Chapter 314: Godslayer Servant

After thousands of years of transformation and construction, the headquarters occupied an area of four to five hundred miles. It was like a self-contained miniature world, with dense spiritual energy, covered by layers of formation light veils that isolated it from external dangers.

Li Weiyi and the two others passed through seven layers of formation light veils.

Each layer of formation was separated by about ten miles. Some areas were deserts, others ruins, some had rivers of blood flowing, while others featured fortified city walls.

Beneath each layer of formation light veil, large numbers of black-robed, masked soldiers stood guard.

Each of them possessed profound cultivation and sharp eyes.

To leave the headquarters, one had to have their life tablet checked and register upon exiting each layer of formation light veil.

Upon reaching the final layer of formation light veil, a towering city wall, twelve zhang high, built from massive stones and incredibly dense metal, could be seen from a distance.

The city wall was swarming with countless cult members, giant beasts, and mind masters. They were working day and night to reinforce and heighten the wall, and to set up more powerful formations.

Evidently, after the second entrance to the south opened, the Twin Rice Cult faced immense survival pressure and was actively preparing for the worst.

Li Weiyi typically didn't see these activities because those who cultivated in the Mortal Plane were the Twin Rice Cult's top geniuses, the elite of the elite, who were protected and not required to participate in arduous tasks.

At least tens of thousands of cult members were working on the wall, all strong and robust, with half of them being mutated humans.

And this was only the southern section of the wall!

“Fourth Divine Son!”

Guarding the south gate were two elderly individuals with profound psychic power, their hair grizzled and their faces etched with rice stalk patterns.

One of the elders looked at Qi Xiao and Tuoba Butuo: “To leave the headquarters for missions or training, one must have a death spirit flame planted within them. This applies to everyone.”

“Does this apply to me as well, Divine Son?” Li Weiyi asked.

The elder chuckled, “Your Highness, the Divine Son, holds a noble position. How dare this old servant question your loyalty to the Divine Cult? Of course, you are exempt.”

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Two death spirit flames flew out from the black palace above the city wall and entered Qi Xiao and Tuoba Butuo's bodies.

Li Weiyi looked up and gazed. Within that black palace, he felt a suffocating aura of psychic power, like a black hole, impossible to probe.

A formidable powerhouse was stationed in the southern part of the headquarters.

The next moment, a Buddha statue, seated cross-legged, appeared at the top of the black palace, its eyes glowing with golden light.

Immediately, tens of thousands of scriptures shimmered across its body.

Li Weiyi and the two others all felt an extremely uncomfortable force acting upon them. Not to mention their dimensional bags or ancestral fields, even their bones felt as if they were being pierced, unable to conceal any subtle details.

The Buddha statue's eyes were Ten-Thousand-Character Scripture artifacts, capable of seeing through everything in the world, to prevent outsiders from infiltrating or escaping.

The Twin Rice Cult possessed as many as eight such Ten-Thousand-Character Buddha statues.

The city gate did not open. The three, along with more than twenty other disciples, descended through a skylight shaft to the next layer of the world, tens of thousands of meters below.

The headquarters had developed a total of seven layers of worlds.

Each layer was separated by ten thousand zhang.

The Mortal Plane, located at the very center, was heavily protected and could not be directly entered or exited. One had to take the skylight shaft down to the first level of the Asura Plane to go outside.

An hour later, they arrived at the first level of the Asura Plane.

Li Weiyi finally saw another side of the Twin Rice Cult.

Before them were low-rise houses and endless red and yellow sands. This was the training ground for “Godslayer Servants.” On the roads, carts full of corpses were constantly being pulled away by horses, their destination unknown.

In the training grounds, black-clad youths, armed with various weapons, were engaged in brutal sparring and combat. Their eyes were as fierce as wild beasts'; every move drew blood; it was a fight to the death.

Those who were slow to open their springs, those in the Spring Realm unable to open their eighth spring, and those who couldn't enter the Five Seas Realm within the stipulated age—these Cultists and young men and women with inferior talents were sent to the first level of the Asura Plane to be trained as Godslayer Servants. Through daily combat, their spirits were tempered, their hatred cultivated, and their latent potential stimulated.

This was an extreme method to cultivate master killers.

This method had an extremely high mortality rate, but those who survived were formidable individuals. Some even achieved greater accomplishments than inner sect disciples and core disciples.

They were not the least talented, but rather of upper-middle talent, with cultivation value.

Tuoba Butuo, who had some understanding of the cult, secretly transmitted, “These are Godslayer Servant seeds! They are truly terrifying. It’s not just about knowing how to kill; their intelligence, tactics, survival skills, resilience, secret arts—all their abilities are outstanding.”

“There was once a Godslayer Servant who killed twelve Dao Seed Realm experts consecutively in the Northern Territory. The Young Lord personally intervened to capture him, but he ultimately committed suicide, and no information could be extracted.”

Tap! Tap!

Two black-clad Rice Cult girls rushed forward to Li Weiyi and knelt together, bowing to him.

“We ranked thirty-third in this year’s life-and-death battle. We earnestly implore Your Highness, the Divine Son, to take us as your servants.”

“Together, we have killed thirty-eight people. We do not wish to continue killing. We wish to cultivate in the Mortal Plane and serve Your Highness, the Divine Son.”

Two black-clad youths rushed out and also knelt before Li Weiyi.

“We ranked seventeenth in this year’s life-and-death battle. We wish to pledge allegiance to Your Highness, the Divine Son, as our master. If our master lives, we live. If our master dies, we die.”

“We swear to serve Your Highness, the Divine Son, until death.”

More and more Godslayer Servant seeds rushed out and knelt on both sides of the road.

Before officially becoming Godslayer Servants, they had no names and could only introduce themselves by their rank in the life-and-death battles.

Hall Masters, Venerables, Elders, Divine Sons, and Divine Daughters could all come to the Asura Plane to select servants and death warriors. Most chose Godslayer Servant seeds who were already very powerful and could be immediately dispatched for tasks.

Only those with exceptionally high talent were exceptions.

For instance, prodigies who managed to open their ninth spring amidst slaughter and fierce combat.

Godslayer Servants also had a hierarchy; some of whom possessed cultivation and combat strength superior to that of Divine Sons, Divine Daughters, and Elders, existing like hidden deities.

Perhaps not truly considering himself a Divine Son, Li Weiyi had no intention of selecting servants or death warriors and quickly left with Tuoba Butuo and Qi Xiao.

Exiting the formation light veil, they proceeded along a suspension bridge in the canyon.

The suspension bridge was very long, blood mist permeated the air, and strong winds raged mid-air.

They couldn't see the end of the bridge ahead, the top was out of sight, and the bottom was unfathomable.

There were numerous suspension bridges densely packed across the canyon, varying in height, connecting to different paths and destinations.

On this particular bridge, there were only the three of them.

Qi Xiao let out a long breath: “The first level of the Asura Plane is a training ground for Godslayer Servants. Just the area we passed through had thousands of people, with training grounds everywhere and harsh conditions. Does this entire level hold hundreds of thousands of people? How many formidable individuals can be cultivated here each year? The cult’s potential and hidden power are unimaginable.”

Tuoba Butuo said, “Among the group who came down the skylight shaft with us earlier, there was a masked person I think I know. I sensed a familiar aura from him. He also briefly looked at me!”

“It’s normal for hidden experts outside to return to the headquarters for cultivation and training. In the future, it would be better for us to wear masks when we travel.”

Li Weiyi thought of something and added, “I’ve already secured your identities as core disciples of the Spirit Valley Hall. Do not mention the word ‘evil cult’ again. Be cautious with your words and actions.”

Qi Xiao and Tuoba Butuo knew very well that their survival and the reattachment of their severed limbs were the result of Li Weiyi putting his life on the line.

If they were to betray the Twin Rice Cult, it would be an act of ingratitude. Therefore, they never once mentioned escaping the headquarters at this opportunity.

It would likely be difficult for them to return to the Qi family or the Tuoba clan in the future.

The two immediately stopped and bowed respectfully, their expressions serious: “Rest assured, Your Highness, the Divine Son, it will not happen again.”

“We agreed to address me as Divine Son only in public. In private, we are brothers. Let’s go, pick up the pace!”

Li Weiyi circulated his spiritual energy and activated his movement technique, transforming into a wisp of green smoke and swiftly speeding along the suspension bridge.

The two quickly followed.

The ten-mile-long suspension bridge divided the headquarters from the outside world.

At the Spirit Valley Hall, Li Weiyi had read books concerning the Underworld Flower Black Swamp and knew it was a full five hundred miles from the headquarters.

These five hundred miles had been repeatedly cleared by generations of Twin Rice Cult disciples. Given their cultivation levels, the danger was very low. Only with extremely bad luck would they encounter terrifying creatures that had strayed into the area.

After traveling dozens of miles, Li Weiyi and the two others hid in a grotto carved into the rock face.

Whoosh!

At the entrance of the grotto, Li Weiyi set up a light-concealing formation.

Each of them also affixed an aura-concealing talisman to their bodies, and then waited quietly to see if anyone would follow.

Over the past six months, Li Weiyi had done some minor research into formations and talismans and could now employ some minor techniques.

The sound of rushing wind echoed.

Sikong Jingyuan and two Dao Seed Realm elders, like three afterimages, streaked forward at extreme speed, pursuing quickly without probing along the way.

“They actually caught up! It seems this Fifth Divine Son’s interest in me is extraordinarily strong.” Li Weiyi sat at the grotto’s entrance, leaning against the rock wall, a smile on his face, calculating inwardly.

Tuoba Butuo said, “The Fifth Divine Son is one of a pair of Rice Cult brothers, both Pure Immortal Bodies, and they are extremely renowned at the headquarters. Should we take advantage of them splitting up, when their combat power would be greatly reduced, and eliminate one of them first?”

Li Weiyi was tempted. He didn't want to be constantly watched like this. How could one guard against a thief for a thousand days?

Shaking his head, he said, “We’re too close to the headquarters, only dozens of miles away. Too much commotion would definitely alert those old fellows. And I have a feeling that Sikong Jingyuan isn’t the only one who followed us.”

Qi Xiao cautiously said, “Sikong Jingyuan is incredibly powerful, far beyond Wang Shu. You absolutely must not underestimate him. The two elders behind him also have extremely formidable spiritual energy fluctuations; they are not ordinary Dao Seed Realm cultivators.”

Li Weiyi nodded slightly: “Our main objective this time is to find cultivation resources.”

They waited for another half an hour.

Outside, it remained quiet.

Only the occasional sound of fierce insects crawling could be heard.

Li Weiyi was about to withdraw the light-concealing formation.

Suddenly, a chilling sense of danger struck him. Li Weiyi quickly sat back down, made a silencing gesture, and motioned for Tuoba Butuo and Qi Xiao to quiet down and conceal their auras.

A moment later, another group of people swiftly passed by the grotto.

The leader was Yi Zhouxue, a Chief Banner Bearer of the Patrol Guards’ Thousand Guards.

Tuoba Butuo's expression was grim: “Brother Weiyi was right; there are more experts. Yi Zhouxue is a Great Core Disciple. Thankfully, we didn't act rashly just now.”

Qi Xiao had felt an overwhelming pressure moments before, nearly suffocating, and let out a long breath: “They must have just been passing by, right?”

Tuoba Butuo said, “Everyone who leaves the headquarters is registered in real-time. If someone of a Great Core Disciple’s status were to attack a Divine Son, their whereabouts would be easily traced, and they would certainly face retaliation from the Hall Master and the Southern Venerable.”

Li Weiyi didn't share their optimistic outlook: “Hall Master An and Southern Venerable, the Divine Cult’s rules can indeed deter many people. However, the treasures on my person can certainly entice some fearlessly reckless individuals to take risks. For the better part of a year, Yi Zhouxue has almost vanished, and all grudges seemed to have dissipated. But those who understand how to endure and restrain themselves are precisely the most terrifying.”

“What do we do now? Should we go back?”

Qi Xiao felt that facing a Great Core Disciple, the three of them stood no chance.

“To be scared back right after leaving, that would be too shameful. The underground immortal mansion is complex in structure, with numerous dangerous areas. It won’t be easy to find us.”

“Let’s go! Change course and head for the Underworld Flower Black Swamp.”

Li Weiyi put away the light-concealing formation, turned back, and followed a complex path towards a lower level.

Tuoba Butuo asked in confusion, “Wasn’t the path we just took the one to the Underworld Flower Black Swamp?”

“That was the path to the Zen Forest of Truth! Everyone assumes I’m going to the Zen Forest of Truth, just like Yang Qingxi. So, I simply went along with their assumption and led them in that direction,” Li Weiyi said.

Qi Xiao laughed: “No wonder they didn’t thoroughly investigate along the way and just rushed past. Their thinking is rigid; they instinctively believe you and that demonic woman Yang are alike.”

“Yang, that demonic woman, is in for big trouble!”

Tuoba Butuo smiled, looking at Li Weiyi.

Li Weiyi said, “Yang Qingxi has entered and exited the Zen Forest of Truth many times, yet no one has attacked her or managed to harm her. This shows that the Yang family is not to be trifled with.”