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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 3: [Qiu Prefecture Lantern Festival]
Chapter 97 (241): [The Fifth Stage of the Five Seas Realm, Perfection]
(97th of Volume 3)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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Li Weiyi took a detour and arrived at the noodle shop at the bridgehead.
The broken stone bridge had been completely repaired.
The shopkeeper refused the Yongquan Coin Li Weiyi offered, smiling, "Lord Ge has already sent someone to pay!"
"He's him, I'm me."
Li Weiyi placed the coin on the table and walked away without looking back.
Zixia (Purple Haze) Mountain, where the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple was located, was the tallest mountain outside East City's outer walls. Though not particularly high, it was renowned for the purple haze that rose from its slopes every morning at sunrise, creating a misty, ethereal scene reminiscent of an Immortal's paradise.
At noon.
Li Weiyi led Shi Shishi and Bai Shu up the stone steps and into the temple, then effortlessly made his way to the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple's dining hall.
"The Changqing (Evergreen) Temple's vegetarian meals are legendary. They serve lunch promptly at noon, so you two absolutely must try them."
Li Weiyi exchanged greetings with the two young Taoists working in the dining hall, who were quite friendly with him.
"You should have said so earlier! I love eating, and I've never had enough," Shi Shishi said, immediately ordering ten vegetarian meals after sitting down.
Bai Shu couldn't understand why Li Weiyi had brought them to this Taoist temple at such a crucial moment. Just as she was about to ask, Li Weiyi spoke first.
"Bai Shu, you're a Great Spiritual Master of the Calamity Fire Realm. Besides being proficient in talisman Techniques, how are you with insect control?"
Bai Shu replied, "I've studied it, but raising insects is incredibly expensive and exhausting. Fierce insects are difficult to tame, and rare insects are hard to find. So, I've only dabbled in it."
"Your Psychic Power is far stronger than mine. It should be enough! Let's eat first. After we finish, come with me somewhere."
After finishing their vegetarian meal, Li Weiyi and Bai Shu walked into the stone tablet forest outside the dining hall.
Meanwhile, Shi Shishi was still on his fourth serving.
The stone tablet forest covered several acres. Some of the inscriptions on the tablets were carved by Immortal Realm Great Powers. However, the area was quite desolate, covered in fallen leaves. Many tablets lay toppled on the ground, far from their former glory a thousand years ago.
Reaching a section where eight stone tablets were arranged in an Eight Trigrams Formation, Li Weiyi's fingertip ignited with a Spiritual Light Flame. He began drawing complex formation glyphs on the tablet in the Qian position.
He deliberately kept Bai Shu from seeing the glyphs.
This was a secret of the Daoist Sect of the Zuoqiu Sect!
"Whoosh!"
The ground between the eight tablets suddenly collapsed, forming a bottomless Eight Trigrams Well.
The two of them plummeted downward.
Bai Shu was terrified.
She quickly summoned her Spiritual Light Flame, forming Spirit Light wings on her back to slow her descent.
Li Weiyi grabbed her wrist, using his movement technique to navigate the stone-lined well walls. He quickly reached the bottom.
At the bottom of the well, they found yet another Eight Trigrams Formation of eight stone steles.
Li Weiyi walked to the Kun position stele and began to draw on it.
Behind him, Bai Shu, fearing another sudden drop, quickly grabbed his hand: "Master Li, can you please stop playing these dangerous games? Where are we even going?"
"To find some helpers."
As Li Weiyi spoke, a thunderous rumble echoed through the well. The stone wall behind the stele opened, revealing a stone door that extended downward.
When he had lived at the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple with Yang Qingxi, Li Weiyi had explored this place alone.
This was once a Daoist training ground of the Spirit Tablet Master during his youth.
Using special Formation glyphs, it could open a passage to a deeper level of the underground Formation beneath Qiu Prefecture City.
At the time, Li Weiyi had considered this place a hiding spot and escape route in case strong enemies found the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple.
After walking for a long time, the two finally reached the depths of the underground cavern.
Before them lay a vast, pitch-black cavern space, over a hundred feet high. Even with the Spiritual Light Flame, they couldn't illuminate the far side. In the center of the cavern stood a towering Eight Trigrams Platform.
Bai Shu was astonished: "Did Zuoqiu Ting tell you about this place? Where are these helpers you mentioned?"
"Clap clap!"
Li Weiyi clapped his hands heavily and whistled.
The cavern echoed with the sound.
Suddenly, a rustling chorus of dense cries erupted from the darkness. Countless eyes opened, some glowing, others burning with flames.
Bai Shu felt a chill shoot up her spine, her vision blackening, nearly fainting from sheer terror. The entire cavern teemed with fierce insects, each radiating hostility and a murderous aura, their ferocity unmatched.
Even more fierce insects poured forth from cracks in the rock and hidden passages within the cavern.
"Don't be afraid," Li Weiyi said, "A Dispel Rune is suspended above Qiu Prefecture City, driving away all Commander-Grade Strange Insects from the underworld. These are just Soldier-Grade and General-Grade fierce insects."
He released seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors.
Now seven inches long, they radiated brilliant light as they flew in different directions, their sharp scream echoing through the cavern, intimidating all the fierce insects.
Only Commander-Grade Strange Insects, comparable to Dao Seed Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators, possessed the initial ability to summon fierce insects and form insect armies.
The seven-inch-long Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors had already grown powerful enough. Coupled with their noble bloodlines, they were certainly not inferior to Commander-Grade Strange Insects.
In particular, Big Phoenix, upon releasing its aura comparable to an Immortal Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivator, instantly suppressed all the fierce insects in the cavern, causing them to tremble and whine in fear.
Even Bai Shu, upon suddenly sensing this aura, found her legs trembling and struggled to resist it. It felt as though she were facing a powerhouse on par with the Eldest Master himself.
Gazing at the back of the Jiu Li Clan's Divine Hidden One before her, her heart was deeply shaken. She realized that Li Weiyi was shrouded in mystery and the unknown.
Bai Shu had long heard of the Insect Tamer's elevated status, that one could stand against a thousand armies, defend an entire city, or even destroy a sect single-handedly.
Today, she finally witnessed the reality of it all.
Li Weiyi said, "The seven rare insects I raise are barely under my control. But there are many Calamity Fire Realm Great Spiritual Masters and skilled Insect Tamers in the city. I fear something might go wrong."
"I'll teach you a few Insect Scriptures characters. Engrave them onto those General-Grade fierce insects. Time is short; do as much as you can."
After imparting the Insect Scriptures, Li Weiyi ascended the Eight Trigrams Dao Platform at the center of the cave.
He produced an Azure Yin Banner and draped it over the platform, shielding his important secrets from Bai Shu.
Next, he retrieved the Immortal Haze-tainted Herbs needed for his breakthrough, along with the remaining Dao Fruit.
"Today, you must help me control the Spiritual Qi within my body and suppress its rejection. Otherwise, I'm finished, and you'll be finished too. Guardian Wife, Guardian Wife, surely you'll protect me at this crucial moment, won't you?" Li Weiyi muttered to himself.
Logically, he shouldn't be attempting to break through to the Fifth Stage of the Five Seas Realm right now.
The Spiritual Qi in his Fourth Sea was still unstable and highly incompatible. Forcing a breakthrough would be extremely dangerous.
The reason he dared to do so was because of his Guardian Wife. She couldn't appear openly, but she could secretly suppress the incompatibility of the newly added Spiritual Qi within his body - a task she could accomplish without anyone noticing.
As for the hidden dangers caused by rushing the breakthrough...
He'd have to deal with those after the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival.
His lung lobes had long been fully reinforced.
Li Weiyi swallowed the first Immortal Haze-tainted Herb. The Spatial Power within the elixir erupted, causing Immortal Haze to surge wildly through his body and seep out through his pores.
Simultaneously, he mobilized the Spatial Power of the Buddha's Relic to aid in the creation of his lung lobes' Innate World.
Breaking through to the Fifth Qi Sea was a forced endeavor, incredibly difficult.
After swallowing five Immortal Haze-tainted Herbs in rapid succession, his lung lobes shuddered violently, and the Innate World was born.
Next came the expansion of the Innate World and the construction of the Qi Sea Meridian.
Time ticked by, minute by minute.
With the assistance of the Buddha's Relic's Spatial Power, the Fifth Qi Sea expanded at an astonishing rate.
After two hours, it reached ten thousand cubic meters.
By the third hour, it had grown to fifteen thousand cubic meters.
The expansion rate slowed.
In the fourth hour, it increased by another two thousand cubic meters.
.....
Finally, Li Weiyi's fifth Qi Sea stabilized at around 18,000 cubic meters - more than twice the size of his Fourth Sea, which measured 8,000 cubic meters.
This was comparable to the ancestral field of some Seventh Sea Martial-Mystic Cultivators.
Time was running out.
Li Weiyi retrieved his Dao Fruit and asked Master Coffin to help him infuse it into his fifth Qi Sea.
He had to reach the perfection of the Fifth Stage of the Five Seas Realm today.
As for whether the Spiritual Qi in his body became chaotic or if his body rejected the Dao Fruit, he left that entirely to his Guardian Wife.
.....
...
Shi Shishi knew tonight would be a tough battle, so he spent the entire afternoon eating in the mess hall.
When evening arrived, he was still eating.
All the young and old Taoists responsible for preparing the vegetarian meals were shocked, staring in disbelief at the towering stacks of bowls on the table.
"How can his stomach hold so much? He's eaten enough food for a hundred people... Is he even human?"
"Don't be ridiculous! Senior Brother Li is a good friend of the First Inheritor. Anyone he brings along is trustworthy."
Shi Shishi finally seemed full.
He glanced around, realizing it was already dark.
He quickly wiped his mouth and asked, "What time is it?"
A young woman in a white Daoist robe, sitting by the window near the stone tablet forest, replied calmly, "It's almost midnight (Hai Hour). The temple bell will ring in an hour, opening the venue. The Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival is about to... end..."
Suddenly, the ground trembled slightly.
"Boom!"
In the stone tablet forest, an Eight Trigrams Formation emerged, radiating a brilliant white light.
The Eight Trigrams Well, two dozen feet in diameter, opened with a resounding dragon's roar.
Li Weiyi, stepping on a Dragon Shadow, and Bai Shu soared out from below, landing heavily on the ground and scattering fallen leaves.
Shi Shishi, fearing he'd miss the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, finally relaxed when he saw them return.
He sprang to his feet like lightning.
Li Weiyi shouted, "What time is it?"
"Midnight (Hai Hour)!" Shi Shishi replied.
"Let's go! We can still catch the main event."
Li Weiyi's Spiritual Qi surged, carrying him skyward. He landed on the blue-tiled roof of the Taoist Temple, surveying the city's lights and gazing at the full moon in the sky. A long, melodious whistle escaped his lips.
"Rumble!"
From the Eight Trigrams Well, a dense swarm of fierce insects, led by seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, poured out like a dark cloud.
Their cries filled the air - flying, crawling, countless, and endless.
"Whoosh! Whoosh..."
Li Weiyi took the lead, leaping down Purple Haze Mountain and swiftly hopping across rooftops.
The seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors soared through the air, leading seven black torrents of insects that blotted out the sky.
They followed closely behind him, ascending the Inner City walls and racing along them toward South City, toward the battlefield.
Shi Shishi stood atop a cloud of General-Grade fierce insects, still reeling from shock.
"Did we make too much noise? Are we really taking on the entire city?"
"Didn't those legendary Insect Tamers always fight alone?" Bai Shu countered.
Trailing behind them were the Patrolling Immortal Envoys of the Calamity Crossing Temple, clad in white Daoist robes.
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END OF CHAPTER
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