Chapter 77: Hidden Nine

Hearing this, Li Weiyi instinctively looked up at the cliff carvings above him. That was the legendary combat philosophy of the Nine-Li God, something every martial cultivator in the world surely wished to comprehend.

The script...

It was strikingly similar to the bird-track script used for "Crimson County Ancient Way" carved on the stone pillar in the Soul Sea.

However, he didn't know much about ancient scripts and naturally couldn't decipher it.

All the young men and women present gazed intently, their eyes filled with fervor. After bowing, they stared unblinkingly at the four ancient characters on the cliff face, meticulously examining every stroke and groove, yearning to be a prodigy who could quickly comprehend something from the words.

Once a martial cultivator reached the Five Seas realm, their most pressing task was to cultivate their own combat philosophy. Otherwise, when facing the psychic attacks of a Grand Psion, they would only be able to flee for their lives.

Whether one cultivated a combat philosophy, and how powerful it was, held significance in the Five Seas realm second only to one's cultivation level.

Yin Twenty-Four stood quietly to the side, unfazed.

Wasn't she the same two years ago?

After half an hour, she finally spoke: "Everyone, don't be so fixated on this. Since ancient times, only King Cang has been able to comprehend the Nine-Li God's combat philosophy from these four characters."

"Once you enter the valley, your time will be extremely precious. Every day will be a race against death, so don't waste time here."

"I tell you this now, but most of you probably won't listen. Everyone believes they are a fated child. However, in the future, you will regret it, regret wasting your time."

Li Weiyi asked, "I've heard that the combat philosophies of Five Seas realm martial cultivators are all comprehended from techniques aligned with Heavenly Dao Alignment. Do these four characters on the cliff have corresponding techniques for us to cultivate?"

"No!"

Yin Twenty-Four replied, "However, within the valley are nine fundamental martial arts left personally by the Nine Kings. They are more foundational, precise, and detailed than what you learned in your clan schools, possessing greater Heavenly Dao essence, and naturally, making it easier to cultivate Heavenly Dao Alignment."

The Nine Kings were the nine primal ancestors of the nine great tribes, all sons of the Nine-Li God.

Everyone exchanged glances, their eyes filled with delight.

"Does the Hidden Gate have King Cang's fundamental martial arts?" Yao Yin asked.

Since King Cang once comprehended the Nine-Li God's combat philosophy, cultivating his fundamental martial arts might be the best shortcut.

Yin Twenty-Four replied, "The fundamental martial art left by King Cang is the Thirty-Six Heavenly Demonic Axes, which is not suitable for everyone to cultivate. You have been practicing in your clans for several years, even more than a decade. Suddenly switching to another martial art would be tantamount to crippling your own skills."

"Remember, you only have one or a few months left to live."

"Are you confident you can master the Thirty-Six Heavenly Demonic Axes within a month or a few months?"

A young man of the tiger-like mutated human species, who had opened eight springs, was ecstatic: "I've practiced axe techniques since childhood, and the first nine moves of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Demonic Axes are taught in all clan schools. I've already mastered them. The first move, 'Cleaving Heaven and Earth,' I've cultivated to a point infinitely close to Heavenly Dao Alignment."

Many present showed envy; who could possibly catch up to such a foundation in axe techniques?

Li Qing scoffed, "What's there to brag about when you haven't even cultivated Heavenly Dao Alignment? Since ancient times, countless prodigies and heroes have entered the Hidden Gate, yet no second person has ever comprehended the Nine-Li God's combat philosophy."

The tiger-like mutated human youth's eyes flashed with cold light, his fighting spirit intense: "Then let's see who the ultimate victor will be in a year!"

Lord Yin had silently departed while they were observing the four characters on the cliff.

Yin Twenty-Four led the group through the misty river valley, past a forest of unknown trees emitting a purple glow, and arrived at the base of a stone wall.

The stone wall shimmered like a crystalline red jade mine. Upon closer inspection, one could see spiritual light flowing within it, and scriptures rising and falling.

Due to the enveloping mist, the height of the stone wall was not visible.

However, the area at the base of the wall was remarkably flat and vast, resembling a training ground.

Yin Twenty-Four said, "There are actually two other paths to directly becoming a Divine Recluse, bypassing the life-and-death trials and the Recluse contest."

"The stone wall before you is a psychic mural."

"All martial cultivators who enter the Hidden Gate and reach the Nine Springs Ancestral Field will imprint their combat philosophy portraits here. At the same time, the Hidden Gate will also acquire and imprint the combat philosophy portraits of other top martial cultivators from the Sky-soaring Realm."

"You only need to defeat three individuals within these portraits to directly become the Divine Recluse of this sixty-year cycle. All Recluses, including myself, will become your Recluse Servants, obeying your commands unconditionally."

A murmur of astonishment rippled through the surroundings.

"This is much simpler than comprehending the Nine-Li God's combat philosophy! You only need to defeat three people, not chase after a legendary god!"

Yao Yin immediately asked, "Can I challenge them now?"

As a Pure Immortal Body, she was very confident.

Yin Twenty-Four shook her head, "At the very least, you must be a Nine Springs martial cultivator to be eligible to challenge."

Yao Yin fell silent. It was simply impossible for her to cultivate to the Nine Springs realm within a year. It seemed she would have to become Recluse Twenty-Six no matter what.

"Doesn't that mean I'm the only one here eligible to challenge? How could I not try it out for everyone first?"

Li Qing confidently stepped forward, his gaze like a torch, fixed on the stone wall before him.

Yin Twenty-Four, as if having anticipated this, calmly said, "Place your palm on the stone wall and infuse it with Qi. The first person's combat philosophy portrait will naturally appear to fight you."

Li Qing did as instructed.

Whoosh!

From the red jade-ore wall, spiritual light, Qi, and scriptures rapidly converged, forming a vivid mural.

Within the mural was a boy of thirteen or fourteen. He was unremarkable in appearance but possessed a pair of deep-set eyes unsuited for his age, and he held a massive axe that was wildly disproportionate to his slender frame.

The boy stepped out from the mural, a semi-corporeal glowing entity. "Are you ready?"

"Begin!"

Li Qing drew his arcane longsword, not daring to underestimate his opponent. All nine of his springs erupted, and the Qi overflowing from his pores enveloped his entire body, instantly bringing him to peak condition.

Whoosh!

He launched the first attack, his sword like a meteor, moving with extreme speed.

"So fast, much faster than Xue Zheng." Li Weiyi carefully watched the battle to better gauge Li Qing's power level, admitting that a Nine Springs Grandmaster was indeed very powerful.

Stronger even than Xue Zheng, who possessed a Pure Immortal Body.

Clang!

Li Qing's full-force sword thrust was casually parried by the glowing entity boy with a swing of his axe.

"How is that possible?"

Li Qing's eyes were filled with shock; he absolutely refused to believe the opponent only had Nine Springs cultivation.

After parrying Li Qing's arcane longsword, the glowing entity boy suddenly raised his axe and cleaved it down as if splitting heaven and earth, radiating an overwhelming and utterly dominant aura.

Everyone watching was intimidated and recoiled.

Li Qing's expression changed drastically. Under immense pressure, he disregarded everything else and immediately activated the Qi within his Ancestral Field, unleashing his strongest sword strike, a Heavenly Dao Alignment level technique.

He unleashed a single sword strike!

The Wind Palace is a small Qi sea, which is why those who have opened eight springs are called Lesser Five Seas.

The Ancestral Field, however, can contain a Qi sea comparable in size to the first Qi sea of many Five Seas realm martial cultivators.

Li Qing's sword strike, pooling a vast amount of Qi from his Ancestral Field, was a true trump card. It could slaughter those who had opened seven or eight springs as easily as pigs or dogs.

"Is the Qi in the Ancestral Field really that vast?"

Without using those powerful arcane artifacts, Li Weiyi felt that with his current cultivation of seven springs, his chances of victory against Li Qing would be no more than fifty percent.

This was terrifyingly strong. He was only two realms lower, yet so difficult to defeat.

Of course, the most important reason was that the Wind Palace and Ancestral Field could store Qi like a Qi sea, making Li Qing's burst combat power incredibly formidable. Li Weiyi currently lacked such a means to unleash a supreme strike.

Bang!

All the Qi and sword energy unleashed by Li Qing were dispersed by the glowing entity boy's single axe cleave.

Axe met sword.

Li Qing reeled back, his face turning deathly pale as if he'd been punched in the chest, blood oozing from his tiger's mouth. His longsword had long since flown from his grasp.

The glowing entity boy pursued him, striking with a second axe cleave.

"Quickly, surrender," Yin Twenty-Four called out.

Li Qing, as if granted a great pardon, immediately shouted, "I surrender!"

The massive and sharp axe hovered above his head.

The spiritual light emanating from the axe's edge illuminated the fine beads of sweat on his forehead with crystal clarity.

Whoosh!

The great axe vanished.

The glowing entity boy dispersed like smoke.

Li Qing trembled all over, letting out a long breath. His pale face took a long time to regain its color as he asked, "Who was he? Was he a Pure Immortal Body?"

Li Qing didn't believe a Nine Springs martial cultivator of a mutated human species could possess such powerful combat strength, let alone a mortal.

Yin Twenty-Four replied, "He is Yin Nine! He entered the Hidden Gate at eight years old after opening four springs, opened eight springs at eleven, and after two more years of arduous cultivation, opened nine springs at thirteen. The one you fought was him at thirteen years old."

"He is not a Pure Immortal Body; he is merely a mortal."

All of Li Qing's confidence and pride shattered, and he gave a bitter laugh: "I actually lost to a thirteen-year-old child!"

"Among Nine Springs mortals, you are already very strong. You withstood one of Yin Nine's axe cleaves and only sustained minor injuries," Yin Twenty-Four said. "Yin Nine represents the strongest combat power among all Recluses of our sixty-year cycle, when they were at the Nine Springs realm."

The young men and women present, who had all been severely disheartened, immediately felt relieved and a little better.

Some of the eight and nine-year-old children instantly gained confidence.

If Yin Nine could become the final victor that year, so could they. The younger one was when cultivating in the Hidden Gate, the more benefits they clearly gained, and the stronger they would become in the future.

Li Weiyi asked, "We need to defeat three individuals to directly become a Divine Recluse. So, besides Yin Nine, who is the top Nine Springs Recluse, who are the other two?"

Yin Twenty-Four replied, "The second person is a Nine Springs Pure Immortal Body with a hundred silver meridians."

"The third person is the Sky-soaring Realm's Top Warrior when they were in the Nine Springs realm."

"Besides this path, there is another, but it's not relevant to you. Only Five Seas realm Recluses can contend for it."

Upon hearing this, everyone present instantly gave up on the idea of directly challenging for Divine Recluse.

For mortals and mutated human species to defeat a Pure Immortal Body at the same cultivation level was simply a pipe dream.

Even so, Yao Yin, being a Pure Immortal Body, still had a chance.

However, to defeat the Sky-soaring Realm's Top Warrior when they were in the Nine Springs realm... was the Nine-Li Hidden Gate's Divine Recluse title aiming for the strongest in the world?

The Sky-soaring Realm's Top Warrior wasn't just any Nine-Li Top Warrior, Lizhou Top Warrior, or Southern Territory Top Warrior; it represented the strongest martial cultivator under sixty years old in the entire world.

Yao Yin asked, "'Hundred silver meridians' refers to having over a hundred trace meridians in the body, and all of them needing to be enhanced to at least the silver level, correct?"

Yin Twenty-Four replied, "Precisely."

"That requirement is the standard for the inheritors of the Ten Million Gates!" Yao Yin exclaimed.

Yin Twenty-Four proudly stated, "The Nine-Li clan is the only ancient clan of ten million in the Sky-soaring Realm. Even if they have declined outside, the Hidden Gate must adhere to the standards of an ancient clan of ten million when training its Divine Recluses."

"A Divine Recluse should be stronger than an inheritor!"

The colors of trace meridians within a martial artist's body, from lowest to highest, are white, red, silver, and gold.

Almost all martial cultivators have white as their most basic trace meridians.

Reaching seven springs was a watershed moment.

Some would choose to directly break through and enter the Five Seas realm, pursuing higher cultivation.

Others would stop to consolidate and temper their foundation. The more red trace meridians they tempered, the greater their chance of breaking through to the Wind Palace of eight springs.

To break through to the Ancestral Field of nine springs, one would need to temper as many silver trace meridians as possible.

Li Qing smiled, "I understand now! I know the gap between me and Yin Nine! I tempered twenty-seven silver trace meridians to break through to the ninth spring, and now I only have forty-six silver trace meridians in total. I must temper all ninety trace meridians in my body to silver to even have a chance to compete with him."

Li Weiyi was also secretly calculating: "I currently have eighty-four trace meridians in my body, and it seems they don't need tempering; they are already silver. No wonder it's hard for me to defeat Li Qing now; he has more trace meridians than me, and over half of them are silver."

Li Weiyi guessed that his ability to defeat other martial cultivators across realms must be related to the quality and quantity of his trace meridians.

Yao Yin gave a bitter laugh, "A Pure Immortal Body is indeed a favorite of heaven, a cultivation genius one in ten thousand. But only a Pure Immortal Body with a hundred silver meridians is a *true* Pure Immortal Body."

"One could put it that way."

Yin Twenty-Four said, "Besides physique and trace meridians, combat strength at the same cultivation level is also influenced by techniques, physical resilience, breathing methods, Qi utilization, psychic overlays, arcane artifacts... and so on. All of these can make you stronger. So, there's no need to be disheartened by differences in innate talent or physique; a Pure Immortal Body is not unconquerable."

"Li Qing, if you had cultivated a Heavenly Dao Alignment level movement technique, you definitely would have dodged Yin Nine's second axe just now. As long as you cultivate enough Heavenly Dao Alignment level techniques, your combat strength at the same realm will also be stronger."

After speaking, Yin Twenty-Four led the group to their living quarters.

"You are not yet Recluses, so you cannot enter the Hidden Gate. You can only live in the cave dwellings carved out along the river valley."

"Those who have opened four springs will live on the first level. Those who have opened five springs will live on the second level. Those who have opened six springs will live on the third level."

"The first month is a probationary period. Anyone who dares to murder a martial cultivator from the same cohort will be executed without mercy!"