There was a plaque hung up high by the entrance with one ancient character, “Shi”. It has been there for so many years, seemingly stained by the alchemy smoke.
“The Shi.” Li Qiye smiled then glanced at the clan in the mountain range.
“The Shi is the biggest alchemy clan of the golems, the oldest too.” Qing Shi became respectful unlike the nonchalant Li Qiye: “They’re actually older than Ancestral City. According to the rumors, they were there during the Nine Worlds Epoch.”
“You know quite a bit about them too.” Li Qiye smiled.
“The Shi is our pride, all golems know about them.” Qing Shi replied right away.
“How much golem bloodline do you actually have?” Li Qiye usually asked.
Qing Shi didn’t wish to address this matter and shut up. Alas, it didn’t really matter since Li Qiye knew anyway.
Meanwhile, famous people arrived at the entrance. They immediately changed their expression into humility and reverence.
“People from all over the world will need alchemy and pills eventually.” Qing Shi commented.
“So this clan’s alchemy is the best among the golems?” Li Qiye smiled.
“Yes, absolutely. It’s famous and peerless in all of Eight Desolaces. After all, the ancestor of the Shi was taught by the supreme true immortal.” Qing Shi nodded.
This clan was dated back to the previous epoch. According to the legends, one ancestor of the Shi was a nobody and planted medicines for subsistence. Moreover, the guy had average talents.
Later on, he was taught the dao of alchemy by a true immortal. This allowed him to become the alchemy emperor. Future generations sang songs about him - Stonewalker Alchemy Emperor.
Because of this, the Shi became influential and everlasting. In fact, they helped everyone during the great calamity and earned praises from the Bodhisattva. This made their clan eternally renowned.
Therefore, regardless of the location, this clan was always brought up in a positive light.
Their fame also resulted in an endless wave of people coming for medicines and pills.
“A true immortal?” Li Qiye shook his head and smiled again. Another story about a true immortal.
“It’s true.” Qing Shi perceived Li Qiye’s smile as skepticism and continued: “There are many records about the emperor meeting a true immortal. His average talents became incredible, capable of understanding things overnight. Moreover, the immortal even gave him immortal grass and an alchemy cauldron. This helped him on his path towards the dao of alchemy.”
This particular tale seemed heavily reinforced by many historical records.
“Stonewalker Alchemy Emperor, it’s a good title, how nostalgic.” Li Qiye restrained from laughing and shook his head again.
Qing Shi found this very strange. Not to mention the plateau, everyone in the northern region always spoke with a hint of respect about the Shi. The Bodhisattva praised the clan. In fact, even their enemies couldn’t refute their golden reputation.
Alas, Li Qiye didn’t give a damn at all as if the Shi was nothing in his eyes.
“Do you have grievances with the Shi, Young Master?” Qing Shi quietly said, not wanting others to hear.
“No, but there is no true immortal. The tale is falsely propagated by future generations.” Li Qiye smiled.
“How do you know this, Young Master?” Qing Shi became interested and asked: “The Shi has so many records about the immortal. Plus, the previous epoch was so long, long ago. Most records have disappeared, there might have been a true immortal back then. We don’t know for sure.”
“Have you ever seen a whale in a pond?” Li Qiye asked.
“Hmm, no?” Qing Shi was surprised.
“So say, even if a pond can somehow have a whale, how is it going to survive? It’ll need to feed on the other fish, of course. So will there be any fish left in that pond?” Li Qiye continued.
“No.” Qing Shi answered.
“So if this world has a true immortal, there will be no future descendants or whatever, only ashes.” Li Qiye finished.
Qing Shi couldn’t quite refute this logic since it made sense.
“Maybe the true immortal is from above, not here.” Qing Shi brought another point up.
“Why would a whale purposely come to a tiny pond? Is there anything worthwhile in one? It would only do so with one particular goal in mind.” Li Qiye replied.
“What goal?” Qing Shi asked.
“To eat everything in the pond. Also, this means that the food outside has run out so it has no choice but to pick this pond.” Li Qiye answered.
Qing Shi stood there in a daze. For most people, a true immortal was a magnificent and supreme existence. Now, Li Qiye made one sound like the devil - quite a stark contrast.
“Are you sure you’re talking about a true immortal instead of a devil or fiend, Young Master?” Qing Shi quietly said.
“Is there a difference? Only the title.” Li Qiye said: “Look, dao lords reach the top by stepping on many bones. They fight against the rest of the world and massacre millions. Are they considered spurned murderers or heroes?”
Qing Shi had no response once again. One could certainly view the dao lords as butchers since a conquest was necessary to reach the peak. Their hands were stained with blood.
“That’s why the story is false.” Li Qiye went on.
“Who did the Shi ancestor meet then?” Qing Shi asked.
“Just a person who taught him alchemy.” Li Qiye smiled. More ancient memories surfaced in his mind. This was so long ago that he had forgotten about them.
For example, the honest and simple youth in the past…
Qing Shi thought that the records couldn’t be verified. However, the alchemy dao of the Shi was definitely number one in the world. Their contribution was not to be questioned either.
“The existence of a true immortal, in this case, doesn’t affect the clan’s prestige.” Li Qiye stared at the dazed youth and said: “An alchemy emperor is not self-proclaimed. Only those at the actual level could gain this title. This is the case in the previous epoch as well. Moreover, the clan’s contribution for eras will not be erased over this issue.”
Li Qiye then stared at the clan and murmured to himself: “Brat, you’ve done well to not let me down.”
Qing Shi didn’t hear the last line since the first part kept him occupied for a while. A while later, he looked at Li Qiye and saw the guy’s expression.
In this split second, he saw flashes of vicissitude in Li Qiye’s eyes. It was as if Li Qiye had experienced countless years and was even older than the Shi.