Chapter 293: Becoming Yao Qingxuan’s Disciple
“What? Tang Wanzhou?”
Li Weiyi was bewildered, not understanding why she asked that.
Yao Qingxuan could tell Li Weiyi truly knew nothing, and her willow brows furrowed, her gaze filled with doubt.
In the past two months, Li Weiyi had been secluded in cultivation at Southern Clear Palace, peaceful and carefree. She, however, had been playing cat-and-mouse with Tang Wanzhou in the peripheral region of the headquarters, holding the upper hand, firmly suppressing Tang Wanzhou, catching up to her several times and wounding her, but always unable to capture her.
A thousand years ago, the cataclysm that erupted in Lingxiao Life Realm had devastated the land, collapsing mountains and diverting rivers.
It was at that time that Twin Rice Cult accidentally discovered the entrance to the Underground Immortal Mansion, opening this immortal secret realm and obtaining the infinite treasures left by Ancient Bhakara Sect.
Because Zen Sea Observing Mist had always prohibited planting Benevolent Rice in Lingxiao Life Realm, Rice Cult was in decline at the time, only able to hide and survive stealthily, excavating the secret realm bit by bit, exploring the treasury, and battling the fierce insects, departed spirits, and unknown anomalies in the Underground Immortal Mansion.
This matter was of great importance, so they dared not let too many people know.
The process of exploration and excavation was the process by which Twin Rice Cult gradually grew stronger step by step.
But the Underground Immortal Mansion was too vast, like a hollow sphere thousands of miles in diameter, built by Ancient Bhakara Sect for at least twenty to thirty thousand years, containing countless dangers, mysteries, and endless treasures and resources.
Twin Rice Cult spent a thousand years exploring and constructing, but had only cleared and renovated the hundreds of miles near the entrance, completing the construction. In terms of volume, it occupied less than one percent of the entire Underground Immortal Mansion.
The tycoons in the cult naturally reached farther places, but dangers abounded, requiring step-by-step deployment of defense formations, followed by expansion and digestion.
They dared not make too much noise, causing earthquakes that would be detected by the transcendent beings of Lingxiao Life Realm.
The speed of renovation and construction was countless times slower than mere exploration.
Some places even made Rice Ancestor extremely wary, requiring them to go around.
Of course, the entrance Twin Rice Cult used to enter the Underground Immortal Mansion was not the one blasted open by Qilin Zhuang with a supreme magic tool a year ago. It was elsewhere.
In fact, Twin Rice Cult was completely unaware of the entrance blasted open by Qilin Zhuang, which happened to be at the farthest edge of their exploration area.
It was precisely because Qilin Zhuang had played them that Twin Rice Cult was forced to gradually reveal its fangs from hiding, exposing itself openly, implementing the plan ahead of time, and intensifying its activities.
Normally, they planned to wait until Snow Sword Tang Court advanced from the south, Zuo Qiu Gatehouse from the north, and the righteous army under heaven destroyed Lingxiao Palace, then emerge to clean up the remnants and pick the final fruit of victory.
Because of Qilin Zhuang’s interference, all forces in Lingxiao Life Realm, both overt and covert, had their plans completely disrupted.
In these two months, Yao Qingxuan’s pursuit of Tang Wanzhou had taken place outside the formations in this headquarters area that had already been constructed.
Layer upon layer of formations, like a thousand-layer cake, built over a millennium, enveloped the entire headquarters.
But they were not impenetrable; Yao Qingxuan suspected Tang Wanzhou had found a gap and escaped inside.
Seeing the peerless beauty before him with a flickering expression, Li Weiyi tentatively asked: “Has Tang Wanzhou escaped from Divine Prison, or was she never caught?”
“What? Learning she’s on the run makes you happy?” Yao Qingxuan said.
“Tang Wanzhou is my friend.”
Li Weiyi did not bother with lowly excuses in front of a Longevity Realm giant, which would only make her look down on him.
Yao Qingxuan said: “You care so much about your friend, but do you know that your other two friends might be suffering inhuman torment right now? Can you care for them all?”
Li Weiyi’s expression tightened: “Which two is Senior Yao referring to?”
Yao Qingxuan and An Xianjing both wore plain white, untainted by dust, but one was clear and the other serene, one cold and the other gentle.
This extraordinary woman who once captivated the world had long, straight beautiful legs like Yao Yin, an extremely high waistline, firm and lofty peaks, and an even more graceful demeanor. Walking ahead, she brought a wafting fragrance, her immortal skirt fluttering as she stepped into the rice paddy light gauze.
Li Weiyi followed closely behind, pressing: “Is Senior referring to two of the people captured two months ago?”
Though he always addressed her as “Senior,” he often felt dazed, thinking she was Yao Yin grown up—they looked so alike.
Of course, now in danger, and with her being a ruthless figure, Li Weiyi naturally did not dare offend her.
In the Blood Field, the Golden Rice grew astonishingly.
From three feet tall two months ago, it had grown to over three meters, multiplying several times.
The golden glow it emitted was even brighter, with over a dozen leaves full of golden texture, sharp like saw teeth, brimming with vibrant life energy inside.
It was completely different; it felt like it could truly grow an extraordinary heavenly prodigy to crush all human race masters.
A captivating shallow smile appeared on Yao Qingxuan’s jade-like cool face, anticipation rising in her heart, only for her to suppress it again: “You didn’t water it with your own blood, did you?”
“No, I used the Fusang Divine Tree Light Shadow to give it light. With magic energy, to help it breathe better.”
“It is the product of your and Hall Master An’s efforts; watering it with my blood would be a blasphemy to you both.”
Li Weiyi smoothly mobilized a strand of magic energy, which flew out from his fingertip, turning into mist that enveloped the Golden Rice.
Immediately, the Golden Rice visibly breathed in and out.
“You’re overthinking it, inviting trouble. On the path of cultivation, you will bleed countless times, either soaking the earth or being harvested by others. If watering a single plant makes you so conflicted and wary, your state of mind must be a tangled mess—when will it ever become clear and thorough?”
Yao Qingxuan sliced open her slender jade-white wrist, sprinkling blood into the rice paddy.
She also had Li Weiyi take out the Cold Jade Bottle, filling it full for watering over the next two months.
On her wrist, light shimmered, and the wound vanished.
“The person you had Hall Master An help find—you had a major incident outside, she had no time to help you. Before leaving, she asked me to find him for you, saying you have a weakness, which would help her raise the rice better.”
Yao Qingxuan continued: “That person was imprisoned in Divine Prison. By the time my people found Divine Prison, he had already been taken away by Fourth Divine Son Wang Shu. Taken away at the same time was the successor of the Tuoba Clan from the Northern Territory.”
Li Weiyi’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He naturally knew about his grudge with that Fourth Divine Son.
No need to guess—Wang Zhi and he were definitely the Rice Person Brothers, looking exactly alike.
“He doesn’t dare barge into Southern Clear Palace, so he’s using my two friends to force me out.”
Li Weiyi looked at Yao Qingxuan’s indifferent demeanor: “Soldier against soldier, general against general. I guess that Puppet Rice Scarecrow, even if from Heavenly Principle Hall, isn’t controlled by some old guy. Most likely it’s Wang Shu; to deal with me, he doesn’t even care about you, a Venerable.”
Yao Qingxuan slightly raised her head, looking at Li Weiyi who was half a head taller than her, giving him a cold glance: “Is this the level of Jiu Li Hidden Sect’s Hidden Person? Using such a straightforward method to exploit a Longevity Realm giant?”
Li Weiyi hurriedly explained: “Senior’s sword throw was certainly dominant. But wasn’t it also bringing potential conflicts into the open?”
“Seeing one spot reveals the whole—from this, Rice Cult internally is far from united; there must be struggles over benefits and power.”
“This time, the opponent suffered no loss, only suppressed for the moment. It’s foreseeable that soon they will probe Senior’s bottom line again, eroding Senior’s dignity as a Venerable.”
“Once this precedent is set, will the seven great elders of the Southern Territory under Senior’s command, and those below them, think Senior is strong on the outside but weak within, breeding disloyalty? And will the people above in Divine Cult think Senior lacks ability?”
With Yao Qingxuan’s status, since she sent people to find Qi Xiao, how could those sent not go demand the person from Wang Shu?
There was only one explanation.
They did, but Wang Shu didn’t give face.
Yao Qingxuan had deliberately said earlier “your friends might be suffering inhuman torment” to provoke Li Weiyi’s nerves, pushing him to go fight Wang Shu in the arena.
Li Weiyi naturally followed her line of thinking obediently.
Yao Qingxuan stared straight into Li Weiyi’s eyes, her gaze like two cold stars.
Li Weiyi met her gaze for a moment, then bowed deeply: “With Senior’s status, you naturally disdain dealing with a mere Wang Shu. Give this junior an identity, and this junior will resolve your worries, making the provocateur pay the price.”
“What identity do you want?” Yao Qingxuan said.
“I and Yao Yin are as close as brother and sister; I can be Senior’s disciple.”
Li Weiyi knew clearly that to escape the headquarters, he had to proceed step by step.
The first step was to obtain an official identity allowing free movement in the headquarters; otherwise, being confined to Southern Clear Palace was tantamount to waiting for death.
Yao Qingxuan said: “You want to join Divine Cult?”
“Divine Cult has done nothing wrong to me; Hall Master An and Senior Yao are benevolent and kind-hearted, greatly changing my impression of Divine Cult and stirring my desire to pursue it.”
Li Weiyi spoke clearly and loudly: “Twin Rice Cult, invincible in battle. Ancestor of Rice Cult, accomplished in civil and martial virtues, for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations, unifying under heaven.”
Yao Qingxuan was momentarily dazed: “Looks like you took my earlier words to heart! But if I ask you where Jiu Li Hidden Sect is hiding, how would you respond?”
Li Weiyi said: “I won’t betray Jiu Li Hidden Sect.”
“Then where is your sincerity in joining Divine Cult?” Yao Qingxuan said.
Li Weiyi was about to say some grand and righteous words to show his integrity and pride.
Yao Qingxuan spoke first: “If those old guys in the cult ask, just push it to me. If you can’t deflect, just tell them directly.”
“Li Zhou has always been the edge area of under heaven; Divine Cult currently has no spare capacity to target Jiu Li Hidden Sect. In the overall situation under heaven, with Lingxiao City, Far West Ash Region, Demon Race, Zuo Qiu Gatehouse, Snow Sword Tang Court, Lei Xiao Sect, Zhu Men, Dragon Gate… Jiu Li and Jiu Li Hidden Sect, which have always been declining, rank after tenth place.”
“With the temperament of Jiu Li tribe leaders who are good at enduring and willing to yield, it is also a way of self-preservation.”
Li Weiyi was completely stunned, his eyes flickering, very much wanting to ask the question that had always lingered in his heart.
It must be known that the first time Li Weiyi heard of “Twin Rice Cult” was from Hidden Lord.
Hidden Lord said a Hidden Elder had relayed news that he had been targeted by Twin Rice Cult. He also said the Hidden Elder was investigating the reason, wanting to resolve the danger in advance.
Clearly, there was definitely a Hidden Elder lurking in Twin Rice Cult.
Moreover, if the one targeting him was An Xianjing, how could the Hidden Elder learn of it so quickly?
They must be very close to An Xianjing.
So Li Weiyi had long been speculating whether Yao Qingxuan was that Hidden Elder?
He hadn’t dared ask, first because when Yao Qingxuan first appeared, she was extremely intimidating, striking ruthlessly with corpses everywhere; Li Weiyi was very wary of her then, seeing her as a female demon.
Second, her talent was too high; Li Weiyi felt even Old Li might not be her match. Even if she was from the hidden sect, she should be the Hidden Lord from the previous Jia Zi cycle.
Third, Li Weiyi worried that asking would expose the secret of a Hidden Elder in Twin Rice Cult, bringing danger to the Hidden Elder.
Fourth, if Yao Qingxuan was the Hidden Elder, why not avoid suspicion?
Logically, she should have directly sent Li Weiyi to Divine Prison or immediately handed him to An Xianjing, avoiding involvement.
Li Weiyi asked: “Isn’t Senior Yao curious where Jiu Li Hidden Sect is hiding?”
“Not curious!”
Yao Qingxuan added: “Taking you as disciple means I must bear all consequences of your actions.”
“I will plant Death Spiritual Fire in your body; if you dare do anything detrimental to Divine Cult, with a single thought I can make you annihilate. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I can find you.”
Li Weiyi couldn’t confirm Yao Qingxuan’s identity, but he could confirm that a Guardian Wife should be able to block her Death Spiritual Fire.
Thus, he said: “Senior can rest assured; this junior knows his limits.”
“Still calling me Senior?”
…
Li Weiyi followed Yao Qingxuan out of Southern Clear Palace, preparing to head to Spirit Valley Hall for the core disciple assessment.
With a Venerable personally leading him, it was equivalent to vouching for him. Plus Yao Qingxuan’s relationship with the Hall Master of Spirit Valley Hall, the assessment was naturally just a formality, confirming he had Spirit Mind Master cultivation.
