Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
***********************************
Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 4: [Shuangsheng Dao Sect (Twin Rice Sect)]
Chapter 179 (434): [The Border Town Inn]
(179th of Volume 4)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
*********************************
Blood Mud Space.
Inside the Buddhist Shrine, a square iron box measuring one foot on each side.
Within the box lay a page of the ⟨Bhagavata Sutra⟩, also known as the ⟨⟨Luminous Star Tome⟩⟩.
According to inscriptions on the stone walls of the Underground Immortal Mansion, the «Luminous Star Tome» has a mysterious origin, tracing back to an ancient catastrophe caused by a meteor shower.
Amidst the Calamity, the Bhagavata Buddha rose to prominence, collecting the fallen stars, deciphering its mystical energy, and forging the Luminous Star Tome.
One star, one sutra page.
A total of forty-two pages.
The "stars" may not be literal celestial bodies.
Yet each page was undeniably heavy, even Tang Wanzhou, a cultivator in the Immortal Realm, could not budge it.
Every page of the sutra was inscribed with the Bhagavata Buddha's lifeblood and wisdom, its characters imbued with supreme spiritual power and profound meaning.
Through successive calamities, the forty-two pages of the Luminous Star Tome were gradually lost.
After millennia of excavation in the Underground Immortal Mansion, the Twin Rice Sect unearthed only nine pages, which they named "Three Thousand Stars of Bhagavatas."
Unable to comprehend the scripture's meaning, even the Rice Ancestor could only comprehend this one Imperial Technique from it.
Li Weiyi believed the page he had found was likely the tenth.
The Twin Rice Sect had deciphered the ancient scriptures of the Bhagavata Sect, and Li Weiyi had also studied their deciphered scriptures.
Yet this tenth page of the Luminous Star Tome remained as inscrutable as a Heavenly Tome, utterly incomprehensible.
For days, he sat cross-legged in meditation, meticulously absorbing the radiant power emanating from the scripture.
Like comprehending the Nine Heavens Secret Treasury, he simultaneously grasped the Buddhist essence and directly absorbed the luminous energy into the Spirit Realm between his eyebrows.
Within the Spirit Realm, the psychic power Light, dominated by the Golden Crow Flame, subtly began to transform.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Tiny specks of white light emanated from Li Weiyi's body, coalescing into a luminous halo around him, imbuing him with an aura of divine purity and flawlessness.
His decision to directly absorb the Power of Light stemmed from the legend of the Spirit Platform Blazing Starstone Fragment.
In its complete form, the stone was said to be as massive as a mountain, likely a fragment of an extraterrestrial meteorite.
After consuming the Star Spiritual Pill, Li Weiyi's psychic power had reached the peak of the Six-Star Spiritual Master Realm.
Prior to this, he had refined numerous Spirit Platform Blazing Starstone Fragments in an attempt to condense his seventh Spiritual Power (Nianli) Star.
All attempts had ended in failure.
Whether in the Martial-Mystic Dao or psychic power, the Seventh Realm represented a major threshold, notoriously difficult to break through.
The Spirit Platform Blazing Starstone Fragments had to be used sparingly.
Li Weiyi absorbed the Power of Light from the Luminous Star Tome in the hopes of making it easier to break through to the Seven-Star Spiritual Master Realm.
If it proved effective, advancing to the Eight-Star and Nine-Star Spiritual Master Realms would naturally become much smoother.
"Psychic Power Light, primarily composed of Golden Crow Flame, possesses immense power, granting Inheritors combat prowess far surpassing those of the same Realm. However, its overwhelmingly yang and masculine nature makes it difficult to condense into Psychic Power (Nianli) Stars."
"The Power of Light not only tempers the violent Psychic Flames, making it more refined, but also elevates the purity of the Psychic Flames to a higher level."
Sensing the changes in Psychic Power within his Spirit Realm, Li Weiyi ceased absorbing the Power of Light and closed the iron box.
He planned to absorb more for a while before attempting to break through to the Seven-Star Spiritual Master Realm again.
Reaching the Seven-Star Spiritual Master realm would truly open up vast horizons.
Below the Immortal Realm, few figures would still warrant his caution.
As for the Martial-Mystic Dao insights gained from comprehending the tenth page of the scripture, they had merely imprinted eight luminous Scripture characters onto his Divine Gate Dao Lotus.
The entire scripture contained over four hundred ancient characters.
Even attempting to imprint them all would require an immense amount of time.
He could only hope that fully imprinting the Dao Lotus would trigger some transformative change.
Outside, a little tyrant awaited.
Li Weiyi dared not linger in the Blood Mud Space; the space trembled in concentric circles as his form returned to the inn room.
The guest room was spacious, divided into inner and outer chambers.
In the inner chamber, Li Weiyi had set up a Formation, unwilling to reveal the secret of the Dao Ancestor's Tai Chi Fish to Yu'er.
She was Yu'er now, obedient and docile. But who knew if she would remain so tomorrow?
Through the shimmering barrier of the Formation, Li Weiyi observed the outer chamber.
Within his field of vision sat a four- or five-year-old girl with a Pure Immortal Physique, dressed in white robes and her hair tied in two small braids.
She sat at the table, diligently practicing her calligraphy.
This was the task Li Weiyi had assigned her that morning before beginning his cultivation session.
He had no choice.
He needed to seize every moment to cultivate and enhance his strength, and couldn't stay with her constantly.
Nor did he dare let her wander outside.
Thus, he had given her something to occupy her time.
Yu'er possessed remarkable focus, having already copied a thick stack of scriptures.
From morning until late afternoon, as the sun began to set.
"Whoosh!"
With a flick of his finger, Li Weiyi dispelled the Formation's barrier and approached her. He examined the scriptures on the table.
"Excellent! Your calligraphy has improved!"
"Are you hungry?"
"Let's go downstairs and get something to eat."
"Master, let me finish copying this passage first," Yu'er replied.
Li Weiyi had taught her how to write.
After waiting about fifteen minutes, Yu'er put down her brush, rubbed her aching little hand, and slid off the chair, gripping the edge of the table.
"Master, let's go!"
She was wearing a pair of embroidered blue cloth shoes.
"Don't be so foolish in the future," Li Weiyi said, fearing future repercussions, "I only asked you to copy scriptures when you're bored, to pass the time. I didn't mean for you to keep writing all day."
"Mm."
As they descended the stairs, Yu'er pursed her lips, hesitating before finally asking, "Actually... Master, I want to practice the Martial-Mystic Dao too. Uncle Shopkeeper said Martial-Mystic Dao experts can leap over walls and walk on rooftops - they're so amazing!"
"You don't need to practice the Martial-Mystic Dao," Li Weiyi replied.
Yu'er pondered this, then asked, "Master, can you fly and teleport? Are you even stronger than Martial-Mystic Dao experts?"
"I'm not strong," Li Weiyi quickly denied.
Yu'er fell silent, thinking her master didn't want to teach her.
When they reached the first floor of the inn, they ordered three dishes.
Noticing her gloomy mood, Li Weiyi said, "You're better suited for cultivating Psychic Power! Master can teach you the methods to cultivate Psychic Power."
Yu'er's round eyes lit up: "Can I leap over walls and walk on rooftops?"
"Of course."
"Can I become as strong as you, Master?"
"I'm not strong."
...
The inn stood in the bustling heart of Huangjiang Border City, a four-story structure with four interconnected buildings housing over fifty guest rooms.
The innkeeper was not an ordinary man, running a thriving business that even catered to Dead Spirits from the Nether Realm.
The streets outside were far more crowded than usual, with large groups of soldiers marching past at frequent intervals. The sounds of carriages and horses never ceased.
On the inn's ground floor, the number of diners had also noticeably increased.
All were Martial-Mystic Dao cultivators of considerable strength, some carrying spiritual artifacts on their backs, others with Cosmic Pouches at their waists.
Li Weiyi even spotted a Martial-Mystic Cultivator from the Dao Seed Realm among them.
"I heard the combined forces of the Zuoqiu Sect and the Jiu Li Clan have breached Coffin Mountain. But the Buddha's Salvation Bandits had already retreated into the Nether Realm of the Dead. Xu Fodu fled faster than anyone."
"What good is retreating into the Nether Realm of the Dead? Sooner or later, ordinary Martial-Mystic Cultivators will become soul-food and blood-food for the Dead Spirits."
"Old Zhang, didn't you say yesterday that the Human Race army in the Southern Territory suffered heavy losses in a Demon Race counterattack?"
"That was false information deliberately spread by the Buddha's Salvation Bandits of Coffin Mountain to maintain morale."
Over the past month, Li Weiyi had heard countless rumors, silently organizing and categorizing them.
Some of the information, at least, seemed reliable.
For instance, "Ancestor Cangming of the Jiu Li has emerged, commanding all Lingxiao Strange Insects, destroying the Heretical Sect's Corpses Rice Cultivation,"
"Lingxiao City has been destroyed, with millions dead or wounded,"
"The Flying Phoenix cries, and ten thousand demons prostrate themselves"...
Among these rumors, the most reliable news concerned the Army of the Dead.
Huangjiang Border City was located near the Southeast Nether Realm, the territory of the Dead Spirit overlord "Lord Lan."
In recent days, Fallen Spirit powerhouses had been fleeing back from the Lingxiao Realm daily.
They traveled at breakneck speed, their Qi fluctuations so intense they sometimes manifested as ghostly winds or caused earth-shattering tremors.
Yet these Fallen Spirit Giants, once renowned for their terror across Qing Province and Coffin Prefecture, now appeared utterly panicked.
Stripped of their century-old ferocity, they dared not linger in the city, instead fleeing directly into the depths of the Nether Realm.
The Army of the Dead's rout undoubtedly indicated that the war situation wasn't as dire as initially feared.
The innkeeper, Huang Liao, appeared to be in his forties, with a sallow complexion and cultivation at the second stage of the Dao Seed Realm.
Anyone who could establish a foothold in Huangjiang Border City had a story and a history.
Li Weiyi had been staying at the inn for nearly a month. Through numerous interactions, both parties had sized each other up.
Huang Liao sat down at the table and whispered, "Brother Li, I have confirmed news: the Heretical Sect is completely destroyed. Even their Main Hall has been breached, and Coffin Mountain no longer exists. A large number of sect remnants and Buddha's Salvation Bandits have entered the city, preparing to sail out to sea via the Huang River."
"Sail out to sea? Are they fleeing to an island, or another Life Realm?" Li Weiyi asked.
The Huang River, which flows through the Nether Realm of the Dead, stretches two thousand miles before emptying into the East Sea.
The East Sea is a vast inland sea located south of Yingzhou, shaped like a long, narrow strip of water. Its width spans ten thousand miles, while its length is said to extend over ninety thousand miles, reaching deep into the Nether Realm.
Normal ships would take years to cross the East Sea.
A millennium ago, when the Lingxiao Realm controlled three hundred provinces, human activity extended thirty thousand miles into the East Sea.
Now, they only hold a narrow coastal strip.
The Three Island Barbarians of the Eastern Territory - Huaiyi Island, Baiyi Island, and Jiaoyi Island - reside within the ten-thousand-mile coastal waters.
Even so, once their maritime formations are activated, the Imperial Court's armies are helpless, unable to eradicate them.
The East Sea is treacherous and boundless, teeming with malevolent demons.
Travelers might encounter colossal beasts like flood dragons, cloud kuns, and xiangliu.
Both shores of the sea are shrouded by the Nether Realm of the Dead, where terrifying entities among the dead spirits frequently emerge.
Indeed, even the other side of the sea, rumored to connect to the rainforest Life Realm, deterred humans from attempting the perilous sea voyage.
The open sea offered no concealment, making travelers easy targets for Dead Spirit Fiends.
Smuggling routes through the land and underground were comparatively safer, though the darkness made it easy to lose one's way.
"They must have fled to the islands!" Huang Liao said, "With their cultivation levels, attempting a mass escape to the rainforest Life Realm? They wouldn't even need the Dead Spirit Fiends to intervene. A single rogue wave during a storm would send them all crashing into the sea. The East Sea's weather is terrifying, especially the Yin Fiend Hurricanes - they can shatter even the strongest Defensive Formation barriers."
Li Weiyi nodded inwardly.
The Twin Rice Sect, Dragon Sect, and Three Island Barbarians were now truly in the same boat.
"Manager Huang, have you ever sailed the sea?" Li Weiyi asked.
Huang Liao chuckled: "Back when I achieved my Breakthrough Dao Seed, I was brimming with arrogance, convinced I was the master of the mortal realm and could conquer any corner of the world. I joined an expedition to the East Sea to seek the Dragon Clan's treasure. I barely survived. That brush with death humbled me, and I settled down to run an inn in Huangjiang Border City."
Li Weiyi didn't believe a word of it.
Huangjiang Border City was no place for the meek. Anyone who dared to stay here had nerves of steel, gambling their lives for every transaction.
_______________________
END OF CHAPTER
Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
************************************