Chapter 257: Fuzhou Alarmed

Martial artists with a deficient foundation who reach the Dao Seed realm are those who open eight springs in the Spring Realm, six seas in the Five Seas Realm, and cultivate their Dao Seed using the Wind Manor. Their foundation is considered inferior.

Such Dao Seed realm martial artists can never break through to achieve longevity; they can only serve as retainers and expendables. Their status and combat power, even within the same realm, are significantly inferior. As for martial artists who open seven springs in the Spring Realm and five seas in the Five Seas Realm, they cannot reach the Dao Seed realm at all and are eliminated much earlier. Therefore, many hidden practitioners of the Nine Li Hidden Sect died while attempting to open the ninth spring.

The three of them boarded the carriage and rode towards the city.

Zuoqiu Ting, sitting in the main seat of the carriage, said, "It's not that you have to pretend everyone is equal, but there's no need to create unnecessary conflict and animosity with your words."

Qi Xiao nodded with a bitter smile and replied, "I will certainly remember that!"

Li Weiyi asked, "Brother Qi, did you break through to the Dao Seed realm using a dragon seed?"

Knowing what Li Weiyi wanted to ask, Qi Xiao replied in a low voice, "It was on the night of the Lantern Festival. The Qi family's old ancestor was lucky enough to acquire a fallen dragon seed and told me to refine it quickly, fearing complications from a delay. In recent days, battles have been breaking out daily both inside and outside the city due to the Longevity Pills, dragon seeds, and dragon bones."

Li Weiyi looked at Zuoqiu Ting and said, "I caused quite a stir at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, so someone must want to capture or kill me. Traveling with you, the First Inheritor, should be safe, right?"

Zuoqiu Ting smiled and said, "Although the city is currently in turmoil, this is Qiu Prefecture City. If you die, how could I survive? If the two of us were killed in the city, it would become a worldwide laughingstock."

Qi Xiao said, "Isn't there a Dao Seed realm cultivator accompanying you?"

Zuoqiu Ting asked, "May I ask, Dao Seed Qi, what are your plans next? Will you go directly to the military camp for training, or to the Fourth Heaven for further study?"

Qi Xiao replied, "I plan to first go to the Fourth Heaven to consolidate my realm and study Daoist arts. Once I achieve initial proficiency in Daoist arts, I will join the Secret Realm Department."

Zuoqiu Ting was somewhat surprised. "The Secret Realm Department? That's a very dangerous place!"

"The Zuoqiu Clan's annual stipend of five million silver coins for Dao Seed realm martial artists is indeed very generous," Qi Xiao explained. "But it's far from enough if one seeks longevity! Exploring secret realms, though dangerous, offers extremely high rewards. There might even be heaven-defying opportunities."

Zuoqiu Ting said, "There will be war soon! The Zuoqiu Clan will certainly conquer forces like Tianya Ridge, Coffin Mountain, Three Chen Palace, and Night City. As long as war breaks out, it will be very easy for you Dao Seed realm cultivators to earn money."

Qi Xiao replied, "It's the same everywhere: risk and reward are proportional. Under the feet of every longevity achiever lie the piled bones of their peers. Those who dare not fight to the death cannot achieve longevity. To win money, one must stake money; to contend for life, one must first gamble with life."

The carriage drove out of the outer East City gate.

The wilderness outside was already overflowing with people; countless young martial artists had come to behold the transcendent's majestic presence. Li Weiyi, despite his mental preparation, was still astonished. The corpse of the Silver-Winged Eagle King was as massive as a mountain. Even though it had died seven days ago, its blood energy was still vigorous, its aura awe-inspiring, and its heat astonishing. Even from several miles away, the refugees felt their hearts pound and dared not approach. Only the courage of martial artists could withstand that aura.

"With so much flesh and blood, you, the dignified First Inheritor of the Zuoqiu Clan, can only get a few pounds?" Li Weiyi asked.

Zuoqiu Ting replied, "Do you think killing a transcendent demon is something that happens every year? How many are there in the entire Lingxiao Mortal Realm? Only a portion will be divided today! The rest will be sealed with secret methods to prevent the loss of blood energy and transcendent magic energy, serving as a foundation and resource for the entire clan's disciples for the next hundred years. The reason we are ostentatiously selling it at the city gate is to 'strike the mountain to shake the tiger' – to warn those transcendent beings who are enemies of the Zuoqiu Clan that death is not the worst outcome."

Zuoqiu Ting naturally didn't need to buy any; he could directly claim it from the elders of the Zuoqiu Clan, by virtue of his status as the First Inheritor. Li Weiyi and Qi Xiao were content to wait aside, anticipating their share of free demon king flesh and blood.

Li Weiyi transmitted his voice via magic energy: "Brother Qi, do me a favor and help me find out where the people from the Sui Sect are."

"Those five boxes of Spring coins?" Qi Xiao asked.

"Uh..."

Li Weiyi said, "Just help me find Yang Qingxi!" The Six Desires Talisman had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Qi Xiao immediately patted his chest and guaranteed that he would take care of it, but his gaze was strange. He secretly thought that Li Weiyi surely dared not let the Nine Li Clan know about this matter, which was why he had to rely on an outsider like him to find Yang Qingxi. "There really is a secret affair!"

Zuoqiu Ting returned and handed the realm bag to Li Weiyi, saying, "You two, each take two hundred jin! The rest is for me."

"Thank you, Young Master, for your generosity. I heard that fresh transcendent flesh and blood don't sell cheaply."

Qi Xiao summoned his magic artifact war blade from his Ancestral Field and divided the meat with Li Weiyi. Even with his Dao Seed realm cultivation, he had to exert all his strength to cut the meat with difficulty.

"To stew transcendent meat until tender, one probably needs a magic artifact cauldron and special flames," he laughed.

An elderly Five Seas realm cultivator, covered in blood, rushed into the city gate at high speed, bringing back news that shook the entire Qiu Prefecture City.

Half an hour later.

Strong cultivators from the city rushed out, heading north, and their numbers grew steadily. Zuoqiu Ting's carriage, carrying the three of them, was heading towards a medicinal pill shop opened by the Zuoqiu Clan. Hearing the commotion from the street, Qi Xiao jumped off the carriage and grabbed a Five Seas realm martial artist he knew to ask for information.

"What?"

After listening, Qi Xiao was greatly startled, then ecstatic. After returning to the carriage, his heart was still pounding rapidly. He said excitedly, "We should hurry north; there's a major development there."

"Calm down first!" Zuoqiu Ting said. "You're already a Dao Seed realm powerhouse, yet you're so impatient?"

Qi Xiao said, "I can't calm down! Reportedly, at the border between Qiu Prefecture and Fu Prefecture, a rift over a hundred miles long was created due to a battle between transcendent beings. A group of bold Five Seas realm martial artists followed the transcendent beings' battle path, searching for discarded transcendent items, such as transcendent blood or similar opportunities. As a result, beneath that terrifying rift, they discovered the entrance to the legendary underground immortal abode. The entrance is said to be over ten miles long, built like a magnificent palace, truly spectacular."

Zuoqiu Ting was moved and couldn't remain calm either. He immediately sent out Zuoqiu Qingting to gather more precise information.

Li Weiyi's curiosity was piqued. "What does 'underground immortal abode' mean?"

Qi Xiao's blood continued to boil as he organized his thoughts and said, "Legend has it that Fu Prefecture is named as such because there is an ancient immortal's Wind Manor beneath the ground. It's also jokingly called the Underworld, and its size... well, it's as large as a prefecture. Over the years, people have indeed found traces of this underground immortal abode beneath the ground, spreading for thousands of miles, with rock and metal structures, and also spatial reactions. But that's an ancient immortal's Wind Manor; it's simply impossible to force open. For thousands of years, generations of Dao Seed realm powerhouses searched every inch of Fu Prefecture's underground but never found an entrance. Who would have thought that a battle between transcendent beings would actually reveal the underground entrance?"

Li Weiyi asked, "Brother Qi, is the Wind Manor you mentioned the inner world we open when cultivating the eighth spring?"

"Precisely."

Qi Xiao continued, "The Wind Manor is a living inner world. When first opened in the Spring Realm, it's usually very small. But by the Five Seas Realm, the Wind Manor becomes our sixth sea and can expand to over ten thousand cubic units. Martial artists who haven't cultivated the seventh sea, the Ancestral Field, cultivate their Dao Seed in the Wind Manor. Upon reaching the Dao Seed realm, both the Wind Manor and Ancestral Field can continue to expand. What else but an ancient immortal could cultivate their Wind Manor to be as vast as an entire prefecture? More importantly, that ancient immortal seems to have cultivated their Dao Seed in the Wind Manor. Many years ago, transcendent beings discovered traces of the Dao beneath Fu Prefecture."

Li Weiyi said, "Cultivating the Dao Seed in the Wind Manor means there is no hope for longevity. However, there were ancient sages who followed this path and proved the Dao to become immortals. If this is true, it will indeed drive many people crazy."

Zuoqiu Ting said, "What's the rush? Opportunities aren't that easy to come by. Let's wait for them to explore it first. These ancient immortal secret realms are quite dangerous in their early stages."

Qi Xiao nodded, having calmed down. He had calmed down because he realized that even if the underground immortal abode entrance truly appeared, he would first need to consolidate his realm and would be unable to go there in the short term.

Zuoqiu Qingting flew back and telepathically informed her of the intelligence information the Zuoqiu Clan currently possessed.

"Is the news reliable?" Li Weiyi asked.

"It's highly likely," she replied.

Zuoqiu Ting's eyes flickered, and he asked with a smile, "You wouldn't want to go searching for opportunities too, would you?"

Li Weiyi shook his head, leaning back against the carriage, and said lazily, "Hidden Lord said I was too aggressive in the Five Seas Realm, so I'll probably be in secluded cultivation for the next year or two. I need to slowly accumulate and consolidate. How could I have time to explore such dangerous places? The magic energy concentration on Peach and Plum Mountain is extremely high, and it's safe enough. If I cultivate in seclusion here, you shouldn't expel me, right?"

Qi Xiao looked at Zuoqiu Ting, and both burst out laughing.

"Coincidentally, we also need to go into secluded cultivation."

Li Weiyi spared no expense, buying sixty Flame Pills and a binding talisman that could immobilize a Dao Seed realm martial artist. In total, it cost ninety thousand Spring coins!

On the way back to the mountain, Zuoqiu Ting asked doubtfully, "Why did you spend so much money buying a binding talisman? Even if a Dao Seed realm martial artist is only slightly prepared, you wouldn't have a chance to immobilize them."

Li Weiyi replied, "I can't help it. You are all on the verge of breaking through to the Dao Seed realm, while I still have to linger in the Five Seas Realm. Of course, I need to find ways to acquire more life-saving means."

Upon reaching the Third Heaven, the two parted ways.

Li Weiyi went to the dwelling place of the Nine Li Clan's Hidden Sect martial artists and tossed several dozens of jin of transcendent flesh and blood to Hidden Twenty-Four, telling her to quickly take it and cook it. Although her cooking skills were not commendable, Li Weiyi believed that with more practice, she would surely improve. The Hidden Sect needed a culinary master.

"An elder from the Zuoqiu Clan told me he overheard your conversation with Zuoqiu Ting," Hidden Lord said, suddenly appearing. "You seem to have developed feelings for Zuoqiu Hongting?"

Li Weiyi was stunned. "Which elder of the Zuoqiu Clan is so shameless as to eavesdrop on the conversation of two youngsters?"

"Shall we talk?"

Hidden Lord's gaze was extremely serious.

Li Weiyi nodded, as he also had something he wanted to discuss with Hidden Lord.