Chapter 301: Yin Corpse Rice Planting
The Great Phoenix has two layers of wings, the outer layer being feathers of five colors and ten hues, as resplendent as phoenix wings.
On the inner side of the wings is a layer of membrane wings filled with mysterious textures, sharp like magic tool swords.
Its body emits a five-colored lapis lazuli radiance, with six sharp claws covered in dense scales, the claw hooks razor-sharp.
After reaching the Dao Seed Realm, even without releasing its disguised aura, it possesses an intimidating momentum. A single one of them can challenge strong practitioners like Ye Nanfeng at the Inferior Root Dao Seed Realm Third Heaven.
If using commander-level strength and aura to summon the insect swarm for aid, it can even emerge victorious.
The Great Phoenix leads the way ahead, arriving at a small pavilion building in the Southern Clear Palace near the crimson fire bamboo forest, where the air is filled with the fresh scent of bamboo leaves.
The small building is only two stories tall, with a pavilion-style structure, no windows, only wooden walls four feet high.
Li Weiyi has cleaned the book pavilion.
The bookshelves are all covered in dust; Yao Qingxuan hardly ever comes here.
On the second floor.
Tang Wanzhou sits cross-legged between two bookshelves, flipping through a yellowed booklet.
In the pursuit and kill, she was gravely injured, even her hair ornament shattered by Yao Qingxuan, appearing utterly disheveled.
At this moment, her long hair drapes down on both sides of her cheeks, her face pale without a trace of blood color, her magic tool shoes lost, her bare jade feet exposed, leaning against the bookshelf in a most unladylike manner.
“Thud thud!”
Footsteps come from the staircase.
Soon, Li Weiyi sees her, immediately getting a headache, nervously glancing toward the distant blue-tiled jade hall, and says in a low voice: “Young Lord, what are you doing escaping here?”
Tang Wanzhou, not having found the information she sought, puts the booklet back on the shelf and looks up: “That Southern Venerable has left, so naturally I’ve come!”
“If this is discovered, I couldn’t wash it clean even if I jumped into the Sui River,” Li Weiyi says.
Tang Wanzhou replies: “Then you becoming a disciple of an evil cult venerable, being intimate with Yang Qingxi, how do you explain that to your fiancée Zuo Qiu Hong Ting and Li Songgu?”
Li Weiyi gazes at her for a moment: “What is the Young Lord’s purpose in coming to the headquarters? To save people, or was it premeditated?”
Tang Wanzhou leans against the bookshelf, eyes closed, her eyelashes very long: “Don’t be so nervous. This Lord isn’t here to coerce you into helping me. It’s just that this Southern Clear Palace happens to be the safest place in the evil cult headquarters, suitable for hiding. You’re in a perilous situation, not in control of your own body, yet you still think of rescuing Qi Xiao and Tuo Ba Bu Tuo, even at the risk of placing yourself in greater danger. To be honest, I admire you greatly, because in terms of loyalty and righteousness, I am not your equal.”
Tang Wanzhou does not give a direct answer, but Li Weiyi already knows it.
It turns out that her fundamental purpose in gathering a large force to enter the Underground Immortal Mansion was to target the Twin Rice Cult.
The so-called search for the Bright Star Scroll was not the true objective.
Li Weiyi asks: “I want to know, did you invite me into the Underground Immortal Mansion genuinely to borrow the insects? Or am I also one of the baits to lure the Twin Rice Cult into action?”
“Does this question even matter?”
Tang Wanzhou continues: “As you yourself said, even without traveling with me, you would have entered the Underground Immortal Mansion on your own. The end result wouldn’t be any different, would it?”
Li Weiyi says: “But your plan has gotten many people killed. Master Hu is dead, Tuo Ba Bu Tuo is still in the Fourth Divine Son’s Mansion right now, without even one arm. I want an explanation—is that too much?”
“Not too much.”
Tang Wanzhou nods lightly and explains: “At first, I only wanted to use myself as bait, but after entering the Underground Immortal Mansion several times, the Twin Rice Cult still did not make a move. So, it was impossible to confirm whether their headquarters was even in the Underground Immortal Mansion.”
“To lure them out… or rather, force them out, I had to gather enough masters to act together.”
“But I still felt it wasn’t enough.”
“Conveniently, you, the heaven’s chosen who shone brightly at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, got into a magic battle with the evil cult, investigating them everywhere. Meanwhile, they were also hunting you, wanting to capture you. I thought what they wanted was the Seven Strange Insects. After all, in the Underground Immortal Mansion’s environment, the Seven Strange Insects could be of great use.”
“Bringing you and the Seven Strange Insects into the Underground Immortal Mansion together would have a much greater chance of drawing them out.”
“After probing your Feng Fu, I actually felt a talent shortage, so I advised you not to go and subtly warned you of the danger.”
Li Weiyi feels that Tang Wanzhou is like a person devoid of any emotion, recounting all this in an extremely calm tone.
Strong practitioners and geniuses from the Northern Territory like Tang Hu and Tuo Ba Bu Tuo are mere chess pieces to her, to be sacrificed at any time if it serves the purpose.
“Just to confirm whether the Twin Rice Cult’s headquarters is in the Underground Immortal Mansion?” Li Weiyi says.
Tang Wanzhou replies: “You think this is a trivial matter?”
Li Weiyi looks toward the swaying bamboo branches outside the window, waiting for her to continue.
Tang Wanzhou must convince Li Weiyi, for only he can get her out, so she is very patient: “You’ve seen the bizarre changes on the ground! The entire Fu Zhou is covered by a sudden surge of numerous tombstones and grave mounds, expanding at extreme speed toward Qiu Prefecture and several surrounding prefectures.”
“I’ve communicated with that Old Ancestor of Confucian Dao from the Zuo Qiu Gatehouse. Historically, several similar incidents have occurred, verifiable in the ancient texts. Some due to invasion by the Nether Realm of the Dead, some due to resurrection of imperial corpses… In short, none are good, all have erupted into heaven-shaking calamities.”
“One of them involves the Rice People!”
“That account is called Yin Corpse Planting Rice.”
“In the records, over a hundred thousand years ago, the Rice People set up an altar array for Yin Corpse Planting Rice in the underground of a Living Realm, using sacrificial power to drive underground yin energy into the ground.”
“When the pollen of the rice flowers drifts on the wind and falls on the grave mounds, the corpses in the graves turn into a corpse-rice army, devouring all living beings in the entire Living Realm.”
“Afterward, the entire Living Realm became rice paddies, and it remains a Rice Person nation to this day.”
Li Weiyi frowns tightly: “With experts under heaven as numerous as clouds, can’t they preemptively level the tombstones and grave mounds on the ground?”
“Since ancient times, how many people are buried underground? Level one wave, and another will grow back.”
Tang Wanzhou continues: “No one knows if the strangeness occurring in Fu Zhou is this situation, so strong practitioners from major powers are all drawn here, investigating the cause.”
“The suspicion falls on the Twin Rice Cult because, in recent centuries, the evil cult forces have grown increasingly active, gradually emerging from the shadows.”
“When they dare to appear openly, it means they can no longer hide in the darkness, having grown powerful to an unknown extent.”
“The Imperial Court and the various ten million gateways have investigated, capturing some evil cult leaders, but most are extreme followers of the Under Heaven Hall. Some have only heard of the headquarters, others had their five senses sealed upon entering and exiting, unaware of what the headquarters even is.”
“But all investigations point to the evil cult headquarters being hidden in Fu Zhou.”
“Twelve years ago, chaos under heaven erupted. Afterward, no one had the spare capacity to continue investigating the evil cult, as the Imperial Court became the common enemy of all under heaven.”
Li Weiyi says: “Could the cause of the chaos under heaven be related to the Twin Rice Cult? Using it to divert attention from all sides, making the Human Race slaughter each other? Then, to seize the chestnuts from the fire and complete the final harvest.”
Tang Wanzhou ponders for a moment: “From the perspective of the greatest beneficiary, it’s possible. But I don’t believe they’ve grown powerful enough to manipulate Yu Yaozi.”
She continues: “Actually, this matter shouldn’t fall to me; I’m just a junior. I fear death too, and I don’t want to take such a great risk.”
“But evidently, the evil cult quickly reacted to the exposure of the Underground Immortal Mansion, using some method to prevent those at the Longevity Realm and above from entering the entrance.”
“I, this junior, suddenly became the strongest one able to enter the Underground Immortal Mansion. How could the strongest shirk responsibility?”
Li Weiyi suddenly somewhat understands her and sighs: “Can’t even the Transcendents break in?”
“Hard to say; I think there should be a way to break in.”
Tang Wanzhou says: “But do you think Qilin Zhuang really just happened to strike open the entrance to the Underground Immortal Mansion with one blow?”
“He must have done it because he failed to take Qiu Zhou Prefecture City and Zhu Men, knowing it would be hard to seize the Lingxiao Life Realm in one battle, and not wanting the Twin Rice Cult to reap the benefits, so he deliberately exposed them.”
“Among the Human Race and Demon Race Transcendents, from the Transcendent Great War a year ago, with both sides suffering heavy losses, few remain at full strength.”
“In such circumstances, even two or three Transcendents at full strength breaking into the Underground Immortal Mansion would likely perish inside, with no place to bury their bodies. The terrain here is too complex, everything unknown—who knows what arrangements the evil cult has made?”
“That Old Ancestor of Confucian Dao from the Zuo Qiu Gatehouse is an active promoter, wanting to resolve the potential hidden danger in the Underground Immortal Mansion.”
“But he told me that he went to the Lei Xiao Sect to join forces with their Transcendent. The other side asked him if he had set up a killing array in the Underground Immortal Mansion to trap and kill them.”
“The Lei Xiao Sect Transcendent is still decent; though fearing being schemed by the Zuo Qiu Gatehouse, they at least dispatched Longevity Realm giants to actively investigate in Fu Zhou.”
“As for our Snow Sword Tang Court’s Transcendent, when going to join forces, others either politely refused due to injuries or suspected Snow Sword Tang Court was colluding with the Demon Race to set up slaughter means in the Underground Immortal Mansion.”
“Li Weiyi, not everyone in this world has a sense of responsibility!”
“The word ‘unity’ has been exceedingly difficult from ancient times to now. Unless facing an existential crisis like Qilin Zhuang and the Demon Race, the Transcendents either suspect each other or want others to take the risk, to die first, preserving themselves wisely.”
Li Weiyi nods lightly: “If internal unity could be achieved, there would be no dynastic changes. The root cause of disunity is that everyone is vying for power and profit.”
“You’re right, exactly so.”
Tang Wanzhou says: “Take the Transcendent Great War from a year ago as an example. From what I know, one fallen Human Race Transcendent’s power was quickly divided up by other Human Race powers, their descendants enslaved, abused, and slaughtered to extinction. This chills the heart too much!”
“How can you expect Transcendents to sacrifice generously?”
“In this era of warfare, it’s an era without rules. Even promoting the Longevity Ban Martial Order faced great resistance; no one submits to another… The Imperial Court side still has a sword hanging over them.”
“Without a Son of Heaven to decisively set rules and constrain everyone, people can only act cautiously.”
“So I can understand those Transcendents’ caution.”
“That’s why someone has to step forward, someone has to go die first. So I came. I must bring back definite news. With definite news, we can unite all possible forces to directly assault in and resolve the crisis before it erupts.”
