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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 3: [Qiu Prefecture Lantern Festival]
Chapter 102 (246): [Back and Forth]
(102nd of Volume 3)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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Black clouds pressed down on the city, threatening to crush it.
The vast swarm of Fierce Insects, like a dark cloud blotting out the sun, buzzed with a deafening chorus as they advanced step by step across the battlefield. Some had sharp claws and teeth, others spewed toxic mist, while still others unleashed bolts of lightning or flames.
Soldier-grade Fierce Insects corresponded to Martial-Mystic Cultivators in the Surging Spring Realm.
Commander-grade Fierce Insects corresponded to Martial-Mystic Cultivators in the Five Seas Realm.
All the Fierce Insects had emerged from the earth and flown together under the command of the Seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors. Only a few Commander-grade Fierce Insects bore Insect Scriptures markings, controlled by Bai Shu to prevent them from being exploited by enemy Insect Tamers and Calamity Fire Realm Great Spiritual Masters.
With the "Dispel" character suspended in mid-air, preventing Commander-Grade Strange Insects from participating, only the Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, as Strange Insect larvae, possessed the ability to rally the swarm.
It was like a Young Emperor in the Five Seas Realm standing shoulder to shoulder with a Dao Seed Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivator.
On the battlefield, the Martial-Mystic Cultivators engaged in combat were stunned and panicked, hastily creating protective Spiritual Qi barriers.
The Martial-Mystic Cultivators of the San Chen Palace and Tianyi Sect gathered together, led by Chen Wenwu. One of them trembled, "This... isn't this against the rules?"
The Immortal Patrol Envoys of the Calamity Crossing Temple, stationed high above, remained impassive, ignoring the waves of protests erupting from the Far Western Ashlands camp.
Zhu Yibai and Yin Jiu stood back-to-back, fending off their enemies. Sweat and blood soaked their robes as they looked up at the encroaching swarm.
Zhu Yibai threw back his head and laughed heartily, his voice booming with defiance, as if the battlefield's dire straits had just been saved by a powerful reinforcement.
Yin Jiu's resolute face softened slightly, finally allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
"I've long heard of the Jiu Li Tribe's mysterious reputation - their mastery of coffin retrieval, insect rearing, spirit control, and fortune-telling is unmatched. Today, I've truly witnessed it firsthand. Brother Jiu Fu, why has your tribe remained so low-profile? Were you intentionally feigning weakness before the world?"
Zhu Yibai clapped Yin Jiu on the shoulder, their shared battle forging a bond of brotherhood.
Yin Jiu nearly coughed up blood from the force of the slap, but inwardly, he swelled with pride.
When it came to Insect Control, the Hidden Ancestor was the undisputed master.
If it so chose, the entire Lingxiao Realm's twenty-eight prefectures would be thrown into chaos, with insect swarms of unimaginable scale at its command.
Unfortunately, the Jiu Li Tribe's overt strength was insufficient, and none of the Nine Great Tribes' Clan Chiefs possessed the ambition or ability to seize the throne.
More importantly, the Hidden Ancestor would never obey anyone from the Jiu Li Tribe - unless the Leader who vanished a thousand years ago were to return.
Turning his gaze toward Li Weiyi in the distance, Yin Jiu finally fully conceded to the young man's talent and character, as displayed at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival. It was a pity that Yin Shi hadn't witnessed this.
Had she seen it, she might have been equally humbled by the Divine Hidden One.
The tide of battle had shifted dramatically.
"Cang Jin" and "Ku-Di," who had been masquerading as loyal subjects, abandoned their attacks on Zhu Yibai and Yin Jiu, racing toward Luansheng Linyou.
...
The seaside.
Ming Niansheng and Tantai Jing, sensing the commotion, turned their gaze toward the city domain, now speckled with black dots.
Scattered Fierce Insects had already flown near the Ashen Region, only to be shattered by the Formation into puffs of black smoke with a hissing sound.
Tantai Jing, renowned as the most powerful Great Spiritual Master, couldn't believe that someone from the younger generation could orchestrate such a grand display. Could this really not be the work of a Spiritual Master-level Insect Tamer?
Lu Cangsheng leaped from the camp bristling with formation flags, landing on the city wall to survey the tide of insects below.
"I never expected such a dramatic shift in what seemed like a one-sided battle. It seems Li Weiyi's identity as an Insect Tamer is not to be underestimated."
A Seventh Sea Martial-Mystic Cultivator from the Thundercloud Sect, already brimming with bloodlust, urged, "Shouldn't we strike now?"
Lu Cangsheng glanced at the moon's position in the sky, silently calculating the time. He shook his head: "The situation is far too ambiguous now. A reckless move could lead to utter annihilation."
Qin Qian agreed: "Exactly. Let them fight it out. The bell will ring soon. We'll bypass the battlefield and enter the Dragon Palace first."
"If Luansheng Linyou wins, the Calamity Crossing Temple might truly support the forces behind him. The consequences are unthinkable."
"We must enter the Dragon Palace first to secure our position."
Within the Thundercloud Sect, a clear division had formed between the conservative and the radical factions.
...
Two figures, a man and a woman, burst out from the first level of the Bright Moon Seven Stars Pavilion, their eyes wide with disbelief as they gazed at the black tide of insects surging along the Heaven and Earth Avenue.
The woman in white said, "I didn't expect this variable. This makes things difficult. How should we choose?"
The man in white replied, "This insect swarm was drawn by the seven Emperor Grade Strange Insect larvae. It's bound to be unstable. If Luansheng Linyou can assemble a Great Spiritual Master Formation and use Spiritual Power, they can break it."
The woman in white countered, "Will Li Weiyi and Zuoqiu Hong give him a chance to form a Great Spiritual Master Formation? The twenty-eight Calamity Fire Realm Great Spiritual Masters near the coast are easy to mobilize, but allowing Ge Xiantong to escape the formation is likely the last thing Luansheng Linyou wants to see."
The man in white pondered for a moment.
"Then let's wait and see how the situation unfolds."
....
...
The sudden appearance of the insect swarm army stunned not only the Far Western Ashlands and various factions but also left Zuoqiu Hongting momentarily bewildered.
Her eyes filled with questions as she turned to Li Weiyi.
'Where did you summon them from?'
'Is this Qiu Prefecture City your home or mine?'
Having resolved to fight to the death, she now felt her confidence rekindled, her spirit soaring.
Luansheng Linyou and Long Dian displayed the composure expected of the younger generation's top experts. Unfazed by the sudden upheaval, their eyes remained sharp, their minds unclouded.
Long Dian produced a small vial of Son of Heaven Dragon Blood and poured it into his mouth.
The blood was scalding, burning like molten lava as it went down his throat.
Li Weiyi and Zuoqiu Hongting exchanged glances and charged toward Long Dian.
But their first move altered the interwoven energy of the four, drawing the Azure Phoenix and the Qilin into the fray.
The Azure Phoenix soared toward Zuoqiu Hongting, its wings spreading to the size of a blue cloud, carrying the power of wind and fire.
A hurricane roared, and flames blazed with intense heat.
The Qilin lunged at Li Weiyi, five meters long and resembling a metal mountain. Though a battle intent, its body was incredibly solid, its eyes radiating wisdom.
It held within it the essence of metal and wood, shrouded in Mist.
Li Weiyi was leaping through the air above the street when he was forced to change his attack direction. He stomped on the Jade Cauldron and collided with the Qilin's head.
"Boom!"
Spiritual Qi clashed, and the air trembled.
Suddenly, Luansheng Linyou's true form - a handsome young man - appeared as a phantom directly above Li Weiyi's head. His speed was terrifying. He knew that killing Li Weiyi, the Insect Tamer, would cause the swarm army to collapse.
Holding a silver staff, he swung it, unleashing a torrent of silver light that sent Martial-Mystic Cultivators in all directions flying.
Below the staff's arc, Li Weiyi finally felt Luansheng Linyou's terrifying power. His battle intent locked onto Li Weiyi, leaving him no escape. He could only meet the attack head-on.
"Bang!"
Li Weiyi parried with the Yellow Dragon Sword.
His left arm sank, and the Jing Yu Sword in his left hand thrust forward, aiming for Luansheng Linyou's right chest.
Cang Li had once told him that Luansheng Linyou's heart wasn't on his left side.
But things didn't go as planned.
The moment the Yellow Dragon Sword and silver staff met, a terrifying force shook Li Weiyi so violently that he nearly lost his grip on the sword hilt. His body plummeted straight down.
The Jing Yu Sword, meant for a thrust, had to change to defense, blocking Luansheng Linyou's second staff strike aimed at piercing his chest.
The silver staff was formed from the Flowing Silver Mask.
It could be solid or liquid, shifting unpredictably and posing immense danger.
"Boom!"
The clash of Spiritual Artifacts unleashed a torrent of energy.
Li Weiyi staggered backward, the stone slabs beneath his feet shattering and gouging a trench dozens of meters long, waist-deep at its end.
His Daoist robe was torn to shreds, revealing the Blood Handprint Demon Armor beneath.
His fingers throbbed with excruciating pain, blood seeping from the seams, yet he still gripped his twin swords tightly. His well-defined arm muscles radiated a masculine beauty.
Meanwhile, after consuming the Emperor's Dragon Blood, Long Dian's skin erupted with dragon scale patterns. He lunged for the bronze war spear planted in the ground, blood mist erupting from his pores as his muscles and bones roared with dragonic power. The space around him began to warp in reality.
His eyes blazed, locked onto Zuoqiu Hongting.
With a powerful leap, he intercepted her with the war spear, denying her the chance to join forces with Li Weiyi.
Li Weiyi circulated his Spiritual Qi, instantly restoring his throbbing, numb fingers.
His gaze met Luansheng Linyou's as the latter charged forward.
The young man's body shimmered with brilliant silver light, his battle armor pristine as new, the colossal Intent of the Azure Phoenix and Qilin once again coalescing around him.
"Whoosh!"
Blood mist billowed from Li Weiyi's soft armor, nine hundred blood-red scriptures imprinting themselves onto his skin as demonic energy surged.
Above, the air crackled with the sound of rushing wind as seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors descended.
Behind them, seven rivers of insects snaked and twisted, spiraling forward.
"Whoosh!"
Li Weiyi shot out of the ravine like a spring, aligning himself with the Seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors.
With his bare arms raised and twin swords in hand, he clashed once more with Luansheng Linyou.
Their swords and staff met in a flurry of fierce attacks.
The clash of their weapons created the illusion of a dozen figures battling.
The addition of the Seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors significantly restricted Luansheng Linyou's speed, forcing him to divert some of his energy to defense.
The current Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors could pierce his protective Spiritual Qi, their membranous wings potentially slicing his neck, and their claws capable of tearing through his flesh.
The seven rivers of insects crashed against Luansheng Linyou like relentless waves.
After several dozen exchanges, Li Weiyi leaped from the ground, raised his swords high, and unleashed six Battle Technique Intent Projections that exploded into existence behind him.
His twin swords slashed forward with 150 times his normal strength, a technique known as "Taiyi Opens the Sea."
Luansheng Linyou's pupils contracted sharply. The silver staff in his hand erupted with over seven hundred scriptures, forming a massive umbrella of scripture.
Li Weiyi's twin swords, along with the Seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, combined into nine overwhelming forces that shattered the scripture umbrella, sending Luansheng Linyou flying backward. He crashed to the ground over a dozen meters away.
"Crack! Crack!"
The twin swords carved two deep sword qi trenches into the ground between the two combatants.
A strand of silver hair drifted slowly down through the air.
Luansheng Linyou, holding his silver staff, watched the scriptures surge back like a tidal wave.
A crimson bloodstain appeared on his face, as cold and unyielding as a ten-thousand-year-old iceberg.
Fortunately, his battle armor was of extremely high quality, imbued with Defensive Runes; otherwise, the two sword strikes would have surely wounded him.
In the past, he had disdained wearing defensive battle armor or using Spiritual Artifacts, believing he could conquer the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival with his bare hands.
The Martial-Mystic Cultivators who witnessed the scene were left breathless with shock.
Luansheng Linyou had actually been driven back and made to bleed!
The last time Luansheng Linyou had been injured was at the hands of Cang Li. But that had been the result of a combined attacks by the Jiu Li Tribe's elite warriors, a victory purchased at a terrible cost. Had Cang Li and Li Jiufu not fled, the Jiu Li Tribe's top fighters would likely have been slaughtered by Luansheng Linyou.
Li Weiyi, however, was an Insect Tamer.
The insects he raised were naturally an integral part of his strength.
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END OF CHAPTER
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