Chapter 480: Great Bounty
Despite being in control of a great army that loomed over the Snow-shadow Tribe, the Phoenix Maiden did not order for the tribe's destruction immediately.
After trapping the tribe, she sent out a message immediately: "Li Qiye of the human race, heed my words. Surrender within one day or I'll stamp out the Snow-shadow Tribe!"
After hear this message, many looked at each other. Everyone knew that she wanted revenge for her brother, the Divine Spark Prince.
Her solemn and mighty voice rang across the sky: "Anyone who captures Li Qiye alive shall be rewarded with a King Medicine. If you bring his head to me, I'll award a precious scroll. His limbs may be traded for a Virtuous Paragon Life Treasure! No matter who it is, killing him shall earn them the Prime Ominous Key. The reward may be given immediately!"
Her declaration caused many great experts' hearts to beat fast.
"Such a big play!" This reward was too tempting; no one would be able to resist it.
Someone couldn't help but murmur: "Such a tyrannical style! Li Qiye can't escape even if he wants to since he would be chased by everyone to the corners of the world. This bounty is simply too good to pass up."
"No wonder why the Divine Spark Prince could act so boisterously. Those who touched even a single hair of his would not have a place in the Sacred Nether World." A genius stated: "This is how it is now. The Sacred Nether World might be large, but there is no haven for Li Qiye. Even if he can run today, his death is still imminent."
Many young people, especially geniuses, were annoyed with the Divine Spark Prince. They sneered at his arrogance that stemmed from having a great brother-in-law. What was so great about it?
But today, after seeing his sister's grand gesture, they understood the magnitude of his backing.
The Snow-shadow Tribe was bait to lure Li Qiye. The Phoenix Maiden was afraid of him running away so she also put out a great bounty! The fact that Li Qiye's killer would be able to keep the Prime Ominous Key was enough to drive people mad and salivate with greed.
She was indeed a formidable woman. No wonder why the Divine Spark Country continued to prosper under her rule. Her first move was enough to seal Li Qiye's future of being a dog without a home. He would be hunted down every day no matter where he went.
The Divine Spark Prince used to boast that anyone who offended him would have no place in this world. Before, many thought that this was simply a bluff, but seeing the Phoenix Maiden's bold move, even the predecessors lost their composure.
"Worthy of being Di Zuo's fiancee. Such a domineering move." A royal lord said.
"We'll be rich!" However, there were other great powers who were excited and eager for such a great bounty.
Not to mention the key, the King Medicine, precious scroll, and Virtuous Paragon Life Treasure were items capable of causing one's eyes to redden with desire. One King Medicine pill could be sold at a sky-high price, allowing one to live carefree in the future.
Such a lucrative prize made many want to take Li Qiye's head.
When Qiurong Wanxue was still at Necropolis, she received the news from Elder Zhi, who was camping with others right outside. The young group of Peng Zhuang was also at this camp. It was a small tribe so their camp was far away from the city and distant from where the great powers were located.
This had just happened and the news regarding the Phoenix Maiden's blockade around the Snow-shadow Tribe traveled very fast.
After receiving the news, not just the Snow-shadow disciples, but even the always-stoic Elder Zhi was frightened and at a loss as to what to do. This matter was too grave. The rest of the disciples were completely panicking in horror while being completely directionless as well. One of them asked: "Elder Zhi, what should we do now?"
Elder Zhi was also helpless, replying: "We will wait another half a day. If Chief doesn't come back by then, we'll pull back immediately."
They couldn't be blamed for this choice. The Divine Spark Country was a giant monster compared to the Snow-shadow Tribe; this was the difference between an elephant and an ant. Moreover, what caused Elder Zhi to quiver even more was that the Phoenix Maiden was Di Zuo's fiancee. The Divine Spark Country alone could easily destroy the Snow-shadow Tribe, let alone a supreme existence such as the Myriad Bones Throne.
Qiurong Wanxue ran back just in time from Necropolis. The disciples shouted after seeing her, slightly calming down their chaotic minds.
However, Qiurong Wanxue was not any better than them for the existential crisis of the tribe left her in panic as well. She asked: "What is the situation right now?"
Elder Zhi quickly answered: "Outside of a few disciples who haven't returned, the entire tribe is trapped. The enemy has yet to make a move, but our time is running out."
Qiurong Wanxue took a deep breath and commanded: "Send my order for the disciples outside to not return until the crisis is resolved. Run away, run as far as possible."
Elder Zhi agreed: "I have already ordered so." He then looked at her and said: "But what about us?"
Qiurong Wanxue replied: "Elder Zhi, take the disciples away from this place and do not run back to the Snow-shadow Tribe. As long as the verdant mountain is still there, there is no fear from running out of firewood."
At this point, Qiurong Wanxue had no better strategy. Luckily, seedlings like Peng Zhuang and the other five were still here, and they obtained quite a great fortune as well. As long as the six of them survived this calamity, even if the Snow-shadow Tribe perished, there would still be a chance to rebuild it in the future.
"What about Chief?" Elder Zhi asked.
Qiurong Wanxue put on an austere expression and answered: "I have to return to the Snow-shadow Tribe and stand with our kin even if it means death."
Elder Zhi lost his colors and quickly persuaded: "Chief… That won't do, you'll die for sure!"
Qiurong Wanxue shook her head and decisively stated: "I am the head of the tribe. As such, I have the obligation to live and die together with its members. If something were to happen to me, then Elder Zhi will be the chief to lead the remaining disciples."
Elder Zhi took a deep breath before quietly asking: "Where is Young Noble Li? Has he already escaped?"
"No, he is not a coward who runs away. He is still inside Necropolis right now, and I'm afraid he won't make it in time." Qiurong Wanxue gravely replied.
She didn't wish for her Young Noble to die, but she also couldn't watch her tribe get destroyed by the Phoenix Maiden without doing anything. Her heart was quite conflicted at this moment.
Elder Zhi gently sighed. Even if Li Qiye came out and willingly accepted his detainment, the Phoenix Maiden still wouldn't spare the Snow-shadow Tribe. Their tribe was only an ant to her so killing them was as simple as lifting a finger.
"Go, it is not too late!" Qiurong Wanxue commanded Elder Zhi and the disciples.
Elder Zhi quickly made a decision and brought them away. Unfortunately, time ran out since an aggressive group came and blocked their path.
The arrival of this group immediately drew the attention of nearby cultivators. Seeing the protrusion on their foreheads caused these cultivators to run away very far from fear, not daring to get involved.
"The Insect King Imperial Lineage!" There were only more than a dozen young cultivators blocking the Snow-shadow group, but Elder Zhi and the others turned pale after seeing the protrusion on their foreheads. Qiurong Wanxue was also quite alarmed.
An escaping cultivator recognized the leading young cultivator and exclaimed: "The junior brother of the Ghost Insect Evil Child!"
These young cultivators were only ordinary disciples from the insect lineage. The leader was one of the many junior brothers of the Evil Child. He was not a brilliant genius by any means, but others still feared him. The insect imperial lineage had been famous for a long time. The Nether King Insect was a source of terror to many people.
Elder Zhi's group was stricken with fear after seeing these Insect King disciples. Once bitten by the insect, they would experience a fate worse than death.
The Ghost Insect Evil Child's junior brother blocked the path and menacingly smiled as he said: "You want to leave? It won't be so easy." The squirming pouch on his head was quite a creepy sight.
"Where is Li Qiye? Say it!" The junior brother declared with an ominous smile.
"I don't know his whereabouts!" Qiurong Wanxue took a deep breath and shook her head in response.
"Haha, very well, I'm not afraid of you guys not speaking. I'll take my time interrogating all of you after you're captured." The junior brother let out a grim smile. He then commanded the disciples right behind him: "Go, capture all of them! Hehe, don't kill them, we'll take them to the Phoenix Maiden as a greeting gift."
"You guys, go, now! I will stop them!" Qiurong Wanxue hastily spoke with a changed expression. She then made all of her blood energy erupt as her Royal Noble aura shot up high. She was risking it all at this moment.
However, the disciples from the emperor's lineage quickly surrounded all of them. In just a second, Elder Zhi's group lost their chance to escape.
480 Teaser Divine Spark Phoenix Maiden [collapse]Chapter 481: Divine Spark Phoenix Maiden
"Be obedient and—" The junior brother laughed sinisterly. However, before he could finish, his words were abruptly stopped!
"Pfuff!" An arrow's shadow flashed, accompanied by a wind-breaking noise. The disciples that were surrounding Qiurong Wanxue's group were pierced and fell to the ground without the opportunity to even scream.
The Ghost Insect Evil Child's junior brother had been gripped by the neck and suspended in the air. He was already in his enemy's grasp before he finished his sentence.
Everything happened too fast; before anyone could calm down, the disciples from the insect lineage were all shot to death while only the junior brother was alive.
The junior brother couldn't move with his neck gripped, so he struggled to spew out these words with a pale face: "Who… Who… are you?"
"Are you not currently looking for me?" The young man that was gripping his neck revealed an innocent smile and said: "You were searching so I came to see you."
"Li Qiye!" The junior brother trembled in fear. He was only a fox exploiting the tiger's might and didn't expect Li Qiye to actually be nearby.
Li Qiye killed the group of the Divine Spark Prince and the other young geniuses in one breath; he was the new "Fierce" of this generation! 1
"Young Noble!" Qiurong Wanxue was both surprised and delighted to see Li Qiye arriving in the nick of time.
The junior brother became quite haggard at this moment as he screamed: "I… am a disciple of the Insect King Imperial Lineage!"
"So what?" A pleasant voice appeared in a very soft manner: "My Thousand Carp Guardian killing an Insect King disciple is no different from crushing an ant. Even if your sect master comes, the outcome would be no different!"
A transcendent lady nimbly drifted across the sky to arrive. This was a kingdom-toppling beauty that would brighten the eyes of others.
The nearby Distant Cloud cultivators recognized the woman and emotionally shouted: "Lan Yunzhu, the Thousand Carp descendant!"
At this point, Qiurong Wanxue and the Snow-shadow disciples couldn't help but become surprised at this peerless beauty flying closer. Lan Yunzhu — a famed genius of the southern Distant Cloud, a beauty with dual saint talents that allowed her to show disdain to all others!
The junior brother incoherently stuttered: "I… am a disciple of the Insect King Imperial Lineage… My First Brother is…. is… the Ghost Insect Evil Child…"
"I do not know who the hell he is." Li Qiye nonchalantly said: "I will still kill the sons of gods if they provoke me!" He then tightened his grip. With a pluff, the junior brother was crushed into a mist of blood.
Li Qiye patted his palms then looked at the floating Lan Yunzhu to ask: "How come you are here instead of the Distant Cloud?"
The Snow-shadow disciples were dumbfounded when they heard Li Qiye's question. Fairy Zhu, a character who others could only look up to — Li Qiye was talking to such a legendary character as if she was his junior.
"To help you." Lan Yunzhu chuckled and elaborated: "I heard that there were people who wanted to mess with the Thousand Carp Guardian so I came running here. The elders will also come later."
"Guardian of the Thousand Carp River?!" Qiurong Wanxue exclaimed in shock. She was completely in the dark and didn't expect her Young Noble to be a Guardian at such a young age.
The rest of the disciples were staring at Li Qiye in disbelief as well. The Thousand Carp River was a famous emperor's lineage, a behemoth in their eyes. In their minds, the Guardian of such a sect should be a wise sage with gray hair. How could they not become speechless after discovering that the young Li Qiye was the Thousand Carp Guardian?
"Guardian of the Thousand Carp River?!" The cultivators in hiding were flabbergasted.
Li Qiye looked at Lan Yunzhu and nodded his head to say: "Very well. Since you are here, help me look after them. I'm going to go kill some people." At this point, his gaze narrowed.
"Kill?" Lan Yunzhu felt a chill after hearing this. Lan Yunzhu knew more about Li Qiye than others. Once he decided to go all out, it would not be as simple as just "killing."
She then happily smiled and said: "If necessary, the Thousand Carp River will solve this matter for you."
Li Qiye chuckled and replied: "This is only a trivial matter caused by insignificant fools. If I don't kill some ten thousand morons, they won't understand the logic that no good will come from opposing me."
Elder Zhi's group were jolted after hearing this. Killing ten thousand morons? What an aggressive and fierce attitude! They could smell the bloodlust smashing into their face.
They couldn't help but to take a breath to ease the cold sensation in their hearts. Before this, they would have thought that Li Qiye wouldn't be able to do so. But now, they found out that he was the Guardian of the Thousand Carp River. How could he have such a role if he didn't have some heaven-defying abilities?
The news of Li Qiye's appearance quickly spread outside of Necropolis. Many great powers became ecstatic to find out that Li Qiye had shown his face. A great bounty would invite reckless adventurers, not to mention that Li Qiye also had the ever-alluring Prime Ominous Key.
"Bang!" After a loud explosion, Li Qiye suddenly projected his avatar in the sky. At this moment, he was a giant that stood above the horizon, looking down on the nine heavens with a pair of eyes as bright as torches beaming down on the world. The moment he locked onto the location of the Snow-shadow Tribe, the Phoenix Maiden also felt it and immediately stood up.
"Very well, if you are looking for me, then it is time to finish this." Li Qiye's roar reverberated throughout the world in an overbearing manner: "Regardless of how many people the Divine Spark Country brought, I alone shall slaughter all of them! But heed my warning, do not touch a hair of the Snow-shadow Tribe, or else I will slay your entire country tomorrow!"
This tyrannical declaration echoed in the sky for a long time.
Many people looked at each other after hearing this. Someone couldn't help but sneer and say: "Ignorant fool, does he not know who he is offending?"
"Slay my Divine Spark Country?" The Phoenix Maiden's image also appeared under the nine heavens. She had a pair of sharp and majestic gaze, making her seem like the queen of this world.
She coldly spoke: "Just because of these words, I shall annihilate the Snow-shadow Tribe, then I'll exterminate your nine clans!"
The fury of the Phoenix Maiden startled many people, especially the group of Qiurong Wanxue. No one doubted her resolve or strength to carry out her threat.
"Exterminate his nine clans?" At this time, a pleasant voice — as clear as a bell or an elf — emanated throughout the sky along with a shadow.
Lan Yunzhu's unparalleled smile reached across the spatial planes as she spoke: "Phoenix Maiden, I wonder what your Divine Spark Country will do to kill my Thousand Carp River's nine clans? With the Myriad Bones Throne as your backing, I really want to see what trump cards you will use to slay our Thousand Carp Guardian's nine clans!"
"Thousand Carp Guardian!?" At this time, countless eyes fell upon Li Qiye. They gasped at the thought of him being the Thousand Carp Guardian.
The Thousand Carp River was incredibly prestigious; naturally, it was not weak since it was an emperor's lineage. Moreover, it was also extremely mysterious. In the past, Immortal Emperor Qian Li swept through the nine heavens. There was a rumor stating that he even quashed the Ancestral Realm. Even a high and above existence like the Sacred Nether World's Ancestral Realm had to retreat before the might of Immortal Emperor Qian Li!
Immortal Emperor Qian Li was also the most recent emperor from the Emperors Era in the Sacred Nether World, so his influence was still greater than any other emperor. Because of this, the mysterious and dreadful Thousand Carp River was coveted by many lineages, but none of them dared to make a move.
"Phoenix Maiden, the rules are very simple." Lan Yunzhu's pleasant voice continued: "My Thousand Carp Guardian will challenge your Divine Spark Country alone, regardless of how people you have or how many helpers you can get. However, you cannot touch the Snow-shadow Tribe, or else my Thousand Carp River will guarantee that tomorrow will be the demise of your Divine Spark Country; even the Myriad Bones Throne will not be able to protect you!"
Lan Yunzhu's words reverberated throughout the world. Everyone held their breaths in anticipation after hearing these words.
Many great powers knew that this was not an empty threat. The Divine Spark Country was indeed powerful, but there was still a big gap compared to the Thousand Carp River in the southern Distant Cloud. The river sect had the power to destroy the Divine Spark Country, and the Myriad Bones Throne was too far away to help.
"So be it!" The Phoenix Maiden spoke with a cold attitude: "Tell him to come alone, I shall wait right outside the Snow-shadow Tribe." Having said that, her image in the sky disappeared.
Li Qiye and Lan Yunzhu's avatars also disappeared from the horizon.
The messages across the sky from the two sides created a tense atmosphere. Everyone knew that a storm was coming. This battle would surely shake the heavens.
This also resulted in a group of indecisive people. Before, many were eyeing Li Qiye not only for the Prime Ominous Key, but also for the tempting bounty from the Phoenix Maiden.
However, the situation was now different since they all knew that Li Qiye was the Guardian of the Thousand Carp River. This meant that he had its backing! Anyone who wanted to deal with Li Qiye had to think it over carefully, including other emperor's lineages.
Believe it or not, I contemplated about this particular title for a long time even back when I was reading the raw several months ago. There were other words that I could have used for this particular title, but I ultimately chose Fierce. Some of the other candidates were monster, brute, barbarian, murderer. The word is a combination of two characters — "Xiong" + "Ren". Xiong meaning vicious, fierce, terrible, fearful, violence, murder, criminal, murderer (I use ominous for this word at times too) and Ren meaning man. I did not want to use "man" as part of the title since that would sound strange. Why did I pick fierce even though it is an adjective instead of a noun? The other ones have too strong of a negative connotation. It is a title spoken with fear and respect for a powerful cultivator. The other words such as monster, murderer, criminal, brute, and barbarian lacked the respectful factor. Also, this title will be compounded upon in the future as well, and "fierce" is perfect because I can modify it in English to something that will match the future title while the other titles would require two additional words. But strictly speaking in terms of the meaning, I would pick ruthless man/vicious man to translate this term when it is not a title. ↩