Chapter 437: Sixfold Burning Karma Third Level

Li Wei followed Huang Liao to the back gate of the manor.

It was pitch black all around, with the desolate Gobi Desert stretching far into the distance, where ancient withered trees stood unrotted for millennia. Many carriages and spirit steeds could be seen parked in the darkness.

Only two ghost lamps under the eaves emitted a faint blue glow.

Yu'er buried her face in Li Wei's arms, the quiet and eerie surroundings making her feel a little scared.

"Knock, knock!"

Huang Liao knocked on the door.

The wooden door opened.

The door was opened by a withered-faced, bone-winged departed spirit servant dressed in a grayish-white robe.

Li Wei stepped inside.

Behind him, the wooden door closed with a thud.

A faint blue, ghost-like mist of array light enveloped the entire manor. Eighteen white ghost banners rattled in the wind, and spirit money and white mist drifted in the air.

Before them lay a desolate and silent backyard.

The departed spirit servant stood before the wooden door, his hands clasped, his eerie face smiling as he stared at Li Wei, who turned to look back at him.

Li Wei, feigning ignorance while understanding the situation, said, "Shopkeeper Huang, this place looks a bit off to me... Hey, Shopkeeper Huang..."

Huang Liao had already darted away, landing beneath a ghost banner over twenty zhang distant. Protected by the array patterns emitted by the banner, he chuckled from afar, "Brother Li, I'm sorry, but where in this world can you find a free lunch? I'm a businessman; how could a businessman just give you two Sun-Avoiding Pearls for free?"

"Weren't we becoming friends?" Li Wei asked.

Huang Liao replied, "If friendship were so easily made, how worthless would friends be? Brother Li, you're too inexperienced!"

"Uncle Shopkeeper, so you're a bad guy," Yu'er said, puffing out her cheeks.

Huang Liao sighed, "Yu'er, in the face of harsh survival, there are only the living and the dead, not good people and bad people."

Yu'er asked worriedly, "Master, what should we do?"

"Don't be afraid."

Li Wei gently patted her small shoulder, scanning the darkness. "Shopkeeper Huang, you must have done this sort of thing often, haven't you? Why did you target me, this 'fat sheep'? I didn't show off any wealth before coming to the Spirit Market."

"Young, and with high cultivation, how could you not be wealthy?" Huang Liao said.

"So you know you're a fat sheep?"

Yang Qingchan's figure flickered, appearing atop the three-story building directly ahead. Her posture was slender and graceful, her hair swayed in the wind, and her voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.

Huang Liao's eyes widened in surprise; he clearly had no idea she would be there.

"This is the Fifth Divine Maiden of the Divine Cult!"

Li Songjian, with his hands behind his back, walked out of the darkness.

Behind him, Yao Qingfeng followed, carrying a bronze Nether Lamp.

"Greetings, Fifth Divine Maiden," Huang Liao immediately bowed.

Li Wei narrowed his eyes, gazing at Li Songjian, who bore a four or five-tenths resemblance to Li Songlin, making him look familiar. "Esteemed Senior, is your surname Li?"

Daring to engage in murder and robbery, Li Songjian naturally wasn't afraid of revealing his identity and had no intention of leaving anyone alive. "You know me?"

Li Wei wasn't very familiar with Li Songjian; three years had passed, and many details were blurry. He said, "It doesn't matter! Who's coming first?"

"Whoosh!"

A spiritual light appeared on Yao Qingfeng's forehead.

The Nether Lamp in his hand brightened considerably.

Behind him, thick white mist surged forth, and hundreds of ghost figures rushed out of the mist. Among them, two were Yin Ghost Commanders, emitting the aura of Dao Seed Realm cultivators.

Dozens of ghost generals surrounded Li Wei.

"Swish!"

Li Songjian was swift, arriving before Li Wei ahead of the two Yin Ghost Commanders. His spiritual energy surged, and he powerfully struck Li Wei's chest with a punch.

The punch contained a chilling aura, causing the entire backyard to be covered in a thick layer of ice crystal mist and frost.

"Boom!"

Li Wei stood perfectly still, reacting later but striking first.

He struck out with a palm, steadily catching Li Songjian's punch.

Cracks rapidly appeared in the ground beneath his feet.

Li Songjian was greatly shocked and retreated like lightning, widening the distance between himself and Li Wei.

"Bang! Bang!"

Li Wei flicked his sleeve, causing the two charging Yin Ghost Commanders to explode, turning into two masses of ghostly mist that permeated the entire manor.

Huang Liao and Yao Qingfeng were both greatly alarmed.

They knew this "fat sheep" wasn't weak, but they never imagined a young man no older than thirty could be so powerful.

Li Songjian's mind reeled. The full-force punch he had just thrown was blocked by the opponent using only physical strength, seemingly without mobilizing any spiritual energy.

"Who exactly are you?" Li Songjian asked in a deep voice.

Li Wei stood tall, his gaze sharp. "Tell me, who do you serve? The Dao Sect, or Coffin Mountain?"

After a brief silence, a seventh-grade Hundred-Character artifact battle-axe flew out from Li Songjian's Ancestral Field. His Dao Heart Manifestation was unleashed, and he immediately performed the Thirty-Six Heavenly Demonic Axes.

An axe cleaved down from the front; the cold wind was like a knife, and the axe's shadow was several zhang tall.

Yao Qingfeng unleashed a psychic attack, staring directly into Li Wei's eyes, targeting his soul and consciousness.

"Clatter!"

From Huang Liao's Wind Mansion, a Soul-Chasing Iron Chain flew out, coiling in circles in the void.

He reached out and grabbed one end of the chain, shaking his arm. A large number of crimson scriptures appeared on the chain, transforming into a giant profound iron dragon that coiled around Li Wei's legs.

"Roar!"

The high-pitched dragon roar was deafening.

Li Wei unleashed his Dao Heart Manifestation, and the entire backyard was instantly transformed into a fiery domain. Streaks of spiritual energy condensed into a seven-clawed flaming heavenly dragon, sending Li Songjian, Yao Qingfeng, and Huang Liao all flying.

Li Songjian, whose cultivation had reached the sixth heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, fared slightly better and managed to remain standing.

Huang Liao was directly severely wounded by the shock; even the ghost banner's array patterns couldn't defend him.

Yao Qingfeng attacked Li Wei with his psychic energy but suffered a psychic backlash, collapsing to the ground, rolling and screaming in agony as his head throbbed.

Yang Qingchan had originally summoned six Bodhi seeds, intending to unleash them to hunt down the young man. However, after sensing the aura in Li Wei's spiritual energy, she immediately retracted the Bodhi seeds.

Yang Qingxi and Yang Lin rushed over.

Yang Qingxi, wearing a veil, looked at Li Wei standing in the center of the seven-clawed flaming heavenly dragon and immediately felt both annoyed and amused.

Of all people to provoke, why did these fools from the Nine Li Tribe provoke him?

"Li Wei!"

Yang Lin quickly went to Li Songjian's side. "This is truly a case of 'a flood washing away the Dragon King's temple' – our own people not recognizing one of our own. It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding! Huang Liao, Yao Qingfeng, what have you two done? Hurry and apologize to the Divine Hermit!"

Ever since Li Wei's battle with Xie Chucai at the Sixfold Remembrance Zen Temple, the seven-clawed flaming heavenly dragon Dao Heart Manifestation had become widely known throughout the land, serving as the signature of the Nine Li Divine Hermit.

Li Songjian quickly put down his battle-axe and sighed, "Oh, Wei Yi, I'm your paternal uncle. Your fourth uncle often speaks of you to me and misses you very much."

Huang Liao and Yao Qingfeng quickly trembled and knelt to the side, burying their heads in the ground.

There was nothing they could do; Li Wei's cultivation was simply too powerful. Just unleashing his Dao Heart Manifestation felt like mountains pressing down on them.

Li Wei dispelled his disguise art. "Fourth Uncle is Fourth Uncle. Do you really think you're fit to be my paternal uncle? Answer my previous question."

He had no bond with Li Songjian's family, only past grievances.

Yang Qingxi walked out gracefully and stood with Yang Qingchan. "They haven't had contact with the Dao Sect's main altar; they were subdued by Xu Fodu."

Li Wei understood. Staring at Li Songjian, he continued to ask, "To my knowledge, one of the Nine Li Tribe's nine tribal chiefs was also subdued by Coffin Mountain. You should know who that is, shouldn't you?"

The Nine Li Tribe's greatest traitor was someone the Hermit Lord had been investigating, but there had been no results.

Li Songjian played the emotional card, saying bitterly, "We had no choice. Xu Fodu's cultivation and combat strength are almost on par with Father's. We were captured by him and had Death Spirit Fire planted in us; how could we dare to disobey?"

"Now it's better. The Coffin Mountain Taboo is dead, and Xu Fodu has fled. We no longer have to be controlled by him. Wei Yi... Divine Hermit, we had no choice before. Now, we just want to turn over a new leaf and will definitely do more good deeds in the future to atone for our past mistakes."

Yu'er's voice was tender, "If you really wanted to turn over a new leaf, why were you trying to kill Master just now?"

Li Wei said indifferently, "See? Even a child doesn't believe you. Answer my question from just now. Whoever answers first, I will spare their life."

"Whoosh!"

In the darkness, a dazzling light appeared.

The sound of air being rent filled the air.

Huo Dingnan, holding a silver spear twelve feet long, turned into a series of afterimages and pierced through the air at top speed, arriving before Li Wei with the spear tip aimed directly at his brow.

He was the second most powerful person in the Tianyi Gate, his cultivation far surpassing Li Songjian's, having reached the eighth heaven of the Dao Seed Realm.

Li Wei uttered a word, then instantly vanished, reappearing on a distant rooftop.

The Myriad Things Staff-Spear flew out from the Wind Mansion at the back of his head and landed in his hand.

Psychic energy and martial arts combined, and a fiery, crimson-gold armor appeared on his body. Holding Yu'er with one arm, he wielded the spear with the other and clashed with Huo Dingnan, who attacked again.

"Clang!"

Spear and staff-spear collided, sending sparks flying.

The building beneath them collapsed with a roar.

Li Wei's psychic energy had reached the peak of a six-star Spirit Master. Although he hadn't deliberately cultivated his Wind Mansion Dragon Seed cultivation, it had also advanced significantly.

With external psychic energy and internal martial arts combined, his combat power was already superior to Huo Dingnan's; he could contend with him single-handedly.

Yang Qingxi had long heard of Li Wei's exploits in Lingxiao City—breaking the Dao Effigy Chart and defeating Xie Chucai, the prodigy of Deliverance Temple—but seeing it with her own eyes today brought a different kind of shock.

This guy could actually face a sect master-level figure from Lizhou's top sects with just one hand.

They had only been apart for a few months!

Yang Qingxi couldn't even imagine what heights he would reach in a few years.

"Go, quickly escape."

Li Songjian, Yang Lin, Huang Liao, and Yao Qingfeng tried to open the array to escape.

"Still trying to leave?"

Li Wei roared, releasing the Seven Little Ones.

Yang Qingxi and Yang Qingchan had already made their move, like two swallows flying side by side, intercepting the four from left and right.

Before long, all four had their hand and foot tendons severed.

Their cultivation sealed, they fell to the ground.

Huo Dingnan recognized Li Wei's formidable power. After a dozen moves, employing all his techniques, he gained no advantage. Thus, he decisively retreated and charged towards the array's light barrier.

"It's a bit late to think about leaving now!"

Li Wei unleashed the third layer of the Six Forms of Karma Incineration, "Karma Fire Transformation," completely combining martial arts and psychic energy.

The flames condensed into a three-legged golden crow, over ten meters long. With its wings spread, the released heat waves instantly caused all the buildings in the manor to ignite.

Even the eighteen ghost banners were set ablaze.

"Thud!"

Huo Dingnan was struck by a claw from the three-legged golden crow. His spiritual artifact battle armor was instantly burned through, and the flesh on his chest became charred black.

He spat out fresh blood and plummeted to the ground.

To his horror, he discovered that the seventh-grade Hundred-Character artifact silver spear in his hand had been snapped by a claw from the three-legged golden crow, with signs of melting at the break point.

"What kind of Dao art is this?"

"How can it be so terrifying?"

Li Wei landed on the ground, pointing his long spear at Huo Dingnan's brow. The massive flaming golden crow flew over, hovered above his head, then dispersed, transforming into spiritual energy and psychic light.

Li Wei's Six Forms of Karma Incineration, third layer, was only at the introductory level.

Yet, its power was already comparable to a perfected third-layer grand flame art.

How could Huo Dingnan possibly withstand it?

"Master, you're so powerful!" Yu'er softly pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on him, filled with admiration and joy, very excited.

Li Wei ignored her and looked at Yang Qingxi and Yang Qingchan, who were walking over. "If I'm not mistaken, she's your aunt."

"Not a direct aunt; our relationship isn't that close," Yang Qingxi said coolly.

Li Wei said, "Are you betraying the Divine Cult?"

"I know the strength of the Divine Son. If I didn't join him in advance, who knows what would become of me? Regardless of factions, the personal grudge between us two was cleared long ago!" Yang Qingxi said.

Because of the blood letter incident, Li Wei felt a degree of guilt, as he had won several life-or-death battles due to her assistance.

"Let the past grudges and entanglements be gone with the wind!"

At this moment, Li Wei truly let go, adding, "But the money you owe me must be repaid."