Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
***********************************
Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 3: [Qiu Prefecture Lantern Festival]
Chapter 28 (172): [The Immortal Forest of Qiu Prefecture]
(28th of Volume 3)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
***********************************
Li Weiyi had seen the world.
He had even stayed at the Heavenly Pavilion.
But the opulence of the Juze City's Heavenly Pavilion paled in comparison to the Immortal Forest before him. It was nothing more than a vulgar display of earthly excess, a mere flesh-and-wine garden.
The Qiu Prefecture Immortal Forest resembled a divine paradise. Spiritual Qi and mist billowed endlessly.
Though its gate was merely a stone archway, it was meticulously carved by a master of the Immortal Realm.
Amidst the swirling Spiritual Qi and mist, towering spirit trees reached for the heavens, their branches laden with Precious Medicine-grade fruits.
The pavilions and towers of the Immortal Forest hung suspended in the void, perched atop a vast array of floating islands.
Standing outside the gate, one could only glimpse a corner of these floating islands, connected by a celestial staircase. Within, male and female cultivators alike radiated an ethereal beauty, gazing down upon the teeming masses of mortals below.
Li Weiyi was turned away at the gate by a Aberrant Humanoid Martial-Mystic Cultivator.
The guard's cultivation was formidable, placing him in the Fifth-Stage Five Seas Realm, yet he was relegated to guarding the gate, like a guardian beast.
Li Weiyi understood the Immortal Forest's rules: "I don't need to enter! I only ask that you relay a message. Tell Miss Qin Li that a young man surnamed Chi is seeking an audience. We share a close friendship; she will surely see me."
The gatekeeper replied politely, "I am not a Pure Immortal Physique, so I cannot enter either. I am truly unable to help."
How could Li Weiyi believe that?
Even if he couldn't enter, there must be a way to contact someone inside.
'Greed!'
Li Weiyi gritted his teeth and pulled out a handful of silver coins, offering them to the Martial-Mystic Cultivator guarding the gate.
The Martial-Mystic Cultivator didn't even glance at the coins, continuing to smile.
"Young Master Chi, please return. Miss Qin Li is difficult for even us to meet, let alone you."
"My relationship with her is genuine, not a mere boast..."
"He's not a Pure Immortal Physique. Why is he allowed to enter?"
Li Weiyi pointed at a young man walking into the Immortal Grove's stone gate, accompanied by a group of Pure Immortal Physique men and women.
The young man was a Mortal, lacking the physical constitution of a Pure Immortal Physique. Yet he was dressed in luxurious attire and possessed an extraordinary bearing, with even the Pure Immortal Physique experts deferring to him.
The Martial-Mystic Cultivator guarding the gate was visibly moved, immediately gesturing for Li Weiyi to lower his voice.
"That is Lu Cangsheng, the Exceptional Prodigy personally selected by the Lord of the Immortal Grove, the Successor of the Thundercloud Sect."
Li Weiyi asked, "So there can be exceptions? What are the conditions?"
The Martial-Mystic Cultivator sighed, clearly exasperated: "Don't even think about it! In the younger generation, only a handful of names are even presented to the Lord of the Immortal Grove for consideration, and even fewer are actually selected. It might take three or five years to find another one."
Even though their conversation was hushed, it still caught Lu Cangsheng's attention. He paused slightly and glanced over.
Qin Qian, a woman with a Pure Immortal Physique at the Sixth Sea of the Five Seas Realm, stood beside Lu Cangsheng. She also glanced at Li Weiyi and chuckled softly.
"Senior Brother, you see now, don't you? There's no need to be so cautious and overestimate your opponents. Not everyone is exceptionally talented. The world is full of mediocre individuals who remain blissfully unaware of their own limitations."
"Let's go," Lu Cangsheng said calmly.
The group vanished into the swirling mist of spiritual qi.
The gatekeeper Martial-Mystic Cultivator spread his hands helplessly and sighed: "See? Just a laughingstock."
Despite the inexplicable mockery, Li Weiyi showed no anger. He simply sighed inwardly, realizing that in this world, being young and unknown meant standing like a mere lackey.
Even entering a gate or delivering a single message was an arduous task.
Who would take you seriously?
Who would give you the benefit of the doubt?
"Brother Tian Shu!"
A familiar voice called out.
Li Weiyi turned to see Shi Shishi, the chubby young man, standing at the edge of the street in the distance, waving frantically.
"You're here in Qiu Prefecture City too?"
Li Weiyi walked over, feeling a sense of kinship in this unfamiliar place.
After the Earth Wolf King's Army suddenly switched sides on the Li Prefecture battlefield, the two sides were no longer enemies but inseparable allies.
Shi Shishi pulled Li Weiyi away: "Let's talk somewhere else. Standing here is embarrassing."
"Why?" Li Weiyi asked, puzzled.
"Look over there!"
Shi Shishi pointed to the cluster of buildings directly across from the Immortal Grove's main gate. The place was bustling with activity, with young Cultivators constantly entering and exiting.
The two entered one of the buildings. The interior resembled a vast courtyard, with five-story pavilions rising on all sides. Servants and maids carrying food and drinks scurried back and forth. Martial-Mystic Cultivators and Spiritual Masters among the young Cultivators gathered in rooms with open windows, laughing heartily and discussing matters of the world.
Many Martial-Mystic Cultivators also crowded around the window railings, gazing toward the Immortal Grove's gate, excitedly recounting the scene of Lu Cangsheng and the others entering earlier. Naturally, their conversations inevitably included the embarrassing and comical Mortal Martial-Mystic Cultivator.
"That kid actually wanted to see Miss Qin Li... Haha... The excuse he came up with, I'm too embarrassed to even repeat it..."
"He even tried to bribe the gatekeepers with silver coins. What a cheapskate! If it were me, I'd have used Yongquan Coins."
Li Weiyi and Shi Shishi ascended the stairs, weaving through the bustling crowd, and settled at a table on the third floor near the Immortal Grove entrance.
Li Weiyi, utterly unashamed, observed the Martial-Mystic Cultivators in the hall, noting several Five Seas Realm experts.
"Were you watching me earlier too?"
Shi Shishi nodded, then chuckled: "The crowd gathered outside the Immortal Grove are just busybodies. Don't take their words to heart. No one will remember you. See? Even now that you're up here, passing right by them, no one's paying you any attention."
"They're all just hoping to catch a glimpse of the Successors coming to the Immortal Grove. Pure Immortal Physiques truly possess flawless Immortal Essence, and whether male or female, they're simply beyond comparison to us mortals. Besides, the Successors are all stunningly beautiful, surrounded by countless legends. Who wouldn't want to admire them?"
Li Weiyi said, "What about the dishes on this table..."
"Eat whatever you like. It's on me today," Shi Shishi replied.
Li Weiyi didn't hesitate to dig in, asking as he ate, "They're here to admire legends. What about you?"
"I'm here to see beauties!"
Shi Shishi's face, already round as a ball, expanded into a wide grin. Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Tian Shu... No, let's just call you Brother Weiyi. Do you really know Immortal Qin Li?"
Li Weiyi nodded.
"That's Qin Li, the Dual Sword Prodigy. In terms of beauty, she might even surpass Yang Qingxi. Stream Flow, Rippling Li Water..." Shi Shishi said.
Li Weiyi thought this kid was courting death.
Not only was Qin Li's cultivation terrifyingly high, but if these words reached Yin Jiu's ears, he'd definitely get axed.
Li Weiyi hadn't interacted much with Yin Jiu and Yin Shi, but he could tell they were close, deeply understanding and in perfect sync with each other.
Something was definitely up.
"Shi Shi, you're the Dharma King of the Earth Wolf King's Army. At such a young age, your cultivation has already reached its peak. Why haven't you earned an exception to enter the Immortal Grove? Are you just stuck here, staring longingly from the outside?" Li Weiyi asked.
Shi Shishi immediately became humble.
"Brother Weiyi, don't tease me. My cultivation speed and realm are indeed among the best for my age, but I'm still a world away from earning an exception to enter the Immortal Grove."
"But Lu Cangsheng is just a Mortal. How did he do it? Is he the Peak of Mortality, possessing the Hundred Meridians?" Li Weiyi asked.
Shi Shishi replied, "I don't know much about Lu Cangsheng. It seems that the Thunder Method isn't strictly tied to one's physique. That kid's mastery of the Thunder Method is incredibly high; he even defeated someone with the Hundred Meridians Pure Silver Immortal Physique."
"To achieve such a heaven-defying feat as a Mortal... truly remarkable!" Li Weiyi marveled inwardly, realizing that the world was indeed vast, with heroes emerging endlessly.
Leaving Li Prefecture was like finally opening his eyes to the world.
Li Weiyi asked, "How many Crimson Haze Herbs did you gather in Burial Immortal Town? Why didn't you complete your Pure Immortal Physique Transformation?"
Shi Shishi scratched his head, his face bitter: "The higher your cultivation, the harder the Pure Immortal Physique Transformation becomes. Each realm difference triples the difficulty. At my cultivation level back then, I calculated that I'd need fifty Crimson Haze Herbs to even have a chance. I had no choice but to give up."
"But it wasn't a complete loss! The Crimson Haze Herbs I gathered in Burial Immortal Town helped me break through to the Sixth Sea."
"As expected of the Dharma King," Li Weiyi praised without reservation, "Your cultivation speed is unmatched among your peers."
Shi Shishi was only about sixteen or seventeen years old, roughly the same age as Yin Ershi Si and Li Ling.
In contrast, the Successors, though already cultivating in the Seventh Sea, a realm higher, were mostly over twenty-five years old.
Suddenly, Shi Shishi sent a mental message: "You're from the Jiu Li Hidden Sect, so you should know the inside story. Why did the Earth Wolf King's Army suddenly switch sides and throw their full support behind the Jiu Li Tribe?"
Li Weiyi paused, setting down his chopsticks, and replied mentally, "If even you, the Dharma King, don't know, what could a lowly Hidden One like me possibly know?"
Shi Shishi sighed: "Ninth Brother and Sixth Brother definitely know, but they're too tight-lipped to say anything."
Li Weiyi's heart stirred: "Your Earth Wolf King's Army should have more than just you as a Five Seas Realm expert, right? Has no one with a Pure Immortal Physique come to Qiu Prefecture City?"
Shi Shishi replied, "We're allies now, so I won't hide anything from you! Beneath the Ten Great Dharma Kings, there are indeed some formidable Third-Generation Disciples who came with me to Qiu Prefecture City. They're all heirs of the various Dharma Kings, and of course, some of them possess Pure Immortal Physiques."
"Could you do me a favor? Send a trustworthy Pure Immortal Physique into the Immortal Grove to deliver a message for me," Li Weiyi said.
Shi Shishi narrowed his eyes: "Deliver a message to Immortal Qin Li? Could she be from your Jiu Li Hidden Sect? Otherwise, how could a Mortal Martial-Mystic Cultivator who just broke through to the Fifth-Stage Five Seas Realm possibly know someone of her caliber?"
Li Weiyi met his gaze and smiled: "Even your Heavenly King and Great Lord must obey the Jiu Li Tribe's commands. Aren't you asking too many questions?"
Shi Shishi frowned, lost in thought. He even began to suspect whether the Heavenly King was a high-ranking figure in the Jiu Li Hidden Sect.
A group of young Martial-Mystic Cultivators nearby began to shout, "Yang Qingxi has arrived! And Chen Wenwu too!"
Shi Shishi immediately rushed over and pressed his face to the window, gazing toward the entrance of the Immortal Grove.
As Li Weiyi approached, the Sui Sect and the San Chen Palace's group of Pure Immortal Physique Cultivators had already disappeared, leaving only their retreating figures.
He whispered to Shi Shishi, "You seem quite excited... How about we team up and capture Yang Qingxi?"
Shi Shishi was intrigued but quickly shook his head: "Brother Weiyi, Yang Qingxi is not a simple matter. With your current cultivation, don't even think about provoking her. You're probably in the First Realm of the Five Seas Realm now, right? You might not fully grasp the power of Five Seas Realm experts. Yang Qingxi could kill you with a flick of her finger!"
Li Weiyi hadn't forgotten his feud with Yang Qingxi: "No matter how strong she is, there's always someone stronger. There's always someone beyond the heavens, someone beyond humanity."
Seeing Li Weiyi's calm, determined gaze, Shi Shishi was startled: "You're serious? If you can persuade a master from the Jiu Li Hidden Sect to join us, along with my Earth Wolf King's Army's Third-Generation Disciples, we might actually pull this off. Stream Flow... Just thinking about it gets me excited! Haha!"
"No need to rush. Let's wait a few more days."
Li Weiyi decided to wait until he had broken through to the Third Realm of the Five Seas Realm before making his move.
"First, find someone to contact Qin Li for me."
_______________________
END OF CHAPTER
Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
***********************************