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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 2: [Jiuli Insect Valley]
Chapter 88 (116): [The Ancient Town That Cannot Be Reached]
(88th of Volume 2)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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"I have a Spiritual Artifact! I have one!"
An Eighth Spring Martial-Mystic Cultivator, overjoyed, unclipped his Spiritual Artifact blade.
Seeing Li Weiyi nod, he immediately turned and sprinted away without looking back.
A Seven Springs Martial-Mystic Cultivator frantically searched his pockets, then wailed, "I only have five hundred Yongquan Coins! Can anyone lend me some? If I can gather three thousand to buy my life, I'll take good care of your wives and daughters when I get out!"
"Get lost! You only have five hundred Yongquan Coins? What are you even thinking? I have two Blood Crystals worth two thousand Yongquan Coins. Who can lend me the rest? We can't all die here!"
"I have a Five Seas Realm Pill. Can I use that to buy my life?"
...
Li Weiyi's eyes gleamed brighter.
These peak Surging Spring Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators had been hoarding quite a few valuable treasures.
His expression remained cold as he said calmly, "Anything of value - whether it's thirty thousand silver coins or three thousand Yongquan Coins - can buy your life. I keep my word."
Everyone knew that borrowing money was never easy; it required strength. Those with sufficient power could simply refuse to repay.
Soon, four Seven Springs Martial-Mystic Cultivators from the same faction were locked in a brutal battle.
In the end, only one survived. He gathered all the treasures and coin pouches, presented them to Li Weiyi, and then limped away with grievous injuries. Whether he would encounter Fallen Spirit Fiends or make it back to Yaoguan City alive was now a matter of fate.
Li Weiyi smiled bitterly: "I only wanted to minimize the bloodshed, but this has turned even more cruel. Maybe I should just rob everyone fleeing here and let them all go!"
"Human nature is like this," Yaoyin said, her voice thick with bitterness, "To survive, they'll do anything. When they hunted down young Martial-Mystic Cultivators of the Jiu Li Tribe, they never once considered how cruel they were being. The Jiu Li Tribe had never wronged them!"
Her hatred was clearly deeper than Li Weiyi's.
"Alright, I'll leave the rest to you. Same price as before."
Li Weiyi glanced at Wang Daozhen in the distance, unable to resist asking, "If you offer 100,000 Yongquan Coins, I'll spare your life."
Wang Daozhen gritted his teeth and sneered, taking two steps back before turning and fleeing toward Yaoguan City.
With Surging Spring Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators returning one after another, the situation couldn't be kept secret. No matter how unwilling he was, how terrified he felt, he had to rush back to report.
If he could come up with a convincing explanation, perhaps he could still survive.
....
Li Weiyi found a flat, elevated spot and sat down to meditate and heal his injuries.
Amidst the sounds of footsteps...
Another group of fleeing peak Surging Spring Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators arrived at the Five Seas Realm boundary, their faces alight with excitement, believing they had finally escaped certain death.
....
The Nine First Commanders of the Jiu Li Tribe had been waiting about a hundred miles from the boundary of the Five Seas Realm, some meditating, others resting with their eyes closed, and still others pacing anxiously.
For five days, cultivators had been entering the realm without a single one returning.
This was highly abnormal!
Li Songlin paced back and forth on the six-meter-wide riverside dirt road, his hands clasped behind his back.
"I sense something's wrong! It's been nearly six days, and not a single message has come out. We should mobilize the troops immediately!"
The Shou Li First Commander suggested, "Perhaps the internal space of Burial Immortal Town has expanded, and a large quantity of rare medicine has emerged. That's why everyone is reluctant to leave, busy gathering herbs."
Yao Xingyue, the Yso Li First Commander, countered, "Sima Qin may be strong, but he's still just one man. Two fists can't fight four hands. Why don't you all wait here while Songlin and I return to Yaoguan City to mobilize the troops? If there's still no news by the ninth day, we'll disregard the rules and send the army in directly."
Snowflakes drifted down in a flurry, pure white and ethereal, creating a serene and beautiful scene.
"Xingyue, you still have that fiery temper," the San Chen Palace First Commander remarked, "The Jiu Li Tribe has its armies, but does the Sui Sect have none? Are the troops trained by the San Chen Palace, Tianyi Gate, and Coffin Sea Pavilion just for show?"
The enemy was still ten miles away, yet their elegant, warm voice resonated in each First Commander's ear, like a soft whisper.
This level of cultivation was truly astonishing, and the Nine First Commanders paled in unison.
Yao Xingyue, the strongest among the Nine First Commanders and known as the Jiu Li First Commander, wore an expression of grave seriousness.
"He's grown even stronger! Perhaps the rumors are true - that he'll enter the Immortal Realm within sixty years."
An hour later, Yao Qian, the Sui Sect First Commander, arrived in his carriage amidst the swirling snow.
The road and the trees lining it were blanketed in a thick layer of snow.
Silver-horned deer pulled the carriage, which was driverless, its curtains tightly drawn. The wheels left two dark tracks in the snow as the carriage halted precisely thirty feet from the Nine First Commanders.
This distance symbolized respect - ten feet per leader - a gesture of courtesy before the inevitable conflict.
Yao Xingyue had already risen from his meditative posture: "Even you have come personally. It seems the Four Great Sects' attack will be far more ferocious than we anticipated."
From within the carriage, Yao Qian's voice echoed, "This battle was destined to come. Haven't we all known that deep down?"
"But by cooperating with the Earth Wolf King's Army, you're inviting wolves into our home," Yao Xingyue countered, "You can't be unaware of the Barbarian Bandits' brutal tactics of burning, killing, and looting."
Fourteen years ago, before the Four Great Sects bared their fangs, relations between them were harmonious.
Yao Xingyue and Yao Qian were even close friends - at least, Yao Xingyue had considered the latter his best friend at that time.
Yao Qian said calmly, "The Jiu Li Tribe has been paying tribute to the Buddha's Salvation Bandits every year, funding their weakness and cowardice. Is that something to be admired? Xingyue, what is rotten and outdated must be overthrown. This chaotic era demands ambition, not complacent stagnation. The means to success matter little - whether through the strength of Barbarian Bandits or the power of the Demon Clan, no price is too high. When I achieve my goals, the disciples of the Sui Sect will write my biography, extolling my achievements for millennia to come."
Li Songlin scoffed: "Yao Qian, you truly are a master of sophistry! You aspire to eternal glory, but your ambition far outstrips your capabilities. In the end, you'll become a mere pawn in someone else's grand scheme. Everyone seeks to transform into a dragon, but who among us is the true dragon?"
Qi Li First Commander(Jia Shou), a man with a Pure Immortal Physique, summoned seven swords that began to orbit him: "Why waste time arguing with him? Something has definitely gone wrong at Burial Immortal Town. Let's strike together and eliminate him today. We must mobilize our forces immediately - any further delay could be fatal!"
"Eliminate me? Do you really think I came alone?" Yao Qian retorted.
A massive Demon Cloud surged forth from the broad Sui River.
The Demon Clan Leader from Heavenly Cliff Ridge, his mountain-like body striding across the river with earth-shattering force, laughed, "It's been so many days, and you're only reacting now? Isn't it already too late?"
The First Commander from San Chen Palace, Tianyi Sect, and Coffin Sea Pavilion materialized one after another.
The San Chen Palace First Commander, a woman with a Pure Immortal Physique clad in palace robes, hovered impossibly in mid-air, seemingly fused with the very fabric of space.
She smiled, "Now it's your turn to worry about whether we'll slaughter you all here!"
The Nine First Commanders of the Jiu Li Tribe felt their hearts sink. It wasn't that they feared the First Commanders of the Four Great Sects and Heavenly Cliff Ridge would actually attack here.
After all, they had their own trump cards; if it came to a desperate fight, no one would emerge unscathed.
Their true concern lay with Burial Immortal Town.
Nearly six days had passed. Whatever was meant to happen there had likely already occurred.
Li Songlin, his eyes icy with worry for Cang Li, Li Ling, and Li Weiyi, said, "They want to trap us here, preventing us from going anywhere. Let's fight! Yao Qian was right: in chaotic times, we must advance, not seek false security."
Suddenly, the chaotic clatter of hooves erupted.
A procession carrying corpses approached from the direction of Burial Immortal Town.
Wang Daozhen rode alone at the head of the procession, his body battered and weakened, perched atop a sturdy warhorse.
He rode up to the assembled First Commanders.
"Thud!"
He tumbled sideways from his horse, forcing his severely wounded body to kneel before Yao Qian, tears streaming down his face as he reported, "First Commander... the Sixth-Generation Descendant is dead. Yang Yun is dead. Chen Jingtang is dead. Master Liu is dead... We were ambushed by two mysterious women whose cultivation is unfathomably deep... cough, cough I only survived by leaping into the boiling Sui River."
On his return journey, Wang Daozhen had already silenced the Surging Spring Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators who had witnessed his encounter.
Wang Daozhen described the mysterious women: "They fought fiercely and ruthlessly, clearly members of the Jiu Li Hidden Sect."
"The Sixth-Generation Descendant was slain by Sima Qin with three strikes. His strength far exceeds what anyone imagined - he didn't even need a second strike to kill a Nine Springs Supremes. Our combined force of Surging Spring Realm experts from over a dozen factions was utterly routed. If only I could break through to the Five Seas Realm, I would personally tear him limb from limb."
The news Wang Daozhen brought back shocked all the First Commanders present.
The Demon Clan Leader, enraged, let out a twisted laugh. "First he killed the Dharma Dao Fire Ape, then he slaughtered the Seed of Inheritance with Hundred Silver Meridians from Heavenly Cliff Ridge. Even if he has the backing of a great demon from the Far Western Ashlands, I will devise ten ways to kill him."
The San Chen Palace First Commander's smile vanished, not because he cared about Chen Jingtang and the others' deaths, but because he felt utterly humiliated.
Yao Qian remained in his carriage, but he had already detected several inconsistencies in Wang Daozhen's account.
His senses also picked up subtle clues from the corpses.
Yet, he couldn't execute Wang Daozhen in anger now, not with the Jiu Li Tribe's Nine First Commanders secretly gloating and eager to witness his downfall.
After a moment of silence, Yao Qian praised, "Excellent, excellent! The Jiu Li Hidden Sect has finally revealed itself. Our plan has succeeded! The Surging Spring Realm battlefield holds little significance; the Five Seas Realm is where the true battle lies. How severe are your injuries?"
Wang Daozhen hadn't anticipated that the usually astute First Commander would fall for his deception. He quickly replied, "It's nothing... I... cough cough... I can still fight for the Sect..."
Yao Qian couldn't bear to look at him any longer: "In that case, hurry to the Five Seas Realm cultivators' path and inform Qingxi and the others about the two women from the Jiu Li Hidden Sect."
There were some details Wang Daozhen couldn't fabricate.
Yao Qian believed that these two mysterious and powerful women had indeed appeared.
Whether they were members of the Jiu Li Hidden Sect or not, they were worth capturing.
After Wang Daozhen rode back to Burial Immortal Town, the Shou Li First Commander surveyed the long line of horses and the corpses strapped to their backs.
Finally, he burst into raucous laughter: "I thought your schemes ran deep and your preparations were thorough, making me worry for nothing. It seems your Surging Spring Realm disciples suffered heavy casualties!"
Yao Qian replied calmly, "When half of the Jiu Li Tribe's Five Seas Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators return alive, then you can laugh."
....
Li Weiyi, fully recovered from his injuries, surveyed the pile of treasures scattered across the ground: Crimson Haze Herbs, Spiritual Artifacts, Blood Crystals, Medicinal Pills, money pouches... everything imaginable.
In the distance, corpses lay stacked like a small mountain - victims of the desperate infighting over loans.
'These people all planned to borrow without repaying.They deserved their fate.'
No more fugitives had arrived in the past four hours. Clearly, this "waiting for rabbits" method of earning money wouldn't last.
Unlike leeks, which regrow after each harvest, this well would soon run dry.
"You've earned it!" Li Weiyi said, "Pick whatever you want first."
Yaoyin had contributed significantly, and Li Weiyi wouldn't begrudge her share. He wasn't stingy; he simply valued frugality and resourcefulness.
Yaoyin gently shook her head, then held out her palm: "Can I have these silver-thread gloves?"
"You have a good eye," Li Weiyi remarked.
"Their value probably exceeds everything else here combined."
He knew that many Spiritual Artifacts required Five Seas Realm cultivation to unleash their true power.
'Spiritual Artifacts are inherently designed for Five Seas Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators.'
Yaoyin pouted, momentarily revealing a rare girlish side.
"I cultivate palm techniques," she said coquettishly, "These gloves are perfect for me. I don't want my hands pierced again. If I have to, I'll buy them."
"Forget it! I still owe you a large sum of Blood Crystals. Consider this payment in kind!"
Li Weiyi gathered all the treasures and coins scattered on the ground into his Evil Camel Bell. He then carried the limbless Yang Yun and, together with Yaoyin, rode swiftly back to the Jiu Li Tribe's Martial-Mystic Cultivator camp.
From the camp, they could see Burial Immortal Town in the distance, shrouded in Immortal Haze. Its earthen walls and green-tiled roofs formed a dense cluster of buildings.
The town was approximately five or six miles away.
Within the town, a thick, luminous pillar of light shot straight into the sky, illuminating the surroundings so brightly that even the dense fog couldn't obscure it. The Immortal Haze seemed to emanate both from the pillar and from the town itself, spreading outward like a celestial aura.
When Yaoyin saw Li Weiyi heading toward Burial Immortal Town, she quickly caught up.
"You can't reach Burial Immortal Town! From here, it looks only a few miles away, but if you go any further, you'll enter a vast, Immortal Realm-like alternate dimension. It's as if space itself has been violently stretched there. That ancient town is now beyond reach."
Li Weiyi had already noticed the anomalous region of Immortal Haze ahead - a chaotic barrier of swirling energy that separated him from Burial Immortal Town.
"If we cross this barrier, we'll enter the so-called Immortal Realm Space?" Li Weiyi asked, his curiosity piqued.
Yaoyin nodded: "But once you enter, you're likely to encounter Martial-Mystic Cultivators from the Five Seas Realm, or even ancient monsters from the Dao Seed Realm. The Immortal Realm Space is chaotic, with cultivators of all levels gathering herbs within. There are separate paths into the Immortal Realm Space for Dao Seed Realm and Immortal Realm cultivators, leading to different areas than the Surging Spring Realm and Five Seas Realm paths."
Li Weiyi immediately abandoned the idea, suppressing his curiosity for the time being.
After all, the Jiu Li Tribe had plenty of Martial-Mystic Cultivators willing to risk entering the Immortal Realm Space for herbs. He wouldn't be missed.
"The Mount Mangshan Grand Festival lasts nine days. After it concludes, tell everyone not to rush back. The road to Yaoguan City is likely to be very dangerous right now."
With these instructions given, Li Weiyi found a spot closest to Burial Immortal Town, retrieved his Spring-Breaking Needle, and began absorbing Immortal Haze to continue his attack on the Tenth Spring.
He wasn't concerned about others discovering his ability to absorb Immortal Haze. He couldn't be the only Martial-Mystic Cultivator capable of it, considering how many medicinal herbs could also absorb it.
Half a month flew by.
Li Weiyi sat in meditation, his upper body bare. Immortal Haze radiated from every pore of his skin, his handsome features radiating an otherworldly grace.
He didn't possess a Pure Immortal Physique; instead, he resembled a true immortal cultivating in the mortal realm.
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END OF CHAPTER
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