The Battle Has Already Begun

"I've refined three clusters of Dragon Soul Origin Light; I'm only a hair's breadth away from the Second Realm Peak," Li Weiyi said with a smile.

"You need to refine three clusters to go from the mid-stage of the Second Realm to the Second Realm Peak?"

Even though Tang Wanzhou was mentally prepared, she was speechless. The Dragon Soul Origin Light she had refined was less than half of Li Weiyi's. She suspected that someone like Li Weiyi, who cultivated like this, could even defy the odds and transcend the ordinary at the Seventh Realm.

"And you, at the Peak Third Realm?" Li Weiyi asked.

Tang Wanzhou said, "I'm still far from it! Maybe next time, during my next seclusion, I'll have a chance to break through."

"I have a way to quickly find the Longevity Lock, which will save a lot of time. Do you want my help?" Li Weiyi asked.

"I also have a secret technique."

Tang Wanzhou got up and left, releasing the Chun Silkworm, which began to spin their cocoons for the second time.

Li Weiyi went to the Sea of Souls and, with the help of the starlight, found the third Longevity Lock, the "Azure Dragon Lock." Only then did he return to the valley, release the second Chun Silkworm, and spin the second Chun Clan Cocoon.

Within the cocoon, just three months later, Li Weiyi reached the Second Realm Peak.

In the following year, Li Weiyi was finally able to free up his energy to simultaneously attempt to break through the Azure Dragon Lock, cultivate Daoist arts, and absorb the spiritual light from the starlight of the Saint Spirit King Mind Master Psychic Power Stars, thereby improving his mental power cultivation.

The cultivation of Daoist arts mainly involves absorbing Karma Fire to achieve minor success in the fifth level of the Six Purifying Karma.

Furthermore, after studying the fifth level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Sword, he discovered a bunch of related Lei Xiao Sect texts.

He believed that as long as the basic research was thorough, he could directly absorb the lightning power from the Thunder Pool in the Ancestor Qin Yuan and cultivate the purple Thunderstrike Sword.

A year later, the second Chun Clan Cocoon emerged.

The moment Li Weiyi emerged from her cocoon and came into contact with the outside world, a feeling of weakness emanated from within.

He tried to stand up, but the world spun around him, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Just like a person who has been in a weightless environment for a long time and then suddenly returns to the ground with normal gravity, the same applies to space and time; both can cause damage to the body.

"How could this be? Even including the time spent cultivating in the Netherworld, it's still less than ten years. Could it be...?"

Li Weiyi guessed that it might be because he used the Time Cocoon of the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish to go into seclusion before entering the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin, which also consumed his lifespan.

He looked at the three Chun Clan Cocoon that had already spun their cocoons for the third time, wondering if they had encountered the same situation.

He took out the Life Medicine Yu Yaozi had left for the Seven Phoenix Wing Moth Emperors, ate one of them, and after regulating his breathing, he recovered. Then he took out the third Chun Silkworm.

Life Medicine is Thousand-Year Elixir that grows beside the Life Spring, capable of extending lifespan and enhancing vital energy.

The third training session has ended.

When the cocoon broke, Li Weiyi was mentally prepared and did not get up immediately, but the dizzying weakness still made his vision go black.

I touched under my nose; my fingers were covered in blood.

He heard Nangong's anxious voice beside him. "How did he get so badly injured?"

Tang Wanzhou had his own guesses, but he couldn't say them to Mo Duanfeng and Nangong openly, so he remained silent.

Nangong took out a fine medicinal herb, plucked a fragrant petal, and fed it to Li Weiyi.

After a while, Li Weiyi recovered somewhat and, savoring the powerful life force contained in the flower petals, asked curiously, "What did you feed me?"

"A special aphrodisiac!"

Nangong squatted down in front of him and said this.

The special elixir she mentioned was very similar to the Life Medicine, and it likely involved the secrets of the Ancient Years Clan. Li Weiyi stopped asking and instead looked at Mo Duanfeng and Tang Wanzhou: "You weren't harmed by the power of time?"

Tang Wanzhou said, "Yes, but it's very mild, just a slight dizziness."

"You'll be in serious trouble after your next seclusion!" Li Weiyi said.

Mo Duanfeng laughed and said, "Even with the three Chun Clan Cocoon) cultivations, I've only been in the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin for less than ten years, so there shouldn't be any problems for now. Besides, my cultivation is higher than yours, so I can definitely withstand more of the strain."

"You've broken through?" Li Weiyi understood the underlying meaning in his words.

People are in high spirits when they have good news, and Mo Duanfeng was quite pleased with himself, laughing and saying, "Breaking the White Tiger Lock in ten years, that's quite a speed, isn't it? After all, my Longevity Lock is very difficult to break. The three of you must all have great secrets, otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to break the lock so quickly."

"However, in these ten years, I haven't only been trying to obtain the White Tiger Lock; I've also made a tremendous gain. This gain alone is enough to measure the true value of the Gu Zhenxiang."

Tang Wanzhou was moved. "You've cultivated the fifth level of a fully mastered imperial technique?"

"No, but pretty much the same," Mo Duanfeng said.

Nangong said, "At the Fourth Realm the Longevity Realm, cultivating a fifth-level, fully mastered Emperor Technique has qualified every generation of Longevity Realm cultivators to compete for first place on the Longevity Earth Ranking."

"With the help of the Chun Silkworm, I was able to achieve the two great accomplishments of Great Longevity and Sword Technique before the <Longevity Earth Ranking> was announced. I won't say any more words of thanks. I'm heading to the Demon Kingdom's altar now. If the opportunity arises, I might be able to destroy it all by myself."

Mo Duanfeng clasped his hands in farewell to the three men and prepared to leave.

Tang Wanzhou cautioned, "Old Mo, you absolutely mustn't act impulsively."

"Haha! Don't worry, I'll learn from my mistakes. I'm good at causing trouble too."

After Mo Duanfeng left, Nangong gave Li Weiyi and Tang Wanzhou each a Life Medicine.

Life Medicine are Thousand-Year Elixir by the banks of the spring, and have been in the hands of the Years Ruin Empress for twenty thousand years.

This was also one of the most important objectives of the Demon Kingdom's army on this mission.

If the Spring of Life is found, Devil Lord Yu Baxian can extend his life.

Li Weiyi looked at the fourth Chun Silkworm, somewhat afraid that it was time for a fourth seclusion, but it would be a huge waste not to use it.

The voice of his taciturn Guardian Wife rang out. "Time is a shortcut, but you can't rely on it entirely. After this seclusion, you must not open the Time Cocoon again for at least a year."

Li Weiyi was not worried but happy. The man's words were undoubtedly telling him that he could continue.

Seeing that she had finally spoken, Li Weiyi was not about to let it go, and quickly said, "How about you teach me the laws of time or order or something? If I can control time, then I won't be able to avoid the backlash?"

After a long silence, the taciturn voice of his Guardian Wife rang out. "First, you haven't reached the cultivation level required to access the laws of nature through martial arts. Second, you are not suited to cultivate the laws of time."

"Then what kind of cultivation am I suited to practice?" Li Weiyi asked.

She said, "Light and darkness, truth and nothingness."

"Light gives rise to life, darkness gives birth to death; this is your Lineage's innate talent."

"Daoist lineage originates from truth and pursues the ultimate state of nothingness; this is the destiny of your sect. You must at least reach the Other Shore Realm before you can even consider which path to choose."

"Alright, that concludes today's sermon. I'll go and try to understand it myself." Li Weiyi understood each word individually, but when put together, he was completely baffled.

He said, "We can talk about Lineage and sect; that's something I'm quite interested in."

"When the ten-year period is up, someone will naturally tell you." After saying this, the taciturn Guardian Wife fell silent.

After taking the Life Medicine and regulating your breathing,

Li Weiyi hid inside the formation and entered the Blood Mud Space, trying to see if he could wrap the corpse of Ancestor Qin Yuan inside the Chun Clan Cocoon.

Nangong had told them that the Chun Clan Cocoon could only hold one living being and Chun Silkworm inside, but Ancestor Qin Yuan was not a living being.

As the Chun Silkworm gradually finished spinning their cocoons, Li Weiyi finally felt relieved.

During his fourth training session, he focused on mastering the fifth level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Sword and attempting to break through to the Saint Mind Master Third Realm.

The Thunder Pool in Ancestor Qin Yuan was several feet square, and the lightning power within it was extremely strong and domineering. Li Weiyi pressed his palm down and gently guided it, causing the silk of the Chun Clan Cocoon to vibrate and roar.

Once he was certain the Chun Clan Cocoon wouldn't break, he used the fifth level of the <Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Sword> technique to condense a small Lightning Strike Array within his Divine Palace.

He continuously absorbed the lightning from the Thunder Pool into the Lightning Strike Array, and practiced sword techniques with his mind.

Six months later, Li Weiyi officially entered the fifth level, transforming the white lightning into purple lightning.

Half a year later, purple lightning condensed into a phantom lightning sword, which flew through the array, reaching the fifth level of minor completion.

After an unknown amount of time, the purple lightning sword solidified from its ethereal state and flew directly out of the Divine Palace.

"Boom!"

The nearly ten-foot-long Purple Lightning Greatsword pierced through the Chun Clan Cocoon and flew out, striking the rocky hill at the end of the Blood Mud Space with a thunderous boom, splitting it in two.

Where the hill was divided, the rocks showed signs of melting, and purple lightning crackled and lingered for a long time.

"This is the completion of the fifth level of Imperial Technique?"

"It only took me a little over a year to master, it doesn't seem as difficult as they said."

Li Weiyi felt that it was because he had spent a lot of time studying the classics in the early stages. Of course, the Thunder Pool within Ancestor Qin Yuan's body also played a significant role.

Having learned from experience this time, he immediately took out a Life Medicine and swallowed it.

Next, it's time to recuperate and get back to normal as soon as possible.

Li Weiyi examined the Azure Dragon Lock internally. With the help of Ancestor Qin Yuan's powerful lightning force, this third Longevity Lock was already riddled with cracks, far exceeding his expectations.

I thought it would take at least five years to break free.

Now, all things considered, it has only taken three and a half years, and it is almost about to break down.

"It seems that cultivating the <Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Sword> can help break the Longevity Lock. If the sixth level is successfully cultivated, the speed of breaking the lock should be even faster."

After finishing his meditation, Li Weiyi, along with Chun Butterfly, returned to the valley from the Blood Mud Space.

Together with Nangong, they waited for Tang Wanzhou for another three days.

Tang Wanzhou had five Chun Silkworm and was a ruthless person. Even though his body was suffering from the same backlash as Li Weiyi, he still went into seclusion for the fifth time and endured it.

After she finished her seclusion, Li Weiyi and Nangong's physical condition had returned to its peak.

"Have you broken through to the Fourth Realm?" Li Weiyi asked immediately.

Tang Wanzhou shook his head, forcing a heroic posture to conceal his weakness, and smiled, "Old Mo took ten years, I feel I can succeed in six. I will definitely break through within the next two years."

After taking the Life Medicine given to her by Nangong, she suddenly stood up. "Shall we set off? I can do it."

Li Weiyi knew she would need at least several days to recover, so he said, "Why don't you control the Seven Phoenix Wing Moth Emperors and the swarm of insects? I'll go and meet that Demon Kingdom's second-place scholar. We can leave Wenren Tinghai and Huo Tingye to Nangong."

As the three were discussing their plan, a ghostly figure flashed into the valley. "The battle has already begun!"

It was the Great Saint Mind Master of the Ancient Years Clan, Nangong Heshang.

"What?"

The expressions on the faces of all three changed.

Nangong was the most anxious. "The Sacred Hall Life Realm?"

"No." Nangong Heshang shook his head.

Li Weiyi's eyes narrowed, and he asked worriedly, "Did Old Mo really go to attack the Demon Kingdom's altar alone?"

"No! It's outside the border where the Demon Kingdom's altar is located. The Great Palace Master, the Clan Chief, the Third Palace Master, and experts from the Lingxiao Shengjing Imperial Court are clashing with the three strongest figures from the Demon Kingdom!" Nangong Heshang said.

The three young people were stunned, then overjoyed. "Let's go, let's go see!"