Chapter 77: Hidden Twenty-Four

Li Li Youyi was so scared that his whole person woke up instantly, touched to the side, and touched some more bodies, hands, and feet.

He realized instantly that he was no longer in the carriage, and it was very likely that he was already on the way to the Hidden Sect. But he couldn't see, couldn't hear, and didn't know what kind of environment he was in at this moment.

How long had he slept?

Suddenly, someone patted him on the head, and the lower edge of the black cloth bag loosened with a swish.

His hearing recovered, and the sound of rowing water rang in his ears.

Li Li Youyi hurriedly took off the cloth bag. In front of him was a golden misty fog, and beneath him was a flat boat over ten meters long, with twenty or thirty young men and women squeezed together tightly.

The vast majority of them had just had their cloth bags taken off, and some were still taking them off.

Everyone's psychological quality was very strong; those who could come here were not ordinary people. After a brief chaos, they sat up straight and sized up the environment they were in.

Only a pair of cyan eyes like gems were glaring at Li Li Youyi, her teeth biting her lips, her red lips trembling, and her hands on her legs clenched into fists.

She was the owner of the leg that had just pressed against Li Li Youyi's chest, and her position was next to Li Li Youyi. The boat was too narrow to move. Earlier, just after boarding the boat, she was grabbed by this rascal and pressed firmly under him, unable to break free at all.

The other party's cultivation was extremely high; every time she wanted to break free, she was met with even more violent pulling, which made her thighs numb with pain, her calves cramp, and she felt as if they didn't belong to her anymore.

It was absolutely intentional.

Which tribe picked such a person, how could he be so shameless?

After Li Li Youyi looked at her, he was somewhat surprised.

She was actually a pure immortal body; which tribe would spend such a huge cost?

Did they not know that among the people sent to the Hidden Sect every year, only one could survive?

Seeing Yao Yin was chosen and sent by the Jiu Li Zhong Yao Li tribe. At only fifteen years old, she had the cultivation of opening seven springs, and was even a pure immortal body, which could be said to have a bright future.

She had the flawless skin that most pure immortal bodies had, and every inch of her body looked like it was carved from crystal-clear immortal jade, and her whole body radiated a faint white light. You must know, the appearance of a pure immortal body was something mortals could not look up to, and there was also that immortal charm on Seeing Yao Yin, and even her hair was extremely lustrous.

Li Li Youyi felt the coldness in the other party's eyes, and thinking of the random pinching when he just woke up, how could he not know who he had pinched?

He was so embarrassed that he wanted to jump off the boat; it was too shameful, so he hurriedly apologized: "I'm sorry, I just woke up, and my perception was covered…… In short, I'm very sorry!"

After apologizing, Li Li Youyi was naturally too ashamed to continue facing her, so he hurriedly turned around and touched his Yellow Dragon Sword and insect tube.

They were all still on his back.

The insect tube had been opened, but the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors inside were clearly not recognized, so they were all staying inside well.

Li Li Youyi looked toward the bow of the boat, only to see a tall and sturdy man sitting cross-legged there, facing forward, his back majestic like a mountain, and the dark red cloak hanging on his shoulders swaying with the wind, having a very majestic and domineering aura.

The golden mist was overflowing from a copper lamp beside the man.

The golden light in the lamp was very bright, illuminating the darkness of the underground river.

Li Li Youyi saw Li Qing.

Li Qing's calm eyes also fell on him, and a sharp light flashed in his pupils. Then, he turned his head quickly and looked elsewhere.

With just this glance, Li Li Youyi judged many things: "He knows that the person dispatched by the Earth Wolf King Army is me!"

"But when I got on the carriage, he clearly had already put on the black cloth bag. This shows that after I fell asleep, his cloth bag was taken off by the mysterious elder, deliberately letting him remember me."

"Why must he remember me? Is it to let him kill me in the Hidden Sect?"

Li Li Youyi didn't want to deal with the games between the Earth Wolf King Army, the Jiu Li tribe, and the Coffin Mountain high-level; that was not something he could control. For now, he had to be cautious and must guard against Li Qing.

The flat boat was traveling on a wide underground river.

The man sitting cross-legged at the bow of the boat radiated wisps of magic Qi, controlling the oars to row across the air.

The one taking off the black cloth bags from everyone's heads was a girl in black.

Her figure was as straight as a spear, and she was not old, only sixteen or seventeen.

After taking off the black cloth bag from the last teenager's head, the girl in black stood at the stern of the boat, with a crisp voice: "We are now traveling in the underground dark river to the Jiu Li Hidden Sect. Everyone's will is very good, there is no panic, and there is no timidity or fear."

"But I still have to make it clear to you. The underground is a world ruled by the insect race, and we must be as quiet as possible."

"Coo! Coo!"

On the bank of the underground river, a large amount of insect chirping sounded at the right time.

In the darkness, countless pairs of red eyes lit up.

The girl in black said: "You don't have to worry too much; the lamp on the boat is burning the pupa shell of the commander-level exotic insect, the Tiger-Spotted Golden Cicada, and ordinary insect swarms will not attack us."

Soldier-level, General-level, Commander-level……

Soldier-level and General-level are called fierce insects.

Commander-level can be called exotic insects.

An adult commander-level exotic insect, a single one, can threaten a Dao Seed Realm martial artist.

"Let me introduce myself. I came here two years earlier than you and am a Hidden Person from two years ago. It is the twenty-fourth year of this sixty-year cycle that I entered the Hidden Sect, so everyone calls me Hidden Twenty-Four." The girl in black said.

The boys and girls on the boat looked at the girl in black again, and there was much more awe in their eyes.

This is a person who was able to survive to the end among a batch of candidates!

And, she is even younger than many people on the boat.

This is not an ordinary person!

The girl in black added: "This batch of candidates of yours this year is more than twice as strong as last year. There are those who opened Nine Springs, pure immortal bodies, and there are four who opened Eight Springs. It seems that after the successor of the Jiu Li tribe was decided, all tribes knew that the God-Hidden Person would also be selected, and they all wanted to compete."

"You dare to come to the Hidden Sect, you should all know the cruelty, right? Only one person can survive every year and become the Hidden Person of that year. Only the Hidden Person is qualified to participate in the competition for the God-Hidden Person, and all losers will become the Hidden Servants of the God-Hidden Person of this sixty-year cycle."

"Cruel, it is extremely cruel. But the cultivation resources and cultivation environment of the Hidden Sect are not something other places can give."

"Two years ago, I entered the Hidden Sect at fourteen and opened seven springs. Two years later, I opened nine springs, and eight days ago, I entered the Five Seas. With my talent, I would definitely not be able to open nine springs cultivating outside, and it would be impossible to break through to the Five Seas so quickly."

"This is the strength of the Hidden Sect!"

A sixteen-year-old Nine Springs Five Seas Realm?

So perverted?

How many of the heavenly pride figures on the surface of the Li tribe can compare?

Li Qing, who considered himself to have top-tier talent and only put Cang Li in his eyes, suffered a not-small blow at this moment. He asked: "May I ask Hidden Twenty-Four, are you the fastest among the Hidden People to open Nine Springs and reach the Five Seas Realm?"

The girl in black, Hidden Twenty-Four, had a look of mockery in her eyes: "I can only tell you that anyone who becomes a Hidden Person must impact the Nine Springs. All resources will be provided to you, all relevant classics can be flipped through at will, and there are Hidden People from the previous sixty-year cycle who have been promoted to elders to help you."

The boat was in an uproar.

Must impact Nine Springs?

Seeing Yao Yin asked: "What if you can't break through?"

"Then you will stay in the Gushing Spring Realm until you open the Ninth Spring

"Then you must remain in the Gushing Spring Realm; only after opening the ninth spring can you enter the Five Seas," said Yin Twenty-four.

Seeing Yao Yin said: "Attempting to break through to the ninth spring is very dangerous; doing so by force will kill people."

"Do you think people haven't died because of it? I am called Yin Twenty-four, but in this sixty-year cycle, there are only seventeen of the Hidden Ones who came before me still alive."

Immediately after, Yin Twenty-four continued: "Without a strong heart, without the conviction to either die or win, I don't think you would have appeared on this boat. It is cruel because the Hidden Sect is the final line of defense for the Jiuli clan. If it is not cruel now, the enemy will be cruel to our people in the future."

"I am very curious to see who among you will be the last Hidden Twenty-six to survive?"

"It will definitely be me," said a youth who had opened eight springs.

Li Qing laughed: "Wait until you break through to the ninth spring before saying that!"

Yin Twenty-four said: "Being strong in cultivation does not necessarily mean you will be the final winner. Present here are children who have opened four or five springs; they are more malleable. Under the training of the Hidden Sect, they will grow faster and more solidly. In the future, someone might even become stronger than you."

Li Li Youyi had long realized this problem.

Perhaps the Hidden Sect's initial purpose in having the nine great tribes send these half-grown children—who have opened four or five springs and already possess independent consciousness—was precisely this. Conversely, those of them who are older and have higher cultivation bases were sent by the various tribes intentionally, thinking that higher cultivation gives a better chance of becoming a Hidden One, or even a Divine Hidden One.

"Splash!"

The current of the underground river suddenly became turbulent, and the boat's speed surged.

A large spray of water splashed up, landing on Li Li Youyi.

Li Li Youyi wiped it off, his hand covered in bright red, and brought it to his nose to sniff: "The water in this underground river is actually the same as the water of the Blood Sea."

Sitting beside him, Seeing Yao Yin, who had just nearly fallen into his arms due to the sudden turbulence, gave a low hum: "Ignorant! Beneath the Lingxiao Life Realm, there are countless blood rivers, extending in all directions, and even more vast river valleys, mining areas, insect realms, and demon caves. Above ground is one world, and underground is another world."

"The Earth Wolf King Army, one of the three great barbarian bandit groups famous in the Southern Region, once hid in the underground world for a long time; otherwise, they would have been wiped out by the Lingxiao Palace long ago."

Borrowing the golden light of the copper lamp, Li Li Youyi saw many tributaries of the blood river along the way. The underground really was crisscrossed like a maze, and he wondered how the person at the bow of the boat found the correct path.

Over the next few days, the small boat continued to move at high speed, constantly descending, heading deeper into the underground.

Along the way, they passed an underground blood sea, spanning more than two hundred li in width.

There was no food prepared on the boat, but Yin Twenty-four distributed a hundred-year-old precious medicine to everyone; after eating it, one could go several days without hunger.

Li Li Youyi secretly calculated that just these dozens of precious medicines were worth ten million copper coins; the Hidden Sect was truly extravagant. He wondered if this was supplied annually by the nine great tribes, or if it was the Hidden Sect's own cultivation resources.

By the sixth day, the boat's speed finally slowed, and it entered a narrow tributary of the underground river.

As soon as they entered, everyone heard a piercing cicada song, which entered their minds like a knife.

"Buzz! Buzz!"

On the pitch-black cave walls, two golden radiances bloomed, forming tiger shadows that looked like two giant golden tigers crouching on the stone wall. But upon closer observation, one would discover that inside the tiger shadows were two palm-sized golden cicadas.

The person sitting cross-legged at the bow finally stood up, wearing a metal mask: "Do not panic; these are the two Tiger-striped Golden Cicadas guarding the passage to the Jiuli Insect Valley. I am a Divine Hidden One from the previous sixty-year cycle; you may address me as Hidden Lord."

Two commander-level exotic insects guarding the entrance to the passage?

This Hidden Lord also looked like someone not to be trifled with.

Li Li Youyi immediately gained an understanding of the Hidden Sect's strength; if the Earth Wolf King Army dared to scheme against the Jiuli Hidden Sect, they would definitely suffer a great loss. An ancient clan with thousands of years of heritage was truly not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

The boat continued to sail, and light gradually appeared underground.

Light of various colors.

After passing through an ancient stone gate, the view began to widen, and the fragrance of grass and trees wafted over; a vast underground river valley appeared beside a river that looked like a red ribbon.

In the river valley, it was misty.

It was not real fog, but atomized magic power similar to a Dao Domain.

"There is definitely a massive Heavenly Law Earth Spring here!"

Li Li Youyi felt a secret chill and looked into the river valley; the ground was covered with many glowing plants of various colors, vibrant and beautiful, and in the distance, glowing trees grew as high as a jungle.

Beside the underground blood river stood many stone tablets, some engraved with characters and scriptures, others with diagrams of human combat techniques.

In the distance, on the vaguely visible towering cliff face, four ancient and enormous characters were carved, manifesting an incomparable divinity that attracted everyone's gaze.

The boat stopped.

The Hidden Lord disembarked first, with Yin Twenty-four following closely behind.

After the twenty-six youths, maidens, and children disembarked, they were all brought beneath that cliff carving.

The Hidden Lord said in a deep, resonant voice: "The four characters 'Jiuli Insect Valley' on the cliff were carved by the hand of the God of Jiuli himself; everyone who enters the valley must bow. Whoever can comprehend a strand of the God of Jiuli's combat technique intent from the carvings can directly become a Divine Hidden One."

(End of chapter)