Chapter 286: Reencounter with the Fourth Divine Child

He found a boundary bag on Yang Yun and snatched it.

Inside the bag, there was an astonishing amount of Spring Coins. Li Wei Yi estimated, based on his experience, that there were about one hundred thousand Spring Coins. "This kid is incredibly rich," he thought, "comparable to some Dao Seed Realm cultivators. No wonder he dared to ask about the price of commander-level exotic insect eggs."

The sum was too large, and Li Wei Yi hesitated. After all, Yang Yun only owed him thirty thousand Spring Coins and a carriage. Would a carriage worth seventy thousand Spring Coins be too exaggerated?

After a brief hesitation, Li Wei Yi tucked the boundary bag into his embrace. Yang Qingxi still owed him five million Spring Coins, after all.

"Since Yang Yun's blood is inside the life token, it will be difficult to deceive anyone," Li Wei Yi thought. He looked towards the distant Spirit Valley Palace and decided not to investigate for now; finding a way to leave this place was more important.

"Whoosh!" The formation outside the Spirit Valley Palace opened. Six powerful figures emerged. Leading them were two youths who looked exactly alike.

Upon seeing their faces clearly, Li Wei Yi's expression changed, and he immediately hid. "Wang Zhi? Isn't he dead?" Li Wei Yi stared from afar, utterly perplexed. Previously, in the Diligence Garden, Chan Hai Guan Wu had used a Soul-Searching ability, which triggered the death spirit fire within Wang Zhi, burning his flesh to charcoal. He should have been undeniably dead. Yet, the two youths emerging from the Spirit Valley Palace's formation now had the exact same appearance as Wang Zhi.

Li Wei Yi had never seen Wang Zhi's elder brother, the Fourth Divine Son. He had only heard the Fourth Divine Son conversing with Long Ting while hiding underground. When rescuing Qin Qian, he hadn't had time to observe what the Fourth Divine Son looked like.

Outside the Spirit Valley Palace, Zuo Sheng, standing behind the Fourth Divine Son, was filled with emotion. "As expected of the Divine Sect Headquarters," he exclaimed, "the scriptures and Daoist arts stored here are incomparable to anything at the Zuoqiu Family's residence. And that Qi Gathering Array Pool built next to the Heavenly Law Earth Spring, where the spiritual energy is completely liquefied—I can't even imagine how fast one could cultivate and accumulate energy there."

"No matter how fast, it's not as quick as using Dao Lotuses and Dao Fruits," the Fourth Divine Son stated.

Wang Zhi stood beside the Fourth Divine Son. The parasitic departed spirit within him was incredibly powerful, its keen senses detecting a familiar aura. His pupils turned blood-red as he looked towards Li Wei Yi's hiding spot. An ancient cackle, unbefitting a youth's appearance, escaped Wang Zhi's lips. Uncontrolled by the Fourth Divine Son, he transformed into a streak of bloody light and shot out like lightning.

"Hmm?" The Fourth Divine Son frowned and communicated with the departed spirit inside Wang Zhi using his thoughts. "There's an inexplicable sense of familiarity! Perhaps it's someone your brother saw before he died," the departed spirit responded. Although the Fourth Divine Son was skeptical of this statement, his expression hardened, and he cast the Hanging Silk Shadow Dao Art, closely following Wang Zhi.

The four individuals behind him exchanged glances and also gave chase.

"Why has a dead person become even more terrifying?" Li Wei Yi felt a chill envelop him after being stared at by Wang Zhi from afar. Sensing danger, he immediately employed his fastest movement technique, transforming into a wisp of green smoke and fleeing. Li Wei Yi clearly remembered that Wang Zhi was only at the first layer of the Dao Seed Realm. Yet, the speed Wang Zhi unleashed now far surpassed that of Long Ting.

"Flee? Where will you flee? Who exactly are you, and why were you lurking in the shadows, spying on me?" Wang Zhi revealed a set of gleaming white teeth, closing in. His body exuded a dense, chilling energy. He formed his five fingers into a claw and reached out through the air. Instantly, a colossal skeletal claw, several meters in size, materialized, traversed a great distance, and heavily slammed down towards Li Wei Yi.

He was locked on and couldn't evade. Li Wei Yi's eyes darkened, and his hand instinctively reached behind his back, grasping a sword hilt. He turned and struck. This strike wasn't intended to break the skeletal claw's attack, but merely to sever Wang Zhi's mental lock, allowing him to use his movement technique and escape.

"Boom!" With a swing of the sword, a flurry of snow filled the sky. The colossal skeletal claw exploded, and a path of ice and snow stretched towards Wang Zhi. The smile on Wang Zhi's face froze. He immediately stopped, conjuring a departed spirit light-figure to resist, and was sent flying backward.

The Fourth Divine Son, closely following Wang Zhi, was secretly startled. From the sword intent of the person ahead, he felt an overwhelming force of wind and snow, as if the entire Northern Realm was bearing down. "This is..." The Fourth Divine Son's eyes filled with doubt. He felt it shouldn't be "that sword."

"The sword is very strong, containing powerful sword intent, but that kid is weak, not a Dao Seed Realm cultivator. Hehe, interesting!" Wang Zhi pursued again.

"Indeed, it's quite interesting." The Fourth Divine Son looked into the distance at the Profound Sky Spirit Python, which was flying in mid-air and responsible for patrolling the entire mortal realm layer. He shouted, "Lord Profound Sky, intercept that inner disciple!"

The Profound Sky Spirit Python was a departed spirit, with six eyes and a pair of wings, several tens of meters long, and belonged to the Heavenly Principle Hall's patrol guard. Not only was its combat power formidable, but it could also identify life tokens. After detecting the abnormality of Li Wei Yi's life token, it suddenly swooped down from high altitude and lashed out with its tail.

Li Wei Yi, relying on the residual spiritual energy Tang Wanzhou left in the Divine Snow Sword, fought and fled all the way, finally returning to the Southern Pure Palace. "Plop!" He leaped into the Blood River.

After traveling a short distance with the Blood River's current, he fell into the Blood Lake within the Southern Pure Palace. Li Wei Yi flew onto the shore, looked at his arm wounded by Wang Zhi's claw, and then at the Divine Snow Sword in his right hand, secretly feeling fortunate. Unfortunately, the residual spiritual energy Tang Wanzhou had left in the sword was now exhausted.

The six people who had pursued him stopped at the edge of the Blood River outside the Southern Pure Palace. Wang Zhi wanted to imitate Li Wei Yi and jump in, but the Fourth Divine Son stopped him. This was not a place just anyone could trespass. Even the Profound Sky Spirit Python in the sky circled once and then directly departed.

The Fourth Divine Son suddenly spoke, asking, "That sword... doesn't it resemble the Divine Snow Sword?"

Zuo Sheng, having lived for a century and being well-informed, replied, "It's not a matter of resemblance; the power on that sword seems to be Tang Wanzhou's."

"How could Tang Wanzhou's sword fall into that person's hands? That person is definitely not in the Dao Seed Realm; their spiritual energy level isn't high enough," said a true disciple following the Fourth Divine Son. Another true disciple chuckled, "Dare to trespass into the Southern Pure Palace? He's dead for sure!" "For years, only the Southern Venerable has resided in the Southern Pure Palace."

Although the Fourth Divine Son knew that the Southern Pure Palace was a forbidden place, the person had clearly fled in this direction with purpose earlier, leaping into the Blood River without hesitation. After careful consideration, the Fourth Divine Son led the five individuals to the main gate of the Southern Pure Palace. After adjusting his attire, he first bowed, then declared loudly, "Wang Shu pays his respects to the Southern Venerable! I have an urgent matter to report!" There was no response. "Southern Venerable, a suspicious person has fled into the Southern Pure Palace," the Fourth Divine Son spoke again. The gate remained tightly shut, silent.

A true disciple said, "Perhaps... the Southern Venerable isn't in the palace, which is why that person acted so brazenly." "If that's the case, why don't we pursue him through the Blood River?" Zuo Sheng suggested. The Fourth Divine Son shook his head, extremely cautious. "Absolutely not! Report this matter to the patrol guards and the Prosperity-Decay Hall. Let them handle it. The Southern Venerable is not someone we can afford to offend."

Li Wei Yi sat by the Blood Lake, meditating to refine the death energy that had seeped into his body from his arm wound. It took him a full two hours to purify it completely. "Why has Wang Zhi suddenly become so powerful? He seems even more terrifying than the Fourth Divine Son, who looks exactly like him. If I hadn't had the Divine Snow Sword, the consequences would have been unimaginable." Only today did Li Wei Yi truly come to understand the Fourth Divine Son.

Behind him, Yao Qingxuan's voice sounded, "It's a departed soul seed collected by the Heavenly Principle Hall from the Underworld of the Deceased." Startled, Li Wei Yi's heart rate surged. He naturally dared not complain, stood up, looked over, and then bowed. "Please, Senior Yao, show me a way out!" He had come to realize that there was no escaping from this Rice Sect Headquarters. Without a life token, merely stepping out of the Southern Pure Palace would put his life in constant danger.

Yao Qingxuan indeed bore a striking resemblance to Yao Yin, and having entered longevity at sixty years old, she appeared to be only in her early twenties, exuding an elegant and serene aura, untouched by the passage of time. Li Wei Yi could imagine the scenes Old Zhao had described, of empty cities and deserted alleys wherever she went in her youth, attracting countless followers with her talent and charm.

"What, still running around everywhere?" Yao Qingxuan asked. Li Wei Yi smiled. "Not anymore!"

"You must fight for your own path to survival; I cannot help you," Yao Qingxuan said.

Li Wei Yi replied, "If you truly didn't care about me, I'd certainly be in the Divine Prison right now, not the Southern Pure Palace. I would never make things difficult for you. I just want to know in advance what the Spirit Valley Palace Master wants from me."

Yao Qingxuan looked at the garden, overgrown with weeds and covered in fallen leaves. "Clean up the Southern Pure Palace for me, and I can give you a few pointers, though I can't guarantee they'll be useful."

In the Twin Rice Sect, any cultivator at the Inheritor level who reaches the Fifth Realm of the Five Seas Realm can be conferred the title of Divine Son or Divine Daughter, gaining the qualification to establish their own residence. The titles of Divine Son and Divine Daughter are only revoked once they exceed sixty years of age. Currently, in the Twin Rice Sect, the Divine Sons and Daughters combined only rank up to the sixth position. Some of these twins, both possessing Inheritor talent simultaneously, still only occupy a single position.

At this moment, in the Divine Daughter's residence built next to a Heavenly Law Earth Spring, Yang Yun, disheveled, knelt in the courtyard, wailing, "Sister, you must avenge me! The Divine Sect Headquarters is full of villains! First, Dao Zhenhui, Elder Shu's registered disciple, tried to swindle my Spring Coins with turtle-snake-snail insect eggs."

"Then I met Zuo Sheng, thinking he was a good person, but he was even more ruthless! He knocked me out when I wasn't looking, stole my boundary bag, and didn't even spare my clothes, life token, or mask. It's a huge disgrace, a complete humiliation for our Sixth Divine Daughter's residence!" "Oh, and that scoundrel Zuo Sheng is one of the Fourth Divine Son's people! This is clearly aimed at you!"

Yang Qingxi was meditating and comprehending the Dao in her cultivation chamber. Her Long River Battle Art intention had transformed into a Dao Heart Manifestation, even grander and more magnificent, congealing into a celestial river flowing above the residence. Its waters surged, roaring deafeningly. It was like a real river!

She opened her eyes, her gaze profound. "I told you to buy elixirs, but you lost my money?" Yang Yun buried his face on the ground. "Zuo Sheng robbed me! I was very careful, but he's impossible to guard against. He's a Spirit-Sense Master, frighteningly powerful."

"You are my brother, and I won't kill you. But if you can't even handle such a small matter, how can I keep you by my side?" Yang Qingxi's tone was calm as she continued, "Zuo Sheng and Zuo Shi are martial arts masters from the Zuoqiu Family, not Spirit-Sense Masters. You haven't even figured out who robbed you, and you still claim to be careful?" "Go investigate this matter thoroughly. If you can't... don't come back until you've earned one hundred thousand Spring Coins!"