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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 2: [Jiuli Insect Valley]
Chapter 80 (107): [Killing Cangli, Plotting the End of an Era]
(80th of Volume 2)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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The Yao Flag's warship was swarming with Jiu Li Tribe soldiers, all Aberrant Humanoids clad in heavy Spiritual Artifact armor. Each warrior wielded a halberd in one hand, their spirits brimming with vitality - undoubtedly the elite of the army, ready to form battle formations and confront even Great Cultivators at a moment's notice.
The Yao Li First Commander, Yao Xingyue, had already boarded the ship and was currently in consultation with Yaoyin.
Li Songlin deliberately remained below deck, keeping watch over the massive warship.
When Li Weiyi disembarked safely, Li Songlin approached him, immediately piercing through his disguise with a single remark: "Your Disguise Technique is still quite crude."
Li Weiyi's heart leaped in alarm. Had he been exposed so easily?
He wasn't afraid of Li Songlin's recognition, but rather the numerous eyes on the crowded dock. While revealing his identity was a concern, exposing the true strength of the Hidden Sect would have unpredictable consequences.
Li Songlin maintained his usual lazy, relaxed demeanor as he introduced himself: "Cangli First Commander Li Songlin. And you, young brother, what should I call you?"
Realizing that Li Songlin had only seen through his disguise, Li Weiyi breathed a sigh of relief. He clasped his hands in a respectful bow and replied, "Si Ma Qin."
"May I examine your blade?" Li Songlin asked.
Li Weiyi handed over his Blade, still stained with blood.
Li Songlin examined the sword hilt in his hand.
"This is the Western Border Domain State, the standard battle blade of the Western Sea Slaves - the Nu Ma Cleaver, a Spiritual Artifact used by their army."
"One hundred thousand Western Sea Slaves, a millennium of iron-blooded warriors. As long as the Western Sea Slaves stand, Lingxiao City will never fall."
"Ten years ago, in the Battle of Cangyuan, the Western Sea Slaves suffered a crushing defeat, losing thirty thousand men. The Seven Prefectures of the Western Territory plunged into chaos."
"What do you think of the Yaoli Army trained by the Yao Li Tribe?"
Li Weiyi glanced at the uniform ranks of soldiers clad in identical armor and wielding matching halberds. Comparing them to the eunuch army he had encountered before, he smiled, "How dare this junior presume to evaluate the Yaoli Army?"
"Speak freely," Li Songlin urged.
Li Weiyi replied, "This army is composed entirely of Aberrant Humanoid Martial-Mystic Cultivators, each possessing immense strength and cultivation levels above the Sixth Spring. Their vitality is abundant, their gazes sharp, and their aura unified. Their halberds and armor are all Spiritual Artifacts - a grand undertaking by the Yao Li Tribe. But... I sense a lack of true battle experience, likely because they haven't seen real combat."
Li Weiyi secretly surmised these were the personal guards of the Yao Li First Commander.
"If they were deployed to Burial Immortal Town, why would the Jiu Li Tribe fear their young elites being hunted?"
"Armies are forbidden from entering Burial Immortal Town. This agreement was reached long ago by all parties."
Li Songlin returned the Nu Ma Cleaver to Li Weiyi and asked, "Do you have any Five Seas Pills?"
Li Weiyi shook his head.
Li Songlin produced a pill bottle and handed it to him: "The Dharma Dao Fire Ape has brought shame upon the Jiu Li Tribe. Whatever your reasons for that strike, it has at least allowed the younger generation of the Jiu Li Tribe to stand tall again. This is your reward."
Li Weiyi accepted the bottle without ceremony. As he passed Li Songlin, he murmured, "Fourth Uncle, there's nothing to worry about at the Mangshan Grand Festival. Below the Five Seas Realm, I claim second place, and no one in the world dares claim first."
Li Weiyi spoke these words without altering his voice.
Li Songlin's face froze, his eyes blank for a moment before he whirled around to stare at Li Weiyi, who was already climbing the ship's ladder. He had been anxious, unsure how to address this younger relative, but now his heart swelled with joy.
He struggled to maintain a neutral expression, lest those watching from the shadows detect his true feelings.
But he couldn't help himself.
His concern overriding his restraint, he called out, "If you need more Five Seas Pills, just ask!"
Li Weiyi didn't turn back to reply.
As soon as he boarded the ship, he encountered Yao Xingyue, who was preparing to disembark. The two exchanged glances and passed each other without a word.
The Yao Li First Commander was a man of imposing stature, with thick brows, crimson eyes, and a sharply defined nose. He possessed an innate aura of authority that commanded respect without needing to raise his voice, radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure.
After disembarking, Yao Xingyue joined Li Songlin and couldn't resist glancing back at the ship: "That young man truly has remarkable composure. He dared to scrutinize me as he disembarked. Am I, a renowned First Commander who has commanded respect across Li Prefecture for decades, lacking even a hint of presence?"
Li Songlin chuckled: "Feeling a bit slighted? Expecting young upstarts to bow and scrape before you? Such timid youths will never amount to anything."
"I just find him unsettlingly peculiar," Yao Xingyue insisted, "I'd love to break his Disguise Technique and see his true face. He must possess a Pure Immortal Physique!"
Li Songlin, determined to keep the secret to himself, cautioned him sternly, "Don't act rashly. We still need their help for the Mangshan Grand Festival. With him here, I can rest assured."
The thought of Li Weiyi growing close to Yaoyin suddenly filled Li Songlin with unease. She was Yao Qingxuan's daughter, still young and yet to blossom. In a few years, she might become another peerless beauty of Li Prefecture.
'What will become of Li Ling?'
The Yaoli Army remained stationed, tasked with protecting Li Weiyi and his companions.
Li Weiyi entered the ship's main hall and was astonished to find that YIn Ershi Wu's injuries had healed significantly. He learned that the Yao Li First Commander himself had personally treated the Hidden One's wounds - a privilege that would make any Surging Spring Realm cultivator green with envy.
"So he's the Yao Li First Commander," Li Weiyi remarked, "No wonder his aura was so overwhelming. It felt like a sacred mountain was passing by me; I nearly lost my composure."
Yaoyin added, "He's also the father of YIn Ershi Si and me."
Li Weiyi was taken aback: "YIn Ershi Si isn't his biological child either?"
"Of course she is," Yaoyin replied.
"But if she's the First Commander's biological daughter, why would she be sent to the Hidden Sect's Death Trial?" Li Weiyi asked.
"First," Yaoyin explained, "before entering the Hidden Sect, no one knew that the Death Trial would be so brutal that only one could survive."
"Second, not everyone qualifies for the Death Trial. As far as I know, half of the Hidden Ones come from the direct lineages of the Nine Tribes. Entering the Hidden Sect represents a heavy responsibility, not a privilege."
"In my opinion," Li Weiyi said, "few Clan First Commanders truly see the Hidden Sect as the Jiu Li Tribe's final line of defense. During the tribe's darkest and most humiliating years, the Hidden Sect remained silent. The Clan First Commander select youths for the Hidden Sect each year primarily to preserve the tribe's legacy, hiding its embers in the shadows."
"Of course. Joining the Hidden Sect requires severing all ties to the past. Contact with family is strictly forbidden except in extraordinary circumstances. Even then, no information about the Hidden Sect can ever be revealed. The Death Trial serves to weed out those who cannot keep secrets."
Li Weiyi turned to Yaoyin: "The Yao Li First Commander was here for tomorrow's Mangshan Grand Festival, wasn't he?"
Yaoyin nodded slightly: "I agreed, as it's part of our mission. But I made a demand: he must provide us with at least fifty Spring-Breaking Needles, twenty Radiant Flame Pills, and ten Blood Crystals."
"You're truly greedy! Though, to be fair, ten Blood Crystals are too few."
Li Weiyi chuckled, his mood brightening considerably. He retrieved a wooden box containing a rare medicine imbued with Immortal Haze.
"This rare medicine is rich in Immortal Haze but lacks spatial resonance. It should aid Martial-Mystic Cultivators in transforming their physiques into Pure Immortal Physiques. YIn Ershi Wu, you managed to acquire an Otherworldly Coffin - you must be quite wealthy. Want to buy it?"
An Otherworldly Coffin costs at least tens of thousands of silver coins - hardly cheap.
Yaoyin asked, "Why aren't you transforming your own physique?"
YIn Ershi Wu snatched the wooden box away: "He's already monstrously powerful! How could a Pure Immortal Physique compare? He must possess some legendary special constitution. I need this rare medicine far more."
"One million silver coins," Li Weiyi stated.
Yin Ershi Wu nearly dropped the wooden box. Where would he ever get that much money?
'Isn't this just daylight robbery?'
"As far as I know, since the cataclysm in Burial Immortal Town, fewer than a hundred rare medicines capable of helping Martial-Mystic Cultivators transform their Pure Immortal Physiques have been discovered. They're incredibly precious. If you don't want it, someone else will. Yin Ershi Si has already ordered three from me at this price," Li Weiyi said, preparing to take the box back.
Yin Ershi Wu quickly tucked the wooden box into his robes.
"I'll buy it! I'll pay thirty percent upfront and owe the remaining seventy percent. How about that? This is all the money I have left - I've emptied my coffers."
Li Weiyi sighed: "Fine. You all always want to buy on credit. You won't take thirty years to pay it off, will you?"
"Not at all. Once I break through to the Five Seas Realm, I'll earn plenty in a year," Yin Ershi Wu said confidently.
Li Weiyi replied, "If I weren't heading to Burial Immortal Town and wanted to focus on cultivation, I wouldn't sell it. I need to train you all to handle things first. Let's be clear: all rare medicines you gather must be handed over to me first. As the expedition leader, I'm responsible for bringing them back to the Hidden Sect."
Yin Ershi Wu grumbled inwardly, 'You casually swing your sword and earn a million silver coins - even Dao Seed Realm cultivators can't match that! And you're bringing them back to the Hidden Sect? Didn't you say Yin Ershi Si already ordered three?'
But then he remembered that if Li Weiyi hadn't intervened, he would have died at the hands of the Dharma Dao Fire Ape. His mood finally balanced out.
...
"Someone from the Far Western Ashlands?"
Yang Qingxi's willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly upon hearing the news, unsure how to proceed.
The messenger was Yang Yun, who had broken through to the Nine Springs Realm with the aid of the Crimson Haze Elixir. He reported, "Sister, this person is incredibly powerful. He killed the Dharma Dao Fire Ape with a single strike. The First Commander noticed he used the Disguise Technique, suggesting he might possess a Hundred Meridians Pure Silver Immortal Physique. We should exercise extreme caution tomorrow."
Yang Qingxi murmured to herself, "If the First Commander personally confirmed it, then he must indeed be a Surging Spring Realm anomaly."
Deep within the courtyard, where autumn begonias bloomed in profusion, Long Ting, the Dragon Sect successor, sat by the pond, his body wreathed in dragon scale radiance.
His voice was calm yet resolute: "If he's this strong in the Surging Spring Realm, we can't let him live. Deploy Five Seas Realm experts immediately to eliminate him in Burial Immortal Town."
Yang Yun, who could see the dragon scale radiance rising above the courtyard buildings, added, "The Sixth-Generation Descendant wants to test his strength."
Deeper in the courtyard, beneath a thousand-year-old purple tree, the Four-Armed Golden Ape spoke in a deep voice: "Tell him to act cautiously and avoid impulsive decisions. Even if he insists on testing his strength, he must have a Five Seas Realm expert standing by."
Chen Wenwu, the foremost young talent of the San Chen Palace, stood atop the towering structure, his figure striking and elegant.
"A mere Surging Spring Realm cultivator?" he declared with casual disdain, "Each faction should dispatch a Five Seas Realm expert to crush him like an ant. We mustn't waste time on such trivialities. Our true target remains Cang Li."
Yang Qingxi retreated deeper into the courtyard, her voice clear and refined as she addressed the dozen or so figures gathered there.
"To be precise, we're targeting all Five Seas Realm and Surging Spring Realm cultivators among the Jiu Li Tribe's younger generation. This battle aims to sever their lineage and force the so-called Jiu Li Hidden Sect into the open. Or, perhaps, to provoke the Jiu Li Tribe into making the first move, revealing the full extent of their hidden reserves."
Beyond the elite young talents from Dragon Sect, Heavenly Cliff Ridge, Sui Sect, and the San Chen Palace, experts from Tianyi Sect, Coffin Sea Pavilion, Li City, Guan Shan, the Earth Wolf King's Army, and over a dozen other top-tier factions had gathered for this clandestine meeting.
Faced with the prospect of immense gains, every faction sought their share of the spoils.
Long Ting sat composed and graceful, his handsome features radiating an air of refined elegance.
He smiled. "Cang Li's demise is assured. But what of the Phoenix Terrace Envoy? Does anyone here have the courage to eliminate her as well? Killing her would truly shake the world."
His words sparked a mix of eager anticipation and trepidation among the assembled experts.
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END OF CHAPTER
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