Chapter 571: Swallowing Three Ancestors
No one would deny Li Qiye's invincible might, but because of his young age and limited cultivation, he still had a long way to go before challenging Virtuous Paragons!
Everyone felt that competing against one ancestor was already arduous, let alone three at the same time. This was simply impossible. Many speculations appeared; some awaited a miracle while others prayed that Li Qiye would die a miserable death to the three ancestors.
To the younger cultivators, Li Qiye was so heaven-defying that if he continued to live, the young would never have a chance to rise. No matter how great they might be, the Heaven's Will wouldn't be meant for them. They also knew that no one in the younger generation could kill Li Qiye, so they had to rely on the previous generation, such as these ancestors.
Li Qiye watched the careful approach of the three ancestors and smirked: "Hurry up, don't waste my time."
At least, in the three ancestors’ eyes, his expression and attitude were a blatant disrespect. They were Virtuous Paragons, people who instilled fear in all beholders; even descendants of emperor's lineages were no exceptions.
But at this moment, Li Qiye's leisured attitude was as if he didn't put them in his eyes, and they couldn't accept this.
They rose into the air, refusing to believe in the impossible, that Li Qiye was heaven-defying to the extent where he could solo the three of them. They chose the most advantageous positions for offense and roared: "Kill!"
Their attack was so devastating that it caused the grand dao to shatter and the stars to fall. Such a terrifying aura instilled horror in the spectators. The weaker ones could do nothing but lie on the ground without being able to stand back up.
An attack from a single Virtuous Paragon was already extremely terrifying, so it was needless to say what happened when there were three. Even the most powerful Heavenly King would be rendered into ashes, let alone a young person like Li Qiye.
The hearts of Daoist Bao Gui and the rest of the elders jumped out of their ribcages after seeing this onslaught. They were full of regret and thought that Li Qiye shouldn't have been this careless. If they would have known that this would be the outcome, then they would have stopped his enemies in his stead.
"Crash!" However, a splashing sound resounded at this moment. Right before this attack could destroy Li Qiye and turn him into ashes, a huge carp suddenly jumped up. No one knew where this carp came from since the pond before them couldn't contain such a huge carp. Only an ocean could house such a big beast! It seemed like this carp had jumped out from another world.
It immediately attempted to swallow the three Virtuous Paragons from the Titanic Crescent Sacred Ground. In this very second, the three ancestors panicked and wanted to flee, but they couldn't escape its gigantic maw and were swallowed like prey.
"No!" Their unwilling screams echoed out from within the carp's mouth. Unfortunately, they didn't even have the chance to feel regret.
The carp was not satisfied after swallowing the three ancestors from the emperor's lineage. It was a sad fate of dying without a burial ground.
This scene stunned everyone. No one expected for a huge carp to come out, but they were even more shocked that it swallowed three paragons like three little flies.
"It's the Diamond Carp!" A person calmed down and shouted. Then, the crowd all ran far away to keep a distance; no one dared to come any closer.
"The Diamond Carp!" Daoist Bao Gui's group was also quivering with fear.
Although those who had chased after it before were full of dread, Daoist Bao Gui's group, of course, was completely pale because they chased after the carp all over the Water Realm for the longest time.
During their chase, they had never seen it attack anyone because it was very mild tempered and wouldn't take the initiative to attack. Its speed was also very fast, much faster than a Heavenly King.
Moreover, they didn't expect for it to be strong to the point of being able to swallow three ancestors so easily. How frightening was this? If they knew that it was this dangerous, they wouldn't have been courageous enough to chase after it.
Think about it, who would dare to chase after an existence that could kill three paragons? If it became annoyed, then it would swallow the entire group.
Those who previously had intentions of attacking it were now drenched in cold sweat. Luckily, they didn't successfully chase it down or else the result of the three ancestors would be repeated on them.
"No!" The sacred lord from the Titanic Crescent camp bellowed miserably. His countenance was as white as paper. He thought that if the three ancestors came into being, they would be able to take back the mountain bell. How could he have known that not only would they fail to do so, but they would also become food for the Diamond Carp?
The sacred ground suffered a heavy loss at the moment after their failed gamble.
"Who doesn't know an old trick of baiting people with words?" Li Qiye said and smiled after seeing the Diamond Carp swallow the ancestors. He slowly continued: "If you want me to jump into your trap, then I'll dig one for you as well. We'll see who will die in the pit!"
Li Qiye's slow words caused everyone to feel a chilling sensation. The three ancestors wanted to entrap Li Qiye with praises, but Li Qiye also did the same. Finally, the ancestors failed to kill him and only jumped into his trap.
It was just like Li Qiye had said, he could still fight one on three without lifting a finger.
"This brat wasn't going to do anything from the start!" A great character from the previous generation of the ghost race spoke while quivering.
What puzzled everyone was how Li Qiye managed to control the Diamond Carp. Only Lan Yunzhu knew the answer to this question.
"Splash!" When everyone was still terrified, a clear splashing sound appeared. The whirlpool in the middle of the pond was receding. The water fish and turtle that carried the tablet slowly swam back to the middle to return to their nest.
"Splash!" The whirlpool became smaller and smaller as the Diamond Carp roared with a dragon-like cry.
Li Qiye rubbed its head and said: "Go, you won't be able to go back if it closes."
The Diamond Carp didn't want to leave and kept on rubbing on Li Qiye's hand, but it eventually jumped back into the pond. With a loud splash, it disappeared before everyone's eyes. It was difficult to believe that such a little pond could contain the huge Diamond Carp, but maybe it wasn't so strange after all since each step was a single world in this pond.
"Crash!" The whirlpool spiraled with ripples and eventually disappeared like it had never been there at all.
"No—" An unwilling person let out a cry, but he was powerless and could only watch it disappear. The group also realized that the big fortune was now gone.
Many were unhappy since they spent so much time here to no avail. They desired a big fortune but couldn't harvest anything.
Lan Yunzhu, alone, obtained the biggest harvest — the unique Night Era Flower. At the very least, the outsiders seemed to think so. They were not as lucky as her since they had no way of entering the pond.
"Goddamned pond, it is better to leave this creepy place." Many people gave up and started to curse before leaving.
Although they knew that there were treasures inside, the only thing they could do was to watch while sighing in disappointment. What could they do since they couldn't even take sixty steps, let alone one hundred steps?
Some were able to take one hundred steps, like Tian Lunhui for example. However, he came from the All-Eras Ancient Kingdom so treasures were not as tempting to him. Unless it was a huge creation from the legends, Tian Lunhui wouldn't make a move.
571 Teaser [collapse]Chapter 572: Earth Realm
Some still tried to stay to test their luck, but the majority left for other places in the Water Realm while many left it altogether. This was because the best treasures in the Water Realm had been taken by the Thousand Carp River and other treasures were hard to obtain, so they might as well test their luck in other places.
"It's time to go." Li Qiye said as he jumped on the big carp. Daoist Bao Gui commanded the carp as it took the river sect's group into the sky, leaving the pond. It flew very quickly above the vast ocean.
"Young Noble, where do we go next?" Daoist Bao Gui asked.
"You guys got a great harvest this time, and the Prime Ominous Grave will close very soon." Li Qiye said: "Leave the grave and return to the Thousand Carp River."
"What about Young Noble?" The daoist asked: "How about we wait here and wait for the closing of the grave? Maybe you will require our assistance in the future."
Li Qiye narrowed his eyes while gazing at the far horizon and said: "No, you guys won't be able to help since I plan on going to the Heavenly Cemetery."
"Heavenly Cemetery? How about I go with you?" Lan Yunzhu quickly said.
"No, I can't bring you along. I'm going to the path of death so you can't come; I have to go alone."
"The path of death in the Heavenly Cemetery!?" Upon hearing this, not just Lan Yunzhu, but the daoist and all the elders were scared out of their minds.
Lan Yunzhu thought she had misheard and tried to clarify: "You really want to go on the path of death? That… is suicidal!"
"Yes. I have to go to the path of death." Li Qiye seriously nodded his head in response.
The group's expression greatly changed, and the daoist said with worries: "Young Noble, you're talking about the path of death, it is hard to leave alive. If you want to train or find a big fortune, then pick the path of life. At the very least, there is a chance of coming out alive even if it is only ten percent. In contrast, the path of death is simply impossible to survive. No one will come out from it."
"That's right! Young Noble, just pick the path of life, don't go to the path of death." Another high elder of the river sect advised: "There is still a chance to come out of the path of life, but the other one is hopeless."
The Heavenly Cemetery was located in the Earth Realm, and some called it the center of the entire realm. When someone with the Prime Ominous Key entered, they could exchange it there for a fortune.
There were two entrances, one was the path of life and the other the path of death. Although the former was called the path of life, it was also extremely dangerous with only ten percent of survival. Nevertheless, many experts and geniuses still tried to walk on this road. Besides searching for big fortunes and the mythical method of everlasting life, it was also a great place to train.
But as for the path of death, no one had ever returned alive. No one knew what was inside since it was covered in an aura of death all year round. Some said that it was the lair of evil apparitions, and any trespasser would be killed.
For millions of years, many didn't believe in such a theory, so they entered only to never come back out, including some invincible existences.
"Don't try your luck with the path of death, it is just a dead zone." Venerable Yang was very worried as he said: "There were rumors that someone with the title of Godking had entered, but he never came out as well."
"I know, the path of death has zero chance for survival." Li Qiye calmly said: "But I must enter due to some unfinished business. Also, it is only a path of death to others, I will come out alive, don't worry."
Daoist Bao Gui's group noticed that Li Qiye was determined and wouldn't listen to any advice, so they sighed nonstop. They could only ask him to be careful since they didn't know what else to say.
"I'll go with you." Lan Yunzhu spoke while standing next to him.
"No, I can't bring you to the path of death since only I can enter." Li Qiye said as he shook his head.
"Don't worry, I won't go on the path of death with you, just to the Earth Realm and the Heavenly Cemetery. You can go by yourself for the rest of the way." Lan Yunzhu playfully blinked her eyes and continued: "Plus, not seeing the center of the Earth Realm when I'm already here at the Prime Ominous Grave would be a shame. I want to broaden my horizons."
Li Qiye looked at her for a bit then nodded in agreement. The two then said their goodbyes to the daoist's group before entering the portal. The daoist then left the grave while Li Qiye and Lan Yunzhu secretly went to the Earth Realm.
Once they arrived, Lan Yunzhu stood there and looked all around. Before her was a vast scene with a heavy scent of the earth. This place was especially dry. However, it was also covered entirely by a layer of fog that didn't seem to be dissipating at all in the sky.
It consisted of a wide terrain with rolling mountains. There was a grave tablet in the middle of the land. Countless graves were here in this place; some appeared very humble, some were even bigger than mountains, and some stood proudly next to the sky. One of them lingered mysteriously in the high sky while another hung in the middle of two great veins. One was in the middle of a river with its water flowing around and entering it.
To sum it up, there were all types of strange graves. If one could imagine a coffin with a certain design, then they could find it here at the Earth Realm. It was if all graves in the nine worlds were here. Despite the variations in the designs, they all had one thing in common.
All of them had a headstone without any words engraved on it — they were just empty grave tablets. Because of this, no one knew who these graves buried or from which era they originated from.
Lan Yunzhu was quite shaken to see so many graves; how many people were buried here? She took a deep breath and murmured: "Could this be the accumulation of millions of years? Or were they all buried at the same time?"
"No one knows the answer to this. At the very least, since the time when the ghost race discovered this place, there were already millions of graves here. Perhaps they were buried here from many eras ago, or maybe from an even more archaic age. Something happened so countless existences were buried here." Li Qiye answered after he looked at the grave.
"Which era is this archaic age you speak of?" Lan Yunzhu inquired further.
Li Qiye shook his head in response: "It is hard to know, but at the very least, it is before the Desolate Era, an era that we do not know about. Rumor has it that before anyone knew anything, the Earth Realm had already buried millions of graves here in the Prime Ominous Grave, but no one else could erect a grave here in the future."
These millions of graves had always been a mystery. No one knew when or how they came to be.
If they were all buried together in one era, then just what had happened to cause so many burials all at once? Just think about it, no one who could be buried here could have been a nameless character, so there should be records about them. However, there were no written records about these graves in the Prime Ominous Grave.
"What kind of characters are buried here?" Lan Yunzhu asked while in a daze.
"I'm afraid no one can give you the answer to this either." Li Qiye smiled and said while shaking his head: "But there is one thing that's certain. Anyone who was buried here was extremely amazing when they were alive. This is not only based on the fact that there are great fortunes inside their graves, but because there is a great protective perimeter for each of them. No one except great characters would enjoy such a privilege."
Li Qiye was correct; there were millions of graves here, but each and every single one was an ominous ground enough to drive people to their doom. Each of them had a powerful defensive force as if there was an Immortal Monarch quietly watching over each grave. Because of this, no one could excavate any of these graves.
There were also other dangers inside these graves, including corpses and guardian mummies.