Chapter 32: Opening the Third Spring

After Zhao Zhizhuo left, Li Youyi sat alone under a horn bone lamp, studying the evil camel bell.

The bell was simple and unadorned, the place with copper rust was extremely rough, and the scriptures that had been corroded could be vaguely seen.

It was too strange, able to affect the mind, bewitch sins, and amplify evil thoughts.

It seemed...

It could also collect evil thoughts.

At that time, Li Youyi really wanted to throw it into the blood sea to sink forever. It was because it could load real objects and contained a mysterious space that he kept it.

Li Youyi planned to buy a batch of food to bring back when he returned to the bronze warship.

With him and Gao Huan, how much could they carry?

If it was really a treasure that could contain heaven and earth, it would be convenient!

"It should also be a magic tool. According to Zhao Lao's statement, it can be driven by using dharma power. The degree of driving depends on the level of the realm, and the strength and amount of dharma power."

Li Youyi was worried about accidents, so he plugged his ears.

Afterward, he mobilized the dharma power in the two spring eyes at the soles of his feet and slowly injected it into the bell.

Before long.

"Whoosh—"

The surface of the bell flashed with brilliance, trembled slightly, and actually grew several times larger.

Li Youyi hesitated for a moment, and after putting on the silver-silk gloves, he reached into the inside of the bell. His whole arm reached in, and it was very large inside, and he couldn't touch the wall or the edge.

And he didn't touch those half-virtual, half-real camels.

It was impossible to know what the situation inside was, so he only fished out a few jars of Jin Wu blood, which Yu Tuonan had clearly placed inside while on the bronze warship.

Driving it with dharma power again, the evil camel bell didn't grow larger.

With his current cultivation, he could only reach this point. Besides, even if the evil camel bell became large enough, he wouldn't dare to walk in easily.

As for "shaking the evil camel bell," Li Youyi didn't dare to try for the time being, worried about encountering dangers that couldn't be dealt with.

"Zhao Lao said, opening four springs, you can have dharma power initially overflow, and then control it at will. When dharma power is strong to a certain extent, you can even take things from the air."

For Li Youyi, who had practiced martial arts since he was a child, such a realm made him incomparably fascinated and ten thousand times eager.

"Opening four springs, you can have a certain status and can be called half a person above people. To make up the other half, you have to transcend above the Gushing Spring Realm." At that time, Zhao Zhizhuo made such a sigh.

Putting away the evil camel bell.

Li Youyi lay on the bed, his hands behind his head, unable to sleep.

Sometimes thinking of Cai Yutong who was taken away by the skeleton demon, sometimes thinking of Senior Brother on the bronze warship, and sometimes thinking of the bits and pieces of learning martial arts from Master on the mountain.

"Martial Dao, Martial Dao, only martial remains, no Dao exists."

This was what Master once said!

But now, a magnificent Martial Dao path had already unfolded before his eyes, whether it was dharma power overflowing, taking things from the air, or Shi Jiuzhai's spitting out clouds and stepping over cliffs and walls, it was really too fascinating.

On the future Martial Dao path, it must be wonderful, with countless divine abilities waiting for him to climb and pursue.

As for being a person above people...

Who is willing to be at the bottom forever, never seeing the light of day, and looking up to see

Li Youyi rolled off the bed, picked up a jar of Jin Wu blood, and took a large gulp. Afterward, he sat cross-legged on the floor, practiced the Jade Void Breathing Method, and mobilized the two streams of cold and hot magic power to refine it.

……

A night of cultivation.

The next morning, Li Youyi, dressed in a dark blue cloth robe printed with beast patterns and a purple belt around his waist, sat by the railing of the second-floor terrace of the Yao Hua Ting, gazing intently at the diverse crowd on the street and the various fierce beasts following beside them.

Those with high cultivation bases stepped on giant pythons over ten meters long as they walked, causing everyone to fearfully avoid them.

Wild oxen weighing several thousand jin pulled carts, while commoners in tattered clothes led the oxen to guide the way.

The magic martial cultivators of great families drove four-armed apes the size of houses to carry certain ores forward; the latter were immensely strong, yet could only be enslaved.

Li Youyi knew very well that he and Gao Huan could live in the Yao Hua Ting, enjoying fine food and the treatment of people above others, only because they had done the Cang Li tribe a great favor, allowing them to be briefly respected and having someone else pay for their enjoyment.

But no matter how great the favor, there comes a time when it is repaid.

Possessing one's own strength is what truly makes one a person above others, without having to worry about suddenly being expelled one morning upon waking up. Then, having nowhere to go, becoming displaced, just like a beggar on the street.

Survival and gaining a firm foothold are the top priorities.

How to live well and live brilliantly can only depend on martial cultivation.

In his ears were the bustle and noise, the heavy traffic, the hawking and selling, and the myriad states of human life.

For a few moments, Li Youyi felt that everything that happened on the bronze warship, and even the nineteen years of life on Earth, were like a dream.

The world before his eyes seemed to be the only reality.

He spread his right palm; the center of his palm was scorching hot, as if a miniature volcano were erupting.

Eleven silver trace veins extended from the spring eye in his palm, creating eleven new Qi-moving routes.

If he were to perform hand techniques similar to the "Heaven-Flipping Palm Print" while stimulating the spring eye in his palm, the power would inevitably be far greater than before.

This third spring eye was one he opened this morning.

The total number of silver trace veins in his body reached thirty-seven.

Li Youyi was very confused; last night, Zhao Zhizhuo kept saying that opening a spring eye was extremely difficult, and that even with top-tier talent, one would have to toil for ten years to open the four springs of the four limbs.

Beyond the four springs, it would be even harder.

But Li Youyi felt that Zhao Zhizhuo must have suffered too many setbacks and hardships in his life, so he always liked to exaggerate suffering, having lost the confidence to face life's challenges.

When encountering a freak-species person who had opened one spring, he felt that one who had opened three was someone he could not defeat.

Opening a spring eye certainly has its difficulties, but it is by no means the "climbing to heaven" difficulty he described. Otherwise, how could he have opened one in just a few days?

For him, it might be harder than it is for Li Youyi; after all, everyone's cultivation speed is different, and their talent is different, so one cannot judge others by oneself.

But how big can the gap between people be?

Those who get into a capital university don't have an extra brain compared to those who get into a vocational college.

Gao Huan came to Li Youyi's room, leaned in close, and said mysteriously, "Master Li, do you think the Nine Li tribe of this world is the same tribe as the Nine Li tribe in Earth's myths and legends?"

"How would I know?" Li Youyi laughed.

Gao Huan said, "I think it's very likely! Legend has it that after the Battle of Zhuolu, the remnants of the Nine Li fled into the North Sea and went to the Netherworld. Didn't we also set off from the Arctic Ocean to get here? On the way, we also discovered the ancient stone peak pillar stele of Chixian, which shows that people from ancient China had walked this path."

"If we can enter the core high-level of the Nine Li tribe and carefully investigate their ancestral lineage, we might find the answer."

Li Youyi knew he was always superstitious and had a very jumpy train of thought, so he didn't find it strange: "What exactly are you trying to express?"

Gao Huan said, "They are the common people, and we are also common folk, which means we likely share a common ancestor. Although I don't know if we can return to Earth, I have unexpectedly found a sense of belonging and stability here. You don't want to return to the ship and continue that perilous and unknown drifting in the Blood Sea, do you?"

"You want to stay?" Li Youyi asked.

Gao Huan said, "According to what you said, we now have a favor to repay to the Cang Li tribe. As long as we behave ourselves and stay in their tribe to survive, I don't think it will be difficult. The only thing we need to think about is how to bring the First Mate and the others over."

Li Youyi was naturally thinking about this matter as well.

……

Zhao Zhizhuo arrived again in a carriage and stopped outside the main gate of the Yao Hua Ting.

After picking up Li Youyi and Gao Huan, he drove the carriage and said, "The Young Master understands the little benefactor's concerns, but after all, since he owes such a great favor, he must thank you in person. Rest assured, not many people will know about this."

The attack on the Cang Li tribe is destined to cause a sensation.

If everyone knew that two people saved Zhao Zhizhuo and brought him to Yao Guan City to seek help, which caused the enemy to fall short at the last moment, then the Earth Wolf King Army and Shi Jiuzhai would certainly know too.

As long as they investigate, they will definitely be able to ferret out these two people who ruined their plans.

Regardless of whether the situation develops in this direction, Li Youyi had to consider it first. That was why he refused to go with Zhao Zhizhuo to pay respects to the Young Master of the Cang Li tribe last night; after all, there are many eyes and ears.

His current strength is still far from reaching the point where he can jump around on the table.

At the very least, one must become a person above others who has transcended to the Gushing Spring Realm to have a certain degree of confidence and capital in this cruel world where people can be killed at will.

"Old Zhao, stop calling me little benefactor. If you don't mind, you can call me little brother, or Xie Tianshu, either is fine!" Li Youyi said.

"Alright then."

Zhao Zhizhuo was naturally happy to be closer.

……

Led by Zhao Zhizhuo, Li Youyi and Gao Huan met this Young Master in the Zao Mei Manor, where the members of the Cang Li tribe were temporarily staying.

"Young Master, Miss Ling, this is the Xie Tianshu who killed those two high-level freak-species experts of the Buddha-Crossing Thieves yesterday, and after saving me, brought me to Yao Guan City to seek help."

Zhao Zhizhuo added, "Xie Tianshu is named Xie Jin! This Brother Gao is named Gao Huan, and he has a congenital language disorder... he only knows hometown slang..."

Li Youyi observed Cang Li secretly and sighed in his heart.

This is the true upper class of this world; just looking at his clothing, accessories, and temperament gives one a sense of indescribable nobility.

Any woman who sees him would likely fall in love at first sight.

He is about the same age as Li Youyi and is exceptionally handsome. Like Gao Huan and Cai Yutong, it is as if he has shed his shell and transformed; his body and skin have become immortal-like, without any flaws.

What is even more remarkable is the aura he invisibly radiates due to his high-level cultivation, which directly creates a fundamental gap between him and everyone else present.

Li Youyi never felt inferior, nor did he belittle himself, but everyone has a ruler in their heart to measure themselves and others.

Cang Li tried hard to appear approachable, expressing his gratitude to Li Youyi and Gao Huan—warm, polite, and friendly, but with a great distance.

Standing at such a high altitude, being able to do this is already very difficult.

He said, "Zhao Zhizhuo has already told me about your affairs. The world has been at war for ten years; outside there are Spirit-Passing evil demons and fierce insect curses, and inside there are thief disasters and military chaos. The common people in every state are living harder year by year. Now, it looks like Li State is about to fall into chaos too!"

These words didn't sound like they were said to Li Youyi, but rather like he was sighing to himself.

Cang Li was clearly not interested in where Li Youyi and Gao Huan came from and asked, "You are following the path of magic martial arts, right? How many spring eyes have you opened?"

"Three," Li Youyi said.

"That's not bad."

At this age, having only opened three spring eyes, in the mind of the top-talented Cang Li, he actually only wanted to barely rate it as "okay."

But the old patriarch had always urged him that to be a patriarch, one must first control one's mouth and not be blunt. To respect the virtuous and recruit talent, one must speak pleasantly and not offend people with words first.

Li Ling stood behind Cang Li, barefoot, looking fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing nine silver bracelets on her hands, dressed in a colorful robe, with her long hair braided into many long small braids, and blue mist light marks permeating her body.

Gao Huan, who was standing beside Li Youyi, had not been able to take his eyes off her since he saw Li Ling.

Although the transformed Cai Yutong was also as beautiful as a fairy, Gao Huan had always kept his distance from such cold and temperamental female doctors.

But this young girl before him was different; she was like an elf in the mist, her face exquisite, sweet, and mysterious, and every point grew on his heartstrings.

As for Liu Ying...

He didn't dare to recall even a bit of her; he always felt that she was a hurdle he could never get past in his life.

Cang Li had noticed Gao Huan long ago, and his interest in him far exceeded that in Li Youyi.

This is a pure immortal body!

(End of chapter)