"Thank you for your favor, Senior, but such a precious treasure is truly more than I deserve," Li Weiyi said after deliberating for a moment.
He truly felt somewhat ashamed. The other party treated him with complete sincerity, yet he was keeping so much hidden.
As the saying went, "Treat others with sincerity, and they shall answer in kind."
Yet if he did not conceal the truth, how could he ever reach the Hidden Gate and become a Divine Hidden One?
Li Songlin had been observing Li Weiyi's state of mind all along, and he smiled faintly. "Why are you calling me 'Senior' again?"
"Fourth Uncle."
Li Weiyi was more than willing to address him this way.
Having grown up without any family, his master, senior brother, and eldest senior sister had been his entire world. Kinship terms were extraordinarily precious to him.
This utterance of "Fourth Uncle" sounded even more solemn than when he had spoken it in Jiuli City.
"The exotic herb tainted by immortal haze is kept at Zaomei Manor. We'll go retrieve it right now. There's nothing about it being more than you deserve, so don't burden yourself. Have you forgotten that the Cangling Tribe still owes you a favor from Immortal Burial Town?"
Pausing, Li Songlin wore a strange smile. "Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law have already heard your name and asked me about you. Don't worry, no need to feel pressured—just look sharp in a bit. After all, this day was bound to come sooner or later."
Li Weiyi looked at the girl sitting across from him, with her bright eyes and fair teeth, only to find her staring right back at him. He sighed inwardly; perhaps a large part of why Fourth Uncle treated him with such warmth and sincerity was because of Li Ling.
He was clearly being viewed as a prospective matrilocal son-in-law for the Fourth Miss.
After a brief awkward silence, Li Ling asked, "Fourth Uncle, what is really going on at Immortal Burial Town? I've heard people say it's a realm of fallen immortals with countless immortal treasures. Some even say the underground connects to a corner of the Immortal Realm, a place where one can ascend to immortality in a single step. Can we mortals truly travel to the Immortal Realm in mortal flesh?"
The lazy air around Li Songlin vanished. His eyes grew as sharp as swords, and straightening his back, he said, "These rumors must have been spread by people harboring ill intentions, meant to lure powerful figures from across the provinces to throw Lizhou into turmoil so they can profit from the chaos. As of now, no one has entered the depths underground and returned alive. A Dao Seed Realm cultivator attempted to force his way down, but no one knows what he encountered—he turned into a rain of blood within the immortal haze, his very bones ground into dust."
Li Weiyi was startled. Even a powerhouse of the Dao Seed Realm had perished without explanation?
He immediately gave up any lingering thoughts on the so-called great opportunities at Immortal Burial Town. Instead, he grew more concerned about whether Lizhou would remain safe and stable. "Were the rumors spread by the Earth Wolf King's Army?" he asked.
Li Songlin nodded. "Supposedly, the Earth Wolf King's Army has dispatched three Dharma Kings to Lizhou with towering ambition, clearly determined to make major moves. But on their own, they don't have an appetite big enough to swallow all of Lizhou. There must be multiple other factions involved. Dragon Gate, the ten-million estate from the Eastern Territory, is one of them."
Li Weiyi was no longer the youth who had just arrived from Earth; having gained an understanding of the world's landscape, he naturally knew the weight of a ten-million estate. They were colossal titans, rare enough to be counted on one's fingers in the entire Lingxiao Realm of the Living.
Dragon Gate in the Eastern Territory, Zuoqiu in the Southern Territory, Zhu Gate in the Western Territory, and the Snow Sword Tang Court in the Northern Territory.
These ten-million estates were lords that each dominated at least an entire province, their influence, industries, and clansmen spanning the Lingxiao Realm of the Living. Medicinal pills, dharma artifacts, exotic beasts, salt commerce, money houses, spices, mining regions, porcelain, tea, inns, pleasure houses, silks... their presence could be found in nearly every trade. Deeply entrenched across the twenty-eight provinces, they permeated every opening and were everywhere to be seen.
Foundations of a thousand years, or even thousands or tens of thousands of years.
Just how dense were those roots?
How solid was that foundation?
Ten years ago, the first clarion call of rebellion against Lingxiao Palace had been sounded in the Eastern Territory, blown jointly by Dragon Gate and the Leixiao Sect. It had quickly spread across the realm, leading to today's landscape of endless warfare and warlords dividing territories.
Rebel armies large and small numbered over a hundred; beacon fires rose in all directions as dragons and serpents vied for supremacy.
Aside from Lizhou, which remained relatively stable, there was no longer a single peaceful corner under heaven.
Seeing that a heavy mood had fallen over Li Weiyi and Li Ling, Li Songlin said, "Don't worry! Powerful as Dragon Gate is, their roots are in the Eastern Territory; they cannot march into the Southern Territory on a large scale. Otherwise, the local powers led by the Zuoqiu estate would surely respond.
"Besides, when it comes to the struggles under heaven, the older generation stands at the forefront. It isn't your turn to worry about such things yet."
Li Ling was more concerned about the situation at Immortal Burial Town and asked, "Since no one has gone underground, the immortal-haze-tainted exotic herb Fourth Uncle harvested must have come from the area surrounding Immortal Burial Town, right? How exactly do such exotic herbs form? Is harvesting them dangerous?"
Clearly, she harbored an obsession with transforming into a Pure Immortal Physique.
Li Songlin said, "For several dozen li around Immortal Burial Town, the entire area is shrouded in immortal haze, and its interior seems to be constantly expanding. These exotic herbs all grow wild in the mountains. Their grades aren't particularly high; many are just ordinary medicinal materials of several decades or aged herbs.
"It's just that some of them managed to absorb a wisp of immortal haze to nourish themselves, which sparked their miraculous transformation.
"Some of these exotic herbs can aid the transformation into a Pure Immortal Physique, some can help open the Fengfu and Zutian springs, and others can help expand the qi sea. Now do you understand why so many proud prodigies of the younger generation have converged here?
"The two of you had better not go adventuring there. There are plenty of formidable figures in that region; even if you were lucky enough to harvest one, you wouldn't be able to carry it away. On top of that, departed spirits and fiendish demons haunt the area. It is exceedingly dangerous."
Li Ling showed a look of disappointment, letting out a long, quiet sigh.
Li Weiyi asked, "Fourth Uncle, what did you mean by saying the interior of Immortal Burial Town is constantly expanding?"
"The area around Immortal Burial Town shrouded by immortal haze is steadily expanding, as if space itself is being pulled open bit by bit. Just recently, an expert of the older generation penetrated two hundred li inside without ever finding that former ancient town."
"Could it truly be connected to the Immortal Realm?" Li Weiyi was visibly moved. This was simply too incredible.
Li Songlin smiled and shook his head. Even he did not know how things would develop; currently, the patriarchs of the nine great tribes were all suffering immense headaches over it.
The ox cart came to a stop before the gates of Zaomei Manor.
This was an estate belonging to the Cangling Tribe in Yaoguan City. When Li Weiyi had first arrived in this world, he and Gao Huan had visited once.
No driver was needed. After Li Songlin led the two of them down, the green ox pulled the cart around to the rear courtyard on its own, showing remarkable spirituality and intelligence.
The setting sun had not yet sunk beneath the horizon. Its slanted rays cast a dusky yellow glow, throwing tree shadows onto the walls.
Waiting at the gate was Li Qing'er, the sixteen-year-old younger cousin Li Ling had mentioned. Though neither a Pure Immortal Physique nor a Semi-Immortal Physique, she possessed striking beauty and a graceful figure, and her dharma-martial cultivation was far from low, having already opened seven springs.
"I heard you ran into trouble with the Changlin Gang—I was worried sick! Their audacity is simply too great," Li Qing'er said anxiously, grasping Li Ling's hand. She then bowed to Li Songlin and called out, "Fourth Uncle."
Li Ling said, "Word traveled back that fast?"
"Yaoguan is only so big! Brother Ming mentioned it when he arrived earlier, saying Xue Zheng has already become a Pure Immortal Physique and is invincible beneath the Wuhai Realm. You almost suffered a huge loss!"
As she said this, Li Qing'er shot a glance at Li Weiyi, her impression of him distinctly poor.
She had heard from Qing Chengming that this fellow had hidden behind Li Ling the entire time, not daring to utter a single word. What could a man like that ever amount to?
After Li Ling and Li Qing'er walked in hand-in-hand, Li Weiyi followed behind Li Songlin into Zaomei Manor.
Passing through the screen wall, the noise in the inner courtyard gradually swelled.
A group of young cultivators from Lizhou was holding a gathering. Amid fine clothes, rich wine, fame, ambition, and youth, they held forth on the affairs of the realm with boundless bravado, creating a lively scene. At their head was naturally Cang Li.
Moreover, in the main hall sat four other young figures radiating formidable auras. Each was extraordinarily dashing, their every gesture bearing an imposing presence that commanded admiration.
They were the number-one figures of the younger generation from four of the Jiuli Clan's nine great tribes, none of them older than thirty.
Among the dozens of young cultivators present, there was no shortage of Pure Immortal Physiques and stunningly beautiful young women of heaven, yet only five were seated. Such was the treatment accorded to the leading figures of a tribe; their own overwhelming strength placed them in a rank others could only look up to.
Fragments of conversation drifted into Li Weiyi's ears: "...harvesting herbs in the immortal haze zone...", "Chen Wenwu of the San Chen Academy has arrived...", "the Sui Sect is growing more arrogant by the day..."
Li Songlin asked, "They are the most outstanding youths of the Jiuli Clan. In several decades, they will be the titans of every industry in Lizhou. Do you want to go introduce yourself? When young people get together, passions collide, youth sings like a song—you're bound to have plenty in common."
Li Weiyi shook his head gently, showing little interest, though his eyes surveyed several of the Pure Immortal Physiques inside along with the four seated figures.
Li Songlin had previously mentioned that aside from Cang Li, five other individuals in the Jiuli Clan had opened nine springs over the past decade. Some of them were likely among this gathering.
Li Qing'er had already pulled Li Ling into the main hall.
Moments later, Cang Li was the first to walk out. His skin radiated a faint glow, his handsome, heroic bearing both noble and incisive, exuding a flawless elegance capable of captivating any woman in the world.
His gaze fell upon Li Weiyi, complex and no longer as gentle and unburdened as before, but filled with sharp scrutiny.
"Brother, he's my best friend," Li Ling chimed in to remind him.
Hearing her words, the crowd of young Lizhou talents and maidens who followed Cang Li out began to scrutinize Li Weiyi in earnest.
Li Ling was extraordinarily gifted—at only sixteen years old, she was already a great mind master.
For her to protect an outside male like this, referring to him as her "best friend," suggested things were far from simple.
Cang Li tempered his gaze slightly and asked, "Against Xue Zheng, what are your chances?"
Even with countless pairs of eyes fixed upon him, Li Weiyi showed not the slightest unease. "A hundred percent... or maybe ninety percent!"
He did not want to sound too boastful or arrogant.
Someone in the crowd let out a low chuckle.
Cang Li's brow furrowed. "Being able to slay Yao Zhengsheng with a single sword strike proves your swordsmanship has achieved Heavenly Dao Dharma Convergence, which is quite impressive for someone your age. However, if you wish to face the current Xue Zheng, you must open the ninth spring, Zutian. Otherwise, you won't stand a chance. The dignity you lost is something you must fight to reclaim with your own hands; only then will you be able to hold your head high in the future."
Immediately afterward, he drew a booklet from his robes. "These are the notes and insights written by every martial cultivator of the Cangling Tribe who has opened nine springs since antiquity, including my own. Look through it carefully—it should be of help.
"You must fight for it. It is a mortal's only chance to catch up to a Pure Immortal Physique!
"Your strength is not weak. You have a glimmer of hope."
Chapter 71