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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 2: [Jiuli Insect Valley]
Chapter 40 (67): [The Tomb of the Azure King]
(40th of Volume 2)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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It was the sound of carriages and horses, and there were many of them.
How could a large number of carriages and horses appear in such a dangerous place as the Jiu Li Ancestral Realm?
Under the cover of night, eight Yin Banners led the way, scattering paper money in the wind. A long procession of carriages approached from afar, passing along a paper money road about fifty paces from Li Weiyi.
The carriages were filled with young boys and girls.
The drivers were all dressed in gray-white cloth robes.
Li Weiyi counted carefully and found that there were eighty-three carriages in total.
In the last carriage, a middle-aged man pulled back the curtain, revealing a tall figure and a stern face. In a low voice, he shouted ahead, "Hurry up! Get out of the Ancestral Realm as quickly as possible!"
The middle-aged man appeared to be around fifty years old and bore a four- or five-point resemblance to Li Songlin, the First Commander of the Cangli Armor Division.
After the procession had moved far away and the sound had faded, Li Weiyi finally lifted the Ghost Banner that had been concealing him, lost in thought: "Judging by their attire, they seem to be from the Cangli Tribe," he murmured.
"The Cangli Tribe is likely the one using this paper money Yin Road to enter and exit the Ancestral Realm," Senior Stone Coffin said.
Li Weiyi frowned: "That's strange. Where did these children come from? And why are they being transported out?"
"If we continue forward, we should find the answer," Senior Stone Coffin said, as if he already knew the truth.
After several hours of travel toward Jiu Li Divine Mountain, Li Weiyi encountered a pale blue light screen woven by Spiritual Mind Masters. Rising from the earth and connecting to the sky, it was adorned with mysterious scriptures.
Li Weiyi swept the Nine Sovereigns Banner across the screen, thinning the light and revealing the scene within: a vast rice field shrouded in Rosy Mist. Each stalk of rice towered over ten meters tall, its plump, crystal-clear ears bearing the faint outlines of developing fetuses.
After just a glance, Li Weiyi retracted the Nine Sovereigns Banner and collapsed onto the ground, reeling from the shock.
The impact struck him deep within, as if a fundamental aspect of his humanity had been challenged.
Humans could truly be grown like crops Cultivation.
Senior Stone Coffin fell silent for a moment before speaking: "Human Cultivation has existed since ancient times, cultivated by forbidden Demon Kings and Dead Spirits as a food source."
"The human world has always opposed its cultivation."
"A thousand years ago, we, including Chan Hai Guanwu, shared this stance. That's why no one in the Lingxiao Realm dared to cultivate it."
"If I were still in charge of the Jiu Li Clan and the Cangli Tribe, I would have dragged the thief responsible for this Human Cultivation out and punished him according to our clan's law."
The voice from the Stone Coffin expressed anger in its calm tone.
Li Weiyi forced a wry smile: "If the entire Lingxiao Realm is already like this, the Jiu Li Clan can't afford not to do it. They will fall behind other powers. Once the competition intensifies, the upper limit of human potential will rise higher and higher, but the lower limit will plummet."
"The sudden appearance of so many Cultivated Humans will inevitably shatter people's values. How can this world possibly avoid war?"
"If I were powerful enough, I would never let this chaos continue." Then, he added with a self-deprecating laugh, "Haha, never mind. With my current cultivation, I can't even establish a foothold in this world, let alone change it."
Senior Stone Coffin said, "Wei Yi, I sense you're close to finding what you truly desire!"
Li Weiyi stood up, no longer looking at the fields on the other side of the light curtain. He hoisted the Stone Coffin onto his shoulders, raised the Nine Sovereigns Banner, and continued walking toward Jiu Li Divine Mountain.
"Becoming a Hidden One and breaking through the Five Seas Realm as soon as possible is the only way to survive. Otherwise, in this vast and turbulent world, I'll just be swept along by the current, an anonymous nobody whose life is worth less than grass, never able to participate in the grand scheme of things."
.....
Three days later.
Li Weiyi arrived at the Tomb of the Azure King.
The tomb was only a few miles from Jiu Li Divine Mountain, a thousand-meter-high, precipitous peak shrouded in mist and clouds. Stone tablets and carvings were scattered everywhere.
The plaza before the tomb was filled with various exotic Otherworldly Coffins.
After retrieving these coffins, the Cangli Tribe didn't sell all of them.
The most extraordinary ones were stored in the Tomb of the Azure King. They couldn't understand or open them now, but they believed that future generations would produce exceptional individuals capable of deciphering them.
Along the Divine Path leading to the tomb gate stood stone horses, stone monkeys, stone elephants, and other guardian beasts.
Stone lanterns and tripods for sacrificial offerings were also arranged along the path.
Senior Stone Coffin asked, "How many days of food do you have left?"
"Senior Spirit Tablet reminded me, so I prepared thoroughly. If I ration carefully, I can make it last a month without a problem." Li Weiyi pulled out a piece of dried meat and popped it into his mouth.
Senior Stone Coffin nodded: "Good. Don't enter the tomb gate yet. I'll teach you some Insect Scripture. With your talent, you should be able to master it quickly."
Insect Scriptures, along with Beast Scriptures, Sacred Scriptures, Curse Scriptures, Alchemy Scriptures, Artifact Scriptures, and others, wasn't a traditional form of writing. It was created by Supreme Spritual Mind Masters. Instead of being written by hand, it was formed using psychic (Telekinesis) power to manipulate Spiritual Light Flames, drawing and solidifying them into characters.
Insect Scripture is a method used to subdue and control insects.
Li Weiyi asked, "Master Coffin you asked me to come here to retrieve something. Could it be a ferocious insect? Or perhaps there's a dangerous insect in the tomb, and I need to learn the Insect Control Law?"
Senior Stone Coffin explained, "A thousand years ago, during my peak cultivation in life, I ventured into a Fallen Immortal Realm and obtained an Insect Nest. It contained seven insect eggs, conservatively estimated to be (Junhou) Monarch-Marquis Level. I stored them in the Tomb of the Azure King to nurture them. Now, they're yours, young man!"
Li Weiyi gasped.
In the Lingxiao Realm, the surface was ruled by human Martial-Mystic cultivators and Demon Kings, but the underground belonged to the Insect Race.
Master Qi of the Changlin Gang controlled the Giant Spider, a mere Soldier-Grade Ferocious Insect. Yet, even that gave him the status to be treated with respect by the Changlin Gang Leader.
Not all Insect Tamers are powerful; it depends on the level of the insect swarm they command.
However, among Spiritual Mind Masters of the same cultivation level, Insect Tamers are undoubtedly the strongest contenders for the title of most powerful.
Especially in this era of chaos, Insect Tamers with their swarm-attack capabilities hold a higher status than any other Spiritual Mind Master.
Monarch-Marquis Level insects are already worthy of being listed on the List of Extraordinary Insects. Upon reaching adulthood, they possess the strength of Immortal Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators.
Seven of them meant seven Immortal Realm Cultivators.
If he truly becomes an Insect Tamer who commands seven (Junhou) Monarch-Marquis Level Strange Insects, who else but him would be qualified to be the Hidden One of the Jiu Li Clan?
You must understand that adult Monarch-Marquis Level Strange Insects can even transform into human form and possess the ability to summon and command the Underground Insect Clan. Even Human cultivators would have to bow before them, respectfully addressing them as "Monarch-Marquis."
Moreover, Senior Stone Coffin had said...
"At the very least, they're Monarch-Marquis Level."
Li Weiyi quickly recovered from his shock and regained his composure: "A thousand years have passed. The insect eggs must have hatched long ago."
Senior Stone Coffin replied, "Insect eggs of this caliber don't hatch so easily. Back then, I asked an exceptionally skilled Insect Tamer from the Lingxiao Realm to help me analyze them. Even with the Heaven-Law and Earth Spring in the Tomb of the Azure King to nurture them, it would still take one or two thousand years for them to hatch naturally."
"I had intended to leave them for the descendants of the Jiu Li Clan as a clan foundation. But the sudden outbreak of the great war a thousand years ago left no time to inform anyone. I was whisked away by the spatial power of the Shaoyang Star."
Li Weiyi asked, "If they haven't hatched, do I have to wait another few hundred years?"
Senior Stone Coffin chuckled: "Natural hatching is indeed unpredictable. But after a thousand years of nurturing, there are now artificial methods to accelerate their maturation and break their shells. Did you buy those items I told you to get?"
"Fire Cloud Stone, Nine-Leaf Cattail Grass, Blood Crystal... After buying all this stuff, I'm practically broke again! That mansion in the Suburban Domain is probably already taken back by the Yang Clan and the Changlin Gang."
Li Weiyi took out the six items he had bought earlier as instructed by Senior Spirit Tablet.
A sense of pressure weighed on him.
He silently prayed that Yang Yun wouldn't die; that was his biggest asset. Oh, and there was Old Zhao's 100,000 Silver Coins too.
The Stone Coffin stood upright again, using the coffin as a brush to write Insect Scripture on the ground.
Seven characters in total!
Each character was incredibly complex, with over thirty strokes. They didn't resemble words at all, but rather intricate, irregular patterns that looked more like paintings than Scripture.
Senior Stone Coffin said, "Normally, your Spirit Tablet Master should be teaching you Insect Scripture. She's an incredibly powerful Insect Tamer in the Lingxiao Realm. But these seven characters carved on the Insect Egg are my work, so only I can teach them to you."
"Right! Insect Scripture is usually taught by using Spiritual Light to imprint the characters onto you. But in my current state, I can only teach by writing them out. You might find it much harder to comprehend this way. But I believe in your talent... You'll be fine!"
Li Weiyi could only force a bitter smile, knowing that in the eyes of his three Masters, he was already considered a cultivation genius far surpassing even the Pure Immortal Physique.
As he observed and memorized the Insect Scripture on the ground, he asked, "Master Coffin, if I hadn't cultivated Spiritual Light, wouldn't my trip to the Tomb of the Azure King have been in vain?"
Senior Stone Coffin replied, "No, you could still use your blood to directly draw the Insect Scripture on the Insect Eggs. Once they absorb it, they'll naturally recognize you as their master. However, this greatly increases the risk. For example, what if they've already hatched? By cultivating the Insect Scripture, you gain a means to subdue them, minimizing the risk."
Li Weiyi fell silent, crossed his legs, and began channeling strands of Spiritual Light Flame from his Third Eye Spiritual Realm.
Using each strand of flame as a brushstroke, he meticulously drew the Insect Scripture.
The difficulty was indeed immense. Even after exhausting nearly all his Spiritual Light, he made no substantial progress.
He would need to nurture his Spiritual Light before attempting again.
While nurturing his Spiritual Light, Li Weiyi didn't neglect his Martial-Mystic cultivation.
He aimed to break through the Heavenly Spiritual atop his Seventh Spring as quickly as possible, lest he be forced to flee for his life from Tang Yan, Xue Zheng, and others upon leaving.
The Seventh Spring represented the peak of the Spring Surge Realm, and most Martial-Mystic Cultivators in the Five Seas Realm only possessed Seven Springs.
This peaceful cultivation environment was truly precious.
.....
Time flew, and twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Weiyi had mastered all seven Insect Scripture characters, and the barrier of the Seventh Spring showed signs of loosening.
He was about to strike while the iron was hot, aiming to break through it in the next two days.
"Rustle!"
A cold wind swept out from the forest, causing his hair and robes to flutter.
Li Weiyi's eyes snapped open. He sniffed the air, catching a faint, familiar scent carried on the wind: "It's Li Ling! What's she doing here at the Tomb of the Azure King?"
His senses were sharp. While he couldn't sniff out scents from dozens of kilometers away like a bear, he wasn't far off.
The voice from the Stone Coffin spoke: "She must have a way to find you. Perhaps it's the Netherlight Guide's Perceptive Wisdom, or some other reason. Since it's an unknown factor, we shouldn't involve her. Let's go - enter the tomb now!"
Li Weiyi agreed with Master Coffin's assessment. Everything was ready, and they couldn't afford any mishaps at this crucial moment.
He shouldered the Stone Coffin and held the Nine Sovereigns Banner, racing toward the end of the Divine Path and the two massive stone tomb gates towering over a dozen meters high.
As he neared the gates, Li Weiyi narrowed his eyes. He noticed that each gate was adorned with a star chart, studded with countless silver and yellow gemstones representing stars.
The chart on the left resembled the Milky Way galaxy.
The one on the right felt familiar too, like the Yellow Springs Galaxy he had seen on the Bronze Ship.
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END OF CHAPTER
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