Chapter 293: Apprenticing Under Yao Qingxuan

"What? Tang Wanzhou?"Li Weiyi looked bewildered, not understanding why she asked that.Yao Qingxuan saw that Li Weiyi was genuinely clueless and immediately frowned, her eyes filled with suspicion.

For the past two months, Li Weiyi had been secluded in the Southern Serenity Palace for cultivation, enjoying peace and quiet. Meanwhile, Yao Qingxuan had been playing a cat-and-mouse game with Tang Wanzhou in the outer regions of the main altar. Although she had the upper hand, consistently suppressing Tang Wanzhou, catching up and injuring her several times, she had never been able to apprehend her.

A thousand years ago, during the catastrophe in the Skyswept Sanctuary, the land was ravaged beyond recognition, mountains collapsed, and rivers changed course.

It was during this period that the Twin Rice Sect accidentally discovered the entrance to the underground Immortal Abode, opening this immortal realm and acquiring the boundless treasures left behind by the ancient Virupaksha Sect.

Since the Zen Sea Observatory had always forbidden the cultivation of Benevolent Rice in the Skyswept Sanctuary, the Rice Sect was then in decline and could only live in hiding, gradually excavating the secret realm, exploring its treasures, and battling fierce insects, deceased spirits, and unknown anomalies within the underground Immortal Abode.

This matter was of great importance, and they dared not let too many people know.

The process of exploration and excavation was how the Twin Rice Sect gradually grew stronger.

However, the underground Immortal Abode was vast, like a hollow sphere thousands of miles in diameter, built by the ancient Virupaksha Sect over at least twenty to thirty thousand years. It contained countless dangers, innumerable mysteries, and an endless supply of treasures and resources.

Even after a thousand years of exploration and construction, the Twin Rice Sect had only cleared, transformed, and built up the hundreds of miles near the entrance. In terms of volume, this occupied less than one percent of the entire underground Immortal Abode.

The sect's most powerful figures naturally ventured further, but dangers constantly emerged, requiring them to meticulously set up defensive formations step by step before expanding and consolidating their gains.

Furthermore, they dared not create too much commotion, causing earth tremors that might be detected by the transcendental beings of the Skyswept Sanctuary.

The pace of transformation and construction was infinitely slower than mere exploration.

Some areas were so perilous that even the Rice Ancestor had to avoid them.

Of course, the Twin Rice Sect's entrance to the underground Immortal Abode was not the one blasted open by Qilin Zang with a supreme artifact a year ago. It was located elsewhere.

In fact, the Twin Rice Sect was completely unaware of the entrance Qilin Zang had breached, which coincidentally lay at the furthest edge of their explored territory.

It was precisely because of Qilin Zang's interference that the Twin Rice Sect was forced to gradually reveal its fangs from concealment, stepping into the open and initiating its plans ahead of schedule, with activities becoming more frequent.

Normally, they had planned to wait until the Snow Sword Tang Court moved south and the Zuoqiu Faction moved north, and the world's righteous armies had destroyed the Skyswept Palace, before emerging to clean up the aftermath and claim the final spoils of victory.

Due to Qilin Zang's disruption, all forces, both overt and covert, within the Skyswept Sanctuary saw their plans spiral out of control.

For the past two months, Yao Qingxuan's pursuit of Tang Wanzhou had taken place outside the formations in the main altar's already developed area.

Formation after formation, layered like a thousand-layer cake, enveloped the entire main altar, a result of a millennium of construction.

However, they were not impenetrable, and Yao Qingxuan suspected that Tang Wanzhou had found a gap and escaped inside.

Seeing the beautiful woman's eyes shifting unpredictably, Li Weiyi tentatively asked, "Has Tang Wanzhou escaped from the Divine Prison, or was she never caught to begin with?"

"What? Are you happy to hear she's on the run?" Yao Qingxuan asked.

"Tang Wanzhou is my friend."

Li Weiyi did not deny it. Offering a low-level excuse in front of an Eternal Realm grandmaster would only earn him disdain.

Yao Qingxuan said, "You care so much about your friend, but do you know that your other two friends might be suffering inhumane torture right now? Can you really care about all of them?"

Li Weiyi's expression hardened, "Senior Yao, are you referring to...?"

Both Yao Qingxuan and An Xianjing wore plain white, untainted by dust. However, their temperaments differed: one was pure and serene, the other cold and gentle.

This extraordinary woman, who once captivated the world, possessed long, straight, beautiful legs like Yao Yin, a very high waistline, and shapely breasts. Her bearing was even more striking. Walking ahead, a fragrant breeze wafted around her, her ethereal gown fluttering as she stepped into the luminous haze of the rice field.

Li Weiyi followed closely, pressing, "Senior, are you referring to two specific individuals among those captured two months ago?"

Although he consistently addressed her as "Senior," there were many times he felt dazed, thinking she was a grown-up Yao Yin; they were simply too similar.

Of course, now in a precarious situation, and with her being a ruthless individual, Li Weiyi naturally dared not offend her.

In the blood field, the Golden Rice was growing astonishingly.

From three feet tall two months ago, it had grown to over three meters, multiplying its height several times over.

The golden glow it emitted was even brighter, and its numerous leaves, with their golden texture, were sharp as sawteeth. Internally, its life force surged with vitality.

It was completely different; it felt as if it could truly cultivate extraordinary prodigies, capable of crushing all human experts.

On Yao Qingxuan's cool, jade-like face, a captivating faint smile appeared at that moment, stirring a sense of anticipation in her heart, which she then suppressed. "You haven't watered it with your own blood, have you?"

"No, I used the light and shadow of the Fusang Divine Tree to provide it with light. I also used spiritual energy to help it breathe better."

"It is the result of your and Palace Master An's hard work; for me to water it with my blood would be a desecration of your efforts."

Li Weiyi seized the opportunity to summon a wisp of spiritual energy from his fingertips, which transformed into a mist and enveloped the Golden Rice.

Immediately, the Golden Rice began to visibly absorb and release energy, as if breathing.

"You're overthinking this and causing yourself unnecessary trouble. On the path of cultivation, there will be countless times when you bleed, whether staining the earth or being collected by others. If watering a plant makes you so conflicted and hesitant, then your state of mind must be a tangled mess. When will it ever become clear and transparent?"

Yao Qingxuan cut her slender, jade-white wrist, sprinkling blood into the rice field.

She then instructed Li Weiyi to take out a cold jade bottle and fill it with blood for watering over the next two months.

A shimmer of light appeared on her wrist, and the wound vanished.

"The person you asked Palace Master An to help find—major events are happening outside, so she doesn't have time to assist you. Before she left, she asked me to help you, saying that your weaknesses would better enable you to help her cultivate the rice."

Yao Qingxuan continued, "That person was imprisoned in the Divine Prison. When the people I sent reached the Divine Prison, he had already been taken by the Fourth Divine Son, Wang Shu. The inheritor of the Tuoba Clan from the Northern Region was also taken at the same time."

Li Weiyi's gaze slightly narrowed.

He, of course, knew about the enmity between himself and the Fourth Divine Son.

There was no need to guess; Wang Zhi and he were certainly Rice Human brothers, looking identical.

"He's afraid to break into the Southern Serenity Palace, so he's using my two friends to try and force me out."

Li Weiyi looked at Yao Qingxuan's indifferent expression: "Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals. I suspect that scarecrow puppet, even if it came from the Hall of Heavenly Principles, isn't being controlled by an elder. It's most likely Wang Shu, who, in his eagerness to deal with me, has completely disregarded you, a Venerable."

Yao Qingxuan slightly raised her head, glancing coldly at Li Weiyi, who was half a head taller than her. "Is this the level of a Divine Hermit from the Jiuli Hidden Sect? To openly manipulate an Eternal Realm grandmaster in such a straightforward manner?"

Li Weiyi quickly explained, "While your sword throw was indeed powerful, didn't it also bring a potential conflict out into the open?"

"To see one spot is to know the whole picture. Your Rice Sect is by no means a monolithic entity; there must be struggles for power and interests within it."

"This time, your opponent suffered no loss and will only be temporarily deterred. It's foreseeable that they will soon test your boundaries again, eroding your prestige as a Venerable."

"Once this precedent is set, will the seven great elders of the Southern Region who obey you, and their subordinates, begin to perceive you as strong on the outside but weak within, leading to disloyalty? And will those higher up in the Divine Sect consider you incompetent?"

Given Yao Qingxuan's status, since she sent people to find Qi Xiao, how could her emissaries not have gone to Wang Shu to demand the person?

There was only one explanation.

They had gone, but Wang Shu had shown no respect.

Yao Qingxuan had deliberately said earlier, "Your friends might be suffering inhumane torture," to get on Li Weiyi's nerves, intending to push him out to challenge Wang Shu.

Li Weiyi naturally complied, following her line of thought.

Yao Qingxuan stared directly into Li Weiyi's eyes, her gaze like two cold stars.

Li Weiyi held her gaze for a moment, then quickly bowed. "Given your esteemed status, you naturally wouldn't deign to deal with a mere Wang Shu. Grant this junior a position, and I will resolve your concerns and make the provocateur pay the price."

"What position do you want?" Yao Qingxuan asked.

"Yao Yin and I are as close as siblings; I could become your disciple."

Li Weiyi knew very well that escaping the main altar would require taking it one step at a time.

The first step was to acquire a formal identity that allowed him to move freely within the main altar; otherwise, being confined to the Southern Serenity Palace would be tantamount to waiting for death.

Yao Qingxuan said, "So you wish to join the Divine Sect?"

"The Divine Sect has done nothing to wrong me. Palace Master An and Senior Yao are both incredibly benevolent, which has greatly changed my impression of the Divine Sect and inspired me to pursue its path."

Li Weiyi, with clear and precise enunciation, recited in a resonant voice, "Twin Rice Sect, victorious in all battles. Ancestor of the Rice Sect, accomplished in civil and martial arts, reigning for thousands of autumns and myriad generations, uniting all under heaven!"

Yao Qingxuan was momentarily dazed. "It seems you've taken my previous words to heart! But if I were to ask you where the Jiuli Hidden Sect is hiding, how would you respond?"

Li Weiyi replied, "I will not betray the Jiuli Hidden Sect."

"Then where is your sincerity in joining the Divine Sect?" Yao Qingxuan asked.

Li Weiyi was about to utter some high-sounding words to display his integrity and defiance.

Yao Qingxuan spoke first, "If those old fellows in the sect ask, just shift the blame to me. If you can't shift it, simply tell them directly."

"Lizhou has always been a peripheral region of the world. The Divine Sect currently lacks the resources to target the Jiuli Hidden Sect. The major powers determining the world's fate are in Skyswept City, the Far Western Ashlands, the Demon Race, the Zuoqiu Faction, the Snow Sword Tang Court, the Thunderous Cloud Sect, the Vermilion Gate, and the Dragon Gate... The constantly declining Jiuli Clan and Jiuli Hidden Sect rank far lower, perhaps after the tenth position."

"Given the nature of the Jiuli clan chiefs, who are good at enduring and willing to yield, it's also a way for them to preserve themselves."

Li Weiyi was completely stunned, his eyes flickering, strongly wanting to ask the question that had always lingered in his mind.

It was the Hidden Lord who first told Li Weiyi about the "Twin Rice Sect."

He said that a Hidden Sect Elder had sent back news that Li Weiyi was being targeted by the Twin Rice Sect. He also claimed that the Hidden Sect Elder was investigating the reason, intending to resolve the danger beforehand.

This indicated that a Hidden Sect Elder must be secretly operating within the Twin Rice Sect.

Moreover, if the person targeting him was An Xianjing, how could the Hidden Sect Elder have learned about it so quickly?

They must have been very close to An Xianjing.

Thus, Li Weiyi had long suspected whether Yao Qingxuan might be that Hidden Sect Elder.

He had never dared to ask, firstly because when Yao Qingxuan first appeared, she was extremely intimidating, acting ruthlessly with corpses strewn everywhere. Li Weiyi was very wary of her then, viewing her as a demoness.

Secondly, her talent was too extraordinary; Li Weiyi felt that even Old Li might not be her match. Even if she were from the Hidden Sect, she should have been the Hidden Lord of the previous cycle.

Thirdly, Li Weiyi was worried that asking would expose the secret of a Hidden Sect Elder being hidden within the Twin Rice Sect, thus endangering the elder.

Fourthly, if Yao Qingxuan was a Hidden Sect Elder, why wouldn't she avoid suspicion?

Logically, she should have directly sent Li Weiyi to the Divine Prison or immediately handed him over to An Xianjing, trying to avoid any involvement.

Li Weiyi asked, "Senior Yao, aren't you curious about where the Jiuli Hidden Sect is hidden?"

"No!"

Yao Qingxuan then said, "Taking you as a disciple means I will bear all consequences for your actions."

"I will plant the Spirit Fire of Death within you. If you dare to do anything detrimental to the Divine Sect, a single thought from me can turn you to ashes. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I will find you."

Li Weiyi couldn't confirm Yao Qingxuan's identity, but he was certain that his Dao Guardian Wife should be able to block her Spirit Fire of Death.

Therefore, he said, "Please rest assured, Senior, this junior knows the gravity of the situation."

"Still calling me 'Senior'?"

Li Weiyi followed Yao Qingxuan out of the Southern Serenity Palace, preparing to head to the Spirit Valley Hall for the true disciple assessment.

Being personally escorted by a Venerable-level figure was tantamount to a personal guarantee. Combined with Yao Qingxuan's relationship with the Hall Master of the Spirit Valley Hall, the assessment would naturally be a mere formality, only needing to confirm his cultivation as a Spirit Master.