Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
***********************************
Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 3: [Qiu Prefecture Lantern Festival]
Chapter 29 (173): [Gathering of the Hidden Ones]
(29th of Volume 3)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
***********************************
The Diligent Garden, located in South City, was only two or three miles from the Immortal Forest, separated by three streets and a river. It barely benefited from the dense spiritual Qi that drifted from the Dao Domain.
Li Weiyi and Qin Li, after meeting with the maidservants, arrived at the garden.
The one who opened the door was none other than Yin Ershi Si, wearing a long, veiled hat.
After entering the garden, Li Weiyi turned back to look. The gate had already been covered again by a layer of invisible Formation light.
The light enveloped the entire Diligent Garden. Only by circulating spiritual power through his eyes could he see the formation glyphs suspended in the void.
His gaze then shifted to Yin Ershi Si, who had removed her hat. He exclaimed in surprise and admiration, "My goodness, I haven't seen you in a few months, and you've grown so beautiful! The Pure Immortal Physique Transformation really makes a difference. You look like you've stepped out of a painting - I almost didn't recognize you!"
Yin Ershi Si wore a spiritual artifact Nightwalker's Garment. Tall and slender, her Pure Immortal Physique Transformation had left her skin flawless, her eyes bright, and her hair lustrous - a complete transformation.
Moreover, she was a year older than Yaoyin, and her figure was in the midst of rapid development.
Though still cold, the girl had completely shed her former gaunt appearance. Her chest and hips now curved gracefully, her figure slender and alluring - truly a vision of youthful elegance.
She snorted, still fond of rolling her eyes, and led the way without a word, a barely suppressed smirk playing on her lips: "After stealing so much Immortal Haze-tainted Herbs, why haven't you undergone a Pure Immortal Physique Transformation?"
"I'm a Divine Hidden One," Li Weiyi replied, following behind her, "A Pure Immortal Physique Transformation would be too ostentatious, too attention-grabbing. Unlike some people, I haven't forgotten that a Hidden One must remain as ordinary as possible, concealing their true strength."
Yin Ershi Si frowned, stopping abruptly: "I'm not doing this for beauty. I'm after power. A Pure Immortal Physique grants far greater combat prowess within the same realm, even allowing one to leap across levels and defeat stronger opponents."
"Is that so?" Li Weiyi said with a smile, "I'm also at the Second Stage of the Five Seas Realm now. We're at the same level. How about I, a mere Mortal, spar with you, a Pure Immortal Physique?"
"You're at the Second Stage of the Five Seas Realm?" Yin Ershi Si asked, her voice laced with disbelief. She knew Li Weiyi's cultivation speed was astonishing and his talent unparalleled, yet she still found it hard to believe.
"Whoosh!"
A sudden gust of wind swept through the garden.
Yin Ershi Si hurled her long, silken battle hat away.
Forming a palm seal, she unleashed the Heavenly Wind Palm Technique.
Instantly, wind surged from all directions, her feet gliding as if on rails. With a palm strike, she aimed for Li Weiyi's chest. Her jade-white hand moved like a streak of lightning, impossibly fast.
Li Weiyi reached out to catch the flying silken hat. Facing Yin Ershi Si's sudden, thunderous palm strike, he calmly shifted his body aside.
His speed was so great that it seemed as though another figure had split from within him.
Before Yin Ershi Si could even thought what had happened, Li Weiyi had already seized her wrist.
The spiritual Qi she had been channeling into her palm was abruptly cut off.
A sharp pain shot through her wrist, draining all strength from her arm.
Having gained control, Li Weiyi twisted her wrist. Yin Ershi Si's shoulder flared with pain, and she spun uncontrollably like a top, her head and back crashing against his chest.
"Your Pure Immortal Physique's combat prowess isn't that impressive, is it? It seems you can't even beat a Mortal at the same cultivation level. Did your Pure Immortal Physique Transformation go wrong? Did it actually make you weaker?"
Li Weiyi chuckled, twisting Yin Ershi Si's wrist and pinning it behind her lower back.
"Don't get cocky! Even with Hundred Silver Veins, no one at your level can beat me. It's normal that you can't. If you're so capable, go fight Yang Qingxi, Chen Wenwu, or other top young talents..."
"Is this how you speak to a Divine Hidden One? Have you surrendered yet?"
Li Weiyi twisted her wrist downward.
Yin Ershi Si rose onto her toes, chest thrust high, her head thrown back in pain, her entire body trembling slightly. Yet she refused to beg for mercy or yield.
Yin Ershi San, Yin Ershi Wu, and Yaoyin arrived just in time to witness this scene.
Their expressions varied.
Some were puzzled, others surprised, and one seemed to understand perfectly.
"Why are you bullying my sister?"
Unlike the other two, who were watching with amusement, Yaoyin rushed forward immediately.
Li Weiyi draped her long gauze hood over Yin Ershi Si's head, released her wrist, and turned to Yaoyin.
"We were just sparring. She lost a move and I captured her."
Yaoyin approached Yin Ershi Si, confirming she was unharmed. Then, with shared indignation, she glared at Li Weiyi as if he were a bully preying on the weak.
Li Weiyi walked straight to Yin Ershi Wu, asking if he had Silver Coin to repay his debt.
After taking a purse, he patted the young man's shoulder with a broad smile.
"Thank the heavens you've finally shown up!"
Yin Shi San arrived, his face pale, clearly injured. He continued, "We heard you were pursued by Yuwen Chao and Huo Qiankun at the Giant Marsh City docks and fled into the Bing Juze. After that, all contact was lost. Everyone thought... you had met with disaster..."
"Ah!" Yaoyin gasped.
She hadn't known about this. In fact, none of the young Hidden Ones present had.
Yin Shi San continued, "Yin Shi was furious. She said you were being duplicitous, promising to leave immediately but instead getting involved in a battle between top-tier experts. You couldn't tell what was important. She said she should have knocked you unconscious at the Heavenly Pavilion and tied you up, sending you directly to the Prefecture City."
Li Weiyi scoffed: "Don't listen to her. I'm the Divine Hidden One. See? I'm back here safe and sound."
Yin Shi San sighed: "She was acting in your best interests. Your cultivation is still too low, your strength too weak. You need to grow under protection. The higher-ups' orders are that you young Hidden Ones under twenty should simply cultivate in seclusion in Qiu Prefecture and not participate in any missions."
Li Weiyi immediately recalled Jiang Ning's parting words. Everyone claimed they were acting in his best interests, but between the lines, the message was clear: 'You're too weak!'
'That's true,' he admitted to himself.
His cultivation was indeed low, and he was well aware of the vast gap between him and the young powerhouses.
Yet he couldn't help but feel resentful.
"Has your injury fully healed?" Li Weiyi asked.
Yin Shi San forced a bitter smile: "Just escaping with my life was a miracle. Fortunately, Yin Jiu and Yin Shi found me and barely managed to save me. What about you? Where were you hiding for the past half month? Secretly nursing your wounds somewhere?"
"You guessed right!" Li Weiyi said.
Yin Shi San was visibly moved: "That's no small feat - escaping from Huo Qiankun and Yuwen Chao. What about Zhuang Yue? Didn't you take her with you?"
"She's not a child anymore," Li Weiyi said listlessly, "She's a Pure Immortal Physique expert at the Fourth Stage of the Five Seas Realm. Once her skin grew back, she left! You've already represented the Hidden Sect in the imperial court, so there's no need for me to get too deeply involved with court officials. If she wants to leave, let her go."
The Hidden Ones of the Jiu Li Hidden Sect weren't all stationed in one place to avoid being wiped out in a single stroke.
Yin Shi San told Li Weiyi that Qinyuan was an estate left behind by an ancient Hidden One. Its defensive formations were powerful, and no trace of connection to the Jiu Li Clan could be found.
For the next few months, the young Hidden Ones would simply hide here to cultivate.
"My injuries have stabilized, and I should be leaving in the next couple of days. Qinyuan will be in your care from then on!"
Li Weiyi asked, "Are you going back to the imperial court?"
Yin Shi San nodded: "I've spent years in the Attendant Hall, cultivating my own network. I can't just abandon it. Besides, the Jiu Li Hidden Sect needs an eye in the imperial court no matter what. Don't worry, I risked my life for Jiang Ning. They'll definitely find a place for me there."
"Oh, and tonight all the Hidden Ones at the Fifth Stage of the Five Seas Realm will gather at Qinyuan. Yin Jiu said he has something important to discuss."
In this Sixty-Year Cycle, the Jiu Li Hidden Sect had only selected twenty-five Hidden Ones. Including this year's Li Weiyi and Yaoyin, that brought the total to twenty-seven.
However, only twenty-one of them remained alive, including Li Weiyi and Yaoyin.
Among them, six had reached the Dao Seed Realm.
Three were not in Qiu Prefecture.
....
That night, twelve young Hidden Ones gathered at the Qinyuan (Diligent Garden).
But after Yin Jiu and Yin Shi arrived, they announced that Hidden Ones below the Fifth Stage of the Five Seas Realm were not permitted inside and had no right to participate in the discussion.
Only Li Weiyi was granted an exception to observe.
"They're just trying to exclude us," Yin Ershi Si muttered resentfully, "We might as well go somewhere else to plot in secret."
In the backyard of the Diligent Garden, a spiritual artifact bone lantern hung, its light concealing all sounds and sights.
Yin Jiu and Yin Shi sat side by side in the two chairs facing the door inside the room. Yin Shi Yi's snake tail coiled around a beam, his body nearly invisible.
Yin Shi San sat near the door.
Yin Shi Wu and Yin Shi Liu stood outside the courtyard, one holding a spear, the other a sword. Both stood in the shadows, one watching the outside, the other observing the courtyard, their vigilance extremely high.
Li Weiyi stood by the window outside, sizing up Yin Shi Wu and Yin Shi Liu, whom he had never seen before.
The two had concealed their auras perfectly, appearing like ordinary people with no cultivation.
Yet it was precisely this that led Li Weiyi to conclude their cultivation far surpassed Yin Shi San's.
To completely conceal their auras from his perception was a testament to their superior cultivation realm.
"The higher-ups have assigned us, the Jiu Li Hidden Sect, to investigate the Ember Spirits hiding among the young Martial-Mystic Cultivators. Our mission is to help the Zuoqiu Sect eliminate as many uncertainties as possible surrounding the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival. This must be done in secret, without drawing public attention, as the Zuoqiu Sect fears controversy."
"Those Ember Spirits struck during the retreat through the Nether Realm of the Dead."
"Two months ago, Li Province erupted in chaos. Young Martial-Mystic Cultivators from across the land, who had been seeking opportunities in the Immortal Realm Space of Burial Immortal Town, were forced to evacuate through the Mangshan Mountain Range and the Nether Realm of the Dead. During this retreat, many were ambushed. The Ember Spirits then donned human skin or directly possessed their bodies, infiltrating the ranks of the major powers."
"At the time, all young Martial-Mystic Cultivators in Burial Immortal Town were registered and screened. The remaining suspects still number nearly a thousand, and we must secretly investigate and eliminate them."
Yin Jiu produced the list and continued, "Everyone here wields some power. We must mobilize all our resources to root out every hidden Ember Spirit before the New Year."
Li Weiyi asked, "Why before the New Year? There's still half a month between the New Year and the Lantern Festival."
Yin Shi replied, "Because once the New Year arrives, the true battle for supremacy among the younger generation will officially begin. The Lantern Festival night is merely for announcing the final results."
The Hidden Ones present were puzzled.
Yin Shi Yi asked, "What do you mean? The Hidden Dragon will be decided before the Lantern Festival? How will we determine who is the Hidden Dragon and who deserves the Immortality Pill, Dragon Seed, and Dragon Bone?"
"There must be some standard, right?"
"For example, setting up a tournament with real combat. Who is a true dragon and who is a false one will become clear at a glance."
_______________________
END OF CHAPTER
Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
***********************************