Chapter 125: Giant-Headed Figure

A heavily wind-eroded stone tablet stood among lush ancient trees on the opposite bank of a large river. Most of the tablet had been excavated, having previously been buried underground. The four blurry characters "Thirty-three Li" inscribed on the tablet were not from this world's script; they were deciphered by a Spirit Seer who was over a hundred years old.

Li Weiyi wore black night-traveling clothes over an iron-cloth battle suit and a talisman robe, with a corpse-cloak soft armor underneath. These four layers of defense completely obscured his original figure, making him appear quite bulky. Using a disguise technique to alter his facial muscles, he walked with his head slightly bowed, passing under the gaze of the South Realm's top young experts. He feared being recognized by those who had seen him before, such as Yang Qingxi and Shi Shishi.

The silver-horned deer carriage stopped by the river, its curtains drawn back. Yang Qingxi sat inside, smiling. "Sending only five Five-Sea Realm cultivators into the mountains," she said, "it seems the Zuoqiu Clan's objective this time is quite clear: they're only after Immortal Soil."

Zuoqiu Ting fanned himself. "We arrived in a hurry," he said, "and didn't bring enough people."

"If Young Master Zuoqiu merely asks, the Shui Sect will surely lend its full support. Why bother borrowing people from the Nine-Li Tribe?" Yang Qingxi said.

Zuoqiu Ting, in a teasing tone, asked, "Is it still not too late to borrow from Miss Qingxi now?"

Yang Qingxi offered a charming smile but did not reply.

The four-armed Heartless Golden Ape showed no flattery or respect towards Zuoqiu Ting. "Immortal Soil is valuable!" it said. "Even the spiritual earth near Immortal Soil can increase the growth rate of medicinal herbs tenfold. But it's not easily obtained. In recent days, hundreds of Spring Realm demon cultivators from my Tianya Ridge have died, and we've only managed to unearth half a catty of Immortal Soil and a hundred catties of spiritual earth."

"I've heard that Immortal Soil is the main ingredient for the Longevity Pill. Young Master Zuoqiu, as the heir to a renowned clan, you must know some inside information, right?" Yang Qingxi asked.

Shi Shishi's ears perked up.

The Longevity Pill! A legendary supreme treasure, the greatest in the world, with only ten appearing every sixty years. Even a mere whiff of it could drive those formidable Armor-Heads to fight tooth and nail.

Zuoqiu Ting looked at Yang Qingxi, understanding her thoughts, and smiled. "With the extraordinary talent of Yao Qian, the humble gentleman," he said, "he has a very strong chance of reaching the Longevity Realm even without the Longevity Pill."

After crossing the river, Li Weiyi and Shang Zhi walked at the rear of the five-person team. Shang Zhi had not brought his Five-Sea Realm green anaconda. He was in an excited state, full of anticipation for this trip. "Brother Sima," he said, "you don't need to be so nervous. Many Spring Realm cultivators have returned safely with substantial gains. We are Five-Sea Realm experts; surely, we're not worse than them, are we?"

Li Weiyi observed the mountain-entering teams from various factions. "Before today," he noted, "large numbers of Five-Sea Realm cultivators haven't entered Thirty-three Li Mountain. Human-induced dangers are often more perilous."

Shang Zhi nodded. "We certainly need to be wary of the people from the Four Great Sects."

"The one leading the Shui Sect is Xue Qi, exactly twenty years old this year, and at the second stage of the Five-Sea Realm. He's the most talented young individual in the Xue family, quite remarkable. He once fought an elder at the third stage of the Five-Sea Realm for dozens of rounds. I personally witnessed that battle in Yao Pass City; it was difficult for that elder to defeat him without using shapeshifting combat techniques."

Li Weiyi couldn't help but take another look at someone capable of fighting across cultivation realms.

Xue Qi rode a Spring-level ox-beast, his body encased in a departed spirit's human skin. He carried a white yin banner and had a magical battle saber at his waist. Displaying a strong leadership demeanor, he led a large group of people to charge first into the misty mountain forest. The Yi Sect is a local force, capable of quickly summoning a large number of Spring Realm loyalists.

Shang Zhi, being a Nine-Spring Zenith, had high standards. "The leaders of the Tianyi Gate and Coffin Sea Pavilion are just mediocre in strength," he commented. "However, Chen Song of the Three Chen Palace is said to be one of the three Nine-Spring Zeniths among the younger generation of the Chen clan. After consuming the Radiant Cloud Elixir, he broke through his second Qi Sea and entered the second stage of the Five-Sea Realm."

With the continuous emergence of Radiant Cloud Elixirs from Burial Immortal Town over the past six months, the number of Nine-Spring Zeniths and Pure Immortal Bodies among major factions has increased significantly, somewhat diluting their prestige. Chen Song had already opened his Ancestral Field before this. He was also encased in departed spirit's human skin, his face appearing as that of a disheveled old man with extremely sharp eyes.

Zuoqiu Baiming, riding a sturdy horse at the very front, held a green yin banner shrunk to just over two meters long. Hearing the conversation behind him, he said, "You are now working for the Zuoqiu Clan. Why do you fear the Four Great Sects? Can't you Nine-Li cultivators show some ambition? The Four Great Sects were once merely your vassals and servants."

"Besides," he added, "Xue Qi is an Eight-Spring Pure Immortal Body, and Chen Song is a Mortal Nine-Spring Zenith. They don't have the audacity to oppose me."

Tian Che walked with his spear, smiling. "Senior Brother Baiming is a Nine-Spring Pure Immortal Body who broke through to the Five-Sea Realm. They cannot compare to him."

"Just focus on working for the Zuoqiu Clan without worry. Leave the safety issues to us," said Zuoqiu Lanlan.

Shang Zhi gave an awkward, bitter smile, feeling that the Nine-Li Clan's cultivators, from top to bottom, had indeed lost some of their edge over the years. Li Weiyi's mindset was different from Shang Zhi's; he always felt that the Zuoqiu Clan's people were overly confident. In a place like Thirty-three Li Mountain, who would care about your identity? Who would fight you one-on-one? In Zuoqiu Baiming, he saw the duality in these clan disciples. A superior background could cultivate a confident, wise, and magnanimous prodigy like Zuoqiu Ting. However, it could also give rise to overly self-assured, arrogant, and conceited cultivators.

As they spoke, the group of five entered the immortal mist and clouds, stepping on thick fallen leaves as they ascended the mountain. The other teams were already out of sight. The forest was exceptionally quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps and breathing.

"We only have three days; we must descend before the mists dissipate. We won't search for Golden Springs and Radiant Cloud Elixirs in this lower mountain area. We'll go directly to the mountain region nine li higher to excavate Immortal Soil. Be quick, and keep up with me." Zuoqiu Baiming rode his horse swiftly. All four were Five-Sea Realm cultivators and could keep up.

Li Weiyi pulled out a Luminous Flame Pill and swallowed it. Compared to Immortal Soil, he was more interested in Golden Springs and secretly used his Heaven-Piercing Eye to search for them along the way.

Upon ascending Four-Li Mountain, they encountered five corpses of Spring Realm cultivators. Their deaths were gruesome; some had their hearts torn out by unknown creatures, the bloody holes in their chests and their pallid bodies were chilling to the bone. Another had half its body missing, its upper half seemingly bitten off in one gulp, with very irregular bite marks around the waist.

Thirty-three Li Mountain itself was mysterious and unpredictable, rumored to be a burial ground for immortals. The sight before them sent shivers down their spines, instilling a fear of the unknown.

"This doesn't look like a human-induced danger!"

Zuoqiu Lanlan, who appeared to be in her twenties, with a beautiful Pure Immortal Body face radiating mature charm, now showed unease, a stark contrast to her composure earlier at the foot of the mountain. Li Weiyi was quite bold. He walked over, observed for a while, and began searching the corpses. There wasn't a single money pouch among them. But from the embrace of one of the corpses, he found three Radiant Cloud Elixirs and an iron bottle. Clearly, this individual was the leader of that Spring Realm squad, and all collected items had been kept on him. He twisted open the iron bottle, and golden light poured out, emitting a clear fragrance. Li Weiyi was overjoyed, immediately resealed it, and tucked it into his robes.

Tian Che, Zuoqiu Lanlan, and Shang Zhi all felt deep regret. If they had known the rewards were so great, they would have rushed to search the corpses first. Not just them, even Zuoqiu Baiming was tempted. "We are a team," he said. "After entering the mountain, apart from the Immortal Soil, it's better to divide the other gains equally to avoid conflicts arising from uneven distribution."

"Why didn't you say that before finding the treasure?" Li Weiyi frowned, but did not object. He took out the three Radiant Cloud Elixirs and handed them to Zuoqiu Lanlan. "I have great use for the Golden Spring," he said, "so I won't take these three elixirs!"

Zuoqiu Baiming's eyes, beneath the departed spirit's human skin, showed a satisfied smile. This was the allure of power and absolute strength; his every word was a command that everyone had to obey. However, Li Weiyi's next sentence made the smile vanish from his eyes instantly.

"Senior Brother Baiming is indeed a prodigy of the clan, truly admirable. If I were the leader, if I had cultivation as powerful as yours, I certainly wouldn't distribute it equally. I'd take at least half," said Li Weiyi.

Shang Zhi nodded in profound agreement. "I might have to take the lion's share myself! Sometimes, one has to admit that character truly exists."

Zuoqiu Baiming grew uncomfortable, secretly cursing his miscalculation. It was clearly too late to retract his words now. He said, "Lanlan, collect all the elixirs for now. We'll divide them after we descend the mountain."

"Who's there?" Tian Che raised his magical long spear and roared into the mist. Following his gaze, everyone's expressions changed, and they quickly circulated their internal magical power. They repositioned themselves and tightened their defenses.

In the mist twenty zhang away, an odd black shadow stood. It looked human, but its head was too large, being one-third the length of its body. Its exact appearance was unclear, but long hair was visible on its head, and they could feel its gaze upon them.

Zuoqiu Baiming let out a low snort, condensed a flying knife of magical energy in his palm, and launched it with a "swish." The giant-headed human shadow vanished.

"What kind of monster is that? Could it be what killed these Spring Realm cultivators?" Zuoqiu Lanlan looked around, extremely nervous and restless.

Zuoqiu Baiming said, "With my Soul Suppressing Banner and Sky Flame Saber, I can deal with anything, be it living creatures or departed spirits. However... let's quickly leave this cursed place first."

They continued their ascent up the mountain. There was no path, and the slope grew increasingly steep as the five individuals pushed through thorns and dense vegetation. Li Weiyi and Shang Zhi cleared the path ahead. Zuoqiu Baiming had long since abandoned his horse. Wielding his high-grade magical weapon, the Sky Flame Saber, he walked at the rear, guarding the formation. The Zuoqiu Clan had entrusted him with all their top-tier weapons and treasures, arming him to the fullest.

The journey was relatively smooth; the giant-headed figure did not reappear. In less than three hours, they ascended to the base of a waterfall located on Nine-Li Mountain.

Zuoqiu Baiming ordered everyone to stop and looked around. "Now that we've reached Nine-Li Mountain, there's a chance to unearth Immortal Soil," he said. "Spread out and search. Don't go too far. When you hear my whistle, return immediately the way you came."

"What does Immortal Soil look like?" Shang Zhi asked.

Zuoqiu Baiming said, "Go into the forest and look for the trajectory of the immortal mist and clouds. Follow that path, and you'll have a chance to find Immortal Soil. Immortal Soil is difficult to describe precisely, but when you see it, you'll naturally know it's Immortal Soil, and definitely not spiritual earth or mineral mud."

"Also... any Immortal Soil you dig up, hand it over to me first. I will keep a record of the amounts for you."

Zuoqiu Baiming rushed into the forest first, eager to dig up more Immortal Soil and prove himself to Zuoqiu Ting. Tian Che and Zuoqiu Lanlan headed in another direction.

Shang Zhi said, "Brother Sima, shall we team up?"

Li Weiyi shook his head and sat down on a large rock. "Don't you ever get tired? I'll rest for a while first. It's a three-day trip; there's no need to rush."

"Haha, alright then. But if I dig up some Immortal Soil later, don't you dare get jealous. One tael of Immortal Soil is worth three hundred thousand silver; such a great opportunity only comes a few times in a lifetime."

Shang Zhi shouldered his saber and left, disappearing into the mist.

Li Weiyi always held a sense of awe for Thirty-three Li. Zuoqiu Baiming definitely knew something. First, he said, "divide the elixirs after descending the mountain," then, "any Immortal Soil you dig up, hand it over to him first." Both statements seemed to subtly imply that the others might not make it down the mountain alive.

Li Weiyi stayed behind alone, not for rest, of course, but because he was eyeing the hundred-meter-high, pale golden cliff face by the waterfall. Moreover, there were pale golden stones scattered everywhere at the base of the cliff.