Chapter 126: Colossal Headed Shadow
The severely wind-eroded stone tablet stood among the lush ancient trees on the opposite bank of the Great River. Most of the tablet was excavated, having previously been buried underground.
The four blurred inscriptions on the tablet, “Thirty-three Miles,” were not of this world’s writing; they were deciphered by a Spirit Mind Master who had lived for over a hundred years.
Li Weiyi wore a black night-walking clothes on the outside, an Iron Cloth Battle Robe and Rune Robe in the middle, and Corpse Clothes Soft Armor inside. With four layers of defense, his original figure was completely concealed, making him appear rather bulky.
He further used the Disguise Art to alter his facial muscles. He lowered his head slightly and walked past the line of sight of the top young generation experts from the Southern Territory, fearing recognition by people like Yang Qingxi and Shi Shishi who had seen him before.
The Silver Horned Deer carriage was parked by the river, its Carriage Curtain hung to both sides. Yang Qingxi sat inside and laughed, “Dispatching only five Five Seas Realm Martial Cultivators into the mountain. It seems the Zuo Qiu Gatehouse’s target this time is very clear: only the Immortal Soil.”
Zuo Qiu Ting fanned himself, “We came in a hurry and didn’t bring enough people.”
“If Young Master Zuo Qiu speaks, the Sui Sect will surely lend its full support. Why borrow people from the Jiu Li Tribe?” Yang Qingxi said.
Zuo Qiu Ting asked in a teasing tone, “If I borrow from Miss Qingxi now, is it still too late?”
Yang Qingxi smiled charmingly, not replying.
The Heartless Golden Ape, which had four arms, showed no deference or respect to Zuo Qiu Ting and said, “Immortal Soil is a good thing! Even the Spirit Soil near the Immortal Soil can increase the growth speed of medicinal herbs tenfold. But it’s not easy to dig up. In these past days, hundreds of Demonic Cultivators in the Spring Gushing Realm from my Tian Ya Ridge have died, and we only dug up half a jin of Immortal Soil and a hundred jin of Spirit Soil.”
“I heard Immortal Soil is the main ingredient for the Longevity Pill. Young Master Zuo Qiu, as a Successor of the Ten Million Gateways, should know some inside story, right?” Yang Qingxi asked.
Shi Shishi’s ears perked up.
Longevity Pills, the legendary number one treasure under heaven, with only ten appearing every sixty years. Even just to catch a whiff of them would cause those imposing Leaders to fight like dogs.
Zuo Qiu Ting looked at Yang Qingxi, understanding what she was thinking, and smiled, “With the peerless talent of the Gentleman Yao Qian, he has a great chance of entering the Longevity Realm even without the Longevity Pill.”
…
After crossing the river, Li Weiyi and Shang Zhi walked at the rear of the five-person team.
Shang Zhi had not brought the Green Python with Five Seas Realm strength, and he was in an excited state, full of anticipation for this trip. “Brother Sima, you don’t need to be so nervous. Many Spring Gushing Realm Martial Cultivators have returned safely with great gains. We are Five Seas Realm Experts, we can’t be worse than them, can we?”
Li Weiyi observed the teams from the Major Powers entering the mountain. “Before today, there were no large groups of Five Seas Realm Martial Cultivators entering Thirty-three Mile Mountain. Man-made disasters are often more dangerous.”
Shang Zhi nodded, “We indeed have to guard against the people from the Four Great Sects.”
“The leader of the Sui Sect is Xue Qi. He is exactly twenty years old this year, at the Second Realm of the Five Seas Realm. He is the most talented person of the Xue Family’s younger generation, quite formidable. He once fought with an elder expert of the Third Realm of the Five Seas Realm for dozens of rounds. I witnessed that battle in Yaoguan City with my own eyes. It would be difficult to defeat him without using his Shapeshifting Battle Intent.”
Li Weiyi couldn’t help but glance more at someone who could fight across realms.
Xue Qi rode a beast at the Spring Gushing level, his body wrapped in Departed Spirit Human Skin. He held a white Yin Banner in his hand and a Magic Tool Saber hung at his waist, exuding a strong leadership aura as he led a large group of people into the mountain mist and radiance first.
The Sui Sect, being a local power, could quickly gather a large number of Spring Gushing Realm death warriors.
Shang Zhi, as a Nine Springs Supreme Person, had high standards. “The leaders of the Tian Yi Sect and Coffin Sea Pavilion are so-so. However, Chen Song of San Chen Palace is said to be one of the three Nine Springs Supreme Persons of the Chen Clan’s younger generation. After swallowing the Dyeing Cloud Exotic Medicine, he broke through his second Sea of Qi and entered the Second Realm of the Five Seas Realm.”
With the Dyeing Cloud Exotic Medicine continuously appearing in Zangxian Town over the past six months, the number of Nine Springs Supreme Persons and Pure Immortal Bodies in the Major Powers had increased significantly, causing their value to decline somewhat.
Chen Song had opened up his ancestral field before this. He was also wrapped in Departed Spirit Human Skin, the human skin face being that of a disheveled old man with very sharp eyes.
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming, riding a strong horse at the forefront, held a Green Yin Banner shrunk to just over two meters long. Hearing the conversation behind him, he said, “You are now working for the Zuo Qiu Gatehouse, so why fear the Four Great Sects? Can’t your Jiu Li Tribe’s Martial Cultivators have some ambition? The Four Great Sects were once merely your vassals and servants.”
“Besides, Xue Qi, an Eight Springs Pure Immortal Body, and Chen Song, a Mortal Nine Springs Supreme Person, they don’t have the guts to be my enemies.”
Tian Che walked forward with a spear and chuckled, “Senior Disciple Brother Bai Ming is a Nine Springs Pure Immortal Body who has Broken Five Seas, they cannot compare to him.”
“Just work for the Zuo Qiu Gatehouse with peace of mind. Leave the safety issues to us,” Zuo Qiu Lanlan said.
Shang Zhi gave an awkward wry smile, feeling that the Jiu Li Tribe’s Martial Cultivators, from top to bottom, had indeed lost some of their sharpness over the years.
Li Weiyi’s mentality was different from Shang Zhi’s; he always felt that the people from the Zuo Qiu Gatehouse were overly confident.
In a place like Thirty-three Mile Mountain, who would care about your identity? Who would fight you one-on-one?
In Zuo Qiu Bai Ming, he saw the duality of these sect disciples. A superior background could cultivate a Heaven’s Chosen like Zuo Qiu Ting, who was full of confidence, wisdom, and integrity. However, it could also give rise to Martial Cultivators who were overconfident, arrogant, and boastful.
As they spoke, the group of five entered the Immortal Mist and walked uphill on the thick fallen leaves.
The other teams had all disappeared.
The forest was unusually quiet, with only the footsteps and breathing of the five people.
“We only have three days. We must descend the mountain before the mist recedes. We won’t search for Golden Springs and Dyeing Cloud Exotic Medicine in this area below the mountain. We’ll go directly to the mountain area nine miles above to excavate Immortal Soil. We need to be fast, everyone keep up.”
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming rode his horse at a fast pace.
All four were Five Seas Realm Martial Cultivators and could keep up.
Li Weiyi took out a Radiant Flame Pill and swallowed it. Compared to Immortal Soil, he was more interested in Golden Springs and had been secretly using his Heavenly Eye to search for them along the way.
Upon reaching four miles up the mountain, they encountered the corpses of five Spring Gushing Realm Martial Cultivators.
Their deaths were tragic. Some had their hearts gouged out by unknown creatures, their chest wounds and pale bodies making one’s scalp tingle. Another had lost half its body; the upper half seemed to have been eaten in one bite, with irregular bite marks around the waist.
Thirty-three Mile Mountain itself was mysterious and unfathomable, rumored to be a burial ground for immortals. The scene before them sent chills down their spines, filling them with fear of the unknown.
“This doesn’t look like a man-made disaster!”
Zuo Qiu Lanlan, who appeared to be in her early twenties, had a beautiful face of a Pure Immortal Body with mature charm, but now showed unease, a stark contrast to her composure below the mountain.
Li Weiyi was very bold. He walked over to observe for a while and began to search the corpses.
A money bag was not present.
However, from the pocket of one of the corpses, he retrieved three stalks of Dyeing Cloud Exotic Medicine and an Iron Bottle. He was clearly the leader of this small team of Spring Gushing Realm cultivators, and the collected items were all on him.
He unscrewed the Iron Bottle, and golden light erupted from within, emitting a delicate fragrance.
Li Weiyi was overjoyed and immediately re-covered it, stuffing it into his embrace.
Tian Che, Zuo Qiu Lanlan, and Shang Zhi were filled with regret. If they had known the harvest would be so great, they should have rushed forward to search the bodies earlier.
Let alone them, even Zuo Qiu Bai Ming was moved: “We are a team. After entering the mountain, besides the Immortal Soil, it would be better to divide the remaining spoils equally to avoid contradictions due to unequal distribution.”
Why didn’t you say so before finding the treasure?
Li Weiyi frowned, but did not object. He took out three stalks of Dyeing Cloud Exotic Medicine and handed them to Zuo Qiu Lanlan: “Golden Spring, I have important use for it. I won’t take the three exotic medicines!”
Under the Departed Spirit Human Skin, Zuo Qiu Bai Ming’s eyes revealed a satisfied smile.
This was the charm of power and absolute strength. Any word he spoke was an imperial decree that everyone had to obey.
But Li Weiyi’s next sentence made the smile in his eyes disappear instantly.
“Senior Disciple Brother Bai Ming is indeed a Heavenly Prodigy of the Zuo Qiu Gatehouse, truly admirable. If I were the Leader and possessed your powerful cultivation, I definitely wouldn’t distribute it equally; I would take at least half,” Li Weiyi said.
Shang Zhi nodded in deep agreement: “I might have to take the lion’s share myself! Sometimes, one has to admit that character truly exists.”
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming felt uncomfortable and cursed his miscalculation. It was too late to change his statement now. He said, “Lanlan, put away all the exotic medicines first and we’ll divide them after descending the mountain.”
“Who’s there?”
Tian Che raised his Magic Tool Spear and shouted into the mist.
Everyone followed his gaze, their faces changed, and they quickly circulated the Magic Power within their bodies.
They repositioned and contracted their defenses.
In the mist twenty zhang away, stood a strange black figure. It looked like a human, but its head was too large, one-third of its body length. Its exact appearance was unclear, but its long hair could be seen, and one could feel being watched by it.
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming snorted and condensed a Flying Dagger in his palm with Magic Energy, striking it out with a “swish.”
The Giant Head Humanoid black figure disappeared.
“What kind of monster is it? Could it be that these Spring Gushing Realm Martial Cultivators were killed by it?” Zuo Qiu Lanlan looked around nervously, her heart unsettled.
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming said, “With the Yin Banner and Sky Flame Saber in hand, I can deal with anything, whether it’s alive or a departed spirit. However… we should hurry and leave this cursed place.”
They continued to advance up the mountain.
There was no path, and the slope became steeper and steeper. The five of them shuttled through thorns and jungle.
Li Weiyi and Shang Zhi led the way.
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming had long since abandoned his horse, holding the High-grade Magic Tool Sky Flame Saber, and walked at the rear to reinforce their position. The Zuo Qiu Gatehouse had given him all their top-tier War Weapons and Battle Treasures, arming him to the extreme.
The journey was relatively smooth; the Giant Head Humanoid did not reappear. In less than three hours, they had climbed to below a waterfall located on Nine Li Mountain.
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming ordered everyone to stop and surveyed the surroundings: “Now that we’re at Nine Li Mountain, there’s a chance to dig up Immortal Soil. Everyone spread out and search. Don’t go too far. When you hear my whistle, return immediately the way you came.”
“What does Immortal Soil actually look like?” Shang Zhi asked.
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming said, “You should look for the drifting trajectory of the Immortal Mist in the jungle. Following the trajectory, you might find Immortal Soil. Immortal Soil is hard to describe specifically, but once you see it, you will naturally know it’s Immortal Soil, and definitely not Spirit Soil or mineral mud.”
“Also… any Immortal Soil you dig up, hand it to me first. I will help you keep track of the amount.”
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming rushed into the jungle first, wanting to dig up more Immortal Soil to prove himself to Zuo Qiu Ting.
Tian Che and Zuo Qiu Lanlan headed in another direction.
Shang Zhi said, “Brother Sima, do you want to team up?”
Li Weiyi shook his head and sat down on a giant stone: “Aren’t you tired at all? I’m going to rest for a while anyway. It’s only three days, no need to rush.”
“Haha, alright. If I find any Immortal Soil later, don’t be jealous. One or two stalks of Immortal Soil are worth three hundred thousand silver; such great opportunities are rare in a lifetime.”
Shang Zhi shouldered his saber and left, disappearing into the mist.
Li Weiyi still held a sense of reverence for Thirty-Three Li.
Zuo Qiu Bai Ming definitely knew something. First, he said, “We’ll divide the exotic medicines after descending the mountain,” and then he said, “Hand over all the dug-up Immortal Soil to me first.” His words seemed to imply that some of them might not be able to descend the mountain alive.
Li Weiyi stayed behind alone, not for rest, but because he had his eye on the hundred-meter-high shallow golden cliff face where the waterfall was located. And below the cliff face, there were also shallow golden stones everywhere.
