Chapter 1205: Mysterious Statue
The duo was jolted after seeing all of these spectacles. They couldn't tell reality from illusion or even if they were actually in this strange place or not.
"Stabilize your mind or you will never be able to come back." Suddenly, Li Qiye's voice rang in their minds like a wake-up call. Their lucidity returned as they sobered up.
They found that they were still down in the creek. The current was still quietly flowing along with the little creatures swimming about as if nothing had changed.
The three continued on this path for an unknown period of time.
Eventually, Li Qiye led them out of the creek. A gentle breeze brushed by and startled them. They found themselves on a flat plain, but just like before, they couldn't determine if this place was real or not.
Fortunately, they didn't go too far before walking to a pile of rubble. Countless bits of gravel were scattered on the ground, but upon careful observation, they turned out to be pieces of stone statues.
The rubble was quite sizable. As they went on deeper into the plain, the two looked at some of the broken statues. They had been destroyed beyond repair. There was simply no way of knowing what they used to look like. The two had a hard time imagining what had actually happened here in the past.
Eventually, they reached the inner part of these ruins and found a complete statue. It was quite tall, more than ten meters high. It had stood strong for countless eras, but these eras left their mark on it. Under the polishing of the years, it had become a bit gray.
Its slender contours and elegant clothing indicated that this was a statue of a woman.
However, the facial features of the statue had grown blurry under the polishing of countless years. There was no way to see through its facial features. Such a statue resembled something carved out of snow, slowly melting away with the passing of time. The vague lines and contours of the statue caused the woman’s face to remain a mystery.
The duo gazed at it carefully. They didn't know whether the statue was initially like this or if it had been weathered by time, or if something else had happened to it.
Li Qiye stood before the statue without speaking. He stared at it in a daze, not blinking for a long time.
The other two couldn't figure out what was so captivating about the statue or why Li Qiye was so fascinated by it. Nevertheless, they didn't dare to disturb him.
After a long time, Li Qiye turned around and asked: "Are you two all right?"
The two were surprised and wryly chuckled in their minds. They should be the ones asking Li Qiye this. It was Li Qiye who stood there looking at the statue in a daze, not them.
Ye Tu shook his head and replied: "I'm fine."
Li Qiye smiled a little while looking at two without saying anything.
Teng Jiwen asked: "Sir, earlier, was it real or fake?"
"What are you referring to?" Li Qiye clarified.
Teng Jiwen found that Li Qiye's response was quite strange, as if they had incongruous viewpoints.
"The things we saw in the creek earlier." He elaborated despite his slight confusion.
Li Qiye looked at him and replied: "Whether the images are real or fake depends on your dao heart. Real is fake and fake is real, false is also true and true is also false."
After hearing this, both the youths were lost in the fog and scratched their heads like confused monks.
Li Qiye paid no mind to the two and took out a jade bowl. He whispered to it and performed a complex and strange ritual. It was a very ancient rite with a purpose unknown to even Teng Jiwen.
He whispered for a bit and the ceremony ended with him raising the jade bowl over his head.
At this time, one could hear the splashing of water. Two very small streams of water fell down from above, into his bowl.
Ye Tu murmured: "The statue is crying…" The two of them looked up to see tears coming out of the statue.
They were quite moved and stood there in a daze. They suddenly saw an illusion of the statue being alive. At this point, it was not something made out of stone or marble, it was a living being sealed in this location.
At this point, they could no longer tell the nature of this statue before them.
Once Li Qiye's bowl was filled, the tears stopped and Li Qiye carefully put it away.
Ye Tu curiously asked: "Young Noble, what is that?"
Li Qiye looked at the statue and said: "Mortal Tears, the tears of compassion and pity for the common people. It can stimulate someone's desire for life."
Li Qiye came for this bowl of tears in order to replenish the Peacock Tree's life.
He glanced at the statue and said: "Let's go. We have obtained what we needed, there's no point in insisting on something we can't obtain."
With that, he turned and left with the duo trailing behind him. They exited the heap of rubble.
"What a shame." Li Qiye spoke from the lead: "I thought the two of you would be able to see something after coming here or at least obtain a little fortune. It seems like this was not meant to be."
"A fortune?" Both of them were surprised. They thought he only came for the Mortal Tears.
"Yes, a kind of opportunity." Li Qiye explained: "If you two were fated, then you would have been able to see something, especially about these statues. Alas, there were no such visions. This means that it was not predestined."
Their eyes darted to each other. At this time, they realized why Li Qiye was being so abstruse earlier. After realizing this, the two quickly turned around. However, the ruins were no more and even the flat plain was gone. There was only a vast emptiness.
This sudden development badly frightened the two. From start to finish, they didn't know that they were standing in the void. They couldn't believe their own eyes at this moment.
"Don't look, one can't force a missed opportunity." Li Qiye flatly said while walking in front.
The two felt regretful after hearing this. They didn't know that they had given up an opportunity, one that was skirting next to them.
Ye Tu couldn't help but ask: "Are there any other fortunes and opportunities here?"
"It is different for everyone, so what they meet is different as well. There is no way of forcing this matter. Your inability to see the fortune means that you haven't reached the necessary level." He turned to look at Ye Tu: "However, in this place, there is a higher number of opportunities for the charming spirits."
After hearing this, Ye Tu suddenly connected the dots and blurted out: "Young Noble, are you saying that the young Immortal Emperor Gu Chun also came to this place?!"
Li Qiye only smiled without replying.
The two were lamenting. After all, they had missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Li Qiye spoke: "There's no need to feel bad, it isn't something that can be forced. Not everyone can become Immortal Emperor Gu Chun, there is nothing you can do about it."
The two of them could only sigh. Li Qiye had already shown great kindness by taking the two of them here. It was their own lack of ability that made them miss this chance.
"Jiwen, I have taught you what I can, so I have done enough for your citadel and that old geezer Sunflower." Li Qiye continued: "But as for Ye Tu, since you have been helping me out and took the time to come here, I will help you obtain something."
After hearing this, Ye Tu hurriedly answered: "To assist Young Noble is what I should do. If I dared to neglect my duty, the schoolmaster would have broken my bones. How could I dare to seek something from you?"
Li Qiye gently waved his hand and said: "Every cause has an effect; I will not let people who help me do so for nothing. It would be foolish to not take readily available treasures, I am only presenting Buddha with borrowed flowers, that's all." 1
Ye Tu had no response to this and only scratched his head.
Teng Jiwen, on the other hand, had nothing to say. He didn't think that Li Qiye was being unfair. What Li Qiye had passed down to him was more than enough for a lifetime.
To win favor or influence using someone else’s property. ↩Chapter 1206: Divine Well
The Seacrossing Shuttle traveled along the Bottomless Trench. It slowly floated to the surface but then descended once again, as if it was very slowly returning to the trench.
It looked like there was a force down there that was connected to the shuttle, not allowing it to leave the ocean or deviate from its route.
In the last several days, many experts from the great powers ran here. After entering the fragmented realm, they rarely showed themselves again. This was especially true for lineages from the Charming Spirit Race, such as the Void Imperfection Three Schools. They weren't here for treasures or some intangible and elusive fortunes of legend; their goal was to unravel the mystery. Thus, these experts maintained a low profile and didn't want others to know about them.
Of course, there were also those who put on airs such as the Teeming Crown Prince! Ever since he arrived at the broken realm, he arrogantly announced: "The human named Li Qiye, show yourself! Daring to oppose the Teeming Tribe? This prince will eat you alive!"
Many people stayed far away from the crown prince. They felt creeped out after hearing his desire to eat Li Qiye raw. Everyone knew that in recent days, the Teeming Tribe had been issuing threats.
The crown prince didn't bring an army like the others, only ten old men. All of them were experts with human forms that emitted frightening auras. As for the prince, his blood energy was even more vigorous and powerful.
For the Teeming Tribe, under ordinary conditions, one would be able to fully turn into a human form upon reaching the Heavenly Sovereign realm.
Someone whispered after hearing the prince's declaration: "It might be over for Li Qiye. The Teeming Crown Prince is here in person, this shows that the clan is very serious about this. Who would be willing to save him, a human, and offend the entire Teeming Tribe?"
The crown prince was very different from the Teeming Marquis. Even though the marquis was a noble of the tribe, the position of crown prince was much higher.
He was the regal firstborn of the Teeming Tribemaster. In the Heaven Spirit World, there were millions upon millions of Teeming Fish that made up a million kingdoms. Of course, this number of kingdoms was greatly exaggerated, but there were at least several thousand!
The tribemaster had a pivotal position in the tribe. He could even command the billions of fish and thousands of kingdoms in this world.
Thus, one could extrapolate the crown prince's great status. Today, when he personally took action for revenge, it truly showed their race's stance on this matter.
Moreover, the prince himself was not a useless person. Rumor has it that he was already a Virtuous Paragon. He was quite renowned in this world.
Some said that he might be weaker than the supreme geniuses such as the Profound God-Monarch or the Seashield Heavenly Prince, but his reputation was still immense.
Thus, everyone knew that this human junior named Li Qiye was dead for sure after hearing the prince's desire. Moreover, it would be a very ugly death.
There were a lot of people in a certain location within the broken realm. Some stayed for a long time, unwilling to leave. Among them were many experts.
In fact, there was nothing particularly remarkable about this place. There was a small pit with an abandoned old well inside. Nothing was worthy of a second glance besides this well.
Nevertheless, this kind of place made many reluctant to leave. Some famous experts were here as well, such as Yan Yanglong and Dao Attendant Lin.
Outside of these two, some older people stayed here as well. However, characters of this level were hiding their true forms. After arriving, they didn't move an inch from this place.
Despite deliberately masking their identities, some people still guessed that these experts were charming spirits. Some were most likely from lineages like the Void Imperfection Three Schools.
Only such lineages would pay attention to this place. This location only garnered even more interest because of this. Even though many people were full of interest towards this place, no one dared to act rashly or presumptuously due to the undercover big shots.
There were rumors that this was an abandoned divine well with holy water. However, for some unknown reason, the well dried up and the water disappeared.
In spite of this, each time the shuttle appeared, the big shots from the Charming Spirit Race would come here to research this well. They wanted to use this as an entry point to figure out the secrets of this realm.
Some said that the Void Imperfection Three Schools paid the most attention to this well. Their experts would personally come here each time to explore it.
Because of this, people speculated that these old men concealing their identities were from the three schools.
Among the younger generation, Yan Yanglong and Daoist Attendant Lin, who were quite famous, were staying in order to see if any divine water would start to flow.
For those from the great lineages, they had access to records left behind in their sects. They stated that this well was one of the most notable locations in the fragmented realm.
That went double for the dao attendant due to the belief that the water here had a great effect on those who cultivated the Void Imperfection Physique.
The two youths came closer and took a good look. However, nothing came of it. The well was dried up and there was no water, just as the legend claimed.
Nevertheless, both the young and old continued to stay. The two youths hoped that these great characters could figure something out. Perhaps by lingering around, they would be able to pick up some benefits afterward.
"That fierce person who ate dragon tendons is here!" At this time, someone shouted, resulting in a great commotion.
A lot of people turned and saw Li Qiye slowly walking closer with two lads behind him.
His arrival attracted the attention of both Yan Yanglong and Dao Attendant Lin. A few big shots who were shrouding their appearances looked over as well.
Many people made way for him. This was not because they were afraid of Li Qiye, but because the Teeming Crown Prince had expressed his desire to eat Li Qiye alive. Many people considered him as a plague. No one wanted to catch his unluckiness.
"It's crazy to eat dragon tendons in public." Despite knowing his ultimate fate of being torn apart by the Teeming Tribe and becoming the prince's food, some were still secretly admiring him.
In this world, how many people would dare to feast on tendons so blatantly? How many people would dare to provoke the Teeming Tribe like this? His domineering and arrogant style was indeed worthy of admiration.
Dao Attendant Lin's eyes flashed with a cold glint after seeing Li Qiye. He had been wanting to kill Li Qiye long ago, but after seeing how Li Qiye killed Gongsun Qianer, he felt some hesitation. Without knowing Li Qiye's true strength, he wouldn't carelessly move against him.
Nevertheless, he quietly called for a disciple and ordered him to go tell the Teeming Crown Prince. As long as the prince came, this boy would die without a doubt!
Li Qiye looked around lazily. His eyes darted to the big shots hiding their true forms and smiled: "You're all here to see if there is any Void Imperfection Spring Water? Don't be too greedy about certain things."
These big shots didn't say anything and just stood there calmly.
Li Qiye didn't say anything else and jumped into the divine well for a better look.
It was only a pit. If one really wanted to point out something extraordinary in this common well, then it would be the slight protrusion on one of the walls that resembled the mouth of an eagle. Nothing else was notable.
In fact, many people had jumped down before Li Qiye for a better look. They used their divine intent to sweep through this place over and over, but nothing was found.
Yan Yanglong standing above the divine well sneered and said: "Countless charming spirit wise sages have pried at it with divine mirrors to find anything at all. Trying to see through the mystery with the naked eye is mere wishful thinking."
He had no grievances or feuds with Li Qiye. Someone from the Extreme Yang School like him didn't need to bother a human boy, it was just that he didn't like looking at Li Qiye's arrogant and imperious attitude.
In his eyes, even his master, the Extreme Yang Monarch, didn't act as haughty as this. What grounds did this human boy have to act like this?!