Chapter 92: A Letter's Shock

"Alright!"

"Brother Tianshu, come with us!"

Shishishi grabbed Li Weiyi, his form flashing away swiftly. Li Weiyi only felt the wind whistling in his ears, his body rising and falling. In just a few breaths, he and Shi Jiuzhai had crossed over three miles of streets, arriving at a bustling dock by the Sui River. The speed and cultivation level Shishishi displayed were truly inconsistent with his age.

The three boarded a fast boat, which was pulled by a water-python-like exotic beast, and sailed downstream at full speed with all sails unfurled.

Inside the cabin, Shishishi used a low-grade magical rope to tie up Li Weiyi. He chuckled, "Brother Tianshu, I never expected you to be so formidable. With a mortal body, you possess the combat power of a Hundred-Meridian All-Silver Pure Immortal Physique. The Heavenly King will surely be very fond of you. As long as you honestly reveal all your secrets, I guarantee that the position of Old Eleven will undoubtedly be yours."

Li Weiyi sat leaning against the cabin wall and said coldly, "Your Earth Wolf King's Army has no credibility. You promised a reward, but you're not honoring it."

Shishishi scratched his head, frustrated. "There's nothing we can do! With Yao Qian around, who can touch Yang Qingxi? The reward you mentioned, I truly desire it. Let's talk another day. Once you break through to the Five Seas realm, we can really put our heads together and figure something out."

"Where are we going now?" Li Weiyi asked.

Shishishi said, "To Shuzhou, of course. Honestly, the secrets you possess are already enough to alarm the Heavenly King. Who wouldn't want to transform into a Pure Immortal Physique? I want to too!"

Li Weiyi said, "What about the Jiuli Hidden Sect then?"

"Will you honestly help us investigate information? You barely speak a word of truth... Well, anyway, with Li Qing around, we won't miss much without you," Shishishi said.

Li Weiyi said, "Li Qing has already been killed by me!"

Shishishi was stunned.

Shi Jiuzhai stood tall at the stern, his piercing eyes watching the gradually receding Jiuli City. The sun set in the west, and the sky quickly grew dark. Only the brilliant light-veil formation outside Jiuli City, connecting heaven and earth, remained dazzling, like streaks of aurora on the horizon, coloring even the Sui River.

Shishishi walked out of the cabin. "Li Qing was killed! It's probably true; he has that capability."

Shi Jiuzhai stood with his hands behind his back, silent for a moment, then said, "If we let him go back, the Jiuli Hidden Sect won't trust him anymore and will simply kill him. Joining the Earth Wolf King's Army is actually a way to survive."

Shishishi knew these words were for Li Weiyi in the cabin. He looked worried. "Why hasn't Sixth Brother caught up yet? He couldn't have been killed by Yao Qian, could he?"

"How could that be? The Sui Sect still needs to borrow the power of the Earth Wolf King's Army to help them attack the Jiuli tribe. Sixth Brother is still very strong; he might not be able to defeat Yao Qian, but containing him and escaping shouldn't be a problem," Shi Jiuzhai chuckled.

Inside the cabin, Li Weiyi silently weighed the gains and losses of the day. The biggest problem still lay with the Six Desires Talisman. He also realized his lack of understanding regarding the abilities of the world's top experts. Beings like Shi Liuyu and Yao Qian had already transcended the human realm. Measuring them by human standards would inevitably lead to errors.

Suddenly, Shi Jiuzhai's startled shout rang out from outside: "Careful, enemy attack!"

The fast boat rocked violently, followed by sounds of palms clashing, magical energy colliding, and waves churning. "Bang! Bang..."

Four pebbles pierced through the cabin wall, striking four sealed spring-points on Li Weiyi's body, instantly restoring his magical power. At the same time, the magical rope that had tightly bound him was severed by the flying Yellow Dragon Sword. The Yellow Dragon Sword had previously been taken by Shishishi. Evidently, a master had seized the Yellow Dragon Sword from him and precisely thrown it to this location.

Li Weiyi was overjoyed, realizing that Hidden Twenty-Four had finally brought the Hidden Sect's reinforcements. He quickly shed the coils of rope, grabbed the Yellow Dragon Sword, and rushed out of the cabin. Magical energy surged in the darkness. Figures were clashing fiercely, but it was impossible to tell who was who. Li Weiyi was well aware of his own capabilities, so he decisively channeled magical energy into his legs, ran across the waves, and a moment later, vanished into the dense woods on the shore. From behind him came Shi Jiuzhai's anxious roar: "That kid escaped!"

Li Weiyi fled for half an hour. The sounds of battle behind him had long faded. His frantic escape aggravated his severe internal injuries, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling his vision dim and the world spin. As he recovered slightly, he prepared to continue his escape.

But then he saw.

Under a tree, a dozen zhang ahead, two dark figures appeared, one tall and one short. The slightly shorter and slender dark figure quickly approached him and fed a cool pill into his mouth. From her lips came a soft whisper, not as cold as usual: "Heal your injuries first!"

The pill dissolved instantly upon entering his stomach. The severe injuries to his internal organs were immediately treated, and the pain subsided significantly.

The tall, imposing dark figure wearing a metal mask walked over step by step, his dark red cloak swaying in the wind. He spoke in a low voice, "You've told Shi Liuyu all the secrets of the Hidden Sect, haven't you?" His aura was very oppressive; every word he spoke impacted Li Weiyi's soul.

Li Weiyi briefly met his gaze, then chuckled fearlessly, "How profound and unfathomable is your cultivation, Hidden Lord? How could you not know whether I leaked secrets to Shi Liuyu?"

"How could I know?" the Hidden Lord asked.

Li Weiyi said, "The so-called trial was never about destroying the Changlin Gang, but rather about testing what choice I would make when facing Shi Liuyu, and whether I would betray the Jiuli Hidden Sect." Li Weiyi had only just realized this in the cabin. He had no understanding of the abilities of this world's top experts, but how could the Hidden Lord not? How could the Hidden Lord not know that Shi Liuyu could sense his approximate location using the Six Desires Talisman? With this in mind, the purpose of deliberately arranging his trial in Jiuli City became clear. Li Weiyi didn't know if the Hidden Lord was near the Changlin Gang at the time, or perhaps sensing through the spiritual death fire on his forehead. In any case, the Hidden Lord definitely knew all the conversations between him and Shi Liuyu.

The Hidden Lord watched him with a hint of surprise. To be able to think so clearly even when in peril and fleeing desperately, he was indeed material for a Divine Hidden Agent.

Hidden Twenty-Four said, "To become a Hidden Agent, everyone must undergo a death trial. A death trial refers to whether you can keep secrets when facing a mortal threat. This is incredibly important; failing to do so would endanger the entire Hidden Sect."

"So you already knew the true nature of the trial?" Li Weiyi asked.

Hidden Twenty-Four said, "I only knew that the true trial was not to destroy the Changlin Gang."

Li Weiyi's gaze returned to the Hidden Lord: "Did I pass the trial?"

"Naturally!"

The Hidden Lord said, "No matter what method you used, as long as you didn't leak any secrets, you passed. Let's go, back to the Hidden Sect first."

Li Weiyi remained standing, "Are you not interested in the secrets I possess?"

"As long as all your actions pass the Hidden Sect's vetting process, your secrets will forever remain your own. When you truly find a sense of belonging within the Hidden Sect, you will naturally speak without me having to ask," the Hidden Lord said.

Li Weiyi said, "Since I am now a member of the Hidden Sect, I have two things I must do. Will the Hidden Sect lend me a hand?"

"You may tell me first," the Hidden Lord said.

Li Weiyi said, "The first is about the people I rescued from the Changlin Gang. I want to save them completely, ensuring they are properly settled. Otherwise, my conscience will never be at peace."

"You don't need to mention that. Hidden Twenty-Four has already made arrangements, and people from the Jiuli tribe will take charge of them," the Hidden Lord said.

Li Weiyi looked at Hidden Twenty-Four in surprise. Hidden Twenty-Four's chin was slightly raised, and her gaze showed no evasiveness, unlike when Li Weiyi had questioned her earlier.

Li Weiyi thought for a moment, then added, "I have several companions who are cultivating at the Jiuli Daoist Academy and the Cangli Clan Academy. They have already been targeted by the Sui Sect. Can I bring them to the Hidden Sect?"

"That's impossible!" the Hidden Lord said.

Li Weiyi said, "They are highly talented."

"Highly talented individuals, even one-in-ten-thousand Pure Immortal Physiques, can be found in abundance across the land. But with too many people, a Li Qing or two could infiltrate... The Hidden Sect only invests all its resources into one person each year, because we aim to cultivate beings like Cangli and Yao Qian—top experts who can dominate a generation—not a group of Five Seas realm cultivators."

The Hidden Lord paused, then added, "For now, they are safe at the Jiuli Daoist Academy and the Cangli Clan Manor." "After the ambush in Buried Immortal Town and the duel between the Cangli and Dragon Gate inheritors on the Sui River, the Jiuli tribe and the Sui Sect have already revealed their intentions, but they haven't reached the point of open conflict yet."

Li Weiyi found it hard to understand: "If their intentions are already clear, why doesn't the Jiuli tribe strike first?"

The Hidden Lord said, "The fact that you can ask this question shows that you still have a long way to go to become a Divine Hidden Agent."

Hidden Twenty-Four said, "Many important figures in the Sui Sect and the various Jiuli clans are connected through marital alliances; we are intertwined. When the Jiuli tribe secretly spreads news of troop mobilization this morning, the Sui Sect's higher-ups will know all of Jiuli's movements and arrangements by noon, or even act before the Jiuli tribe." "Conversely, the same applies. That's why the Sui Sect is cooperating with external forces."

Li Weiyi understood: the world was never black and white, or simply friend or foe. Instead, there were friends among enemies, and enemies among friends.

Li Weiyi asked curiously, "What role will the Hidden Sect play in this inevitable conflict?"

"Since rotten flesh has grown inside the body, this is an opportunity to scrape the bone and heal the wound. Without experiencing the pangs of labor, how can new life be born? Let them kill, and kill until a clear distinction between friend and foe emerges."

The Hidden Lord pondered for a moment, then said, "In the entire Lizhou, only the Jiuli Divine Temple is relatively safe. When the situation becomes unstable, I will arrange for your companions to be sent there." This was his final compromise!

"Thank you, Hidden Lord," Li Weiyi said.

The Hidden Lord said, "Both matters you asked about were for others. I thought one of them might be for the Six Desires Talisman."

"Is the Hidden Lord an opponent of Shi Liuyu?" Li Weiyi quickly asked.

"You shouldn't ask such a foolish question."

The Hidden Lord said, "Among the Earth Wolf King's Army's Ten Great Dharma Kings, only the Elder Master is truly cunning in wisdom, while Old Eight Shi is skilled in schemes. As for Shi Liuyu... even you managed to survive him. Keeping him alive might prove useful in the future."

Li Weiyi secretly felt relieved. Then, he took out a letter wrapped in oiled paper from his embrace and handed it over.

"What is this?" the Hidden Lord asked, taking the letter.

"All the secrets I possess are in this letter."

Li Weiyi always felt that submitting Master Guan's letter sooner would be safer. Who knew if the Hidden Lord truly wasn't interested in his secrets? Beside him, Hidden Twenty-Four's eyes lit up. She knew Li Weiyi had many treasures hidden on him; this fellow definitely had a significant background. She just wondered what this secret was.

The Hidden Lord opened the letter and immediately sensed something extraordinary, his expression shifting from casual to solemn. The aura emanating from the letter was extremely unusual. The more he read the content, the more his scalp tingled, his whole body was numb with shock, his pupils contracted violently, and the hand holding the letter actually trembled. In Hidden Twenty-Four's eyes, the Hidden Lord had always been like a deity. She believed that even if the heavens crumbled and the earth split, he wouldn't lose his composure like this. What kind of letter was this, after all? What terrifying background did this Li Weiyi fellow actually have?

After finishing the letter, the Hidden Lord stared fixedly at Li Weiyi. After a long moment, he still couldn't ascertain its authenticity; it was too shocking, capable of shaking the entire world.

"Let's go, back to the Hidden Sect, to see the Hidden Ancestor!"

The Hidden Lord enveloped Li Weiyi and Hidden Twenty-Four in magical energy, employing his fastest speed, and rushed towards Jiuli City. As for the Six Desires Talisman on Li Weiyi, with him present, how could Shi Liuyu possibly sense it? Once underground, the connection would naturally be severed. Hidden Twenty-Four was terribly curious. How had this even alarmed the Hidden Ancestor? The Hidden Ancestor had always been just a legend; even the Hidden Agents didn't know if he truly existed or was still alive, as the legend stated he had lived for over a thousand years.

Back at the Hidden Sect, the Hidden Lord led Li Weiyi deeper into the Jiuli Worm Valley, step by step. His emotions had settled. He asked, "You should have brought out this letter sooner. With it, you wouldn't even have needed to participate in the trial to become a Divine Hidden Agent."

"I wanted to try with my own strength," Li Weiyi said.

The Hidden Lord didn't know what to say, because the young man truly possessed such ability; opening eight spring-points was comparable to a Hundred-Meridian All-Silver Pure Immortal Physique, completely beyond comprehension and understanding. But thinking that he was the inheritor of the Grand Master, everything suddenly made sense. All the secrets he carried, including his and his companions' mysterious origins, seemed to be explained!

Now, all that remained was for the Hidden Ancestor to personally verify the letter's authenticity. After all, only the Hidden Ancestor had truly met the Grand Master.