The Nine Springs Diagram was far clearer than the Marked Vein Guide Map, with detailed annotations for the location of every Spring and the order in which they were to be opened.
The four Springs in the limbs were naturally the first to be opened, and also the simplest.
It stated:
"Those of superior aptitude will surely succeed after ten years of bitter cultivation."
"Those of Medium-grade aptitude will require anywhere from ten to thirty years."
The Fifth Spring was located at the "Central Pivot" on the back. The Sixth Spring was at the "Danzhong" in the chest. The Seventh Spring was at the "Baihui" atop the head.
Once seven Springs were opened and the entire body connected through, one could attempt to break into a higher realm.
"Those of superior aptitude have hope of opening seven Springs after twenty years of bitter cultivation."
Seeing this, Li Weiyi found Golden Crow Blood even more extraordinarily precious. Even those of superior aptitude needed twenty years of bitter cultivation for a chance to open seven Springs. How many years of cultivation had he saved?
No!
Martial Cultivators in this world might begin training and opening Springs at the age of three. By his age, they had already trained for fifteen or sixteen years.
Besides, he could drink Golden Crow Blood. Did the noble heirs of this world lack rare and precious blood medicines?
Golden Crow Blood was merely making up for those fifteen or sixteen years he had squandered, and it had not even come close to fully making up for them.
Furthermore, this applied only to those of superior aptitude. It went on to say that those with exceptionally outstanding talent could attempt to break through the Eighth Spring, the "Fengfu" at the back of the head, and the Ninth Spring, the "Zutian" below the navel.
If an ordinary person successfully broke through the Fengfu, they could be called an Outstanding Person. Within the same realm, they could suppress the Deformed Race and catch up to the Pure Immortal Body.
If an ordinary person successfully broke through the Zutian, they could be called a Supreme Person. It represented an ultimate physique, its edge capable of eclipsing even the Pure Immortal Body.
Li Weiyi was exhilarated. So there was a way to catch up on the martial path. Though he was ordinary, he did not lack the chance to challenge a Pure Immortal Body within the same realm. At this moment, his fighting spirit blazed without equal.
Ordinary people were suppressed by the Deformed Race within the same realm. They were even suppressed across realms by lower-realm Pure Immortal Bodies.
Li Weiyi did not want to live so suffocatingly.
Fengfu, Zutian...
But if ordinary people could break through the Fengfu and Zutian, could the Deformed Race and Pure Immortal Bodies not do the same?
Would they not still have the upper hand then?
Just as he was feeling miserable, Li Weiyi's ears twitched at an unusual sound. He hastily spread out the Ghost Flag wrapped around the Evil Camel Bell and covered the fire with it. The flames were extinguished, leaving only thick smoke.
The entire room, the whole Immortal Burial Town, was swallowed by darkness.
Tap tap!
Dense footsteps entered the town.
Several figures also swept across the rooftops, their steps light and swift.
Li Weiyi threw the Essentials of the Nine Springs into the Evil Camel Bell, draped the Ghost Flag over himself to conceal his aura, and turned into a black shadow. He leaped over an earthen wall, moved through several houses in succession, and finally hid atop a roof beam.
"We clearly saw firelight from afar. How did it vanish in an instant?"
"Search. Go through every house."
The sounds of doors being kicked in and miscellaneous objects being chopped apart rose all around him.
More than ten torches were lit.
There were dozens of Earth Wolf King Army soldiers who had entered Immortal Burial Town. All were carefully selected experts, with at least two Springs opened.
Half of them, led by Xing Wanxing, the tenth disciple of Shi Jiuzhai, hurried toward the northeastern corner of town.
There stood a Thousand-Year Apricot Tree so broad that seven or eight people would have needed to join hands to encircle it. Its branches and leaves were dense, its roots numerous.
Beneath the apricot tree was an Ancient Well over three zhang in diameter, enclosed by a stone railing and surrounded by dozens of giant stone statues. Amid the faint water mist, it carried an ancient feeling that was both illusory and real.
Torches encircled the Ancient Well.
Splash!
As iron chains were dragged with all their might, water splashed, and a coffin of silver, as large as a house with ridge beams, was pulled up.
It was immensely heavy. More than twenty immensely strong Deformed Race Martial Cultivators struggled greatly even to haul it.
Yesterday, a large number of experts from the Beast Li Tribe had come to provide aid, forcing the Earth Wolf King Army to retreat. But this Silver Coffin was too heavy and too enormous to take away, so they could only hide it in the well first.
Xing Wanxing's eyes gleamed with excitement. He had seen yesterday that this coffin was anything but ordinary. Forget the unknown thing within—this Silver Coffin alone was worth a fortune.
The great figures of the Myriad Gate Families and Myriad Sects would surely be intensely interested in an Otherworldly Coffin like this.
Selling it for a hundred million Silver Coin would be nothing remarkable.
A Martial Cultivator with four Springs opened beside Xing Wanxing said in a low voice, "Master Xing, why don't we secretly open this coffin and take what's inside? Then we can send it back..."
"Shut up! Once an Otherworldly Coffin has been opened, it will no longer be worth nearly as much."
How could Xing Wanxing not have been tempted by greed?
It was simply because whether an Otherworldly Coffin had been opened before could be seen at a glance by an expert.
Shi Jiuzhai was not so easily fooled, and Xing Wanxing truly did not have the nerve.
Moreover, opening a Blind Coffin carried immense risks.
The contents might be worthless, or even completely empty. Or it might contain some terrifying fiend, and opening it could cost many lives.
Xing Wanxing had heard that a great clan from a certain giant city had spent three hundred million Silver Coin to purchase an Otherworldly Coffin made from rare material. Yet after opening it, they released something incomprehensible. More than a million people across the entire city were killed, and it became a Forbidden Zone Dead City.
There were also legends of corpses within coffins suddenly reviving after Blind Coffins were opened, slaughtering every person who opened the coffin before departing.
Some coffins contained traps and hidden weapons, while others held poisonous substances and corpse insects...
If opening Blind Coffins truly guaranteed profit without loss and involved no risk whatsoever, Otherworldly Coffins could never have circulated on the market.
If Coffin Retrieval, carrying coffins, and opening coffins were not perilous in the extreme, how could the Jiu Li Tribe have monopolized the very top of this industrial chain all along?
Risk and profit were forever directly proportional.
Bang!
The moment the huge Silver Coffin was pulled from the Ancient Well, it proved too heavy, and the hemp ropes binding it suddenly snapped.
The coffin crashed to the ground.
With a clang, the coffin lid was jolted open and slid downward by more than a foot.
Everyone recoiled in fright.
Xing Wanxing was nearly exploding with rage. "Can't you lot be more careful... That is..."
From the gap where the lid had slid open, silvery auspicious radiance burst forth, releasing a dense exotic fragrance.
The mist shrouding the surrounding houses instantly turned silver, as dazzling and mysterious as clouds in the Immortal Realm. Within it, silver flowers condensed one after another.
Xing Wanxing froze instantly, his eyes widening into circles.
This did not look like a baleful coffin at all. It was undoubtedly a treasure coffin containing countless rare treasures from another world.
"Master Xing, this has nothing to do with us. The coffin nails had already been pried away, which was why the lid slipped after it fell. When the Cangli Tribe retrieved it from the Sea of Blood, they very likely opened it already!" someone reported after inspecting it.
The four-Spring Martial Cultivator behind Xing Wanxing again said softly, "Since one corner is already open anyway, why not see what exactly is inside?"
Xing Wanxing secretly calculated. If there really were peerless treasures inside, why not take them and flee far away? After all, now that such an accident had occurred, Shi Jiuzhai would still suspect him even if he transported the coffin back.
After Xing Wanxing gave the order, several Deformed Race members worked together to lift the heavy silver coffin lid.
The silver radiance spilling from within became even more dazzling, illuminating half of Immortal Burial Town.
More and more silver flowers condensed from the mist.
Inside the coffin lay the skeleton of an eleven- or twelve-meter-tall Silver Giant. It was still, with what looked like a galaxy flowing inside its bones, incomparably brilliant. Yet apart from that, there was nothing else.
Xing Wanxing let out a long sigh, deeply disappointed.
This silver skeleton might be useful to certain great cultivators, but to him, it was not worth a single coin.
Perhaps the true treasure inside had already been taken by the Cangli Tribe, he thought.
Whoosh!
Like a wisp of breeze beneath the night curtain, Li Ling stepped upon Blue Mist Light Traces. Her slender, graceful figure drifted down onto a three-story rooftop not far from the Ancient Well.
She had originally followed Li Weiyi to Immortal Burial Town, never expecting to stumble upon an unexpected gain.
Weren't these yesterday's Buddha's Crossing Bandits?
Coldness welled up in her eyes. Her jade-like hand removed a golden-threaded Insect Pouch from her waist and tipped it outward.
Wuuu!
Swarms of rice-grain-sized strange insects flew out, like densely packed points of firefly light, surrounding the more than twenty bandits beside the Ancient Well.
Hearing the dense buzz of wings, Xing Wanxing turned back, his expression changing at once. "Chi Fire Ladybugs! Don't let them touch you—scatter!"
Too late!
The first Deformed Race member upon whom a Chi Fire Ladybug landed let out a shrill scream. His back was burned through in an instant, then the flames spread, turning him into a massive fireball.
After three breaths, his enormous body over two meters tall had burned to ashes.
The second, the third...
Earth Wolf King Army soldiers burst into flames one after another.
Screams and wails rose and fell without end. The scene descended into complete chaos. Some fled into the distance, while others jumped into the Ancient Well.
Through a crack in the window, Li Weiyi looked toward the slender, beautiful figure of the girl on the distant rooftop and recognized her. He could not believe she had appeared here.
Sensing his gaze, Li Ling turned her head and lightly cast a glance toward the abandoned house where Li Weiyi was hiding.
"Her senses are that strong?"
Li Weiyi hurriedly withdrew his gaze, suddenly realizing that Li Ling might have come here for him.
Why?
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Li Weiyi's mind.
Could great kindness turn into enmity? Or had the secret of his possession of a magical artifact been exposed?
Otherwise, why had she secretly followed him?
Something had to have gone wrong somewhere.
Before you continue