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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 6: [Battle for the True Inheritance]
Chapter 27 (568): [Soldier's Soul Technique]
(27th of Volume 6)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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"I'll also exchange for a Six-Thousand-Year-Old Essence Herb!"
Li Weiyi wasn't currently lacking cultivation resources; his sole focus was nurturing all seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors to the Immortal Realm.
The more allies he had, the better his ability to handle danger.
These were Emperor-Monarch Grade rare insects, requiring almost no cultivation.
Simply growing to maturity would make them seven beings comparable to Martial-Mystic Dao Heavenly Emperors.
But not all living beings are created equal.
Snakes, insects, fish, and birds seeking Dragon Transformation must endure millions of years of arduous cultivation, risking life and limb in the dangerous leap through the Dragon Gate. Yet Young Dragons, merely by eating their fill and growing, could possess such power.
The catch?
Getting their fill was no easy feat.
Across the table, Liu Tianchen silently observed Li Weiyi.
After a moment, he said, "I knew you'd ask for a Millennium Essence Herb! But killing Qin Zhengyang earns you 30,000 Merit Points and a Six-Thousand-Year-Old Essence Herb. Xie Wumian only grants 20,000 Merit Points and a Five-Thousand-Year-Old Essence Herbs."
"Deputy Sentinel Lord," Li Weiyi cautioned, "the Tai Yin Envoy has reached the Second Realm. He's no ordinary opponent."
Liu Tianchen said, "Xie Wumian not only reached the Second Realm but was almost certain to attain Great Immortal in the future, and then pursue the Transcendent Realm. That's why you received such a generous reward. Normally, killing a Great Immortal-level Ghost Monarch would only grant 30,000 Merit Points."
"You took the two most valuable Thousand-Inscriptions Artifacts from Xie Wumian, didn't you?"
Before Li Weiyi could reply, Liu Tianchen continued, "This lord knows you possess immense wealth, having purchased vast quantities of resources and secretly refined True Spiritual Pills for private sale. You might disdain a mere five-thousand-year-old Essence Herb. But such a herb is worth twenty million Yongquan Coins - two billion Silver Coins - enough to sustain an entire city and nurture multiple Immortal Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators."
The Cave Void Camp undoubtedly had a special organization monitoring every move of its Sentinels and Sentinel Spirits. News of Li Weiyi's True Spiritual Pill sales had already leaked.
Li Weiyi understood Liu Tianchen's unspoken message.
The meaning was clear: Liu Tianchen was willing to turn a blind eye to the matter.
Immediately, Li Weiyi refrained from further argument.
"Deputy Sentinel Lord, your wisdom is truly heroic. A five-thousand-year-old Essence Herb is quite satisfactory. What reward is offered for the Spiritual Light imprint?"
"Ten thousand Merit Points and a four-thousand-year-old Essence Herb."
Liu Tianchen pointed to the three medicine boxes on the table.
"The Shaoyang Division has a special hidden merit ledger. The Merit Points for this operation won't be listed on the Merit Ranking."
Li Weiyi opened the three Ice Medicine Boxes one after another, releasing a rich medicinal fragrance.
Inside lay three Essence Herbs, each radiating Radiant Hues.
Placed in any Life Realm, they could trigger significant turmoil.
While the four-thousand-year-old and five-thousand-year-old Essence Herbs couldn't directly elevate the Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperor to the Immortal Realm, they would still provide a substantial boost, shortening the time required for its natural transformation.
Li Weiyi stored the three medicine boxes in his Cosmic Pouch.
Before taking his leave, a thought struck him.
"The Hai Envoy infiltrated the Cave Void Camp," he asked, "Has their identity been confirmed?"
"Dealing with the Twelve Tai Yin Envoys is the Shaoyang Division's responsibility. The mission has already been assigned to your division. Whoever finds them will earn a great merit. If you fail to defeat them within the Cave Void Camp and instead die at their hands, allowing information to leak, the shame will be yours alone."
Liu Tianchen's demeanor remained calm and detached.
Such confrontations were excellent opportunities to temper the younger generation.
Following the calamity that claimed the lives of numerous Sentinel Spirits in the East Sea and three consecutive defeats, the Cave Void Camp had entered a state of high alert.
Beneath the seemingly calm surface, a comprehensive purge targeting the Taiyin Sect's hidden operatives was underway.
Li Weiyi's expression turned serious.
"I heard Xie Wumian mention that the Taiyin Sect intends to overthrow the Cave Void Camp, blinding the Sentinel Spirit Army and the Life Realms in the East Sea."
Of course, Xie Wumian hadn't actually said this.
Li Weiyi had used the Corpse Awakening Secret Technique to extract this information from a Sentinel Spirit who had been transformed into a battle corpse.
Now, he was relaying it through Xie Wumian's voice to warn the Deputy Sentinel Lord.
"You may leave now," Liu Tianchen said.
How could Liu Tianchen possibly be unaware of the Taiyin Sect's objectives?
From the moment the Immortal Dao Dragon Meridian had awakened, the world had entered a new era of great upheaval.
No one could hope to remain untouched.
Li Weiyi meticulously described Xie Wumian's gaze, tone, Divine Essence, and other details to Elder Qin.
The two refined and rehearsed the performance until it was perfect.
After exchanging Sentinel Spirit Tokens, Li Weiyi finally left the Camp Hall.
For the next period, he planned to ignore these trivial matters and focus entirely on cultivation.
He would refine his cultivation base and Dao Techniques, and digest the gains he had made recently.
Having joined the Shaoyang Division, he was no longer bound by the strict regulations of the new recruit camp.
Now, he only answered to the Holy Commander, granting him far greater freedom with his time.
As he walked across the Azure Jade Plaza, bathed in sunlight, the graceful figure of the Rice Palace's True Disciple unexpectedly surfaced in his mind.
'Could it really be her?'
'What is her connection to the Rice Mother?'
If it truly was her, why was she so cold, as if they were strangers?
'Could she have...?'
Li Weiyi thought of Corpse-Sowing Rice, of soul possession, of soul devouring - a myriad of possibilities.
He forced himself to dismiss these thoughts, but the unsettling images lingered, refusing to fade.
He couldn't accept the possibility that Jiang Ning might have died on her journey from Lingxiao City.
'If only I hadn't selfishly used Spiritual Light to knock her unconscious and let Zuoqiu Hongting take her away from Lingxiao City, would things have turned out differently?'
Li Weiyi sighed inwardly, realizing he had become anxious and insecure, no longer at peace.
The wind swept past.
Faintly, he recalled Jiang Ning's words from when she confronted him in Lingxiao City after learning he had become the Twin Rice Sect's Divine Son: "I don't believe you're the bloodthirsty, extremist type. Even if people change, even if one day you become a stranger, no longer the person you once were - the youth who would risk his life for others, the boy I knew in the Five Seas Realm Boundary at Burial Immortal Town, on the ship in Zhi Prefecture, on the sea at the Bing Juze Lake. He had ideals, responsibility, and kindness."
"If that day ever comes, I will do everything in my power to bring you back."
Li Weiyi believed that Jiang Ning had spoken those words with genuine sincerity, truly willing to sacrifice everything to reclaim the person he once was.
'If I were in her shoes...'
'Could I overcome all obstacles to bring her back?'
"Rice Palace's True Disciple!"
Li Weiyi clenched his fists, his gaze hardening.
In that moment, he yearned to break through to Immortal Realm as quickly as possible, to master the combat prowess of a True Disciple.
He needed to uncover the truth.
If Jiang Ning was dead, he would avenge her.
The Jiang Clan and the Rice Palace would pay the price.
For her heartfelt words, for that genuine emotion.
Even if... they had once shared only friendship!
Without sufficient cultivation strength, he might not even have the right to expose her true nature.
Ahead, a graceful azure figure stood, radiating an ethereal aura.
In her, Li Weiyi glimpsed a fleeting shadow of Jiang Ning.
He shook off the intrusive thought.
"Captain, you haven't left yet?"
Qing Zijin stood at the edge of Azure Jade Plaza, her icy demeanor as aloof as ever.
"You've broken through to become a Holy Spiritual Master. You'll undoubtedly be entering the Fire Abyss soon to absorb Heavenly Fire. The Deputy Sentinel Lord instructed me to transmit the Soldier's Soul Technique to you."
"What is the Soldier's Soul Technique?" Li Weiyi asked.
Qing Zijin pressed a jade slip into Li Weiyi's hand, then stepped onto Spiritual Light and descended the mountain.
"A method to protect your soul! Heavenly Fire can incinerate Cursed Abominations, but it can also burn our souls. Souls within physical bodies are naturally safe, as long as we keep the Heavenly Fire outside."
"But your Heavenly Surge Soul has already merged with your Spiritual Light. If you absorb Heavenly Fire into the Spirit Realm, won't it incinerate your soul?"
"With your innate talent and comprehension, you shouldn't need me to teach you. Comprehend and cultivate it yourself!"
Li Weiyi gripped the jade slip and hurried after the retreating Qing Zijin.
"Thank you, Captain, for imparting this technique! Before entering the Fire Abyss, is there anything else I should be aware of?"
Qing Zijin continued walking gracefully, her footsteps light as smoke.
"Before entering, it's best to wear a Spiritual Artifact Martial Garment. Don't venture too deep; the deeper you go, the higher the temperature and the more dangerous the Heavenly Fire becomes."
"Also, even with the Soldier's Soul Technique, as the Heavenly Fire intensifies in the Spirit Realm, your Heavenly Surge Soul will eventually be overwhelmed."
"If you can't endure it, retreat immediately. Don't stubbornly persist just because cultivation progresses faster inside. Damage to the soul affects your spirit and consciousness - this is no trivial matter."
Li Weiyi pressed for more information: "Inside, how much faster can Psychic Power cultivation progress? How long did you cultivate there?"
Though Qing Zijin disliked Li Weiyi, as captain, she felt obligated to explain the Fire Abyss's conditions: "The first absorption of Heavenly Fire yields the greatest cultivation boost, roughly twenty to thirty times the normal rate. Xue Yucai stayed for twenty-one days, while I remained for twenty-eight."
Li Weiyi was secretly astonished: "Captain, that's equivalent to several years of arduous cultivation? Did you manage to condense your eleventh Nianli (Psychic Power) Star?"
The process of condensing Nianli Stars from the tenth to the nineteenth marks the progression from the early to peak stages of the Holy Spiritual Master's First Realm.
Each star requires a massive investment of time and effort.
While the intensity of Spiritual Light doesn't noticeably increase between the early and peak stages of the First Realm, the quantity does.
Consequently, though there's a significant gap in cultivation strength, the disparity isn't insurmountable.
"Don't you think you're being rather presumptuous?" Qing Zijin shot him a cold glare.
Knowing Qing Zijin was an extremely serious and meticulous person, Li Weiyi refrained from flippant remarks or teasing, which would only backfire.
Instead, he offered a sincere apology: "My apologies! Cultivation levels are indeed not something one should disclose to others."
"It has been condensed," she replied, glancing at him before quickening her pace.
"The first time you cultivate in the Fire Abyss, your cultivation advances most rapidly. According to our instructors, the second time only offers ten times the cultivation speed, and it diminishes with each subsequent visit, eventually stabilizing at three times the normal rate."
"Even that's remarkable! Mastering the Fire Abyss would give the Cave Void Camp's Spiritual Master Guard a tremendous advantage," Li Weiyi remarked.
Qing Zijin countered, "Do you think we can enter the Fire Abyss whenever we please? After each cultivation session, you need at least a year to replenish your soul before entering again. Unless..."
Li Weiyi looked at her expectantly.
"There are rare treasures in the world that can nourish the soul," Qing Zijin explained, "such as the legendary Nether Soul Divine Marrow. The Nether Spirit, which lives for five hundred years of spring and five hundred years of autumn, completes its seasonal cycle every two thousand years. Its marrow fluid can replenish the soul."
"Li Weiyi, may I ask you a presumptuous question? Has your Martial-Mystic Dao broken through to Immortal Realm?"
Li Weiyi smiled: "So that's why the Captain, who usually dislikes me, is being so talkative today? You must be burning with curiosity, wanting to know how I managed to kill Xie Wumian."
Qing Zijin said, "Exactly! I refuse to believe that someone at the First Realm of a Holy Spiritual Master could defeat Xie Wumian."
Li Weiyi replied, "Of course I couldn't defeat Xie Wumian alone, but I've raised seven rare insects. Just like you, Captain, who commands Corpse Manipulation. Thirteen Immortal Corpses - imagine their combined combat power!"
"Since we're on the subject, I've been wanting to explain myself. There's been a misunderstanding between us. Li Weiyi is nothing like what you think. I'll definitely lend you my staff-spear in the future. Before... I swear, there was no mockery intended."
Qing Zijin stopped walking and turned to face him.
"Li Weiyi, you have a fiancée. I advise you to keep your distance from other women. Only then will I believe this was all a misunderstanding and trust your character."
"Also, I overheard your conversation with Tai Shi Yu beneath Blazing Absolute Mountain. I apologize for eavesdropping! If you're looking for a temporary Dao partner in Cave Void Camp, please choose someone else. I'm sure someone would be willing, given your exceptional talent and limitless future prospects."
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END OF CHAPTER
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