Chapter 124: Heavenly Vision, Zuo Qiu's Secret Technique?

"If someone could truly cultivate a skill to the point of being indistinguishable from reality, their value would surpass that of an Eternal Realm martial cultivator. The power they could wield would be enough to make any force wary. Constantly changing, a thousand faces for a thousand people—this is terrifying, yet also incredibly fascinating!"

"Unfortunately, the Zuoqiu Family's most profound disguise technique, 'Bone Transformation and Spirit Alteration,' was lost a thousand years ago!"

"Brother Sima, you really need to put more effort into your disguise techniques. Otherwise, when you encounter top-tier figures, they'll instantly see through you and realize you're Li Weiyi, not Sima Tan."

Li Weiyi tried his best to keep his expression neutral. "Young Master Zuoqiu truly is a master of disguise techniques, to be able to see through appearances and recognize my true identity."

Zuoqiu Ting chuckled, "I'm not that powerful yet. I guessed, then probed a little. After all, there are very few martial cultivators who are so close to Li Ling and were once top experts in the Spring Realm, so it wasn't hard to guess."

Changing the subject, Zuoqiu Ting said, "Golden Spring is hidden inside some golden mountain rocks. It's rarely found at the base of the mountains, so you need a lot of luck to discover it."

As he spoke, he walked towards a light golden cliff face ahead and struck it with a palm from a distance.

"Thud!"

The stone wall cracked, and a large amount of rubble tumbled down.

Inside the rock, it was still just rock; there was no Golden Spring.

"Thud! Thud..."

He searched a few more spots but still found nothing.

"There are countless golden mountain rocks at the base of the mountain. Searching blindly like this, even if we smash a thousand rocks, we might not find Golden Spring."

A thought struck Li Weiyi. Remembering the Daoist arcane art "Heavenly Sight Eye" taught by his spirit-tablet master, he activated the bright flame in his glabella spirit realm. He formed a hand seal, raised it above his head, and then slowly lowered it to his brow.

"Hiss! Hiss!"

Wisps of spiritual bright flame condensed into a golden eye of light at his brow, observing the ground and the cliff face.

After refining the Luminous Flame Pill, his bright flame became even more vigorous, and his Heavenly Sight Eye became more solidified.

Zuoqiu Ting, who was not far ahead, had been observing the cliff. Sensing something, he glanced at Li Weiyi, then turned his head back to continue searching for golden rock walls.

Suddenly, Zuoqiu Ting's brow furrowed. He seemed to realize something, his expression instantly changing drastically as he spun his head to look at Li Weiyi again.

"Whoosh!"

Zuoqiu Ting moved with a speed akin to teleportation, appearing behind Li Weiyi. He used the folding fan in his hand to block Li Weiyi's Heavenly Sight Eye at his brow and controlled the back of his head with his arm, fearing he might turn around. "Quickly retract that mental art! Where did you learn the Heavenly Sight Eye?"

"The Heavenly Sight Eye?"

Li Ling looked over curiously.

Li Weiyi secretly admired Zuoqiu Ting's extensive knowledge. Then, his face showing embarrassment, he quickly retracted the golden eye of light from his brow.

This kind of malevolent mental art, recognized while being used, and with a woman present... Li Weiyi worried, "I hope I won't be mistaken for someone like Shi Liuyu." Zuoqiu Ting slowly exhaled, released Li Weiyi, and with a very complex and serious gaze, asked again, "Brother Li, where exactly did you learn this Heavenly Sight Eye?"

"My apologies, I meant no offense. I was merely looking for the spring," Li Weiyi explained.

After explaining, Li Weiyi asked curiously, "Is Young Master Zuoqiu interested in this kind of Daoist arcane art?"

Zuoqiu Ting carefully observed Li Weiyi's eyes. Only after confirming that Li Weiyi truly didn't know the origin of the Heavenly Sight Eye did he say, "Both the Heavenly Sight Eye and 'Bone Transformation and Spirit Alteration' are lost secret arts of my Zuoqiu Family."

Li Weiyi was greatly surprised. "Isn't this a Daoist arcane art?"

Zuoqiu Ting replied, "The Zuoqiu Family is different from other forces. We are not just martial practitioners who only know pure martial cultivation; we also pursue spiritual enlightenment and mental elevation. Our clan members' paths of pursuit can roughly be divided into three branches."

"Daoist scholars live in seclusion. Strategists engage with the world. Confucian scholars govern the world."

"Currently, the Strategist school dominates the Zuoqiu Family and is flourishing. But a thousand years ago, both Confucianism and Daoism produced extraordinary figures and enjoyed immense prestige."

Zuoqiu Ting asked for the third time, "Brother Li, where exactly did you learn your Heavenly Sight Eye? This is truly very important to the Zuoqiu Family and significantly related to our clan's Daoist lineage."

Li Weiyi naturally couldn't reveal his spirit-tablet master and secretly pondered his words.

However, he realized that anything he made up after hesitation wouldn't possibly deceive someone as astute as Zuoqiu Ting. So he said, "I'm sorry, I cannot reveal the senior who taught me this Daoist arcane art without her permission."

Zuoqiu Ting asked, "Is that senior male or female?"

Li Weiyi shook his head helplessly.

Li Ling said, "Asking him is pointless. He hides countless secrets that even I can't get out of him."

Back at the camp.

After entering his room, Li Weiyi immediately took out his Ghost Banner and activated it to conjure a thick mist that enveloped his surroundings.

Then, he sent a mental force into the blood-mud space of the Buddha's sarira. "Spirit-tablet master, you were a member of the Zuoqiu Family during your lifetime, weren't you?"

In front of a formidable expert like Zuoqiu Ting, the spirit-tablet master dared not release her mental power to sense the outside world. Only after Li Weiyi's detailed explanation did she learn the full story.

She said, "If he asks again next time, tell him you learned it from a departed spirit in the Netherworld of the Dead."

Li Weiyi gave a bitter laugh. "I'm afraid I won't get that chance! I suspect he's already planning to capture me as soon as I emerge from Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain, interrogate me with various methods, and then silence me permanently."

"No, that won't happen. The Zuoqiu Family has excellent family traditions, and its inheritors are surely of upright character. They wouldn't repay kindness with hostility," the spirit-tablet master said.

Li Weiyi countered, "But the Strategist school now dominates the Zuoqiu Family. Things are probably different from your era! Moreover, in this chaotic world, pragmatism definitely outweighs character."

The spirit-tablet master was no longer so sure. "If all else fails, release me then, and I'll see for myself what kind of character the current inheritor of the Zuoqiu Family is."

Li Weiyi withdrew his mental power from the Buddha's sarira, secretly deciding that once he entered Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain, he would absolutely not return the same way but would escape down the mountain from a different direction.

After all, the spirit-tablet master was merely a remnant soul. Although her remnant soul had significantly strengthened and recovered on Shaoyang Star, she was no match for Zuoqiu Ting. To grow stronger, who knew if he might even devour an ancestor? At no point could he entrust his safety to another person's character.

Furthermore.

He needed to find enough Golden Spring quickly to forge all 120 meridians into pure gold.

Only by breaking through to the Five Seas Realm would he have a greater chance of survival against these top figures of the younger generation.

Li Weiyi's gaze fell on a light golden stone on the table, about the size of a human head. He had fished it out of the river using his Heavenly Sight Eye when he returned. With his current mental power cultivation, he couldn't see through it, but he could observe subtle traces.

He felt this stone was subtly different from the others, so he casually retrieved it.

"Thud!"

He exerted force with both hands, and the stone cracked open.

Golden light spilled from the crack, emitting a faint fragrance.

Li Weiyi's eyes lit up. He quickly took out his magic treasure bottle and collected the Golden Spring from inside the stone. The quantity was small, enough for only about four sips.

"It seems the Heavenly Sight Eye really is useful. If I can break through to become a Grand Mental Master, then after entering Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain, I won't have to worry about not finding enough Golden Spring for tempering meridians and forging bones."

Using the remaining time, Li Weiyi drank all four sips of Golden Spring and refined another golden trace meridian.

The immortal mist and clouds in Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain continuously spread downwards from the halfway point, becoming thicker and thicker.

The mountain's environment changed every three days, and now it was shrouded in fog again.

Before their departure, the five individuals entering the mountain gathered together.

Zuoqiu Baiming led them.

Besides Li Weiyi and Shang Zhi from the Beast Li tribe, there were two other pure immortal body martial cultivators at the first stage of the Five Seas Realm, a man and a woman named Zuoqiu Lanlan and Tian Che respectively, who were a married couple.

Two elders from the Zuoqiu Family gave each person a set of robes covered with blood talismans.

"These four talisman robes were crafted by the ancestor who captured a departed spirit from an immortal realm, grinding its corpse blood and rare immortal mists into ink to draw the talismans. Only with these robes can you four Five Seas Realm martial cultivators enter Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain. Furthermore, the defensive runes left by the ancestor are enough to help each of you withstand one fatal tribulation."

"Remember, the talisman robes must not be removed."

"As for Baiming, with your second stage Five Seas Realm cultivation, entering the mountain is more difficult. You must wear this refined departed spirit's human skin."

Zuoqiu Baiming took the departed spirit's human skin, his eyes showing disdain.

After putting it on, his entire appearance became grotesque, his face ghastly pale, his hair dishevelled, and his body covered in blood-red runes, emitting a putrid stench. He no longer possessed any of his heroic handsomeness.

One of the elders continued, "Your sole purpose on this trip is to excavate immortal soil. I believe you are all aware of its value and price: one tael of immortal soil is worth a million silver, and it's virtually priceless, as it's never sold on the market."

"For the three of you from the Zuoqiu Family, I won't say much more; the family will not treat you unfairly."

"As for the two from the Jiuli tribe, the Zuoqiu Family can only purchase the immortal soil you excavate at 30% of its market price, plus the Zuoqiu Family will owe each of you a personal favor. Do you have any objections?"

Shang Zhi naturally had no objections. After all, without the Zuoqiu Family's talisman robes, he wouldn't even have the chance to enter Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain.

A price of 30% was already extremely generous.

This meant one tael of immortal soil could be exchanged for 300,000 silver coins.

If he could excavate a pound or two...

Shang Zhi felt that for the next few decades, he could cultivate in peace without worrying about cultivation resources.

Of course, compared to wealth, the favor owed by the Zuoqiu Family was clearly a life-saving charm, and its value might even be greater.

Li Weiyi didn't find the Zuoqiu Family's promise unfair at all; instead, he felt it was overly generous, and his mood became heavy as he realized that the dangers of Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain were likely far beyond what he had estimated.

"Since there are no objections, let's depart. Once inside the mountain, the leader will tell you how to find the immortal soil," another elder said.

The group of five left the camp and headed towards the entrance of Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain.

The various teams entering the mountain—from the Four Great Sects, Tianya Ridge, Coffin Mountain, the Earth Wolf Royal Army, and others—had already gathered. Zuoqiu Ting stood with the Southern Realm's most elite figures, such as the Mindless Golden Ape, Yang Qingxi, Chen Wenwu, Miedi, and Daodi, conversing about something.

Li Ling's slender figure stood by the river outside the camp, gazing in that direction, and murmured to herself, "Senior, he has already begun to suspect. As soon as he leaves Buried Immortal Town and finds Qi Shanshan, he will quickly guess it's about you."

"It's fine. After this period of interaction, I can see that his disposition and intellect are both first-rate; he is someone who can be trusted. I will find a suitable opportunity to communicate with him frankly," the voice of Zen Sea Misty View echoed from within her body.

Li Ling asked, "What about me?"

"Are you falling in love?" Zen Sea Misty View asked.

Li Ling hesitated for a moment. "No."

"If not, why bother yourself? Enter the mountain first. My cultivation has reached a bottleneck. If I cannot perform the Yang Marriage immediately, perhaps only the opportunities within Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain can help me," Zen Sea Misty View said.

Li Ling asked, "Senior, even someone of your stature must marry him to live another lifetime?"

"In my current state, I can indeed cultivate like a departed spirit and continuously grow stronger, but it won't be enough to support the heights I aim to achieve. These are things your current cultivation level cannot comprehend. Rest assured, as my successor, your future achievements will undoubtedly surpass even the Eternal Realm," Zen Sea Misty View stated.

Li Ling, a Grand Mental Master of the Skyfire Realm, ordinarily couldn't enter Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain. However, she had absolute confidence in the Zen Sea Misty View within her, who was the master of Jade Yaozi, the Grand Palace Master of the Lingxiao Palace. Therefore, she unhesitatingly transformed into a red shadow and took another path to enter the mountain.