Chapter 1215: Golden Crow Monarch
The human cultivators with newfound hope were shaken after hearing this. They also felt that this renewal was impossible. After all, no one had succeeded for millions of years.
Li Qiye glanced at the few human cultivators and flatly said: "This is a troubled place with an incoming disaster. Blood will stain the land and bones will fill this ocean, so leave while you can. Return to your homes."
After hearing this, the humans darted their eyes at each other with hesitation. One or two people left, but the rest remained.
Li Qiye was not too persuasive since he knew that they didn't completely trust him.
"Hehehe, just a human brat spouting nonsense. What a naive fool." A gloomy voice sounded at this moment.
The water splashed and separated into a road on the sea. An old man came out from the depths with more than ten ministers dressed in both scholarly and martial uniforms. Every single one of them was full of blood energy and looked quite extraordinary. 1
The old man had a huge turtle shell on his back, showing that he was a demon turtle. His bean-sized eyes were flashing with glints. It was clear at first glance that this was definitely a vicious character.
"The Turtle Minister." Someone murmured after seeing this old man: "It looks like the Immaculate Expanse wants to get involved too."
The arrival of this old man and his followers made the waiting cultivators feel a great pressure. Prior to this, many great powers had shown up, but nothing at the level of the expanse. If the expanse was now here, the other lineages like the Golden Isle and the Void Imperfection Three Schools might be on their way as well.
Once they were here, it wouldn't be as easy for the great powers to get a piece of the pie. As for the minor sects and vagrant cultivators, they would only be able to stand to the side as they were unqualified for this competition.
The Turtle Minister was the prime minister of the Immaculate Expanse, a great military leader under Daoist Lin. He was a competent official and took care of the expanse's administration for the daoist. Moreover, his own cultivation was great since he was a famous Virtuous Paragon.
Li Qiye lazily glanced at the turtle and said: "Just a turtle, stop blabbering or I'll make turtle soup out of you."
The minister wasn't happy to hear this. He was considered a great demon after taking a form other than that of a turtle's, so he absolutely despised others calling him a turtle.
"Little animal, you killed my master's attendant and dared to shame my Immaculate Expanse. Your crime is punishable by ten thousand deaths! I don't care which sect you are from, you won't be able to escape death today!" He pointed at Li Qiye and uttered: "If you want a quick death, kneel and surrender or I'll mince you into pieces as revenge…"
"Prime Minister, leave this little beast to me!" A loud cry came from the horizon. A billowing flame emerged as if there was a sea of fire in the sky.
A person flew closer accompanied by a great heatwave that seemingly wanted to boil the sea. The moment he stepped onto Peacock Land, a terrifying temperature assaulted the earth. The vegetation nearby was ignited instantly.
This was a middle-aged man with a stately presence. He didn't try to hide his blood energy at all and instead let it roam free. Divine rings opened around him as if he was a God-Monarch.
A large Golden Crow existed inside these rings. It carried the sky and gave off a holy aura.
Someone blurted after seeing him: "Golden Crow Monarch, the junior brother of the Extreme Yang Monarch!"
Another murmured: "The Extreme Yang School is here, so it won't be long till the Golden Isle and Void Imperfection Three Schools are here as well."
This man strode into Peacock Land and stepped onto a high peak. He looked at Li Qiye with a murderous intent in his eyes.
The Golden Crow Monarch told the Turtle Minister: "Prime Minister, this beast killed my nephew. Out of consideration for our friendship, leave his dog life for me. I will take his head to my senior brother."
The turtle smiled and replied with haste: "Please go for it. Just leave his body so that I can also take it back to report."
This conversation made it seem like Li Qiye was already a dead man that couldn't do anything about it.
In fact, many didn't deny the monarch's strength. Although he was the Extreme Yang Monarch's junior brother, he joined the school even earlier. Some believed that he became a paragon even before his brother.
At this school, strength dictated the seniority, not who joined the earliest.
Because of his constitution, the Golden Crow Monarch couldn't cultivate the Extreme Yang Physique, so he became weaker than his brother. Nevertheless, he was still a Prosperous Era Paragon, so he was stronger than the Turtle Minister.
Many held their breaths when they saw a paragon wanting to take Li Qiye's life. Everyone could guess that Li Qiye was also a Virtuous Paragon. Who was stronger between these two?
"I'm afraid the Golden Crow Monarch has the advantage." Someone was more optimistic about the monarch: "After all, the Extreme Yang School is an Immortal Physique lineage that has stood strong for millions of years. Plus, he is a charming spirit; both his body and soul are innately superior at birth."
Many people felt that this was a reasonable statement. The monarch had many treasures since he came from a big sect — this was an advantage that not just anyone could have.
"Clank!" A chain covered in a crimson light appeared in his hand. This flashing light made others shudder; its fiery light seemed to pierce deep into the bones.
He held the chain with both hands and glared at Li Qiye: "Will you surrender, or do I have to force you by piercing your clavicles and dragging you around like a dead dog?" 2
Li Qiye was still holding the cauldron. He slightly raised his brows and lazily responded: "Either come and die or scram, don't disturb me."
The monarch turned furious and felt slighted. He was a supreme expert, yet this junior held him in such contempt, prompting him to shout: "Little beast, die!"
A clunk was heard after he declared his intention. The chain in his hands thrust forth like a scorpion tail, aiming for Li Qiye's clavicles.
"Clank!" However, against all expectations, the chain did not pierce Li Qiye's clavicles. Rather, the other side of the monarch's chain fell into Li Qiye's hand.
Li Qiye gave a deep shout: "Come here!" The chain that the monarch was holding suddenly coiled around his wrist.
"Whoosh!" The monarch was involuntarily dragged to Li Qiye.
"Boom!" The monarch heavily slammed into the Peacock Tree. He suddenly saw stars from the impact.
"Ugh!" Before he could recover from the dizziness, the chain coiled around the Peacock Tree once and turned back to wring his neck.
"No!" The monarch was still screaming as his limbs convulsed. In a split second, he was entangled to the Peacock Tree and strangled to death. His true fate wanted to break out of his body, but the opportunity wasn't there. His true fate was sealed within his body and perished alongside it.
This all happened too quickly. People couldn't even react in time to the monarch being strangled alive.
"Go!" After seeing his death, the Turtle Minister was shocked. He ordered and ran with the rest of his men.
"Whoosh!" The chain soared like a true dragon. Before the turtle and his officials could dive down into the ocean, the chain wrapped around their necks.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" All of them crashed into the Peacock Tree.
"No—" The group was scared out of their minds and screamed. Alas, their cries didn't last long as they were strangled to death as well and hung there on the tree.
In a short period of time, those who were strapped to the Peacock Tree all had their eyes wide open for they died with grievances.
They came to get revenge for their disciples, but they didn't expect to pay with their own lives in the process. They had truly underestimated Li Qiye's strength. In their minds, a nameless human junior could only be an ordinary paragon at best. If he was stronger than this level, then he would have been quite famous already. Thus, they were confident in their victory.
But alas, they didn't imagine that they wouldn't be able to block even one move from him. Their deaths were one of indignation and full of unanswered questions.
People were horrified to see these corpses hanging from the Peacock Tree and couldn't help but shiver.
In ancient China, the imperial court was divided into martial officers and scholarly/literature officers. ↩ In Wuxia, it is believed that when your clavicles are pierced, you can't gather qi. ↩Chapter 1216: Teeming Tribemaster
While staring at the hanging corpses, one person quivered and murmured: "Another brilliant genius coming out of nowhere… Can he compare to the Profound God-Monarch, the Seven-seas War Goddess, the Swiftdao Celestial God, and the Seashield Heavenly Prince?" 1
These people were the most powerful geniuses in the contemporary Heaven Spirit World. The four of them were considered to have the best chances of becoming an Immortal Emperor.
A big shot looked at Li Qiye and speculated: "It isn't clear whether he can compare with this group, but in my opinion, he stands shoulder to shoulder against Daoist Lin and the Extreme Yang Monarch."
Daoist Lin and the Extreme Yang Monarch were also young prodigies in the Jade Sea. However, there was still a gap between them and the other four.
Li Qiye lazily glanced at the crowd while holding the cauldron and spoke: "If anyone is familiar with the Immaculate Expanse and Extreme Yang School, do me a favor and let them know that I am the killer. If they dare, come to Peacock Land to settle the feud. Don't be ball-less cowards."
Many were dumbfounded after hearing this. This was blatantly provoking these two sects. It looked as if he wanted to go all out against them.
After hearing this, even if Daoist Lin and the monarch had great self-restraint and were magnanimous, they still wouldn't forgive Li Qiye. Otherwise, their sects would have no place in the Jade Sea in the future. And even without this provocation, someone else would send the news of these deaths to the two schools with haste.
More and more people arrived outside of Peacock Land. Li Qiye simply ignored them and continued to drown the land and sea with his cauldron's fire.
Everything was ready, the only thing missing was the eastern wind. Once it starts to blow, he would finally be able to replenish the tree's life.
He continued to refine the fire until it merged with the land and seawater, disappearing without a trace. With that, he recalled the cauldron and sat at the base of the Peacock Tree to have a moment of repose with his eyes closed.
Some people were shuddering while looking at Li Qiye waiting by the tree: "So courageous, opposing both the Immaculate Expanse and Extreme Yang School yet he still dares to wait for the enemies to come. Just how bold is this?"
The truth was that many people couldn't see through this human boy and his nonchalant nature despite knowing that enemies were approaching. To the disbelief of the spectators, he seemed to be certain of victory.
He must either be powerful to an unreasonable level or had an invincible background.
However, the strongest human lineage in the Heaven Spirit World was the Exquisite Valley, and the valley couldn't oppose either of these two lineages, thus people became curious about his background.
"I heard the Extreme Yang School and the expanse are preparing to go all out. They will not forgive this Li Qiye." A well-informed person heard the news and whispered to the people around him.
No one was surprised to hear this. The death of their disciples and Li Qiye's humiliating provocation were beyond anyone's self-restraint.
Nevertheless, they were wondering what these sects would use for their killing move. Would the monarch and Daoist Lin personally take action?
Before people could wait for the expanse and Extreme Yang School to come and deal with Li Qiye, someone else was already here to cause trouble for him.
"Human brat, pay for my son's life!" A roar resounded across the heaven and earth. It came from the bottom of the sea and was powerful enough to shake its foundation.
"Rumble!" At this time, a tidal wave rushed out from the horizon with great momentum like ten thousand stampeding horses.
"Splash! Splash!" Big fish jumped out of the water. Many of them were holding tridents and sabers with ferocious expressions. An insane number of fish leaped out of the water in an unstoppable manner like evil dragons.
Outside of these fish, many experts with the body of a fish and the head of a human or full humanoid bodies rode the waves. They came in a menacing manner as if they could tear apart anything that blocked their path.
"Teeming Fish!" Someone cried out after seeing these ferocious fish in the distance.
Many were shocked to see the sheer amount of fish and quickly retreated. No one wanted to be in their way, lest they risked angering these fish and be eaten completely, bones included.
They all ran out of the circle that had been drawn by Li Qiye beforehand so that the fish could rush forward.
The notoriety of this tribe was well documented. No one wanted to become their feast. Moreover, this group ahead was extremely furious already.
In a short period of time, this great army surrounded all of Peacock Land as well as the coasts in the nearby vicinity. They blocked off all paths of retreat to devoid Li Qiye of any opportunity to escape.
With more splashing, waves rose to the sky. These waves were carrying powerful troops, much more mighty than the other Teeming Fish. All of them had a human body at least.
Towards the front of the waves was an old man wearing a crown and a dragon robe. His eyes flashed with a frightening glint. Anyone could tell at first glance that he was quite ruthless.
Someone murmured after seeing him: "The Teeming Tribemaster…"
The crowd watched with bated breaths before the sheer amount of fish. One person estimated that there might be more than one million of them surrounding Peacock Land.
The tribemaster's eyes fell upon Li Qiye, the terrifying glimmer seemingly stated his intention to eat Li Qiye alive. Anyone would feel their knees weakening after being exposed to this glare.
The cultivators retreated to a safe distance to watch. Everyone knew that Li Qiye had eaten dragon tendons before. He even decapitated the Teeming Crown Prince! Thus, it was not surprising to see the Teeming Tribemaster leading this great army to take care of him.
Another spectator commented: "This will be a fight to the death."
"How can it not be?" A cultivator in the Charming Fragmented Realm added: "It is one thing to eat tendons in public, but he placed the prince's head inside a box and gave it back to the Teeming Tribe. This is an irreconcilable feud that will only end with his death or the demise of the Teeming Tribe."
The majority agreed with this statement. This tribe had always been unified, so killing the prince would bring about mass vengeance. No one could protect Li Qiye from this fight.
Someone murmured while looking at the blockade" "It looks pretty grim being enemies with the Teeming Tribe. Perhaps death is the only result."
People have fought the Teeming Tribe for many years. Some even attacked and destroyed their lairs.
However, regardless of how powerful they might be, they couldn't kill all of the Teeming Fish. In the next generation, this tribe would multiply again for a counter attack and even extinguish the offspring of whoever assaulted them first.
"Human brat, if you kneel and surrender, I will only torture you to death. If you resist, I will kill your ten clans. I don't care what power you are from or what your identity is, we will chase you to the ends of this world and kill all of your clan members and anyone who has anything to do with you!"
People shuddered after hearing this declaration, true to the vengeful reputation of this tribe.
Li Qiye finally stood up from the Peacock Tree to lazily look at the sea full of Teeming Fish. He smilingly said: "Only a bunch of ants that love to toot their own horns; you love to bully the weak yet afraid of the strong."
"Do you really think your tribe is invincible due to sheer numbers?" Li Qiye continued: "For countless years when many Immortal Emperors, sea gods, and treefathers want to eat dragon tendons, they would casually grab the fattest Teeming Fish, scrape off its scales, then cut them into slices before eating the tendon. Then, they would top it off with a plate of fish and drink soup stock made from the fish bones. What a pleasant and delicious meal…"
"… It's a shame that your tribe didn't even dare to fart as these beings devoured you, only turning a blind eye to everything. Heh, you would only act arrogant against tiny sects." Li Qiye shook his head and sneered.
These are their full titles, I'll be skipping the adjectives later to make the flow better. ↩