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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 4: [Shuangsheng Dao Sect (Twin Rice Sect)]
Chapter 88 (343): [At All Costs]
(88th of Volume 4)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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Li Weiyi frowned: "Who do you take orders from?"
"Venerable Nan... ah..."
Xu Xiangu had only managed to utter three words before Li Weiyi's spear pierced her palm, leaving half her body numb and convulsing in agony.
She quickly changed her answer: "A year ago, the Yang Clan secretly took control of everything in the Cloud Heaven (Yuntian) Immortal Plain and the Four Great City Passes. The Prefect Elder had already submitted to them. We were forced to comply."
Li Weiyi crouched down: "Have you met anyone from the Yang Clan?"
Xu Xiangu shook her head.
"They're extremely cautious. I only heard the Prefect Elder mention it in passing, which is how I learned that the Sui Sect Yang Clan is also under the Divine Sect's banner."
Li Weiyi felt disappointed.
Even someone of Xu Xiangu's status knew so little about the upper echelons.
No wonder it was so difficult for various factions to uncover the Twin Rice Sects6 core secrets.
It seemed he would have to meet this Prefect Elder himself.
"Who is the Prefect Elder?" Li Weiyi asked.
"Jiang Xin, one of the Jiang Clan's top experts from the third generation. He's the Lord of the Main Office in the Attendant Hall at South Yan Pass."
This time, Xu Xiangu didn't hesitate to reveal the Prefect Elder's information, a cold smile playing on her lips.
She knew she was no match for Li Weiyi and had to swallow her pride to survive. But the Prefect Elder was a figure whose cultivation reached the heavens.
This young man dared to seek him out? He was walking right into a trap.
Xu Xiangu was already imagining Li Weiyi falling into the Prefect Elder's hands, how she would exact her revenge...
"Pfft!"
Li Weiyi's spear pierced her skull with a heavy thrust.
He used flames to reduce her corpse to ashes, leaving no trace behind.
He didn't take the Dao Lotus, fearing it might expose his weakness.
But he did take her Boundary Pouch.
To his surprise, the Boundary Pouch contained a vast fortune: Yongquan Coins, silver coins, and various treasures, including Millennial Essence Herbs, worth at least a million Yongquan Coins.
Clearly, she had been the Twin Rice Sect's purse keeper in South Yan Pass.
Li Weiyi walked out of the back courtyard's Formation.
Outside, several Twin Rice Sect elites, alerted by the commotion, had gathered, each wielding a Spiritual Artifact and glaring at him with hostility.
Li Weiyi had already resolved to cast off his restraints. With nothing to fear, he walked forward calmly, pulled out the Evil Camel Bell, and shook it.
The Twin Rice Sect elites around him immediately fell into a state of mental chaos, their screams echoing through the courtyard.
The sound of bells was kept within a controlled range.
Li Weiyi stepped out of the main gate and quickly blended into the crowd.
Behind him, the backyard of Guanlan Pavilion descended into chaos: roars, slaughter, madness, and maniacal laughter.
The Martial-Mystic Cultivators of the Twin Rice Sect were consumed by negative emotions, as the forces of evil and corruption spread. Spiritual Artifacts clashed, and they turned on each other in a frenzy of self-destruction.
The more malevolent one's thoughts, the greater the influence.
"Bang! Bang..."
Corpses were hurled through doors, windows, and walls, crashing onto the street outside.
Witnessing this scene, the Twin Rice Sect's hidden agents stationed outside Guanlan Pavilion immediately rushed to report the news.
Li Weiyi didn't leave. He climbed to the top of a watchtower three streets away from Guanlan Pavilion.
From Xu Xiangu's Boundary Pouch, he retrieved a set of women's clothing.
After a moment's hesitation, his gaze hardened, and he began to dress.
The Disguise Technique could naturally transform his appearance into that of a woman.
This was the best way to conceal himself - a method he had previously resisted.
Now, he had no choice but to resort to it.
He took out the golden smiling-face Buddha mask and put it on. Gazing at Guanlan Pavilion from afar, he waited patiently for Prefect Elder Jiang Xin to arrive.
The Attendant Hall was affiliated with Phoenix Terrace.
In each of the Lingxiao Realm's prefectures, a hall was established, headed by a Hall Master.
Under the Hall Master's command were the First Bureau, the Feather Bureau, and the Claw Bureau.
The First Bureau served as the think tank, responsible for offering counsel and making decisions.
The Feather Bureau handled all types of intelligence gathering, espionage, and infiltration.
The Claw Bureau, composed of Martial-Mystic Path experts, was responsible for executing actions.
The heads of these three bureaus held the rank of Main Bureau.
South Yan Pass was not a Provincial City, so it lacked a Hall Master.
Jiang Xin, as the Main Bureau, was already the highest commander of the Attendant Hall.
Li Weiyi naturally wouldn't go to the Attendant Hall; that would be like walking straight into a trap.
But with the Twin Rice Sect's largest stronghold in trouble, Jiang Xin couldn't possibly stay away.
Within just a quarter of an hour, a large army arrived, encircling the Guanlan Pavilion. The Formation surrounding the city was fully activated, with Formation Scriptures and shimmering veils enveloping the heavens and earth.
Shortly after, a magnificent Exotic Beast Carriage sped toward the Guanlan Pavilion, trailed by two columns of Attendant Hall cavalry.
The Exotic Beast Carriage stopped outside the pavilion.
An Elder in purple robes quickly dismounted.
Jiang Xin didn't appear frail; only a few strands of white hair framed his temples. His posture was ramrod straight, his gaze sharp, and he exuded an aura of natural authority.
"Lord of the Main Office!"
"Lord, why has this matter even alarmed the Attendant Hall?"
The city defense soldiers saluted and bowed.
"The Attendant Hall has long suspected the Guanlan Pavilion's close ties to the Heretical Sect and has been secretly monitoring it. We haven't acted rashly because we wanted to catch the mastermind behind the scenes. Withdraw your men; leave this to us."
Jiang Xin spoke calmly, knowing that if the city defense soldiers discovered anything amiss, he could only stall them like this. He then quickly entered the pavilion.
Li Weiyi remained still, continuing to wait.
Half an hour later, Jiang Xin emerged after clearing the Guanlan Pavilion of any lingering threats.
His eyes, though restrained, held a deep, ominous glint, clearly masking a burning rage within.
'Who could it be?'
'Their methods are utterly sinister.'
Li Weiyi, mimicking Yao Qingxuan's tone, sent a voice transmission using Spiritual Qi directly into Jiang Xin's ear: "Prefect Elder, your hasty arrival at the Guanlan Pavilion will surely catch the attention of those with ulterior motives and raise suspicion."
'That voice...'
Standing outside the Guanlan Pavilion, Jiang Xin suddenly raised his head, his pupils contracting as he scanned his surroundings with growing tension.
He had lived nearly a century, his cultivation unmatched, his arrogance boundless. He was one of the Jiang Clan's most formidable third-generation experts and one of the Twin Rice Sect's twenty-eight Elders in the Lingxiao Realm.
But his opponent was Yao Qingxuan.
Even at the same cultivation level, she could easily kill him.
If Yao Qingxuan could transmit Spiritual Qi into his ear, she could also kill him with a single strike.
Seeing that Jiang Xin dared not make any rash moves, Li Weiyi knew Yao Qingxuan held immense power over him.
He continued, "Stop staring. And don't try any tricks in front of me. I guarantee you'll die before Yao Qian arrives. Even if he does, I can send him away too."
Jiang Xin quickly regained his composure, already formulating a plan. Following "Yao Qingxuan's" instructions, he avoided everyone and climbed the watchtower step by step.
Li Weiyi knew that clashing with an Elder of the Heaven Valley (Tianxia) Hall was like dancing on a blade's edge. If his identity was exposed or his opponent took desperate measures, he would be in grave danger.
But he had no choice.
"He should be more nervous than I am! He has to worry about Yao Qingxuan's retribution and his identity being revealed."
Li Weiyi completely calmed down, listening to Jiang Xin's footsteps as he climbed the ladder.
Since Jiang Xin had previously served Yao Qingxuan and only submitted to the Sui Sect Yang Clan a year ago, he likely hadn't yet reached the clan's core.
"You can stop there!" Li Weiyi said calmly.
Jiang Xin stopped on the staircase of the lower level, looked up, and caught a glimpse of Yao Qingxuan's figure.
He immediately feigned a look of fear and reverence, bowing deeply. "Venerable, Venerable... this old man knows nothing! It was all that bunch from the Sui Sect, acting recklessly, surely trying to eliminate rivals. I was kept in the dark, only just learning about this..."
Li Weiyi couldn't be bothered to watch his performance.
"Eliminating rivals? Jiang Xin, are you truly that foolish, or have you already defected to their side? Zhou Bida is dead, isn't he?"
Jiang Xin nodded, "Yao Qian couldn't afford to let him live. The risk of him speaking out was too great."
Li Weiyi felt a pang of grief, but controlled her emotions, "That's why I said you were foolish, while Yao Qian is utterly brilliant."
Jiang Xin looked bewildered, "May I ask for clarification, Venerable?"
Li Weiyi said, "I don't care whether you've already surrendered to them or not. But the most important thing for a person is to live with clarity. Zhou Bida was a deputy commander, a position of immense importance. How much effort did the Divine Sect expend to turn him? Now that he's dead, who will help us break through the gates of Lingxiao City in three months when the Divine Sect and the Demon Clan launch their attack? You?"
"What? Attack Lingxiao City?" Jiang Xin was genuinely shocked.
This matter had only been finalized a few days ago. As someone with a special public identity, Jiang Xin had to be cautious in relaying information, so he hadn't learned about it so quickly.
Li Weiyi adopted Yao Qingxuan's tone: "Now you understand why they killed Zhou Bida, don't you?"
Jiang Xin's expression shifted repeatedly. "But they said, Venerable, that you harbor ulterior motives..."
"You mean they said I have a hidden agenda?"
Li Weiyi knew that Jiang Xin must be completely disoriented to say such a thing.
Seizing the opportunity, he pressed on: "That's why I call you foolish. Why would I ever betray the Divine Sect? What benefit would I possibly gain?"
"The true traitor is Yang Shenjing."
"The Sui Sect only rose to prominence thanks to the Divine Sect's support. But now, they've pledged allegiance to the Second Palace Master. They have everything they could ever want, sailing freely throughout the Lingxiao Realm and rapidly expanding in just two years."
"Once Yang Shenjing breaks through to become a Transcendent, the Sui Sect might one day become an ancient myriad sect, controlling the entire Lingxiao's transportation network - that's true glory."
"For the sake of their sect's future, they betrayed the Jiu Li Tribe. They're just as capable of betraying the Divine Sect."
"Now you understand why you were kept in the dark about the attack on Lingxiao City. Even Yang Shenjing wasn't informed by Headquarters - they were wary of him! Since you've submitted to them, you're naturally being guarded against as well."
"Prefect Elder, are you choosing the Sui Sect, hoping to rise to prominence with them?"
As he spoke, Li Weiyi gently patted the Big Phoenix hidden beneath his robes.
Instantly, a terrifying Immortal Realm aura erupted from Li Weiyi, so overwhelming that Jiang Xin fell to his knees with a thud, trembling as he pleaded, "Venerable, save me... I didn't know! I was kept in the dark! I had no idea Yang Shenjing was such an ungrateful wolf. Not even if you gave me ten times my courage would I dare betray the Divine Sect... I still have the Ancestor of Rice's Death Spirit Fire within me. I wouldn't dare, absolutely not!"
Li Weiyi could only exploit the information gap to quickly solidify the accusation that Yang Shenjing and the Sui Sect had betrayed the Twin Rice Sect, pinning everything on them to save Yao Qingxuan at Headquarters.
The Sui Sect, descended from retainers of the Jiu Li Tribe, had a clean background, making it difficult to trace their connection to the Twin Rice Sect.
At Headquarters, they had few followers of their own.
Yang Qingxi had to seize Wang Shu's followers to establish her own power base.
This was both the Sui Sect's advantage and their weakness. It indicated that their ties to the Twin Rice Secr weren't as close as those of the Ricefolk's Direct Lineage. Blaming them for the betrayal made the plan feasible.
Moreover, Yang Qingxi's actions against Wang Shu were aimed at preventing the Twin Rice Sect from infiltrating the Sui Sect again and to check the Yang Clan's power.
This suggests that someone within the Twin Rice Sect must be wary of Yang Shenjing.
If they couldn't eliminate Yang Shenjing and Yao Qian through the Imperial Court, then they would let the Twin Rice Sect clean up their own house.
This was only the first step.
Next, Li Weiyi swore he would find a way to make this all undeniable.
He would make them hoist themselves by their own petard for this day's scheme.
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END OF CHAPTER
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