Chapter 1082: Entering The Dark Maxim Palace
"Okay, put away the palanquin since I don't need to pretend to be Heaven Relinquish anymore." Li Qiye ordered: "We'll head for the Dark Maxim Palace."
Even Mei Suyao had to ask: "We can actually go in?"
Li Qiye looked at the girls and smiled: "With the four of you, we have the perfect number to enter. If we had more, I'm afraid not everyone would be able to enter."
The group headed for the palace. At this time, he used his true form instead of disguising himself as Heaven Relinquish.
At the base of the mountain where the palace was situated, even though Zhan Shi's group had left earlier, there were still cultivators here. Many of the late arrivals all tried to see if they could open it. However, regardless of their power and talents, all were unable to open the palace just like before.
"Li Qiye is here!" Someone quickly noticed him even before he made it to the base and shouted.
At this moment, the notorious moniker Fiercest was completely unmatched. His brilliance had overshadowed all the other supreme geniuses.
Thus, no matter where he went, he would be the center of attention, a source of dread.
A person in the distance saw Li Qiye's group and murmured: "Fiercest is here, don't tell me he came for the Dark Maxim Palace?"
"No one has been able to do it, can Fiercest do it?" Someone had to ask this question.
An expert from the Barren Earth commented: "Hard to say, Fiercest is too devilish. Just think about it, the Prime Peak of the Godwar Mountain was unbelievable too. No one was capable of climbing it, not even Heavenly Emperor Lin's group, but Fiercest made it to the summit."
"Haha, I think that Fiercest can do it and create another miracle. If Fiercest can't, then no one else can. Nowadays, who can actually compare with Fiercest?" Another commenter added.
In a short period of time, Li Qiye's fame as Fiercest had spread far and wide. He had supporters and even many fans. This was especially true for the younger cultivators. Fiercest had defeated all the other supreme geniuses and had even recruited the prettiest beauty, Mei Suyao. He was powerful enough and also had ample romantic luck. With all of this, how could the young cultivators not worship him?
The people here quickly made way for Li Qiye's group once they reached the base of the mountain. No one dared to stand in his way.
They eagerly watched and didn't dare to make a sound. He had an unparalleled authority among the younger generation.
He glanced at the palace at the peak and flatly said before leading the way: "Come, we'll go up there."
The girls followed right behind him.
It wasn't easy to climb up this mountain because the palace was once the location where the Devil Lord issued orders to the rest of the Devil World. This area was under the duress of a seal so one needed to be quite powerful if they wanted to scale to the top.
But of course, for Li Qiye and the rest of the girls, it was not a problem.
The crowd held their breaths and stared intensely at Li Qiye. It could even be said that their hearts were hanging on a thread. Some probably didn't wish to see Li Qiye succeed. However, many wanted to see a miracle as well.
For millions of years, no one had been able to open the palace. If someone could do so right now, then it would definitely be a miracle. To be able to watch such a miracle was a kind of honor for the spectators present.
The entrance to the Dark Maxim Palace was very ordinary and simple. There were no superfluous decorations since the two doors were painted black and were made from unknown metal. They seemed to be quite heavy. Moreover, there was no keyhole, so it didn't seem like they could be opened with a key.
Li Qiye smiled while looking at the two doors that joined together at the entrance and murmured: "Dark Maxim Palace, one can only imagine its grandeur when the Devil Lord was still here."
"There are records about the great prosperity once found at the Dark Maxim Palace and Emperors Citadel. I wonder if they are accurate or not." Mei Suyao added.
Li Qiye gently nodded his head: "They are accurate. The palace and citadel back then were just like Nalanda of today, or to be more exact, the current Buddhist Kingdom."
Just from hearing this, the girls could imagine it already. In the present, Nalanda was in control of the entire Buddhist Funeral Plateau, the home of countless monks.
Li Qiye lifted his palm. One could hear a clicking sound. The moment the key flew out from his hand, the palace's gate actually revealed a keyhole. Another click came about. The key inserted itself and unlocked the gate.
"Clank—" The heavy gate of the palace slowly opened and the path inside appeared beneath the group's feet.
"Follow me." Li Qiye took the key and began to walk into the inner palace.
In the blink of an eye, the group disappeared. Another loud clanking sound could be heard as the palace closed its heavy gate.
Everyone at the base of the mountain was shocked by this scene. Even though some of them were mentally prepared, they were still astounded all the same.
"It really opened…" His believers were still astonished by this miracle.
Many took deep breaths and murmured: "Fiercest is far too heaven-defying. He actually opened the Dark Maxim Palace."
Of course, others didn't know about the deal between Heaven Relinquish and Li Qiye. The item that Li Qiye gave to the devil king was extremely unfathomable as well.
Just by the fact that Immortal Emperor Chen Xue used it to redeem the Storm God's life was enough to show its worth. In fact, Li Qiye had wanted to keep it for his own use, but in the end, he still made the choice. He didn't only want simple treasures for he needed an answer!
"Entering the Dark Maxim Palace… doesn't this mean he can pick any treasure that belonged to the legendary master of the Devil World?" Some started to salivate after Li Qiye's group disappeared inside the palace.
"Strongest of the younger generation, the future candidate to become the Immortal Emperor, able to create miracles and have countless treasures. If it was me, I would be willing to follow Fiercest as well. What a shame that Fiercest wouldn't care for me." A beautiful female cultivator lamented.
This news quickly traveled across the lesser world. It caused a huge uproar and shock.
Someone else emotionally said: "No one else can be Immortal Emperor but Fiercest. No one is his opponent, he can even create one miracle after another. Opening the Dark Maxim Palace and climbing the Prime Peak, both of these are his feats alone. They are no less than any Immortal Emperor in their youth. Actually, I think they are even more amazing."
Jikong Wudi was astonished after hearing this. Even Venerable Ninesword couldn't stay calm: "This person will definitely be trouble if we don't eliminate him."
Jikong Wudi spoke with ferocity in his eyes: "Not just trouble! If Li Qiye is left alive, I will have no chance of becoming the Immortal Emperor. I feel confident against anyone else in the competition for the throne, but I can't see through Li Qiye!"
"It is best if we eliminate him early." The venerable slowly spoke with a serious expression: "Once his wings propel him to become an Emperor Candidate, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to get rid of him. At that step, countless Godkings in the nine worlds will join his banner! When that happens, he wouldn't even need to do anything to destroy his enemies."
"Ancestor, are you confident in killing him?" Jikong Wudi spoke gravely.
At this time, he felt that the longer Li Qiye stayed alive, the more unfavorable it was for him. In his eyes, his chance of becoming emperor was drifting further and further away as Li Qiye became increasingly powerful.
"Hmm…" The venerable contemplated for a bit: "From my observations, that iron man truly has left already so I don't know if he has any other dao protectors behind him."
"We have to invite the prime general to come out." Jikong Wudi concluded: "The prime general will definitely be able to end Li Qiye even if Godkings are protecting him."
The prime general was the strongest general under Immortal Emperor Ta Kong. According to the legends, he wasn't too far off from the emperor himself.
"It isn't that simple." Venerable Ninesword smiled wryly: "No one can invite him, or at least, I can't. Unless the Space Trample Mountain is facing extinction, he won't come out for anyone."
"Should we give it a try?" Jikong Wudi pondered for a bit before asking: "Ancestor, you and I can attack together while Li Qiye is unprepared."
"There's no rush, we are waiting for some people." The venerable spoke deeply.
Jikong Wudi asked: "Ancestor has some reinforcements?"
The old man smiled and said: "They'll be here soon. Li Qiye killed the eight ancestors from the ancient kingdom as well as the Divine Ancestor's disciple, Shen Menghui. The ancient kingdom will definitely not let this go. Plus, he also killed the Soaring Immortal Emissary, so the soaring sect naturally will do something as well."
"I calculated and the Azure Mysterious ancestors, as well as the Soaring Immortal Sect’s Chief Ambassador, should be here soon. I have sent them a message already; if they come to the Lesser Imperial Devil World, we will talk." Venerable Ninesword explained.
After hearing this, Jikong Wudi was relieved. With sufficient forces, they would definitely be able to eradicate Li Qiye.
Chapter 1083: Heavenly Emperor Lin's Background
Jikong Wudi told the venerable: "No matter what happens or what we have to pay, we have to eliminate Li Qiye."
This decision had been cemented in his mind. He would pay any price to destroy Li Qiye.
The war for the throne had always been merciless. Even though many of these past competitions were between Emperor Candidates and people said that only those who dared to face their most powerful enemies and overcome them would become emperor, this was not always the case. In fact, for millions of years, there had always been conspiracies and schemes beneath the surface of these wards. Behind these candidates were an abundance of followers and mighty dao protectors.
A lot of brilliant geniuses died pitifully to schemes, ambushes, and assassinations. Only by surviving this cruel war would one become the Immortal Emperor.
More often than not, these despicable means were looked down upon. However, Jikong Wudi couldn't care less about it at this point. In his eyes, after he becomes the Immortal Emperor, the public would stop caring about it later on! Who would actually dare to bring it up at that point?
"Li Qiye… I really can't see through you, just how powerful are you, really?" After hearing this news, Lin commented while hellishly training with Zhan Shi.
"Very, beyond our imagination." Zhan Shi spoke.
Zhan Shi had entered the Heavenly Dao Academy before. Back then, he was a student of the Sacred Era Hall. Although he was not friends with Li Qiye then, he knew full well of his deeds.
Lin movingly spoke: "I think my senior brother will meet a powerful opponent in this generation. If he isn't careful, I'm afraid he will have to run after suffering defeat."
"It seems like Brother Lin is very open-minded." Zhan Shi told Lin.
"We are having a heart-to-heart talk, there's no need to hide anything." Lin said: "Brother Zhan, you know my background. Just like you said, I don't mind letting everything go even at this point, it's not worth mentioning at all."
Zhan Shi looked at the young man and spoke: "Brother Lin is willing to give up the battle for the Heaven's Will just like that? Immortal Emperor is something everyone will want as long as they have some ambition in them."
"The truth is that I have never thought about competing for the Heaven's Will or becoming the emperor. This opportunity is not being prepared for me, it is meant for my senior brother." Lin smilingly said.
"I am not someone who underestimates myself and I see that you are the same way." Zhan Shi said: "No matter how powerful your senior brother might be, in my opinion, Brother Lin still has a chance to compete."
"No, there is a big gap between us." Lin gently shook his head: "At the very least, right now, I have no way of surpassing him."
Zhan Shi disagreed by shaking his head: "I don't think so. More often than not, the dao heart is more important than talents when it comes to becoming an emperor. Of course, talents are indispensable, but the dao heart is even more crucial. Without a firm dao heart, even the most brilliant talents would only be for show. For ages now, countless great geniuses with weak dao hearts couldn't handle defeat and eventually succumbed to their own inner demon."
"Only by courageously treading forward without caring for trials and hardship would one be able to become the emperor." Zhan Shi's eyes turned profound as his determination became even more resolute.
He looked at Lin and said: "In terms of talents, skills, and dao heart, Brother Lin does not lack any of these. You meet the conditions and have the qualifications to compete for the Heaven's Will."
"The sect chose my senior brother, not me." Lin shook his head: "I will not be the one standing in my sect and my senior brother's way."
Zhan Shi did not agree: "In my opinion, Brother Lin is not a person who is overly adherent to old ideas, so why do you have such thoughts? Your fate should be up to you alone!"
"I am already very satisfied." Lin smiled: "Everything I have today was given to me by my sect. If it values my senior brother, I will let him pass and hope that he will not let us down by becoming the emperor."
Zhan Shi went on: "If you no longer want to become the emperor, why do you still want to fight Li Qiye? You should quit this game, this path paved with cruelty."
"This is my attempt to lend the sect a hand by exploring Li Qiye's true worth so that my senior brother can have a better chance." Lin smiled: "Plus, running without fighting isn't my style! I want to have a real battle against Li Qiye, not losing after one or two moves! I can't accept such a defeat!"
"I can't accept it either." Zhan Shi didn't wish to dwell on this matter and smiled back: "Who can accept losing to Li Qiye right away without even knowing what happened! No matter what, we have to see what he is really about! Even if we lose, we have to understand the process at the very least!"
"That's right, let us work together and give him a good fight." Lin laughed out loud in a gallant manner.
Zhan Shi laughed loudly as well: "If we can defeat Li Qiye, then let the two of us compete for the Heaven's Will in the future!"
"If such a day will come, then I shall compete as well." Lin accepted happily the idea. These words were erring on the playful side.
"If that day comes, Brother Lin, remember that I won't take it easy on you." Zhan Shi solemnly said with a firm glare.
Lin laughed heartily in response: "Don't worry, Brother Zhan, I won't show mercy either. We will fight until the sky collapses!"
Despite his heroic demeanor, Lin gently sighed inside. He knew that that day wouldn't come. It didn't matter whether they could defeat Li Qiye or not, he would concede to his senior brother in the future. The sect had given his senior brother everything, so he couldn't cause trouble for them by standing in his brother's way.
After all, his senior brother was the chosen one. He couldn't act so ungrateful towards the sect!
Li Qiye and the girls entered the Dark Maxim Palace and continued along the road. Many palaces appeared in their sight.
From the outside, the Dark Maxim Palace seemed to be just one palace, but this was not the case. It was a heavenly grotto with many different palaces inside.
Li Shuangyan and the others felt a suppressive aura. It seemed to be emanating from the palace itself and a different location at the same time.
Eventually, the group came before a huge palace. After entering, the colorful glimmers of treasures were reflected everywhere.
Many different items were displayed inside, ranging from divine metals to immortal steel. Weapons and holy artifacts of all kinds were placed along the palace walls. The shelves collected rare boxes as well.
Outsiders would be driven insane by seeing this. This many treasures could plunge the world into a bloodbath from greed.
Fortunately, Li Shuangyan and the girls were experienced. She and Chen Baojiao had been following Li Qiye, so they were no strangers to treasures. Needless to say about Mei Suyao, she came from the Eternal River School, a lineage with three emperors. It was a place that never lacked treasures.
Bai Jianzhen's Sword God Sacred Ground was also an imperial lineage, so they had plenty of treasures as well.
"Pick your favorite." Li Qiye smiled: "Remember, each person can only take one item out of the palace, no more."
After hearing Li Qiye, the girls didn't rush for the treasures. They only carefully looked over everything on display.
"This is the Devil Lord's collection. Although the best ones have been taken away by him, there are still many incredible items in here. It is up to you guys to pick the most suitable treasure for yourselves."
The girls took their time. At this point, their harvest depended on their own luck.
After giving the hint, Li Qiye left for another big palace.
There was nothing else besides a huge painting hanging in the main hall of this palace. It was neither a drawing of a devil king engulfed in evil energy nor the Devil Lord of legends. It was a painting of a monk, or rather, a Buddha.
The Buddhist aura coming from this painting was far-reaching and had a great rhythm. Regardless of how many years had passed, it still emitted a faint Buddhist light. One couldn't see this Buddha's face since he was turning his back on all existences while walking to a very, very distant destination.
While looking at the painting, one would think that this Buddha was slowly disappearing before their eyes towards the horizon. But time and time again, he didn't disappear completely as if his journey was especially long and arduous. It was a never-ending trek across millions of years.
"Was this not drawn?" While Li Qiye was quietly admiring this painting, a gentle voice came about.
It was Mei Suyao. She had already picked a treasure for herself. She stood next to Li Qiye and looked at the painting as well. With a natural immortal bone, she had a unique perspective both when picking her treasure as well as looking at this painting.
"Right, it wasn't painted." Li Qiye smiled and nodded his head.
"A Buddha has imprinted himself in this place." Her immortal bone could see through the origin. After a careful look, she was startled: "He left his will in this place, is this his attempt of suppressing the Devil World?"
"You can put it that way, but it is not to the point of suppressing. To be more exact, he is trying to stabilize the Lesser Imperial Devil World." Li Qiye explained while looking at the painting.
"Is this the legendary master of the Buddhist Kingdom?" Mei Suyao had to ask.
Chapter 1084: Insect Pipe And Mechanical World Vessel
Li Qiye gently shook his head while looking at the Buddha in the painting: "No, it is not the Buddhist Lord of the kingdom. It wouldn't be this easy for him to stabilize the lesser world."
"Then it is the mythical Di Shi!" Mei Suyao was shocked. Di Shi was a being limited to legends. For millions of years, no one had heard of his sighting. Some rumors back in the ancient ages even stated that Di Shi was no longer in this world.
Others also thought that Di Shi didn't exist and that he was only a character created by the Buddhist Funeral Plateau as a myth.
Li Qiye only smiled and didn't say anything else. He left this palace for another one with Mei Suyao right behind him.
The next palace was very ancient. There was no scintillating light or immortal aura. It was quite strange due to the fanciful and obscured runes all over the walls.
They were of an archaic age. Even someone as well-read as Mei Suyao had never seen them before, arousing her curiosity. She opened her heavenly gaze while her forehead lit up; she intended to use her immortal bone to see through the mysticisms of the runes.
However, it wasn't long before she felt the earth spinning and had to stagger several steps back.
"Is this the supreme origin of an era?" She was startled. Her immortal bone could communicate with gods and understand the entire world. It could even easily comprehend Heaven's Will Secret Laws.
However, when she tried to analyze the runes on the walls, she felt as if she had fallen into a boundless world, as if the runes were connected to three thousand different worlds. It was a complexity beyond imagination.
"The three thousand worlds are also inside." Li Qiye chuckled and didn't look at the runes for his eyes were fixated on a stone table in the palace.
At this time, Mei Suyao finally noticed that there was nothing else in this place besides this stone table and an object that resembled a bronze truncheon on top of it.
However, this moderate-sized item was not a truncheon. It was assembled from many exquisite little pieces, giving it a rod-like appearance but also an arm. No one could tell what it was exactly.
Li Qiye reached out and this bronze item fell into his hand. Mei Suyao took a careful look at this unbelievably complex and well-crafted item.
The world had many things that were created from universal laws interlaced together. Some laws were as small as a strand of hair. However, each piece of this item ahead was around that size. The more impressive part was that it was all made out of metal.
Such an item consisted of countless parts. This was a heavenly level of craftsmanship beyond the scope of current understanding.
With a pull from Li Qiye, these little parts on the bronze object suddenly moved while the main body lit up. It was shaking as if it had its own life. At the same time, the runes on the walls resonated with brilliance as if they were waking up.
"Buzzz—" As the pieces on the object rotated faster and faster, they actually sucked in all the runes on the walls. In the blink of an eye, all the runes departed from the walls and went inside the bronze object.
After this absorption process, the object seemed to have taken on a different color and became even more complex and mystical in an unfathomable manner.
Mei Suyao was astonished as well. She thought the runes on the walls were painted on, but that didn't seem to be the case right now. Someone had used an unbelievable method to pull the runes out of the bronze rod.
"The Devil Lord is indeed amazing." Li Qiye looked at the rod and stated in a matter-of-fact tone: "To be able to remove the runes so perfectly, it is quite heaven-defying."
Mei Suyao noticed some clues and asked: "Does Vedas Vajra’s item and this thing have the same origin?"
"Yes." Li Qiye nodded slightly: "They do have the same origin. Unfortunately, the Devil Lord couldn't have both items at the same time or else he would have realized something."
"What is it?" She was full of curiosity. There weren't many treasures that could attract Li Qiye's attention. He didn't even care for Immortal Emperor True Treasures, yet he seemed to be especially attentive towards these two things. It showed that they must have had an incredible origin, even more extraordinary than imperial true treasures.
Li Qiye smiled: "These things probably don't have names. Very few know of their existence, let alone their names. However, after translating the runes, the language of their era, they indeed have a name." Li Qiye looked at the bronze stick in his hand and said: "This is the Insect Pipe. As for the one you obtained from the Vajra, it also has a name — Mechanical World Vessel." 1
"Insect Pipe, Mechanical World Vessel." Mei Suyao quietly repeated. From just the names alone, she couldn't understand their uses.
Nevertheless, she was very knowledgeable. She looked at Li Qiye and spoke: "Legend states that the progenitor of the Heaven's Secret Valley with the title Mortal Monarch also has a body put together by assembling countless exquisite pieces…"
"Your Eternal River School really does know many things." Li Qiye laughed and didn't say anything else. He put away the Insect Pipe and left.
Li Qiye and Mei Suyao went back to the treasury. He smiled after seeing the group: "Are you all done with picking your treasures?"
"We're done." Chen Baojiao had just chosen something she liked.
There were too many treasures here for them. Picking a favorite out of them all truly left them a bit dizzy.
Li Qiye smiled and said: "Good. If everyone is done, then it's time for us to leave."
The girls had no objections and followed him out of the Dark Maxim Palace.
Under the mountain, countless cultivators were holding their breaths while gazing at the closed palace to wait for Li Qiye's group to come out.
"Clank—clank—clank—" Eventually, the heavy gate was opened and the five of them came out in a line.
"What treasures did they get I wonder?" Many people were attentive to the group's expressions in order to pick up clues.
However, they were disappointed because the group was very calm. There was no excitement typical of a successful treasure hunt. Perhaps for them, obtaining treasures wasn't that exciting. Despite the crowd's curiosity, no one dared approach them to ask what treasures they obtained from the palace.
The mass made a pathway for Li Qiye once more as they watched the group disappear into the horizon.
"I'll give it a shot too." After seeing the successful opening, some cultivators refused to give up and climbed to the summit again.
Of course, without the key from Heaven Relinquish, they couldn't open it no matter how heaven-defying they might be regardless of their attempts.
Not long after their departure from the palace, everyone heard some news from an unknown source: "A dark cultivator wants to climb the Evil Slaying Platform."
"This is a good timing." After hearing this, Li Qiye chuckled and told the girls: "I have planned to bring everyone up to the platform already, so now that a dark cultivator is going there, nothing could be better. We can go see the mystical properties of the platform."
The girls turned quite happy since Li Qiye had brought up the platform many times. They had a difficult time imagining the platform and the climbing process.
The Evil Slaying Platform was located in the deepest region of the Devil World. It was shrouded in an evil energy. At that place, there was no sky or sight of the sun as if it led to an unknown world.
When Li Qiye arrived, there was already a sea of people right outside the platform. Although they didn't dare to go closer, the entire platform was still surrounded from the distance.
This simple and ancient platform was made from ink colored rocks placed together. It seemed to be one with the ground beneath it.
There was a huge lever-style guillotine at the top. It was completely black like an evil blade from hell, capable of decapitating all gods and devils.
In front of the platform was a precipice where only a vast expanse could be found in front of it. One couldn't see the end of this void, making it seem as if successfully crossing it would lead to another world.
The guillotine emitted a faint light that exuded a quiver-inducing murderous intent. Because of this, no one dared to approach the platform.
No matter how strong one might be, they would feel this murderous aura from the blade once they got close. Although it was not particularly ferocious, it would instill a primal fear as if it was already dangling next to their neck.
The original word for Pipe here is difficult. It has too many meanings and I don't know which one is right without more context – to take care (of) / to control / to manage / to be in charge of / to look after / to run / to care about / tube / pipe / woodwind / classifier for tube-shaped objects / particle similar to 把 in 管…叫 constructions / writing brush / (coll.) to / towards. ↩