Chapter 70: Yao Guan Prosperity

"No."Li Weiyi refused outright.

If it had been Cangli Leader Li Songlin, or a sole invitation from Cangli, Li Weiyi would naturally have found it difficult to decline. After all, these two had shown him much care in Jiuli City. Li Songlin, in particular, had not only helped him secure a challenge slot for the Jiuli Daoist Academy but had also personally gone to deter the Changlin Gang, even risking offending the Yang Clan to ensure his safety for a month. Li Weiyi kept this favor deeply in his heart.

But going with Li Ling to meet her parents, to meet an entire family—what was that supposed to be?

"Don't go!" Li Ling chased after him, sticking close. "My father, mother, and brother already know about us!"Li Weiyi emphasized, "There's nothing going on between us! If you keep spreading rumors, tarnishing my reputation, or using your family's influence to pressure me, we won't even be friends.""I didn't spread rumors," Li Ling retorted. "A month ago, when you were targeted and hunted, I immediately left the Jiuli Daoist Academy to find you after hearing the news. My mother thought I was overly concerned about you and grew suspicious, so she spoke to me. I told her you were my best friend and had saved my life multiple times. That's all I said, not a single word more. I swear by the God of Jiuli."Li Weiyi responded with silence. He could imagine what Li Ling's mother must have thought after hearing her daughter's answer."Do I not even have the right to care about you?" Li Ling asked. "Or is it wrong for me to presumptuously consider you my best friend?"

Yaoguan City had no city walls; it was more like a massive market town with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. Most of the buildings were constructed from rammed earth and stacked stones, appearing quite low and primitive. A few grander estates, taverns, and inns, built with logs and reaching three or four stories high, stood out.

The immortal glow anomaly that erupted in Buried Immortal Town was so vast that it enveloped the entire region, shaking all seven southern provinces within a month and giving rise to all sorts of rumors. Some said Buried Immortal Town was an ancient land where immortals had fallen, and with the fall of one immortal, all things flourished, signaling the imminent emergence of many treasures. Others claimed that a corner of the Immortal Realm beneath Buried Immortal Town was about to open. The thick beam of light shooting from the ground was said to be a path to the Immortal Realm, and some elder powerhouses from Lizhou had descended along the light beam into the depths, witnessing sights not of the human world. However, they dared not delve deeper, returning to the surface after a quick glance due to the terrifying aura they felt.

Amidst these true and false rumors, countless cultivators were drawn to the area. Naturally, this brought an uncharacteristic hustle and bustle to the small city closest to Buried Immortal Town. Taverns and inns were already fully booked, with room and food prices having increased severalfold. The Beastli Tribe, the local hosts, seized the opportunity to sell various rare resources, including coffins from other realms, precious medicines, exotic beasts, beast eggs, insect eggs, extremely dense metal ores, and ancient immortal beast blood. As long as one had money, many resources and secret treasures that were usually unobtainable could be bought in Yaoguan City now.

Li Weiyi was quite familiar with Yaoguan City; his first night in this world was spent here with Gao Huan. He didn't go to the most bustling district in the city but headed to the herbal medicine market in the west. The west side of the city was near the Mangshan Mountains. Herbalists would bring their freshest herbs directly there to sell at stalls, at prices much lower than those offered by shops run by powerful clans or sects. Of course, the quality of the herbs here wasn't high. Why feed seven mere larvae such high-quality herbs? The most crucial reason, of course, was that Li Weiyi was short on money, and high-grade herbs were exorbitantly expensive.

Entering the western herbal market, various exotic scents of herbs filled the air. All the stalls were simple; some vendors even just spread out a piece of burlap or a straw mat to start selling. The entire market was chaotic, filled with shouts and haggling.

Li Ling, who had been following him, couldn't help but say as they entered the market, "If you want to buy herbs, you should go to a trade association. There's nothing good here. This market is a mixed bag of people; even if they find precious herbs, they secretly sell them to a trade association first. The Tianyi Trade Association has a branch in Yaoguan, and you can get a good discount if you buy as a member of the Cangli Tribe.""No money," Li Weiyi said.Li Ling didn't believe him at all. "What about the money the Cangli Tribe gave you to buy a residence? That's 200,000 silver coins!"Li Weiyi didn't know how to explain, so he just remained silent. He went to a stall with a wide variety of herbs, pointed at a Cistanche deserticola more than a meter long on the ground, and asked, "How much for this one?"

The vendor, seeing Li Weiyi's disheveled and worn appearance, initially didn't want to bother with him. But upon seeing Li Ling, dressed in splendid clothes and looking like a fairy maiden, standing behind him, he immediately forced a smile. "Young man, keen eye! This is an old herb, weighing 63 jin. It's 50 silver coins per jin. How many jin do you want?"

Herbs matured in ten years, became treasures in a hundred, and gained sentience in a thousand. Only those over ten years old could be called 'herbs'. The price of herbs was already not cheap, with even the lowest quality starting at five silver coins. Those called 'old herbs' had to be at least fifty years old. Those grown for over a hundred years were called 'precious herbs'. Those grown for over a thousand years almost gained consciousness, possessed magical power, and even had the ability to transform. Each one was incredibly valuable, referred to as 'thousand-year spiritual herbs' or 'thousand-year demon herbs'.

Li Weiyi was interested in this Cistanche deserticola not because of its rarity, but its large quantity, which would definitely feed those seven little ones for a long time.

"Fifty silver coins per jin? That's too expensive, isn't it? Lower the price." Li Weiyi frowned. The Nine-Leaf Pucao was a 300-year-old precious herb, so its high price was understandable. But for a mere old herb of medicinal grade, it was shockingly expensive. To buy it all would cost 3,150 silver coins. All the coins he had on him now could only be exchanged for a little over 12,000 silver coins. How long would that last the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors?

The vendor's expression turned sour. "Only 50 silver coins? What's expensive about that? Herbalists have a tough job. Do you know how dangerous the Mangshan Mountains are? Do you know how difficult it is to collect an old herb?"

Li Ling walked over to the Cistanche deserticola, plucked a piece the size of a fingernail with her finger, and sniffed it. Noticing something, she then smiled. "This isn't an old herb, is it? I'd say it's only a little over thirty years old.""Young lady, you've damaged the appearance of my old herb. You'll have to pay for it," the vendor said."Alright, how much?" Li Ling took out a black metal token and casually tossed it to the vendor.

The vendor took it, but after just one glance, the token became scorching hot in his hand; he couldn't hold it. He quickly and respectfully returned it, apologizing nervously, "So it's the honored Lord of the Underworld Lamp Guide from the Divine Temple! No wonder your eye for detail is so sharp. How could any herb in this world deceive you, honored Lord?""So, is this an old herb?" Li Ling asked."No, no..." The vendor laughed awkwardly.After Li Ling retrieved her Underworld Lamp Guide token, she said, "What about the price then?""Thirty silver coins per jin, no, twenty-five silver coins per jin." The vendor smiled broadly.

Li Ling glanced triumphantly at Li Weiyi, then said, "Alright! You're a member of the Beastli Tribe, aren't you? Let's go to the tribe's ancestral hall in the city right now. You can personally explain to the elders who manage family law and criminal law how you deceived my friend, disrupted market order, and damaged the Beastli Tribe's reputation."

In the herbal market, vendors usually just named random ages for herbs, trying to trick anyone they could. If they met someone knowledgeable, as long as the price was agreed upon, there wouldn't be any disputes. But who told him to provoke the wrong person today? After all, the Jiuli Divine Temple specifically managed the ancestral halls of various clans and towns.

The vendor said, "How about you, honored Lord, set a price?"

Ultimately, Li Weiyi spent 630 silver coins to buy the 63-jin Cistanche deserticola. Li Weiyi wouldn't miss the chance to buy herbs at a low price. So, at the same stall, he selected six other old herbs, and after rounding down the price, spent a total of 2,400 silver coins.

Li Weiyi felt no guilt. After all, if not for Li Ling, with his limited knowledge of herbs, he would surely have been swindled out of a large sum. If the vendor hadn't tried to deceive him first, he would never have allowed Li Ling to use her influence to pressure him.

He walked around the herbal market again, and as expected, saw no precious herbs. After spending five silver coins on a foot-long insect tube, Li Weiyi left the market. If he had ample funds, he would naturally prefer to buy precious herbs to feed the Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, as the more precious their food, the faster they would grow. How he wished to quickly feed the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors until their combat power was comparable to seven Five-Ocean Realm experts!

"It seems I'll have to sell artifacts," he thought. As Li Weiyi thought this, he toyed with the newly bought insect tube in his hand. It was made from a section of crimson gold bamboo, extremely hard, with ventilation holes and a strap.

The Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors were emperor-grade rare insects; even Master Stone Coffin and Master Jar couldn't identify them. Venerable Spirit said that even in their era, no more than ten insect tamers in the entire Lingxiao realm could recognize them. Therefore, she told Li Weiyi not to worry too much about exposure. Keeping the Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors in the blood-mud space on the Buddha's sarira was, of course, no problem. But if he encountered a powerful enemy and needed to release them for help, he would certainly expose the secret of possessing a spatial anomaly treasure.

Li Weiyi suddenly stopped and looked at Li Ling, who was still beside him. "Aren't you curious why I bought these things?""Even if I were curious, you wouldn't tell me," Li Ling said. "You never appreciate my kindness. You always think I'm trying to harm you."Li Weiyi thought for a moment. "How about I treat you to noodles?"A flicker of surprise appeared in Li Ling's eyes."You saved me a lot of money today; I should thank you."

Li Weiyi led Li Ling to a roadside noodle stall, taking a seat first at a square table facing the road. "Shopkeeper, two bowls of noodle soup with beef."Li Ling, dressed in a gorgeous gown with a belt, sleeves, and collar that were impeccably white, along with her flawless demigod physique and exquisitely delicate features, truly stood out in this environment. As she sat down to Li Weiyi's right, countless surprised and curious gazes, along with envious ones, immediately turned towards them from inside the stall and the street.Li Ling handed him a silk handkerchief. "Wipe the dust off your face. No one dares to touch you in Yaoguan; there are many powerhouses from the Cangli Tribe in the city."

Li Weiyi didn't know how to handle his relationship with Li Ling. He wasn't a cold-hearted person; on the contrary, he cherished every emotion. Just like Cai Yutong's bowl of fish soup, he would remember it for a lifetime. After a long hesitation, he finally took the silk handkerchief and wiped his face, asking, "The bounty on my head at the Five Burials Temple must have increased, right?" Just now, walking a mere few hundred meters from the herbal market to the noodle stall, Li Weiyi had detected at least three trackers, all with hostile and murderous eyes. There was no helping it; Yaoguan was too small, and Li Ling was too eye-catching. It would have been strange if he and Li Ling walking together weren't noticed and recognized. Of course, it was precisely because he was with Li Ling that no one had dared to make a move yet.

"It has increased, several times over. Some Five-Ocean Realm cultivators are looking for you everywhere," Li Ling said. "Now you know why I must take you to meet my parents, right? Because you'll truly be safe staying with them. Once we return to Jiuli City, you can enter the academy directly to cultivate, and you won't have to fear the assassins from the Five Burials Temple or the hired killers outside.""Oh! Don't you have to compete for academy admission slots?" Li Weiyi smiled.

Li Ling smiled. "After that battle a month ago, you stained an entire street crimson and dyed the Sui River red. Who dares to look down on you now? Yao Zhengsheng and Lu Can, both among the top hundred warriors, died by your hand. There are no longer any obstacles to entering the academy; Fourth Uncle even plans to take you as his disciple. A man's name, a tree's shadow. You have some reputation among the younger generation now.""Just 'some' reputation?" Li Weiyi said.Li Ling said, "Unless you break through the Ninth Spring Ancestral Field, are a Pure Immortal Body, and enter the Five-Ocean Realm, how much reputation do you expect to have? My brother meets all three criteria, and he still hasn't become famous throughout the world."

Two bowls of noodle soup were served, steaming hot and fragrant. The beef portion was generous, with over a dozen slices in each bowl. Li Weiyi had just started eating.

A plump teenager, about fifteen or sixteen, rushed into the stall, panting, and sat down at the square table where Li Weiyi and Li Ling were. "I'm starving! Shopkeeper, ten bowls of noodle soup!"The shopkeeper by the stove paused for a moment. "How many people?""Are you blind? One, just me." The chubby teenager thumped the table. "Stop talking nonsense; you'll get your money."Li Ling looked around and, seeing no empty tables, didn't feel it right to drive him away. The chubby teenager eyed the untouched bowl of noodles in front of her, rubbed his hands, and familiarly chuckled, "I don't think a sister with a Pure Immortal Body, like a goddess descended to earth, would eat in a place like this. How about you let me have your bowl of noodles first?" It was hard to distinguish between a Demigod Physique and a Pure Immortal Body just by appearance."You have a sweet tongue. Go ahead and eat; I'm not hungry," Li Ling said."Thank you so much!" The chubby teenager quickly took the bowl and asked, "My name is Shishi. What are your names?""Li Ling of the Cangli Tribe," Li Ling said."Xie Tianshu of the Cangli Tribe."

Li Weiyi secretly observed the chubby teenager who had suddenly appeared. He couldn't sense any fluctuations of spiritual power or psionic energy, nor any dangerous aura; he seemed like an ordinary person. But for an ordinary person with no cultivation to appear in Yaoguan City at this time, wasn't that also strange?

While wolfing down his noodles, the chubby teenager surprisingly managed to speak, commenting on the passing crowd on the street: "Brother Tianshu, do you see that carriage pulled by fire lizards? That's the young city lord of Licheng, Zhizhou. The Li family is truly glorious; they've produced a great figure, and in a few decades, they might become the second Ten Million Household in the Southern Realm. This young city lord, at just seventeen, has already broken through Nine Springs to Five Oceans. It's a pity he has a mortal physique; if he were a Pure Immortal Body, that would be incredible!"

"Sister Ling, do you see those dozen or so young people in green martial robes? The leader is Chen Wenwu, the top talent of his generation at the Three Chen Academy. He's among the top ten figures under thirty in Lizhou... possibly even top five...""Xue Zheng, ranked fourth in Lizhou's Seven Springs Hall, is here too! He's also extraordinary. At less than twenty-five years old, to possess such combat prowess below the Five-Ocean Realm, he's truly on par with Pure Immortal Bodies. Once he breaks through to the Five-Ocean Realm, he'll be like a fish transforming into a dragon."

Only then did Li Weiyi and Li Ling finally look towards the street. Indeed, Xue Zheng's tall figure, with his long artifact blade on his back, approached from a distance, his gaze fixed on the noodle stall. In the sunlight, his silver skin appeared extraordinarily bright and dazzling. Accompanying Xue Zheng were two Five-Ocean Realm powerhouses from the Changlin Gang: Xu Changlin and Tang Yan. However, in terms of demeanor and spiritual state, both Five-Ocean Realm experts seemed a bit weaker. Pedestrians throughout the street sensed an unusual aura of danger. Except for martial cultivators confident in their own strength, everyone else retreated far away.

Li Ling, of course, knew their intentions were hostile. She abruptly stood up and walked out of the stall. "The Changlin Gang's audacity is growing by the day. I haven't even come looking for trouble, and you've delivered yourselves right to my doorstep. If you want to kill someone in Yaoguan City, can you even get past me?"

Xue Zheng cupped his fist and said, "Fourth Young Lady, you misunderstand! I am here out of concern for Brother Li's injuries, specifically to offer my regards. If his injuries have healed, I would like to seek some pointers. After all, everyone now says that Li Weiyi is the top talent of the younger generation in Lizhou's Spring Realm, and though I, Xue Zheng, have never been defeated, I've been unfairly overshadowed, which makes me a bit uncomfortable."Xu Changlin said, "Young people should spar and exchange more often. And they are both top talents in the Spring Realm. It's very fair!"Li Ling said, "Why have I never heard that he is the top talent of the younger generation in Lizhou's Spring Realm? The top talent of the younger generation is my brother. Why don't you Suizong also find someone to challenge him?"Xue Zheng's gaze fell on Li Weiyi. "I, Xue, merely wish to spar. Does Your Excellency dare not? A man who hides behind a woman is destined for no great achievement."

Li Weiyi finished the last sip of soup in his bowl. "Shopkeeper, check, please! I'll pay for his ten bowls of noodles too." Li Weiyi had already escaped one assassination attempt by treating someone to noodles. He found the chubby teenager in front of him somewhat inscrutable, so he felt that making a good connection wouldn't be a bad thing. Anyway, ten bowls of noodles weren't expensive.

Stepping out of the stall, Li Weiyi squinted at Xue Zheng, who stood with his back to the setting sun, and said, "It's not good for intense combat right after a meal. Let's schedule it for another day. Also, I'm not hiding behind her; she offered to protect me. If you have the ability, you can also find a Grand Psionic Master to protect you!""A beautiful Grand Psionic Master, like a goddess descended to earth," the chubby teenager's correcting voice rang out from inside the stall.

Li Weiyi naturally didn't want to fight Xue Zheng. If he defeated or killed him, his enemies and assassins would re-evaluate his strength, and the pressure he faced would surely double. Not fighting would, instead, make his enemies underestimate him further.

Xue Zheng carefully scrutinized Li Weiyi, as if trying to reacquaint himself with him. The ruthless figure who had slaughtered all around him by the Sui River was surprisingly unprovoked.

"Clatter!"An ox cart slowly approached. The cart-pulling ox was even larger than an elephant, with golden eyes, shimmering skin, and hooves and horns like bronze; it was clearly no ordinary breed. Seeing the green ox, one knew the person. Everyone present knew that Cangli Leader had arrived and either bowed respectfully or retreated.

The ox cart stopped beside Li Weiyi and Li Ling, and Li Songlin's voice came from within. "You two, get in!"

Li Weiyi naturally knew that Cangli Leader was concerned about his safety and had specially come to support him, which touched him deeply. After Li Ling got into the cart first, Li Weiyi looked at Xue Zheng and Tang Yan opposite them and said, "Earlier, outside the city, I saw Murong Xiao!" Leaving these words, Li Weiyi ignored the expressions of Xue Zheng and the other two and directly boarded the ox cart, entering the carriage.

Li Songlin sat in the main seat opposite the carriage door, his expression rather somber, then said bitterly, "My apologies. I thought I could protect you for a month, but it turns out others simply don't respect me. This time, I've lost a lot of face, and the crucial thing is, I can't get it back."Li Songlin didn't mention why he couldn't get it back, and Li Weiyi naturally wouldn't be so tactless as to press him. He said, "This junior is already extremely grateful. If not for Senior's protection for over twenty days, I would have had no chance of survival that night."Li Songlin finally smiled. "Have you broken through to the Eighth Spring, Wind Mansion?" Previously, Li Weiyi had told him that he was at the cultivation level of opening seven springs. Since he survived that night a month ago and consecutively defeated top hundred warriors, it was clear that he had broken through his realm, thus seizing a sliver of hope.

Li Weiyi struggled internally, wondering whether to deceive Li Songlin. He truly didn't want to lie to this respectable elder, but he eventually nodded. "Fortunately, I broke through to the Wind Mansion realm, otherwise, I would be utterly annihilated by now."

Li Songlin had already suspected as much, so he wasn't surprised. Instead, he smiled. "It was right that you didn't impulsively agree to Xue Zheng's challenge. I was somewhat worried your character was too unyielding. Excessive rigidity breaks easily! A combination of firmness and flexibility is the true path of swordsmanship."

"Xue Zheng is already a Silver Pure Immortal Body. With his martial arts prowess, no one in Lizhou below the Five-Ocean Realm is his match. Even those Nine-Spring warriors hidden by various forces might not be able to defeat him. If you had agreed to him just now, you would probably have been cleaved to death with a single strike. And no one could avenge you, because you agreed to it yourself, and couldn't even withstand a single move. No one would be to blame."

As Li Songlin spoke, he observed Li Weiyi's expression. Pure Immortal Bodies weren't just about flawless jade-like skin; some bodies transformed into silver, gold, or even glaze. There was no inherent difference in the combat power of these physiques.

Li Weiyi showed no hint of disappointment or dejection, for he didn't believe he would lose to Xue Zheng, who had evolved from a Demigod Physique to a Pure Immortal Body. He merely asked curiously, "Do various forces have hidden Nine-Spring warriors? So the so-called Seven Springs Hall ranking is just for fun?"

Li Songlin shook his head. "The Seven Springs Hall ranking still holds significant weight. Very few young warriors can open nine springs, and after opening the nine springs, they immediately break through to the Five-Ocean Realm, keeping this secret hidden. Almost all Pure Immortal Bodies who open nine springs become widely known, because geniuses of this caliber are courted by major powers, promoted, and groomed as symbols. No one dares to easily kill them. Ten-Million Households and Ten-Million Sects refer to them as inheritors."

"But how many Pure Immortal Bodies are there? The base number of mortals is thousands, even tens of thousands of times greater than Pure Immortal Bodies. Even if cultivation is harder for them, there are still some who can open nine springs. However, they are almost all obscure and deliberately kept hidden. To my knowledge, in the past decade, the Jiuli Tribe has produced six young warriors who opened nine springs. Cangli is just the strongest among them. The other five include four mortals and one abnormal human."

Li Weiyi said, "The Jiuli Tribe has more than ten million people, yet only six opened nine springs in ten years. The Ancestral Field truly is an incredibly difficult hurdle.""The Cangli Tribe, as a million-strong influential clan, hasn't produced a single Nine-Spring genius in the last thirty years, apart from Cangli," Li Songlin said, chuckling bitterly. "I've told you all this because I want you to know that you must strive to break through the Ninth Spring. Only by opening the Ancestral Field will you have a chance to defeat Xue Zheng and compensate for the physical disparity. If you truly achieve that, anyone, no matter how high their cultivation, will hold you in high regard, and your status within the Jiuli Tribe will be vastly different."

Although Li Songlin was fifty-two years old this year and referred to himself as "this old man," he looked to be only in his thirties, with an air of relaxed nonchalance.Li Weiyi said, "This junior will naturally try; I won't rush to break through to the Five-Ocean Realm."

Li Songlin nodded in satisfaction and finally got to the main point of his discourse. "Do you know why Xue Zheng was able to transform into a Pure Immortal Body in such a short time?""Why?" This question came from Li Ling.Li Songlin said, "It was the Xue family's Leader who found a strange herb imbued with immortal glow near Buried Immortal Town and gave it to him to consume."

The Suizong was formed by seven families. The Yang Clan was the leader, and the Xue Clan was at the bottom.

"If that old scoundrel can cultivate a Pure Immortal Body, then naturally, this old man must cultivate a genius who opens nine springs to suppress him," Li Songlin said, smiling at Li Weiyi. "Coincidentally, I also collected a strange herb imbued with immortal glow a few days ago."

Li Weiyi was moved. He had thought Li Songlin's elaborate discussion of the Nine Springs Ancestral Field was merely to encourage him, never expecting the other party to produce such a rare treasure.

Li Ling pouted playfully. "Fourth Uncle, I'm still a Demigod Physique! If you have such a rare herb, why are you thinking of an outsider first?"

Li Songlin said, "Although both are imbued with immortal glow, the effects of different herbs vary. The one I collected is more suitable for helping a warrior open their Wind Mansion and Ancestral Field. Who in the clan has hope of opening the Ancestral Field?"

Li Songlin decided to give this rare herb to Li Weiyi for two reasons. Firstly, Li Weiyi's combat power demonstrated at the Eighth Spring realm was strong enough to qualify him for the top ten among the hundred strongest warriors, giving him a great chance of successfully breaking through to the Ancestral Field. Secondly, he had heard Cangli recount the events of that night in Jiuli City a month ago, where Li Weiyi, for the sake of his companions, had single-handedly lured away numerous enemies. The courage and character displayed in such a desperate situation were truly invaluable, and he greatly wished to take him as a disciple.