Chapter 307: Escape from Death

Qiongji Daozi stood erect on the back of the golden eagle, his green robes flowing like clouds, his demeanor gentle yet resolute, as he surveyed the scene. All three hundred patrol guards suppressed their spiritual energy, dismounted, and knelt on one knee.

"Greetings, Senior Brother First Seat!"

Yizhou Xue, Sikong Jingyuan, and Sikong Yanlun quickly bowed in salute. The Divine Son First Seat was not only a Divine Son but also the leader of the Divine Sect's martial disciples, the head of the younger generation. His power and authority were so immense that most elders bowed to his command.

Qiongji Daozi sighed, "One of you represents the Heavenly Principle Hall's patrol guards, responsible for order, rules, and investigating spies and traitors. The other represents the Withering and Flourishing Hall, the Divine Sect's enforcers. How could such a minor incident lead to you fighting amongst yourselves first?"

Yizhou Xue, Sikong Jingyuan, and Sikong Yanlun all knew that Qiongji Daozi was the second disciple of the Spirit Valley Hall Master and had an extraordinary relationship with the Southern Exalted One. They all assumed he was there to protect Li Weiyi, so they felt uneasy and dared not speak.

Qiongji Daozi looked at the bloody ground, his gaze falling upon Wang Shu's corpse. "Although I, as the First Seat, admire the Southern Exalted One's talent and aptitude and take her as my role model, I will never act unfairly or engage in favoritism. Wrong is wrong! Breaking the rules incurs a price for everyone."

"Law does not exist outside human relations, nor reason outside human nature. You each present your own side, and both have merit. Should this person be handed over to the patrol guards or the Withering and Flourishing Hall?"

"Let's handle it this way!"

"Yizhou Xue, your junior brother was killed, and it is only natural for a senior brother to seek revenge. Sikong Jingyuan, Sikong Yanlun, Yang Qingxi is now in your hands; you must investigate this matter thoroughly."

Yizhou Xue, Sikong Jingyuan, and Sikong Yanlun were all stunned, then overjoyed.

They secretly marveled, "As expected of the Divine Son First Seat, his methods are brilliant; he resolved the conflict with ease. Moreover, both sides gained something, saving face for everyone involved."

"Senior Brother First Seat is truly wise!"

The three shouted in unison.

Li Weiyi looked with disbelief at the Divine Son First Seat, who had explicitly promised Yao Qingxuan to help look after him.

When Yao Qingxuan left, she even told Li Weiyi to seek him out if he encountered any insurmountable danger.

Li Weiyi had never intended to seek help from Qiongji Daozi, but he never imagined that this person would instead kick him while he was down, intending to kill him.

Why?

Where had he offended him?

Qiongji Daozi noticed Li Weiyi's gaze and looked back at him, a surge of mental power emanating from his eyes. "Li Weiyi, do you admit your guilt?"

His mental power was immense, far more terrifying than Yizhou Xue's Dao Heart Manifestation, striking directly at Li Weiyi's spirit and soul.

An ordinary Dao Seed Realm cultivator would have been forced to kneel instantly.

Li Weiyi, however, was only at the Five Seas Realm and had not yet cultivated his soul. One must reach the Dao Seed Realm, build a soul bridge, integrate a portion of their soul into the Dao Seed, and complete the "Sowing Dao" process before slowly nourishing and strengthening their soul.

He was somewhat hesitant.

"Could it be that I am also a pawn of my master?" he mused.

Sikong Jingyuan chuckled, "Yizhou Xue, you may fear the Southern Exalted One, but my brother and I do not. Breaking the rules and making mistakes is a capital offense. If there is no impartial law, how can the Divine Sect rule the world in the future?"

With both of the Withering and Flourishing Hall's masters as their parents, Sikong Jingyuan and Sikong Yanlun were far bolder than Yizhou Xue.

"You don't seriously think my only backer is my master, do you?"

Li Weiyi took out the azure jade formation token given to him by An Xianjing, holding it between two fingers. "I can control the entire Southern Clear Palace's formations because of this token bestowed by the Hall Master. Haven't you considered why a being like the Hall Master would value me so highly? Are you truly not afraid of death, acting rashly without understanding the reasons?"

In private, the azure jade formation token was worthless; no one would fear Li Weiyi because of it, and they might even kill him to silence him. However, in plain sight, it was like a direct order from the Hall Master.

Elder Xu exclaimed, "No wonder you were able to master the first layer of the Six Incinerating Karma Talismans; the Hall Master must have taught you long ago."

Qiongji Daozi recognized its value and realized that the azure jade formation token was indeed his master's item, immediately falling into deep thought.

Sikong Jingyuan and Sikong Yanlun also calmed down considerably. Having just returned from the Netherworld of the Departed, they were unaware of Li Weiyi's background.

They could disregard a disciple of the Southern Exalted One. However, a person personally granted a formation token by the Spirit Valley Hall Master required caution.

In other words, Li Weiyi's qualification to freely enter and exit the Southern Clear Palace was at the Hall Master's discretion.

Was the Southern Exalted One accepting Li Weiyi as a disciple also the Hall Master's intention?

Most importantly, in this situation, even if they seized all his treasures, they would eventually have to obediently return them to the Hall Master; they wouldn't be able to keep them at all.

Seeing that he had intimidated the crowd, Li Weiyi whispered to Yang Qingxi, "Let's go!"

As long as they returned to the Southern Clear Palace and utilized its formations, they could easily fend them off.

If necessary, they could also enter the formation area where the Golden Rice was located.

The three retreated cautiously, moving through the patrol guards, extremely tense. If their enemies recklessly attacked without considering the consequences, they would have no place to be buried.

Chu Tianshu stood outside the Heavenly Principle Hall's entrance, secretly pondering.

Li Weiyi's previous declaration had put him in a very passive position. Logically, as a master, seeking revenge for a disciple was beyond reproach.

But as a master, why hadn't he intervened to save them?

He wasn't afraid of criticism; he was afraid of An Xianjing seizing this leverage.

Now, Chu Tianshu could only continue to feign being in pursuit of Tang Wanzhou, implying he was unaware of events in the mortal realm.

"What a cunning junior. It seems he cannot be allowed to live. If he grows stronger, won't Yao Qingxuan's power be greatly amplified?"

Chu Tianshu's thought traveled dozens of miles, transmitting a message to Yizhou Xue: "The law doesn't punish the masses. Let the patrol guards suppress them. After they are killed, Sikong Jingyuan and Sikong Yanlun will surely seize the opportunity to get a share. As long as those two are implicated, the waters will be muddied!"

Yizhou Xue understood his master's intention, so he moved his lips, channeling his voice into strands of spiritual energy and transmitting it to the three hundred patrol guards.

Li Weiyi and the other two had not yet exited the battle formation of the three hundred patrol guards when Li Weiyi, using his mental power, caught Yizhou Xue's transmitted message. His heart sank, and he yelled, "Run!"

"Boom!"

Li Weiyi's mental power transformed into a mighty wave of spiritual light, sending more than a dozen patrol guards flying forward.

They had to escape the battle formation as quickly as possible.

Ahead, ten long spears thrust out simultaneously, forming a small formation that twisted the power of ten patrol guards into a single force, transforming into a giant phantom of a war god that punched towards Li Weiyi.

The smallest battle formation of the patrol guards was a ten-person array.

There were also twenty-person, thirty-person, and hundred-person arrays...

The more people involved, the more powerful the formation.

Li Weiyi naturally did not fear a mere ten-person array; he used a mental power light whip to shatter the phantom war god.

He dared not prolong the fight.

He performed the "Yellow Dragon Ascends to Heaven" technique, breaking free from the three hundred patrol guards' formation zone and appearing several zhang above its edge.

A hundred-person array successfully formed, with a hundred-zhang-diameter formation disk spinning above their heads. From the center of the formation, a grade-seven Hundred-Character artifact-level great seal flew out, its power fully unleashed.

"Rumble!"

The great seal landed, creating a massive crater in the ground.

The soil around the crater showed signs of melting, and vegetation for dozens of zhang around was reduced to ashes.

Li Weiyi used his movement technique to evade it in advance but was still sent flying by the great seal's impact force, rolling several times on the ground before continuing his escape toward the Southern Clear Palace.

As long as Yizhou Xue lacked the courage to join the pursuit, these patrol guards had limited speed and few masters, so he was confident he could escape back to the Southern Clear Palace.

"Rumble, rumble!"

A large number of patrol guards, riding Soul-Departing Beasts, surged like a tide in pursuit of Li Weiyi.

Qiongji Daozi stood silently on the back of the twin-headed golden-winged eagle after Li Weiyi took out the azure jade formation token. He knew he had miscalculated today, and if he interfered further, he truly wouldn't be able to account for it to his master.

He then fell into self-reflection, wondering why he had made such a mistake.

Tianxin Monastery was the foremost Daoist temple in Fuzhou, with flourishing incense and numerous disciples.

It was the heart of spring, March, with emerald green branches and pleasant bird song.

Yao Qingxuan, wearing a veil and with a red mole between her eyebrows, sat on a futon. Both dignified and sacred, yet mysterious and beautiful, she quietly listened as the people she had left at the main altar came to report various pieces of information from Spirit Ridge Mountain.

Every quarter-hour, new information was conveyed to the ground.

"The Yang family, they haven't shown up?" she asked softly.

The old man kneeling outside the door shook his head. "No."

"They're still holding their ground! Then we don't need to worry about the Yang family; they weren't part of our calculations anyway."

Yao Qingxuan had anticipated that Li Weiyi would definitely go to the Fourth Divine Son's residence to rescue someone. She also knew Qiongji Daozi was a jealous individual; the more she showed concern for Li Weiyi and praised him, the less likely Qiongji Daozi would be to protect him.

Therefore, she deliberately left the main altar, allowing the situation to develop as she had predicted.

Li Weiyi's identity was unique, and he possessed too many treasures, making him coveted by many within the Divine Sect.

Some wanted him dead.

Others wanted his strange insects and ghost banner.

If these issues weren't resolved in advance through this opportunity, Li Weiyi would eventually die mysteriously.

To solve this problem, Hall Master An would have to intervene.

What exceeded her expectations was that Li Weiyi actually acted three days later, killing Wang Zhi and Wang Shu. His strength was far greater than she had anticipated, and the commotion was much larger.

What surprised her even more was that Qiongji Daozi not only failed to assist but also tried to use the opportunity to kill Li Weiyi.

If he had consistently maintained an upright and impartial attitude, Yao Qingxuan would have held him in higher regard.

But when Li Weiyi presented the azure jade formation token, the Divine Son First Seat actually backed down!

Yao Qingxuan said, "Li Weiyi is too bold; he dared to kill a Divine Son. He needs to suffer a bit. Tell Shanze not to intervene to save him unless his life is truly threatened. Also, send a report of what happened at the main altar to Hall Master An!"

Sikong Jingyuan and Sikong Yanlun followed behind the patrol guards, watching Li Weiyi and the other two as they got closer to the Southern Clear Palace.

Sikong Yanlun was very reluctant. "We've already completely offended him today. If we just let him go, he's bound to retaliate in the future."

Sikong Jingyuan was much calmer. "Even Yizhou Xue didn't dare to act rashly, and the Divine Son First Seat remained silent. This shows that the azure jade formation token in Li Weiyi's hand is real. Just now, we acted as Withering and Flourishing Hall cultivators, dealing with official matters. That's not a complete offense. If we had attacked, there would truly be no room for maneuver."

Sikong Yanlun said, "What a pity, such a good opportunity."

"Attacking openly isn't a good opportunity," Sikong Jingyuan stated.

Sikong Yanlun asked, "Do you mean...?"

"They can't stay in the main altar cultivating forever; they'll definitely go out on missions. Attacking in secret can avoid a lot of trouble."

Sikong Jingyuan added, "First, investigate. Find out who exactly this Li Weiyi is, what his relationship with Hall Master An is, and why he can wield so many treasures."

After fighting their way through and leaving a trail of patrol guard corpses, Li Weiyi, Yang Qingxi, and Yang Qingchan burst into the shimmering formation barrier of the Southern Clear Palace.

Li Weiyi was panting heavily, covered in blood. His Bloodhandprint Demonic Armor had its inscriptions dissipated and blood mist cleared, and he had several bleeding wounds from spear thrusts.

However, he didn't collapse to rest. Instead, he mobilized his mental power, fully activating the Southern Clear Palace's grand formation.

At this moment, Li Weiyi finally burst out laughing, "Yizhou Xue, I bluffed you! In this world, the biggest taboo is doing things halfway and then hesitating. You not only failed to achieve your goal but also made an enemy of yourself."

He also directed these words at the Divine Son First Seat.