Chapter 316: Picking Flowers

After the magical energy in his seven Qi Seas recovered, Li Weiyi once again examined his Divine Palace.

The twelve-character Dao Seed hovered in mid-air, forming a soul bridge that connected with the magical energy and soul within his body.

The tenth spring gushed out liquid magical power, like a pool of water, illuminated by the twelve-character Dao Seed above, glowing with iridescent colors, resembling a solution of glazed glass, and full of divine essence.

Ever since he cultivated the tenth spring, Li Weiyi had been reluctant to use the liquid magical power and had been accumulating it.

Now that he had reached the Dao Seed realm, liquid magical power was constantly gushing out. Compared to when he was in the Five Seas realm, the spring's opening was several times larger.

With a tentative mindset, Li Weiyi mobilized the liquid magical power, channeling it towards his Chord and Trace Meridians. In his mind, one of the twelve divine figures appeared, and he carefully recalled the essence and insights he had perceived during his previous combat with it.

He formed hand seals, his fingers moving rapidly.

Whoosh!

The 'Compassionate Voyage Illumination' technique was unleashed.

Around the tip of his finger, the air vibrated violently, forming a basin-sized sonic boom cloud.

The speed of his finger strike exceeded the speed of sound.

A beam of finger force shot out from the center of the sonic boom cloud, tearing open the surface of Tanggu Sea with a thunderous splash, creating a long watery path.

Waves surged on both sides of the path, creating an impressive display.

“What powerful force! The concentrated finger force had terrifying penetrative power, no less than a first-tier grand technique.”

Li Weiyi didn't know how to cultivate the twelve scattered techniques in the same way one would cultivate grand techniques, as there were no divisions into first, second, or third tiers, nor a complete and specific cultivation system.

“Perhaps it's related to the scriptures I comprehended.”

“Currently, I've just planted the Dao Seed, and by using the twelve scattered techniques as bridges, I've only obtained one scripture seed from each. The more scriptures I comprehend, the more profound my cultivation of the Twelve Scattered Techniques of Chanmen will be, and their power will surely be greater.”

In Li Weiyi's view, the twelve figures conjured by the Dao Ancestor's Taiji Fish were not real people, but rather the incarnations of twelve types of Dao.

He couldn't understand what "Dao" truly was, so he subconsciously personified it.

No one could explain it to him, so he could only rely on speculation.

Li Weiyi then tried again, mobilizing the magical energy from his seven Qi Seas to unleash the 'Compassionate Voyage Illumination' technique.

Indeed, its power was greatly reduced.

It was only equivalent to a minor-completion first-tier grand technique.

This was already extraordinary!

Li Weiyi had only just planted his Dao Seed, yet he was proficient in twelve grand techniques. This meant that during combat, he wouldn't have to rely entirely on magical artifacts and could employ more variations to adapt to different combat environments.

It's worth noting that Wang Shu spent three years cultivating a grand technique and was immediately conferred the title of Divine Son, a massive leap in status.

If Wang Shu were still alive and learned that Li Weiyi was proficient in thirteen grand techniques, he would probably die of anger on the spot.

“I should still try not to use the liquid magical power; otherwise, it would be too shocking to the world. Who knows, I might be captured by Eternal Realm magnates and forced to impart the cultivation methods of the twelve scattered techniques.”

“To the outside world, I'm merely a Wind Mansion Dao Planter.”

On the sea surface, Li Weiyi practiced each of the twelve scattered techniques one by one, clearly noticing that compared to before, he had gained new understandings and insights.

While performing the techniques, he could sense the presence of the Dao enveloping him.

It was invisible and intangible.

He could only comprehend it bit by bit.

Whoosh!

He performed the 'Clear Void Cicada Chasing Step,' and a wisp of green cloud mist beneath his feet never dispersed.

He weaved among the Xihe flowers, holding a magical jade bottle to collect flower dew.

The main ingredient for refining the Star Day Pill was Midnight Sun Glow Dew.

Yin Er said that it was a treasure born from the land of midnight sun, like liquid light.

Li Weiyi believed that Tanggu Sea could also be considered a land of midnight sun. While the dew from Xihe flowers was indeed not as good as Midnight Sun Glow Dew, he had researched it and found it contained potent, scorching spiritual light substances, with one or two tenths the efficacy of Midnight Sun Glow Dew.

After some refinement, it would be sufficient for alchemy.

The key was that Midnight Sun Glow Dew was incredibly expensive, a single drop costing thirty to forty thousand Spring Coins. However, Xihe flower dew could be collected in large quantities every day.

Soon after, Li Weiyi returned to the underground cave.

He sat at the bottom of the pitch-black cave, a strong sense of hunger gnawing at his stomach. He took out some pre-prepared dried meat and began to chew it.

“This kind of hunger only occurs whenever I emerge from the cocoon of time. Did cultivating the Dao Seed in the Divine Palace actually take ten days?”

Li Weiyi recalled that on the ocean of scriptures, his struggles with the twelve divine figures had indeed consumed a lot of time. For the longest one, he had fought three hundred and twenty-seven times before acquiring the Dao Seed scripture.

In the Spiritual Realm, his mental power had largely recovered.

He once again released spiritual light and activated the two fish eyes.

One was the Buddha Ancestor's Sarira, and the other, the Dao Ancestor's Glabella Bone.

Whoosh!

Light soared, the Taiji grinding disc appeared, and space warped.

Li Weiyi carefully sensed, and as space warped, he detected temporal fluctuations.

The ocean of Dao script and Buddhist scriptures once again appeared beneath his feet, surging like ocean waves and dazzling like a sea of stars.

He did not release his combat intent, so the twelve divine figures did not appear.

Li Weiyi walked on the ocean of scriptures, his mind clear, observing and comprehending carefully. A smile suddenly appeared on his face: “I understand! The Dao Ancestor's Taiji Fish is the supreme scripture of Chanmen, containing an ocean of scriptures within.

“The twelve divine figures derived from the twelve scattered techniques are the twelve keys for comprehending this supreme scripture. Or rather, they are twelve teachers who impart the Dao.

“Cultivating the same supreme scripture, yet those twelve individuals cultivated different outcomes.”

“Now, I am essentially combining the strengths of all twelve to seek a thirteenth outcome. Right, silent gourd?”

No one responded to him.

Li Weiyi put away his smug smile and withdrew from the ocean of scriptures.

Much time had passed, and he didn't know what was happening outside. He felt a bit worried and could only wait until he returned to Nanqing Palace to resume his secluded cultivation.

“I need to find someone I can absolutely trust to help me observe what state I'm truly in when I activate both fish eyes simultaneously. Does space change? Does time change?”

Li Weiyi exited the spider cave.

Outside, it was pitch black and cold, with only a faint glow coming from the direction of the Underworld Flower Black Mire.

In the air, a stench of decay, accumulated over ten thousand years, drifted, containing miasma poison.

With his current Dao Seed realm cultivation, he had long transcended the mortal body. Poisonous gas of this level, when inhaled, could be rapidly refined by his magical energy.

Only poisons like the 'Earth Spirit Grey Mist' from Coffin Mountain still posed some threat to him.

Wearing a mask, Li Weiyi's feet emitted clouds of magical energy mist as he stepped into the boundless, dim swamp, his figure disappearing into the miasma.

Second Phoenix flew out, perching on his shoulder, its six claws upright, its wings folded around its body. Without looking at its head, it didn't resemble a moth or butterfly, but rather a colorful bird.

Over the past nine months, Second Phoenix had grown somewhat, reaching the second heaven of the Dao Seed realm.

A large portion of Li Weiyi's wealth and resources had been consumed by the seven of them.

Their growth rate was getting slower and slower. An ordinary thousand-year essence herb, thrown to them, would have no effect after consumption.

Li Weiyi said to Second Phoenix: “We came to the Underworld Flower Black Mire to do two things. First, to find Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stone. Second, to find Meditation Flowers.”

“The more we find, the more merit points we can exchange for, and then buy more thousand-year essence herbs. Also, let's try to find any traces of Old Qi and Tuoba to see what they've harvested.”

Whoosh!

Second Phoenix spread its wings and soared into the sky, its eyes growing bright and its sense of smell fully unleashed.

Before long, it discovered something and swooped down, flying rapidly in a certain direction.

“Is its perception so sharp?”

Li Weiyi used his movement technique and followed closely.

After traveling over ten miles, a fist-sized white exotic flower appeared before him. It grew in the putrid mud exposed above the water, with no leaves, only a foot-long stem.

“The white Meditation Flower is the lowest grade and can be exchanged for a thousand merit points. After consumption, it allows a Mentalist to enter a deep meditative state.”

Li Weiyi quickly took out his cold jade box and approached.

In the distance to his right, a dense, piercing sound came.

A swarm of Bone-Corroding Miasma Mosquitoes flew in, countless in number, like a black cloud.

Meditation Flowers were like Epiphyllum, growing extremely quickly. After blooming, their fragrance would attract various fierce creatures from nearby. Therefore, whether one could successfully harvest them depended entirely on luck, and the danger was extremely high.

A Bone-Corroding Miasma Mosquito swarm of this scale would force even an ordinary Dao Seed realm martial cultivator to flee in panic if encountered.

Li Weiyi ignored them, using his magical energy to envelop the white Meditation Flower. After plucking it, he quickly placed it into his cold jade box.

Meanwhile, Second Phoenix had already driven back the Bone-Corroding Miasma Mosquito swarm.

“Bone-Corroding Miasma Mosquitoes are general-level fierce insects, each one comparable to a martial arts expert in the first or second stage of the Five Seas realm. Why didn't you subdue them?” Li Weiyi communicated with Second Phoenix using his mental power.

Second Phoenix's answer left Li Weiyi amused and exasperated.

It said that the seven of them never ate enough as it was, so if they subdued the Bone-Corroding Miasma Mosquito swarm, how would they feed them?

Li Weiyi rolled his eyes. As long as he provided food for the seven of them, they could eat endlessly, to the point of bursting.

How could they ever be full?

Li Weiyi released his mental power to probe beneath the putrid mud.

Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stones were found in the deep putrid mud beneath Meditation Flowers. However, not every Meditation Flower had one beneath it; it depended entirely on luck.

Li Weiyi's luck was poor, and he found nothing.

A day later.

Li Weiyi placed the fifteenth Meditation Flower into his box.

Among them were twelve white Meditation Flowers and three blue ones.

The blue Meditation Flowers could be exchanged for ten thousand merit points and were medicines that helped Grand Mentalists enter deep meditation.

The most precious was the purple Meditation Flower, which could be exchanged for a hundred thousand merit points and could help Spiritual Mentalists enter deep meditation.

With each deep meditation, mental power would greatly increase.

“Oh!”

Li Weiyi's eyes lit up. His mental power, probing beneath the putrid mud of this Meditation Flower, detected a strange fluctuation.

A chain of spiritual light shot out from his brow, piercing deep into the putrid mud.

Whoosh!

A grain-sized fragment of Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stone was reeled out and fell into Li Weiyi's hand. Second Phoenix flew over, perching on his shoulder, and stared intently with wide eyes.

“Finally found a piece, it doesn't seem that difficult after all.” Li Weiyi carefully put it away.

He needed to collect more treasures like Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stone. Otherwise, once he left the underground immortal mansion, where would he find them?

Without this item, the advancement of his mental power realm would surely be incredibly slow.

Second Phoenix chirped.

“Yes, yes, you've done a great job…”

Li Weiyi's eyes narrowed as he saw five figures approaching him in a fan shape to surround him. They held magical artifacts and wore the straw robes of core disciples.

Judging by their posture, they had clearly spotted Li Weiyi collecting the Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stone just now and intended to hunt him like a fat lamb.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

As they drew closer, one of the Pure Immortal Body core disciples saw Second Phoenix on Li Weiyi's shoulder, his expression instantly changed, and he immediately transmitted a magical energy message to the other four.

All five stopped simultaneously, exchanging glances, at a loss for what to do.

“What are you doing?”

Li Weiyi wore a mask, his hands clasped behind his back, his tone calm, and his demeanor extraordinarily refined.

The five looked at his upright posture, feeling an invisible spiritual pressure surge towards them. They immediately trembled, put away their magical artifacts, and bowed to him, not even daring to entertain the thought of fleeing.

One of the Seventh Sea core disciples trembled nervously, saying: “Greetings, His Highness, Fourth Divine Son! We… we were just passing by…”

Li Weiyi casually walked over, each step covering several yards. “Oh, you recognized me!”

“We didn't recognize Your Highness, but we recognized Your Highness's unique insect. When Your Highness slew Wang Shu, I had the fortune to observe from a distance. Your Highness's unmatched demeanor is something we ordinary mortals can only admire from afar,” the Seventh Sea core disciple said.

Li Weiyi said: “Saying this is useless! You clearly intended to hunt me down and seize my treasures just now. Each of you, how audacious! If I were only at the Five Seas realm of cultivation, wouldn't I already be dead by your hands right now?”

A Fifth Sea core disciple was so frightened his legs gave out and he knelt in the mud. “Your Highness, please spare our lives! We truly were just passing by and preparing to return. We only came to investigate after noticing the glow of the Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stone. How could we dare to harm fellow disciples?”

The person before them was precisely the one who had used the same excuse to slay the previous Fourth Divine Son.

How could they not be afraid?

Before life and death, there was great fear.