Chapter 556: Another Meeting With The Diamond Carp
Li Qiye and Lan Yunzhu stepped into this vast emptiness. Their current cultivation allowed for them to easily cross this space. Moreover, this was not the space above the regular nine heavens.
They traveled for an unknown amount of distance before seeing a brilliant and silver light that was blinding yet alluring.
Lan Yunzhu was shocked at the scene unraveling before her eyes. Different galaxies were pouring down like waterfalls. They then came together to form an endless cosmos with no end in sight.
These celestial rivers had rippling silver waves that created an ethereal yet tangible image of a silver sea. The boundless starlight congregated together and created a dream-like sensation.
"What is this place?" Lan Yunzhu looked at the silver sea of stars ahead and asked in astonishment. It was hard to believe that there was such a location in this world.
"I don't know either." Li Qiye replied. His eyes had a profound glimmer as he looked at the rippling waves in the sea of stars ahead.
This endless star sea was either created by nature or by some individual; of course, one wouldn't know which it was.
"Where do we go now?" She didn't know where to go since this galaxy was so vast that it seemed as if it was an entire universe without an end.
"Splash!" Right after her question, they suddenly heard a splashing sound as a huge carp jumped up. It caused waves to ripple throughout the galaxy as stars started to fall. One could hear their crisp sounds.
"The Diamond Carp!" Lan Yunzhu shockingly exclaimed after seeing this jumping carp. She didn't expect to see it here.
It disappeared back in the Water Realm after the river sect's elders chased it back to its nest. The elders couldn't find a trace of it. So it was actually inside the secret among secrets' realm.
"Splashh!" The Diamond Carp happily swam in the sea of stars. It jumped up then dived back down into the water at an extreme speed and moved far away.
"Chase after it!" Li Qiye summoned the Tetra-War Bronze Chariot as he and Lan Yunzhu rode it to give chase.
The Diamond Carp swam swiftly among the stars, but Li Qiye's chariot did not fall behind, catching up to it in an instant. Li Qiye then issued a command: "Keep on tailing it!"
The four bronze stallions continued to follow right behind the fish. No matter whether it dived far below or jumped up high, it couldn't elude the chariot.
"Is the Diamond Carp able to take us to our desired destination?" Lan Yunzhu looked at the fish and asked.
Li Qiye nodded in response: "Definitely. It is not just a simple carp. Although it rarely attacks others first, don't underestimate it."
In this sea of stars, the stomping of the hooves continued on as the bronze chariot gave the carp no chance to break free. Although the fish had an amazing speed and painted a beautiful and spectacular scene as it traversed into the depths of the stars or jumped up high, it couldn't escape the chariot.
While the two were following the carp, countless people were enraged outside by the pond.
A scream emanated from inside the pond: "Little animal, unless you never come out, I'll never let you go!" The Titanic Crescent Ancestor gave up. Even with an emperor's weapon, he couldn't reach the center of the pond.
However, he was not the only one. The other experts also had to give up after failing to make it to the center. Very few were able to reach the one hundred step boundary; the number of people who could reach this boundary could be counted on one's fingers.
Even the ancestors who let go of all caution couldn't make it to this boundary. Being able to take fifty or sixty steps was already amazing enough.
This not only showed Li Qiye's devilishness, but also Tian Lunhui's unparalleled talents. A genius was indeed a genius, especially such fiendish ones. The ancestors had no choice but to be convinced.
A person gently sighed while looking at the whirlpool in the pond: "No one has a chance unless they are a legendary master."
However, these characters did not take action so easily. Even the ancestors didn't want to come into being, let alone those legendary masters that had reigned over an era.
People began to shift their attention to the fish made out of water that surrounded the turtle with the tablet: "This group of fish and the water turtle surely have a big secret as well!"
Although they couldn't reach the center of the pond, the water turtle with the water tablet was going everywhere. Because of this, once it came closer, a person used a great art to suck it up in an attempt to capture it.
However, since it was made from water, anyone who tried to catch it would be left with a splashing sound as it became liquid and fell back into the pond. A bit later, the water turtle would appear once more in a different direction and would then continue on with its business as if it was not perturbed at all.
A clan master from a reclusive family looked at this turtle and remembered a tale written back in his clan: "This is not a living existence at all. They are part of the pond itself."
"Perhaps they are the key to opening the pond, but one requires the Prime Ominous Key to catch them." Although these were only speculations, many great powers agreed with this theory. The even more knowledgeable emperor's lineages felt that this theory was very plausible.
However, even if they were right, it would be useless since the key was in Li Qiye's hands. After being reminded of this, the people gritted their teeth in anger, especially the Titanic Crescent Sacred Ground and the Insect King Lineage. Their teeth were about to break from the exasperated grinding as they declared: "Li, it is not over between us!"
The sacred ground lost more than they bargained for. They struggled to train a descendant that had now died at the hands of Li Qiye. However, what made them bleed even more was the matter with the Declivity-Mountain Bell. This shouldn't have happened in the first place because even a Virtuous Paragon wouldn't be able to sever the connection between the treasure and the mountain. And yet, Li Qiye was able to do so, which made the sacred ground's crazed anger quite reasonable.
Everyone knew that there was a treasure inside the pond, but it was not obtainable unless one could go deeper inside. This was something even ancestors couldn't do, let alone other people.
One person could come close, and it was Tian Lunhui who competed against Li Qiye before. Everyone had seen his performance, so despite his loss, they all knew that he could go deeper than anyone else here.
Coincidentally, he was still here and was watching from afar. A few great characters from the ghost race wanted to encourage him.
"My virtuous nephew, you are unparalleled so why not try to go into the pond to see if you can open it?" A great character from the previous generation spoke.
Tian Lunhui, who was shrouded in his mysterious aura, only smiled after hearing this great character and said: "Brother Li and I had made a deal so I have nothing to do with this pond."
"Virtuous Nephew is mistaken about this." The great character quickly persuaded: "This agreement had been voided because of the maiden. Li Qiye has evil intentions and wants to destroy the entire ghost race. Virtuous Nephew is a hero of the ghost race, a leader of the younger generation; with your abilities…"
"My apologies." Tian Lunhui interrupted him and said: "Whether the agreement is voided or not has nothing to do with me. My words, once said, will not be able to be dragged back, not even by a team of horses; I will not renege!"
He spoke in an emphatic and precise manner, so the great character no longer tried to persuade him.
However, while these great characters were disappointed, Tian Lunhui revealed a mysterious smile and added: "But Di Zuo has left the Heavenly Cemetery, so maybe the ancestral mountain of the throne of bones will come here very shortly."
Upon hearing this, the great characters regained their spirits, especially the ghost cultivators who carried a bone-deep hatred of Li Qiye.
Li Qiye had shamed them to an unbearable level. If Di Zuo and the Myriad Bones Throne came, then they believed that Li Qiye's death would be assured no matter how strong he was.
The great characters then left as Tian Lunhui continued to stare at the pond from far away with a mysterious smile. He didn't want to oppose Li Qiye at this moment, but he very much enjoyed watching others deal with him. Moreover, Di Zuo and Li Qiye had a feud irreconcilable until death.
"The tallest tree in a forest will be ravaged by the most wind." Tian Lunhui murmured. However, his expression darkened after remembering Li Qiye's grand dao back at the pond. He could no longer smile or have peace of mind because of that dao despite his confidence in his own grand dao. If the future Heaven's Will only accepts one grand dao, then Tian Lunhui was absolutely sure that it would not be his, it would be Li Qiye's.
Waves of cultivators began to leave since even ancestors had no chance, let alone them. However, some still stayed behind, waiting for someone to open the pond. Maybe they could then also ride on the person's coattails.
Many cultivators rushed into the pond and once they returned, the rest found that many of them had disappeared. The result was just like before; many died without leaving behind a corpse.
556 TeaserLi Qiye and Lan Yunzhu stepped into this vast emptiness. Their current cultivation allowed for them to easily cross this space. Moreover, this was not the space above the regular nine heavens.
They traveled for an unknown amount of distance before seeing a brilliant and silver light both blinding yet alluring.
Lan Yunzhu was shocked at the scene unraveling before her eyes. Different galaxies were pouring down like waterfalls. They then came together to form an endless cosmo with no end in sight.
These celestial rivers had rippling silver waves that created an ethereal yet tangible image of a silver sea. The boundless starlight congregated together and created a dream-like sensation.
"What is this place?"
[collapse]Chapter 557: Hundred Saints Imperial Formation
While the group helplessly looked at the water fish and turtle in the pond, a huge carp approached. It jumped out of the sea's surface and quickly reached the pond.
"The Thousand Carp River's people are here!" Everyone knew who was coming after seeing this huge carp.
In a flash, all eyes were on this carp's back. The arrival of the river sect made many people unhappy, especially those of the ghost race.
"Hmph! Does the Thousand Carp River not know when to be satisfied and when enough is enough? After taking all the treasures in the nest, you actually came back to take a part of the great fortune in the pond as well?" A ghost clan master snorted and said.
The Titanic Crescent Ancestor quickly left his Blood Era Stone the moment the river sect arrived.
"Boom!" This ancestor stood next to the huge carp like a giant.
Although this ancestor was not the number one ace of the sacred ground, of course he was still very powerful.
"Junior Bao Gui, tell your disciple to give back the Declivity-Mountain Bell to our sacred ground or else we will declare war!" This roar caused the mountains and rivers to collapse. The Thousand Carp disciples fell down with weakened knees.
However, even when facing an ancestor from the sacred ground, Daoist Bao Gui was not afraid at all and was brimming with confidence. The Thousand Carp River came to the Prime Ominous Grave not just with protectors, elders, and high elders. If the sacred ground had an ancestor, then the river sect also had one as well.
As the strongest powers, which emperor's sect didn't have one or two ancestors to protect their sects?
"Senior, you are mistaken." Daoist Bao Gui shook his head and explained: "One, Young Noble Li is not our disciple, he is our Guardian. Two, I have heard about our Guardian taking your bell; if he stole it, then he should give it back. But in a war, there is life and death and a victor and a loser. Our Guardian fought against your descendant, and the result was decided by their abilities.
"If you want the mountain bell back, then you should ask our Guardian. As for whether he agrees or not is a different issue." Daoist Bao Gui continued: "The loser can only blame themselves for not being skilled enough. I trust that the Titanic Crescent Sacred Ground, an emperor's lineage, can handle losing gracefully."
"Bao Gui Child, don't try to mince words." The Titanic Crescent Ancestor coldly responded: "We can let it go if it was another treasure, but not the Declivity-Mountain Bell! I don't care what your river sect says, you must give us an answer or we will declare war!"
"I cannot guarantee anything in this matter." Daoist Bao Gui shook his head once more and said: "Senior is talking about war? If your sacred ground wants to fight, our river sect is not afraid of anyone. You can pick the time and place!"
Daoist Bao Gui spoke with confidence and was undeterred by the sacred ground's threat. This was not strange at all since the river sect was also an emperor's lineage and was definitely no weaker than the sacred ground. Moreover, Immortal Emperor Qian Li was the last emperor of the Sacred Nether World, so the river sect's true power was quite formidable!
The great powers held their breaths while watching the posturing of the two sides. Both sides were monstrous imperial existences. A war between the two would not be simple; there would be rivers that ran with blood!
"Good!" The ancestor looked at the daoist for a long time before declaring: "Then wait and see!" He then decisively walked back to his camp.
Even if the sacred ground wanted to fight against the river sect, this was not the right time. Without sufficient hidden cards, one side would lose completely.
"Rumble!" At around this time, the heavens shook and the grand dao shivered. In just a moment, a heavenly flame incinerated the surrounding area in an incomparably dominating fashion.
"Boom!" A gigantic foot slammed down on the pond, causing a loud blast to resound. The heavenly flame crazily withdrew and disappeared before a qilin appeared in the sky.
"Li Qiye, get the hell out here and accept your death!" A roar that collapsed the nine heavens cried out.
Many Royal Nobles and Enlightened Beings all kneeled on the ground. This roar caused their hearts to quiver; the weak couldn't handle this fury.
A great character from the previous generation uttered after seeing the Crimson Flame Qilin in the sky: "Di Zuo!"
Di Zuo had arrived like a maddened god with his aura rampaging in the sky, creating powerful rain storms.
The sky became dark with his arrival as his furious flame burned the firmament. Even the heaven and earth shook before his rage.
At this minute, everyone's hearts started to beat faster since his wild rage had caused them to become frightened out of their minds. They feared this inevitable storm.
Di Zuo had rushed out of the Heavenly Cemetery. He initially went in there not for treasures, but to train. However, the Phoenix Maiden's death caused him to abandon the cemetery. He had actually made it quite deep inside, so it was very unfortunate that he gave it all up.
However, Li Qiye was nowhere in sight upon his arrival. Di Zuo directly demanded from the daoist: "Daoist Bao Gui, hand over Li Qiye!"
Daoist Bao Gui shook his head and responded: "My apologies, but the Guardian is not with us."
"Good! If he is not here, then I'll take care of all of you first!" Di Zuo spoke as his murderous fury covered the sky. He then threw out an item to imprison the huge carp.
"Boom!" With a loud explosion, it was as if a huge grave had opened and hundreds of skeletons crawled up. These skeletons exuded a terrifying presence, and they covered the sky with the reach of their hands. Before anyone could react, these skeletons came together to form a huge mountain of bones.
"Rumble!" When the grand dao poured down from this bony mountain, both it and the huge carp disappeared.
At this second, a boundless imperial aura shot to the sky. At this moment, it drowned out everything and only left behind a great sealing formation.
This great array opened a new space that hovered in the sky with one hundred giants sitting in a meditative pose. Each of them wore a divine armor and exuded a breath just like an Immortal Emperor. It was like a kingdom of the heavens and these one hundred giants were the supreme deities.
There was no trace of the river sect any longer. The huge carp, Daoist Bao Gui, and its disciples had all disappeared.
The aura exuded by this great formation and its one hundred deities was quite terrifying. Even the previous generation felt apprehensive while their legs quivered.
They looked up to the sky and a Heavenly Sovereign stuttered: "… What… is that thing?"
An ancestor from a great power spoke with a greatly changed expression: "It is the Hundred Saints Imperial Formation! Rumor has it that this formation is one of the strongest emperor's weapons of the Myriad Bones Throne. It is a fusion between an emperor's weapon and an emperor's formation."
"The legendary formation created personally by Immortal Emperor Wan Gu?" After hearing this, everyone felt a chilling sensation. Even the undyings from the other great powers took in cold breaths.
This was both an emperor's weapon as well as a formation. Legend states that after Immortal Emperor Wan Gu shouldered the Heaven's Will, he found one hundred of the strongest wise sage skeletons and personally refined them into an emperor's weapon. Afterward, he fused a heaven-defying formation inside using an extremely great method. 1
The tales went on to say that even as an emperor, he still exerted countless efforts to create this emperor's weapon. Later on, he left it behind in the sect and it continued to be the number one ace of the throne of bones. Since time immemorial, many Virtuous Paragons with hidden agendas had snuck into the throne, but all of them died miserably to this formation.
Rumor had it that this formation could suppress a Virtuous Paragon to death with ease since they couldn't escape from the power of the one hundred wise sages!
Di Zuo was allowed to bring such a terrifying killing card wherever he went, so it was very apparent how much the throne of bones valued him.
Di Zuo immediately unleashed the formation to kill the river sect. He didn't mind starting a war with them; perhaps the river sect never entered his sight.
Such a domineering style and decisiveness caused everyone to draw cold breaths!
"It is over for the river sect." Seeing that there was no activity inside the formation with the suppression of the one hundred deities, a ghost cultivator excitedly said: "With the suppression of the one hundred saints, the elders of the river sect won't be able to do anything about it no matter how strong they might be."
After entrapping the river sect inside the formation, Di Zuo didn't bother to give it another glance. He stood by the pond like a supreme god, causing others to quiver. His voice then emanated throughout the Water Realm: "Li Qiye, if I don't personally slay you, then I will cease to be a person and will never leave this place!" These words were firm and decisive like a javelin pierced into the ground. 2
Immortal Emperor Wan Gu is the founding emperor of the throne of bones. Wan Gu means Myriad Bones, so Myriad Bones Immortal Emperor. ↩ This is just an expression to show decisiveness. The contrast to person here is animal. Basically, he is saying that he is cursing himself to become an animal unless he kills Li Qiye. ↩Chapter 558: Dark Star
Anyone who heard Di Zuo's murderous declaration would feel a cold chill. There was not much showboating or words, but it was already enough to show his determination and might.
"This is Di Zuo!" The great powers and races all retreated with shocked expressions. At this moment, no one wanted to provoke Di Zuo, who was the eye of the storm. Messing with him would surely be suicidal right now.
However, the ghost race was very excited. They wanted to yell louder, but they were afraid of creating a scene: "Sir Di Zuo!"
Another ghost cultivator tightened his fists and whispered: "Sir Di Zuo will surely slay the human ant, Li Qiye!"
Tian Lunhui was also there but was very far away. He stood on top of the ocean with a mysterious smile on his face.
At this moment, many looked up at the hovering formation in the sky and saw the one hundred saints powering it. They were afraid of this weapon that was fused with a formation. How many people could come out alive against such a heaven-defying and murderous attack?
Li Qiye and Lan Yunzhu were riding the chariot to chase after the Diamond Carp. There was no sign of time passing by in this vast sea of stars as they continued their chase.
Finally, they had reached their destination. The Diamond Carp excitedly roared as it jumped up. The force caused starlight to shoot out for a very long distance. These stars flashed silver light, and one could sometimes faintly hear a metallic clacking noise.
The chariot had stopped as the two of them stood above it to watch the scene before them. Lan Yunzhu had witnessed miracle after miracle after following Li Qiye, so nothing could shock her. However, the scene before them still caused her to palpitate.
Before them was an inconspicuous planet or star that was of an incomparable size. This huge planet was completely black as if it was an evil star. This was not the worse part; it was also emitting a black flame that spanned for countless miles. This black flame could sweep through the nine heavens and the myriad worlds!
It was very difficult to see anything beyond the dancing and endless black flames.
This star spewed out an endless darkness. If it wasn't floating inside the sea of stars with its silvery radiance, then one wouldn't be able to tell that this was a star.
Lan Yunzhu had an uneasy feeling while looking at this strange star. It seemed that the endless black flames were creating a portal.
It was as if something terrible was within this star, and this portal was a pathway to hell itself or a world of devils. This would be anyone’s first thought, but a Devil World didn't exist in this plane.
After seeing this star spewing out endless black flames, the Diamond Carp was very happy as it kept on swimming. However, it only circled around it since it didn’t seem like it could get close. Nevertheless, it appeared that the fish was enjoying the black light that touched its body.
"What is that thing? Is that what you were searching for?" Lan Yunzhu hesitantly asked while looking at this star in the void.
"We will know once we get closer." Li Qiye responded with a smile. He then commanded the chariot to go even closer to the dark star.
"Bang!" With a deafening explosion, a storm erupted in this sea of stars when the chariot wanted to approach. This star spewed out a giant pair of hands to stop the two from coming closer. It seemed to be aiming to throw them away.
If the chariot wasn't an amazing divine treasure, then it would have been flipped over. However, it was still forced back by the black flames.
Lan Yunzhu became dizzy as the chariot was pushed away. Perhaps if the chariot was any weaker, then the two of them would have been forced out of this sea of stars.
"Is that a living being?" Lan Yunzhu asked.
"Perhaps. No one knows the answer." Li Qiye answered while gazing at the star.
The feeling of restlessness grew strong as she stared at this dark star a bit longer. She felt that something was extremely ominous about it. She then asked: "We can't take away such a huge star like this, right?"
This was impossible since no treasure could take away a dark star such as this.
"Maybe there is a way." Li Qiye looked at the star and murmured.
"You want to go in?" Lan Yunzhu exclaimed in shock.
She shivered after remembering what happened back at the wooden nest. However, the wooden nest was still bright; this dark star, on the other hand, seemed a lot more dangerous than the wooden nest. At least, on the outside.
"Maybe not." Li Qiye said, then he took out the lamp: "We'll know after we try. Go!" He then pushed the lamp towards the huge dark star.
Lan Yunzhu thought that these black flames would knock the lamp away, but the result was outside of her expectations.
The all-encompassing black flames did not stop the lamp. The strange part was when the lamp drew near the dark star, the star spewed out even more endless black flames towards the lamp. It was as if the lamp had an irresistible property in the face of the monstrous black flames.
"Rumble!" A series of explosions stretched out in the sea of stars. The black flames were like a flood that burst towards the star — a heavenly army marching to battle.
The little lamp crazily devoured all of the endless black flames. Meanwhile, the flames kept on surging on as if it wanted to light up the lamp.
No matter whether the lamp was sucking up the flames or if the flames wanted to light it up, in summary, all the black flames were gathering inside.
Anyone would find this scene to be unbelievable. The black flames that covered the void had a palpable force, yet before this rusty lamp, these powerful flames were like little fiery sparks that wanted to light it up.
Lan Yunzhu became dumbfounded since she couldn't imagine that such a little lamp had such great power. If she didn't know of its amazing origin, she wouldn't believe this scene unravelling before her.
She now understood why Immortal Medicines like the Silkworm Dragon Soulgrass and the Ancestor Ginseng wanted to go with Li Qiye. This lamp definitely had unbelievable uses.
No one knew how much black flames the lamp sucked up or how much flames the dark star had expended, but the lamp finally lit up as a poofing sound came out.
The black flames that could incinerate the heaven and earth struggled to even light up this little lamp. It seemed that it was nearly drained of all of its sparks.
The lit lamp then flew back into Li Qiye's hand. There were no discernible changes; it was still rusty with speckles. The only change was that there was a flickering flame in the middle of its wick.
There was a tiny black flame that emitted a black light. It was so tiny that spectators would be anxious because it could go out at any moment.
Lan Yunzhu carefully looked at the little flame and saw that deep inside, there was a layer of extremely thin golden flames. This was the result after it sucked up all of the black flames, prompting her next question: "What is this flame?"
"Good stuff, good stuff, my efforts have not been wasted." Li Qiye raised the lamp and gently sighed.
Lan Yunzhu couldn't help but look at Li Qiye and say: "What is this lamp? What effect does it have?" She felt that this lamp was becoming more and more extraordinary. Her intuition told her that Immortal Emperor True Weapons were nothing before this lamp.
Li Qiye answered: "Hmm… Such a heaven-defying item shouldn't be wasted in this world."
Lan Yunzhu looked at him and asked: "What kind of usage wouldn't be considered wasteful, then?" She felt that Li Qiye basically didn't understand what the word "wasteful" meant. He used Myriad Star Water like ordinary water, so was there anyone more wasteful than him in this world?