Chapter 287: Four Temples Of The Rice Sect
Yang Yun surprisingly survived the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival and appeared at the Rice Sect Main Altar, leaving Li Weiyi extremely surprised.
He not only cultivated the Nine Springs, but also underwent metamorphosis into a Pure Immortal Body. His cultivation aura had greatly advanced, seemingly reaching the Third Realm of the Five Seas Realm, and the unruly temperament on his body had become even stronger.
Li Weiyi was investigating Qi Xiao’s disappearance, and various strange events that emerged at this moment had more definite answers.
It seemed that Yang Qingxi and the Sui Sect Yang Family were indeed connected to the Rice Cult.
Could Yang Yun also have grown up in the rice paddies?
Li Weiyi’s current appearance had a slightly plump face, medium build, around thirty years old. He walked to Yang Yun’s side and looked at the various items placed on the stall.
His gaze glanced toward the stall owner sitting behind the stall.
That stall owner had three blood-colored spirit grains on his sleeve cuff, his real age indiscernible but definitely over thirty. It was hard to judge his cultivation realm, but he definitely had not reached the Dao Seed Realm.
The number of blood-colored spirit grains on the sleeve cuff was one more than the two inner disciples he had encountered outside the Southern Clear Palace before.
His status should be higher.
Li Weiyi worked hard to gather information about this unfamiliar world, his gaze falling on the insect eggs in the clay pot on the stall.
Two insect eggs, the size of rice grains, emitted a jade-white glow, attached to the leaves of a century-old Precious Medicine.
“Has Yang Yun struck it rich? He can already afford the insect eggs of a Commander Level Strange Insect?”
After observing for a moment, Li Weiyi reminded, “This is indeed the insect egg of a Commander Level Strange Insect!”
Yang Yun and that core disciple both looked toward him.
That core disciple showed a smile: “Finally, someone who knows his stuff has come.”
Li Weiyi changed the subject: “However, these are the insect eggs of the Turtle Snake Snail, slow in speed and weak in attack. Among Commander Level Strange Insects, it’s considered quite mediocre.”
That core disciple retracted his smile, seeing that the other truly understood Insect Taming: “Even if mediocre, it’s still Commander Level. Once mature, its combat power can match a Dao Seed Realm Martial Cultivator.”
Li Weiyi said: “The problem is right here! To hatch it requires at least thirty years. To raise it to maturity requires at least a Jia Zi. Moreover, after maturity, it can live at most another thirty years.”
Yang Yun’s eyes darkened coldly, sneering: “No wonder you’re selling it. You actually want twenty hundred thousand Spring Coins for this kind of Strange Insect?”
That core disciple didn’t even look at Yang Yun, his gaze fixed on Li Weiyi: “This one is Elder Shu’s registered disciple, Dao Zhenhui. Did Your Excellency take offense somewhere?”
“Seeing injustice on the road, I draw my blade to help. That’s all.” Li Weiyi smiled.
Yang Yun cast a grateful look and cupped his fists.
Dao Zhenhui stood up, magic energy leaking from his pores, revealing the cultivation realm of the Sixth Sea of the Five Seas Realm: “Leave your name, let me see if I can afford to offend you.”
“Just you?”
Li Weiyi’s mouth curved upward. He didn’t use magic energy or battle intent, afraid of being sensed and exposed by Yang Yun.
Spiritual light lit up at his brow, mind power exploding forth.
Thud thud thud, Dao Zhenhui was shocked by the mind force attack into retreating three steps, his face alternating between gloom and uncertainty. In the end, he cupped his hands and deeply bowed.
A Spirit Mind Master—someone he couldn’t afford to offend.
Li Weiyi and Yang Yun walked together toward the outside of the market town.
“Thanks to Senior Disciple Brother for your righteous help. Otherwise, I really would have been tricked out of a large sum of wealth by that Dao Zhenhui. This debt, Yun will settle with him sooner or later.” Yang Yun was very respectful to Li Weiyi.
Li Weiyi said: “This one is Zuo Sheng! Brother Yun, how should I address you?”
“Yun Yang.”
Under Yang Yun’s mask, his eyes were filled with sincerity and respect.
The heaven and earth where the Rice Cult Headquarters was located always had dim skies.
A bright formation moon hung in the sky dome, casting down radiant light like rain.
This moon was visually three or four times larger than the full moon visible in the Surface World.
As they walked out of the market town, the magic energy concentration dropped rapidly.
On both sides of the rice paddies were towering mountain peaks, the trees and vegetation on the mountains emitting purple-red glows, with the muffled cries of exotic beasts and strange birds coming from them.
The rice paddies were shrouded in formation light gauze, faintly revealing stalks of plants over ten meters tall planted inside.
The two grew more and more congenial as they chatted.
Li Weiyi said: “Brother Yun is like me, not a Rice Person born and raised in the headquarters, right?”
“I’ve only been at the headquarters for a few months.”
Yang Yun added: “Is Senior Disciple Brother Zuo also from outside?”
Li Weiyi showed no guard against him at all, nodding: “I was born in the rice paddies of the Zuo Qiu Gatehouse, grew up in Qiu Prefecture. Because of my outstanding talent, I was specially trained and later granted the Zuo surname. I only arrived at the headquarters a few days ago with the Fourth Divine Son… my first time here…”
Yang Yun had no doubts.
Anyone who could come to the headquarters from outside had absolutely undergone rigorous checks.
Yang Yun reminded: “Since Senior Disciple Brother Zuo has status outside, it’s better to wear a mask. Not afraid of ten thousand, but afraid of the one in ten thousand.”
Li Weiyi suddenly understood in his heart.
So those cultivators he saw wearing masks in the market town earlier were all people with status outside.
Li Weiyi smiled: “Thanks to Brother Yun for telling me, but no matter, I used the Disguise Art. Besides, anyone who can come to the headquarters is absolutely trustworthy.”
Yang Yun asked curiously: “Senior Disciple Brother Zuo, as a strong practitioner like you, were you also implanted with Death Spiritual Fire?”
Li Weiyi’s expression turned serious. After walking a distance, he said: “There’s no way around it! Rice People not born and raised in the headquarters are hard to trust. The Divine Cult will definitely find ways to control them.”
He then added: “But I can understand. The headquarters’ location is top secret; once leaked, it’s a heaven-collapsing disaster. Especially the headquarters entrance location—it’s the utmost secret among secrets.”
Yang Yun was startled: “Senior Disciple Brother Zuo knows where the entrance is?”
“You actually don’t know?” Li Weiyi countered, somewhat disappointed in his heart.
“My cultivation is low, and…”
Yang Yun couldn’t say he wasn’t a Rice Person, afraid of being seen as an outsider: “When I came in, my five senses were sealed.”
“I see.”
Li Weiyi changed his address, amiably saying: “Junior Disciple Brother Yun, how much do you know about the headquarters? I just arrived and feel shocked at every step. Who would have thought the headquarters is so vast and huge, practically an independent world.”
Able to provide help to a Spirit Mind Master, Yang Yun was suddenly surging with excitement. He laughed heartily: “Actually, I don’t know much either. My sis… I rarely leave my cultivation area. The headquarters has many dangers. Spirit Valley Hall manages loosely, with no explicit ban on fights between disciples. If you’re not careful and offend powerful figures, there might even be life-threatening danger.”
Li Weiyi said: “Isn’t that chaos?”
Yang Yun said: “Not that exaggerated! The headquarters also has Ku Rong Hall, which wields great authority over rewards and punishments. If any disciple really acts recklessly, the penalties are quite severe—whipping and caning are routine; fire punishment, insect punishment, and Divine Prison are worse than death.”
So the Divine Prison was related to Ku Rong Hall.
Li Weiyi knew that Tuoba Bu Tuo and the others had been imprisoned in the Divine Prison.
But right now, whether he himself could escape alive was unknown, so he naturally couldn’t worry about them.
Li Weiyi nodded again, then asked: “Junior Disciple Brother Yun, what exactly is Spirit Valley Hall like?”
Yang Yun spoke freely: “The Divine Cult has four halls: Heavenly Principle Hall, Spirit Valley Hall, Ku Rong Hall, and Under Heaven Hall.”
“Heavenly Principle Hall ranks first, responsible for sacrifices, codexes, transmitting doctrines and spreading teachings, mainly focused on mind power cultivation. Almost all the headquarters’ formations, departed spirits, fierce insects, artifact refining, and medicine planting are managed by them.”
“Spirit Valley Hall is responsible for cultivating outer sect spirit children, inner disciples, core disciples, and even some true disciples under their management. At the same time, responsible for planting high-quality Benevolent Rice and raising young ones.”
“Like Under Heaven Hall, Spirit Valley Hall is divided into twenty-eight prefectures according to the Twenty-Eight Prefectures of Lingxiao.”
“The difference is that Spirit Valley Hall’s twenty-eight prefectures cultivate outstanding talents internally.”
“Under Heaven Hall’s twenty-eight elders, plus five venerables, handle external affairs for the outside world.”
Yang Yun lowered his voice: “I heard that a large portion of the twenty-eight elders of Spirit Valley Hall’s twenty-eight prefectures look exactly the same as the twenty-eight elders of Under Heaven Hall—they are one symbiotic stalk.”
One symbiotic stalk, two sharing the same root.
One outside, one inside.
Li Weiyi secretly marveled at the terrifying strength of the Twin Rice Cult.
But thinking that many years ago they had already mastered and developed the vast resources of the Underground Immortal Mansion, inheriting the various codexes and Daoist Arts of the Ancient Bhakara Sect, they could indeed silently grow strong in hidden places.
Li Weiyi asked: “Aren’t the four hall masters even more powerful than the five venerables?”
“Of course. The five venerables all belong to Under Heaven Hall, and together with Under Heaven Hall’s three deputy hall masters, form an eight-person group—the Divine Cult’s main force for exerting influence externally.”
At this point, Yang Yun showed a proud expression.
Li Weiyi secretly guessed that the Sui Sect might also have members of the eight-person group, but afraid of giving himself away, he didn’t pursue questioning. Suddenly looking up toward the distance, he sighed: “Who knows how big this headquarters is? Can’t see the end at a glance!”
Yang Yun smiled, showing off: “The headquarters, just the area under Spirit Valley Hall’s jurisdiction at our feet, has twenty-eight prefectures distributed, each with a Heaven Earth Spring and numerous Benevolent Rice paddies. Anyway, it’s said that walking hundreds of li in one direction reveals the formation boundary.”
The two walked and chatted, exiting the rice paddy area.
At the foot of a dark, massive mountain, they saw a Spirit Valley Hall stone tablet over seventy to eighty meters tall.
Spirit Valley Hall was situated in a valley where glowing giant trees hundreds of meters tall grew, palace halls, scripture towers, and Buddhist Pagodas half-hidden among the branches and leaves.
Undoubtedly, the vast majority of buildings were left by the Pojia Luo Cult tens of thousands of years ago.
In front of the valley were many training grounds and dojos, with young disciples frequently arriving from various directions, presenting life tokens and entering the formation light screen like walking into a water curtain.
They arrived outside the formation at Spirit Valley Hall’s sect gate.
Yang Yun took out his life token and looked at Li Weiyi: “Senior Disciple Brother Zuo, your life token?”
Li Weiyi said: “I haven’t gotten mine yet.”
Doubt appeared in Yang Yun’s eyes: “The life token is extremely important. The headquarters’ formations, guardian exotic beasts, patrol guards, and enforcement team all recognize only it. Life token, life token—it’s tied to your life and should have been obtained on the first day!”
Li Weiyi knew he couldn’t hide it anymore. He scanned the surroundings and saw no other martial cultivators. Thus, using the Spirit Treasure Seizing technique, he snatched the life token from Yang Yun’s hand.
Inside the life token, blood exclusive to Yang Yun flowed, making Li Weiyi slightly furrow his brow.
Yang Yun was stunned, not knowing what this Senior Disciple Brother Zuo intended, but already sensing something wrong.
“Bang!”
Li Weiyi slapped the back of his head with one palm, the palm containing powerful mind power.
Yang Yun’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
Li Weiyi dragged the limp Yang Yun back to the rice paddy area.
In a hidden corner, he stripped off Yang Yun’s inner disciple rice robe at the fastest speed and put it on himself.
