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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 4: [Shuangsheng Dao Sect (Twin Rice Sect)]
Chapter 85 (340): [The Hidden Lord]
(85th of Volume 4)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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The Phoenix Terrace experts' target was clearly Luan Sheng Lin You; they ignored Li Weiyi and his companions.
Half an hour later, Li Weiyi, Zhao Qianfeng, and Qin Qian, along with the three members of the Thundercloud Sect, broke free from the Thunder Thirty-Six Tombs' Formation.
Standing on a low mountain, they could now see the city walls and lights of Thunder Mausoleum (Leiling) City.
The Heaven, Earth, and Law Spiritual Qi began to flow again, no longer stagnant.
Li Weiyi exhaled deeply and glanced back.
The towering mountains behind them remained silent and eternal, shrouded in a deep, hazy mist - it felt like another world entirely.
For now, they were safe.
Zhao Qianfeng, exhilarated by his narrow escape, clasped his hands in gratitude.
"Thank you, Senior, for saving us. May I ask your name? The Thundercloud Sect will surely repay your kindness handsomely."
"No need for a handsome reward. Just give me money," Li Weiyi replied in a detached tone, his expression cold and impersonal.
Zhao Qianfeng's face flushed with embarrassment as he turned to Elder Lin and Qin Qian.
Elder Lin was a highly skilled cultivator, while Qin Qian came from a prominent family.
Elder Lin knew the mysterious old man's psychic power was formidable, capable of battling even Luan Sheng Lin You.
He dared not offend him and bowed respectfully, "We owe you our lives, and we should repay you even if it means bankrupting ourselves. But two million Yongquan Coins is simply too much. We truly cannot afford it at the moment."
Li Weiyi's expression darkened: "Were you deceiving me earlier? I took a great risk to save you."
"We wouldn't dare, Senior. We had no such intention."
Zhao Qianfeng was terrified, cursing himself for not escaping fast enough to avoid being caught by this ancient monster.
In the face of death, he would have given all his wealth.
But now that they were safe...
Every Yongquan Coin represented his hard-earned money.
Li Weiyi was a man of his word and expected the same from others: "Hand over everything valuable you have, including your Ancestral Field and any spiritual artifacts from your Wind Mansion."
Qin Qian had been watching him closely, unsure if this was truly Li Weiyi.
She knew that if she asked directly, he would never admit it.
So she said, "I'd like to speak with you privately, Senior!"
"What's there to talk about? Stop playing games. If you push me too far, I'll sell you all off. You claimed to have two million Yongquan Coins, but you can't even pay a fraction of it! You're driving me mad!" Li Weiyi growled.
Qin Qian unfastened the Cosmic Pouch from her waist: "I've been saving for the past year and have collected 500,000 Yongquan Coins, which I've been carrying with me. Let's talk privately..."
Before she could finish speaking, the Cosmic Pouch vanished from her hand and landed in Li Weiyi's grasp.
Li Weiyi opened the Cosmic Pouch and checked. To his surprise, there were indeed 500,000 Yongquan Coins inside, stored in five iron chests. His favor for Qin Qian greatly increased; she was a woman of her word.
His rescue of her a year ago had not been in vain.
Li Weiyi put away the Cosmic Pouch, feeling slightly satisfied: "Do you have any other valuable items? Bring them all out."
"I have nothing left! To gather these 500,000 Yongquan Coins, I even had to sell my spiritual artifacts!" Qin Qian clenched her molars, seething with resentment, but dared not show it.
If the person before her wasn't Li Weiyi but a true Demonic Path elder, any rash action would surely bring disaster.
Nearby, Qi Xiao and Tuoba Butuo had thoroughly searched the two Thundercloud Sect members, inventorying all their spiritual artifacts, treasures, and coins.
The total value came to only 500,000 Yongquan Coins.
The bulk of their wealth was concentrated in two spiritual artifacts, which represented their entire fortune.
"You're all too poor! Seize their Life Tokens. We'll collect the debt later."
Li Weiyi was gathering Yongquan Coins to purchase Millennium Essence Herbs, intending to quickly nourish the Seven Little Ones to the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm.
The current demand was enormous.
Despite Li Weiyi having saved them earlier, the three Thundercloud Sect members now felt like they had been robbed by bandits, their hearts filled with hatred.
Suppressing the burning rage in his heart, Zhao Qianfeng's malice surged.
He calmly said, "Senior, you can come with us to Thunder Mausoleum (Leiling) City. We're certain we can raise the remaining one million Yongquan Coins."
Elder Lin added, "We can also host a banquet to thank our three saviors."
Li Weiyi narrowed his eyes, seeing through their reluctance.
He took the three Life Tokens from Qi Xiao, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Are you trying to thank your saviors, or kill them? Get out of here!"
Elder Lin and Zhao Qianfeng realized the old monster was highly vigilant.
Abandoning their malicious intentions, they immediately flew towards Thunder Mausoleum (Leiling) City.
Qin Qian walked slowly down the mountain, using spiritual energy transmission to say, "The Life Tokens will expose your location! Within a certain distance, Immortal Realm Great Powers from the Thundercloud Sect can use them to find you."
Li Weiyi nodded slightly, acknowledging her warning. Then, a thought struck him: his own Divine Son Life Token from the Rice Sect.
It would likely expose his location as well.
He needed to store it in the Blood Mud Space.
"Thank you."
As Qin Qian reached the foot of the mountain, she heard those two words. Her entire body trembled. It really was him! The anger and resentment she had felt moments ago vanished completely.
She turned sharply and looked back up the mountain, but Li Weiyi and the others were nowhere to be seen.
.....
The distance from Thunder Mausoleum (Leiling) City to Southern Yan Pass was only four hundred miles.
Qi Xiao enveloped Li Weiyi and Qin Qian with his Spiritual Qi, carrying them through the night.
By dawn, Li Weiyi's injuries had completely healed.
In the distance, they could see Southern Yan Pass, built into the mountains twenty miles away. The architecture stretched from the foot of the mountain to the summit, divided into five tiers.
On the road, refugees streamed in from all directions, including Martial-Mystic Cultivators of the Five Seas Realm.
Even Dao Seed Realm experts were relocating their entire families.
In this chaotic era, various factions were recruiting soldiers and purchasing horses.
As long as one possessed strength, they could secure a chance at survival.
Five Seas Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators could protect themselves.
Dao Seed Realm experts could safeguard their families.
Striving, struggling, migrating, risking their lives, compromising, barely surviving...
The further one ventured into the wilderness, the more chaotic it became, and the more brazenly the Dead Spirit Demon Race acted.
The most dangerous places were those without order.
Therefore, everyone believed that the Cloud Heaven (Yuntian) Immortal Plain was currently the safest place in the Lingxiao Realm.
As a result, Martial-Mystic Cultivators from war-torn regions were converging there.
Southern Yan Pass had already begun to tighten its security.
Gaining entry was far more difficult than before.
On the plains outside the pass, a twenty-mile-long shantytown had sprung up, housing at least a million refugees. It had become a sprawling refugee city.
A soldier on a powerful steed galloped past Li Weiyi and the others, shouting, "General Commander Tai Shi is recruiting soldiers to defend the pass! Martial-Mystic Cultivators with Five Springs cultivation or higher, and who are listed in the Imperial Court's Commoner Register, may proceed to the recruitment point for assessment."
"Five Seas Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators listed in the Imperial Court's Commoner Register and willing to undergo Soul Retrieval may participate in the Giant Spirit Army's assessment."
.....
When news of the military recruitment reached the refugee city, countless figures surged out, all hoping to secure a livelihood and a future.
If they could seize this opportunity to enter the pass, it would be even better.
Li Weiyi sighed inwardly. The large-scale conscription at Southern Yan Pass was a clear sign that war was imminent.
But how could Martial-Mystic Cultivators struggling on the brink of life and death afford to consider such matters?
Regardless, the Imperial Court had at least sensed the danger and was actively responding. Not all the officials of the current dynasty were incompetent.
Li Weiyi said, "The Twin Rice Sect is using Zhou Bida's wife, daughters, and family as leverage, so he's bound to harbor resentment. My mission may be dangerous. Neither of you should enter the city. If I don't send word within two days, I've likely met with disaster."
"In that case, one of you must immediately return to either the Tuoba Clan or the Qi Clan and relay the information I've shared with you to the Snow Sword Tang Court or the Zuoqiu Sect."
"Of course, this means betraying the Twin Rice Sect, which will trigger the Death Spirit Fire within you. This means death!"
"The other should return to the Twin Rice Sect and inform Southern Venerable of what has happened here, so she can prepare accordingly. How you choose to proceed is up to you."
Qi Xiao said, "Since there's danger, I'll go to the Zhou Manor."
"Let me go," Tuoba Butuo countered.
Li Weiyi shook his head gently: "Don't argue! Both of you possess Pure Immortal Physiques and formidable cultivation. Once you enter the pass, the Imperial Court will immediately take notice. Besides, this is just a precaution. If there were truly grave dangers, Master wouldn't have sent me to handle this."
Li Weiyi held a certain level of trust in the Southern Venerable.
The reason he hadn't immediately betrayed the Twin Rice Sect and leaked the information was his greatest fear - harming her. Throughout the journey, he'd been pondering a solution that would allow him to have it both ways.
After agreeing on a communication method, Li Weiyi entered the pass alone.
The Cloud Heaven (Yuntian) Immortal Plain was already overcrowded, and Southern Yan Pass was under strict control.
Even Five Seas Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators with Commoner Registers found it extremely difficult to enter.
Li Weiyi never considered forging a Commoner Register or stealing one from a passerby.
Southern Yan Pass was a critical military stronghold, undoubtedly under the close surveillance of the Imperial Court. Once he entered the Zhou Manor, various agencies would inevitably learn of his presence.
The more he tried to conceal his identity, the more dangerous it would become.
At the city gate, Li Weiyi used the Transformation Technique to reveal his identity as a Spiritual Master.
He then presented a visiting card specially prepared by the Twin Rice Sect: "I am here by invitation to pay my respects to Deputy Commander Zhou. Please be so kind as to deliver this card."
Having learned from his previous mistake, Li Weiyi had disguised himself as a man in his forties.
The guards at the city gate dared not delay.
After all, this was a Spiritual Master, most likely a guest of the Deputy Commander.
Perhaps in the future, he might even be their direct superior.
The visiting card was sealed with runes, which would be destroyed upon opening. Of course, no one would dare to tamper with it.
Before long, an Exotic Beast Carriage carried Li Weiyi into Southern Yan Pass and headed toward the Zhou Manor.
The driver was a personal guard of Zhou Bida.
Southern Yan Pass was built along the mountains, stretching from the Fu Prefecture plains all the way to the peak of the Xushan Heavenly Vein. It covered an enormous area, yet lacked the bustling liveliness of a major city. Everything was orderly, solemn, and imposing.
On either side of the streets were various shops, restaurants, carriage dealerships, medicinal pill stores, and spiritual artifact shops. The pedestrians were well-dressed, most riding in carriages, a stark contrast to the refugee city outside.
At every intersection and every boundary between city sections stood a Formation Tower.
This pass served as one of the four main gateways and transit points to the Cloud Heaven (Yuntian) Immortal Plain. The Imperial Court had stationed eight thousand of its most elite Five Seas Soldiers here.
Legend had it that this Giant Spirit Army, led by Tai Shi Qingcang, could withstand Transcendents in an offensive and was as impregnable as a fortress in defense.
Southern Yan Pass had three Deputy Commanders, Zhou Bida being one of them, responsible for formations and city defense.
The Exotic Beast Carriage slowly entered the Zhou Manor.
Li Weiyi lifted the curtain to observe.
The manor was vast, with snow-covered tree canopies and countless precious medicines and spiritual plants. Yet, there were no maids or household servants in sight, an eerie silence pervading the grounds.
"That was too easy, from entering the city to arriving at the manor!"
Li Weiyi frowned, quickly donning the Governor's Robe beneath his outer layers.
If anything went wrong, he could immediately use the Spatial Power within the robe to escape.
When entering the city, he had already assessed the Formation Light Veil above the gate. It wasn't particularly strong, and with his current cultivation level, he could break through it.
Normally, the Formation wouldn't be fully activated.
Suddenly, the Exotic Beast Carriage stopped.
The personal guard driving it announced, "Guest, we've arrived," and immediately departed, his footsteps fading into the distance.
Li Weiyi cautiously dismounted and looked to his right.
He saw the carriage had stopped before a moon gate.
The white walls were covered in blooming plum blossoms, and the surroundings were serene and secluded.
From within the gate, Hidden Lord's familiar voice called out, "Hurry and come in!"
Li Weiyi paused, his mind racing. Many lingering doubts instantly cleared, replaced by a surge of joy.
He quickly stepped through the moon gate.
The Hidden Lord, wearing a mask and with his hands clasped behind his back, stood in a pavilion at the edge of a cliff, gazing out at the vast, dark expanse of the refugee city sprawling across the plain beyond the city walls.
Zhou Manor was located in a Fourth-Tier city, perched high on a hill with an expansive view. The entire Fu Prefecture plain stretched before them.
Zhou Bida, a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his fifties, stood beside Hidden Lord.
He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a towering physique, easily over two meters tall.
Clad in heavy black armor, he turned first to scrutinize Li Weiyi.
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END OF CHAPTER
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