Chapter 509: Obtaining The Treasure
Nightsea was known to only have Yang Nightfish, so the existence of this turtle was already amazing in itself. This turtle definitely had to be a creature with intelligence. After hearing Li Qiye, it immediately nodded.
"That's good, I like sensible people." Li Qiye said as he smiled. Li Qiye then solemnly took out a bottle and carefully poured a drop of Myriad Star Water. The small bottle of Myriad Star Water had been used several times already, so now Li Qiye treasured every single drop.
"You… You are too wasteful! You are feeding a turtle Myriad Star Water!" Lan Yunzhu's heart was bleeding. This was not her first time seeing Li Qiye's wasteful extravagance. Back at the Thousand Islands, he had done something similar, but now, it was ridiculous to the point where he actually fed a turtle this valuable water.
She painfully said: "Do you not feel any remorse for doing so? Do you know how valuable this water is? This is something even Immortal Emperors desire, yet you are giving it to a turtle! You… have gone too far!"
"What? This… Is the legendary Myriad Star Water only meant for Immortal Emperors?" The daoist stammered after hearing this. He couldn't help but stare in a daze with his tongue tied.
He had only heard of this supreme celestial item while other people actually questioned its existence. One drop of Myriad Star Water was even more valuable than a drop of emperor's blood. And now, Li Qiye had actually fed this turtle an item more valuable than emperor's blood!
If this sort news were to be spread, countless people would be frightened to death. Some would definitely question the legitimacy of such a statement.
"This is way too luxurious, way too prodigal…!" After a long time, the daoist finally managed to utter one sentence. He wouldn't have believed such a thing if he didn't see it with his own eyes. He had seen extravagant spending before; some who hailed from emperor's lineages would use Virtuous Paragon Refined Jades as their pocket change.
However, those people were nothing compared to Li Qiye. Using Myriad Star Water to feed a turtle — who could be more wasteful than him? Being wasteful to such an extent was beyond literary description. A drop of Myriad Star Water could reverse life and death in a last-minute situation. Such a precious item was a priceless treasure.
Li Qiye nonchalantly said: "The turtle requires Myriad Star Water to stimulate its potential. Otherwise, it can't go into that place."
The turtle knew that this drop of water was good stuff, so it stuck out its tongue and sucked in the water without wasting any.
"Buzzz!" The moment it swallowed the liquid, the flames erupting on its body became even stronger. The universal divine chains intertwined with the fire as if they were about to become an immortal chapter.
In the blink of an eye, these chains covered the entire turtle as if it was a turtle shell.
"Is it worth it? A drop of star water is even more precious than emperor's blood." After seeing the turtle taking in the water, Lan Yunzhu asked.
"Completely worth it." Li Qiye nodded his head instantly and replied: "If I can obtain this creation, then it would absolutely be worth it."
"If? Only if?" Lan Yunzhu glared at him and said: "Do… Do you know what the word 'if' means?"
It wasn't as if Lan Yunzhu had never seen treasures before. On the contrary, since she came from the Thousand Carp River and was its descendant, she had seen many unparalleled items. However, one drop of star water was not something just anyone could get. One could negotiate with emperor's lineages for emperor's blood, but the star water couldn't be bought even with money.
Using the star water to make a gamble was too grand. The daoist shuddered; witnessing such decisiveness was quite rare.
Li Qiye smiled and responded: "It shouldn't be a problem unless something unexpected happens."
Lan Yunzhu angrily glared at him and said: "You should have just given it to me instead of wasting it like this."
Li Qiye retorted by pointing at his lips and teased: "If you kiss me, then I can think about giving you a drop of star water."
Her face was immediately flushed red as she angrily cursed: "Go to hell! Shameless!"
Li Qiye only laughed in response. Then, with a buzzing sound, ten palaces appeared and slowly opened. A tree branch appeared from within one of the palaces.
"Ten palaces…" The daoist absent-mindedly murmured after seeing the ten palaces above Li Qiye's head.
The news of Li Qiye having nine stars and ten palaces had already been spread everywhere, but seeing it was completely different from just hearing about it. Witnessing it with his own eyes left the daoist shaken.
At this point, the withered stump that resembled a hand flew out of one of Li Qiye's Fate Palaces and fell onto the turtle's back. Its branches then seemingly turned into tentacles and latched onto the turtle's body.
The turtle had a shell made out of divine chains and a withered trunk that looked like a hand, so its appearance became quite strange. The daoist and Lan Yunzhu didn't understand the logic behind this combination.
"Why did you put the branch on the turtle's back?" She then curiously asked. She had seen this withered trunk before, back when Li Qiye obtained it on the islands. At that time, he used a precious young leaf and grinded it into a liquid in order to obtain this tree trunk.
Seeing the dried trunk with little shoots full of life, Li Qiye smiled and replied: "The turtle is the guide. No one can enter this Secret Realm's lake. Only death awaits those who fall in, but an existence like this Yang Night-turtle is able to survive. Of course, the turtle itself can't take the item, so it requires the tree trunk to be accepted by the Secret Realm."
The daoist, who was skilled in calculating, recognized that this tree trunk was extraordinary, so he curiously asked: "What kind of divine tree is this dried tree?"
For it to be accepted by this Secret Realm, this tree trunk must have a heaven-frightening origin.
"At the very least, it is a divine tree that you cannot calculate or else you will suffer the heaven's punishment." Li Qiye said with a grin.
Li Qiye then let go of the turtle and patted its back: "Go, help me get that thing and you will be free."
The turtle then crawled into the lake and instantly disappeared below the surface.
Li Qiye sat by the lake and calmly watched the water. Although he had a relaxed demeanor, his intense gaze towards the lake showed that he was very serious.
Lan Yunzhu sat next to him and looked at the lake as well. She didn't dare to speak; it was as if she thought that speaking would disturb the existence in the lake.
Previously, the daoist had read Li Qiye's palm and was scared out of his wits. Now, Li Qiye's seriousness made him wonder what the defining treasure of this place could be. What item could make him so solemn?
Time passed by, but the lake was still very calm. It was as if nothing had happened, as if the turtle had dived down and escaped.
After a long period of time, Lan Yunzhu became worried and quietly asked: "Could it be that the turtle has run away?"
"I'm not worried about it escaping." Li Qiye shook his head and continued: "Even if it was ten times more courageous, it still wouldn't dare to flee from me." His eyes were still fixated on the water.
"What is the defining treasure of this place?" She inquired once more. Lan Yunzhu believed that Li Qiye's horizons were wide; an ordinary treasure wouldn't be able to tempt him. Something capable of such a deed must be unique in this world.
Li Qiye hesitated for a bit before eventually answering: "I don't know." After pausing, he added: "I hope that it is what I think it is, I really hope so."
Lan Yunzhu couldn't help but become surprised at this answer. His hesitation spoke plenty since it was quite rare to see such an expression on his face. He was not the indecisive type, but now, he was not certain and was lacking confidence.
This was something Lan Yunzhu had never seen before. Even when he said he wanted to destroy the Myriad Bones Throne, he was still full of absolute confidence!
However, this time was different. What was it that made him so unsure?
"Boom!" The entire Secret Realm shook as if something was affecting it. This caused the lake to ripple with waves while water shot up high and splashed everywhere.
"Success!" Li Qiye became ecstatic. He stood up to gaze at the rippling water.
Lan Yunzhu and the daoist became nervous as well. They stared at the surface, waiting for the turtle to appear.
After a good while, the surface calmed down as the waves receded, then the turtle finally emerged and swam to the shore.
It was apparent that the turtle was greatly fatigued; even a single step took all of its strength. The turtle shell created by universal laws had been completely shattered and cracks were visible on its body. Although it had swallowed a drop of star water, its wounds still didn't quickly heal.
509 Teaser Just a damn cool turtle. [collapse]Chapter 510: Realm's Defining Treasure
It was clearly wounded as the flames on its body had been extinguished. If it didn't drink a drop of star water beforehand, it would have died in the lake even if it had ten lives.
Lan Yunzhu and the daoist were quite shocked. It wasn't because that the turtle was wounded, but because of the hand-like tree trunk.
At this time, the withered trunk exuded boundless immortal lights with waves of immortal laws descending upon it. Each immortal law derived the most profound grand dao in this world; it was as if they could collapse the heavens and cause chaos to the Yin and Yang. It was as if these immortal laws came from the body of a supreme immortal.
Even geniuses like Lan Yunzhu couldn't handle looking at these lights. Her legs even became weak. These laws instilled awe and fear to those in its presence; when these laws approached, Lan Yunzhu and the daoist could feel that the laws were suppressing their own grand dao while their grand dao was screaming and struggling under the might of this new law.
Lan Yunzhu cultivated a Heaven's Will Secret Law, but it could not oppose this immortal law. How frightening was it for even a secret law to fail to oppose it?
Inside these endless immortal lights was an indiscernible "something." The lights were simply too bright, so Lan Yunzhu had to activate her heavenly gaze — powered by her secret law — just to see the thing inside.
It was a book, a very old book. It seemed to have been created in a natural process, so it was more of an item crafted by the heaven and earth than a book. This book harmonized with the world as if it was one with everything.
Lan Yunzhu couldn't imagine the power this book would exude once the pages were flipped. Once the pages of this book were turned, maybe the heaven and earth would shake, or maybe myriad worlds would lose their music. The sky could cry tears of blood while the earth could tremble!
Li Qiye looked at this book and emotionally murmured: "Yes… So it was true. Just like what I theorized, it really does exist!"
In the past, Li Qiye — as the Dark Crow — became friends with the Ancestral Flow Master and experienced many things together. The master said that the Prime Ominous Grave's Secret Realm hid a book, so Li Qiye had always been searching for it. A unique book, a book coveted by Immortal Emperors, a book so precious that they would pay any price to obtain it.
Later on, he didn't only come to the Prime Ominous Grave once or twice. Sometimes, he wouldn't get any treasures. If that was the case, he would only research the stopping points of the Corpseblood Clouds. In the end, hard work paid off and Li Qiye found this Secret Realm.
Another time, Li Qiye brought Immortal Emperor Qian Li here, but unfortunately, they weren't able to obtain the book. This book had always lingered in his mind, so he began to study even more and read countless ancient books and tablets. Finally, he had stumbled upon a method.
In this generation, he found the dried trunk so he finally had the chance to try out his theory. He wasn't very certain because the book's existence itself was merely speculation; the Ancestral Flow Master wasn't sure either.
Moreover, there were most likely several Secret Realms in the Prime Ominous Grave and not just this one. In summary, Li Qiye didn't have much confidence, but this book was worth the gamble.
And it was not in vain; just like he had speculated, this Secret Realm indeed had this book. The legends were real, and the secrets in this book must be real as well.
The turtle climbed onto the shore where Li Qiye quickly grabbed the book. The always-nonchalant Li Qiye was unable to contain his emotions as he caressed the book and exclaimed: "It really is this book! The heavens didn't let me down!"
The daoist asked while being visibly moved: "What kind of precious book is this?" He didn't know what it was outside of the fact that it must be very amazing and terrifying at the same time.
Li Qiye took a deep breath and put the book away as one of his Fate Palaces sucked in the dried trunk. Seeing the cracked body of the turtle, Li Qiye took out the bottle and fed it another drop of Myriad Star Water.
After taking in this drop, the turtle became lively again. The water's medicinal effect started to close its wounds.
Lan Yunzhu glared at him once more and exclaimed: "You are too lavish. One drop alone is enough to scare others to death, but another drop?! Do you want everyone in this world to drop dead from horror?!"
Lan Yunzhu couldn't be blamed for this overreaction. If others witnessed such a thing, they would pray that they could turn into a turtle to enjoy the Myriad Star Water.
On the other hand, the daoist could only wryly smile. No cultivators in this world were comparable to this turtle; they never had the chance to taste one drop, let alone two.
"This is for its contribution. It's very worthy." Li Qiye smiled and said as he tapped the bottle of water: "You are now free. When the time is right, I will tell someone to drop you off at Nightsea."
It was as if the turtle understood Li Qiye's words since it happily rubbed against him. Li Qiye's brows relaxed as he withdrew the universal divine chains that were latched on the turtle's body.
A while after he obtained the book, a buzzing sound suddenly appeared. From the lake rose a dao platform where a portal slowly opened. It was time for them to leave.
Li Qiye looked at the opening portal and told the other two: "Come, it is time for us to enter the five Grave Realms."
Lan Yunzhu and Daoist Heaven Calculating decisively followed Li Qiye into the portal. It suddenly turned dark as they were teleported out of the Secret Realm to another location.
Lan Yunzhu opened her eyes and saw a majestic scenery with mountain ranges. The taller mountains were mainly formed from numerous smaller stones and boulders, but a few were also single unified rock formations. Because of this, the shapes of these mountains were quite strange. Some appeared to be eggs while others looked like pillars. Two or three of them placed next to each other formed a giant gate.
Standing here gave the illusion that there was nothing other than rocks, as if this was a world of stone.
"The fluctuation of minerals here is quite strong." Lan Yunzhu felt a strange aura and startlingly exclaimed: "Could this place be specialized in giving birth to treasure metals and divine stones?"
"You are correct." Li Qiye smiled in response: "There are five Grave Realms in the Prime Ominous Grave, and each of them is different. Later on, some people divided the five into five Great Realms: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. You are standing in the place others refer to as the Metal Realm.
"Five elemental realms…" The daoist thought to himself. This was different from his imagination.
"You can also put it this way: each of the five realms has their own special characteristic. For example, this Metal Realm specializes in giving birth to treasure metals and divine stones. If one wants to find grand dao treasure metals or destiny true stones, then this is the right place to be. There are minerals and ores in this realm." Li Qiye paused for a moment before continuing: "If you want to find spirit medicines and grasses, or even the legendary King Medicines, then you should go to the Wood Realm because it has them in great quantities; it has the best ingredients in this world."
"Is this place not the Prime Ominous Grave?" The puzzled Lan Yunzhu asked: "There is no grave here, so why is it called the Prime Ominous Grave?"
"You want to see graves?" Li Qiye smirked and said: "Then go to the Earth Realm. The graves that you want to see will be at that location, and all of them are beyond your imagination. One has to prepare well before going, and this realm would be best saved for last."
"Why is that?" The daoist curiously asked.
Li Qiye narrowed his eyes and explained: "The Earth Realm is also called the Prime Grave, or the Center Realm. Although the five realms are not directly adjacent to each other, the other four circle the Earth Realm. The Prime Grave is the most dangerous out of all of them, so if you want to test your fortune in that place, you have to be mentally prepare to die. If you can make it out alive, then you will surely obtain a great creation; of course, the majority of people die inside. One out of ten coming out alive is putting it nicely, it's more like one out of ten thousand."
Lan Yunzhu inquired: "Why is it so dangerous? Are there ghosts there?"
"Hahaha, ghosts?" Li Qiye smiled and answered: "If they were ghosts like the members of the ghost race, then it would not be scary at all. Once you enter the Prime Grave, you will find out just what the scariest ghosts in this world are."
"There really are ghosts?" The daoist asked again.
Although people called the Ghost Immortal Race ghosts, these ghost immortals had never accepted this title. The truth was that they weren't ghosts, they were existences with flesh and blood.
Some other existences were also called ghosts, such as the sentiments, but they were also not real ghosts. They were only lingering sentiments, different from the ghosts the mortal world thought of.
Chapter 511: Mysteries of the Destiny Stones
In fact, these so-called "real ghosts" had never been seen before. Cultivators didn't believe in ghosts, just like how they did not believe in true immortals.
"Well…" Li Qiye squinted his eyes then chuckled: "That is hard to say, but if you want to find out, then go to a grave in the Earth Realm. If you have the chance to crawl inside, maybe you will actually meet a real ghost."
"Ah, forget it." The daoist jumped and felt a chill crawl down his spine as if he was being stared at by a ghost.
Li Qiye chuckled then looked towards the far horizon. Every time he came to this place, he would always want to go to a certain location. He knew that there was something even he could never obtain, but he could still give it another shot.
While Li Qiye stared at the far horizon, the daoist took out another turtle shell and shook it.
"What are you trying to calculate?" Li Qiye looked at this daoist that was stricken with his occupational habit and asked: "Are you trying to calculate the Prime Grave?"
"Hmm…" The daoist wryly smiled and responded: "I don't dare to calculate the Prime Grave because the heavenly lightning will strike me dead. Hehe, but even if I can't do so, I can still calculate my own luck. Not about the future and not about the heaven's will, only my own fortune to see which Great Realm is right for me."
Li Qiye and Lan Yunzhu didn't know what to say. The daoist was indeed a natural seer; he wanted to divine every single thing — this habit ought to be fixed.
"There is no need to calculate." Li Qiye shook his head and continued: "Go to the Fire Realm if you want a suitable realm; that place is right for the Heart-ghost Tribe. Follow your heart and you will surely benefit greatly."
After hearing this, the daoist stopped shaking his turtle shell and quickly asked: "Really?"
"Go and see for yourself. Of course, you can also calculate to see, but I trust that I am not wrong." Li Qiye answered with a smile.
"This little one definitely believes in Sir and will follow your suggestion." The daoist quickly put away his shell and asked: "How does one reach the Fire Realm?"
Li Qiye pointed towards a direction and said: "Go straight ahead from here and you will find a dao platform. Go through the portal and it will teleport you to the Fire Realm."
"Thank you, Sir, for your guidance!" The daoist bowed and quickly showed his gratitude: "This little one will not bother you any longer. I shall go ahead to find the Fire Realm."
"Go, your harvest will not be small." Li Qiye smiled in response.
The daoist bid farewell to the other two and went towards the direction Li Qiye pointed to. The daoist was already satisfied from entering the Secret Realm with Li Qiye so now he wanted to see if he could find his own fortune by himself.
Lan Yunzhu and Li Qiye watched as the daoist departed.
Afterward, Lan Yunzhu asked: "Where do we go now? Will we meet up with Master's group?"
Li Qiye smirked and looked at Lan Yunzhu to say: "Would you like a destiny true stone?"
"Destiny true stone?" Lan Yunzhu shook her head and replied: "I already have my own true fate treasure. It was created from quite an exceptional destiny true stone."
The stone mentioned by Lan Yunzhu was quite amazing. In the end, the river sect was an emperor's lineage and she was its descendant, so the stone she owned would naturally not be mediocre.
Li Qiye added with a smile: "But this place has even better destiny true stones, ones that are more suitable for you. Of course, this is only if you are meant to have one."
Lan Yunzhu smiled and gave him a look: "Uncle, don't try to trick me. My true fate treasure was created from an eight heavenly accumulations destiny true stone, it's only a bit worse than one with nine heavenly accumulations. Even the true fate treasure of the throne of bones' descendant is just barely better than mine; his Imperial Spear has nine accumulations."
Among these destiny stones, having nine accumulations would be the upper limit so destiny stones with nine accumulations were the best. It was no wonder why Lan Yunzhu said that her own stone wasn't bad; this was already being very humble. Eight accumulation destiny stones were worthy of being called priceless treasures while nine accumulation stones were items that could only be obtained with great luck.
Li Qiye shook his head and said: "Girl, more often than not, the strength of a true fate treasure is not due to the amount of heavenly accumulations. Moreover, the quality of these stones is not dependent on the amount either. Since time immemorial, not all true fate weapons of Immortal Emperors were crafted from nine accumulation destiny stones. In addition, most invincible existences did not search for only nine accumulation destiny stones because refining them did not always yield the strongest true fate weapon."
Lan Yunzhu gave him a coy look and said: "Uncle, I know. My master already taught me this basic common sense when I started cultivating. There is only the most suitable destiny stone and not the strongest destiny stone. The quantity of the heavenly accumulations in these stones is only something the world uses for ordering, it's not to distinguish their strengths…"
"I don't need Uncle to explain this to me." Lan Yunzhu gave him a stern look and continued on: "For example, Immortal Emperor Bu Zhan. His Immortal Emperor True Treasure was only crafted from a single heavenly accumulation destiny stone, but it was still unbeatable in the nine heavens and ten earths. Hence the previous phrase: there is only the most suitable destiny stone, and not the strongest destiny stone."
In fact, the stories of Immortal Emperor Bu Zhan circulated for generations. His weapon that was made from a single accumulation destiny stone became a miracle even amongst the weapons of Immortal Emperors.
"You are correct, finding the most suitable stone is the most crucial aspect for cultivators." Li Qiye smiled and continued: "But keep in mind that there are also other details to these destinty stones. This is why these stones were classified by a grand system all this time. For example, if we have two stones where both of them only have one heavenly accumulation, if one of them contains inflammation fire while the other contains the dao of a Vermillion Bird, which one do you think is stronger? Both of them belong to the fire element."
"Of course I know this. If the cultivator trains with a heavenly fire fate law, then the stone with the inflammation fire will be stronger, but if they train with a fiery bird fate law, then it would be the stone with the Vermillion Bird." Lan Yunzhu snickered and said: "Uncle, don't test me, this is only common knowledge."
Li Qiye smiled and continued his questioning: "Very good, now let's have two destiny stones with two heavenly accumulations. One of them has the inflammation fire and mysterious ice while the other has the dao of a Vermillion Bird and Fiery Vulture. Which one do you think is stronger?"
"Hmm…" Lan Yunzhu contemplated before answering: "If we were using the same fate laws described earlier, then the second destiny stone is stronger. The first destiny stone is affected by the conflict between fire and ice, so even the cultivator cultivating the heavenly fire fate law would be weakened by this. The second one has both the dao of the Vermillion Bird and Fiery Vulture — these are both fiery birds, so it will make the fiery bird fate law even stronger."
Li Qiye chuckled and said: "Worthy of being the Thousand Carp River's descendant, you're not too stupid."
Lan Yunzhu responded by stomping on Li Qiye's foot and glaring at him: "Uncle, what are you trying to say? If you keep on teasing me, you better watch out!" Lan Yunzhu gritted her teeth while taking on a fierce pose.
Li Qiye was still smiling as he continued on: "Then I'll test you again. We'll use the same two cultivators again, one with the heavenly fire fate law while the other with the fiery bird fate law. Then we'll give them the choice of two new destiny stones…
"These two have three heavenly accumulations. One of them has inflammation fire, mysterious ice, and pure Yang. The other has the dao of a Vermillion Bird, the dao of a Fiery Vulture, and Samadhi Flames. Which do you think is the suitable stone for them?"
"Hmm…" Lan Yunzhu pondered for a moment before answering: "In theory, both cultivators are fire cultivators. Although the Samadhi Flame is not of the fiery bird's branch, it clearly augments the other two dao. The first destiny stone might have the pure Yang flame which is also of the fiery branch, but the mysterious ice dao conflicts with the pure Yang flame and inflammation fire. Even if the pure Yang flame and the inflammation fire support each other, causing them to become several times stronger, the conflict with the mysterious ice will result in their power getting weakened. Thus, logically speaking, the second destiny stone is stronger."
Lan Yunzhu was the descendant of the river sect so she had vast knowledge in this regard, thus her answer was very reasonable.
"You'd be wrong." Li Qiye shook his head and said: "When one cultivates a good heavenly fire fate law and refines the stone into one's own true fate treasure, then the three heavenly accumulations in this stone will change. The pure Yang dao will become an incubator to refine the mysterious ice dao. Then, the mysterious ice and inflammation fire dao will combine together with Yin and Yang, giving birth to a new supreme Yin Yang dao! With this True Treasure, this fiery flame cultivator's initial heavenly fire fate law would become the most tyrannical fate law in this world!"
"Really?" Lan Yunzhu skeptically asked.
"Of course, it is true. This theory is called the heavenly accumulation fusion. When a destiny stone is refined into a new true fate treasure, if you can combine several accumulations together to form an entirely new accumulation, its power would be even stronger and more formidable…
"Indubitably, this fusion has very stringent requirements. It is very rare to see a destiny stone with fusible accumulations. This type of destiny stone is much rarer than a nine heavenly accumulations destiny stone."