Chapter 63: Dragon Fight Between Dragons and Tigers

On the massive warships, the various powerful figures watching the fierce fighting on the shore all speculated about the realm and origin of the young practitioner who possessed several spiritual artifacts.

"To kill so many Seven-Spring martial cultivators and top-hundred warriors in one night, and to fight his way through the Sui River while surrounded in such a desperate situation—I honestly couldn't do it at the Spring Realm. This kid has certainly made a name for himself tonight!" Shi Jiuzhai exclaimed admiringly.

The man surnamed Long still stood at the bow of the ship, as if rooted there. He said calmly, "This world is never short of geniuses, but geniuses with such fighting will and wisdom are exceedingly rare. Once he breaks through to the Five Seas..."

Shi Jiuzhai looked at Yang Qingxi's face, cold as frost, and asked, "What is his name?"

"Why doesn't Dharma King Jiuzhai ask the Grand Zen Master?" Yang Qingxi naturally showed no pleasant expression towards Shi Jiuzhai. If not for him and the White-Robed Scholar intervening, how could that Spring Realm youth have captured Yang Yun right before her eyes and escaped? If there was shame to be had, they would all share it. After all, the kill order was issued under the Five Burial Temple's name.

Grand Zen Master Yuzhen laughed dismissively, "Haha, it's common for an assassination to fail. Miss Yang, don't worry too much about a mere Spring Realm cultivator. Two Five-Sea Realm experts from the Evergreen Gang have already gone after him; they will surely rescue your brother."

Since someone's own brother had been captured, the White-Robed Scholar and Shi Jiuzhai naturally could not object further. In fact, each of them dispatched one person to assist in the rescue.

Yang Qingxi had recovered from her initial anger and calmly stated, "Yang Yun, an Eight-Spring prodigy and the legitimate son of the Yang clan, was surrounded and pursued by so many masters, yet he was captured by an unknown individual. Even if he dies, it can only be blamed on his overconfidence and lack of practical skill; no one else is to blame, right, Senior An, Dharma King Jiuzhai?" Yang Yun's capture, with his fate unknown, had now become a bargaining chip for her to secure more interests.

The first negotiation regarding the division of interests among the four parties officially began. They could only finalize a general agreement; the true decision on how to carve up Lizhou would be made by the real elder magnates behind them. Naturally, a meeting at that level signified that a major war was imminent. Ultimately, they decided to play it safe and first follow the plan of the elderly man named Li, investigating the true nature and strength of the Nine Li Hidden Sect.

Of course, there was another important reason for postponing the war: the drastic changes in Burial Immortal Town. Having already arrived in Lizhou, how could they not investigate it? An event that could draw all the elders from Nine Li City there must signify a significant opportunity! What exactly had happened there?

"Roar!" Accompanied by a tiger's roar that shook the entire night sky, Cang Li, riding his massive Zouwu beast like a giant tiger, his figure tall and proud, holding a ten-foot silver spear, burst out of Nine Li City's gate. He went directly to the distant, protruding arch of the Sui River bank. The giant tiger roared, its head thrown back, making the waves churn. On the massive warships, windows rattled, Sui banners flapped, and all artifacts trembled.

Grand Zen Master Yuzhen said, "It seems the fighting within the city has ended! Miss Yang, it appears your Yang clan and the Cang Li tribe have completely fallen out this time, haven't you?"

"How could that be?" Yang Qingxi smiled, "Our two families have intermarried for generations, with deep ties of kinship. How could a small conflict cause us to completely fall out?"

"Is that so? He looks quite murderous to me." Shi Jiuzhai gazed intently at the distant riverbank. He saw Cang Li, riding the Zouwu beast, trampling through the river. His spiritual energy overflowed, condensing into a tiger shadow dozens of feet tall, stirring up enormous waves. His momentum seemed capable of overturning the entire massive warship.

"At this critical juncture, it's not wise for you to expose yourselves. I'll go meet this so-called Nine Li Tribe inheritor and see if he truly possesses the weight of an inheritor."

"Swoosh!" The man surnamed Long flickered and vanished from the deck. The next moment, he appeared on the water dozens of feet away, stepping against the current of the Sui River. Spiritual energy clouds and mists rose around him, making him appear like a handsome immortal lord as he charged towards Cang Li, who was riding the Zouwu beast. All the spiritual energy clouds condensed into a gigantic dragon shadow, letting out a high-pitched dragon roar as it writhed and rolled forward in the water.

"Boom!" A dragon and tiger fought fiercely, spiritual energy surging so powerfully that it seemed as if the Sui River itself would be cut off by their battle.

Taking advantage of the situation, the people from Coffin Mountain and the Earth Wolf Royal Army silently left the massive warships and vanished into the eternal night.

Yang Qingxi sat by the spiritual artifact bone lamp, her bright eyes fixed on the two fighting on the distant river. Her gaze had returned to its original calm, showing no discernible emotion. No one knew what she was thinking at that moment. In this world, people and events are a mix of truth and falsehood; if one cannot be seen through, it is better to pretend to be seen through.

Shi Chuan Yu, dragging his injured body, boarded the massive warship and fell to his knees with a thud before Yang Qingxi, sobbing and declaring, "Miss, your subordinate is incompetent. I allowed Young Master Yun to be captured by that rogue Li. I am willing to accept all punishments."

Yang Qingxi took out a Five-Sea Pill, letting it seemingly slip from her fingers onto the ground. She rose gracefully, her long, light gauze skirt flowing behind her, her porcelain-like body moving towards the second floor of the ship's tower. She said faintly, "You opened Eight Springs; you are talented. But after taking this Five-Sea Pill, whether you break through to the Five-Sea Realm or not, you must bring Yang Yun and Li Weiyi back to me... alive or dead."

Shi Chuan Yu was overjoyed to the point of madness. He quickly 'wolfed down' the Five-Sea Pill, stuffing it into his mouth, then repeatedly kowtowed, "I swear to kill that rogue Li and rescue Young Master Yun!"

Yang Yun awoke to his own screams, only to find his right arm twisted and broken by Li Weiyi. Looking around and seeing no friendly forces, he immediately realized he was fated to die today at the hands of this harbinger of death. He was filled with regret and profound sorrow.

He was the legitimate son of the Yang clan, had broken through to Eight Springs at only seventeen, and held the hope of reaching the pinnacle of Nine Springs. Even if he couldn't reach Nine Springs, taking a Five-Sea Pill would immediately make him a Five-Sea Realm expert—what a brilliant future awaited him! He was unwilling to die here.

"Ah..." His left arm was also twisted and broken. After screaming, Yang Yun, in his desperation, cleverly said, "Brother Li... listen to me... killing me won't do you any good... as long as you don't kill me, I'll do anything... ah..." His right leg was broken.

Yang Yun was drenched in sweat from the pain, his body trembling, utterly terrified. In a dizzy stupor, he babbled frantically, "I have money... I'll pay for my life..."

"How much?" In the darkness, Li Weiyi, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked.

Yang Yun's spirit lifted; this tactic actually worked. He hastily said, "A lot... I'm very rich..."

"Name a number," Li Weiyi said.

Yang Yun said, "One hundred... no, ten million silver coins..." Ten million silver coins was equivalent to one billion copper coins.

Li Weiyi absolutely did not believe he could produce that much money, so he scoffed.

Fearing Li Weiyi wouldn't believe him, Yang Yun urgently said, "I don't have it, but my sister does. Brother Li... trust me, from now on, I will owe you ten million silver coins. If I can't produce it, I'll use... I'll use everything I can mortgage to repay it... I, Yang Yun, always keep my word..."

"Good! I remember. You owe me ten million silver coins and a carriage," Li Weiyi said.

Just as Yang Yun felt Li Weiyi was easily fooled, and his heart swelled with joy, he let out another scream as Li Weiyi broke his left leg. "This is much safer; otherwise, I'd really be worried you might break free from the ropes and escape."

Li Weiyi tied Yang Yun's limbs to a small boat, then took off his own blood-stained clothes and threw them onto him. Next, he cut Yang Yun's wrist, letting his blood slowly flow into the river. After doing all this, Li Weiyi pushed the small boat away, releasing Yang Yun. Carried by the swift current, the small boat rapidly drifted downstream.

"If people from the Yang clan and the Sui Sect find you before your blood runs dry, it means you were not meant to die. Someday, I will surely go to the Yang clan to collect my debt." Li Weiyi completely ignored Yang Yun's muffled curses from the boat, plunged into the water, and swam towards the opposite bank of the Sui River.

With Yang Yun's scent drawing his pursuers downstream, Li Weiyi would have enough time to escape into the Mang Mountain Range, hoping to heal his injuries before they caught up to him.

After swimming to the other side, Li Weiyi immediately took out a brand-new set of clothes from his Evil Camel Bell and put them on, then dashed towards the mountains shrouded in night.

The Mang Mountain Range, with its numerous peaks and forests, stretches north to south along Lizhou's eastern border. It connects to the Spirit Mist Domain and the Sea of Blood in the south and extends northward for a thousand miles into Zhizhou.

Legend has it that within this vast and deep mountain range, every peak is an emperor's tomb. The Tomb of King Cang is one of them.

After fleeing all night, Li Weiyi had already entered deep into the Mang Mountain Range. As the sky lightened to a fish-belly white, he finally couldn't hold on any longer. His body went limp, and he collapsed onto a thick bed of fallen leaves in a dense forest. Both the severity of his injuries and his exhaustion had reached their limit. At that moment, he didn't want to think about anything; he only wanted to sleep, regardless of whether he would ever wake up again.

The sun rose. The first ray of light fell upon the dense forest, passing through branches and leaves, dappling his face. It was at this very moment that a beam of light seemed to penetrate his body, appearing in his mind and illuminating the darkness within his skull.

Lying on the ground, Li Weiyi, with eyes tightly shut, murmured, "Day gives way to night, a flash of inspiration, and the path of the spiritual deity opens. I never expected that 'flowers planted with care may not bloom, while willows planted by chance may provide shade.'" "The more I wanted to cultivate it, the less the inspiration appeared. Yet, now, when I least want to cultivate, it manifests." "Perhaps the Spirit Rank Senior was right; in the past, when I cultivated, I had too many distracting thoughts!"

Li Weiyi forced his weary and intensely painful body to sit up. Following the meditation technique taught by the Spirit Rank Senior, he began absorbing the radiance emitted by the sun... for now, let's call it the sun!

The sunlight was not in rays, but in countless tiny particles. Before long, countless light particles enveloped his body, drilling in and out, shimmering with an ethereal glow. This made his life force appear incredibly vibrant as he sat cross-legged amidst the dry branches and fallen leaves, his wounds healing visibly. Day turned into night, and decay transformed into vitality.

At the same time, the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish pendant, which hung around his neck and which he had never known how to activate, began to rotate after absorbing these light particles. The surrounding scene, including the ground beneath Li Weiyi, immediately underwent a drastic transformation.