Chapter 301: Corpse-planting Rice

The Great Phoenix had two layers of wings; the outer layer was five-colored and colorful, as brilliant as a phoenix's wings.

The inner side of the wings was a membrane wing full of mysterious patterns, sharp as magic artifact knives and swords.

Its body emitted five-colored glazed brilliance, and its six sharp claws were covered with fine scales, the claws sharp.

After reaching the Dao Seed Realm, even if it didn't release its disguised aura, it had an intimidating potential. Just one of it alone could challenge a powerhouse like Ye Nanfeng, an inferior third heaven Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator.

If it summoned the insect swarm to help with the strength and aura of a commander level, it could even win.

The Great Phoenix led the way in front, coming to the book pavilion low building near the Red Fire Bamboo Forest in the Southern Clarity Palace, the air filled with the fragrance of bamboo leaves.

The low building was only two stories high, a pavilion-style structure, without windows, only four-foot-high wooden walls.

Li Youyi had cleaned the book pavilion.

The bookshelves were all covered in dust; Yao Qingxuan almost never came here.

On the second floor.

Tang Wanzhou sat on the ground between two bookshelves, flipping through a yellowed book.

In the pursuit, she was severely injured, even her hair crown was shattered by Yao Qingxuan, very embarrassed.

At this moment, her long hair was scattered on both sides of her cheeks, her face was white without a trace of blood, and her magic artifact boots were lost, sitting barefoot, relying on the bookshelf without any lady-like image.

"Knock knock!"

Footsteps came from the stairs.

After a while, Li Youyi saw her, his head aching, nervously looking at the green-tiled jade hall in the distance, and whispered: "Young Lord, what

Tang Wanzhou did not find the information she wanted, put the book back on the shelf, and looked up: "That Southern Venerable has left, so naturally I have come!"

"If this were discovered by someone, I wouldn't be able to wash myself clean even if I jumped into the Sui River," Li Youyi said.

Tang Wanzhou said: "Then you have apprenticed to a heretical sect venerable and are being intimate with Yang Qingxi; how will you wash yourself clean in the eyes of your fiancée Brother Zuoqiu Hongting and Li Songgu?"

Li Youyi stared at her for a moment: "Young Master, what is your purpose in coming to the main altar? To save people, or was it premeditated?"

Tang Wanzhou leaned against the bookshelf, closed her eyes, her eyelashes very long: "Don't be so nervous. I am not here to coerce you into doing things for me; it's just that this Southern Clear Palace happens to be the safest place in the heretical sect's main altar, suitable for hiding. You are in a perilous situation, unable to act according to your own will, yet you can still think of rescuing Qi Xiao and Brother Tuoba Butuo, not hesitating to put yourself in greater danger. Honestly, I admire you, because in terms of loyalty and righteousness, I am not as good as you."

Tang Wanzhou did not answer explicitly, but Li Youyi already knew the answer.

So, her gathering a large number of people to enter the underground immortal mansion had the fundamental purpose of targeting the Twin Rice Sect.

The so-called search for the Bright Star Book was not the true purpose.

Li Youyi asked: "I want to know, did you invite me into the underground immortal mansion truly to borrow the insects? Or was I one of the baits to lure the Twin Rice Sect into acting?"

"Does this question have any meaning?"

Tang Wanzhou added: "Just as you said yourself, even if you didn't travel with me, you would have broken into the underground immortal mansion yourself. Wouldn't the final result be the same?"

Li Youyi said: "But your plan caused many people to die; Tiger Lord died, and Brother Tuoba Butuo is still in the Fourth Divine Son's mansion, having lost an arm. I want an explanation; that's not too much to ask, right?"

"It's not too much."

Tang Wanzhou nodded slightly and recounted: "At the very beginning, I only wanted to use myself as bait, but after entering the underground immortal mansion several times, the Twin Rice Sect did not act. Therefore, it was impossible to determine whether their main altar was in the underground immortal mansion."

"To lure them into acting... or rather, to force them to act, one had to gather enough experts to act together."

"But I felt it still wasn't enough."

"It just so happened that you, this heaven's pride who was in the spotlight at the Qianlong Lantern Festival, started fighting with the heretical sect and chasing them everywhere. At the same time, they were also looking for you, wanting to capture you; I thought they wanted the seven exotic insects. After all, in the environment of the underground immortal mansion, the seven exotic insects could be of great use."

"Bringing you and the seven exotic insects down to the underground immortal mansion together would make it more likely to lure them out."

"After probing your Wind Mansion, I actually felt a desire to cherish talent, which is why I advised you not to go and also implicitly told you about the danger."

Li Youyi felt that Tang Wanzhou was like a person without any emotions; she recounted all this in an extremely calm tone.

Tang Hu, Brother Tuoba Butuo, and these powerhouses and geniuses of the Northern Region seemed to be nothing more than chess pieces to her; as long as the goal could be achieved, they could be sacrificed at any time.

"Just to determine whether the Twin Rice Sect's main altar is in the underground immortal mansion?" Li Youyi said.

Tang Wanzhou said: "Do you think this is a small matter?"

Li Youyi looked at the swaying bamboo branches outside the window, waiting for her to continue.

Tang Wanzhou had to convince Li Youyi, as only Li Youyi could take her out, so she was very patient: "You have also seen the strange changes on the ground! The entire Prefecture is covered by a large number of tombstones and grave mounds that suddenly appeared, and they are expanding at a very fast speed to surrounding prefectures like Qiuzhou."

"I have communicated with that ancestor of the Confucian Dao of the Brother Zuoqiu Sect; historically, several similar events have occurred, which can be checked in the records. Some were due to the invasion of the Nether Realm of the Dead, some were due to the resurrection of an Imperial Corpse... in short, none of them were good things, and earth-shattering disasters have erupted."

"One of them is related to the Rice People!"

"That chapter is called 'Planting Rice with Yin Corpses'."

"In the records, tens of thousands of years ago, the Rice People once set up an altar array for 'Planting Rice with Yin Corpses' underground in a Life Realm, using the power of sacrifice to push the underground yin energy into the ground."

"When the pollen of the rice flowers blows with the wind and lands on the grave mounds, the corpses in the graves will turn into an army of corpse rice, eating all the living people in the entire Life Realm."

"Since then, the entire Life Realm has turned into rice paddies, and it remains a kingdom of the Rice People to this day."

Li Youyi's brows furrowed tightly: "The world is full of experts; can't the tombstones and grave mounds on the ground be leveled in advance?"

"Since ancient times, how many people have been buried underground? Level one wave, and another wave will grow."

Tang Wanzhou continued: "No one knows if the strangeness happening in the Prefecture is this situation, so powerhouses from all major forces have been attracted here to investigate the cause."

"The reason for suspecting the Twin Rice Sect is that in the last few hundred years, the heretical sect's power has become increasingly active. They have gradually walked out from the shadows."

"When they dare to appear in the open, it shows that they have grown to an unknown extent, to the point where they can no longer be hidden in the darkness."

"The imperial court and all major million-strong sects have investigated and captured some heretical sect leaders, but most are extreme followers of the World Hall. Some have only heard of the main altar, and some had their five senses sealed when entering and leaving the main altar, not knowing what kind of existence the main altar is."

"But all investigations point to the heretical sect's main altar being hidden in the Prefecture."

"Twelve years ago, the world fell into chaos. Since then, no one has had the energy to continue investigating the heretical sect, and the imperial court has become the common enemy of the world."

Li Youyi said: "Could the cause of the world's chaos be related to the Twin Rice Sect? Using this to divert the attention of all parties, making the human race kill each other? And then, snatching chestnuts from the fire to complete the final harvest."

Tang Wanzhou contemplated for a moment: "From the perspective of the greatest beneficiary, this is possible. But I don't think they are already strong enough to influence Yu Yaozi."

She continued: "Actually, this matter shouldn't have been done by me, and I am just a junior. I am also afraid of death, and I don't want to take such a big risk."

"But obviously, the heretical sect reacted quickly to the exposure of the underground immortal mansion and used some means to make it impossible for figures above the Longevity Realm to enter the entrance."

"I, this junior, suddenly became the strongest person capable of entering the underground immortal mansion. How can the strongest person shirk responsibility?"

Li Youyi suddenly felt he could understand her a little, and sighed: "Can't the transcendent ones break in either?"

"Hard to say, I think there should be a way to break in."

Tang Wanzhou said: "But do you think Born Qilin Zang really happened to hit the entrance of the underground immortal mansion by chance?"

"He must have known that he could not easily take the Lingxiao Life Realm in one battle after failing to take the Qiuzhou Prefecture City and the Zhu Men, and he did not want the Twin Rice Sect to reap the benefits, so he deliberately exposed them."

"The various transcendent beings of the human race and the demon race were both defeated a year ago, and very few still possess their full strength."

"Under such circumstances, even if two or three transcendent beings in their prime state broke into the underground immortal mansion, they would mostly fold inside and die without a burial place. The terrain here is too complex, everything is unknown, and who knows what kind of arrangements the heretical sect has made?"

"That ancestor of the Confucian Dao of the Brother Zuoqiu Sect is an active promoter, wanting to resolve the potential hidden dangers of the underground immortal mansion."

"But the old gentleman told me that he went to the Lei Xiao Sect to join forces with the transcendent beings of the Lei Xiao Sect. The other party asked him if he had set up a killing array in the underground immortal mansion to trap and kill them."

"The Lei Xiao Sect's transcendent beings are still considered good; although they are afraid of being calculated by the Brother Zuoqiu Sect, they at least dispatched Longevity Realm giants to actively investigate in the Prefecture."

"And when our Snow Sword Tang Court's transcendent beings went to find people to join forces, the other party either declined on the grounds of being injured or suspected that the Snow Sword Tang Court was conspiring with the demon race to set up killing means in the underground immortal mansion."

"Li Youyi, not everyone in this world has a sense of responsibility!"

"The word 'unity' has been extremely difficult from ancient times to the present. Unless a life-and-death crisis like Born Qilin Zang and the demon race is encountered, the transcendent beings are either suspicious or want to watch others take risks, letting others die first to protect themselves."

Li Youyi nodded slightly: "If internal unity could be achieved, there would be no dynastic changes. The fundamental reason for the lack of unity is that everyone is fighting for power and profit."

"You are right, that is exactly it."

Tang Wanzhou said: "Take the transcendent war of a year ago as an example; as far as I know, there was a human transcendent who fell, and the force they belonged to was quickly carved up by other human forces, their descendants were enslaved, abused, and killed to the point of extinction. This is too chilling!"

"How can you expect the transcendent beings to give generously?"

"The current era of war is an era without rules. Even the Longevity Martial Prohibition Order has great resistance, and no one submits to anyone... On the imperial court's side, a sword is still hanging over their heads."

"Without a Son of Heaven to make the final decision, set rules, and restrain everyone, everyone can only act cautiously."

"So I can understand the caution of those transcendent beings."

"So someone has to stand up, and someone has to die first. That's why I came; I want to bring back the exact news. With the exact news, we can unite all forces that can be united, attack directly, and resolve the crisis before it erupts."

(End of chapter)