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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 3: [Qiu Prefecture Lantern Festival]
Chapter 74 (218): [The Murderer]
(74th of Volume 3)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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After several attempts, the coffin could only be opened from the head and pushed toward the foot.
Li Weiyi proceeded cautiously, first pushing the lid open by a foot.
.....
Inside lay Yang Qingchan, who looked exactly like Yang Qingxi. Her face, as pale as paper yet hauntingly beautiful like a painting, was fully exposed.
Li Weiyi first used Psychic Power to scan her body, then swiftly checked her neck and pulse.
Her blood was ice-cold, and her pulse had stopped.
She was beyond dead.
Only then did Li Weiyi finally relax and push the lid open another two feet, fully revealing her upper body.
Yang Qingchan's hair, clothing, and makeup had all been meticulously arranged. Her clothes were neat, adorned with various ornaments, and her lips and eyebrows were carefully painted. If not for her deathly pale complexion, she would have appeared merely asleep.
As a Five Seas Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivator at the peak of her cultivation, her physical body was incredibly strong. Even after seven days submerged in water, her skin remained as delicate as jade, completely undamaged, as if she had just died.
Indeed, as Master Coffin had said, the interior of the coffin was covered in Formation glyphs.
Li Weiyi turned her face to the side, revealing the sword wound on her neck.
This wound had been inflicted seven days earlier when she had forcibly broken free from Li Weiyi's sword, only to be slashed by the Yellow Dragon Sword.
"That's not right! The wound has deepened, severing the carotid artery."
Li Weiyi remembered clearly that while the Yellow Dragon Sword had injured her, it had never severed the carotid artery.
Moreover, he hadn't channeled his spiritual Qi into the Yellow Dragon Sword at the time.
Even if he had severed the artery, Yang Qingchan's cultivation level was more than sufficient to mobilize her spiritual power and temporarily seal the wound.
Furthermore, the Yellow Dragon Sword's unique destructive force currently only affected demonic spirits and vengeful souls, not humans.
"Someone has faked the wound to make it appear as if I severed Yang Qingchan's carotid artery with a single sword strike, causing her to bleed to death."
In Li Weiyi's view, this was utterly pointless.
Whether he killed Yang Qingchan or not, he and the Sui Sect were already sworn enemies.
If the target was him, Li Weiyi, adding this layer of false accusation was completely meaningless.
What was their true objective?
He flipped the body over, exposing her back.
Li Weiyi formed a hand seal and traced it across his forehead, activating his Heavenly Eye.
What should have been a stunning jade back was covered in extensive purplish-black bruising - the injury inflicted by Tao Yanyan's hammer seven days earlier.
Yang Qingchan had been wearing defensive armor at the time, so the hammer blow to her back wasn't fatal. No bones were broken, only her internal organs were injured. Under the Heavenly Eye, the Six Desires Talisman also became visible, covering her entire back.
Even seven days after her death, the runes still hadn't dissipated.
The Six Desires Talisman was naturally terrifying. It was created by the Ancient Heavenly Emperor's "Six Thoughts Heart Demon" to control the hearts of the world.
In the era of the Six Thoughts Heart Demon, every Martial-Mystic Cultivator who reached the Five Seas Realm had to be implanted with the Six Desires Talisman.
However, the original Six Desires Talisman possessed six different powers, each representing one of the six desires of humanity.
Each of the six Demon officials held the antidote for one of the runes.
The Six Desires Talisman currently circulating among the Demonic Path sects hidden in the shadows of the Lingxiao Realm's power structure only represented a single desire from the six.
This rune was not easy to cast.
If Yang Qingchan hadn't been so severely injured that day, the Six Desires Talisman Bai Shu had cast would have been shattered by her protective Spiritual Qi before it even reached her.
"There must be another fatal injury!"
Li Weiyi released the Second Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperor, instructing it to search Yang Qingchan's body for wounds and faint traces of Spiritual Qi.
The Second Phoenix moved beneath Yang Qingchan's clothes, creating a bulge as it explored.
After a long moment, the bulge stopped at the corpse's chest.
Emerging from the collar, Second Phoenix used Psychic Power to inform Li Weiyi that faint traces of Spiritual Qi lingered near Yang Qingchan's heart, but there were no injuries.
"No injuries, yet traces of Spiritual Qi remain. In other words, someone used Spiritual Qi to grip her heart, stopping it from beating and killing her while she was still alive."
"How could this be? Yang Qingchan was so powerful. Couldn't she even resist?"
This method of death was truly bizarre.
Second Phoenix's next words cleared up his confusion.
It revealed that the lingering Spiritual Qi did not belong to a Five Seas Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivator.
"Impossible! How could a Martial-Mystic Cultivator above the Five Seas Realm dare to kill someone during the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival?"
Li Weiyi immediately released his Psychic Power, infusing it into Yang Qingchan's chest for a thorough examination.
He found nothing.
The killer's technique was incredibly sophisticated, leaving traces only a unique being like Second Phoenix could detect.
"Could it be..."
A look of disbelief, shock, and confusion spread across Li Weiyi's face. Yao Qian's elegant, gentlemanly figure flashed through his mind.
The only way to kill Yang Qingchan without being pursued by the Crossing Calamity Temple was if it was done by a high-ranking member of the Sui Sect itself.
The only Sui Sect high-ranking member who appeared that night was Yao Qian.
"Beneath their outwardly righteous facade, the Sui Sect is just as dark inside. But the method of killing was rather gentle."
Li Weiyi didn't believe Yao Qian had killed Yang Qingchan solely to frame him. At most, it was a convenient way to shift the blame.
Li Weiyi couldn't be bothered to delve into the deeper reasons. As long as he uncovered the true killer and cleared his own conscience, that was all that mattered!
"Yao Qian probably still thinks his methods were clean. Plus, the body had been soaking in water for days, leaving no trace. Heh heh, what a true gentleman..."
'Respect the dead.'
After tidying Yang Qingchan's appearance, Li Weiyi was about to close the coffin lid and leave when he noticed something amiss.
The coffin was over ten feet long, yet Yang Qingchan's body was placed at the head.
That meant there was over three feet of empty space at the foot.
The coffin felt top-heavy and unbalanced.
'Whoosh!'
Li Weiyi pushed the lid fully open, revealing the space at the foot.
A foot-long Jade Box was concealed there, pressed tightly against the coffin's end.
Runes were inscribed on the Jade Box, connected to the coffin itself.
Li Weiyi's eyes darted around, immediately dismissing the idea that this was a burial offering. He quickly drew his Yellow Dragon Sword and shattered the rune. Opening the Jade Box and probing its interior with his Psychic Power, he found it held a hidden world within.
The Jade Box was crafted from the Innate World within a Martial-Mystic Cultivator's Qi Sea, its space spanning dozens of cubic meters.
Inside lay the Yongquan Coins that had been stolen, along with the bets from the Martial-Mystic Cultivators on the final day.
Li Weiyi's heart surged with excitement.
The feeling of recovering what he had lost was truly exquisite. He now had enough rations to feed the Seven Little Ones until they reached seven inches in length, and he should have enough to cover his cultivation in the Sixth Sea Wind Mansion.
He immediately carried the Jade Box out and stored it in the Blood Mud Space.
The Spirit Tablet Master's voice echoed from within the Blood Mud Space: "This Otherworldly Coffin is a decent Battle Treasure. It contains two Formations - one offensive, one defensive - that complement each other perfectly."
"Oh!"
Li Weiyi, who was in the midst of sealing the coffin lid, suddenly had an idea: "How powerful is the coffin's offensive Formation? Can it still be activated?"
The Spirit Tablet Master replied, "The coffin's offensive Formation is a superposition of nine layers of Profound Light Formations. Each layer of Profound Light doesn't reach the Dao Seed Realm in power, but with nine layers stacked, even a Dao Seed Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivator would struggle to withstand it. The only drawback is that the Profound Light within the Formation is released all at once."
"Look," Li Weiyi said, pointing at the white substance inlaid on the Blood Mud coffin, "It's still in a semi-real, semi-illusory state, which means the Profound Light within the Formation is still active."
Li Weiyi's resolve grew stronger!
When he had discovered the stolen Yongquan Coins inside the coffin, he had already planned to use this opportunity to hide within it and ambush Yu Zi.
Yang Qingxi was no match for the Martial-Mystic Cultivators of the Far Western Ashlands, and the Formation in the Fourth Courtyard, not set by a Spiritual Spiritual Master, would surely fail to hold for long.
Once she was captured or her consciousness seized, Yu Zi would come to retrieve the Yongquan Coins, and Li Weiyi could strike him by surprise.
With his current cultivation, Li Weiyi had a very real chance of killing Yu Zi outright with a surprise attack.
At the very least, he could severely cripple him.
As for Chen Wenwu and the two attendants, Li Weiyi had no fear. Even if he couldn't defeat them in a combined attack, he could easily escape.
Killing Yu Zi would be like severing one of Luan Sheng Lin You's limbs... no, one of his legs. From then on, Luan Sheng Lin You would be forced to walk on one leg, unable to simultaneously manage the Western and Southern Territories, and incapable of both offensive and defensive strategies.
It would be like the Imperial Court without Jiang Ning, its highly capable second-in-command. Ge Xiantong's life would become far more difficult.
The chance of success was high, but the risk was too great!
The slightest misstep could lead to dire consequences.
Li Weiyi had previously abandoned this idea, unwilling to risk such a dangerous move.
But now, things were different. If the coffin itself possessed a terrifying offensive power and was protected by a defensive Formation, Li Weiyi couldn't afford to hesitate. If he failed to seize this once-in-a-millennium opportunity, he would have to swallow the Long Dian and Lu Cangsheng's assessment of him.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion erupted from the Fourth Courtyard.
Yu Zi had unleashed the Hundred-Character Scripture Artifact to forcibly break through the Formation.
Li Weiyi no longer hesitated.
He leaped into the coffin, moved Yang Qingchan's corpse to the foot, and, cloaked in invisibility, lay at the head, his fingers poised in the Cihang Enlightenment Finger.
The moment the coffin lid opened, he would strike.
If Yu Zi wasn't the one opening the coffin, he would immediately activate the offensive Formation, indiscriminately eliminating all Martial-Mystic Cultivators who entered the Spirit Hall. His Spirit Tablet Master had already taught him how to trigger the Formation.
This coffin had likely been inspected by the Far Western Ashlands people during their search for hidden individuals, but they hadn't discovered the Jade Box at the foot.
As long as Yang Yun didn't betray him, Yu Zi would undoubtedly open the coffin himself, completely unguarded.
Li Weiyi released his hearing to its fullest extent to confirm whether Yang Yun had exposed him. It was simple: he listened for any Far Western Ashlands Martial-Mystic Cultivators rushing toward the carriage to investigate.
Li Weiyi's worries proved unfounded.
One after another, Sui Sect Martial-Mystic Cultivators were brutally murdered before Yang Yun's eyes by the Left Attendant. The screams of Yang Yue, whose skin had been flayed, echoed in his ears. This was a nightmare Yang Yun wouldn't even dare to dream while asleep. He soon fainted from terror - or perhaps it was simply because he hadn't eaten in seven days and was too weak.
The Formation was breached shortly after.
"Yang Qingxi, you don't even have the right to buy your life now!"
"Hahaha, Qi Jin wants her skin. I'll peel it off myself later."
The voices of the Left and Right Attendants rang out in succession.
Then came another round of screams from the young Sui Sect Martial-Mystic Cultivators. Even with their Combined Formation, they could only withstand a few dozen blows before collapsing against the elite experts of the Far Western Ashlands.
"Young Mistress, don't worry about us! Flee quickly!"
"Young Mistress, I'll go ahead... Ah..."
The screams gradually faded.
But the sounds of battle continued.
Lying in the coffin, Li Weiyi knew that Yang Qingxi was the only survivor of the Sui Sect's younger generation! She couldn't possibly escape. The San Chen Palace had sent two Calamity Fire Realm Great Spiritual Masters to oversee the Formation, making escape impossible.
Capture was only a matter of time.
To everyone's surprise, Yang Qingxi unleashed Inheritor-level combat strength, sacrificing her own injuries to drive back Yu Zi and break through the encirclement, drenched in blood.
Instead of attacking the Formation barrier, she descended from the roof with lightning speed, instantly diving into the mourning hall.
Her two attendants pursued closely behind.
"Qingxi, surrender! There's still a chance for survival," Chen Wenwu called out, catching up.
Inside the mourning hall, Yang Qingxi's eyes were cold and sharp, filled with killing intent and malice. She hurled her broken sword at Chen Wenwu as he approached. Then, she slammed her fingers hard against the foot of the blood mud coffin, releasing a ring of Spiritual Light Flame.
Suddenly, the coffin, which couldn't normally be opened from the foot, was pushed open by her.
'Swish!'
She leaped directly into the coffin.
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END OF CHAPTER
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