Chapter 155: Five Seas Second Realm

"She was actually trying to recruit you," Yin Shisan said.

"This shows she has good judgment and is skilled at identifying and utilizing talent."

Li Weiyi changed the subject and said, "But she's only an emissary of the Luan Platform, not the Second Palace Master of the Luan Platform. Recruiting an Incognito from my Jiuli Hidden Sect to serve her is already giving her enough face. She's not qualified to use a Divine Incognito."

After a laugh, Yin Shisan said gravely, "Ahead lies territory under the court's jurisdiction. Once we pass Tiger Roar City, we'll essentially be in the Central Plains. The vast Great Marsh Plain stretches for ten thousand miles, forming the world's largest fertile granary, connecting the northern part of Zhizhou with Qiuzhou and Fuzhou."

"By the way, although this northern half of Zhizhou is said to be under court jurisdiction, it has actually long fallen into the hands of the Zuoqiu Clan. This is precisely why Jiang Ning dared not enter the city as a Luan Platform Emissary."

"Then how dare she go to Qiuzhou?" Li Weiyi asked.

Yin Shisan explained, "It's different! If a Luan Platform Emissary dies in Qiuzhou, it would undeniably be the Zuoqiu Clan's responsibility. However, if an Emissary dies in Tiger Roar City, the Zuoqiu Clan could easily claim to the outside world that it was the work of Night City barbarians or the Li Clan rebels."

"The enemies capable of hunting down Jiang Ning must be formidable. Are you sure you want to take this risk, Senior Brother Shisan?" Li Weiyi asked.

Yin Shisan smiled, "Only by taking this risk will Jiang Ning potentially bring me into her inner circle. The Jiang clan's branch in the Lingxiao Living Realm is a colossal power. By leveraging the court's influence, they can compete with the Four Great Million Clans. The power behind them is truly extraordinary."

"Just make sure you know what you're doing! As a future Divine Incognito, I'm giving you three Sky-Dyed Elixirs." Li Weiyi took out the exotic medicines and handed them to him.

"What 'future Divine Incognito'? I am a Divine Incognito!"

Yin Shisan, as if he had found a treasure, showed no politeness to Li Weiyi. He quickly put away the three Sky-Dyed Elixirs and laughed heartily, "I've been stuck at the Fourth Stage of the Fifth Sea Realm for two years. With these, I'll soon be able to break through to the Fifth Stage of the Fifth Sea Realm, and my chances of survival will be much greater! Divine Incognito, farewell!"

Yin Shisan pursued Jiang Ning and Zhuang Yue, embarking on his own path of struggle.

Li Weiyi watched the fifty Fire Crows fly towards Tiger Roar City, sighing deeply. In the end, he did not follow Wu Zhaonan into the city. Instead, he and Li Ling quickly slipped into the night, disappearing onto the Great Marsh Plain.

He had no desire to draw attention to himself.

If the outside world discovered that he and Jiang Ning were involved in this trip together, he would surely be seen as an agent of the court, which would lead to significant trouble!

Although few people in the world had heard of Li Weiyi's name so far, the commotion he caused in Lizhou during the Spring Realm was practically negligible.

However, on this trip to Qiuzhou, Li Weiyi harbored the intention of seizing the Longevity Pill. Without gaining widespread renown, how could he possibly have a chance to claim the pill? Yuwen Tuozhen, the young lord of Night City, stood tall and imposing on the back of a black Night Qilin Beast, gazing into the distance at Tiger Roar City, thirty miles away.

The sun was just rising on the horizon.

The massive beast flew in mid-air, thick clouds above Yuwen Tuozhen's head, as he was bathed in brilliant, radiant light.

His handsome figure, in his twenties, bore a crescent moon mark on his brow, unique to Night Clan royalty. His long purple hair and intensely Yin presence, combined with his current hawk-like, stern gaze, made Yuwen Chao, who stood beside him, shiver involuntarily.

Yuwen Chao's right arm was almost completely crippled, but fortunately, he had managed to escape from underwater, saving his life.

With a cultivation base at the Fifth Stage of the Fifth Sea Realm, his life force was already robust enough.

After investigating the shore, three Fifth Sea Realm deformed humans from Night City, skilled in tracking, successively rode Fire Crows into the air to report back to Yuwen Tuozhen.

Among the three, an elderly dog-like deformed woman, at the Fourth Sea Realm, said, "That group didn't enter Tiger Roar City. They came ashore here and then departed in two directions."

Yuwen Chao said, "Young City Lord, let me pursue the other group. This subordinate will certainly redeem himself. Last night's battle resulted in too heavy losses for the Fire Crow Cavalry!"

Yuwen Tuozhen looked at Daodi and Miedi on the back of the golden eagle. "Once we pass Tiger Roar City, we'll enter the Zuoqiu Clan's territory, making pursuit difficult! Jiang Ning's Night Emperor Toad Poison must still be unresolved—what a perfect opportunity to capture her. It's truly a pity not to have seen the face of one of the Three Immortals."

Daodi, in a green monastic robe, with a face as fair as jade, said gently, "As long as she hasn't entered Qiuzhou's provincial capital, there's still a chance."

Miedi said, "Her journey to Qiuzhou's provincial capital will surely make her a disruptor of the Crouching Dragon Lantern Festival; the Zuoqiu Clan won't welcome her. As long as we don't make too big a fuss, they'll surely turn a blind eye."

Yuwen Tuozhen smiled, "You people from Coffin Mountain truly have extraordinary courage."

Miedi laughed wildly, "Capturing and destroying the Feathered Immortal will surely bring me immense prestige among all the rebel army's prodigies. My aim for this Crouching Dragon Lantern Festival is fame."

Daodi said, "The Dragon Gate inheritor has already gone to Tiger Roar City, where one of the Abyss Sect's six major branch halls, the Abyss Branch Hall, is located. The young generation's masters from the Abyss Sect, after leaving Lizhou, are gathering there. If they assist us, our chances of hunting down Jiang Ning will greatly increase."

"Then mobilize the forces from San Chen Palace as well. I'll handle that."

Yuwen Tuozhen's gaze finally settled on Yuwen Chao. "I'll give you another chance. You go after the other group. This young lord is very interested in those seven exotic insects you mentioned."

"Thank you for your trust, Young Lord! This subordinate will not fail in his mission and will definitely bring back the seven exotic insects to present to you."

Yuwen Chao let out a long sigh of relief. The pressure Yuwen Tuozhen exerted on him was greater than that from a Dao Seed Realm cultivator, as he knew all too well what a temperamental and ruthless character the young lord of Night City was.

In the Blood Mud Space.

Li Weiyi sat cross-legged in meditation, ripples of spatial fluctuations emanating from his body, as bright aura-qi and colorful light pulsed in and out of his pores.

With each breath, the grade of his aura-qi improved.

This process continued for exactly six hundred and seventy-one times before the aura-qi finally calmed down, its grade no longer increasing.

"Finally, I've successfully broken through, officially entering the Second Stage of the Fifth Sea Realm."

"The second Qi Sea, sixty-three cubic units in size."

For these past days, Li Weiyi had been recuperating and strengthening his lungs. On the third day after parting ways with Jiang Ning, after consuming two Sky-Dyed Elixirs, he finally broke open his second Qi Sea.

During the breakthrough process, his aura-qi was repeatedly refined, transforming into a third-tier qi.

"I'm curious to see what the combat intention cultivated from the Sky-Overturning Palm Seal technique will look like after it takes form."

Li Weiyi stood up, executed a footwork sequence, clasped his hands into a palm formation, and assumed the starting stance for the Sky-Overturning Palm Seal.

"Whoosh—"

His combat intention manifested around him, as if something was rotating about him, stirring up gusts of wind. However, it was invisible and intangible; it still needed to integrate with his spirit and aura-qi to become fully concrete.

Normally, a martial cultivator's combat intention takes the form of their own figure, a profound manifestation of their spiritual combat technique.

Only a select few, whose combat intention is inherited or who cultivate special scriptures and unique martial arts, will possess an unusual type of combat intention.

The combat intention of a Third Sea Realm martial cultivator is almost always ten feet tall.

For a Fourth Sea Realm cultivator, it's about twenty feet tall.

And for a Fifth Sea Realm cultivator, about thirty feet tall.

Of course, if a Fifth Sea Realm master cultivates the Wind Palace at the back of their head into a Sixth Sea, their combat intention will grow an additional ten feet.

In Li Weiyi's view, combat intention closely resembled the 'Heaven-Emulating Earth-Manifesting' ability from ancient Huaxia myths; the higher one's cultivation, the larger the manifested figure.

Li Weiyi practiced the palm technique repeatedly, his essence, qi, spirit, and combat intention gradually merging into one.

"Boom!"

In the Blood Mud Space, a powerful vortex of wind burst forth from thin air, centered around Li Weiyi's body, spreading outwards.

A soul-stirring aura was born with it.

Within the swirling wind, surrounded by shimmering light, an imposing figure in a Daoist robe appeared. It was ethereal and detached, yet possessed a powerful aura, with a white beard on its chin flowing like a bright, dazzling waterfall.

The combat intention was ten feet tall and very faint, its face in the Daoist robe figure unclear. It held a seal in one hand and a bell in the other, resembling a deity enshrined in a temple, enough to inspire awe and worship from mortals.

"Could this be that patriarch from the history of the Chan Sect?"

Li Weiyi's heart trembled, and many thoughts flooded his mind. Could there truly be a lost mythological history on Earth? Or perhaps, mythological history didn't occur on Earth but was merely transmitted to it, just like the Fusang Divine Tree and Yingzhou, which also didn't originate on Earth. "The combat intention is too faint, and the aura-qi isn't strong enough. It's only slightly stronger than cultivators of the same realm or one realm higher."

"A second Qi Sea of sixty-three cubic units would take at least half a year to fully cultivate through secluded meditation. However, if I go to a provincial capital city and use Heaven's Law Earth Springs, the process could be much faster."

Li Weiyi's gaze fell upon Chan Hai Guanwu, who was seated on the Dharma artifact jade boat. Perhaps refining qi-raising pills was the fastest method.

Breaking through to the Third Stage of the Fifth Sea Realm seemed distant. Li Weiyi quietly calculated, concluding that in the near future, the only ways to further enhance his strength were through Golden Spring Bone Forging and nurturing the seven Phoenix-Wing Moth Emperors.

If he could use the Golden Spring to forge his bones into Minor Golden Bones, gilded on the surface, his physical strength alone would rival that of an ordinary Fifth Stage of the Fifth Sea Realm cultivator. Combined with his aura-qi cultivation and Dharma artifacts, his combat power would be truly impressive.

More critically, with Minor Golden Bones, his physical defense would greatly increase. Even if he encountered a formidable opponent he couldn't defeat, preserving his life would certainly not be a problem.

In the little over a month since leaving Buried Immortal Town, he had consumed a large amount of Golden Spring, and out of his two hundred and six bones, one hundred and thirty-seven had now achieved the gilded-on-the-surface state.

Li Weiyi inquired about the condition of the seven Phoenix-Wing Moth Emperors. They informed him that after expelling their anger by killing enemies on the ship, the fiery sensation in their bellies had somewhat eased, but it still felt as if flames were burning within, preventing them from consuming Xihe Flowers for now.

Li Weiyi gave each of them a two-hundred-year-old precious medicine, all "acquired" in Buried Immortal Town.

There was no helping it; these seven little fellows were simply too valuable in large-scale battles. However, their constant flirtation with Jiang Ning made Li Weiyi feel a sense of crisis. Since he was now wealthy, he was naturally very generous with them.

If he could quickly feed them until their combat power rivaled that of the Fifth Stage of the Fifth Sea Realm, then as a Beast Controller, he could confidently stride through Qiuzhou's provincial capital.

"With my current financial resources, as long as I convert some of my assets into cash, buying thousand-year-old refined medicines shouldn't be a problem. Ideally, they should have a cold attribute, which would both rapidly advance the growth of the seven little ones and neutralize the fiery nature of the Xihe Flower."

Li Weiyi settled on this plan in his mind, then glanced at Chan Hai Guanwu, who was meditating and cultivating. "Never mind," he thought, "she probably doesn't care about any 'trial romance.' She's purely a cultivation fanatic."

No matter how much she desired to return to the Yang Realm, the aloof and indifferent heart of an ancient Heavenly Emperor was her true essence.

How could one possibly fight against one's own nature? "Whoosh!"

Ripples of space emanated outwards.

Li Weiyi exited the Blood Mud Space and returned to the carriage.

This was a luxurious exotic beast carriage, its cabin about ten feet long and wide, which Li Weiyi had bought at great expense. He had joined a convoy of other talented individuals from Zhizhou, also heading to Qiuzhou's provincial capital for the Crouching Dragon Lantern Festival, and they were now traveling on a wide, smooth official road.

After passing Tiger Roar City, the atmosphere of the land changed completely. All chaos vanished, replaced by prosperity and flourishing growth.

They encountered no more rebel armies or barbarians; it seemed everyone knew they had entered the Zuoqiu Clan's territory and were showing immense respect.

In the center of the carriage was a sandalwood table, with white fox fur covering both the floor and the seats. The four walls were sumptuously decorated.

Li Weiyi folded and put away the Ghost Flag he used to isolate the outside world, then looked at Li Ling, who had been guarding the carriage. "Have we entered Qiuzhou territory yet?"

"Qi Wangshu said we should reach Great Marsh City before dark. Once we reach the Soldier Ancestor Marsh, we'll be in Qiuzhou," Li Ling replied.

Qi Wangshu enjoyed a very high reputation among all the talented individuals in this convoy. He was an an outspoken and generous person, considered a leader. According to him, his Qi clan was a powerful million-strong clan in Zhizhou, and their patriarch held a significant position within the Zuoqiu Clan. He claimed he would arrange everything once they reached Qiuzhou's provincial capital.

The setting sun hung askew; it was dusk.

The eight lavish exotic beast carriages finally arrived at the Soldier Ancestor Marsh, renowned throughout the Lingxiao Living Realm.

This vast marsh before them, said to be sixteen hundred miles from north to south and two thousand miles from east to west, was a freshwater inland sea. It was believed to be a miraculous body of water formed when a spiritual energy spring from the legendary Soldier Ancestor's body fell to the earth.

Qiuzhou's provincial capital was built on the northern shore of the Soldier Ancestor Marsh, still a long distance from Great Marsh City, where they arrived today.