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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 1: [Nether Realm of the Dead]
Chapter 9: [Strange Occurrences on the Ship]
(9th of Volume 1)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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For the next two days, Li Weiyi remained in bed, feigning illness.
In reality, he was completely immersed in exploring the Transcendent Realm, and the number of Silver veins in his body had increased to thirteen.
This meant he now had thirteen pathways for Qi Circulation.
Despite repeated attempts, he couldn't find a way to add more Silver veins.
Fortunately, the thirteen veins already covered his entire body. Using them as channels for the Scorching Qi Flow to nourish his flesh, blood, bones, and tendons, Li Weiyi had undergone a complete transformation in just two days.
His hearing and vision were sharper, his senses more acute, and his physical functions had improved beyond measure.
He felt as if he had an inexhaustible supply of power within him, enough to punch a bull to death.
The injury to his left arm was also healing at an astonishing rate.
The wound had already partially closed and scabbed over, allowing him to lift and grasp objects with ease.
As long as he didn't exert too much force, there was no pain.
Such rapid self-healing defied all logic and was utterly incomprehensible.
Li Weiyi estimated that with the continued nourishment of the Scorching Qi Flow, his arm would be fully healed in another two or three days.
If he didn't need to conceal his true strength to avoid suspicion of having truly swallowed the Buddha's Relic, Li Weiyi would have rushed outside immediately to test his current physical capabilities.
He suspected his speed and power would shock even himself.
Over the past few days, he had been ravenously hungry, his appetite insatiable.
This stood in stark contrast to Professor Xu in the adjacent bed, who had no appetite at all.
As a result, most of the meals the students brought for Professor Xu ended up in Li Weiyi's stomach.
"Since I can't open any more Silver Veins, I'll put Transcendence exploration on hold for now. I should go outside and see what the Bronze Ship is really like... and find something to eat while I'm at it."
For the past two days, he had only heard people talking about the Bronze Ship's immense size, how it sometimes got lost in the fog, the eerie atmosphere of the Graveyard Forest with its strange noises, and the Golden Crow's corpse, as massive as a mountain, its radiant light illuminating the darkness and its heat warding off the bitter cold.
But these descriptions meant little to him.
With his injuries healing and Transcendence power coursing through him, Li Weiyi's confidence surged, completely erasing the confusion and anxiety he had felt just two days earlier.
Human confidence stems from genuine resources, superior strength, or a solid support system - not from empty encouragement that magically transforms doubt into self-assurance.
"The first bird to stick its head out gets hammered down," Li Weiyi thought, not wanting to stand out too much and become a target.
So, he pretended to struggle as he sat up, his feet slowly searching for the floor, just like any other injured patient.
"Brother Li, what are you doing out of bed?"
"Do you need help?"
Gao Huan's injuries weren't too serious. The sprain in his neck had already healed, but his broken right arm was still splinted and wrapped in gauze.
He had just woken up and was about to relieve himself.
Li Weiyi and Gao Huan walked out of the medical tent together.
When Li Weiyi saw the scene on the bronze deck outside, even though he had been mentally prepared, he was still deeply shocked.
A chill ran down his spine and straight to his head.
It was like the underworld.
Tombstones, burial mounds, Ghost Banners, and Prayer Flags filled the deck, shrouded in a thick Nether Mist that severely limited visibility.
Above, dark Netherclouds hung low, almost pressing down on their heads, creating an oppressive, suffocating atmosphere.
Earlier, they said that they could only see three or four rows of burial mounds, making the Graveyard Forest feel like a maze.
Li Weiyi's eyes, nourished by the Scorching Qi Flow, could see much farther.
He could see seven or eight rows of burial mounds, and the mist didn't obscure his vision within a hundred meters.
However, the deck was five hundred meters wide, and the mysterious, profound atmosphere of "lost in the mountains, hidden by deep clouds" still lingered, inspiring a sense of awe.
The only source of light was the Golden Crow's corpse, as the research team members called it.
They said that seeing it up close was incredibly awe-inspiring.
Though it had been dead for countless ages, its feathers still radiated intense heat and brilliant light.
But Li Weiyi, separated by the dense Nether Mist, could only make out a vast expanse of dark red light.
It resembled a dark red mountain, its details and the outline of the corpse obscured.
"At first, there was no mist this thick on the Bronze Ship. It only grew denser after we set sail."
"They say many strange things have been happening. Some people in the Graveyard Forest have encountered ghostly camel caravans, their bells clanging as they vanished into a tombstone bearing a Ghost Banner."
"Others claim to have heard the clanking of chains and the grating sound of claws scraping metal from deep beneath the ground while walking through the Graveyard Forest. This ship must have been sealed with some unspeakable horror, but no one knows how to get inside. We can't even find an entrance."
"We've definitely fallen into the legendary Netherworld. Remember the giant beast, the Nine Infants, that capsized the research vessel? It was snatched away by a golden claw. I tell you, it was definitely the divine claw of the Kunpeng."
"How big is the Kunpeng? No one knows how many thousands of miles it spans. Zhuangzi witnessed it firsthand during his dream journey to the Netherworld."
"The Netherworld is terrifying and vast. It invaded Earth during the Xia and Shang dynasties. Back then, the gods of Earth thought it was a demon from the North Sea. No one could have imagined that the Netherworld was hidden within the Microscopic World."
...
After relieving himself, Gao Huan pulled Li Weiyi aside and began rambling about various myths and legends, along with his own speculations.
When asked where he'd learned them, he rattled off obscure book titles Li Weiyi had never heard of.
They went to the galley and found some food to fill their bellies.
As they passed a patch of newly dug, low graves, Gao Huan sighed wistfully, "When we set out, the Long Ji had 117 souls aboard. Only 82 survived, and a dozen or so of those are critically injured."
There were three medical tents set up on the deck.
The one Li Weiyi and Gao Huan were in was near the ship's railing, just one of them.
"Just because we're alive doesn't mean it's a blessing," Li Weiyi thought, his mood sinking as he imagined the ship's crew soon descending into conflict over dwindling food and water, leading them step by step toward their doom.
The Microscopic World was bound to be different from Earth.
Without land to reach, their current supplies wouldn't last long.
Li Weiyi had heard that the research team members had tried to draw water from the dark, invisible depths of the sea by tying a metal bucket to a rope.
They lowered it over a hundred meters before finally reaching the surface.
But as they tried to draw water, a tremendous force nearly pulled the research team member down.
Repeated attempts yielded the same result.
They could hear the sound of waves, but couldn't bring up any water.
Something dangerous lurked beneath the surface.
"You're absolutely right!" Gao Huan whispered after scanning their surroundings.
"I heard that to solve the food and water crisis, the higher-ups decided to analyze and experiment with the blood from the Golden Crow and Black Dragon corpses. Dr. Cai herself conducted the tests and delivered the results yesterday. I don't know if it's safe to drink directly."
"I also heard that Xie Tianshu proposed using the severely injured for experiments. If successful, they might recover. If it fails, it would save a lot of food and water."
"But this proposal was unanimously rejected by the higher-ups. In my opinion, it's only a matter of time before they implement it. Once food and water dwindle and the living conditions worsen, they'll hypocritically ask the injured for their consent. In reality, the injured will have no choice."
"Once they've exhausted the injured, it'll be our turn - the old, the weak, and the sick. It's always a matter of survival of the fittest, with a clear hierarchy of classes."
Li Weiyi said, "Perhaps there's another way."
Gao Huan, greatly intrigued, asked, "What way?"
Li Weiyi pointed towards the towering mound of graves ahead.
Cai Yutong was leading a dozen research team members, excavating the gray-white soil from the mound.
They were spreading it across three patches of deck near the ship's railing, each about half an acre in size.
Beside the patches, several sacks of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and various vegetable seeds were prepared. Several buckets of blood from the Black Dragon and Golden Crow were also set aside.
Gao Huan burst into laughter: "Dr. Cai always has a solution! Right, we can start with plant experiments. And the research vessel has a relatively abundant water supply, so we can definitely grow some vegetables and fruits for self-sufficiency."
Hearing the laughter, Cai Yutong turned to look at the two men. Her face immediately darkened as she strode over.
"Who told you to leave the medical tent? The wind on deck is freezing. Your body is still weak - can you handle it? You've barely recovered, and you're already causing trouble?"
"She is talking to you!" Li Weiyi whispered.
Gao Huan was stunned.
Meeting Cai Yutong's gaze, he stammered, "I... I'm not that weak. I wasn't causing trouble. I just came out to... to take a leak."
"This has nothing to do with you."
Standing just a few steps away, Cai Yutong launched into another round of scolding and warnings, her eyes practically willing Li Weiyi back to the medical tent.
The Senior Sister's personality was indeed a bit overbearing.
But after she had given him blood and cared for him, Li Weiyi found it hard to muster much resistance.
Only after she had finished her tirade did Li Weiyi speak, his voice as gentle as he could make it: "Senior Sister, your mood has been a bit unstable lately. If you're feeling pressured or need help, please tell me right away. Perhaps I can be of assistance."
Li Weiyi suspected that Cai Yutong's "hostility" stemmed from the immense pressure she was under from her superiors.
It was possible someone was even forcing her to conduct experiments on living subjects.
Gao Huan clearly misunderstood.
He quickly chimed in, "Drink plenty of warm water and stay warm."
By the time Cai Yutong realized what was happening, the two men had already slipped away.
"That was terrifying! Brother Li, take my advice: no matter how beautiful or well-built, never marry a female doctor," Gao Huan said, still shaken.
Li Weiyi chuckled: "You've got the wrong idea entirely. We're just alumni who've known each other for only a few days."
"Alumni? Just alumni wouldn't care about you this much. She's said more to you than to anyone else combined, and she even fed you fish soup. I had a whole bunch of classmates on the ship, but who brought me fish soup, let alone fed it to me?" Gao Huan said.
"Senior Sister is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. That's just her personality."
Li Weiyi gazed at the dark red patch of light in the distance, looming like a mountain in the mist, and couldn't suppress his curiosity.
"I want to see the Black Dragon's corpse and the Golden Crow's corpse."
In his mind, he recalled the bizarre sights he had seen on the Bronze Ship as his body shrank after falling into the Arctic Ocean.
At its clearest, the Bronze Ship was only the size of a fishing boat, right before his eyes.
He had clearly seen two forces - Immortal Radiance and Nether Mist - enveloping the ship.
The Immortal Radiance emanated from the stern, where a unique and magnificent ancient architectural complex stood, resembling the palace of immortals.
What could be there?
"Let's go together. I haven't seen them with my own eyes either. They're legendary divine beasts. I wonder how they died? And why are they still glowing and radiating heat after death?"
"It's too incredible. This ship must be from some glorious and magnificent era of the primordial wilderness, or perhaps it's taking us there right now."
Gao Huan was quite excited. He and Li Weiyi walked toward the dark red light patch at the stern of the ship.
"Actually, given your special relationship with Dr. Cai, you should quietly ask her for the real story. If the blood of the Golden Crow and Black Dragon is truly drinkable, we could each have a few cups. It'd be no different from taking an elixir! Who knows, your arm might be fully healed by tomorrow."
Li Weiyi replied, "Senior Sister and I have no special relationship! Besides, if the blood of the Golden Crow and Black Dragon could be drunk directly, why would she have taken people to clear land for cultivation?"
Gao Huan had another theory.
"Women, don't listen to what she says or watch what she does. You have to make her fall madly in love with you. Only then will she lose her reason and tell you the truth. Who can prove Dr. Cai hasn't been secretly drinking the blood herself and then telling everyone it's poisonous?"
"Weiyi, I'm a few years older than you. I know these women all too well. They'll laugh and joke with you, acting like best friends, but when you're lying injured in bed, you won't even get a bowl of fish soup."
Li Weiyi felt Gao Huan was still dwelling on the fish soup incident.
"Actually... your injury wasn't that serious. You could have gone to the kitchen yourself. Everyone was busy, so they might have overlooked you."
After careful consideration, Gao Yutang reluctantly accepted Li Weiyi's guess.
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END OF CHAPTER
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