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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 2: [Jiuli Insect Valley]
Chapter 39 (66): [The Gods of Jiu Li]
(39th of Volume 2)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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Those who ranked among the top ten in the Seven Springs Hall, besides possessing exceptional talent and formidable strength, were all equipped with spiritual artifacts.
A spiritual artifact was an integral part of one's power.
Xue Zheng was no exception. The four-foot-long curved sword in his hand was a low-grade spiritual artifact bestowed upon him by the Yang Clan when they recruited him.
It was thanks to this artifact's defense that he hadn't been completely incapacitated by the Thunder and Lightning unleashed by the Black Iron Seal.
Lying on the ground, sword raised in defense, his eyes locked on Li Weiyi, who was advancing with his sword drawn.
He was also prepared to fight to the death.
Li Weiyi was about to step forward and deliver the fatal blow when an arrow shot by Murong Xiao from afar flew toward him.
"Young man, you owe the Changlin Gang a debt, and I've come personally to collect it."
The long, drawn-out voice of Tang Yan, the Changlin Gang's Vice Gang Leader, echoed from deep within the dense forest.
The terrifying qi of a Five Seas Realm expert sent fallen leaves swirling into the air, surging forward like waves in his wake. Imbued with spiritual power, these leaves transformed into razor-sharp blades, embedding themselves deep into the tree bark.
"Your strength is not weak. Once I break through another realm, I'll use you to test my sword."
Li Weiyi tossed these words at Xue Zheng before immediately sheathing his sword and fleeing south.
A moments later...
He vanished into a swirling mass of black Nether Mist, accompanied by the sound of tinkling bells, rapidly receding into the distance.
Xue Zheng exhaled deeply, relief washing over him. The situation had been dengerous just moments ago; he'd been prepared to unleash his ultimate technique and perish together.
Among all the opponents he'd faced in the Spring Surge Realm, Li Weiyi wasn't the strongest, but he was the one who had pushed Xue Zheng to the brink of death.
"Another breakthrough?"
"Is he aiming for the Nine Springs Supreme?"
Xue Zheng naturally assumed Li Weiyi was currently at the Eighth Spring Opening Realm.
After all, Li Weiyi wasn't an Aberrant Humanoid nor a Pure Immortal Physique - just an ordinary mortal. To possess such combat prowess at the Eighth Spring Realm was already remarkable.
Changlin Gang Vice Gang Leader Tang Yan arrived on the scene. Murong Xiao also landed nearby.
Tang Yan glanced at Xue Zheng's charred arms and demanded coldly, "What happened? With both of your strength combined, you couldn't even take him down?"
Murong Xiao explained, "He's likely not just a practitioner of Martial Law; but he's also a Spiritual Mind Master."
Xue Zheng flexed his numb arms, unfazed by Tang Yan's glare. He replied calmly, "He's probably a descendant of the Thundercloud (Lei Xiao) Sect. He wields a powerful Thunder-Lightning Spiritual Artifact and possesses an unknown escape spiritual artifact that emits a bell-like sound."
He omitted any mention of the Space Treasure.
"Thundercloud (Lei Xiao) Sect?"
Tang Yan's expression shifted.
The Thundercloud Sect, located in the Eastern Territory, was one of the ancient myriad sects in the Lingxiao Realm, and possibly the most powerful among them.
Xue Zheng nodded: "Besides the descendants cultivated by the Ancient Myriad Sects and Clans, who else in the Spring Surge Realm could possess so many spiritual artifacts? Back then, Cang Li himself had several spiritual artifacts for protection even at the Spring Surge Realm."
Murong Xiao thought over Xue Zheng's analysis and found it increasingly convincing: "No wonder the Cangli Tribe values him so much, and no wonder his combat prowess is so formidable despite his young age. The Cangli Tribe must have known his true identity all along!"
After a moment of deliberation, Tang Yan's gaze turned cold, "So what if he's a descendant of the Thundercloud Sect? Those Ancient Myriad Sects and Ancient Myriad Clans cultivate multiple descendants, like raising insects (Gu). Only the survivor becomes the true Inheritor."
"Besides, if he dies in the Mangshan Mountain Range, who's to say whether he was devoured by a Strange Beast or torn apart by a Malevolent Demon?"
Xue Zheng, fearing Tang Yan might hesitate to provoke the Thundercloud Sect, immediately chimed in, "He never revealed his identity, so who knows if he truly is a Descendant? The most important thing right now is to carry out the Young Mistress's orders. But those spiritual artifacts on him..."
Tang Yan understood instantly: "Those few spiritual artifacts only we know about will naturally be divided in secret. Not a word must be leaked. Bringing back a corpse will be enough to satisfy the Young Mistress."
...
The giant Camel released by the Evil Camel Bell was incredibly fast, but it consumed too much spiritual power.
Even after Li Weiyi achieved Sixth Spring Opening, he could only ride it for fifteen minutes before having to rely on his own two legs.
Perhaps he needed to reach the Five Seas Realm, open his Qi Sea, or break through the Eighth Spring "(Fengfu) Wind Palace" and Ninth Spring "Ancestral Field" to gain the ability to store spiritual power and sustain his flight.
For the next five days, Li Weiyi fled through the rugged mountains while nursing his injuries.
Every hour, Senior Spirit Tablet would guide him.
Tang Yan, Xue Zheng, and Murong Xiao occasionally caught up, but Li Weiyi never engaged them directly. Each escape was a desperate gamble, and his wounds never fully healed.
Once, he nearly suffered a fatal blow from Tang Yan, escaping only by using the Evil Camel Bell and the Black Iron Seal.
Throughout this ordeal, his Guardian Wife never appeared, perhaps because she disapproved of his recent closeness with Li Ling and Cai Yutong.
In any case, Li Weiyi found it unreliable to rely on her for survival.
Five days later...
Li Weiyi, exhausted and covered in wounds, pushed himself day and night, sleeping no more than two hours each day.
He finally crossed hundreds of miles and reached the edge of the Jiu Li Clan's Ancestral Realm.
Standing atop a waterfall halfway up the mountain, Li Weiyi gazed into the distance.
A majestic snow mountain, unparalleled in its grandeur, sat in the distance, surrounded by countless steep and treacherous peaks and rolling hills. Only its midsection was visible, the top was shrouded in clouds.
The dozen or so surrounding peaks were already awe-inspiring, yet they paled in comparison to the central snow mountain, which dominated the landscape with its overwhelming presence.
Behind Li Weiyi, the Stone Coffin, which had been lying flat on the ground, suddenly stood upright.
A voice emerged from within: "Do you see that most magnificent and majestic snow mountain? It resembles a crown, its snows never melting throughout the year."
Li Weiyi asked, "Could that be the Tomb of the Azure King?"
"No!" Senior Stone Coffin replied, "That is the Jiu Li Divine Mountain, where the Jiu Li God Chiyou is said to be buried beneath the ancestral snow mountain. Whether he truly lies there is uncertain, but the Jiu Li Divine Mountain is undoubtedly one of the three most dangerous and mysterious places in the entire Southern Territory. Even at the peak of my cultivation in my lifetime, I nearly lost my life trying to explore it."
Li Weiyi had long heard the name of the Jiu Li God. Initially, he had been startled, as the name was too similar to the Chiyou from ancient Huaxia mythology, making it impossible not to draw comparisons.
Hearing Senior Stone Coffin's words, Li Weiyi's heart stirred once more.
He had already guessed the identity of the person in the coffin with eighty or ninety percent certainty.
In life, this individual had been so powerful that even the Clan Chiefs, Sect Masters, and Elders of Li Province today wouldn't have even seen his shadow. Yet, trespassing on his own ancestor's tomb had nearly cost him his life?
Senior Stone Coffin continued, "According to tradition, the Jiu Li God had eighty-one children in total, all buried around Jiu Li Divine Mountain, where they transformed into the peaks and hills you see before you. Nine of these eighty-one children became the ancestors of the Nine Great Tribes of the Jiu Li Clan."
"What about the remaining seventy-two?" Li Weiyi asked.
This question clearly struck a blind spot in Senior Stone Coffin's knowledge!
After a long pause, Senior Stone Coffin finally continued, "Azure King was the eldest son of the Jiu Li God and the ancestor of the Cangli Tribe. He was buried closest to Jiu Li Divine Mountain, on the first peak to the right of the snowy mountain!"
Li Weiyi saw the mountain. It was imposing, its peak nearly touching the clouds.
Senior Stone Coffin added, "However, this vast forest occupied by the Ancestral Realm is incredibly dangerous. It's protected by numerous guards left by ancient Sages, even containing the power of the Jiu Li God themselves. If you don't follow the few remaining escape paths, even an Immortal Realm cultivator who dares to enter will likely suffer heavy casualties."
"So as long as we enter this Ancestral Realm, we'll be much safer. Even if those people chasing us had ten times their courage, they wouldn't dare follow."
"From now on, I'll accompany you."
"Raise the Nine Sovereigns Banner. It can silently open the light veil barrier guarding the Ancestral Realm."
An hour later, Li Weiyi arrived at the base of a waterfall. Carrying the stone coffin on his shoulder and holding the three-meter-long white Nine Sovereigns Banner, he resembled a funeral attendant.
After opening the barrier's light veil, he finally entered the Ancestral Realm of the Jiu Li Clan.
"How bizarre!"
The moment he stepped into the Ancestral Realm, the sky instantly darkened, as if night had fallen.
Silence enveloped the surroundings - not even a bird's chirp could be heard.
In the sky, countless stars appeared...
Remarkably similar to the Milky Way galaxy...
Li Weiyi stood stunned for a moment before immediately asking Senior Stone Coffin.
He was told that an Ancestral Realm, by definition, had to be different from the outside world.
It was a miniature world created by the Jiu Li God.
As for the celestial stars, they had always been there since ancient times, and Senior Stone Coffin admitted he couldn't comprehend them either.
"Could this be a path back to Earth?" Li Weiyi wondered inwardly.
Just as he was pondering this, a hundred-meter-tall hill in front of him suddenly began to writhe. It raised a bull's head the size of palaces, its eyes radiating a terrifying, soul-chilling aura.
Countless rocks and stones cascaded down its back with a thunderous rumble.
The night was thick, making it impossible to see clearly. But Li Weiyi's scalp prickled with fear, and he wanted nothing more than to turn and flee.
This place was far too dangerous for his current cultivation level.
Senior Stone Coffin said, "Don't panic. It's the Grave Guardian Beast, the Mud Bull. Use the Nine Sovereigns Banner to clear the path; it won't harm you."
'How can I not panic?'
Li Weiyi held his breath, forced a stiff smile at the hill-like Mud Bull, and tiptoed past its massive form from below. He couldn't shake the feeling that the bull's head was fixed on him. Fortunately, after he passed, the colossal head lowered again, and the creature remained motionless.
"Whoosh!"
He followed a luminous stream that glowed like a ribbon of light in the darkness.
After walking for about half an hour, green orbs suddenly erupted from the ground, each containing a face-basin-sized armored creature.
They had razor-sharp mantis-like claws and humanoid heads, giving them an utterly sinister and terrifying appearance.
Li Weiyi swallowed hard, his hand gripping the Nine Sovereigns Banner dripping with sweat.
"Don't panic. They're the Yan Ke, a Grave Guardian Insect Race. Sweep them with the Nine Sovereigns Banner, and they'll clear the path on their own," Senior Stone Coffin said calmly.
"This big... You're saying they're insects?"
Li Weiyi could sense that these Yan Ke were far from ordinary. Each one radiated a danger far more intense than Xue Zheng had ever posed.
As instructed, he gently waved the Nine Sovereigns Banner.
The Yan Ke on the ground immediately became docile, automatically parting to create a path.
After passing through the Yan Ke-infested area, Li Weiyi couldn't help but ask, "Master Coffin, what exactly are we retrieving from the Tomb of the Azure King? Given the dangers here, I feel like I could use another two years of training before attempting this."
Senior Stone Coffin chuckled: "Rest assured, I wouldn't have brought you here without at least a ninety percent chance of success. Besides, you're no longer at Five Springs; you've reached Six Springs and have cultivated every last bit of your Psychic (Telekinesis) Power. I believe the risks are now negligible..."
"Someone's here!"
Li Weiyi heard something and immediately planted the Nine Sovereigns Banner upside down on the ground.
He crouched down, peering in the direction of the sound.
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END OF CHAPTER
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