Tomb of the Cang King

It was the sound of carriages and horses—many of them. In a place as perilous as the Jiuli ancestral realm, why would so many carriages and horses appear? Beneath the nocturnal curtain, guided by eight yin streamers, paper money fluttered in the air. A long convoy approached from the distance, rolling past along a path of paper money roughly fifty paces from Li Weiyi. The carriages were filled with young boys and girls. Those driving the carts all wore robes of grayish-white cloth. Li Weiyi counted carefully and found there were as many as eighty-three carriages. From the rear carriage, a middle-aged man drew aside the curtain, revealing a tall, upright stature and an imposing countenance. He called forward in a low, deep voice, "Speed up. Leave the ancestral realm as quickly as possible." The middle-aged man appeared around fifty years old, sharing forty to fifty percent of his looks with Li Songlin, the first chief of the Cangling. Only after the convoy had moved far away and its sounds gradually faded did Li Weiyi lift the ghost banner that draped over him, lost in thought. "Judging by their attire, they seem to be people from the Cangling Tribe." "Those who can enter and leave the ancestral realm via this paper-money yin road should indeed be members of the Cangling Tribe," Senior Coffin remarked. Li Weiyi frowned. "Truly bizarre. Where did these children come from? Why are they being transported out from within?" "Keep going forward, and you will likely find the answer." Senior Coffin seemed to already have an answer in mind. Continuing in the direction of Jiuli Sacred Mountain for several more shichen, Li Weiyi saw a light-blue barrier of woven radiance arranged by a mind master appear before him. It rose from deep beneath the ground and connected to the firmament, with mysterious scriptures bobbing on its surface. Li Weiyi swept the Nine Emperors Streamer across it. The barrier thinned, revealing the scene within. It was a field of paddy shrouded in rosy mist. Every stalk of rice stood more than ten meters tall. The rice ears at their tips were plump and translucent, and within them, one could faintly discern gestating human fetuses. With just a single glance, Li Weiyi instantly pulled back the Nine Emperors Streamer and sat flat on the ground, struggling to process the shock in his heart. This shock welled from the depths of his being, as if a core part of his humanity had taken a devastating blow. Humans could actually be cultivated and grown like crops. Senior Coffin also fell silent. After a long while, he said, "Benevolence Rice has existed since antiquity, cultivated by certain taboo demon kings and departed spirits as rations. The human world has always resisted planting it. A thousand years ago, several of us—including Chanhai Guanwu—held this exact stance. Thus, no one in the Lingxiao Realm of the Living dared to plant it. "If I were still in control of the Jiuli Clan and the Cangling Tribe, I would certainly drag out whoever planted this secretly and execute clan law upon them." The voice from within the stone coffin conveyed quiet fury. Li Weiyi smiled wryly. "If the entire Lingxiao Realm of the Living has already become like this, then if the Jiuli Clan refuses to plant it, they will fall behind other powers. Once this vicious cycle of rat-race competition begins, humanity's upper ceiling may climb higher and higher, but the lower floor will plunge ever deeper. "The widespread emergence of rice people will inevitably shatter humanity's core values. In such a world, how could there not be war and chaos? "If I possess sufficient cultivation in the future, I will never let this chaos continue indefinitely." Then, laughing self-deprecatingly, he added, "Haha, forget it. With my current cultivation, I can't even secure a foothold in this world, so how can I speak of changing it?" Senior Coffin said, "Weiyi, I feel that you are close to discovering what you truly want!" Li Weiyi stood up and looked no further at the paddy field on the other side of the light barrier. Hoisting the stone coffin onto his shoulder and raising the Nine Emperors Streamer, he continued toward Jiuli Sacred Mountain. "Becoming a Divine Hidden One as soon as possible and breaking through to the Wuhai Realm is my foundation for standing firm. Otherwise, in these sweeping winds and clouds of the world, I can only drift with the current as an unnamed wretch whose life is cheaper than grass, without any hope of taking part." *** Three days later. Li Weiyi arrived at the Tomb of the Cang King. The Tomb of the Cang King was merely a dozen-odd li from Jiuli Sacred Mountain, set upon a perilous mountain peak a thousand meters high. Shrouded in drifting clouds and mist, stone steles and inscriptions were visible everywhere across the mountain. Upon the square before the mausoleum lay an array of rare and bizarre otherworld coffins. After salvaging coffins, the Cangling Tribe did not put all of them up for sale. Those coffins sufficiently extraordinary and precious were sent to the Tomb of the Cang King for storage. Though the clan currently lacked the understanding and dared not open them, supreme heroes would surely emerge among their descendants who could unravel their secrets. Flanking the sacred way leading to the tomb entrance stood stone horses, stone monkeys, stone elephants, and various other tomb-guarding beasts, alongside sacrificial implements such as stone lanterns and stone cauldrons. Senior Coffin asked, "How many days' worth of food do you have left?" "Senior Tablet reminded me earlier, so I came fully prepared. With careful rationing, lasting a month won't be an issue at all." Saying this, Li Weiyi produced a piece of dried meat and popped it into his mouth. Senior Coffin said, "Very good. Do not enter the tomb gates yet. I shall teach you a few insect runes. With your talent, you should be able to master them quickly." Insect runes—much like beast runes, scripture runes, incantation runes, elixir runes, and artifact runes—were not written words in the conventional sense, but creations of supreme mind masters. They were not written by hand, but drawn and condensed with mind force manipulating spiritual light flames. Insect runes were naturally the means used to subdue and command insect beasts. Li Weiyi said, "Master Coffin, could what you sent me to retrieve be some kind of ferocious insect? Or perhaps a ferocious insect resides in the tomb, making it necessary to learn an insect-controlling method?" Senior Coffin explained, "A thousand years ago, during the peak of my cultivation in life, I once ventured into an immortal-fall realm and obtained an insect nest. Inside were seven insect eggs, conservatively estimated to be of marquis grade. They were stored in the Tomb of the Cang King to be nurtured, and now they will benefit you, kid!" Li Weiyi drew in a sharp breath. One had to understand that in the Lingxiao Realm of the Living, human powerhouses and various demon kings ruled the surface, but the subterranean depths belonged entirely to the insect races. The ao spider commanded by Master Qi of the Changlin Gang was merely a soldier-grade ferocious insect. Even so, it earned him the respectful treatment of the gang chief. Not every insect tamer was formidable, as much depended on the tier of the swarms they commanded. Yet when it came to competing for the title of the strongest combat mind master at the same realm, an insect tamer was undeniably among the fiercest contenders. Especially in this era of chaotic warfare, an insect tamer capable of area-of-effect swarm attacks held a status surpassing that of any ordinary mind master. Marquis-grade insects were already qualified to be listed on the Extraordinary Insect Ranking. Once they reached maturity, they possessed the strength of a Changsheng Realm martial cultivator. Seven of them meant seven Changsheng Realm powerhouses. If he truly became an insect tamer commanding seven marquis-grade extraordinary insects, who else would be qualified to serve as the Jiuli Clan's Divine Hidden One if not him? Furthermore, some mature marquis-grade extraordinary insects could even assume human form and possessed the authority to summon and command subterranean insect tribes. Even human cultivators who encountered them had to pay respects, addressing them reverently as "Lord Marquis." And what Senior Coffin had stated was... Conservatively estimated to be marquis grade. Li Weiyi quickly regained his composure from the shock and remarked, "A thousand years have already passed. I fear those insect eggs have hatched long ago." Senior Coffin replied, "Insect eggs of this grade do not hatch so easily. Back then, I enlisted an exceptionally formidable insect tamer in the Lingxiao Realm of the Living to help research and analyze them. Even when nurtured within the miniature Tianfa Earth Spring inside the Tomb of the Cang King, it would take one to two thousand years before they had a chance to hatch naturally. "Originally, I intended to leave them for Jiuli descendants as foundational heritage for the clan. But the great war a thousand years ago broke out so abruptly that before I could pass word of this, I was drawn away by the spatial power of Shaoyang Star." Li Weiyi asked, "If they haven't hatched, wouldn't I have to wait several hundred more years?" Senior Coffin chuckled. "Natural hatching time is indeed difficult to estimate. But having been nurtured for a thousand years, there are non-natural methods to accelerate their maturation and breach their shells. The few items I had you buy—did you buy them all?" "Fire cloud stone, nine-leaf bulrush, blood crystal... After buying those items, I'm basically dead broke again! The courtyard in the suburbs has likely been reclaimed by the Yang clan and the Changlin Gang." Li Weiyi took out one by one the six items he had purchased earlier according to Senior Tablet's instructions. Feeling somewhat weighed down, he silently prayed that Yang Yun had not died, for that was his greatest remaining financial asset. And of course, there was Old Zhao's hundred thousand silver coins. The stone coffin stood upright once more, using its coffin body as a brush to write insect runes upon the ground. Seven runes in total! Each character was immensely intricate, containing over thirty strokes. They hardly looked like words at all, resembling instead paintings—talismanic drawings that followed no conventional rules. Senior Coffin said, "Strictly speaking, your Master Tablet should be the one teaching you insect runes, as she was an extraordinarily formidable insect tamer in the Lingxiao Realm of the Living. However, the seven insect runes carved onto those eggs were of my own hand, so only I can teach them. "By the way! Insect runes should ordinarily be transmitted to you by outlining them with spiritual light into rune imprints. In my current state, I can only resort to writing them out. Comprehending them will likely be much more arduous for you. But I believe in your talent... You'll manage!" Li Weiyi gave a helpless, wry smile, knowing that in the hearts of his three masters, he was already treated as a cultivation prodigy far beyond a Pure Immortal Physique. While observing and memorizing the insect runes on the ground, he asked, "Master Coffin, if I hadn't cultivated spiritual light, wouldn't coming to the Tomb of the Cang King have been in vain?" Senior Coffin answered, "No. You could also use your blood to trace the insect runes directly onto the eggs. Once absorbed, they would naturally acknowledge you as their master. However, doing so sharply increases the risk. For instance, what if they have already hatched? By mastering the insect runes yourself, you will possess the means to subdue them, reducing the risk to a minimum." Li Weiyi spoke no further. Sitting cross-legged, he mobilized strands of spiritual light flames within his Yintang spirit realm, using each thread of flame as a stroke to trace the insect runes. The difficulty was indeed staggering. His spiritual light was nearly exhausted without yielding any substantive breakthrough. He had to nurture his spiritual light before attempting again. While nurturing his spiritual light, Li Weiyi did not neglect his martial way, hoping to break through his seventh spring at the crown of his head as quickly as possible. That way, after leaving this place, he would not be hunted down by Tang Yan, Xue Zheng, and the others to the point of running for his life. The seventh spring marked the peak of the Yongquan Realm; most Wuhai Realm martial cultivators possessed only seven springs. Such a tranquil cultivation environment was truly precious. *** Time flew, and twenty days flashed past in the blink of an eye. Li Weiyi mastered all seven insect runes, and the barrier to his seventh spring also showed signs of loosening. Just as he intended to summon his momentum to break through within the next two days— *Rustle!* A cold wind blew out from the woods, setting his hair and sleeves fluttering. Li Weiyi snapped his eyes open and twitched his nose, catching a faint, familiar fragrance on the wind. "It's Li Ling! Why has she come to the Tomb of the Cang King as well?" His five senses were keen. While not on par with a bear capable of scenting distinctive smells from tens of kilometers away, he was not far off. The voice from within the stone coffin sounded: "She must truly possess a method to track you down. It might be the Perceptive Lucidity of a Nether Lamp Wayfinder, or perhaps some other reason. Since she is an uncertain factor, do not let her get involved. Go, enter the tomb at once!" Li Weiyi agreed with Master Coffin's perspective. With everything prepared, he could not afford any mishaps at such a critical juncture. Shouldering the stone coffin and clutching the Nine Emperors Streamer, he sprinted toward the two massive stone tomb doors towering over a dozen zhang high at the end of the sacred way. As he drew closer to the tomb entrance, Li Weiyi narrowed his eyes, discovering two star charts carved onto the doors, inlaid with countless silver and yellow gemstones representing stars. The one on the left closely resembled the Milky Way. The one on the right also carried a sense of familiarity, resembling the Yellow Springs Star River he had seen on the Bronze Ship.