One Grain, Two Sprouts

Li Weiyi didn't need to worry about the engagement Wedding Banquet preparations at all.

He knew perfectly well that he only needed to go through the motions.

Therefore, he returned to his cave to cultivate in seclusion, and at the same time, avoided unnecessary trouble.

Inside the cave, Li Weiyi set up a set of array flags before entering the Blood Mud Space.

That set of battle flags was won in a martial arts competition before the New Year.

Li Weiyi sat cross-legged on the blood-soaked ground, using his mind to peel away layers of blood mist. Tanggu Sea and Fusang Divine Tree appeared on the other side of the Space Barrier, scattering brilliant light.

Immediately afterwards, he took out a Light Flame Pill and swallowed it.

His body then became as bright as a light bulb.

With eyes closed, the Fusang Divine Tree Meditation Method is activated, simultaneously absorbing the power of light and flames from both internal and external sources to strengthen the earth fire within the Glabella Spiritual Realm. (The Forehead Spirit Realm begins here, referred to as the Spiritual Realm.)

To advance from the Earth Fire Realm to the Skyfire Realm, one only needs to accumulate one-third of spiritual light.

One-third of a square foot.

To reach the Calamity Fire Realm, one needs to cultivate the entire Spirit Realm, which greatly increases the difficulty.

Several months have passed since Li Weiyi reached the Great Mind Master realm. He has been busy improving his martial arts, and less than one-tenth of the spiritual light in the Spirit Realm has been available to him.

That's already quite fast; even Great Mind Master who only cultivates mental power wouldn't have such a speed of accumulation.

One Light Flame Pill is worth one thousand Spring Coin.

Sixty coins equals sixty thousand Spring Coin.

Very expensive!

However, there was no other way; Li Weiyi couldn't cultivate slowly and had to break through to the Skyfire Realm as soon as possible to go to the Tanggu Sea.

After reaching the Great Mind Master level, the speed at which he absorbed the Light Flame Pill increased several times, and he finished digesting it in just two hours. In the Spirit Realm, the spiritual light visibly increased.

Like the accumulation of qi in martial arts training, it is a long process of accumulation.

The news of their engagement caused a sensation throughout the city.

The secret that Zuoqiu Ting and Zuoqiu Hong were the same person was naturally revealed to the public.

Everyone knew that this was not only an engagement Wedding Banquet for two Young Son of Heaven, but also a marriage alliance between the Zuoqiu Courtyard and the Jiu Li Tribe, which had extraordinary significance.

Under the cover of night, the government office was lit up one by one with bright lamps.

"Greetings, Lord Zhuang!"

"Lord Zhuang!"

In the corridor, the officials of the Attendant Hall stepped aside and bowed.

Holding the wedding invitation, Zhuang Yue walked quickly, her teeth almost grinding to powder, her eyes so cold it seemed she was about to draw her sword and kill someone at any moment.

Reaching the top of the tower where Jiang Ning cultivated, she tried to calm herself, unsure how to begin. Just as she was about to turn and leave, a pleasant voice came from inside. "What's wrong? Has the duel between the transcendents ended?"

"Squeak!"

The wooden door and the array opened automatically at the same time.

Zhuang Yue stood at the door, unable to step inside, tears welling in her eyes, unsure how to begin.

Jiang Ning had already changed out of her daytime dress and hair ornaments, and was dressed in the simple Provincial Governor's Official Robe. She was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, gathering and tempering her Qi, cultivating the Seventh Sea, which was not yet complete.

In recent days, news of young prodigies breaking through to the Dao Seed realm has been spreading like wildfire throughout Qiuzhou City.

She also felt a sense of urgency and didn't want to fall behind.

"Another Imperial Court has fallen?" Jiang Ning's tone became much heavier.

Just four days ago, news of the Imperial Court's extraordinary demise reached us.

If another person were to fall, the impact would be enormous.

What they feared most was the Jiang family's transcendence.

Zhuang Yue shook her head vigorously, finally mustering her courage, and said with resentment and grievance, "He still betrayed me... He... He's getting engaged to Zuoqiu Hongting..."

Jiang Ning opened her eyes. "Let me see!"

He took the wedding invitation from Zhuang Yue.

After looking at it for a long time, Jiang Ning closed the wedding invitation and handed it back. "I won't go. Please prepare a gift for me and send it over in three days."

"Miss! You're just going to put up with this?" Zhuang Yue said.

Jiang Ning pondered for a moment, then stood up, opened the window to look at the city lights outside, letting the cool night wind whip her face. She said, "The Zuoqiu Courtyard must acquire Qianlong; only a marriage between the two of them will ensure their success."

Zhuang Yue said, "You can't hurt someone like this, can you? During the day, he didn't even inform you beforehand. Miss, you risked great danger to meet with him several times to help him and save him. To keep his secret, you withstood the Second Palace Master's inquiries, causing a rift between master and disciple. He couldn't possibly not feel your affection!"

Only Zhuang Yue knew that Jiang Ning treated Li Weiyi differently from everyone else.

"If I hear these words again after tonight, I will expel you from Luantai and from the Jiang family," Jiang Ning said in the calmest tone.

Zhuang Yue bit her lip and nodded with tears in her eyes.

Jiang Ning sighed, "In the past, for the sake of the Imperial Court, I would definitely have tried to sabotage this matter and prevent the Zuoqiu Courtyard from succeeding. But now, the Demon Race is coming on strong, and the human race must unite to resist them; we cannot continue to stalemate internally."

"Actually, the fact that the Zuoqiu Courtyard is so actively preparing for the marriage alliance is a good thing. It shows that the human race has successfully withstood the Demon Race's attacks, and the battle may be coming to an end!"

"You can't keep things to yourself. You shouldn't go to the Wedding Banquet. I'll arrange for someone else to go."

Jiang Ning slightly raised her eyes, gazing at the majestic mountain dotted with starlight in the night sky. "Who knows what he was thinking? How many people in this world are truly in love? Regret and imperfection are the norm. It's good that the clouds parted in the vast expanse, so that there won't be thunder and rainstorms."

Qi Xiao sent people to search for Yang Qingxi's whereabouts at noon, and they quickly made some progress. So, they rushed over to confirm it.

Just as he stepped out, he encountered a servant from Zuoqiu Courtyard, who was delivering a wedding invitation to the Qi family.

Curious, Qi Xiao stopped him and, after asking, was both surprised and delighted. "What a joke... This is outrageous... Let me see it quickly, has my Brother Weiyi really mastered the secret to living off a woman?"

After reading the wedding invitation, Qi Xiao laughed heartily, already thinking about how to celebrate the wedding three days later.

"My Brother Weiyi has risen to the top in one step. His future achievements will at least make him the man of the head of the Zuoqiu Courtyard, and possibly even the man of the master of the Lingxiao Shengjing."

Qi Xiao returned the wedding invitation to the servant and decided to handle Yang Qingxi's matter more carefully, determined not to cause any romantic trouble for his Brother Weiyi at this critical juncture.

He didn't take a car; dressed in Nightwalker's Robe, he moved swiftly and stealthily.

Upon arriving at the mansion identified by the Qi Family's informants, Qi Xiao silently noted its location and surrounding environment. Just then, the back door opened, and Yang Qingxi, dressed in a loose Black Robe with a hood covering her head, mysteriously boarded a carriage.

The driver was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in simple hemp clothing, with nothing particularly special about him.

The only unusual thing was the coachman...

Too young!

"Interesting! It's so late, and Miss Yang is dressed like this; she seems to be hiding something significant."

After Qi Xiao broke through to the Dao Seed Realm, his skills became more advanced and his courage greater. Naturally, he didn't take Yang Qingxi seriously and quietly followed her.

To Qi Xiao's surprise, the carriage continued to travel out of the city. Finally, it stopped in a remote town two hundred miles away from Qiuzhou City.

After traveling all night, it was already dawn.

Who is Yang Qingxi? How did she end up in such a place?

Qi Xiao was even more surprised. Seeing that there were already early risers in the town, he observed the area while following the tire tracks.

"One grain of rice, two sprouts, and three leaves climbing in the wind."

"Four crescent moons sway gently, five golden rice grains laugh heartily."

Ahead, groups of barefoot children came, singing nursery rhymes.

Qi Xiao, who was invisible, quickly stepped aside and watched them leave with a smile.

I recall it carefully in my mind.

It was discovered that almost all of the children were twins.

"They seem to be a group of children born from rice paddies. I wonder if they are servants kept by some powerful Lineage, or perhaps seedlings of assassins?"

Qi Xiao suddenly realized that Sui Sect seemed to be involved in the trade of rice people, and guessed that this might be one of their cargo transshipment points.

Soon, we arrived at the end of the town.

A Daoist temple, half-hidden among the lush trees, came into view. Outside the temple, a large number of horse-drawn carriages were already parked, arriving from all directions.

There wasn't a single driver on the carriage.

Suddenly, the whole world became eerily quiet; the town, which had just been filled with pedestrians and nursery rhymes, instantly became lifeless.

Qi Xiao had already sensed something was wrong; his brows furrowed, and he prepared to retreat.

"Since Young Master Qi has come to Dao Ancestor Temple, why not come in and have a seat?" An ethereal voice of an Old Man came from the Daoist temple in the distance.

Not good!

Qi Xiao's expression changed drastically, and he turned and left.

Just as I turned around, the sky suddenly darkened.

It was as if the whole world had been transformed, turning back into night.

In the small town we just passed through, every house on both sides of the street had its lights on, and coffins were placed at the door. Outside each house, there were two identical figures.

Some of them were two Old Man sitting on the ground sharpening their sickles, glancing at him from time to time and letting out eerie chuckles.

Some were two young men, dressed in hemp clothing and carrying long swords.

Some of the figures were two stunning beauties. One sat on the roof, dressed in revealing and sexy clothing, exposing large expanses of her fair skin, giggling sweetly. The other sat under the eaves, quiet and elegant, playing the zither with her fingers.

Qi Xiao saw Yang Qingxi.

She stood alone in the middle of the street, dressed in Black Robe, with only half her face visible.

Qi Xiao was utterly horrified. Looking around at the dark sky, he couldn't tell if he had arrived in the morning or if he had followed the path all night. He stammered, "The Impermanent Illusion Realm... Which senior Saint Mind Master is playing such a joke on a junior like this?"

"Joke?"

The woman sitting on the roof, her two snow-white legs dangling and swaying, smiled seductively and said, "Sixth Divine Maiden, you can deal with the tail you brought along yourself!"

"He has already reached the Dao Seed Realm," Yang Qingxi said calmly.

"Okay, I'll help you solve it. You'll owe me a favor!"

The sexy woman moved, her beautiful body jingling and radiating dazzling light.

Qi Xiao used his movement technique to turn and flee.

But behind him was an even more eerie Daoist temple, which instilled fear in him, so he tried to go around it from the right. However, a group of barefoot children came from the right and blocked his way.

The nursery rhyme started again, but to Qi Xiao, it sounded completely different, filling him with terror.

"One grain of rice, two sprouts, rise at midnight to kill the master."

"Blood splatters everywhere, staining the white gauze; crows fill the sky at dawn."

"A six-foot grave brings misfortune within seven steps."

"Eight lines of incantations hang in the sky."

"Nine heads hang from the tassel, and I sprout from ten generations of extinct descendants."

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