Chapter 120: The Duel of the Heir Level

Li Weiyi searched the bodies of Yuan Qi, Yuan Sheng, the lynx demon, Chen Ying, and the unknown Human Martial Cultivator of the Five Seas Realm, collecting their weapons and various valuables. Only then did he follow Wang Daozhen's escape trail.

Dressed in night-stalker attire, he concealed his presence and aura, remaining cautious at all times.

"They just said 'still good' without elaborating. Is it good or not?" Li Weiyi sighed, pondering the situation. He believed the Four Great Sects should still have the upper hand in the Five Seas Realm clashes, as they had allied with various forces from outside the province. Tianya Ridge alone boasted a multitude of powerful experts and dancing demons. The barbarian bandits from Coffin Mountain and the Earth Wolf Royal Army were also formidable. In contrast, the Nine Li Tribe had only managed to send the somewhat unreliable Li Ling here after more than half a month, a clear disparity that worried him.

The grassland stretched vast and boundless. The yellow sky and black earth resembled the ancient Xuanhuang domain from myths and legends. "Xuanhuang refers to the mixture of heaven and earth, with heaven being dark and earth being yellow. But here, why is it reversed? The sky is yellow, and the earth is dark?" Standing on an overgrown hill, gazing at the yellow sky, Li Weiyi felt an extremely ominous sense of oppression. Even if this world wasn't a Celestial Realm, it was certainly extraordinary.

After chasing for nearly a hundred miles, Wang Daozhen's aura grew closer. Li Weiyi held the iron book, held his breath, and slowly approached. Wang Daozhen lay motionless beneath a massive ancient tree, wide enough to encompass six or seven people. A pool of crimson blood stained the ground near his neck. After examining him, Li Weiyi found no pulse or breath; he was completely dead.

"There were no signs of a struggle. His neck bone and throat were instantly severed by a sharp weapon; Wang Daozhen had no chance to fight back," Li Weiyi observed. "His body is still warm, so he died recently. The Array-Splitting Whip is gone, what a pity!"

Li Weiyi had intended to subdue Wang Daozhen and first inquire about the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns, but his plan had fallen through. Now, he could only rely on his senses to find them. A faint fragrance, belonging to Li Ling, still lingered in the air. There was no need to guess; it must have been her and Zuoqiu Ting who were responsible.

"How formidable! A Martial Cultivator at the second stage of the Five Seas Realm didn't even get a chance to react against him." Li Weiyi's heart grew heavy. He admitted he wasn't much better than Wang Daozhen. If Zuoqiu Ting harbored ill intentions or had other schemes, what were his chances of escape? The top-tier figures of the younger generation were truly terrifying. "I must break through to the Five Seas Realm as soon as possible."

For over half a year, he had advanced rapidly, but there was still a huge gap between him and the top talents of this world. For instance, Li Ling's current strength surpassed his; in just half a year, she had progressed from Earth Fire to Sky Fire. He was improving, but so were others.

Taking out his spiritual treasure bottle, Li Weiyi decided to try consuming the Golden Spring water. Even if it couldn't forge Golden Mark Veins, increasing his physical strength would be beneficial. He took a gulp. After entering his stomach, the Golden Spring water gradually changed from warm to scalding hot. Li Weiyi sat cross-legged, forming the Zi-Wu Tai Chi Seal with his hands, regulating his breathing. The power of his ten springs surged within him, circulating through his 120 Mark Veins. He consciously directed the misty vapor from the dissolved Golden Spring water toward one of his silver Mark Veins. As time passed, that silver Mark Vein became tinged with a golden glow.

"Excellent, it's transforming! The refining capability of this Golden Spring is superior to the Hidden Sect's Golden Spring. It truly lives up to its name as a Celestial Realm," Li Weiyi exclaimed. Calming his excited mind, he quickly drank a second mouthful. There was only a thin layer of Golden Spring water left in the bottle, and after six sips, Li Weiyi had drained it. Yet, those six sips allowed him to forge two new Golden Mark Veins in a short time. The number of Golden Mark Veins in his body reached seventy-six. Furthermore, some of the Golden Spring substance had integrated into his bones; though untestable, his bone strength had certainly increased.

At that moment, Li Weiyi felt both joy and sorrow. He was delighted that the Golden Spring substance was so wonderful; it could quickly forge all the Mark Veins in his body into gold and increase his bone strength. His sorrow stemmed from the fact that the Golden Spring was gone! To get more, he would have to go to Thirty-Three Li Mountain. However, according to the Angel from Luan Terrace, entering Thirty-Three Li Mountain was incredibly difficult. Since treasures like "Immortal Soil" and "Golden Spring" existed, they must already be controlled by major powers. Ordinary martial cultivators would likely be killed upon approaching. Even if one were lucky enough to acquire some Golden Spring, they couldn't take it away, just like the unfortunate fellow hammered to death by Yuan Sheng. What was even more frustrating was that other martial cultivators would surely be able to collect Golden Spring to forge their bones. Wouldn't that put him behind others in martial arts? "Never mind," he thought. "No matter how great the opportunity, it's not as important as one's life. I should first go retrieve the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns!"

Li Weiyi's spiritual perception faintly sensed the Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns' presence within this Celestial Realm, giving him a general direction. Following that direction, he swiftly moved while remaining invisible.

There was no day or night in the Celestial Realm; the sky remained perpetually dim and yellow. The light illuminating the world emanated from a pillar of light on the horizon and the ethereal clouds and mist in mid-air. After traveling over a hundred miles, the hills on the grassland grew progressively larger, some reaching heights of seven or eight hundred meters. Trees, initially sparse, gradually became more numerous. The vegetation was diverse, no longer just dark green mugwort, but also velvet grass, wheat grass, shrubs... and vast expanses of exotic Daylilies. The celestial mist and clouds descended into the flower sea on the mountainside, creating a picturesque and beautiful scene.

After traversing the misty sea of flowers on the mountainside, Li Weiyi reached the summit and witnessed a martial arts battle that profoundly shook him, unlike anything he had seen in the past twenty years. On the expansive, bull-back-shaped summit, a colossal dragon coiled in mid-air. Its head, scales, and claws were clearly discernible, far from the mere blurry shadow he produced when unleashing his 'Yellow Dragon Ascends to Heaven' technique. A magnificent figure in a silver robe and white jacket stood at the center of the coiling dragon. As he waved his arms, gusts of hurricane-force winds erupted. The giant dragon swooped down, heading directly towards Jiang Ning, who wore a veil and stood opposite. Jiang Ning's slender and graceful figure stood in the void, with a pair of enormous white feathered light-shadows growing from her back. Countless feathers, formed from condensed spiritual energy, floated around her, filling the space. An incredibly grand hall-like structure, towering to an unknown height, flew out from the void behind her, colliding with the diving dragon.

"Boom!" Spiritual energy surged and erupted, sending rocks and earth flying across the mountaintop. Even the sea of celestial mist and clouds on the mountainside was violently agitated. Li Weiyi held his breath. At that moment, a powerful aspiration for martial arts ignited within him, much like a mortal glimpsing a corner of the celestial palace, no longer content to remain ordinary.

"That figure... he strongly resembles the mysterious noble guest who conspired with Shi Jiuzhai in Buried Immortal Town," Li Weiyi thought. His cultivation was far superior now, allowing him to clearly see the forms of the two combatants on the battlefield. When his gaze fell upon the face of the man in the silver robe and white jacket, Li Weiyi was startled. "Zuoqiu Ting? No, he just looks exactly the same, but it's not the same person. Could they be twin brothers?" The man in the silver robe and white jacket had an uncommonly handsome face, exuding an aristocratic, distinguished aura from head to toe. His physique was tall and upright, and his eyes were sharp, embodying true masculine prowess without any incongruity.

"His battle technique manifests a dragon from his consciousness... Could he be the legendary successor of the Dragon Gate?" Li Weiyi secretly worried for Li Ling. Zuoqiu Ting was very likely a member of the Dragon Gate; otherwise, the resemblance wouldn't be so uncanny. And the Dragon Gate was one of the masterminds meticulously instigating chaos in Lizhou.

"Clang!" Like a celestial feather fairy untouched by earthly desires, Jiang Ning slashed through the air with her sword, accompanied by countless flying feathers. The light emanating from her sword was as bright and swift as lightning, cutting through the dragon's shadow and closing in on Long Ting, the Dragon Gate successor. Long Ting was protected by a layer of golden dragon scales, and he pointed his two-foot-long bone flute. "Bang!" Thousands of sword qi scattered like falling petals, spreading from the center of their duel across the entire mountaintop area.

Standing with a sword on her back, Zhuang Yue retreated rapidly to a safer distance from the battlefield. Li Weiyi's gaze fell upon Zhuang Yue, and he sensed the auras of the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns; their insect tube was hanging on her shoulder. "Strange, how did they capture the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns?" Li Weiyi knew Zhuang Yue's cultivation was high and dared not act rashly. He then activated his spiritual power, preparing to engrave insect characters to communicate with them.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind him. Li Weiyi was startled and immediately turned to look. His movement created a ripple in the air, instantly sensed by the stealthy Shi Shishi. Shi Shishi was also startled, having not expected someone to be hidden nearby. Was it an invisibility talisman or a high-grade magical invisibility cloak? The two were about eight or nine zhang apart. Although Shi Shishi couldn't see Li Weiyi, he knew his hidden location and quickly crouched down, making a gesture for silence.

"I only sensed him within ten zhang; this little fatty lives up to his reputation as a Dharma King of the Earth Wolf Royal Army," Li Weiyi quickly recovered from his surprise, no longer daring to act rashly. Shi Shishi cautiously approached, transmitting his voice with spiritual energy: "I am Shi Shishi, Dharma King of the Earth Wolf Royal Army. And you, honored sir, are from which faction?"

"Wang Daozhen of the Sui Sect's Wang family," Li Weiyi replied in a low voice, altering his tone.

"Excellent, one of us! Brother Daozhen, what method are you using? Your invisibility and aura concealment technique is truly marvelous." Shi Shishi was very interested in invisibility treasures. "A family heirloom," Li Weiyi replied, not daring to reveal too much.

Shi Shishi averted his gaze from Li Weiyi's direction, his bright small eyes fixed on Zhuang Yue, a smile playing on his lips: "Brother Daozhen, how about we team up and seize this opportunity to capture that woman from the Nine Li Hidden Sect?" "Ah?" Li Weiyi was surprised. He truly didn't understand why Shi Shishi thought Zhuang Yue was from the Nine Li Hidden Sect, but he dared not ask, as asking would reveal his identity.

Shi Shishi suggested, "After capturing her, we can interrogate her for information about the Nine Li Hidden Sect. How about we share the information between our two families?" Li Weiyi, wanting to probe all the forces involved in dividing Lizhou, replied, "Such crucial information should, of course, be reported to all the families so we can act together and eliminate the Nine Li Hidden Sect first."

"Brother Daozhen is one of the rare straightforward people in the Sui Sect!" Shi Shishi commented, "But before we act, the more exclusive information one possesses, the more benefits one can claim during negotiations. Has Miss Yang never told you this principle?" Shi Shishi moved even closer! Li Weiyi suddenly felt a sense of unease and glared at Shi Shishi: "Don't come any closer! If you get any closer, I'll think you're trying to eliminate me first, then monopolize the information about the Nine Li Hidden Sect." Shi Shishi found this Wang Daozhen to be somewhat shrewd and hard to scheme against, so he quickly retracted the spiritual energy from his palm. "We are allies; how could an ally harm an ally?" "Then you make the first move," Li Weiyi said. Shi Shishi was wary of Jiang Ning. "That woman who can overpower the Dragon Gate successor is terrifying. Let's attack together, swiftly capture her, and then immediately escape..." "No, someone got there first!" Li Weiyi exclaimed.