Hidden Ancestor

The Jiu Li Insect Valley is extremely deep and secluded, shrouded in magical mists and clouds all year round, making it impossible to see its full appearance. However, walking through it, one can feel the vastness of the space, with towering and steep cliffs on both sides, and buildings floating in the void.

It is said that some ancient hermits live inside, but the Formation Script and runes are hidden there, making it impossible to verify.

The rich spiritual energy and unique underground environment have nurtured many rare and luminous plants in the valley.

"Whoosh!"

A startled old ginseng plant burst forth from the ground, using its roots as feet to run away, its entire body exuding a refreshing Medicinal Fragrance.

It looks just like the legendary Thousand-Year Elixir.

These refined and demonic medicines are living fossils of the world, possessing knowledge of many ancient secrets. Some of these medicines and demonic medicines are incredibly powerful, capable of rivaling those who have attained immortality through the cultivation of Dao.

Before long, the cliffs in the valley turned golden, resembling a vast gold mine, radiant and filled with colorful clouds.

Deep within the golden cliff face lies a black, chilling ice wall.

The ice wall stretches upwards without end, and horizontally as well.

The Hidden Lord stopped, his eyes solemn beneath the mask. He bowed respectfully to the black ice wall, then uttered a strange language. His voice, enveloped in magical energy, could penetrate the ice wall.

Li Weiyi waited quietly behind him, feeling only the biting cold of the environment.

The sound of dripping spring water reached my ears. Looking over, I saw drops of golden Spring Fluid dripping from the golden cliff on the right, pooling on the ground to form a small pool about the size of a palm.

Taking a deep breath of the golden mist emanating from the spring, Li Weiyi felt incredibly refreshed, as if his entire body had been cleansed.

"Whoosh--"

Inside the black ice wall, streaks of golden light appeared, like countless Golden Lightning weaving through the air.

The darkness was illuminated.

The ice wall transformed into a crystal-clear golden wall, releasing an ancient aura that dominated the heavens and earth, causing the space itself to tremble.

Li Weiyi was greatly alarmed and could not maintain his stance. He knelt on one knee just like the Hidden Lord and shouted, "Greetings, Hidden Ancestor!"

The deafening yet melodious chirping of insects echoed inside the ice wall.

On the ice wall, a pair of enormous golden insect wings were faintly visible, gracefully fluttering up and down, with countless showers of light scattering out.

Each insect wing is hundreds of meters long, dispersing the clouds and exuding an imposing aura.

"News about the Yuan Zhe Leader..."

Li Weiyi couldn't even lift his head, and he couldn't breathe. He could only make out a few words, and he was secretly shocked. "So the Hidden Ancestor was a strange insect. No wonder this place is called the Jiu Li Insect Valley. Animals can live for thousands of years without dying. This is too exaggerated."

"Whoosh!"

The letter in Hidden Lord's hand was swept away by the light rain and flew into the ice wall.

After a while, the leader's hidden mark left by the Coffin Master on the letter appeared on the ice wall.

The sound rang in my ears again, as the Hidden Lord spoke to the Hidden Ancestor in a strange language.

Li Weiyi clearly felt a pair of extremely penetrating gazes fall upon him, as if his body were being exposed to blinding sunlight. Gradually, the sunlight dissipated, and the entire Jiu Li Insect Valley returned to darkness and cold.

"Arise, the Hidden Ancestor has fallen into slumber once more."

Hidden Lord had already stood up, staring at Li Weiyi with a complex and amazed look in his eyes. His heart, which had finally calmed down, was once again stirred up.

"What a terrifying aura! It was impossible to breathe, like a majestic mountain pressing down on me." Li Weiyi was still shaken even after standing up.

"That's normal! How many years have you cultivated, and how many years has the Hidden Ancestor cultivated? Once you cultivate your Battle Intent, things will naturally get much better."

The Hidden Lord continued, "The Hidden Ancestor said that the handwriting, the aura, the hidden markings, and even the energy fluctuations belonging to the Nine Emperor Banner all match perfectly."

Li Weiyi thought to himself, "Coffin Master is still very meticulous in his work. He truly deserves to be the former leader of the Jiu Li Tribe."

The so-called leader is the patriarch of the entire Jiu Li Tribe.

The Hidden Lord regarded Li Weiyi as an important member of the Hidden Gate, and said with a sigh, "Lingxiao Shengjing has suffered from ten years of war. Countless Rebel Army have been formed, and every state is littered with corpses. The people are living in misery, and seven out of ten houses are empty or destroyed. Myriad Gate Families and sects have raised their Battle Flag. The million powerful clans like the Sui Sect are ambitious, and bandits from the Eastern Yi, Western Rong, Southern Man, and Northern Di are also eager to seize power."

"The demon kings who have been entrenched in remote wilderness areas have also begun to stir, cultivating their power, supporting human armies, and conquering territories for them."

"Furthermore, the Netherworld of the Departed, which has always sought to engulf the Twenty-Eight Prefectures of Lingxiao, means that the world is now beset by internal and external troubles, with crises coming from all directions."

"Where exactly is the leader, and why has it taken him ten years to return? Lingxiao Shengjing, Lizhou, Jiu Li Tribe probably can't wait ten years."

Although the Jiu Li Hidden Gate is powerful and has a deep foundation, the Hidden Lord knows that there are Celestial Person more powerful than oneself, and he has always been walking on thin ice, trembling with fear, as no one knows where the world situation will go.

Only the return of a leader like the top dog can truly stabilize the situation.

Li Weiyi was well aware that the reason his Coffin Master had set a ten-year period was because he hoped the Hidden Gate and the Jiu Li Tribe could protect him for ten years and provide him with the cultivation resources for that time.

Ten years later, the Coffin Master was naturally unable to return.

But ten years later, Li Weiyi may have grown to the level of the champion, which is also a kind of champion's return.

Li Weiyi feigned a bitter smile, "When I first met my master, I was just a mortal. How could I possibly know his secrets? Since my master said he would return in ten years, he will definitely return. We can't control anything about it. When the world is in chaos, Outstanding Person will surely emerge. When dragons and pythons fight each other, they will Spirit Transformation dragons. Where in a peaceful and prosperous world can we find such a scene? I'm actually looking forward to it."

"It was my wishful thinking!"

The Hidden Lord sighed, his eyes gleaming with wonder as he looked at Li Weiyi. He sensed that this young man was indeed extraordinary, seemingly possessing an inexhaustible fighting spirit. He said, "Weiyi, with your talent, you absolutely must refine your Golden Meridian Lines. Go and collect some of that golden spring water; it should be of great help. Nine, perhaps. Refining nine Golden Meridian Lines will surpass the vast majority of inheritors from Myriad Gate Families."

"That would be wonderful if it could help refine the Golden Meridian Lines!"

Li Weiyi immediately became interested, found a pottery jar on the ground, and went to collect the Golden Spring water from the puddle.

The Spirit Tablet Master said that his mental power cultivation has reached the Square Inch Bright Fire spiritual energy), and the Blood Earth Space will undergo further changes, which may help him refine his Golden Meridian Lines.

But this is, after all, uncertain.

What could be more real than the Golden Spring right before our eyes?

Hidden Lord watched as Li Weiyi scooped up all the Golden Spring from the puddle, leaving not a single drop. His brows furrowed tightly. This kid really had no manners at all.

The two walked outside.

The Hidden Lord said, "The secret of the Yuan Zhe Leader returning after ten years must not be revealed at this stage, and your identity must also be kept secret. Therefore, I cannot directly make you Hidden Person for the time being. You still need to challenge the three people on the Mind Power Stone Wall. With your talent, breaking through to the Nine Springs realm should not be a big problem."

Li Weiyi had the same idea, but he didn't want to be pushed into the limelight. If the news leaked, it would definitely provoke a bunch of old monsters.

He asked, "What are the benefits of becoming Hidden Person?"

Hidden Lord wanted to tell him that the Hidden Person represented responsibility.

But considering he wasn't a commoner, it wasn't appropriate to directly pin the Jiu Li Tribe's responsibility on him, so he changed his tone. "Becoming Hidden Person is quite remarkable; the resources one can enjoy are far beyond what a Hermit can compare to. For example, the Golden Spring in your hand, only Hidden Person are qualified to drink from it."

"For example, after the emergence of the Hidden Person, he can mobilize various resources from the Hidden Gate and the Coffin Sea Pavilion, and command all the hermits in the entire Lingxiao Shengjing. In the event of a major incident, even the hermits of previous generations will have to obey him."

"Furthermore, in order to cultivate the Leader Aura of the Hidden Person, they do not need to be implanted with the Death Spirit Fire when they leave the Hidden Gate, and they have a great deal of freedom."

Li Weiyi's eyes grew brighter and brighter. "So, as long as I become Hidden Person, I can leave the Hidden Gate whenever I want?"

"That's natural," said the Hidden Lord.

Li Weiyi nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly remembered something. "The problem with the Six Desires Talisman must be resolved within two months. I only have two pills left from Shi Liuyu's gift to me."

The Hidden Lord instructed Li Weiyi to bring out the pills.

He picked one up and sniffed it. "Shi Liuyu can't be touched yet, but this kind of pill isn't difficult to refine. I'll refine a few more for you later."

To completely resolve the Six Desires Talisman, it is absolutely necessary to capture Shi Liuyu and force him to remove the talisman. However, doing so would expose many traces of the Hidden Gate and might even attract the Heavenly King of the Earth Wolf King Army to Lizhou.

This is not the outcome Hidden Lord wanted to see!

It is most advantageous to keep the Hidden Gate secret, and even to make the enemy underestimate Hidden Gate.

Li Weiyi, carrying a pottery jar, walked out of the Hidden Gate of the mountain alone.

Besides the old gatekeeper who was meditating as usual, Hidden Twenty-Four was also waiting at the mountain gate.

She strode forward. "Well, did you see the Hidden Ancestor?"

Li Weiyi remained silent, his expression cold and stern.

Hidden Twenty-Four seemed lost in thought, feeling inexplicably guilty, but still coldly replied, "I truly knew nothing about the trial. But everyone has to go through this, so what's there to be angry about?"

Li Weiyi wasn't that petty, but he deliberately spoke in an annoyed tone, "In the most dangerous moment, my first thought was your safety, so I let you go first. But what about you? You should at least have reminded me, right? Do you know how dangerous it would be for the Changlin Gang after you left?"

"Wang Daozhen wanted to kill me, and he severely injured me with a single palm strike. Yang Qingxi wanted to deal with my companions and used them to threaten me. The most terrifying one is Yao Qian. He knows many of my secrets. Who knows what kind of torture and torment I will suffer if I fall into their hands?"

"Shi Liuyu wanted to throw me into the wolf den, leaving me to suffer a fate worse than death. Shi Jiuzhai and Shi Shishi, on the other hand, wanted to tie me up and take me to the Earth Wolf Den..."

Hidden Twenty-Four imagined the scene, his heart heavy, and said with absolute certainty, "I will kill Wang Daozhen... Next time, I'll let you go first!"

Li Weiyi coldly replied, "I need you to kill for me? His life is mine. Where is the Light Flame Pill?"

Hidden Twenty-Four hurriedly took out a bottle of pills and handed it over with both hands. "Five pills in total! If you need more, I'll figure something out."

Li Weiyi took the elixir bottle.

Once opened, an extremely bright beam of light shot out from the bottle's mouth, illuminating the area around the mountain gate as if it were daytime.

I quickly covered it up.

In high spirits, he couldn't wait to return to his cave and consume it. Seeing the nervous Hidden Twenty-Four beside him, he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Consider it a discount of 500,000 Silver Coin! The strength of the Three-headed Snake Blood Soul hasn't been verified yet. Don't try to trick me; I have a general idea of its combat power."

Hidden Twenty-Four could certainly sense Li Weiyi's sincerity, so she didn't deliberately deceive him anymore. "At your strongest combat state, you should be able to reach the Fifth Realm of the Five Seas, but to unleash that level of combat power, with my current cultivation level, I must be prepared to sacrifice my life."

"And what about its value?"

Li Weiyi asked hurriedly.

Hidden Twenty-Four said, "A conservative estimate is three million Silver Coin... I'll raise the money as soon as possible, but it might take several years..."

She dared not say more than ten years, fearing that Li Weiyi would snatch the bracelet back.

Li Weiyi held her breath, her heart pounding.

This is much higher than the Spirit Tablet Master predicted!

Considering that the Spirit Tablet Master does not belong to this era, it is normal for him to misjudge the value of the blood sacrifice ritual artifact.

"A conservative estimate is three million Silver Coin, but if you're not conservative, it could be four or five million. Let's just say you have four million Silver Coin!"

Li Weiyi waved his hand and walked down the mountain. "You should focus on your cultivation and break through to the next realm as soon as possible! Once your cultivation level improves, you shouldn't need to sacrifice your life to unleash the full power of the Three-headed Snake Bracelet. I'll come back to you for the money when I'm short."

Hidden Twenty-Four noticed that Li Weiyi's tone contained not a trace of anger, but rather a hint of concern. Realizing she had been intimidated, her face immediately turned cold. She quickly caught up and whispered, "When are we going to the Spider Cave?"

"No rush, let me first consume these Light Flame Pills and see if I can break through to the next realm quickly."

Arriving at the Blood River, Li Weiyi stopped and looked at the beautiful figure still sitting under the cliff carving of "Jiu Li Insect Valley".

The stone carvings are majestic and full of ancient charm.

Yao Yin was so frail, like a tender blade of grass, yet she seemed to want to shake the sacred mountains.

Li Weiyi asked, "What's wrong with her? What's wrong with her health? She sounded like she didn't have long to live."