Chapter 449: Lamp Phoenix Princess

Fu Wenyan said, "Unattached to life and unafraid of death, they cultivate the Primordial Life-Death Qi, passed down to them by Emperor Ji. One cultivates life energy, the other death energy. In the Hundred Realms Living Domain of Southern Yingzhou, they swept through martial cultivators of the same realm. To survive even one of their moves is considered a supreme honor."

"And you," Princess Dengfeng asked, "would you consider it an honor?"

Fu Wenyan, with his distinguished demeanor, gazed at the sky. "For me," he said, "they are merely pioneers on the path of cultivation. Give me five years, and I will surely defeat them."

Princess Dengfeng nodded slightly, her expression full of admiration. "In five years, I will await the good news of your becoming a true disciple of the Du'e Temple."

"I will rush to the East Sea at the first opportunity to share this joy with Your Highness," Fu Wenyan replied. "I hope that by then, with the bright moon over the sea and the companionship of fine wine and a gentle breeze, it will be the most beautiful moment of our lives."

Li Weiyi stared for a long time in the direction where the Rice People had departed, but he couldn't find the graceful figure.

Princess Dengfeng, Fu Wenyan, and the group of powerful demon cultivators had already gone far.

Water Civet Immortal quietly squeezed next to Li Weiyi and transmitted a message with his spiritual energy: "The Rice People have their eyes on you, the traitor. Without the protection of the East Sea demons, you won't be able to enter Old Yuzhou City."

Li Weiyi went to check on the injuries of Yang Qingxi and Yang Qingchan.

Water Civet Immortal followed him and again transmitted, "Princess Dengfeng came to assist because of me. This favor from the demons is one I will repay in the future, not you."

Li Weiyi channeled his mental power into their bodies, and the two women slowly regained consciousness.

The sonic daoist techniques of the two true disciples from the Rice Palace had injured their souls across a vast distance, stunning them unconscious. The terrifying power of these techniques left both Yang sisters with lingering fear; they had never encountered such formidable young experts.

Li Weiyi looked at Water Civet Immortal. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Water Civet Immortal quickly made a shushing gesture and transmitted, "Why don't you pretend to be my subordinates for now? There are many benefits to this: you can avoid sneak attacks from the Rice People, and you can use my influence to enter Old Yuzhou City. You should know that there are Immortal Realm giants hidden among the East Sea demons, which is why the Rice People wouldn't dare to act rashly."

Prince Baba walked over, saying gravely, "Cousin, what are you dawdling for? Her Highness and the others have already gone far; we need to catch up quickly."

Water Civet Immortal bowed to Li Weiyi with both paws, transmitting, "Please, I beg you, Brother Ren, help me out this one time, and I'll listen to you from now on."

Water Civet Immortal turned his head to Prince Baba, changing his expression to a cold one. "I need to severely scold them for attracting such powerful enemies."

"Then just kill them!" Prince Baba said.

Water Civet Immortal shook his paw. "No, no! That won't do. They are very talented, not ordinary people."

"Oh!"

Prince Baba was immediately moved and showed great interest in talent. "What kind of talents do they have?"

One can never have too many demon talents, and human talents should also be recruited.

Even Princess Dengfeng has taken one in.

Yang Qingxi released her Long River Intent. Instantly, water vapor from between heaven and earth gathered, forming a long river above her head, its waterfall showering Water Civet Immortal and Prince Baba. The two beasts immediately howled with pleasure.

Prince Baba, in particular, was born into the Capybara clan but inexplicably possessed only fire-attribute talent.

After coming ashore, he always suffered greatly from a lack of water.

"Good, good talent! During this campaign against the mainland, such talents are sorely needed by Her Highness."

Prince Baba looked at Li Weiyi. "And what kind of talent are you?"

Water Civet Immortal grew nervous, fearing Li Weiyi would not cooperate.

"To answer Your Highness, I am Lu, a dual cultivator of martial arts and mental power, a mind master proficient in the art of 'scattering beans into soldiers' puppet techniques."

Li Weiyi, knowing how to navigate social situations, made his glabella glow and picked up a handful of pebbles from the ground.

"Lin!"

His mental power enveloped the pebbles, scattering them from his hand.

In mid-air, the pebbles transformed into three-foot-tall stone figures, enveloped in spiritual light, executing various moves.

"Wow!" exclaimed Yu'er on his back, finding the technique amusing.

She tried to mimic the gestures with her fingers and also shouted the word "Lin."

Prince Baba was silent for a moment. "It has no power... At best, it's a pleasing trick. You could perhaps perform it for Her Highness."

Water Civet Immortal secretly sighed in relief, gave Li Weiyi a grateful look, and then said in a deep voice, "You three have gained my cousin's approval. He's a remarkable figure among the East Sea demons; why aren't you thanking him quickly?"

"Thank you for your appreciation, Your Highness."

Li Weiyi and the two others cupped their fists in salute.

"Since we're all on the same side, don't call me 'Your Highness'; it's too formal. Just call me Baba!" Prince Baba, with his steady demeanor, highly valued talent.

Li Weiyi felt that this capybara was trying to take advantage of them.

The group of humans and demons hastened towards the East Sea demon camp.

Li Weiyi asked, "Your Highness, what is the background of the human who was with the Princess earlier?"

Prince Baba, walking at the front and having returned to his three-foot-long form, replied, "That person is far from simple. His cultivation and combat strength far surpass you three. More importantly, his cultivation talent is extraordinarily high; he is the Young Heavenly Scion of Du'e Temple. Look at his demeanor, his appearance, his refinement—he makes us seem like mere moles."

Water Civet Immortal retorted, unconvinced, "Is he really as mysterious as you say? I'm afraid he might just be all show and no substance."

Prince Baba snorted coldly. "He's only at the Eighth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, but I feel I'm likely no match for him. This person also has considerable mental power attainment and is skilled in array formations and talismans... The talent you've taken in is miles behind him."

Prince Baba had not witnessed Li Weiyi's confrontation with Huang Xu and Kong Xu.

He could sense that Li Weiyi was not weak.

But that was all.

Prince Baba continued, "His name is Xie Chucai. It is said he comes from a Sacred Dark family, with an extremely noble bloodline. For the past two days, Her Highness has conversed with him about martial arts through the night, holding him in the highest regard. She even sighed that Xie Chucai's understanding of martial arts is no less than that of an Immortal. Oh, by the way, talent, what's your name?"

"Lu Cangsheng."

Li Weiyi was even more certain that the person was Fu Wenyan.

But why was he using the identity of Xie Chucai?

Li Weiyi wasn't using his real name because he was concerned that some major secrets associated with his identity, "Li Weiyi," might reach the East Sea demons and cause unnecessary trouble.

It seemed Fu Wenyan also possessed extraordinary treasures. Escaping from Yao Qian's grasp was certainly no simple feat.

Prince Baba was less cunning than Water Civet Immortal, more like a dedicated cultivator. He truly regarded Li Weiyi and his companions as his own people, revealing everything whenever Li Weiyi asked a question.

It turned out that the reason the East Sea demons had not yet attacked Old Yuzhou City was because various factions had converged there.

No one wanted to be the first to assault the city.

Princess Dengfeng was actively moving between parties, hoping to break the stalemate as quickly as possible.

The East Sea demon camp was set up by a lake eighty li outside Old Yuzhou City. The lake was connected to a large river that flowed directly into the East Sea.

Upon entering the camp, Li Weiyi and his two companions received waist tokens from Prince Baba, which were covered in East Sea demon script.

Most of the demonic beasts remained in the lake. Only a few patrolling demon soldiers, clad in armor and wielding halberds, moved between the land camps.

Prince Baba and Water Civet Immortal went to Princess Dengfeng to discuss matters concerning the attack on Old Yuzhou City.

Inside the tent, Li Weiyi set up a defensive array and then took out a lamp from his interspatial bag for illumination.

"The situation is far more difficult and complex than we anticipated," Yang Qingxi said. "All parties are interested in Old Yuzhou City. Trying to snatch chestnuts from the fire will be as hard as reaching the heavens."

Li Weiyi asked, "Does Miss Yang wish to retreat?"

Yang Qingxi replied, "Snatching chestnuts from the fire is precisely what makes it interesting."

Yang Qingchan took out paper and a brush, sketching a map of Old Yuzhou City on the desk while explaining, "Besides the Phoenix Blood Tree, Old Yuzhou City also contains resources and wealth from the Ghost City's treasury, such as blood crystals, soul crystals, water from the Spring of Wisdom, and rare ores."

"The most important place, which attracted so many forces, is the spiritual soil medicinal field built upon the Heaven-Law Earth Spring."

Li Weiyi and Yang Qingxi walked over and looked at the map.

The map drawn by Yang Qingchan was concise, showing only main streets and dangerous areas, with key annotations marking the locations of the Ghost City Treasury and the spiritual soil medicinal field.

She continued, "The Phoenix Blood Tree is planted directly above the Heaven-Law Earth Spring, at the core of the spiritual soil medicinal field. Ancient arrays are set up there, and a large number of ghost clan experts guard it, making it extremely dangerous."

"Our current advantage is that our objective is clear, and we know the Phoenix Blood Tree's location in advance, allowing us to advance at the fastest speed."

Yang Qingxi said, "The arrays protecting the Phoenix Blood Tree and the spiritual soil medicinal field must be powerful, beyond our ability to breach. Moreover, there are likely a large number of strong individuals guarding it."

Li Weiyi asked, "If the departed spirits in the city know that Old Yuzhou City definitely cannot be defended, what will they do?"

"Even if it can't be held, they must defend it. Only by holding steadfast to the belief that it can be defended is victory possible; otherwise, they will collapse at the first touch," Yang Qingchan replied.

Li Weiyi had another idea, but he wasn't clear about the specific situation within Old Yuzhou City, nor about the preparations made by the demon clan.

Footsteps sounded.

A demon messenger came to the tent and said, "Mister Lu, Her Highness the Princess requests your presence."

Li Weiyi followed the messenger to a grand magical artifact hall situated by the water. Fist-sized luminous pearls illuminated the hall as brightly as day.

On both sides of the hall, dozens of powerful demon cultivators were seated, many appearing in half-human, half-demon forms, at various stages of transformation.

Princess Dengfeng's true form was unknown, but a picturesque human-shaped light projection sat at the very top of the hall, clad in white robes like mist and gauze, looking exceptionally pure and ethereal.

Lacking any demonic aura, she appeared more like a daoist cultivator.

Prince Baba and Water Civet Immortal sat in prominent forward positions, indicating their extraordinary status.

Fu Wenyan rose from his seat and quickly stepped forward to greet him. "Junior Brother Lu, since we parted ways at the Six Thoughts Zen Temple, I hope you've been well? I never expected us to meet here. Everyone, this is my junior brother, Xie Chucai, from Du'e Temple. Not only is his mental power attainment extraordinary, but his martial arts are also outstanding."

Fu Wenyan used "Six Thoughts Zen Temple" to remind Li Weiyi that he knew his background.

This was to signal to Li Weiyi, "I won't expose you, so don't expose me."

After exchanging polite but insincere pleasantries with Fu Wenyan, Li Weiyi went to pay his respects to Princess Dengfeng.

Li Weiyi was quite grateful to Princess Dengfeng. If she hadn't bravely intervened earlier, he might have had to reveal his trump cards to escape.

Even if her actions were for Prince Baba and Water Civet Immortal, daring to directly confront the two true disciples of the Rice Palace and showing such concern for the life and safety of her followers certainly demonstrated her charismatic appeal.