Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
***********************************
Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 4: [Shuangsheng Dao Sect (Twin Rice Sect)]
Chapter 181 (436): [Rice Prefecture (Daozhou)]
(181st of Volume 4)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
*********************************
Beneath her veil, Yang Qingchan's pair of dark, luminous eyes fixed on Li Weiyi, radiating a chilling aura capable of freezing a mortal's blood.
"Five High-Grade Blood Crystals, casually produced - you must be carrying a fortune. The Nether Realm of the Dead isn't like the Life Realm; there are no rules here. Whoever has the strongest fist makes the law."
"I've got my eye on you! Be careful after you leave the Dead Spirit Market."
Her voice was low and menacing, the threat unmistakable.
She spoke with such confidence because a powerful Dead Spirit resided within her.
However, constrained by Yang Qingchan's frail mortal body, it couldn't unleash its full power.
The Phoenix Blood Tree Leaf held immeasurable significance for her.
Li Weiyi, now a different man, dismissed her threat with a mocking laugh, "Miss, you possess a Pure Immortal Physique, one in ten thousand, with a graceful figure, jade-like skin, and a face that could topple nations. And you carry five High-Grade Blood Crystals. You should be careful too!"
"Such arrogance suggests you're no ordinary person."
A cold smile flickered in Yang Qingchan's eyes as she released a surge of powerful Qi in response.
Then, she drifted away like a phantom, melting into the crowd and vanishing swiftly into the dimly lit streets.
Yang Qingxi owed him a substantial sum of money.
He had no idea where she'd struck it rich, but her sister had casually produced five High-Grade Blood Crystals, making Li Weiyi consider collecting the debt.
Yang Qingchan, in a sense, was Yang Qingxi's Soul Servant.
Yu'er, nestled in his arms, tilted her head, blinked her eyes, and asked curiously, "Master, what does 'graceful figure' mean?"
"..."
Li Weiyi immediately began to reflect, resolving to be more careful with his words around children in the future.
The young vendor across the stall glanced at Yang Qingchan's retreating figure, then turned to Huang Liao, who stood behind Li Weiyi, offering a pointed warning: "Sir, traveling with a child possessing a Pure Immortal Physique already draws attention. You should exercise caution. In the Nether Realm of the Dead, Dead Spirits are dangerous, but humans can be just as perilous."
Huang Liao's expression grew grave.
"Brother Li, that woman who appeared to have a Pure Immortal Physique was definitely a Dead Spirit in disguise. Her cultivation is extremely high; we shouldn't have provoked her. The Qi she released earlier was terrifying."
"We've already offended her. There's nothing we can do about it now."
Li Weiyi felt a sense of goodwill toward the young vendor, but he understood the man's warning stemmed from concern for the four- or five-year-old girl in his care.
It wasn't concern for his safety.
This young merchant was no ordinary individual.
After activating the Qi Concealment Technique, his life aura became almost completely undetectable, even deceiving Li Weiyi's initial assessment.
This undoubtedly indicated unfathomable depth in his cultivation.
Yet he appeared remarkably young.
Martial-Mystic cultivators in the Dao Seed Realm could delay aging and maintain peak vitality, making it difficult to judge their true age by appearance alone.
However, having encountered numerous Dao Seed Realm cultivators, Li Weiyi had developed an intuitive sense for estimating their age.
Logically, someone of this age and cultivation level should be a renowned figure in the Lingxiao Realm, not an unknown entity.
The young merchant's stall displayed few items, but their quality was exceptional.
Among them were Millennium Essence Herbs, Hundred-Character Artifacts, and Yin Corpse Dao Fruits.
Five Phoenix Blood Tree Leaves would only allow Li Weiyi to cultivate his Immortal Body's strength from twenty percent to thirty percent.
"As far as I know," Li Weiyi said, "the Phoenix Blood Tree is located in Old Yu Prefecture City, occupied by a Fallen Spirit Great Power known as the Crimson Wind Monarch. Over the past millennium, the area has transformed into a Bone Palace teeming with millions of corpse miasma, making it utterly inaccessible to humans."
"Phoenix Blood Tree Leaves are extremely beneficial for Corpse Spirits cultivating their physical bodies and are rarely circulated outside."
"Human Martial-Mystic Cultivators can only obtain them by purchasing them at exorbitant prices. Alternatively, they might get lucky and find one or two leaves blown out of Old Yu Prefecture City by the Yin Fiend Hurricane."
"Brother, would you be willing to share how you acquired five leaves? I'm willing to pay for the information."
The young merchant asked, "Did you just arrive from the Lingxiao Realm?"
"That's right," Li Weiyi replied.
"Let's trade information," the merchant proposed, "Tell me about the current war situation in the Lingxiao Realm, and I'll tell you how to obtain Phoenix Blood Tree Leaves."
"This deal is definitely in my favor!"
Li Weiyi immediately recounted everything he knew about the precise details of the war in the Lingxiao Realm.
"Since the Twin Rice Sect suffered a major defeat, it seems the Flying Phoenix hasn't entered the Lingxiao Realm," the young merchant muttered to himself before turning back to Li Weiyi, "Lord Lan led a large number of Fallen Spirit powerhouses to conquer the Lingxiao Realm, leaving the Bone Palace in Yu Prefecture City virtually empty. I seized the opportunity to infiltrate the city and obtain these five Phoenix Blood Tree Leaves. It was that simple. If you have the courage, you can try it too."
"Thank you," Li Weiyi said, purchasing all three Millennium Essence Herbs from the vendor's stall.
The Millennium Essence Herbs he currently possessed were only enough to feed seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors to the Fifth Stage of the Dao Seed Realm, necessitating a large-scale purchase.
The Nether Realm of the Dead was vast and boundless, teeming with mystical Secret Realms that nurtured abundant Millennium Essence Herbs.
Most Millennium Essence Herbs held little value for Dead Spirits, so they were brought to the Dead Spirit Market to be sold in exchange for Soul Crystals, Blood Crystals, or spiritual artifacts.
The prices here were even lower than those at the Chambers of Commerce in the Lingxiao Realm.
As the pair left the stall and walked through streets crowded with Dead Spirits, Huang Liao remarked, "That man is truly arrogant."
"Daring to infiltrate the Bone Palace and escape unscathed speaks volumes about his cultivation and strength. He has earned the right to be arrogant!" Li Weiyi had asked the young vendor his name earlier, but the man had only replied, "My surname is Liu."
Li Weiyi had never disliked arrogant people.
Arrogance coupled with a principled, benevolent heart, and the strength to back it up, made such individuals particularly intriguing to Li Weiyi.
Unfortunately, the vendor remained aloof.
Li Weiyi continued his search for Phoenix Blood Tree Leaves in the Dead Spirit Market, while also sweeping up Millennium Essence Herbs.
Though Li Weiyi failed to find any more Millennium Essence Herbs among the Phoenix Blood Tree Leaves, he still purchased over twenty saplings, a costly endeavor that left Huang Liao secretly astounded.
The Dead Spirit Market was vast, teeming with various Dead Spirits and Malevolent Demons.
Not all were the decaying corpses and skeletal beings one might expect; there were also Demons, Liquid Demons, Aquatic Demon Clan members, Shadow Clan members, Stone Beastmen, Faceless Ones, and more, each a spectacle that broadened Li Weiyi's horizons.
Located just two thousand li from the East Sea, this area already fell within the sphere of influence of the Aquatic Demon Clan.
On the coastal lands, Demons and humans, Demons and Dead Spirits, often coexisted.
Huang Liao remarked, "Actually, when cultivating the Immortal Body, Phoenix Blood Tree Bark is even more effective than the leaves."
Li Weiyi, scanning the market, chuckled, "Phoenix Blood Tree Leaves are already exceedingly rare; the bark must be even harder to obtain. We can't just barge into Old Yu Prefecture City like Young Master Liu, can we? That's far too dangerous!"
Huang Liao replied, "The truly valuable treasures aren't displayed on stalls; you need connections to access them. Having spent decades in Huangjiang Border City, I've cultivated some connections. I know a place where you can acquire Phoenix Blood Tree Bark and even more Millennium Essence Herbs."
Li Weiyi's eyes flickered with amusement.
"Why didn't you mention this sooner, Manager Huang?"
Huang Liao forced a bitter smile, "I wasn't aware of Brother Li's wealth and influence. Those hidden places are reserved for major clients only."
....
In the southeastern corner of the Fallen Spirit Market stood a grand mansion, its entrance illuminated by four ghost fire lanterns.
The surroundings were eerily silent, the massive gates tightly sealed and plastered with talismans.
Eighteen Yin Banners were planted around the mansion's perimeter, forming a formidable defensive Great Formation.
Li Songjian, the eldest son of the Cangli Tribe Chief of the Jiu Li Clan, was the elder brother of Hidden Lord Li Songgu and First Commander Li Songlin. Though eighty-seven years old, he appeared to be in his fifties.
Dressed in a gray-white robe, his face radiated authority as he conferred in hushed tones with another middle-aged man within the brightly lit main hall.
For years, Li Songjian had been assisting the Twin Rice Sect in the Mangshan Mountain, cultivating Benevolent Rice.
Li Weiyi first encountered him when entering the Jiu Li Ancestral Realm to retrieve seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors.
At that time, Li Songjian was escorting a convoy of eighty-three carriages, each carrying Ren Dao children.
The soil within the Jiu Li Ancestral Realm contained Spiritual Soil, capable of nurturing Rice People with exceptional innate talent.
Over the past decades, Li Songjian had regularly traveled between Li Province and Huangjiang Border City, transporting Rice People and secretly salvaged Otherworldly Coffins to this location.
Ever since Li Songgu, acting as an elder, presided over Li Weiyi and Zuoqiu Hongting's engagement ceremony in Qiu Prefecture City, his exposure as a Holy Spiritual Master had nearly revealed his identity as the Hidden Lord.
This prompted Li Songjian to become increasingly vigilant.
A month prior, when the Jiu Li Clan conscripted troops to attack the Twin Rice Sect, Li Songjian sensed imminent danger.
He decisively left the Cangli Tribe and temporarily settled in Huangjiang Border City to observe the unfolding situation.
Half a month ago, he received an order from the Twin Rice Sect's Divine Son, instructing him to prepare ships, carriages, and soul steeds in Huangjiang Border City - the more, the better.
The middle-aged man sitting beside him was Huo Dingnan, Vice Sect Leader of the Heavenly Unity (Tianyi) Sect and one of Li Province's most formidable powerhouses.
Huo Dingnan, exactly a century old this year, was not only the Vice Sect Leader but also the President of the Heavenly Unity Chamber of Commerce.
He commanded a vast network of talent, with experts as numerous as clouds, and controlled immense resources.
The Twin Rice Sect had dispatched him to assist Li Songjian in coordinating the reception efforts.
Li Songjian cradled a steaming teacup, "I heard the Forbidden One from Coffin Mountain fell in Lingxiao City. Even the two Rice Ancestors were defeated by the Calamity Crossing Temple Immortal Master and the Zuoqiu Family's Confucian-Dao Ancestor. Can we truly survive by fleeing to the island?"
Huo Dingnan said, "What, you want to return to Li Province? The Jiu Li Hidden Sect is too powerful. Not only is it led by Ancestor Cangming, but it also boasts multiple Immortal Realm Great Powers and commands a terrifying intelligence network. Rumor has it that even the Divine Sect suffered heavy losses at their hands during the Battle of Lingxiao City. What makes you think they haven't uncovered your true identity? Their inaction thus far likely stems from a desire not to alert you."
Li Songjian's expression darkened.
Huo Dingnan lowered his voice further: "In my opinion, the island expedition is a ruse to deceive the Zuoqiu Sect and the Jiu Li Clan. Their true destination is the legendary Rice Prefecture."
Li Songjian had heard rumors of Rice Prefecture.
Legend claimed that one of the Three Great Sufferers, an Old Farmer, had used extraordinary means to drive back the darkness deep within the Nether Realm of the Dead, carving out a small Life Realm.
For decades, the Rice People children and Otherworldly Coffins he sent to Huangjiang Border City had likely been transported there.
Outside, hurried footsteps approached.
Yao Qingfeng, still in the courtyard, exclaimed joyfully, "Brother Li, a big fish! Huang Liao has brought us a massive fish this time!"
In the side hall to the right of the main hall, Li Songjian's wife, Madam Yang, and Yang Qingxi peered curiously through the window lattice.
Madam Yang, whose given name was Yang Lin, hailed from the Sui Sect. She was Yang Qingxi's aunt.
Li Songjian frowned, "At a time like this, you're still engaging in these schemes? The Zuoqiu Sect and the Jiu Li Clan's armies could strike at any moment."
Yao Qingfeng entered the main hall and bowed to Li Songjian and Huo Dingnan, "We are members of the Jiu Li Clan. What do we have to fear? The Coffin Mountain Forbidden One is dead, the Twin Rice Sect has been utterly defeated, and we've essentially regained our freedom."
"Has the Death Spirit Fire Xu Fodu implanted within you been neutralized?" Li Songjian asked sternly.
Yao Qingfeng shifted uncomfortably, "The person will be delivered soon. It's too late to stop it now."
Li Songjian sighed helplessly and slammed his teacup down heavily, "Who is it this time?"
"A young man with remarkably high cultivation," Yao Qingfeng replied.
"Conservative estimates suggest he's cultivated a Dao Lotus. He's traveling with a Pure Immortal Physique girl, carries a Cosmic Pouch, and is skilled in setting up formations."
"Are you certain he's young?" Huo Dingnan pressed, "Don't provoke some ancient monster in disguise."
Yao Qingfeng waved his hand dismissively with a smile, "Relax. Huang Liao has seen countless faces; he wouldn't misjudge someone's age."
After all, how strong could a young Martial-Mystic Cultivator possibly be?
_______________________
END OF CHAPTER
Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
************************************