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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 4: [Shuangsheng Dao Sect (Twin Rice Sect)]
Chapter 37 (292): [Becoming a Disciple of Yao Qingxuan]
(37th of Volume 4)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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"What? Tang Wanzhou?"
Li Weiyi looked blank, unsure why she was asking.
Yao Qingxuan saw that Li Weiyi was genuinely clueless. Her willow eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
For the past two months, Li Weiyi had been secluded in the Southern Purity (Nanqing) Palace, cultivating in peace and tranquility.
Yet she had been playing a cat-and-mouse game with Tang Wanzhou on the outskirts of the Main Hall. Though she held the upper hand, relentlessly suppressing Tang Wanzhou, repeatedly catching and wounding her, she had never managed to capture her.
A thousand years ago, the catastrophe that erupted in the Lingxiao Realm had ravaged the land, toppling mountains and diverting rivers.
It was during this time that the Twin Rice Sect stumbled upon the entrance to an Underground Immortal Mansion. They opened this Immortal Secret Realm and obtained the boundless treasures left behind by the Ancient Bhagavata Sect.
Because Zen Hai Guanwu had always forbidden the cultivation of Benevolent Rice in the Lingxiao Realm, the Twin Rice Sect was then in decline, forced to hide and survive.
They slowly excavated the Secret Realm, exploring its treasure troves and battling fierce insects, Dead Spirits, and other unknown anomalies within the Underground Immortal Mansion.
This matter was of utmost importance, and they dared not let too many people know.
The process of exploration and excavation was the Twin Rice Sect's path to gradual strength.
The Underground Immortal Mansion was vast, like a hollow sphere thousands of miles in diameter. The Ancient Bhagavata Sect had built it over at least twenty or thirty thousand years, concealing countless dangers, profound mysteries, and a seemingly endless supply of treasures and resources.
The Twin Rice Sect had spent a thousand years exploring and constructing, yet they had only cleared, modified, and built up a few hundred miles near the entrance. In terms of volume, this represented less than one percent of the entire Underground Immortal Mansion.
The Great Powers within the sect had naturally ventured further, but they faced a constant barrage of dangers. They had to meticulously lay out defensive Formations step by step before expanding and consolidating their gains.
Moreover, they dared not make too much noise, lest they trigger an earthquake and alert the Transcendents of the Lingxiao Realm.
The pace of modification and construction was infinitely slower than mere exploration.
Some areas even the Ren Dao Ancestor himself regarded with extreme caution, forcing them to detour.
Of course, the Twin Rice Sect's entrance to the Underground Immortal Mansion wasn't the one Qilin Zhuang had blasted open a year ago with his Supreme Artifact.
They had found another way in.
In fact, the Twin Rice Sect had been completely unaware of the entrance Qilin Zhuang had breached, as it happened to be located at the farthest edge of their exploration zone.
It was precisely because Qilin Zhuang had outmaneuvered them that the Twin Rice Sect was forced to gradually reveal its fangs from the shadows, stepping into the light and accelerating its plans.
Their activities became increasingly frequent and overt.
Normally, they had planned to wait until Snow Sword Tang Court descended south, Zuoqiu Sect marched north, and the Rebel Army destroyed the Lingxiao Palace. Only then would they emerge to clean up the mess and claim the final victory.
But Qilin Zhuang's interference threw all the hidden and overt forces in the Lingxiao Realm into chaos, completely derailing their plans.
For the past two months, Yao Qingxuan and Tang Wanzhou's pursuit had taken place outside the formations surrounding the Main Hall's completed construction zone.
Layer upon layer of formations, like a thousand-layered cake, had been built over a thousand years, enveloping the entire Main Hall.
Yet they weren't airtight. Yao Qingxuan suspected Tang Wanzhou had found a gap and slipped inside.
Seeing the stunning woman's expression shift between shadows and light, Li Weiyi cautiously asked, "Did Tang Wanzhou escape the Divine Prison, or has she never been captured?"
"What? Are you pleased to hear she's still on the run?" Yao Qingxuan asked.
"Tang Wanzhou is my friend."
Li Weiyi didn't deny it. Offering a weak defense before a Immortal Realm Great Power would only earn her contempt.
Yao Qingxuan said, "You care so much about your friend. Do you know that your other two friends might be suffering unspeakable torture right now? Can you care about them all?"
Li Weiyi's expression hardened: "Senior Yao means...?"
Yao Qingxuan and An Xianjing were both dressed in pristine white, untouched by dust.
Yet their personalities were as distinct as their appearances: one clear and calm, the other cold and graceful.
This woman, once renowned as the most beautiful in the world, possessed the same long, straight, and slender legs as Yaoyin.
Her waist was exceptionally high, her peaks full and upright, and her bearing even more refined. As she walked ahead, a fragrant breeze swirled around her, her Immortal robes billowing as she entered the shimmering golden light of the rice field.
Li Weiyi followed closely behind, pressing her for an answer.
"Senior, are you referring to the two people captured two months ago?"
Though he always addressed her as "Senior," he often felt disoriented, as if she were Yaoyin grown up. The resemblance was simply too striking.
Of course, in this perilous situation, with his opponent being a ruthless figure, Li Weiyi dared not offend her.
In the Blood Field, the Golden Rice was growing at an astonishing rate.
From its height of three feet two months ago, it had now grown to over ten feet, multiplying several times over.
The golden light it emitted was even more dazzling, with over a dozen leaves that shimmered with a golden texture, their edges sharp like saw teeth. Within, the Life Qi surged with vitality.
It was completely different now, as if it could truly nurture extraordinary Heavenly Prides, capable of crushing all Human Race experts.
A charming smile played across Yao Qingxuan's jade-like face, a flicker of anticipation in her eyes.
But the smile quickly faded: "You didn't water it with your own blood, did you?"
"No, I used the light and shadow of the Fusang Divine Tree to provide illumination. I'm using Spiritual Qi to help it breathe better."
"It's the fruit of your and Hall Master An's labor. Watering it with my blood would be disrespectful to both of you."
Li Weiyi channeled a wisp of Spiritual Qi from his fingertip, which transformed into a Cloud Mist that enveloped the Golden Rice.
Immediately, the Golden Rice began to breathe visibly, its stalks swaying rhythmically.
"You're overthinking things and making things difficult for yourself. On the path of cultivation, you'll bleed countless times, staining the earth or being taken by others. If you're so conflicted and hesitant about watering a single plant, your state of mind must be a tangled mess. When will you ever achieve clarity and insight?"
Yao Qingxuan slit her slender, jade-white wrist, spilling blood into the rice paddy.
She then had Li Weiyi retrieve the Cold Jade Bottle and fill it completely, enough for the next two months of watering.
A radiant glow flashed across her wrist, and the wound vanished.
"The person you asked Hall Master An to find is involved in a major event outside. She doesn't have time to help you. Before leaving, she asked me to find him for you, saying that having a weakness would help you better cultivate the rice for her."
Yao Qingxuan continued, "That person is imprisoned in the Divine Prison. When my people reached the prison, he had already been taken away by the Fourth Divine Son Wang Shu. The Inheritor of the Northern Territory Tuoba Clan was taken at the same time."
Li Weiyi's gaze narrowed slightly.
Of course he knew about the feud between himself and the Fourth Divine Son.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Wang Zhi and the Fourth Divine Son were Ren Dao brothers, identical in appearance.
"He's too afraid to barge into the Southern Purity (Nanqing) Palace, so he's using my two friends to force me out."
Li Weiyi turned to Yao Qingxuan, who wore an indifferent expression: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I suspect that even if the puppet strawman came from the Heavenly Principles (Tianli) Hall, it's not an elder controlling it. More likely, it's Wang Shu. He's so focused on dealing with me that he's completely disregarded your status as a Venerable One."
Yao Qingxuan tilted her head slightly, glancing at Li Weiyi, who stood half a head taller than her.
She gave him a cold look: "Is this the level of the Divine Hidden One of the Jiu Li Hidden Sect? Using an Immortal Realm Great Power so bluntly?"
Li Weiyi quickly explained, "Senior's sword throw was undeniably powerful. But didn't it also bring the underlying conflict into the open?"
"From a single glimpse, one can see the whole picture. The Twin Rice Sect is far from monolithic; there must be internal struggles for power and resources."
"This time, the other party suffered no losses, only being temporarily subdued. We can anticipate that they will soon test Senior's limits again, undermining Senior's authority as a Venerable One."
"Once this precedent is set, will the Seven Great Elders of the Southern Territory, who serve Senior, and those below them begin to doubt Senior's strength, harboring ulterior motives? And will those above in the Divine Sect perceive Senior as lacking competence?"
Given Yao Qingxuan's status, how could she have sent someone to find Qi Xiao without also sending someone to demand Wang Shu's release?
There was only one explanation: she had asked, but Wang Shu had refused to cooperate.
Yao Qingxuan's earlier remark about Li Weiyi's friend possibly suffering inhumane torture was a deliberate provocation, designed to stir Li Weiyi's emotions and push him into a confrontation with Wang Shu.
Li Weiyi, as expected, followed her lead.
Yao Qingxuan stared directly into Li Weiyi's eyes, her gaze like two icy stars.
After a moment of eye contact, Li Weiyi bowed deeply.
"With Senior's status, you would naturally disdain to personally deal with a mere Wang Shu. Grant me a position, and I will resolve this matter for you, making the provocateur pay the price."
"What position do you desire?" Yao Qingxuan asked.
"Yaoyin and I are as close as siblings, but I could become a disciple of Senior Yao."
Li Weiyi knew that escaping the Main Hall required a step-by-step approach.
The first step was to obtain an official status that would allow him to move freely within the Main Hall. Otherwise, being confined to the Southern Purity (Nanqing) Palace would be like waiting for death.
Yao Qingxuan asked, "Are you trying to join the Divine Sect?"
"The Divine Sect has done nothing to wrong me. Hall Master An and Senior Yao have shown me great kindness, which has greatly improved my impression of the sect and inspired me to pursue it."
Li Weiyi recited clearly and solemnly: "Twin Rice Sect, ever victorious. Ancestor of the Rice Sect, virtuous in both civil and Martial-Mystic Cultivation, may your legacy endure for ten thousand generations, and may you unite the world!"
Yao Qingxuan was momentarily stunned: "It seems you've taken my words to heart! But if I were to ask you where the Jiu Li Hidden Sect is hiding, how would you respond?"
Li Weiyi replied, "I will not betray the Jiu Li Hidden Sect."
"Then what is the sincerity of your desire to join the Divine Sect?" Yao Qingxuan pressed.
Li Weiyi was about to launch into a grand speech, showcasing his integrity and pride.
Yao Qingxuan cut him off, saying, "If those old fogeys in the sect ask, just blame it on me. If that doesn't work, just tell them the truth."
"Li Province has always been on the fringes of the world. The Divine Sect currently lacks the resources to target the Jiu Li Hidden Sect. The major players in the world's power dynamics are Lingxiao City, the Far Western Ashlands, the Demon Race, the Zuoqiu Sect, the Snow Sword Tang Court, the Thundercloud Sect, the Zhu Sect, and the Dragon Sect... The declining Jiu Li Clan and the Jiu Li Hidden Sect would rank tenth or lower."
"The Jiu Li Clan's Clan Chiefs, known for their patience and willingness to compromise, see this as a way to preserve their people."
Li Weiyi was completely stunned, his eyes flickering. He desperately wanted to ask the question that had been nagging at him.
He first heard of the Twin Rice Sect from the Hidden Lord.
The Hidden Lord claimed that a Hidden Elder (Hidden Elder of Jiu Li Hidden Sect) had sent word that he (Li Weiyi) was being targeted by the sect. The Hidden Elder was investigating the reasons behind this, hoping to defuse the danger before it materialized.
Clearly, a Hidden One Elder was secretly embedded within the Twin Rice Sect.
And if An Xianjing was the one targeting him, how could the Hidden Elder have learned about it so quickly?
They must be very close.
Therefore, Li Weiyi had long suspected that Yao Qingxuan might be the Hidden Elder.
He had hesitated to ask, partly because Yao Qingxuan's first appearance had been terrifying. Her attacks were ruthless, leaving a trail of corpses in her wake. Li Weiyi had been deeply intimidated by her, viewing her as a female demon.
Second, her talent was too high. Li Weiyi suspected that even Lao Li might not be her match. If she truly were a member of the Hidden Sect, she should have been a Hidden Lord from the previous Sixty-Year Cycle.
Third, Li Weiyi worried that asking would expose the Twin Rice Sect's secret of hiding a Hidden Elder, putting the elder in danger.
Fourth, if Yao Qingxuan were the Hidden Elder, why wouldn't she avoid suspicion?
Logically, she should have sent Li Weiyi directly to the Divine Prison or immediately handed him over to An Xianjing, minimizing her involvement.
Li Weiyi asked, "Senior Yao, aren't you curious about where the Jiu Li Hidden Sect is hidden?"
"Not at all!"
Yao Qingxuan continued, "By accepting you as my disciple, I'm taking responsibility for all your actions. I will plant the Death Spirit Fire within you. If you dare to act against the Divine Sect, I can turn you to ashes with a single thought. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I will find you."
Li Weiyi couldn't confirm Yao Qingxuan's identity, but he was certain that his Guardian Wife could block her Death Spirit Fire.
So he said, "Senior, rest assured. I know what's at stake."
"Still calling me 'Senior'?"
Li Weiyi followed Yao Qingxuan out of the Southern Purity (Nanqing) Palace, preparing to head to the Spirit Valley (Linggu) Hall for the True Inheritance Disciple assessment.
With a Venerable One personally escorting him, it was essentially a guarantee. Coupled with Yao Qingxuan's relationship with the Hall Master of the Spirit Valley (Linggu) Hall, the assessment was merely a formality - a check to confirm his Spiritual Master cultivation.
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END OF CHAPTER
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