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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 5: [Seeking Immortality in the Eastern Sea]
Volume 5 (Pinyin): [Dong Hai xun xian]
Chapter 42 (479): [Sea Fireflies, Underground Civilization]
(42nd of Volume 5)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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Below them, a fiery river over thirty meters wide stretched across the sea surface for dozens of kilometers, erupting from a fissure in the seabed.
The intense flames scattered skyward, creating a dazzling, luminous haze.
The Heaven, Earth, and Law Spiritual Qi surged violently, causing the seawater to boil.
"Are these the Firefly Flames appearing in the East Sea?" Li Weiyi wondered, recalling the letter from the Twin Rice Sect's Elder of Qing Province.
Yet the locations mentioned in the letter - the areas being explored by Calamity Crossing Temple, Rice Palace, and the Demon Race - were all over ten thousand kilometers away.
Why were Firefly Flames appearing here?
"Something's not right," Wu Hongling murmured, her graceful figure pausing at the edge of the fiery river, "The Ancient Immortal Dragon Remains are supposed to be in a far more distant sea region. Why would the same phenomenon occur here?"
Qiongji Daozi arrived a moment later: "Liu Fengshu is far stronger than we imagined, Immortal Maiden Hongling. Should we continue the pursuit, or return to report?"
"No time..."
Wu Hongling transformed into a crimson streak of light, soaring high above the sea.
"Boom!"
The sea, covered in Firefly Flames, collapsed, forming a chasm tens of miles long.
Seawater poured into the abyss.
Li Weiyi reacted faster than Wu Hongling, but he was still pulled downward by a powerful vortex, his body plummeting uncontrollably toward the seabed. He channeled his Spiritual Qi, activating the Governor's Robe he wore.
'Spatial Power... has lost its effect?'
Li Weiyi's mind sank into deep concentration as he held his breath, his body engulfed and swept away by the seawater.
The sky vanished, replaced by endless darkness.
As he fell, he secretly calculated the distance he had plummeted while continuously striking out with his Peachwood Staff, unleashing Psychic Radiance in an attempt to break free from the downward-rushing torrent.
Seconds ticked by, each one agonizingly long.
Eventually, calculating the depth became impossible.
He had already fallen far beyond ten thousand meters, perhaps even nearing the Earth's core.
"Thud!"
Li Weiyi's back slammed into something solid.
His robust physique absorbed the impact without injury.
Instead of fear, joy surged through him.
Sensing nearby rock and earth with his Psychic Power, he immediately thrust his Spiritual Staff forward.
The Peachwood Staff pierced a foot deep into the mudstone wall. Li Weiyi gripped it with one hand, hanging suspended, and gazed around.
He was immediately stunned.
This was clearly no longer the East Sea. The surrounding space was vast and devoid of seawater.
There was air, thick with an exotic Spiritual Qi.
The stone wall beside him rose hundreds of zhang, descending vertically.
Carved into the wall were stone railings, the upturned eaves of palaces, colossal statues, and ancient inscriptions.
Hundreds of zhang below flowed a wide river of golden magma.
Above, seawater cascaded down like a waterfall tens of li wide, crashing onto the black plains beside the magma river and forming a great river that flowed toward an unknown destination.
The distant horizon stretched endlessly, beyond the reach of Li Weiyi's vision.
Faintly visible were towering mountain ranges.
"What is this place? Beneath the East Sea?"
"Why are there ancient traces of human activity deep underground?"
Li Weiyi's mind raced with questions.
He looked up at the ceaselessly surging seawater, pondering how to return to the surface.
"Whoosh!"
The sharp clang of a sword sliced through the air.
Almost instinctively, Li Weiyi channeled his internal Spiritual Qi and struck out with a palm strike.
His palm, crackling with thunder and lightning, struck the Heavenly Scripture Sword's blade, deflecting it aside.
"You're from the Thundercloud Sect?"
Qiongji Daozi stood a hundred feet away to the lower right, inwardly startled.
After retracting his sword, he immediately activated his Body Technique, darting across the stone wall in a swift retreat.
Li Weiyi's gaze darkened, and a killing intent surged within him.
He pursued Qiongji Daozi for a hundred feet before abruptly halting.
Perched on the overhanging eaves of a palace carved into the stone wall, he assumed a defensive stance, his Peachwood Staff illuminating the underground cavern with blinding brightness.
Wu Hongling, who had been ambushing in a crevice in the stone wall dozens of feet away, materialized in a flash, landing atop the hundred-meter-tall dragon-headed stone sculpture. Her crimson silk robes billowed around her, revealing long, slender legs and a chest as full as an upturned jade bowl.
Were it not for her face, she could have been mistaken for a fatal beauty, a celestial maiden whose allure could kill.
She smiled coyly: "You're remarkably vigilant. How did you sense the danger?"
"You can conceal yourself from my Psychic Power," Li Weiyi replied, "but your lingering Qi hasn't dissipated from the air."
Realizing his deception had failed, Qiongji Daozi immediately stopped.
He then soared through the air, reappearing in another location.
Standing tall and proud, sword in hand, he formed a combined attack formation with Wu Hongling, flanking Li Weiyi from the left and right.
The roar of rushing water echoed through the cavern.
The trio's Dao Heart Manifestations and Psychic Fields caused the air to stagnate.
Li Weiyi tried again, but the Spatial Power of his Governor's Robe remained completely ineffective here.
Remaining calm, he said, "Your Spiritual Qi is being rapidly depleted. Are you sure you want to continue fighting in this unknown place? Danger could strike at any moment. Why not focus on escaping first?"
"We're expending a lot, but you're expending even more," Qiongji Daozi replied.
His blue robes had dried completely, and he held his sword in one hand, surrounded by a dense formation of sword-shaped sword qi.
"Sizzle!"
A wave of freezing air erupted from beneath his feet, encasing the stone walls in ice.
Li Weiyi's Psychic Radiance blocked the ice, preventing it from reaching him.
"Even if my Spiritual Qi runs dry," Li Weiyi continued calmly, "I still possess eighty percent of the physical strength of an Immortal Body. My advantage will only grow."
Wu Hongling's voice rang out, clear and melodious: "Liu Fengshu, you're the most slippery and mentally stable young powerhouse I've met in the East Sea. Lies come as easily to you as breathing. Attack!"
The two charged from opposite sides.
Li Weiyi's eyes darkened as he abandoned all pretense.
He slapped his hand against the Insect Pouch.
Seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors emerged, transforming into seven brilliant streams of light that surged toward Qiongji Daozi.
Wu Hongling's cultivation was too profound, and her Dao Techniques were too enigmatic.
Li Weiyi wasn't confident he could kill her.
However, he had a thorough understanding of Qiongji Daozi's cultivation and methods.
He had to eliminate one of them first.
Facing two opponents simultaneously would be a headache even for the Young Celestial Emperors of the Ninth Heaven.
The moment Qiongji Daozi saw the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors emerge, his mind exploded with a deafening roar.
For a fleeting moment, he was stunned, unable to believe Li Weiyi would entrust such precious creatures to another's care.
The next instant, every hair on his body stood on end as an overwhelming sense of crisis descended upon him.
He was already charging forward at full speed. Retreating was impossible; even stopping his momentum felt like scaling the heavens.
"Frozen Hell Descent!"
Spiritual Qi surged from Qiongji Daozi's Ancestral Field, activating his Spiritual Artifact Battle Armor and unleashing the Third Great Technique.
Tendrils of icy Qi coalesced around him.
Third Phoenixes spat Golden Crow Flames, while the Fourth Phoenix's eyes erupted with Thunder and Lightning.
The Fifth Phoenix, the fastest of the group, struck first, shattering the icy Qi before Qiongji Daozi could complete his Dao Technique.
The remaining four Phoenixes followed closely behind, spreading their membranous wings or slashing with razor-sharp claws.
Li Weiyi executed the Clear Void Cicada-Chasing Step, soaring above the Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors.
Wielding his Peachwood Staff like a sword, he unleashed the "Taiyi Opens the Sea" technique.
Behind him, Hong Ling's crimson silk surged forward with terrifying speed.
This was his only chance.
Qiongji Daozi slashed his sword at the Five Phoenixes, only to see them evade with speed rivaling his own.
They slipped through the sword's shadow and tore at his neck with their claws.
Scripture surged from his Spiritual Artifact Battle Armor, blocking the attack.
But Qiongji Daozi's fighting spirit instantly collapsed, leaving him utterly demoralized.
If a single Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperor was this terrifying, what chance did he stand against seven of them, plus Liu Fengshu?
Qiongji Daozi plummeted downward, abandoning all pretense of battle to flee the battlefield.
"Boom!"
The sword light unleashed by the Peachwood Staff grazed the stone wall and struck Qiongji Daozi's head, piercing his Protective Spiritual Qi. The Scripture emanating from his Spiritual Artifact Battle Armor dimmed, its radiance fading.
In the next instant, Qiongji Daozi was engulfed by the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, trapped in their relentless attack.
Wu Hongling cursed the Lingxiao Twin Rice Sect as utter fools.
Anyone who lost their will to fight would only die faster - why couldn't they grasp such a basic truth?
If Qiongji Daozi had withstood the initial wave of attacks, she would have arrived in an instant, and then it would be Liu Fengshu who would be fleeing.
Now...
Qiongji Daozi's desperate, resentful screams echoed from below: "Ah... Liu Fengshu is Li Weiyi! He's the one..."
Li Weiyi was sent flying dozens of meters by Hong Ling's strike, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Below, Qiongji Daozi's body had been torn into eight pieces by the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, a gruesome sight.
Adding to the cruelty, Big Phoenix had snatched the Heavenly Scripture Sword, while Second Phoenix had dug out the Dao Fruit, and the Five Phoenixes had seized the Cosmic Pouch.
"Since we've been exposed, there's no point in hiding anymore," Li Weiyi declared, pulling out the Purple Heaven Thunder Seal.
He slammed it against the stone wall, unleashing a dense swarm of purple thunder and lightning that surged toward Wu Hongling.
The seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors transformed into seven sinuous streaks of light, converging rapidly on him.
Wu Hongling stood her ground, the thunder and lightning exploding several meters before her, unable to penetrate her defenses.
'How can her cultivation be so advanced?'
Li Weiyi wondered in alarm.
He then mobilized the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, circling the stone wall and launching a coordinated attack.
Wu Hongling retreated gracefully: "This place is dangerous and highly anomalous. We're all severely weakened right now. Let's recover our Spiritual Qi first, and settle this later."
"Too late!" Li Weiyi retorted, "Why didn't you agree when I suggested this earlier?"
Wu Hongling moved with astonishing speed, her pace accelerating further.
Above them, the waterfall of seawater visibly diminished, and the cracks in the earth began to close.
"This is bad! The underwater rift is closing. If we don't escape before it seals, we'll be trapped here forever!"
Wu Hongling shot upward.
"Emphasis on Warning." Li Weiyi wouldn't miss this chance to eliminate her.
"I'm not lying! We've fallen at least ten thousand zhang. I sensed abnormal spatial fluctuations along the way. Stop chasing me and focus on escaping!" Wu Hongling's voice was more urgent than ever.
Li Weiyi believed her at least seventy percent.
The spatial laws here were indeed distorted; his Governor's Robe refused to activate.
Wu Hongling clearly had some understanding of the Path of Space.
Otherwise, her Hong Ling Spiritual artifact wouldn't have been able to consistently track Li Weiyi's spatial teleportation. It was plausible she could sense subtle spatial anomalies.
Li Weiyi immediately summoned his seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors and followed Wu Hongling, fighting against the current as they surged upward.
"Aow!"
A deafening dragon's roar echoed from the dark depths below, causing the space around them to tremble violently.
"What was that dragon's roar?"
The eardrums of both Li Weiyi and Wu Hongling ruptured, blood streaming from their ears.
Their protective Spiritual Qi shattered, and the surging water slammed them downward, sending them plummeting back into the abyss.
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END OF CHAPTER
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