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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 5: [Seeking Immortality in the Eastern Sea]
Volume 5 (Pinyin): [Dong Hai xun xian]
Chapter 102 (539): [The Ten-Year Promise]
(102nd of Volume 5)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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The Hidden Lord had regained his composure.
From his Cosmic Pouch, he released Yang Yin, still immobilized by the Immobilization Talisman, who tumbled to the ground.
"Thwack!"
Li Weiyi's sword flashed, severing Yang Yin's head in a single stroke.
"What are you doing?!"
The Hidden Lord was stunned by the sudden attack, unable to react in time.
"That's Yang Yin, a Great Power of the Immortal Realm and the second-in-command of the Sui Sect! He's incredibly valuable alive - we could interrogate him or soul-search him for vital information. Are you just acting recklessly?"
'Eliminating him is the safest course of action,' Li Weiyi thought. 'We can't risk endangering An Xianjing again!'
Li Weiyi slapped his forehead: "I forgot. My bad - I acted impulsively. I was just worried Yang Yin might break free from the Immobilization Talisman, and we'd end up losing everything. Remember how close they came to escaping earlier? Great Powers of the Immortal Realm are all formidable opponents, not to be underestimated."
He quickly changed the subject: "Lao Li, you're the real expert. How did you manage to trap Yao Qian underwater earlier?"
The Hidden Lord replied, "Didn't you blast Yao Qian out of the water yourself?"
Li Weiyi's heart stirred, and understanding dawned.
He fell silent, quickly crouching down to search Yao Qian's Ancestral Field, Wind Mansion, and Cosmic Pouch.
On Yao Qian's wrist, he found the Water-Dragon Scale Armor, which had contracted into a black dragon scale bracelet.
The Prince Mingjiao's Trident spiritual artifact, also a Thousand-Inscriptions Artifact, was stored in the Cosmic Pouch.
Yao Qian was more skilled with a sword than a trident, making him a more formidable opponent in sword combat.
Beneath Yao Qian's skin, five golden Dragon Tendon patterns were visible.
Dragon Tendons were the foundation of the Young Celestial Emperors of the Underworld Dragon Clan, and they were not easily fused or refined.
It would take at least several years for them to fully integrate with the body.
"Yao Qian's body is mine, and the treasures on Yang Yin's body are yours," Li Weiyi said, turning to the Hidden Lord, "Those five Dragon Tendons are valuable. Do you dare to refine and absorb them?"
Li Weiyi himself had no interest in them, so he asked the Hidden Lord.
The Hidden Lord hesitated.
If the Dragon Tendons were ever exposed, Prince Mingjiao's death would be blamed on him, potentially bringing disaster upon the Jiu Li Clan.
"Take your time to consider," Li Weiyi said.
"I'll be back soon."
Li Weiyi left the island and flew away.
Moments later, he arrived at the small boat a hundred miles away, clasping his hands in a gesture of gratitude.
"Thank you for your assistance, Hall Master An. Without your help, Yao Qian would have escaped. Martial-Mystic Cultivators in the Immortal Realm are indeed difficult to kill."
An Xianjing stood against the wind, her hair swaying gently, her long robes and wide sleeves rustling softly.
"I didn't intervene! And don't boast to me. No matter how strong your combat prowess becomes, what good is it if you can't break through to Immortal Realm? Even ignoring those at the peak of the First Realm, you're no match for the Purple-Clad Woman and Wu Hongling, who are only at the early stages of the First Realm."
Li Weiyi asked, "They broke through so quickly? Did they cultivate a Immortal Body?"
"They've returned to Shen Yi Mountain!" An Xianjing replied, "If you can't reach the Immortal Realm, they'll soon leave you far behind, leaving you to stand among the crowd, gazing up at their peerless splendor, forever out of reach."
Li Weiyi pondered for a moment, then smiled, "How dare I boast before Hall Master An? I've never considered defeating Yao Qian something to brag about. If one day I manage to catch up to Hall Master An and defeat you, that would be something truly satisfying."
An Xianjing frowned: "So you're determined to defeat me? I won't be easy to catch. I won't stand still. You've closed the gap of decades of cultivation in just a few years. I've cultivated diligently for three hundred and sixty years. How many years do you think it will take you to catch up? Sixty? Thirty?"
"Thirty years is too long, and twenty is too much to wait. How about ten?"
Li Weiyi radiated composure and confidence, his eyes shining with unwavering light.
An Xianjing found the suggestion laughable.
"Young and reckless," she said coolly, "unaware of the difficulty of achieving Immortal Realm. You've absorbed a mere dozen Dragon Soul Source Lights and dare to speak so presumptuously. Very well, let's make it a ten-year pact... If your Psychic Power catches up within that time, it will count."
She added the last part to prevent Li Weiyi from obsessing over the Martial-Mystic Dao due to this agreement, which would lead him down a dead end.
"Focus on cultivating the fourth layer of Vajra's Wrathful Gaze," she continued, "It might help you break through the Immortal Shackles."
Li Weiyi countered, "I've heard that the Lingxiao Twin Rice Sect has produced numerous Great Immortal experts and even several Transcendents in the past millennium. This is because they possess a shortcut to cultivating the Immortal Realm. Hall Master An, would you dare reveal this secret to me?"
"So, this is what you were after all along," An Xianjing remarked.
Li Weiyi replied, "Even without the ten-year pact, I believe Hall Master An would have told me if I had asked."
An Xianjing was swayed by his approach, pondering for a moment before relenting.
"Fine, consider me indebted to you. I shouldn't have eaten that bowl of noodles back then. Just like those noodles, this karmic entanglement is endless and utterly infuriating. Truth is, there aren't many secrets - just two key points."
"First, by harnessing the Twin Rice Sect's Imperial Technique, Three Thousand Starlight Bhagavata, you can manipulate starlight to more easily locate the Immortal Shackle within your body."
"Second, comprehending the Ji Emperor's Primordial Chaos Sutra can aid in breaking through to Transcendence."
"These aren't major shortcuts! But if you can swiftly find the Immortal Shackle at each realm, you'll save significant time. Accumulated across the Seventh Realm, this advantage becomes substantial."
Li Weiyi asked, "If I use the Myriad Manifestations Staff-Spear to manipulate starlight, would it have the same effect?"
"Your staff-spear is indeed extraordinary - likely a treasure of the Ancient Bhagavata Sect. Once you reach the peak of the Ninth Heaven, try it yourself and see if you can find the Cosmic (Qiankun) Shackle. Martial-Mystic Cultivators are approaching; I must leave now!" An Xianjing said.
"Wait a moment. We need to complete the act."
Under An Xianjing's astonished gaze, Li Weiyi suddenly erupted with Transcendental Qi, strode forward, and thrust his palm toward her chest.
"Boom!"
.....
A transcendent aura swept across the Sky, terrifying the Martial-Mystic Cultivators who had rushed to investigate the sea.
They scattered in panic.
Meanwhile, Demon Beasts in the nearby waters discovered An Xianjing's steadily flowing blood.
The Blood Qi was dense, each drop capable of staining vast stretches of the sea crimson.
Fifteen minutes later, Li Weiyi, clutching his wrist, returned to the area.
His palm still throbbed with pain: "How could the gap be so vast? We're both in the Immortal Realm. If Yao Qian had taken that palm strike unprepared, he'd be half-dead at best. But she... emerged completely unscathed."
In the end, An Xianjing had deliberately cut her wrist, releasing some blood to feign injury.
Li Weiyi spotted Yang Qingxi and Yang Qingchan on the sea surface, their hands clasped behind their backs.
He strode toward them, each step covering dozens of meters.
Yang Qingxi dared not approach the area where Yao Qian had fallen, but she could guess the battle's outcome.
Her eyes, dark and intense, fixed on Li Weiyi as she asked in a trembling, anxious voice, "Is my grandfather still alive?"
Li Weiyi met her gaze: "I won't lie to you. I killed Yang Yin."
Yang Qingxi remained silent for a long moment before nodding: "I understand."
She retrieved three severed heads and tossed them into the sea at Li Weiyi's feet.
Slowly, she turned to leave.
Li Weiyi's emotions were strangely complex.
"Yang Qingxi, I'll be waiting for your revenge at any time, but I hope you target only me."
"I won't seek revenge. I can't avenge him. You can already kill Immortal Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators. How could I possibly retaliate?"
Yang Qingxi turned away, her pent-up emotions erupting.
Her chest heaved, and tears of grief welled in her eyes: "Why? My grandfather never opposed you. You could have killed Yao Qian - if you had, I might even have thanked you. Now that my grandfather is gone, there's no one left to protect me in the Bright Rice Realm. The Yang Shenjing only cares about profit, not family ties."
"I don't believe I owe you anything. Every collaboration has been a mutually beneficial exchange. But this time, I'll consider myself indebted to you. If you ever need help in the future, you can come to me."
Li Weiyi didn't mention the five million Yongquan Coins.
He couldn't tell if Yang Qingxi's grief was genuine or an act. If her emotions were real, bringing it up would only inflict a second wound.
It was precisely because Yang Qingxi always left him uncertain about her true intentions that Li Weiyi chose to keep his distance.
The reason he showed her such leniency was that when she was genuine, she was exceptionally so.
Once Li Weiyi had vanished from sight, the tears in Yang Qingxi's eyes vanished.
"What a heart of stone," she murmured, "He wouldn't even take me in."
Yang Qingchan, seeing her sudden shift from sorrow to composure, asked in surprise, "Did you deliberately use this opportunity to soften his heart, making him feel indebted to you?"
"Let me ask you this," Yang Qingxi replied, "Are Li Weiyi and I enemies?"
"Since he declared in the White Desert that all past grievances were settled, he's no longer an enemy," Yang Qingchan answered.
"Then do we have any connection?"
"As humans, we all share emotions."
Yang Qingxi continued, "Even someone like Li Weiyi, who killed a stranger's grandfather, would feel guilt when confronted like that. Especially since we have a history - we've faced life-and-death situations together multiple times."
"Though I didn't achieve my primary goal, I gained two significant advantages. First, that old bastard Yang Yin, who always tried to use me as a bargaining chip to curry favor with the Rice Palace's Immortal Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators, is finally dead! With Yang Shenjing having lost both arms, he can no longer handle everything personally. From now on, he'll have no choice but to focus on nurturing you and me."
"Second, making Li Weiyi owe me a debt - that's quite satisfying!"
Yang Qingxi was a Rice Person, and Yang Yin was merely her nominal grandfather.
In reality, she had only met him four times in her entire life.
When Yao Qian tried to kill Yang Qingchan, Yang Yin had even voted in favor of it.
Yang Qingxi had never forgotten that betrayal.
...
The sun hung low in the sky, casting a shimmering glow across the sea.
On the desolate island, the Hidden Lord had already stored away the two Immortal Corpses.
He sat on a rocky outcrop, cradling a Sword Manual and gazing at it with profound interest.
"Who did you meet?" he asked.
"Yang Qingxi and Yang Qingchan," Li Weiyi replied.
The Hidden Lord remained unfazed, choosing not to press the matter.
He tossed the Sword Manual to Li Weiyi.
"Yang Yin's Profound Nine Light Illuminations is a technique he's never used before. It's not part of the Sui Sect's Sword Technique. The Sui Sect's techniques originate from the Jiu Li Clan and lack such profound mysteries."
Li Weiyi caught the manual and began to examine it.
"Impressive! Even though this is a transcribed copy, the person who copied it must have been a Transcendent. The Sword Dao Qi preserved within is remarkably potent. But why is it incomplete? Only four Illuminations?"
Losing interest, Li Weiyi casually tossed the manual into his Cosmic Pouch and asked, "What about the five Dragon Tendons? What's the decision?"
"The risk is too great!" the Hidden Lord sighed, "My position within the Jiu Li Clan is precarious. If my true identity were exposed, the consequences would be catastrophic."
"You've always been overly cautious, trying to cover all bases and maintain perfect stability," Li Weiyi retorted, "You lack the daring and ruthlessness that Yang Shenjing possessed. Well, to each their own. Give them to master Yao. She'll definitely dare to refine them."
"She's gone!" the Hidden Lord replied.
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END OF CHAPTER
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