Chapter 99: 拜见天子

This place was ominous and unsettling; what was seen with the naked eye was not necessarily the true appearance of the muddy yellow boat.

Li Weiyi again performed the Heaven-Connecting Eye mind technique. Simultaneously, all the golden markings on his body emerged, dispelling all illusions and revealing the true reality.

In his vision, an auspicious jade-white radiance ascended.

The underground riverbed remained dry, but the muddy yellow boat beneath his feet transformed into a pristine, unblemished jade ritual vessel. Over thirty meters long, it glowed with a shimmering light that enveloped the surrounding area.

The jade vessel was crystal clear and exquisitely crafted, with countless ancient scriptures for magical artifacts floating within it.

“This… this truly resembles a sacred vessel fit for a Provincial Governor-level figure. The decay of the muddy yellow boat was merely an illusion, not its true form. This sacred grand vessel must be of a very high rank!”

Li Weiyi suppressed his astonishment, pondering what cultivation level the Provincial Governor from a thousand years ago must have achieved.

Everything he had seen before was an illusion.

The true Provincial Governor’s Seal was not contained within a treasure box; instead, it was as massive as a millstone, standing over two meters tall, and rested at the bow of the vessel, silently exuding an imposing aura.

The purple Cistanche deserticola was actually growing atop the Provincial Governor’s Seal, its medicinal flesh crystalline and fragrant.

The spiritual energy of the world condensed into visible gaseous streams, continuously flowing towards the Provincial Governor’s Seal, and subsequently being absorbed by the Cistanche deserticola.

“Whoosh!”

Li Weiyi swung his sword, cut off a piece of the medicinal flesh, and handed it to Yin Twenty-Four: “Take this and give it to Yaoyin to consume!”

The ancient skeleton, seated on the ground beside the Provincial Governor’s Seal, stirred awake. Its skull lifted, fixing its gaze on Li Weiyi. Then, its bones creaked as it slowly rose to its feet.

Li Weiyi was so startled his scalp prickled, and he quickly retreated.

“Indeed, it’s a malevolent entity.”

It must have been this not-quite-dead skeleton that lured him here.

The skeleton, clad in a purple cloud-dragon official robe, did not display any ferocity or attack after rising. Instead, it meticulously adjusted its attire, smoothing its robe over its knees, then knelt respectfully before Li Weiyi, proclaiming loudly: “Your humble servant, Zhu Qinfeng, Provincial Governor of Yanzhou, respectfully greets the Son of Heaven.”

Its skull hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Its voice, slightly aged, didn't come from its mouth but seemed to emanate from deep within its bones, or perhaps from the very fabric of heaven and earth.

Had Yin Twenty-Four and Yaoyin not still been on the vessel, Li Weiyi would have fled immediately, his sword trembling uncontrollably in his hand. This ancient skeleton, whose origins were terrifyingly significant, had clearly mistaken him for someone else!

Yin Twenty-Four, unable to perceive the true scene or hear the actual sounds, was holding Yaoyin and feeding her the precious medicine.

Li Weiyi slowly retreated towards them, battle sword in hand, adopting a defensive posture.

The kneeling skeleton raised its head and spoke with a tragic tone: “After five years of war, Yanzhou fell into the hands of the departed spirits; darkness consumed the light. I led all military personnel and civilians, defending the provincial capital, and fought fiercely for another three years, but no reinforcements ever arrived. All fifteen rescue teams dispatched vanished without a trace.”

“During the three-year siege, there were 132 battles, both major and minor. The city ran out of water and food, and of the million soldiers and civilians, only eighty thousand remained.”

“I am guilty! I led eighty thousand wounded and disabled people in an escape through the ancient underground river, abandoning the city, and the entire territory of Yanzhou fell… Alas… how tragic…”

Li Weiyi felt the desolation and sorrow emanating from the skeleton and perceived the helplessness and pain in its tone.

Affected by its emotions, his fear diminished slightly, and he calmed down, pondering why the skeleton had mistaken him for the Son of Heaven.

This Provincial Governor of Yanzhou, Zhu Qinfeng, undoubtedly considered Zenhai Guanwu to be the Son of Heaven.

Why would it believe he was Zenhai Guanwu?

The skeleton, still kneeling, continued: “Upon entering the ancient underground river, we were pursued by the Ash Spirit army. We fled to this place, and eighty thousand soldiers and civilians successively perished in battle. As I lay heavily wounded and dying, I left this remnant of my will within the Provincial Governor’s official robe, waiting only for the Son of Heaven to arrive and for me to report everything. Then, I would die without regret.”

Having spoken its last words, the skeleton’s shoulder and neck bones simultaneously emitted a cracking sound, and it slumped completely, falling silent.

“So, he had only a wisp of his will remaining, waiting here for the Son of Heaven he revered.”

Li Weiyi’s fear completely vanished. Filled with profound emotion, he stepped forward, a feeling of admiration rising in his heart.

He had given his all, but Yanzhou still fell.

A thousand years of will, waiting only for his lord.

Only upon seeing his lord could he finally let go.

The Spirit Tablet Master, who had been observing the outside world with his spiritual power, spoke from within the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish: “If I’m not mistaken, Zenhai Guanwu left something on you. That’s why Zhu Qinfeng mistook you for her.”

Li Weiyi nodded gently, trying to recall every detail of his few encounters with Zenhai Guanwu.

Even if something was left, it should have been his own blood that she had absorbed.

“What could it be?” he murmured to himself.

The Spirit Tablet Master said: “Zenhai Guanwu’s cultivation is far beyond ours, reaching a level we three cannot fathom. Her methods must be extremely secretive and cunning. However, she is currently very weak, while your cultivation is rapidly improving, so you should now be ahead of her. Find her as soon as possible and eliminate this hidden threat.”

In Li Weiyi’s mind, the image of the red-robed immortal maiden on the tombstone appeared, followed by the white-boned demon in the tomb, and finally, Qi Shanshan’s figure.

“She actually tampered with me in secret.”

Facing an entity like Zenhai Guanwu, who stood at the pinnacle of the world, Li Weiyi felt considerable pressure, considering her his most formidable adversary. However, now was clearly not the time to contemplate how to defeat her.

The immediate priority was how to escape.

“I understand now, it’s the official robe.”

Master Coffin’s voice suddenly spoke again: “Zhu Qinfeng’s wisp of will borrowed the spiritual energy from the Cistanche deserticola to activate the Provincial Governor’s official robe, which then opened a purple mist passage to bring you here. I once served as a Provincial Governor; even if an official robe becomes dormant, as long as the flame of will within it is not extinguished, it can still be used once or twice.”

“Weiyi, put on the official robe and use your spiritual power to check if any remnant flame of Zhu Qinfeng’s will still exists within. If it does, immediately use spiritual energy to activate it.”

Li Weiyi deactivated his Heaven-Connecting Eye, and the golden markings on his body dimmed and vanished.

The radiant jade ritual vessel beneath his feet immediately reverted to the muddy yellow boat, making it impossible to discern what was real and what was illusory.

After bowing three times, Li Weiyi crouched down, swiftly removing the purple official robe from the skeleton's body, racing against time. Simultaneously, he shouted: “Take Yaoyin and get off the boat to wait for me!”

Yin Twenty-Four, though puzzled, surmised that Li Weiyi had found a way to escape. She immediately picked up Yaoyin and jumped off the muddy yellow boat.

Li Weiyi quickly donned the purple official robe.

Cloud-dragon patterns were embroidered on both the front and back, the wide cuffs were adorned with silver buttons, and a broad brocade belt, studded with various gemstones and jade pendants, encircled his waist.

The official robe could automatically adjust its size to fit the wearer’s physique.

“Whoosh!”

Li Weiyi put on the official hat, formed a hand seal, and released spiritual energy from his mind into the official robe.

Using his spiritual power to perceive, an empty and dark realm within the official robe immediately appeared in his sea of consciousness. In the darkness, scattered remnants of Zhu Qinfeng’s flame of will could be seen, rapidly dissipating and fading.

“Excellent! As long as these flames of spiritual power haven’t completely extinguished, I can activate the official robe one more time.”

Li Weiyi jumped off the muddy yellow boat, disregarding the risk of exposure, and activated the spatial power of the Buddha’s sarira, drawing the entire vessel into his Blood Mud Space.

Yin Twenty-Four was stunned to see the muddy yellow boat vanish into thin air.

Li Weiyi shook his arms, and all eight spiritual springs in his body simultaneously surged with magical energy, channeling it into the official robe he wore.

The empty realm within the official robe was like a bottomless pit, seemingly impossible to fill.

Watching Zhu Qinfeng’s flame of will rapidly extinguish, Li Weiyi’s forehead beaded with sweat, and he cried out: “What are you standing there for? Hurry and help! Inject all the spiritual energy from your body into the official robe!”

Yin Twenty-Four snapped back to reality, stepped forward without a word, placed her palm on Li Weiyi’s back, and channeled a torrent of spiritual energy into him.

“It’s no use. The Provincial Governor’s official robe is already dormant; my spiritual energy won’t go in,” she said.

“Then why can I?”

Li Weiyi murmured to himself, his eyes full of suspicion, thinking: “Could this also be related to what Zenhai Guanwu left within me?”

With no time to ponder, Li Weiyi performed the Jade Void Breathing Technique, pushing the eight spiritual springs within his body to their limits. His entire body glowed with magical energy, and spiritual power transformed into brilliant clouds and mists swirling around him.

“His magical energy and spiritual power are actually entering the Provincial Governor’s official robe. Could he be a descendant of Zenhai Guanwu? But I’ve never heard that Zenhai Guanwu had a Dao companion, so how could she have descendants?” Yin Twenty-Four was utterly perplexed.

“Boom!”

Streaks of purple mist emanated from the official robe, coalescing into a purple cloud.

Li Weiyi’s face lit up with wild joy, and he exclaimed: “Follow me!”

Pulling Yin Twenty-Four along, the three of them vanished into the purple mist.

“Whoosh!”

The next instant, the three reappeared in the pitch-black spider cave.

The sound of the underground blood river flowing reached their ears.

Yin Twenty-Four took out a blood-glowing gem, illuminating their surroundings, and let out a long sigh: “We’re finally back! How did you do that? How did you know the Provincial Governor’s official robe could bring us back? And why can your magical energy activate it?”

Within the official robe, Zhu Qinfeng’s flame of will had completely extinguished, and Li Weiyi’s magical energy could no longer be channeled into it.

The purple mist enveloping the official robe rapidly dissipated.

Li Weiyi did not immediately respond to Yin Twenty-Four’s questions. Instead, he looked around. The Ash Territory had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed. If he hadn’t still been wearing the Provincial Governor’s official robe, he might have even doubted that everything had been an illusion.

On the stone wall ahead, there was a face-sized opening.

The opening was surrounded by spider webs.

He could sense the Four-Winged Spider King’s aura fluctuations from deep within the opening, where it was hidden.

The Four-Winged Spider King, possessing intelligence, sensed the aura of a Five Seas Realm martial cultivator and hid inside, not daring to emerge.

Li Weiyi shook his head in disappointment. He had learned insect script from the Spirit Tablet Master, intending to subdue the Four-Winged Spider King and give it to Senior Sister Cai. But it didn’t dare to show itself; it seemed even fierce insects were bullies who preyed on the weak and feared the strong.

Riding the flat boat, propelled by Yin Twenty-Four’s spiritual energy, they made their way back against the current.

After exiting the spider cave, Li Weiyi had already taken off the official robe, neatly folded it, and said in a calm yet threatening tone: “Everything you saw today must remain a secret. If a third… or fourth person finds out, you understand the consequences.”

Yin Twenty-Four stood at the bow, frowning slightly: “Are you just going to threaten me like that? I have a feeling that if the secrets you possess were to leak, they would trigger a storm in the martial arts world.”

“Go ahead and tell Lord Yin if you wish! I guarantee I’ll be perfectly fine, but I can’t say the same for you!” Li Weiyi added: “Not silencing you isn’t a sign of weakness, but a sign that I trust you.”

Yin Twenty-Four’s heart rippled slightly, but she immediately suppressed the subtle upturn of her lips and stated gravely: “I feel a sense of unease. This matter is strange, especially that Ash Territory; it doesn’t seem to be too far away, and it should be reported to Lord Yin.”

Li Weiyi, of course, didn’t believe that with his current cultivation and the power of the official robe, he could have traversed such an immense underground distance.

He therefore agreed with her assessment: the Ash Territory was likely nearby.

“Then let’s concoct a story, first compare our accounts, and then tell Lord Yin what we can.”

Li Weiyi felt a bit uneasy about Yin Twenty-Four and added: “Lord Yin was the Divine Hidden Person of the last sixty-year cycle, but I am the Divine Hidden Person of this cycle. You must obey me, not him.”

Yin Twenty-Four rolled her eyes, itching to tell him that he wasn’t even a Divine Hidden Person yet.

Li Weiyi noticed Yaoyin’s eyeballs moving beneath her eyelids, and so he said: “Since you’re awake, stop pretending. The three of us will coordinate our testimonies. You are most likely Yin Twenty-Six, and from now on, you must obey me. You should know better than I what fate awaits those who betray a Divine Hidden Person.”

Yaoyin sat up. The ice cracks on her skin had completely vanished, and her complexion had returned to being moist and delicate; the medicinal properties of the Cistanche deserticola indeed had a suppressive effect on the Ice Soul Cold Qi within her. In a pleasant and melodious tone, she said: “Understood. Yaoyin swears undying loyalty to Lord Divine Hidden Person.”

Li Weiyi nodded in satisfaction.

“What imposing official authority! No wonder they say that once someone wears an official robe, they can never truly shed it!” Yin Twenty-Four remarked sarcastically.