Other spirit sense masters didn't have such evil techniques; how could it precisely pierce through the veil?
Yao Yin's footsteps halted as she pointed forward at a burning sand dune, her voice trembling, "Ember Spirit... humanoid Ember Spirit..." Li Weiyi had already seen it: on a sand dune about a mile ahead, six humanoid figures emerged. They varied in height; some were three to four meters tall, while others appeared child-sized.
Their bodies seemed composed of burning plant ashes, exceptionally bright amidst the wind, constantly spewing sparks. It was bizarre; they looked nothing like living beings.
"They're coming... Run!"
Li Weiyi gasped coldly and immediately unleashed the Qingsu Qianche Steps to rush towards the direction of the meat cistanche at high speed. Behind him, Yin Twenty-Four seized Yao Yin, using the speed that only those at the Five Seas Realm could possess, leaping several zhang in one step.
The six Ember Spirits were extraordinarily fast, pursuing them with sparks flying everywhere, resembling a rain of fire against the night sky. Their roars were inhuman, and the entire Ash Region was engulfed in sand and raging winds. Yin Twenty-Four was filled with regret; she shouldn't have agreed to bring Yao Yin here with Li Weiyi.
Those six Ember Spirits were simply beyond her current cultivation capacity. If they were to collide, how would that battle unfold?
"Dong, Dong!"
The heavy sound of bells rang out. A gigantic camel, three to four meters high, appeared out of thin air, half-virtual, half-real, with its head held high and its sleek fur shining. Li Weiyi sat bare-chested on top, reaching out a hand toward her.
Yin Twenty-Four grasped his hand and, using the momentum, lifted Yao Yin onto the camel's back. Though she had questions in her mind, now was not the time to satisfy her curiosity. Fleeing this place was the priority.
A howling sound echoed in her ears as the camel's speed surpassed that of some exotic beasts. She estimated that just a few breaths would be sufficient to reach the sand dune where the meat cistanche was located.
"Roar!"
The largest of the Ember Spirits howled, exhaling a fireball that coalesced into a dragon shape, swirling in midair, quickly catching up to the camel ahead. Yin Twenty-Four stood and summoned her inner law energy, continuously infusing it into a mirror-shaped magical tool. A bright beam shot out from the mirror, colliding with the fire dragon.
"Boom!"
The fire dragon exploded, turning into a splendid and dangerous rain of fire. Li Weiyi unleashed the Ghost Flag, casting the Nether Fog to block the descending fire rain.
They drew closer to the meat cistanche, and Li Weiyi's eyelids narrowed as he finally noticed that in front of them was a dry ancient riverbed, over a hundred meters wide, with a seven to eight-meter difference between the riverbanks and the riverbed.
The meat cistanche grew on a yellow mud boat stranded on the riverbed, with its roots piercing into the top of a skeletal remains. The camel stopped at the riverbank; Li Weiyi dared not venture further.
This scene was far too eerie; everything felt awry, as if he were deliberately lured here, having walked into a trap in the spider hole. Yin Twenty-Four's gaze fixed, "A dry river in the Ash Region, that yellow mud boat... it looks far from normal. Are you sure we should go?"
Li Weiyi furrowed his brows and turned back to glance. The six Ember Spirits were still roaring, quickly closing in.
"I... I'll give it a try. My grandfather said I am destined to have a connection with the Ash Region..."
Yao Yin suddenly spoke up. She stood on the camel’s back, facing backward, and activated her unique bloodline. A chill that made the skin of Li Weiyi and Yin Twenty-Four numb radiated from her.
"Crack, crack!"
Dense cracking sounds rang from Yao Yin's pure white skin, spreading from her fingertips and feet upwards, reaching the elongated neck and finally cracking across her perfectly flawless face. The cracks ended at her twin eyes, reminiscent of azure gems.
"Wow—" From her eyes, a blue glow illuminated the darkness, and faintly, a sharp cry resounded, the cold energy surged towards the six Ember Spirits.
The pursuing six Ember Spirits sensed the aura of their nemesis, halting in unison, and gradually retreating. After only a moment, blood streamed from Yao Yin's eyes as she slumped back onto the camel's back, collapsing into Yin Twenty-Four's arms. Li Weiyi had distinctly felt the unique demon energy bursting from her earlier; astonished, he looked at Yin Twenty-Four.
"Don't look at me! I only found out today that she has such a secret move," Yin Twenty-Four said, gently stroking the ice fissures on Yao Yin's body, seeing her eyes tightly shut, her breath weak, filled with concern.
Li Weiyi said, "You should know this, aren't you her sister?"
"She's my cousin!"
Yin Twenty-Four corrected him, her gaze falling back on the yellow mud boat stranded in the riverbed: "Her condition isn't good; she might not make it. Last time in the spider hole, her icy energy burst out; you only saved her because you fed her a bite of the meat cistanche. I think we might have no other choice..."
"There's no need to say more; I understand. Let's go!"
Li Weiyi was not a heartless person. Moreover, to leave this Ash Region, they had to investigate that yellow mud boat. The camel leapt onto the dried riverbed.
The riverbed was full of pebbles, the black sandy soil merely a thin layer, finally giving him a grounded sense of safety. The yellow mud boat was over thirty meters long, reduced to a simple structural form, appearing extremely rudimentary. Perhaps it had been stranded here too long, and the intricate structure had decayed into mud.
Arriving beneath the boat, Li Weiyi stowed the camel away in the Evil Camel Bell, glanced back, and found that the six Ember Spirits were standing on the opposite riverbank, eyeing them with hawkish stares, yet hesitant to enter the riverbed.
"If I had known, I wouldn’t have been so greedy; this world is stranger and more dangerous than I imagined."
Li Weiyi sighed and looked towards Yin Twenty-Four, who was holding Yao Yin: "You wait here; I’ll go check it out first."
"Is it useful? If we can’t escape, it's still death."
Yin Twenty-Four took a leap and landed ahead of him on the yellow mud boat. Setting Yao Yin down carefully, she brandished her mirror-shaped magical tool and cautiously advanced toward the skeletal remains at the bow of the boat.
Being able to stand out and become an Hidden person, Yin Twenty-Four had a bold heart, but at that moment, chills crept down her back, with ice in her head and soles. The skeletal remains sitting there for who knows how many years wore a purple official robe, utterly pristine, as if just put on.
Under the radiance of the meat cistanche's purple glow overhead, the official robe shimmered, its cloud-dragon pattern on the chest patch vivid and lifelike, with the dragon form appearing robust, soaring amidst clouds. Inside the robe, there was only one skeleton, having been dead for countless years.
Li Weiyi leaped onto the boat and looked toward the boat's bow, where he found Yin Twenty-Four was actually rummaging through the skeletal remains, showing an utter disregard, and he couldn’t help but feel immense admiration.
"What did you find?"
Confirming there was no danger, Li Weiyi approached her. Yin Twenty-Four pulled out a golden edict from the robe’s pocket, opening it to reveal a series of magical scripts. After carefully examining it, she said, "Indeed, he was a prefect, consistent with the pattern on the official robe... this is his appointment edict..."
"Smoke State, one of the nine states once governed by the Nine Li tribe over a thousand years ago, has long since been engulfed by the Underworld. Did he die here over a thousand years ago? But why would he arrive by boat and die here?"
Li Weiyi looked toward the winding and wide river: "Could it be that this ancient river leads underground to Smoke State?"
"It’s possible," Yin Twenty-Four found crucial information in the edict: "This indeed pertains to someone from over a thousand years ago, with the seal of 'Zen Sea View Mist' on it, along with her imperial seal."
The words "Zen Sea View Mist" moved Li Weiyi deeply, and he quickly stepped forward: "Let me see." After handing the edict to Li Weiyi, Yin Twenty-Four continued searching, discovering a square treasure box beneath the right hand of the skeleton. Immediately, excitement surfaced on her face: "Surely this... wouldn’t be the legendary prefect seal, right?"
"Why so excited? You can’t take it up in office, can you?"
Li Weiyi chuckled as he closed the edict. Since there was no danger, he felt a lot lighter. Yin Twenty-Four said, "You really don’t understand anything!
A prefect can subdue a state; the two most crucial treasures are the official robe and the seal, both invaluable magical artifacts."
"The official robe represents defense and speed. That cloud-dragon on the patch, legend says it truly seals a dragon soul, the steed of the prefect. You must know that 'Zen Sea View Mist' once slaughtered dragons, dividing their souls into three hundred, then refining them into three hundred sets of prefect official robes."
"The prefect seal signifies the main assault and can shake mountains and move seas."
"These three hundred warriors, a thousand years ago, made the dominion of Lingxiao Palace rock steady, while the monster kings and their countless lineages were all kept dormant. Unlike now, where the prefects are like clay figures, nobody pays them any attention."
Li Weiyi stopped underestimating and quickly stepped forward, speaking seriously, "Before entering the spider hole, you said everything inside belongs to me."
"I only said the meat cistanche belongs to you; as for the medicinal treasures, I don’t want a single cent."
Yin Twenty-Four opened the box containing the official seal. After pulling it out, her joy vanished, and she sighed, “If it belongs to you, then it’s yours; but our debt is settled!"
"Good!"
Li Weiyi naturally understood that it was a lucrative deal and readily agreed. Yin Twenty-Four, having succeeded in her scheme, smiled and said, "I forgot to tell you; the official robe and seal on him have already fallen silent."
"You should know that before every appointment, the prefect needs 'Zen Sea View Mist' to personally activate these two treasures; only then can they wield their formidable power. Once their term ends, the treasures become dormant again and must be returned to the court."
"Over a thousand years ago, the outbreak of chaos in the Lingxiao realm, causing nearly all three hundred prefects to fall into turmoil, was largely due to 'Zen Sea View Mist' going missing, with the terms of the prefects ending and their official robes and seals losing their power."
"If the prefects still possessed the powers of the official robe and seal, maintaining a few hundred states wouldn't be a problem at all. Unlike now, where only twenty-eight states remain."
"Don't you dare backtrack! Anyway, my accounts amounting to several billion copper coins are wiped clean!"
Li Weiyi's thoughts whirled, suddenly realizing much in a brief moment. In the end, he nodded, his gaze fixed on the meat cistanche growing atop the skeleton's head. He wanted to know why it could project into the spider hole? ...
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(End of Chapter)