"I'm not going."
Li Weiyi refused outright.
If it had been Li Songlin, the first chief of the Cangling, or a private invitation from Cang Li alone, Li Weiyi naturally would have found it hard to decline. After all, the two of them had looked out for him greatly in Jiuli City.
Li Songlin in particular had not only helped him secure the qualification to challenge for a spot in the Jiuli Dao Academy, but had also personally gone to intimidate the Changlin Gang, not even hesitating to offend the Yang clan to guarantee his safety for an entire month.
Li Weiyi had always remembered that kindness.
But going with Li Ling to meet her parents and an entire clan of relatives—what was that supposed to mean?
"Don't walk away! My dad, my mom, and my brother already know all about us!" Li Ling hurried after him, staying right at his heels.
Li Weiyi emphasized, "There is nothing between us! If you keep blabbering nonsense to everyone, ruining my reputation, or throwing your clan's power around to pressure me, we really won't even be friends anymore."
"I didn't blabber nonsense!"
Li Ling continued, "A month ago, when you were being targeted and hunted down, I left the Jiuli Dao Academy the moment I heard the news and searched everywhere for you. My mother thought I cared too much about you and got suspicious, so she called me in for a talk. I told her you were my best friend and had saved my life multiple times. That was all I said! I didn't utter a single lie, and I can swear it on the God of Jiuli!"
Li Weiyi replied with silence.
He could easily imagine what Li Ling's mother must have thought upon hearing that answer.
Li Ling said, "Do I not even have the right to care about you? Or am I not even allowed to be presumptuous enough to treat you as my best friend?"
***
Yaoguan City had no walls; it resembled a colossal market town inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people.
Most of the buildings in the city were constructed from rammed earth and piled stone, rather low and primitive. Only a few sprawling clan manors, restaurants, and inns possessed a touch of grandeur, built three to four stories high with rounded timber logs.
The celestial radiance disturbance that erupted at Immortal Burial Town had caused far too great a stir. Enveloping the entire region, it had shaken all seven southern prefectures over the past month, giving rise to all sorts of wild rumors.
Some said Immortal Burial Town was an ancient realm where an immortal had fallen—where the fall of an immortal nurtured myriad lives—and that countless wondrous treasures were about to emerge.
Others claimed that beneath Immortal Burial Town lay a fragment of the Immortal Realm, poised to open. The massive pillar of light shooting up from the earth was said to be the path leading to that Immortal Realm. Elder powerhouses from Lizhou had descended along the beam into the subterranean depths and glimpsed sights that did not belong to the mortal world. Yet none dared venture too deep; overwhelmed by a terrifying aura, they had fled back to the surface after only a hurried glance.
Truth and falsehood intermingled as rumors flew wildly, drawing countless cultivators from far and wide. Naturally, this brought a burst of bustling liveliness to this small town nearest to Immortal Burial Town—a prosperity that had never belonged to it before.
Restaurants and inns were already packed to bursting, and the prices of rooms and meals had multiplied several times over.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Shouli Tribe, the local masters of the land, brought out all manner of rare resources to sell, including otherworld coffins, precious herbs, exotic beasts, beast eggs, insect eggs, hyperdense metal ores, the blood of ancient immortal behemoths, and more.
As long as one had money, in the present Yaoguan City, one could buy numerous resources and secret treasures that were normally impossible to find.
Li Weiyi was fairly familiar with Yaoguan City. His first night in this world had been spent staying here with Gao Huan. Instead of heading toward the most bustling district in the center, he made his way to the herb market in the west of the city.
The western part of the city bordered the Mount Mang Range. After gathering herbs in the mountains, herb pickers brought their freshest finds straight here to sell at stalls, offering prices far cheaper than the shops run by prominent clans and sects.
Of course, the quality of herbs here was not particularly high.
Still, they were merely seven larvae; why would they need such high-grade herbs anyway?
Of course, the truest reason was that Li Weiyi was strapped for cash, and high-grade herbs were outrageously expensive.
Stepping into the western herb market, the distinct fragrances of myriad medicinal ingredients assaulted his senses. The stalls were all extremely modest, with some vendors merely laying out a hemp cloth or straw mat on the ground to begin peddling their wares.
The entire market was chaotic, filled with shouts, haggling, and squabbles.
Having trailed behind him the whole way, Li Ling entered the market and could not help saying, "If you want to buy herbs, you need to go to a merchant guild. There's nothing good here. All sorts of riffraff gather in this market, and it's crawling with prying eyes. Even if someone finds a precious herb, they secretly sell it to a guild at the first opportunity. The Tianyi Chamber of Commerce has a branch in Yaoguan. If you purchase under the Cangling Tribe's identity, you get a substantial discount."
"No money," Li Weiyi said.
Li Ling did not believe him at all. "What about the money the Cangling Tribe gave you to buy a residence? That was a full two hundred thousand silver coins!"
Li Weiyi had no idea how to explain, so he could only respond with silence. He walked up to a stall with a relatively wide variety of herbs, pointed to a piece of cistanche over a meter long lying on the ground, and asked, "How much for this one?"
Seeing Li Weiyi's worn, bedraggled appearance, the stall owner had initially intended to ignore him. But spotting Li Ling behind him—dressed in resplendent attire with the face of a little fairy—a smile immediately spread across his face. "Little brother, you have sharp eyes! This is an aged herb, weighing a full sixty-three jin. Fifty silver coins per jin. How many jin would you like cut?"
Herbs required ten years to mature, a century to become precious, and a millennium to attain spirit.
Only after growing for over ten years could a plant be classified as a medicinal herb.
Even standard medicinal herbs were not cheap, starting at five silver coins at the lowest end.
To be called an "aged herb," it had to possess at least fifty years of age.
Those that grew for over a century were known as "precious herbs."
Herbs that had grown for more than a thousand years had practically developed consciousness, wielding dharma power and even the ability to assume human form. Incredibly rare and precious, each was called a "thousand-year refined herb" or a "thousand-year demon herb."
The reason Li Weiyi took an interest in this cistanche was not that it was particularly rare or exquisite, but that there was a massive quantity of it. It would definitely keep those seven little rascals fed for a long time.
"Fifty silver coins a jin? That's too steep. Lower it a bit."
Li Weiyi frowned deeply. The nine-leaf bulrush had been a three-hundred-year-old precious herb, so being expensive was only natural. Yet a mere aged herb at the medicinal tier was frighteningly pricey as well.
Buying the entire stalk would cost three thousand one hundred and fifty silver coins.
Adding up all the various coins on his person right now, he only had enough to exchange for around twelve thousand silver coins.
How long would that even feed the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors?
The vendor's expression soured considerably. "It's only fifty silver coins—how is that expensive? Life is tough for herb pickers. Do you know how dangerous the Mount Mang Range is? Do you know how hard it is to harvest an aged herb?"
Li Ling stepped beside the cistanche, pinched off a thumbnail-sized piece, brought it to her nose, and sniffed gently. Sensing something, she smiled. "This isn't an aged herb, is it? By my estimate, it's barely over thirty years old."
The stall owner snapped, "Little girl, you damaged the appearance of my aged herb! You have to pay compensation!"
"Sure, how much?"
Li Ling pulled out a black metal medallion and casually tossed it to the stall owner.
The owner caught it, took a single glance, and the medallion immediately seemed to turn scalding hot in his hands, making it impossible to hold. Hurriedly handing it back with both hands, he offered a nervous, trembling apology. "S-so it's a Lord Nether Lamp Wayfinder of the Divine Temple! No wonder your eyes are so sharp! How could any herb under heaven escape your gaze, my lady?"
"So, is this an aged herb or not?"
"No, no..." the stall owner chuckled awkwardly.
Taking back the Nether Lamp Wayfinder medallion, Li Ling added, "And what about the price?"
"Thirty silver coins a jin—no, twenty-five silver coins a jin!" The stall owner beamed deferentially.
Li Ling shot Li Weiyi a smug glance before continuing, "Fine! You're a member of the Shouli Tribe, right? Let's head over to the Shouli ancestral shrine in the city right now. You can explain in person to the elders in charge of tribal discipline and punishment how you cheated my friend, disrupted market order, and tarnished the reputation of the Shouli Tribe."
In the herb market, vendors routinely called out arbitrary ages for their herbs, swindling whoever took the bait. Whenever they ran into someone knowledgeable, as long as they could agree on a price, no disputes would arise.
Yet who would have guessed he had crossed someone he shouldn't have provoked today?
After all, the Jiuli Divine Temple held direct authority over the ancestral shrines of all clans and towns.
The vendor pleaded, "How about... how about my lady sets a price?"
***
In the end, Li Weiyi spent six hundred and thirty silver coins to buy the sixty-three-jin cistanche.
With the chance to buy herbs at such a low price, how could Li Weiyi let it slip away?
He proceeded to select six other aged herbs from the same stall. After rounding down the total, he spent two thousand four hundred silver coins in all.
Li Weiyi felt no guilt whatsoever. Had it not been for Li Ling, his limited knowledge of herbs would have surely cost him a fortune. And had the vendor not attempted fraud in the first place, Li Weiyi would never have allowed Li Ling to use her status to browbeat him.
After another stroll through the herb market, sure enough, he didn't spot a single precious herb.
Spending five silver coins on a chi-long insect tube, Li Weiyi left the market.
If his funds had been sufficient, he naturally would have preferred to purchase precious herbs to feed the Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors. After all, the more valuable their diet, the faster they would mature.
Who wouldn't want to raise seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors to a level where each possessed combat power comparable to a Wuhai Realm expert as soon as possible?
*Looks like I'll still have to sell dharma artifacts,*
Li Weiyi mused inwardly while turning the newly bought insect tube over in his hands. It was crafted from a section of red-gold bamboo, exceptionally tough, and fitted with ventilation holes and carrying straps.
The Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperor was an imperial-grade exotic insect. Even Master Stone Coffin and Master Jar had failed to recognize it, and Senior Tablet had remarked that even back in their era, no more than ten insect tamers in the entire Lingxiao Realm of the Living could have identified it.
Because of that, she had told Li Weiyi not to worry too much about exposure.
Keeping the Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors in the blood-soil space atop the Buddha relic was certainly fine, but should he encounter a formidable foe and need to unleash them for assistance, doing so would inevitably expose the secret of his spatial treasure.
Li Weiyi halted abruptly and looked at Li Ling, who had remained by his side the entire time. "Aren't you curious why I bought these things?"
"Even if I were, you wouldn't tell me. Someone like you never appreciates my kindness. You always think I'm out to harm you," Li Ling retorted.
Li Weiyi considered it for a moment. "Can I treat you to some noodles?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Li Ling's eyes.
"You saved me a huge amount of money today. I ought to show some gratitude."
Li Weiyi led Li Ling over to a roadside noodle stall under a canvas canopy, taking a seat at a square table facing the road. "Boss, two bowls of noodle soup with beef."
Li Ling wore luxurious robes. Her sash, sleeves, and collar were pure white without the slightest blemish, and paired with the flawless skin and exquisite features of her Semi-Immortal Physique, she appeared utterly out of place in such an environment.
As she took the seat to Li Weiyi's right, countless surprised and curious gazes swept over from both inside the stall and out on the street, accompanied naturally by envious and jealous glares.
Li Ling handed him a silk handkerchief. "Wipe the grime off your face. No one dares lay a finger on you in Yaoguan—there are plenty of Cangling powerhouses in the city."
Li Weiyi wasn't sure how to handle his relationship with Li Ling either. He was not a cold, unfeeling man; on the contrary, he cherished every sentiment deeply. Just as he would remember Cai Yutong's bowl of fish soup for the rest of his life.
After hesitating for a long moment, he took the handkerchief, wiped his face, and asked, "The bounty on my head at the Five Burials Temple must have gone up, hasn't it?"
Just on their short walk of a few hundred meters from the herb market to this noodle stall, Li Weiyi had spotted at least three stalkers, their eyes laden with hostility and killing intent.
It couldn't be helped. Yaoguan was simply too small, and Li Ling was far too eye-catching.
Walking alongside Li Ling, it would have been stranger if he hadn't been targeted and recognized.
Of course, it was precisely because he walked beside Li Ling that no one had dared make a move yet.
"It went up—by several times over. Quite a few Wuhai Realm cultivators are searching everywhere for you."
Li Ling added, "Now do you understand why I had to bring you to meet my parents? You'll only truly be safe staying by their side. Once we return to Jiuli City, you can enter the Dao Academy directly to cultivate, with no need to fear the assassins of the Five Burials Temple or external bounty hunters."
"Oh? Don't spots in the Dao Academy have to be contested?" Li Weiyi asked with a smile.
Li Ling smiled back. "In that battle a month ago, you slaughtered your way down an entire street and dyed the waters of the Sui River red. Who dares underestimate you now? Both Yao Zhengsheng and Lu Can, two Top Hundred Martial Artists, died by your hand. There are no obstacles left to entering the Dao Academy. Fourth Uncle even plans to take you as his personal disciple."
"A man's name precedes him like a tree casts its shadow. You have quite a bit of fame among the younger generation now."
"Only quite a bit?" Li Weiyi remarked.
Li Ling replied, "You haven't broken through the ninth spring, the ancestral field, you aren't a Pure Immortal Physique, and you haven't entered the Wuhai Realm. Just how famous do you expect to be? My brother possesses all three, yet even he isn't universally renowned throughout the world."
Two steaming bowls of noodle soup were served, their aroma drifting invitingly.
The beef was served in generous portions, with over a dozen slices per bowl.
Li Weiyi had just begun eating.
A chubby youth of about fifteen or sixteen dashed into the canopy stall like a whirlwind, panting heavily as he sat down beside the square table shared by Li Weiyi and Li Ling, shouting, "I'm starving to death! Boss, ten bowls of noodle soup!"
Beside the stove, the stall owner paused in disbelief. "For how many people?"
"Are you blind? One! Just me!" The chubby youth slammed the table and added, "Cut the chatter, I won't short you a single copper!"
Li Ling glanced around. Seeing no other empty tables, she couldn't very well chase him away.
The chubby youth fixed his eyes on the untouched bowl in front of her, rubbed his hands together, and grinned familiarly. "Sister, with your Pure Immortal Physique looking like a goddess descended to the mortal world, you don't look like someone who eats in a place like this anyway. How about letting me have your bowl first?"
A Semi-Immortal Physique and a Pure Immortal Physique were difficult to distinguish by outward appearance alone.
"You certainly have a sweet tongue. Go ahead and eat it; I'm not hungry," Li Ling said.
"Thank you so much!"
The chubby youth hurriedly pulled the bowl over and asked, "I'm called Shi Shi. How should I address the two of you?"
Li Ling replied, "Cangling Tribe, Li Ling."
"Cangling Tribe, Xie Tianshu."
Li Weiyi quietly sized up the chubby youth who had suddenly appeared. He sensed no ripples of dharma power or thought force, nor any dangerous aura—the youth seemed entirely ordinary. Yet for an ordinary person without cultivation to appear in the present Yaoguan City, wasn't that bizarre in itself?
While wolfing down his noodles, the chubby youth was actually able to keep talking, commenting on the crowd passing by on the street outside: "Brother Tianshu, see that carriage pulled by fire lizards? That belongs to the young city lord of Licheng in Zhizhou. The Li family is riding high right now! A major figure arose among them, and in a few decades, they might just have a shot at becoming the second ten-million estate in the southern territories. That young city lord is only seventeen, yet he has already broken through all nine springs to reach the Wuhai Realm. Pity he has a mortal physique; if he were a Pure Immortal Physique, that would truly be something!"
"Sister Ling, see those dozen or so youths in teal martial robes? The leader is Chen Wenwu, the foremost figure of the San Chen Academy's younger generation. He's ranked among the top ten under thirty years old in Lizhou... maybe even top five..."
"Xue Zheng, ranked fourth in Lizhou's Seven Springs Hall, is here too! He's no simple figure either. Possessing such combat power below the Wuhai Realm at under twenty-five years old, he stands on equal footing with Pure Immortal Physiques. Once he breaks through to the Wuhai Realm, he'll be like a carp leaping into a dragon!"
Only then did Li Weiyi and Li Ling finally turn their gaze toward the street.
Sure enough, Xue Zheng's tall, upright figure, bearing a dharma artifact saber on his back, strode over from the distance, his eyes fixed intently on the noodle stall. In the sunlight, his silver skin gleamed with an exceptionally bright, piercing luster.
Arriving alongside Xue Zheng were two Wuhai Realm powerhouses of the Changlin Gang, Xu Changlin and Tang Yan.
Yet in both presence and demeanor, the two Wuhai Realm experts seemed a notch inferior.
Pedestrians across the entire street sensed an unusual and perilous aura. Aside from martial cultivators confident in their own strength, everyone else retreated far into the distance.
Li Ling naturally knew trouble was brewing. Standing up abruptly, she strode out from the canopy. "The Changlin Gang's guts are growing bigger by the day! I haven't even gone looking for trouble with you, yet you deliver yourselves right to my doorstep. If you want to kill someone in Yaoguan City, do you think you can get past me?"
Xue Zheng cupped his fists. "Fourth Young Lady misunderstands! Xue has come merely out of concern for Brother Li's injuries, specifically to pay my regards. If his wounds have healed, I would like to exchange a few pointers. After all, everyone is saying now that Li Weiyi is the number one among the younger generation of the Yongquan Realm in Lizhou. Xue Zheng has never suffered defeat, yet to be inexplicably overshadowed by him leaves me somewhat unsettled."
Xu Changlin chimed in, "Young people should spar and exchange pointers more often. Both are top geniuses of the Yongquan Realm. It's only fair!"
Li Ling retorted, "How come I've never heard anyone claim he's the number one of the Yongquan Realm's younger generation in Lizhou? The number one of the younger generation is my brother! Why doesn't your Sui Sect find someone to challenge him instead?"
Xue Zheng's gaze landed on Li Weiyi. "Xue merely wishes to spar. Does Your Excellency lack even the courage for that? A man who hides meekly behind a woman is destined never to achieve greatness."
Li Weiyi finished the last sip of soup in his bowl. "Boss, the check! I'll cover his ten bowls as well."
Li Weiyi had already escaped a deadly calamity once before simply by treating someone to noodles. He couldn't quite see through this chubby youth, so forging a bit of goodwill seemed far from a bad idea.
Besides, ten bowls of noodles didn't cost much anyway.
Stepping out of the canopy, Li Weiyi narrowed his eyes at Xue Zheng, who stood silhouetted against the setting sun. "I just finished eating; vigorous fighting isn't advisable right now. Let's arrange another day. Furthermore, I'm not hiding behind her—she insisted on protecting me. If you have the ability, feel free to find a great mind master to protect you too!"
"A beautiful great mind master who looks like a goddess descended to the mortal world," the chubby youth's correcting voice rang out from within the canopy.
Naturally, Li Weiyi had no desire to fight Xue Zheng. Defeating or killing him would only cause his enemies and assassins to reassess his strength, multiplying the pressure he would face down the road.
Refusing to fight, on the other hand, would only encourage his enemies to look down on him even more.
Xue Zheng examined Li Weiyi intently, as if getting to know him all over again.
That ruthless figure who had slaughtered everyone in his path along the Sui River didn't take the bait in the slightest.
*Clatter! Clatter!*
An ox carriage slowly approached.
The green ox pulling the carriage possessed a body far more massive than an elephant. Its pupils gleamed golden, its hide shimmered brightly, and its hooves and horns resembled green bronze—plainly no common breed.
To see the green ox was to know the man.
Everyone present recognized that the first chief of the Cangling had arrived. One after another, they bowed in greeting or retreated.
The ox carriage pulled up beside Li Weiyi and Li Ling, and Li Songlin's voice drifted from within: "You two, get in!"
Li Weiyi naturally understood that this first chief of the Cangling had hurried over specifically to back him up out of concern for his safety, and a surge of warmth stirred in his chest.
After Li Ling boarded first, Li Weiyi glanced across at Xue Zheng and Tang Yan. "Earlier, outside the city, I saw Murong Xiao!"
Tossing out those words without lingering to see their reactions, Li Weiyi boarded the ox carriage and stepped inside.
Li Songlin sat in the master seat facing the carriage door. His expression was rather somber, followed by a wry sigh. "My apologies. I thought I could shield you for a whole month, but in the end, they didn't give me any face at all. This time, I've lost immense face, and worse, I can't even win it back."
Li Songlin did not explain why he couldn't win it back, and Li Weiyi naturally had the tact not to press the issue.
He replied, "This junior is already deeply grateful. If Senior hadn't shielded me for over twenty days, I wouldn't have stood a single chance of survival that night."
Li Songlin finally cracked a smile. "Did you break through to the eighth spring, Fengfu?"
Previously, Li Weiyi had told him he was at the cultivation of seven springs.
Since he had survived that night a month ago and even slain Top Hundred Martial Artists one after another, he had clearly made a breakthrough to grasp that slim glimmer of survival.
Li Weiyi struggled internally, wondering whether he should lie to Li Songlin. He truly did not want to deceive this respectable elder before him, but in the end, he nodded. "Fortunately, I broke through to Fengfu, or else my bones would have been picked clean by now."
Having already guessed as much, Li Songlin showed no surprise. Instead, he smiled. "You were right not to yield to an impulsive urge and accept Xue Zheng's challenge. I was somewhat worried your character was too unbending. What is overly rigid breaks easily! The true path of the sword lies in balancing hardness with softness."
"Xue Zheng is already a Silver Pure Immortal Physique. With his martial attainments, no one below the Wuhai Realm in all of Lizhou is his match. Even those nine-spring martial artists concealed by various factions wouldn't necessarily defeat him."
"If you had agreed just now, I fear he would have split you in two with a single saber strike. And no one could have avenged you, because you agreed to it yourself. If you couldn't even withstand a single move, you would have had no one to blame."
As Li Songlin spoke, he watched Li Weiyi's expression.
A Pure Immortal Physique was not limited to jade-flawless skin; some transformed into silver, gold, glazed crystal, and other forms, with no inherent disparity in combat strength.
Li Weiyi showed no hint of dejection or dismay, for he did not believe he would lose to Xue Zheng, who had merely evolved from a Semi-Immortal Physique to a Pure Immortal Physique. He only asked out of curiosity, "Various factions have concealed nine-spring martial artists? So the Seven Springs Hall rankings are just for entertainment?"
Li Songlin shook his head. "The Seven Springs Hall rankings still carry great weight. Young martial artists capable of opening nine springs are exceedingly rare, and once they open the ninth spring, they immediately break through to the Wuhai Realm to keep that secret hidden."
"Whenever a Pure Immortal Physique opens nine springs, it becomes known to the entire world, because geniuses of that caliber are roped in by major factions to serve as banners and figureheads. No one dares kill them recklessly. Ten-million estates and ten-million sects refer to them as Inheritors."
"Yet how many Pure Immortal Physiques exist?"
"The mortal base is thousands or tens of thousands of times larger than that of Pure Immortal Physiques. Even if cultivating is vastly harder for them, there are still a few who manage to open nine springs. Yet almost all of them remain unknown to the world, deliberately concealed."
"From what I know, over the past decade, a full six young martial artists in the Jiuli Clan have opened nine springs. Cang Li is merely the strongest among them. Of the other five, four are mortals and one belongs to the mutant race."
Li Weiyi said, "The population of the Jiuli Clan exceeds tens of millions, yet over ten years, only six opened nine springs. The ancestral field barrier truly is as difficult as scaling the heavens."
"As a million-strong clan, the Cangling Tribe hasn't produced a single nine-spring genius in the past thirty years, aside from Cang Li."
Li Songlin offered a self-deprecating smile before continuing, "I've told you all this because I want you to make an attempt at the ninth spring. Only by opening the ancestral field will you have a chance to defeat Xue Zheng and make up for the gap in physique. If you truly pull it off, anyone—regardless of their cultivation—will hold you in high regard, and your status within the Jiuli Clan will be completely transformed."
Although Li Songlin was fifty-two this year and referred to himself as an old man, he looked only in his thirties, carrying an aura of languid ease and unconstrained grace.
Li Weiyi said, "This junior will certainly give it a try. I won't rush into breaking through to the Wuhai Realm."
Li Songlin nodded in satisfaction and finally came to the main point: "Do you know why Xue Zheng was able to transform into a Pure Immortal Physique in such a short time?"
"Why?" Li Ling asked.
Li Songlin replied, "The first chief of the Xue family harvested an exotic herb tainted by immortal haze near Immortal Burial Town and gave it to him to consume."
The Sui Sect was formed by an alliance of seven families.
The Yang clan stood at the head, while the Xue clan sat at the tail.
"If that old scoundrel could nurture a Pure Immortal Physique, then I naturally intend to nurture a nine-spring genius to suppress him." Li Songlin looked at Li Weiyi with a smile. "As it happens, I also harvested an exotic herb tainted by immortal haze a few days ago."
Li Weiyi was deeply moved. He had assumed Li Songlin's lengthy discourse on the nine springs and the ancestral field was merely meant to encourage him; who would have thought the elder would present such a wondrous treasure?
Li Ling pouted playfully. "Fourth Uncle, I'm still a Semi-Immortal Physique! With such an exotic herb, how can you think of an outsider first?"
Li Songlin said, "Both are tainted by immortal haze, but different herbs produce different effects. The one I gathered is far better suited to helping a martial artist open Fengfu and the ancestral field. Within our clan, who has any hope of opening the ancestral field?"
The reason Li Songlin had decided to bestow this exotic herb upon Li Weiyi was twofold. First, the combat strength Li Weiyi displayed at the eight-spring realm was formidable enough to rank among the top ten Top Hundred Martial Artists, giving him a very real chance of successfully opening the ancestral field.
Second, he had heard Cang Li recount the events of that night in Jiuli City a month ago: Li Weiyi had actually lured away a horde of enemies all by himself to protect his companions. The courage and moral fiber he had demonstrated in that desperate straits were exceedingly rare and precious. Li Songlin truly wished to take him as a disciple.
Chapter 70