Chapter 513: Impending Doom (April Fools)
“What? The Ancestral Flow in Necropolis?” Lan Yunzhu couldn’t help but utter.
As an imperial descendant, she naturally knew what the Ancestral Flow signified in Necropolis; she knew that the Ancestral Flow was actually the hidden power that controlled everything in Necropolis.
“Yes. When we get there, do not speak no matter what. Even I cannot guarantee your safety should you forget this.” Li Qiye warned her. In reality, Li Qiye didn’t want Lan Yunzhu to come, but he had no other choice. There was no time for him to send her back to the Thousand Carp River in the Distant Cloud, and even if he did, no one was at the sect; she would be there all alone. Therefore, it would still be safer if she came with him.
Lan Yunzhu didn’t say anything. This was the first time she heard Li Qiye say that he wasn’t in control of the situation. This spoke plenty of the gravity of the situation.
Flying in silence, they eventually flew into Necropolis and directly went towards the Ancestral Flow. On the way there, Lan Yunzhu glanced around at the surroundings and found that something was strange.
“Where are all the sentiments?” She couldn’t resist the urge to ask. As the descendant of the Thousand Carp River, naturally, she had come to Necropolis before. She remembered how this place would be no different than cities of mortals — bustling with life.
But now, the streets were empty and the stalls were vacant. Not a single cultivator could be seen, let alone a sentiment. In the records of the Thousand Carp River, never once had it mentioned when Necropolis was empty.
The lingering sentiments were just that, lingering. They would forever occupy the lands of Necropolis no matter what because they had nowhere else to go. Now that they were all gone, what did it mean?
However, Li Qiye did not answer. He simply flew in quiet contemplation. Seeing as how he didn’t want to answer, Lan Yunzhu could only suppress her anxiety and quietly follow him.
After the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, they arrived at the entrance of the Ancestral Flow. Although Lan Yunzhu had been to Necropolis before, she had never gone to the Ancestral Flow. After all, the rumors were right; unless you were part of the Ancestral Flow, you would not be able to enter the grounds. This was especially true for a human like her.
Li Qiye didn’t dally around and went straight to the gate. Unlike his previous courteous behavior, he quickly balled up his fist and smashed it against the gate.
“Boom—boom—boom—boom!” Each of his fists was like a primordial giant smashing apart mountains. “Open up! I know you are awake!” Li Qiye shouted as he continued to bang on the gate.
Keep in mind that Li Qiye cultivated the Hell Suppressing Godly Physique; each of his punches was equal to the weight of myriad mountains. And yet, he wasn’t able to knock down these gates. What on earth were these gates made out of?
A few moments later, the lock behind the gate finally opened. Li Qiye’s hand then immediately pushed the gate wide open. He walked in with big strides and didn’t seem to pay attention to anything else; he simply walked towards the hall.
Lan Yunzhu had no choice but to quietly follow him. Li Qiye’s words were still fresh in her mind. She would definitely not utter a single thing while inside.
Once they arrived at the entrance to the hall, the gigantic door opened as if the existence inside was expecting them.
Sure enough, what greeted them was not a stone-like statue but a flesh-and-blood individual, sitting on his throne. This was the Ancestral Flow Master, a long-time friend of Li Qiye.
Seeing the old man sitting on the throne, Lan Yunzhu nearly coughed out: ‘What? He’s human?’ However, she still managed to restrain herself and kept silent.
“Why are you here again? I’ve already given you the Prime Ominous Key and allowed Huang Jiaofu to leave. I don’t have time for you, I need to rest.” The Ancestral Flow Master’s tone was extremely aggressive. It was obvious that he didn’t have any patience left.
However, Li Qiye was unperturbed as he said in a serious manner: “He was there.”
It was a short three words, but it was like thunder to the Ancestral Flow Master. The master’s expression suddenly changed to one of shock as he exclaimed: “Impossible! You and I both know that he is dead. That year, we only barely managed to destroy his core with the help of Qian Li. How could he possibly survive!”
“But it’s true.” Li Qiye said as he took out the book from the Secret Realm. “Here, our suspicions were correct, there was indeed a book in the Secret Realm you mentioned.”
Li Qiye then threw the book towards the Ancestral Flow Master and continued: “Obtaining it was not hard; I only had to spend two drops of Myriad Star Water on a Yang Night-turtle to obtain it — this loss is quite acceptable. However, once we left that Secret Realm and entered the Metal Realm, we managed to catch the birth of a creation.”
The Ancestral Flow Master’s expression didn’t change when Li Qiye brought out the book, but when the creation was mentioned, his eyes lit up and he asked: “What kind of creation was it? Do you have it?”
“No! It failed to come into being.” Li Qiye responded as he shook his head.
“That’s impossible! The Grave Realms only produce one creation before the Heaven’s Will gets reformed. If it failed, then that means…”
“That’s right.” Li Qiye interrupted him and continued: “He was there. After the creation failed to come into being, we chased him to that mountain range only to find that the dao gate had been destroyed.”
The Ancestral Flow Master went silent for a while. A moment later, he asked: “Are you going there again? Your cultivation is still too weak, you won’t be able to do anything even if you go back.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Li Qiye shook his head and gravely said: “Qin Guangwang has already agreed to be my vanguard. It might be a bit soon, but we’ll have to begin now. It’s only a matter of time before he can no longer shoulder the heaven’s punishment.”
The Ancestral Flow Master let out a deep sigh. He then stood up and threw the book back at Li Qiye, saying: “The time has finally come. Keep it, it’s safer in your hands. It has been far too long and I probably won’t survive this time.” The master then paused before continuing: “You have to promise me to protect Necropolis should I not make it back.”
“Deal.” Li Qiye very quickly agreed. After all, he owed a great deal to the master; this much was the least he could do for an old friend.
By the side, Lan Yunzhu had been silently listening the entire time. She didn’t understand much of the conversation, but the little bits she did comprehend shocked her. How could Li Qiye have worked together with the master and her progenitor? This was a matter of the distant past and Li Qiye was no older than her.
However, now was not the time to ask. It looks like something big was happening, but there was no way for her to find out what.
Li Qiye then said: “Make your preparations, I’ll get in contact with Qin Guangwang. We will meet at that place.”
“Good.” The master didn’t waste any time and instantly disappeared.
The speed at which the master disappeared shocked Lan Yunzhu; she couldn’t keep up at all. Just what kind of existence was he? And yet Li Qiye was able to have a serious conversation with him as equals.
“We’re going too. This will be the first time you meet Imp.” Li Qiye didn’t pay too much mind to the Ancestral Flow Master and told Lan Yunzhu. Then, he grabbed her by the waist and flew out towards Nightsea.
After a while, a huge black sea appeared before them. The disturbance Imp had caused in the past was resolved and now Nightsea went back to its original blackness. Even though Lan Yunzhu, as an imperial descendant, had heard about the events at that time, she still found it hard to believe since she didn’t personally witness it.
Standing before the pitch black water, Li Qiye took out the item he obtained from Imp — a purple scroll. However, it wasn’t quite appropriate to call it a scroll since it was only a portion of the size. Li Qiye then held up this miniature scroll and shouted: “Come!”
Momentarily, the scroll began to emit dazzling lights that were capable of blinding all. The source of this light was tiny runes engraved on the parchment. These runes seemingly came alive and, along with universal laws, came together to form a small dao platform.
This platform then hovered in midair before them and suddenly, a figure began to materialize. This was Imp — Qin Guangwang.
Lan Yunzhu could help up exclaim: “What?!” She couldn’t be blamed. After all, existences capable of performing this type of teleportation could not be found just anywhere. At the very least, they had to be a powerful divine investiture expert. This proved that Imp was no ordinary Virtuous Paragon. In fact, he may already be at the apex of all Virtuous Paragons!
“The time has come, we need you to bring us there.” Li Qiye solemnly stated. Seeing Li Qiye’s serious expression, Qin Guangwang didn’t beat around the bush and asked: “With just us three?”
“No, there will be one more—”
“I am here.” However, before Li Qiye could finish, the Ancestral Flow Master appeared out of nowhere beside Imp. Imp’s expression slightly changed when he saw the appearance of the master.
He quickly bowed his head to say: “So it is the Ancestral Flow Master, forgive this lowly one for not expecting you.”
“Enough, we don’t have time. Take us to the Kingdom of Heaven.” Li Qiye didn’t have the patience and quickly told Imp.
“Okay.” Qin Guangwang also didn’t stand on ceremony. He quickly reached into his robes and pulled out a medium-sized coffin. This coffin was unlike the ones he traded away back at the auction. It also wasn’t a natural coffin like what Li Qiye obtained.
This medium-sized coffin had numerous intricate engravings that seemed to be alive. If one stared at the surface of the coffin for a while, one would slowly find that their consciousness would fade.
Without a moment’s delay, Imp opened the lid and threw the coffin into the air. Suddenly, all of the engravings came to life as immortal hymns could be heard. The sky darkened and the calm Nightsea began to turn violent.
Shortly after, the glowing engravings parted from the coffin and, combined with descending universal laws, intertwined into a large dao platform on the surface of Nightsea. This dao platform was unlike any that Lan Yunzhu had seen before.
The profundities from just staring at it would be enough for one to gain plenty of insights. However, now was not the time to be cultivating. The group quickly boarded the dao platform, and the platform moved out into Nightsea.
The speed at which this platform traveled was astonishing. In a split second, they managed to arrive at the center of the sea. Then, with a simple gesture from Imp, the platform suddenly descended into the water, startling Lan Yunzhu.
She understood that one needed the aid of the handlers and their ferries to safely traverse Nightsea. She found it strange that Imp’s dao platform could actually let them move above the black water, but now, suddenly diving into this water was the final straw. This was simply suicide!
However, the scene that she expected didn’t occur. Instead of being drowned in Nightsea’s black water, the liquid parted from the platform as if it was afraid. The platform effortlessly arrived at the seabed in this manner.
Next, Qin Guangwang took out a small knife and cut his finger, dripping his blood onto the platform. Once a drop of his blood came into contact with the platform, it suddenly turned bright, almost to the point where it could blind others.
The next instant, when the light faded, all they could see were countless divine pagodas and temples. If Qiurong Wanxue was here, she would realize that this was the Kingdom of Heaven.
“Let’s go, there’s no time.” Li Qiye said.
The group then made their way towards a temple, an ancient temple that housed a broken world.