Chapter 82: Legend of the Ten Springs

After the magic power left his body, it turned into magic Qi, and the yellow light on the sword tip suddenly surged.

The Four-Winged Spider King already possessed a certain level of intelligence. A look of human-like shock appeared in its eyes, and then its abdomen turned red, as if fire were burning inside, and it spat out a ray of blood-colored brilliance from its mouth.

"Bang!"

The blood-colored brilliance was split open by the heavy and powerful sword edge.

As the sword tip fell, the Four-Winged Spider King raised a silver-white spider leg like a metal spear to block it.

The spider leg was slashed off.

The Four-Winged Spider King was knocked flying backward, letting out a "coo-coo" scream, and then flapped its wings to retreat into the spider swarm.

Li Youyi wanted to pursue, but after regaining his reason, pain from all over his body struck him, and the Six Desires Talisman on his chest began to flicker again, his consciousness becoming dim. Thinking of Shi Liuyu, who had been locked in the Wolf Cave for two months, he shuddered and hurriedly rummaged for the medicine pills he carried.

He took one out and hurriedly swallowed it.

Looking forward again, there were only dense Winged White Spiders; where was the shadow of the Four-Winged Spider King?

That eight-to-nine-hundred-year-old purple Cistanche was several miles behind. To kill through the spider swarm to go back and pick it, in his current state, was simply unrealistic.

"Forget it, I'll come back another day. Let's go!"

Li Youyi waved his hand, riding the half-virtual, half-real giant camel, and chased after the flat-bottomed boat that had drifted more than a mile away.

The seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors fought while retreating, always blocking the Winged White Spiders chasing from behind, leaving countless spider corpses in the underground river.

Returning to the flat-bottomed boat.

Li Youyi put the giant camel into the Evil Camel Bell and finally couldn't hold on. His legs went soft, and he almost fell onto the boat. Only then did he discover a finger-long wound torn open by the Four-Winged Spider King on his thigh.

Fortunately, he was wearing the corpse-clothing soft armor on his upper body, which protected his major vital points.

"That Four-Winged Spider King's combat power is definitely comparable to a Five Seas Realm Wu Xiu. Surviving this fierce battle is simply a stroke of luck. For a Gushing Spring Realm to cross a major realm to fight back is truly as difficult as ascending to heaven."

Li Youyi supported his body to sit down and hurriedly mobilized the magic Qi in his body to flow along the silver meridians, healing the wounds all over his body.

In this battle, the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors were as brave as seven phoenixes. While he was healing, they kept covering the rear, and in the end, they actually killed the spider swarm until they dared not pursue.

After returning, they were very arrogant, flipping open the Ghost Banner wrapping Yao Yin, and all rushed up to gnaw on the Cistanche emitting crimson light.

Their entire bodies exuded an aura of "If I don't eat it, who has the qualifications to eat it?"

……

One day later.

Hidden Twenty-Four sat cross-legged on a stone platform at the exit of the spider cave, practicing the breathing technique, with a blood-light gem placed beside him, like a spirit lamp illuminating the stone walls on all sides of the Blood River.

The flat-bottomed boat was tied to a stalactite pillar below.

Hearing the abnormal sound of water, he suddenly opened his eyes: "How could it be so fast?"

Hidden Twenty-Four had not experienced the Seven Springs trial and did not know the specific situation in the spider cave. But he knew that anyone who could pass the trial and come out would take at least three days.

"Splash!"

A six- or seven-meter-long flat-bottomed boat drifted out slowly with the water flow.

Li Youyi sat alone at the bow with his spine straight, eyes closed to heal. The silver meridians of the Wind Mansion Gushing Spring acupoint had been born one by one, stabilizing his realm.

The number of meridians in his body increased to ninety-six.

Although still not comparable to the hundred-meridian all-silver, the gap was finally getting smaller and smaller.

"Bang!"

The two flat-bottomed boats collided, and the boat body shook.

Li Youyi exhaled a long breath of turbid air and looked at the thin, tall figure standing on the stone platform on the shore: "Three days passed so quickly; I thought only two days had passed."

"It hasn't even been two days. How did you do it?"

Hidden Twenty-Four flew down onto the boat, and after seeing the chaotic scene on Li Youyi and Yao Yin's flat-bottomed boat, he was slightly shocked: "You encountered an attack from the spider swarm?"

He knew that the Seven Springs trial tested psychological quality and pressure-bearing ability; if you didn't disturb the spider swarm within three days, you could come out alive. Once you disturbed the spider swarm, everyone would die inside.

The flat-bottomed boat was piled full of Winged White Spider corpses and a large amount of spider silk.

Of course, the Ghost Banner, Evil Camel Bell, Cistanche, and Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors had all been put away by him long ago.

"It was indeed a fierce battle, unusually dangerous," Li Youyi said with lingering fear.

Hidden Twenty-Four re-examined Li Youyi. No wonder Hidden Five specifically mentioned him; this person was indeed not simple, and there must be great secrets on him.

Tying the two flat-bottomed boats together, they returned.

Li Youyi asked: "These spider corpses and spider silk should be exchangeable for precious medicine, right?"

"Yes."

Hidden Twenty-Four, standing at the stern, looked at Yao Yin, who was still frozen like a block of ice, and asked curiously: "You actually didn't take this opportunity to kill your biggest competitor? People who are soft-hearted or greedy for beauty will not survive to the end."

The current Li Youyi no longer regarded anyone in this batch as an opponent and was too lazy to respond to this question. Instead, he lowered his voice and said: "Do you want to do a business deal?"

Hidden Twenty-Four was stunned for a moment.

He only heard the other party continue: "Inside the spider cave, there is a precious medicine approaching a thousand years of age. If you and I join forces, we will definitely be able to pick it."

The number of Winged White Spiders was huge, and Li Youyi believed that it would be extremely difficult to deal with them on his own.

Moreover, he wasn't sure if there was only one Spider King inside; what if there were other dangers? Other Spider Kings?

Pulling a Five Seas Realm powerhouse to cooperate was definitely the right choice.

Hidden Twenty-Four was slightly moved, but soon put on a cold face: "The precious medicine in the trial ground is a reward for the trial-takers; Hidden Ones cannot pick it. Besides, you, a Seven Springs Wu Xiu, what qualifications do you have to cooperate with a Five Seas Realm Wu Xiu?"

"I am an Insect Master; otherwise, how do you think I killed my way out of the spider swarm?"

Li Youyi wanted to persuade Hidden Twenty-Four and added: "Hidden Ones cannot pick the precious medicine in the trial ground, but there is no rule saying Hidden Ones cannot enter the trial ground, right? You just need to exert effort; I'll do the picking!"

He didn't know how this person before him survived the siege of the spider swarm, but he knew that the number of Winged White Spiders was huge. If one were truly trapped in the spider cave, even with his cultivation, he would likely die inside.

Besides, he was a dignified Five Seas Realm powerhouse, a dignified Hidden One, cooperating with a Seven Springs Wu Xiu?

It was simply a huge joke.

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Seeing that he was unmoved, Li Youyi had to give up on persuading him, deciding to wait until his cultivation reached Nine Springs or the Five Seas Realm before going to pick it.

The flat-bottomed boat returned to the valley where the entrance to the Nine Li Insect Valley was located.

After landing, Li Youyi took the spider corpses and spider silk to the Nine Li Hidden Sect's mountain gate to exchange for precious medicine, leaving Yao Yin to Hidden Twenty-Four.

Before leaving, still somewhat unwilling, Li Youyi persuaded Hidden Twenty-Four again: "That is a Cistanche, conservatively a hundred jin, large in quantity and easy to divide, worth at least ten times that of other precious medicines of the same age. It replenishes Yang and benefits the blood. You just broke through to the Five Seas Realm a month ago; it can just help you nourish your blood and temper your physical body."

"Of course, you must never go to pick it yourself; it's very dangerous. There is a Four-Winged Spider King inside."

Li Youyi saw that Hidden Twenty-Four was truly moved, and immediately began to worry that he would be kicked out, so he said: "I will definitely go again. If that Cistanche is picked, it must be your doing. I will report you to the Hidden Lord... you think about it first..."

Hidden Twenty-Four stared at Li Youyi's back as he carried the boat away, his forehead full of black lines.

It's reversed, it's reversed; a trial-taker who doesn't even know if he can survive until next month actually dares to threaten a Hidden One.

The Hidden Sect's mountain gate was located deeper in the direction of the telekinetic stone wall and the medicinal diet kitchen, guarded by an old man in black. Like the old man brewing the diet, he was a Hidden One from the previous sixty-year cycle.

When Li Youyi saw him, he naturally addressed him respectfully as "Elder."

"Bang!"

He put down the boat he was carrying on his shoulder.

The old man guarding the gate saw the boat full of spider corpses and spider silk, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, but in the end, he said nothing and exchanged three precious medicines for him.

They were three two-hundred-year-old Silver-Qiao Grasses, which could help temper silver meridians.

Li Youyi frowned and asked: "Are there any precious medicines that help temper gold meridians?"

The old man guarding the gate had a cultivation far beyond that of a little girl like Hidden Twenty-Four, and he laughed: "Your ambition is truly not small. These gold meridians are known as the dragon meridians within a Wu Xiu's body. Even if you only temper one, it will have great benefits for your future cultivation in the Five Seas Realm and Dao Seed Realm."

"The Hidden Sect does have a gold meridian tempering method, but it has extremely high requirements for physical strength, which Gushing Spring Realm Wu Xiu find difficult to reach."

Li Youyi asked: "What level must physical strength reach?"

The old man guarding the gate pointed to an iron pillar not far outside the mountain gate: "That is the Supreme Dense Heavy Weapon Five Seas Pillar, weighing five thousand five hundred jin. Only Five Seas Realm Wu Xiu can lift it with physical strength. If you can lift it in the Gushing Spring Realm, you have the qualifications to temper gold meridians."

People like Yao Zhengsheng, who were born with divine strength, could use a thousand-jin iron rod as a weapon, but that was only possible with the addition of magic power. Relying solely on physical strength, carrying a thousand-jin iron rod was not an easy task for him.

This was already the peak existence of Gushing Spring Realm physical strength!

Li Youyi walked toward the black Five Seas Pillar.

It was about the thickness of a forearm, and the part exposed above the ground was about seven feet long.

"Over the years, only Hidden Nine could shake it in the Nine Springs Realm. People like Hidden Twenty-Three, who are born with massive divine strength, are also a bit short. Look, it's almost rusting... you just now... did you shake it?"

The old man guarding the gate was talking to himself when suddenly, his voice became high-pitched, because he clearly saw the Five Seas Pillar being pulled out a little bit.

He walked over quickly: "You didn't use magic power, did you?"

Li Youyi shook his head and looked at the rust on his palm: "I can't lift it with my current physical strength. I'll wait until I eat more medicinal diet and temper it for a month or two."

He left somewhat disappointed.

The old man guarding the gate was dazed for a moment, reached out to grab the Five Seas Pillar, and lifted it to test the weight.

It was five thousand five hundred jin; there was no problem.

"Eh, no..."

The old man guarding the gate stared at Li Youyi's back, his forehead wrinkled, and whispered: "Didn't he shake it? What is he disappointed about?"

……

Returning to the Blood Tree Forest cliff cave, Li Youyi took out the crimson Cistanche and ate half a jin. The disappointment in his heart quickly dissipated, and he recovered his vigorous fighting spirit.

"The advantage is getting smaller and smaller! Hidden Nine could shake the Five Seas Pillar in the Nine Springs Realm, while I need to open the Eight Springs to do it."

"Fortunately, Cistanche can enhance blood Qi and temper the physical body. Will a five-hundred-year-old one not replenish fast enough?"

Li Youyi knew very well that his practice time was too short and his start in tempering his physical body was too late.

After deep thought, he entered the Buddha Relic to ask Master Coffin about tempering gold meridians.

"You want to impact the Tenth Spring, Divine Que?" Master Coffin suddenly said this.

Li Youyi was stunned: "There is a Tenth Spring?"

Master Coffin said: "The Tenth Spring belongs to legend; I haven't heard of anyone who has truly broken through it. But those with stunning talent who temper gold meridians mostly hold this fantasy. The final result is that they waste their best time and miss the best age to open the sea, which is not worth the loss."

Master Coffin then told Li Youyi in detail: "The younger you are, the easier it is to open the Five Seas. Once a person is over thirty, their physical state is gradually declining. Only by reaching the Dao Seed Realm can this downward trend be stabilized. Only by cultivating to the Longevity Realm can the life state be reversed."

"In other words, the top-tier talented Wu Xiu... that is, the successor-level Wu Xiu, must open the Five Seas before the age of thirty and impact the Dao Seed, so that they can continue to advance rapidly in the future and pursue higher and further goals."

"Youyi, although you started later than everyone else, your progress is extremely fast. You can go and try, but don't let it become an obsession and get trapped."

Li Youyi could understand Master Coffin's worry and laughed: "Since the Tenth Spring is so illusory, I won't consider it for now. But I heard that gold meridians are known as a Wu Xiu's dragon meridians, and after tempering them, there are great benefits."

Master Coffin laughed loudly: "That is natural! When I was a top-ten magic-martial powerhouse in the Lingxiao Life Realm, part of the reason was that I tempered eighteen gold meridians in my body, laying down eighteen indestructible foundations and surviving several life-and-death crises of broken meridians."

In the era when the three masters lived, the Lingxiao Life Realm had three hundred states, far more prosperous than it was now.

Being able to enter the top ten in magic-martial arts at that time had a higher gold content than the strongest of the millions of gates today.

"If you want to temper gold meridians, I can pass you the tempering method of the ancient immortal beast Bi Fang; this is my clan's unique skill," Master Coffin said.

Master Coffin's voice sounded: "The Bi Fang tempering method requires a large amount of ancient immortal beast blood for assistance. I suggest practicing the Nine Li tribe's Cang King tempering method, using the natural light of heaven and earth to temper meridians. It just so happens that Youyi can borrow the Buddha Relic to absorb a large amount of natural light, which is enough to accelerate the tempering speed of gold meridians."

"This... is not bad; this doesn't cost much money."

Li Youyi agreed with Master Coffin's method, but immediately added: "But the light underground is very dim, and I'm afraid the light from those glowing plants is not enough. It seems I must become a Divine Hidden One as soon as possible, return to the surface, and find an uninhabited place with sufficient light to retreat."

Master Lingwei said: "Youyi, if you cultivate the Square Inch Flame in the Yintang Spirit Realm into the Square Inch Bright Fire as soon as possible, perhaps the Lesser Yang Star is the best place for you to retreat and temper gold meridians."

Square Inch Bright Fire was the third realm of a Telekinetic Master. Li Ling was at this realm at the time, and her combat power was comparable to a Seven Springs Wu Xiu.

Li Youyi hurriedly asked: "What does Master Lingwei mean?"

"I can't say for sure, I can't be certain. But after your telekinetic cultivation broke through from the Square Inch Fire Seed to the current Square Inch Flame, the Blood Mud Space grew twice as large. If the realm breaks through again, there will inevitably be further changes here," Master Lingwei said.

Master Coffin said: "Don't rush; just walk both paths together. You should still heal your wounds well first."

……

Many people want to see some kind of final decision, Yao Yin lingering... are you all crazy?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 83 =====