Chapter 271: Fourth Divine Son

The purpose of planting the death spirit fire is to prevent powerful psychics from soul-searching and discovering secrets. Young Hidden Ones of the Nine Li Hidden Gate also have death spirit fire planted in them when they go out on missions. Given the power and mystery of the Twin-Rice Cult, the death spirit fire planted in their Dao Seed Realm members is certainly extraordinary and would not allow core secrets to leak. Even if a Saint Spirit Psychic were to attempt a soul search, it would most likely be fruitless.

Yet, the red-clad woman before him had managed to discover something despite the death spirit fire burning within her. Shi Jiuzhai stood leaning against the wall, watching the man and woman in the distance, no longer daring to show the slightest contempt for Li Wei-yi. Although this Divine Hidden One's martial arts cultivation was crippled, the unseen power he wielded was still terrifying. Perhaps in the near future, he could once again astound the world as a powerful psychic and legendary insect master. He wondered, however, if he could catch up to the ten individuals who had gone to the Transcendence Monastery for cultivation. This was destined to be a difficult path of pursuit!

By the lake, Zenhai Guanwu's skin glowed white in the night, her beautiful hair possessed an unusual luster, and a mystical, hazy glow enveloped her entire body. In a pleasant tone, she explained, "Rice people are cultivated from Ren Rice. The history of Ren Rice is incredibly ancient. According to records in ancient texts across various living realms, it first appeared approximately six hundred thousand years ago. It is said that it originally came from the depths of the Netherworld, serving as sustenance for the supreme beings of the world of the dead. Later, it gradually flowed into the living realms and was widely cultivated.

"Therefore, Ren Rice must have existed for far longer than six hundred thousand years, but time is too vast, the ancient past has become blurred, and books have turned to dust. Because the Soaring Heavens Living Realm is close to the Sea of Blood, with rivers of blood flowing beneath its surface, it is the most fertile ground for the growth of Rice People. Thus, the Rice People have always sought to seize this vast and fertile land, transforming the entire living realm into rice paddies for cultivating their descendants. For this very reason, for thousands of years, the Soaring Heavens Living Realm has forbidden the cultivation of Ren Rice, not only due to concerns about humanity and ethics. Their greatest fear is the terrifying reproductive capacity of the Rice People and their unwavering ambition to control this land, an ambition that has never faded since ancient times.

"Even a thousand years ago, countless factions in the Soaring Heavens Living Realm secretly cultivated Ren Rice, making it impossible to completely prohibit. However, with the imperial court's control, the Rice People found it difficult to grow strong or appear openly; the lid of Pandora's box of disaster remained firmly shut." At this point, Zenhai Guanwu sighed softly, her gaze turning north. That was the direction of Soaring Heavens City!

Li Wei-yi had heard from Zhao Zhizhuo and had also investigated himself that major forces across the world had long begun large-scale cultivation of Ren Rice. Firstly, to select exceptionally talented cultivators for training as death-sworn warriors, soldiers, and retainers. Secondly, for population replenishment. After all, wars involving martial arts masters have extremely high mortality rates, and fields need to be tilled, and mines need to be exploited. Thirdly, those without cultivation talent are sold as resources and commodities, serving as slaves, servants, beasts of burden, or playthings for martial arts masters. This is largely because there are fewer disputes when trading Rice People. Some brutal rebel armies even used Rice People to feed their exotic beast mounts. When one group of people treats another group as food or dehumanizes them, issues of human ethics and humanity are infinitely magnified. Conflicts and hatred, distortion and extremism, then breed in the shadows, unnoticed.

Zenhai Guanwu said, "Your friend did indeed track Wang Zhi and Yang Qingxi when they left Qiuzhou City. In Wang Zhi's memory, they should have arrived at a place called Qingyi Town, located about two hundred li north of Qiuzhou City."

"Qingyi Town." Li Wei-yi memorized the place.

"Do you need me to go there?" Shi Jiuzhai asked.

Li Wei-yi shook his head, saying, "It's too dangerous. I have a better candidate."

"Then for the time being, I will make more contact with evil cultivators to gather more information about the Twin-Rice Cult." Shi Jiuzhai sniffed hard, then leapt onto the top of the courtyard wall, looking out at the night. He seemed nervous: "It's the scent of white roses emanating from that seductive woman, Shi Qiqing. This entire district will likely be filled with spring's vitality tonight. She must have done something to me; she's already found her way nearby!"

Li Wei-yi chuckled, "Brother Jiu seems a bit afraid of her."

"This is a woman who makes even Shi Liuyu flee upon smelling her scent... I'll go hold her back. Although the Nine Li tribe and the Earth Wolf King's army are now in a cooperative relationship, if she finds us meeting privately, it's bound to raise suspicion," Shi Jiuzhai said.

"Go ahead. I'll deal with these two bodies. Regarding the Twin-Rice Cult, have Hidden Two inform the Hidden Lord."

After Shi Jiuzhai left, Li Wei-yi sniffed hard. Indeed, there was a sweet scent in the air. After inhaling it, many amorous images appeared in his mind, his heart raced, and he looked at Zenhai Guanwu beside him, feeling much less apprehension and respect, and an urge to pull her into his embrace. On the distant rockery, Li Ling, who was keeping watch, also started breathing rapidly, her delicate cheeks flushing slightly. "What a powerful white rose scent!" Li Wei-yi quickly performed the Jade Void Breathing Technique; his mind immediately cleared, suppressing the distracting thoughts.

Early the next morning, the sky was dimly lit. The Qingyun Transportation was filled with figures in black, all silent, creating a somber atmosphere. Wang Shu, the Fourth Divine Son of the Twin-Rice Cult, wearing a golden mask that covered only the upper half of his face, stood beside two charred corpses. His calm gaze was directed at the shattered building next door.

"Whoosh!" His figure flickered. He appeared inside the building as if teleporting, his pupils turning blood-red. Instantly, the entire world became perfectly clear, even individual dust particles on the ground were countable. The footprints where Shi Jiuzhai had stood the previous night and the way Wang Zhi had crashed through the wall were all reconstructed in his mind. The next moment, the Fourth Divine Son appeared on the street where Wang Zhi and Li Wei-yi had fought. The deep grooves on the ground were still there, and various traces connected into a clear scene in his mind.

Returning to Qingyun Transportation, he examined the two corpses again, and he had a clear understanding of what had happened. A black-robed elder used a Golden Escape Dao technique; with a flash of golden light, he appeared beside the Fourth Divine Son, his skin rapidly transforming from a metallic state back to flesh. His head and face completely covered by a hood, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Have you found out who did this? Qingyun Transportation is an important intelligence outpost for us."

The Fourth Divine Son's tone was icy: "You're responsible for matters in Qiuzhou City; I just arrived."

The black-robed elder knelt down to examine.

"No need to check," the Fourth Divine Son said. "It was done by that Divine Hidden One from the Nine Li Hidden Gate, who brought people with him. It must be that Wang Zhi and Yang Qingxi left a weakness, allowing this place to be traced."

The black-robed elder said, "Is that Divine Hidden One preparing to make a comeback, emerging from the shadow of his decline?"

"Anyone with seven monarch-level exotic insects could regain confidence; this must be his last resort. It's laughable to think the Divine Cult sought to capture him, only for him to kill two Dao Seed Realm experts first. You can explain this to the Southern Venerable yourself!" the Fourth Divine Son said.

The black-robed elder said, "The death spirit fire within their bodies had already activated, indicating that the Nine Li Hidden Gate didn't extract any information. The losses are controllable."

"Controllable losses? My brother died here, and you tell me this is controllable loss?" The Fourth Divine Son removed his mask, revealing a youthful face identical to Wang Zhi's. He continued, "I will settle this score with Yang Qingxi. We must act quickly to capture Li Wei-yi. Stop saying Peach Plum Mountain is a forbidden zone; he can't stay on the mountain forever. If the Nine Li Hidden Gate dares to oppose the Divine Cult, then let them pay a price as well; we'll eliminate a few of their Hidden Ones."

The black-robed elder was not afraid of the Fourth Divine Son before him. A Divine Son merely had high talent and status, but his cultivation was not as profound as the elder's. Inheritor-level prodigies within a sixty-year cycle can be listed as Divine Sons and Divine Daughters. The higher their cultivation, the higher their ranking. The reason this Fourth Divine Son was targeting Yang Qingxi was because Yang Qingxi, as the Sixth Divine Daughter of the Dragon Seed Dao, had achieved an incredibly fast cultivation speed in the past six months, reaching the second heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, gradually threatening the status of other Divine Sons and Daughters.

Having suffered heavy losses last night, the black-robed elder was at a disadvantage and could only respond cautiously. He said, "This is difficult! The Nine Li Hidden Gate is different from other hidden gates; their numbers seem extremely small, and their selection methods are peculiar. Their name is heard, but their people are rarely seen. The Divine Cult has tried many methods but has never been able to infiltrate them."

"If it's difficult, then don't do it... Anyway, the cult recently needs more Dao Seed Realm rice fertilizer." The Fourth Divine Son examined Wang Zhi's corpse again. Although the flesh was severely burned, the bones, Qi Sea, Wind Mansion, and Ancestral Field were not destroyed, and his inner living world had not perished. So, he took out a porcelain bottle. From it, he poured out a golden liquid. The golden liquid transformed into a rain of light, sprinkling onto Wang Zhi's charred corpse, surprisingly causing the shriveled body to gradually swell. This golden liquid was refined from the life spring fluid within the Ren Rice plant that had given birth to him and Wang Zhi. At critical moments, it could save their lives. Of course, Wang Zhi was now thoroughly dead. He certainly couldn't be brought back to life.

"One body, twin-born; ten thousand rice, one root," the Fourth Divine Son murmured, pressing one hand on Wang Zhi's Ancestral Field, injecting vital energy that flowed along the meridians throughout the corpse. At the same time, he ordered someone to cut his own wrist, continuously dripping his blood into the corpse. As a large amount of blood entered, Wang Zhi's charred corpse, enveloped in a golden glow, grew new flesh and skin. "Crack!" The charred outer shell peeled off, revealing a perfectly intact corpse. The Fourth Divine Son's blood consumption was severe; he had lost about a third, and immediately took a blood pill to replenish it.

Afterward, he took out a soul jar sealed with runes from his spatial pouch and performed a ritual that only twin-born individuals could execute. The black-robed elder realized that the Fourth Divine Son intended to refine Wang Zhi's corpse into a departed spirit servant and a puppet substitute to enhance his own combat power. This was a privilege enjoyed only by Divine Sons, Divine Daughters, and individuals of elder rank or higher. The soul jar contained powerful departed spirits that the Hall of Heavenly Principles, the foremost of the cult's four halls, had suppressed from the Netherworld. These powerful departed spirits had been refined into soul seeds. At this moment, the Fourth Divine Son was implanting a soul seed along with a fragment of his own consciousness into Wang Zhi's Ancestral Field, using Wang Zhi's corpse as a medium to control that powerful departed spirit.

"Whoosh!" A blood-red radiance flowed back and forth within the bodies of the Fourth Divine Son and Wang Zhi's corpse. When the ritual concluded, the Wang Zhi on the ground let out a low growl and eerily stood up, emanating an aura that made even the black-robed elder wary. Wang Zhi attempted to attack the Fourth Divine Son, but with a single thought, the latter forced him to kneel.

"I'll leave matters here to you! That fellow from Dragon Court has scheduled a meeting with me, so I still have to go." The Fourth Divine Son, taking Wang Zhi with him, sank into the ground and departed using an earth escape technique of the Dao art level.