Chapter 347: Trap

Li Weiyi meditated, striving to stabilize the Fuso Divine Tree's light projection and prevent it from dissipating. At this moment, he was directly absorbing the Golden Crow's radiance, at more than ten times his usual speed. Within his spiritual realm, his spiritual light rapidly grew.

Waves of light and heat surged in, growing stronger and stronger. Li Weiyi's robes, like they were made of paper, turned to ash. Only his Prefect's official robe and the Blood Handprint Demonic Armor could withstand it. His skin burned as if melting. Whenever he could no longer endure the pain, the Divine Stove Wood he had ingested would transform into wisps of wood essence to replenish him.

Half an hour later, the high temperature in the air currents began to subside, and the light gradually faded. The surface of Tanggu Sea returned to calmness. The light projection of the Fuso Divine Tree, which enveloped his body, became much more solid. Li Weiyi opened his eyes, his pupils shimmering with fiery light. Within his spiritual realm, the crimson-gold spiritual light increased in both brightness and temperature by a small degree.

"If I came to Tanggu Sea every day to absorb the Golden Crow's radiance, the Golden Crow flames within my spiritual energy would surely grow even more powerful," he thought. "Tomorrow, I can weave a cocoon of time on the sea, increasing the time I spend absorbing the Golden Crow's radiance fivefold. I should be able to reach the peak of a four-star Spirit Medium soon, qualifying me to attempt a breakthrough to a five-star Spirit Medium."

The burning sensation on his skin returned, growing more intense. Li Weiyi was instantly pulled back to the harsh reality, realizing his body was severely burned and completely red. He quickly left Tanggu Sea.

He returned to Old Zhou's Coffin Shop. Standing in the foot-deep snow in the backyard, he breathed in the cold air, circulated his magic power to heal his injuries, and used the wood essence from the Divine Stove Wood to refine his muscles and reshape his skin. "My physical body is still not strong enough to completely resist it," he mused. "When the day comes that I can be exposed to the Golden Crow's radiance completely unharmed, that will be when my physical body has truly reached a high level."

The courtyard was dark and very quiet. Calculating the time, only one day and one night had passed outside. In other words, it was now the early morning of the third day after the great upheaval at the Zhou Manor.

The snow on the streets was thick. The curfew had not yet been lifted, and pedestrians were sparse. An old noodle stall, set up at the alley entrance, had already started its fire and was open for business, with the clatter of pots and bowls. The three tables placed outside were empty. It was still too early; the sky was just turning a fish-belly white.

"Two bowls of noodles, one without green onions, and one cooked a bit firmer. How long will it take?" Li Weiyi sat down at one of the tables and asked the little girl by the stove.

"Half a quarter-hour!" the little girl replied.

"Go ahead and cook them. I'll go to the bank next door to withdraw some money." Li Weiyi got up and left, walking right down the street. Although soldiers occasionally patrolled the streets, he wasn't flustered at all. Old Zhou had used his connections to get him a civilian registration, identifying him as Old Zhou's nephew.

Across the street from the noodle stall was one of the Twin Rice Cult's three strongholds in Nanyan Pass: Hanhai Bank. According to Immortal Xu's ledger, this stronghold housed twelve martial cultivators, the strongest of whom had reached the second heaven of the Dao Seed Realm. Halfway there, Seven Phoenix flew back and landed in his sleeve. Jiang Xin's identity had been exposed, so Yao Qian would surely know it was the doing of the person who met with Zhou Bida. Therefore, if Li Weiyi wanted to destroy the Rice Cult stronghold, he would have to be extremely cautious. Seven Phoenix could shrink to a speck of dust and turn invisible, making her an excellent helper for reconnaissance.

Li Weiyi entered the main gate, released his spiritual energy field, enveloping the entire bank, and headed straight for the bank vault. Seven Phoenix had already scouted ahead. "Sizzle!" Wielding the Staff of Ten Thousand Things, its spearhead unleashed Golden Crow flames, striking the vault's defensive formation. The formation's light barrier vibrated, continuously being refined.

"Who's there?" The formation's fluctuations successively awakened the Rice Cult masters within the bank, who rushed forward, each holding their magical artifacts. Li Weiyi didn't even turn his head, directly unleashing the Evil Camel Bell. The bell flew through the air, weaving between pillars, doors, windows, and figures. Its ringing was faint, but to their ears, it sounded like repeated thunderclaps. All sorts of evil thoughts in their minds surged, with cruelty, murderous intent, and destructive urges particularly strong, overwhelming all other consciousness. Behind Li Weiyi, a chaotic slaughter ensued.

"Bang!" The formation's light barrier shattered, and he pierced through the iron door of the underground vault with a single spear thrust. Li Weiyi entered the vault and surveyed it with his spiritual energy. All the money combined amounted to five to six hundred thousand Yongquan coins. This was no small sum for him. He took out his dimensional pouch, wrapped the iron chests containing the money with his magic qi, and took them all.

By the time he walked out of the vault, the slaughter outside had ended. All the Rice Cult martial cultivators lay on the ground; half were dead, and half were insane, their features twisted into terrifying grimaces. He collected their dimensional pouches, gaining an additional two hundred thousand Yongquan coins. After silencing them all, Li Weiyi walked out of the bank spotless and returned to the noodle stall.

Two steaming bowls of noodle soup were served. "Thank you!" Li Weiyi picked up his chopsticks, lifted a bowl to his lips, took a sip of soup, and began eating, bowl by bowl.

The scent of blood permeating the bank was discovered by patrolling soldiers. By the time a large contingent of troops arrived and cordoned off the street, Li Weiyi had long finished his two bowls of noodles and returned to the coffin shop.

As the sky brightened, more pedestrians appeared on the street. Old Zhou returned with news, looking quite agitated: "Something truly significant happened at the Attendants' Hall. The General's Manor, the Jiang family, and the Luan Platform worked together for two days of investigation and uncovered many shocking things. Even the chief magistrate of Nanyan Pass's Attendants' Hall committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Some say he was infiltrated and killed in the Attendants' Hall prison by a supreme expert. Now the three factions are bickering, each blaming the other, trying to cover up the truth. Haha, the Luan Platform has completely lost face this time! They slandered Vice General Zhou, accusing him of colluding with a cult, but it was proven that the Vice General was upright and incorruptible. Even with his family controlled by the cult, he did not yield and did not leak any Nanyan Pass city defense information."

Li Weiyi mused to himself that controlling his family was merely a threat. Offering the Vermilion Cloud Fruit and the Immortality Golden Elixir was the true enticement. But the transaction was never completed, so Zhou Bida naturally hadn't handed over any city defense information. What could they possibly find? At most, they might uncover that he was a Hidden Elder of the Nine Li Hidden Sect. But would the imperial court dare to announce that? Announcing it, given the current situation where the entire human race must unite to fight against the demon race, would be equivalent to killing someone of the Nine Li Tribe's Nine Great Clans' chieftain level. If they didn't announce it, the Nine Li Tribe and Nine Li Hidden Sect could tolerate it. If they did announce it, it would be deliberately stirring up conflict.

Old Zhou continued, "The Vice General died at the hands of the Luan Platform, yet the one with problems was the chief magistrate of the Attendants' Hall. Now we'll see how that Junior Minister Yao deals with this mess! The General's Manor will definitely take this case all the way to Lingxiao City."

"Have Vice General Zhou's family members been rescued?" Li Weiyi asked with concern.

Old Zhou nodded: "The Young General personally went to Leiling City to rescue them. I've just been to the Vice General's Manor to visit. It's overflowing with people now; soldiers who followed the Vice General are queuing up to mourn, filling the entire manor."

Li Weiyi whispered, "Since the Vice General was innocent yet was killed by Junior Minister Yao, this grudge cannot solely be avenged by the General's Manor. Old Zhou, find a way to contact a group of people. While everyone is mourning at the Vice General's Manor, escalate the situation. When the General's Manor takes the case to Lingxiao City in the future, Junior Minister Yao's arrogance and the fact that he nearly caused a mutiny among Nanyan Pass's troops — that will be the real grave crime. I just wonder, do you dare?"

Old Zhou gave a wry smile: "I'm already half-buried in the ground, riddled with injuries. What is there to fear? Besides, given the Vice General's kindness to me, what I'm doing is absolutely reasonable. What fault could they find? However, for you, there's still some risk!"

Li Weiyi stated frankly: "What I want is to force Yao Qian away, to make him too busy to bother with me. That way, I'll be safer! Nanyan Pass is a vital transport hub; being sealed for three days straight is already the limit. Once the city gates open, I won't stay here any longer."

That day, the Vice General's Manor was filled with public outrage. Large numbers of Nanyan Pass soldiers headed straight for the Attendants' Hall, demanding Yao Qian pay for his crime with his life. By noon, several thousand city defense troops had assembled, and even many Five Sea soldiers from the disciplined Giant Spirit Army rushed to support them, almost attacking the Attendants' Hall at one point. In the end, Yao Qian led the Luan Platform officials and fled back to Yuntian Immortal Plain in disgrace.

Li Weiyi spent the entire day in the Blood Mud Space, opening his cocoon of time to cultivate his spiritual energy. Late at night, he disguised himself as a middle-aged servant and went out again, preparing to strike the Twin Rice Cult's second stronghold. As usual, he first sent Seven Phoenix to scout ahead.

Li Weiyi being the Twin Rice Cult's Fourth Divine Son and his presence in Nanyan Pass representing Yao Qingxuan were no secrets at all. Yao Qian likely already knew. After such a significant loss, how could Yao Qian possibly let it go? Even though he fled back to Yuntian Immortal Plain, he must have left behind contingencies. Li Weiyi was fearless; with Seven Phoenix, he could gain much information in advance. If there was danger, he could simply retreat.

He waited for a long time, but Seven Phoenix did not return. Li Weiyi's heart sank slightly. With Seven Phoenix's ability to miniaturize and turn invisible, even a Longevity Realm grandmaster might not be able to detect her. It couldn't possibly be a Yang God Realm expert acting personally, could it? Li Weiyi believed that even if he encountered a formidable opponent who was merely a Yongquan Realm martial cultivator, he would never personally intervene. Instead, he would use it to train his hidden subordinates. A person's energy is limited. For a Yang God Realm expert, dealing with the imperial court's transcendental affairs, clashing with Longevity Realm grandmasters of major powers, and cultivating enlightenment — these were the true priorities. To such an expert, Li Weiyi was no different from a Yongquan Realm martial cultivator or a mere soldier. So, Li Weiyi didn't believe a Yang God Realm expert had appeared.

Li Weiyi tried to put as much distance as possible between himself and the stronghold, flying to a high vantage point. He used his Heaven-Piercing Eye to gaze at the distant Rice Cult stronghold, and after a while, he noticed something amiss: "It's an illusion formation! It seems Seven Phoenix is trapped in an illusion." The person who set up the formation was extremely powerful, with spiritual energy no weaker than his own. The Heaven-Piercing Eye pierced through layer after layer of the illusion formation, finally revealing the scene within the stronghold's courtyard. Inside the stronghold, a large number of martial cultivators were ambushed. Half of them were female officials and eunuchs dressed in Luan Platform official robes, and the pavilions were filled with magical crossbows.

The graceful figure in a white official robe, sitting in the center of the courtyard, came into view. Due to the angle, her face was unclear. But it was clear that one of the two people standing beside her was Zhuang Yue. Fortunately, Seven Phoenix was only lost in the illusion and had not been exposed; the courtyard remained calm.