When dharmic power left his body, it transformed into dharma qi, and the yellow glow along the sword blade surged wildly.
The Four-Winged Spider King already possessed a measure of intelligence. A humanlike look of shock appeared in its eyes, and immediately, its abdomen flushed bright red as though a fire blazed within, before it spat a beam of blood-colored radiance from its mouth.
*Bang!*
The blood-colored radiance was blasted apart by the heavy, forceful cleave of the blade.
As the sword tip swept down, the Four-Winged Spider King raised a silvery-white leg like a metal spear to block it.
The spider leg was sheared off.
Sent flying backward by the impact, the Four-Winged Spider King let out gurgling shrieks of pain, flapped its wings, and retreated into the spider swarm.
Li Weiyi wanted to pursue, but once his senses cleared, waves of pain washed over his entire body. The Six Desires Rune on his chest began flickering again, and his consciousness grew groggy. Thinking of Shi Liuyu, who had been locked in a wolf cave for two months, a violent shudder ran through him, and he hurriedly rummaged for the pills he carried with him.
He took one out and swallowed it immediately.
Looking forward again, he saw only dense swarms of flying-winged white spiders; there was no trace left of the Four-Winged Spider King.
The eight-to-nine-hundred-year purple cistanche was several li behind him. With his current condition, slaughtering his way back through the swarm to harvest it was entirely unrealistic.
"Forget it. I'll come back another day. Let's go!"
Li Weiyi waved his hand and rode the half-illusory giant camel, giving chase to the skiff that had already drifted over a li away.
Fighting while retreating, the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors kept the pursuing swarm of flying-winged white spiders at bay, leaving countless spider corpses floating in the subterranean river.
Returning to the skiff, Li Weiyi recalled the giant camel into the evil camel bell. Unable to hold himself up any longer, his legs gave way, and he nearly collapsed onto the boat. Only then did he discover a finger-length gash torn open on his thigh by the Four-Winged Spider King.
Fortunately, he was wearing the corpse-garment soft armor on his upper body, which protected all his vital spots.
"The Four-Winged Spider King's combat prowess was definitely comparable to a Wuhai Realm martial cultivator. Surviving this vicious battle was pure luck. Trying to cross a major realm to fight upwards from the Yongquan Realm truly is as hard as scaling the heavens."
Li Weiyi propped himself into a sitting position and swiftly mobilized the dharma qi within his body to flow along his silver trace veins, nursing his injuries.
In this battle, the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors had fought as fiercely as seven phoenixes. While he healed, they covered the rear continuously, ultimately slaughtering so many spiders that the swarm dared not pursue further.
Upon their return, they were quite overbearing. Pulling aside the ghost banner wrapped around Yao Yin, they pounced together to gnaw on the cistanche radiating scarlet brilliance.
Every inch of their posture exuded an attitude of: *If we don't eat this, who else has the right?*
...
A day later.
Yin Twenty-Four sat cross-legged on a stone platform by the bank at the spider cave's exit, cultivating her breathing method. Beside her lay a blood-glow gemstone, which illuminated the stone walls surrounding the blood river like a spiritual lamp.
Her skiff was tied to a stalactite pillar below.
Hearing an unusual sound of water, she opened her eyes abruptly. "How could it be so fast?"
Yin Twenty-Four had never undergone the seven-spring trial and was unfamiliar with the exact conditions inside the spider cave. But she knew that anyone who successfully passed the trial and emerged took at least three days.
*Splash!*
A skiff six to seven meters long slowly drifted out with the current.
Li Weiyi sat upright at the bow with his back straight, eyes closed as he healed his wounds. The silver trace veins at his Fengfu Yongquan acupoint had emerged one by one, stabilizing his cultivation realm.
The number of trace veins in his body had increased to ninety-six.
Though still shy of all veins silver, the gap was steadily narrowing.
*Thud!*
The two skiffs bumped together, and their hulls trembled.
Li Weiyi exhaled a long breath of turbid air and looked at the slender, tall figure standing on the stone platform by the bank. "Did three days pass that quickly? I thought only two had gone by."
"Not even two days have passed. How did you do it?"
Yin Twenty-Four floated down onto the boat. Taking in the chaotic scene aboard Li Weiyi and Yao Yin's skiff, she was slightly startled. "You ran into an attack from the spider swarm?"
She knew well that the seven-spring trial tested psychological fortitude and pressure tolerance. If one could make it through without disturbing the spider swarm within three days, one would emerge alive. But if the swarm was disturbed, everyone inside would perish.
The skiff was piled high with the remains of flying-winged white spiders and a large quantity of spider silk.
Naturally, the ghost banner, evil camel bell, cistanche, and Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors had all long been stowed away by him.
"It was indeed a vicious battle, extraordinarily perilous," Li Weiyi said with lingering dread.
Yin Twenty-Four reassessed Li Weiyi. No wonder Yin Five had made a special point of mentioning him; this man was truly not simple, and there had to be great secrets about him.
She lashed the two skiffs together, and they began their return journey.
Li Weiyi asked, "These spider corpses and silk should be redeemable for precious herbs, right?"
"They are."
Standing at the stern, Yin Twenty-Four looked at Yao Yin, who was still frozen stiff as a block of ice, and remarked curiously, "You didn't seize this chance to kill your greatest competitor? Those who are soft-hearted or lust after beauty won't survive to the end."
By now, Li Weiyi no longer considered anyone in this cohort a rival. Unbothered to answer her question, he lowered his voice instead. "Care to make a deal?"
Yin Twenty-Four was taken aback.
She heard him continue, "Inside the spider cave, there is a precious herb nearly a thousand years old. If you and I join forces, we can definitely harvest it."
The flying-winged white spiders were immense in number; Li Weiyi knew that handling them on his own would be exceedingly difficult.
Moreover, he was not certain whether there was only one spider king inside. What if there were other perils? What if there were other spider kings?
Bringing in a Wuhai Realm cultivator to cooperate couldn't go wrong.
Yin Twenty-Four was slightly tempted, but soon her expression chilled again. "Precious herbs in the trial grounds are rewards for the trial participants; Hidden Ones cannot harvest them. Besides, as a seven-spring martial cultivator, what qualifications do you have to partner with a Wuhai Realm cultivator?"
"I am an insect tamer. Otherwise, how do you think I fought my way out of the spider swarm?"
Seeking to convince Yin Twenty-Four, Li Weiyi added, "Hidden Ones can't harvest the precious herbs in the trial grounds, but there's no rule forbidding Hidden Ones from entering the trial grounds, is there? You just provide the muscle; I'll do the harvesting!"
She did not know how the man before her had survived the swarm's siege, but she knew that the flying-winged white spiders were vast in number. If she truly became trapped inside the spider cave, even with her cultivation, she would most likely die there.
Besides, as a dignified Wuhai Realm cultivator and a Hidden One, partnering with a seven-spring cultivator?
It was an utter joke.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Seeing that she remained unmoved, Li Weiyi had no choice but to drop the matter, resolving to harvest it only after reaching the nine-spring level or the Wuhai Realm.
The skiffs returned to the river valley where the entrance to Jiuli Insect Valley was located.
After going ashore, Li Weiyi took the spider corpses and silk to the mountain gate of the Jiuli Hidden Gate to exchange them for precious herbs, leaving Yao Yin to Yin Twenty-Four.
Before leaving, still somewhat unwilling to give up, Li Weiyi tried once more to persuade Yin Twenty-Four: "It's a cistanche, conservatively weighing a hundred jin. With so much volume, it's easy to divide, and its value is worth at least ten other precious herbs of the same age. It tonifies yang and enriches blood. Didn't you break through to the Wuhai Realm just over a month ago? It's perfect for helping you replenish your blood qi and temper your physical body.
"Of course, whatever you do, don't go harvest it alone. It's very dangerous in there—there's a Four-Winged Spider King."
Noticing that Yin Twenty-Four was genuinely tempted, Li Weiyi suddenly grew worried that he might be cut out of the prize, so he added, "I will definitely go back. If that cistanche gets harvested, it will definitely have been your doing, and I will report you to Yin Jun... Think it over first..."
Yin Twenty-Four stared at Li Weiyi's back as he shouldered the boat away, her forehead covered in black lines.
Outrageous. Simply outrageous. A trial participant who didn't even know if he would survive until next month actually dared to threaten a Hidden One.
The mountain gate of the Hidden Gate lay deeper past the direction of the Telekinesis Stone Wall and the medicinal cuisine kitchen, guarded by a black-robed old man. Like the old man who brewed the medicinal cuisine, he was a Hidden One from the previous sixty-year cycle.
Upon seeing him, Li Weiyi respectfully addressed him as "Elder."
*Thud!*
He set down the boat he carried on his shoulder.
When the gatekeeper elder saw the boat full of spider corpses and silk, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes as well. In the end, however, he said nothing and exchanged three precious herbs for them.
They were three stalks of two-hundred-year silver forsythia grass, which helped temper silver trace veins.
Li Weiyi frowned slightly and asked, "Are there precious herbs that help temper golden trace veins?"
The gatekeeper elder's composure far exceeded that of a young girl like Yin Twenty-Four. He chuckled and said, "Quite ambitious, aren't you? These golden trace veins are known as the dragon veins within a martial cultivator's body. Even if you temper just one, it will bring immense benefits to your future cultivation in the Wuhai Realm and the Dao Seed Realm.
"The Hidden Gate does possess a golden vein tempering method, but its requirements for bodily strength are exceptionally high—hardly reachable for Yongquan Realm martial cultivators."
Li Weiyi asked, "What level does bodily strength need to reach?"
The gatekeeper elder pointed to an iron pillar standing not far outside the mountain gate. "That is the supreme dense heavy weapon, the Five Seas Pillar. It weighs five thousand five hundred jin, and only Wuhai Realm martial cultivators can lift it with pure physical strength. If you can lift it while still in the Yongquan Realm, you will be qualified to temper golden trace veins."
Even someone of innate supernatural strength like Yao Zhengsheng, who wielded a thousand-jin iron staff as a weapon, actually swung it with the enhancement of dharmic power. Relying on physical strength alone, shouldering a thousand-jin iron staff was by no means an easy feat for him.
And that was already the pinnacle of physical strength in the Yongquan Realm!
Li Weiyi walked over to the black Five Seas Pillar.
It was only about as thick as a forearm, with roughly seven chi exposed above the ground.
"Over the years, only Yin Nine managed to budge it while in the nine-spring realm. Even someone like Yin Twenty-Three, with his massive build and innate supernatural strength, fell a bit short. Look, it's almost rusted over... Just now... did you just budge it?"
The gatekeeper elder had been speaking to himself when suddenly his voice rose sharply, because he clearly saw the Five Seas Pillar get pulled up just a fraction.
He hurried over. "You didn't use dharmic power, did you?"
Li Weiyi shook his head, glancing at the rust on his palm. "With my current physical strength, I can't lift it. I'll need to eat more medicinal cuisine and temper myself for another month or two."
He walked away somewhat dejectedly.
The gatekeeper elder stood dazed for a moment, then reached out, grabbed the Five Seas Pillar, and lifted it to test its weight.
It was five thousand five hundred jin—no doubt about it.
"Wait, hold on..."
The gatekeeper elder stared at Li Weiyi's retreating figure, wrinkles bunching on his brow, and muttered, "Didn't he just budge it? What's he feeling down about?"
...
Back in his cave dwelling at Blood Tree Grove Cliff, Li Weiyi took out the scarlet cistanche and ate half a jin of it. His disappointment quickly melted away, replaced by surging fighting spirit.
"My advantage is shrinking! Yin Nine was able to budge the Five Seas Pillar in the nine-spring realm, while I needed to open eight springs to do it.
"Fortunately, the cistanche can strengthen blood qi and temper the physical body. But at five hundred years, will it replenish me fast enough?"
Li Weiyi was well aware that he had been cultivating for too short a time, and his start in tempering his physical body had come far too late.
After pondering for a moment, he entered the Buddha relic to ask Master Jar about tempering golden trace veins.
"You want to assault the tenth spring, Shenque?" Master Jar suddenly asked out of the blue.
Li Weiyi froze. "There's a tenth spring?"
Master Jar said, "The tenth spring belongs to legend. In any case, I've never heard of anyone actually breaking through to it. But most of those prodigies who temper golden trace veins cling to this fantasy. The ultimate result, however, is that they squander their prime years and miss the optimal age to open their seas in vain, losing far more than they gain."
Master Jar then explained to Li Weiyi in detail, "The younger you are, the easier it is to open the Five Seas. Once a person passes thirty, their physical state actually begins a gradual decline. Only by reaching the Dao Seed Realm can one stabilize this downward slide. And only upon cultivating to the Changsheng Realm can one reverse the condition of life.
"In other words, martial cultivators of the highest caliber—those at the Inheritor level—must open the Five Seas and assault the Dao Seed before thirty. Only then can they maintain swift and fierce advancement into the future, reaching for greater heights and farther horizons.
"Weiyi, although you started later than everyone else, your progress has been extraordinarily rapid. You can certainly give it a shot, but you must never develop an obsession over it and trap yourself."
Li Weiyi understood Master Jar's concern and smiled. "Since the tenth spring is so ethereal, I won't think about it for now. But I've heard that golden trace veins are called the dragon veins of a martial cultivator, and tempering them brings immense benefits."
Master Jar laughed heartily. "Of course! Back in my day, part of the reason I, your Master Jar, could rank among the top ten dharma-martial experts in the Lingxiao Realm of the Living was that I tempered eighteen golden trace veins in my body, laying down eighteen indestructible foundations and weathering several perilous crises of severed veins."
In the era of the three masters, the Lingxiao Realm of the Living encompassed a full three hundred prefectures, countless times more prosperous and powerful than it was today.
Back then, being among the top ten in dharma and martial arts held far more true weight than the strongest experts of today's ten-million estates.
"If you want to temper golden trace veins, I can pass on to you the tempering method of the ancient immortal behemoth Bi Fang. It is an ultimate technique of my race," Master Jar said.
Coffin Master's voice chimed in: "The Bi Fang tempering method requires a vast amount of blood from ancient immortal behemoths as an aid. I suggest instead cultivating the Cang King tempering method of the Jiuli clan, drawing in natural radiance from heaven and earth to temper the trace veins. Conveniently, Weiyi can use the Buddha relic to absorb natural light in vast quantities, which will sufficiently accelerate the speed of tempering golden trace veins."
"That... isn't bad. That won't cost much money."
Li Weiyi agreed with Coffin Master's method, but immediately added, "However, it's very dim underground. Relying solely on the radiance of those glowing plants probably won't be enough. It seems I must become a Divine Hidden One as soon as possible, return to the surface, and find an uninhabited place with abundant light for closed-door cultivation."
Spirit Tablet Master said, "Weiyi, if you can cultivate the Square-Inch Blaze in your Yintang spirit realm into a Square-Inch Bright Flame as soon as possible, then perhaps Shaoyang Star will be your best place for seclusion to temper golden trace veins."
The Square-Inch Bright Flame was the third realm of a mind master. Li Ling had been at this realm back then, possessing combat prowess comparable to a seven-spring martial cultivator.
Li Weiyi quickly asked, "What does Spirit Tablet Master mean?"
"I can't say for sure; I'm not certain. But after your telekinesis cultivation broke through from Square-Inch Flamelet to your current Square-Inch Blaze, the blood mud space doubled in size. If your realm breaks through again, there will inevitably be further changes here," Spirit Tablet Master said.
Coffin Master said, "No hurry. You can pursue both paths together. For now, focus on recovering from your injuries."
Chapter 81