Chapter 133: Hidden Lord Arrives

The flesh of a pure immortal body is delicate and moist, as if transmuted into an immortal, possessing an otherworldly radiance that no one of the opposite sex can resist.

Zuoqiu Lanlan, her clothes disheveled, lay fainted on his lap, charming and alluring.

Li Wei remained unperturbed, striving to maintain his composure. With a gentle push of his finger, Zuoqiu Lanlan's face immediately slid from his shoulder to the ground.

Standing up, he straightened his slightly disheveled night-traveling attire and talisman robe. Fortunately, he was dressed thickly enough.

“Who did this?” he asked.

Yin Twenty-Four's voice came from beneath the dead spirit's human skin: “See? I told you, if we messed up his good thing, he'd definitely get angry.”

Li Wei understood Zuoqiu Lanlan. This noble lady of the household was extremely proud, and it was impossible for her to debase herself without reason. He asked, “What method did you use? Seduction? Talismans? Mental power? Illusions?”

Yin Twenty-Four's eyes showed a bewildered look: “You don’t seriously think I used evil methods like the Six Desires Talisman to lure her into your arms to lust, do you? Hmph, I just couldn't stand it anymore, so I punched her unconscious. Otherwise... it was truly…”

“Unbearable to watch.”

said Yin Twenty-Three, the bear-like deformed human.

Li Wei felt that Yin Twenty-Four truly had no reason to cause trouble. Such a joke was not to be made.

But Zuoqiu Lanlan was such a dignified and reserved woman, and had just lost her husband, a time of deep sorrow. How could she possibly initiate such a disgraceful act? Within Thirty-Three Li Mountain, there must be something strange and inexplicable.

In the distance, Zuoqiu Baiming had long since fainted and lay on the ground.

Li Wei's gaze fell upon the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns in the tree, and he communicated with them, asking if anything suspicious had happened earlier.

The seven little ones chattered away, each speaking their own version, some being vague, some claiming to have seen two terrifying white figures, and some saying Zuoqiu Lanlan was possessed, like a different person, but very kind to Li Wei…

There was no consistent answer at all.

Li Wei shook his head, not letting them continue. Their combined intelligence wasn't even as much as a fingertip. He slowly walked over and said, “You two knocked her out, yet still left her in my arms. Are you deliberately trying to make a fool of me?”

Yin Twenty-Four said, “Mysterious Figure, that's not true. If we wanted to make a fool of you, we wouldn't have knocked her out.”

“That would be unbearable to watch,” said Yin Twenty-Three.

Li Wei felt helpless. Further argument would only make things worse. So, in a threatening tone, he said, “Right or wrong, let's stop here. Once we leave Thirty-Three Li Mountain, if I hear that a fourth person knows about this, when I become the Mysterious Figure, neither of you will come to a good end.”

It was Yin Twenty-Three's first time being threatened. His face changed dramatically, and then he silently nodded.

Yin Twenty-Four, however, was indifferent. Pointing at Zuoqiu Lanlan on the ground, she chuckled, “She’s the fourth person. Do you kill her, or do I?”

“She's still useful.”

Li Wei didn't dwell on this matter. He asked with a serious expression, “How did you two enter Thirty-Three Li Mountain? Yin Twenty-Four, have you broken through to the second stage of the Five Seas Realm?”

Yin Twenty-Three said, “Lord Yin has arrived! He’s right here in this Immortal Realm space. He captured a dead spirit and refined a talisman robe and human skin, which allowed us two to enter. The Hidden Gate also places great importance on rare cultivation resources like immortal soil, dyed cloud exotic medicine, and golden spring water.”

“Before entering the mountain, Yin Twenty-Four had already seized two stalks of dyed cloud exotic medicine from the martial cultivators of the Four Great Sects, opening up her second qi sea.”

Martial cultivators of the Five Seas Realm gathered in large numbers in the Immortal Realm space, the vast majority coming for the dyed cloud exotic medicine, seeking swift breakthroughs.

Yin Twenty-Three was quite envious, but there was nothing he could do. Yin Twenty-Four had obtained a high-grade blood-refined magic artifact from an unknown source, and her combat power had become astonishingly formidable, even managing to defeat a master of the third stage of the Five Seas Realm from the Cave Sect.

He didn't possess such a powerful treasure.

One step ahead meant staying ahead every step of the way.

The gap would only widen.

This was also why martial cultivators would fight tooth and nail for a single treasure.

Was it just a treasure? It was about changing one's destiny!

Beneath the dead spirit's human skin, Yin Twenty-Four stood with her hands behind her back, chin slightly raised, and said calmly: “The second stage of the Five Seas Realm is nothing. If I can gather four or five more stalks of the same type of dyed cloud exotic medicine, it's possible to open up a third qi sea in a short time. Only by reaching the third stage can one be considered to have preliminarily entered the ranks of the top young masters in Lizhou.”

With a young girl's temperament, she was already showing off and getting carried away with even a small achievement.

Li Wei smiled and shook his head, asking, “How long have you been in the mountain, and how many exotic medicines have you collected?”

Yin Twenty-Three said, “We've only been in the mountain for a day. The dyed cloud exotic medicine below Nine Li Mountain has been almost entirely collected by the martial cultivators of various sects in the Spring Realm, and we’ve only found two stalks so far. One can help a pure immortal body undergo metamorphosis, and the other can help open up a qi sea.”

“Originally, we planned to go up Nine Li Mountain, but halfway there, Yin Twenty-Four discovered your footprints and tracked you all the way here.”

Li Wei looked at Yin Twenty-Four in surprise: “That's not simple at all. To silently remember such details as my footprints.”

“Not just footprints, but also the aura emanating from Shang Zhi's corpse that lingered in the air,” Yin Twenty-Four said.

In Thirty-Three Li Mountain, Li Wei, with his superior skills and boldness, had not deliberately concealed his tracks. It was not strange for her to track him.

Yin Twenty-Four asked, “What about you? How much dyed cloud exotic medicine have you collected?”

“I only entered the mountain half a day earlier than you, and I haven't had any gains yet.” Li Wei shrugged and gave a helpless, wry smile.

Yin Twenty-Four said coldly, “I went to the qi barrier boundary of the Spring Realm. Yao Yin said that you had seized quite a few exotic medicines from the martial cultivators of various major forces in the Spring Realm. The ones she and Yin Twenty-Five seized are also with you.”

Yin Twenty-Three looked at Li Wei with eager eyes.

Li Wei changed the subject and asked, “Has the path from the Five Seas Realm boundary to Yaoguan City been cleared?”

“With Yin Nine and Cang Li taking action, who could stand against them below the Dao Seed Realm? The Spring Realm martial cultivators of the Nine Li Tribe should have already withdrawn by now, so you don't need to worry about that side,” Yin Twenty-Three said.

Yin Twenty-Four said, “I've already consumed two stalks of exotic medicine that aid in the transformation of a pure immortal body, thus cultivating a half-immortal body. However, now that I've broken through to the second stage of the Five Seas Realm, I'll likely need three more stalks to fully complete the pure immortal body transformation.”

Li Wei asked Yin Twenty-Three, “I assume things outside are certainly in turmoil, with great changes happening. At this critical juncture, why would Lord Yin come to the Immortal Realm space instead?”

Yin Twenty-Three said, “Lord Yin didn't tell us, but I guess he's definitely not here just for the fortuitous opportunities and treasures. He must have other major plans. Later, when we go down the mountain, let's go pay our respects!”

Yin Twenty-Four walked up to Li Wei, almost whispering in his ear: “You owe me a favor. If I hadn't intervened just now, the consequences would have been unimaginable. You would probably have had to marry into the Zuoqiu household to settle the matter. For me to ask for three stalks of dyed cloud exotic medicine is not at all excessive.”

Li Wei finally stared at her: “Exotic medicine! Exotic medicine… Don't just think about getting something for nothing. How much does one stalk of exotic medicine cost? Go ask Yin Twenty-Five; he's bought from me before.”

“However, there is an opportunity to seize exotic medicines right now. I originally didn't want to share it with you; I could do it myself. But since you're here, lend a hand, and let's try to catch them all, leaving no one behind.”

“But let me be clear upfront, each of you can only get three stalks of dyed cloud exotic medicine. Everything else — whether exotic medicines, magic artifacts, golden spring water, or immortal soil — belongs to me.”

The reason Li Wei was willing to offer such a generous price was that he suddenly realized he might have underestimated the insight and wisdom of the Five Seas Realm experts.

Once Xue Qi and the others discovered that the Three Chen Palaces and Coffin Mountain were completely wiped out, they would surely descend the mountain with extreme caution.

Or they might take another route down the mountain.

Relying on waiting by the tree to ambush them, the prey would likely not be so foolish.

Li Wei then told the two his plan for hunting and seizing.

Yin Twenty-Three was greatly alarmed, thinking he had misheard: “Ambush the Four Great Sects and Tianya Ridge? You mean, ambush all of them on the way down the mountain? I think ambushing some Spring Realm martial cultivators would be enough!”

“Be a bit more ambitious. This opportunity is extremely rare,” Li Wei said.

Yin Twenty-Four said, “That's impossible! Chen Song, Di Ran, Xue Qi—these three are either pure immortal bodies or Ultimate Sages of the Nine Springs. It's certainly no problem for me to deal with one using the Three-Headed Serpent Blood Soul. But the other two, plus the demon experts from Tianya Ridge, will surely seize this opportunity to kill you and Yin Twenty-Three. How long can you last?”

“Do you think I'm relying on you?”

Li Wei took off his night-traveling attire and threw it to her: “Put this on and go scout the mountain. Once they descend, report back immediately. That is your mission.”

“Oh, and be careful. There's an unknown giant-headed humanoid creature on the mountain. If you encounter it, flee immediately.”

Yin Twenty-Four stared repeatedly at Li Wei. She, a dignified Ultimate Sage of the second stage of the Five Seas Realm, was being sent to be a scout. She chuckled and asked, “So confident? Have you broken through to the Five Seas Realm?”

Li Wei also smiled: “Whether I've broken through to the Five Seas Realm or not, defeating you shouldn't be difficult.”

“Hmph!”

Yin Twenty-Four put on the night-traveling attire, wrapping herself completely. She raised a slender, snow-white, jade-like arm of her half-immortal body, revealing her Three-Headed Serpent Bracelet: “I have snakes!”

She then vanished, heading up the mountain.

“Though a bit temperamental, she's still obedient.”

Li Wei's gaze fell on Zuoqiu Lanlan, who lay disheveled on the ground. He quickly called out, “Don't leave yet. Put her clothes back on.”

Li Wei dispatched Yin Twenty-Three to take the two fainted members of the Zuoqiu household down the mountain. Immediately after, he practiced the Jade Void Breathing Method, entering a tranquil state of being one with the world, and began to inwardly examine his first qi sea.

A tiny lung lobe, yet it had opened up an inner world as vast as ten directions, resembling a slightly irregular transparent cloud mass.

The spatial wall of the qi sea was tinged with a layer of immortal mist, shimmering with brilliant light.

The internal spiritual qi was only a thin layer, less than half a square unit.

This was from the moment of breakthrough, when magical power surged in and was transformed.

Now, even with all ten springs surging together, and magical power continuously flowing in and transforming from the one hundred and twenty string-veins, the rate of increase was still quite slow.

“It will probably take three or four days of cultivation to transform one unit of space. To attempt the second qi sea, the first qi sea must first be cultivated to perfection, otherwise, acting too hastily will lead to failure.”

It was like laying bricks and stacking timber—tedious, boring, and repetitive, yet an indispensable process for constructing a towering building.

What Li Wei didn't know was that his Tenth Spring, Divine Palace, was extraordinary, gushing forth liquid magical power, enough to boost his cultivation speed to an incredible degree.

Those martial cultivators who broke through to the Five Seas Realm with seven springs had a first qi sea only one square unit in size. To cultivate it to perfection, they still needed two or three months.

He only needed three or four days to cultivate one square unit, a speed dozens of times faster.

“After breaking through, the purity of the spiritual qi has indeed improved. But it's still gaseous, not liquid, unlike the Divine Palace.”

Li Wei released his mental power and entered the blood-mud space, asking Master Can for the method of refining spiritual qi within the qi sea.

Master Can's voice came through: “Once you break through to the Five Seas Realm, at that very moment of breakthrough, the spiritual qi completes its first transformation. However, to open up a second qi sea, you must utilize the spiritual qi from the first qi sea.”

“Therefore, before attempting the second stage of the Five Seas Realm, you must fully accumulate the spiritual qi in your first qi sea and further refine it to enhance its quality.”

Li Wei asked, “You've always mentioned the 'quality' of spiritual qi. What exactly are the qualities of spiritual qi?”