Chapter 606: Thirteen Immortal Emperors
It seemed that this person in the darkness caused the ghosts to instinctively kneel as if they were seeing their progenitor. Their souls were shivering with fear towards this person; it was as if he could open his mouth to devour the souls of billions of ghosts.
The entire ghost race was horrified at this second. Those who didn't know what was going on prostrated on the ground anyway. Those who knew a thing or two couldn't remain composed; even Virtuous Paragons were affected. They knew something ominous had happened.
"Whoosh!" The person in the darkness reached out. His hand swept towards the devourer and Fei Yang's battle intent while the other hand went for Li Qiye.
Fei Yang's battle intent with the Soaring Banner could be considered invincible, and the devourer roared then recklessly pounced forward.
"Boom!" Their combined strength was able to push back this hand. The devourer managed to chomp a mouthful of the crimson muscles as it excitedly swallowed it as if it had just taken in the most nutritious meal it had ever eaten. However, its body was also pierced by a finger and its blood spurted out. Nevertheless, it didn't seem to care and had an appearance as if it was the one who got the better deal from that exchange.
The other hand tried to snatch Li Qiye, but the Ghost Ancestral Tree above his head emitted a bright radiance as countless laws poured down. These laws contained the heavenly grand dao, and the even more incredible matter was the battle armor adorning Li Qiye's body. With a hum, The battle armor that combined with the tree made it seem like there was an apex tyrant taking over Li Qiye's body, protecting it with myriad worlds.
"Rumble!" The ninety-nine cannons bombarded the gigantic hand, but they couldn't repel it.
"Boom!" It grabbed Li Qiye despite him having the battle armor and the Ghost Ancestral Tree protecting him, blowing him away and causing blood to spill everywhere. This showed the mightiness of the person in the darkness, an existence just like an Immortal Emperor.
However, Li Qiye stood straight up in a stalwart manner. Although he was gravely wounded, that attack couldn't take his life.
The person in the darkness couldn't believe it after seeing the armor on Li Qiye's body and exclaimed: "Primal Ancestral Armor! He let you borrow this?"
Li Qiye burst out in laughter then calmly spoke: "I have the Ghost Ancestral Tree and the Primal Ancestral Armor. Although I cannot utilize their full potential, how many moves do you think you will need before killing me?"
"Unfortunately, you are too weak. Even with these two items along with the devourer and Fei Yang's battle intent, you still won't be able to escape death."
"Is that so?" Li Qiye replied with a smile. With a buzzing sound, all ninety-nine cannons fused into one in an instant and aimed straight for the existence in the darkness.
"Just a trivial little cannon. This toy might be able to suppress the Godking level, but it won't be able to stop me." The person in the darkness spoke with great confidence.
"I know that killing you would not be so easy." The lamp in Li Qiye's hand suddenly emitted an endless black beam that shot to the sky. In just a moment, a black planet enveloped Li Qiye and protected him in its core.
"This thing!" The existence stared at the lamp in Li Qiye's hand and seemed to be able to identify its origin.
"Frankly, this fire is too precious to me and I really can't bear using it. Nevertheless, it is not a bad defensive measure. How many moves do you think you will need to kill me now?" Li Qiye paused at this point for a bit before saying: "I have something else that you should take a look at." With that, he slowly took out another item.
"Hzzzz…" In an instant, strands of laws wove together as a divine spear appeared in Li Qiye's hand.
"Origin Sealing Spear!" The existence in the dark finally changed his expression after seeing this item and uttered: "How could this thing be in your hands? Impossible! No one can borrow it!"
"Others aren't able to borrow it, but that doesn't mean that I can't." Li Qiye spoke with an indifferent tone: "You have been buried underground for too long and remained ignorant of many things. However, that doesn't matter anymore since the important point is that this will be the source of your demise!"
"I can't let you live!" The existence in the dark was shaken. Although one couldn't see his face, his tone alone showed that he was quite astounded. Clearly, this spear was his nemesis. Other items wouldn't be able to kill him, especially when he had the Ghost Ancestral Tree that allowed him to become immortal.
However, in the present, Li Qiye had stolen the tree. Moreover, he had the Origin Sealing Spear as well. The existence must kill Li Qiye since he didn't expect for him to successfully borrow the spear; in the past, this was frankly an impossible matter.
"Boom!" The existence took out his weapon and destroyed countless worlds in the process. His weapon was extremely terrifying; it looked like an ancient fiendish tool that originated at the start of time. Even the devourer was apprehensive of this weapon while the battle intent that belonged to Immortal Emperor Fei Yang became affected and turned dark for a moment.
Both the devourer's and the battle intent's prowess didn't need further explanation. However, the dark existence's weapon was still able to affect them. This was indicative of its terrifying might.
"Emperors! What are you waiting for? Today is the one and only chance for your ghost race!" Li Qiye shouted the moment the existence took out his weapon. His voice reverberated thunderously throughout the entire Sacred Nether World.
"Die!" The dark existence took action with a strike capable of rending the heaven and earth, time itself, Yin and Yang, and all of eternity. Even the devourer and Immortal Emperor Fei Yang's battle intent wouldn't be able to withstand this.
"Boom!" However, at this time, timeless imperial auras filled the Sacred Nether World. Inside the Myriad Bones Throne, one imperial aura woke up. Right afterward, two more awakened as three Immortal Emperors departed from the throne of bones.
Meanwhile, another invincible aura came out from the Thousand Carp River as well. An ethereal figure departed and was followed by a thousand carps.
In another region of the Distant Cloud where the towering Simple Precious Tree was located, two more emperors went straight for the Ancestral Realm's basin. In the blink of an eye, they had arrived there!
At the same time, within the ancestral ground of the Nether Crossing Swamp, a strand of imperial aura woke up. A golden sea capable of drowning all things appeared along with a ferry. An emperor rode this ferry and quickly entered the Ancestral Realm.
In five extremely mysterious locations in the Sacred Nether World where five ancient reclusive clans were located, such as the War Clan, five imperial auras soared into the sky as five more emperors headed for the Ancestral Realm.
"Boom!" The strike capable of annihilating the nine heavens and ten earths, the most invincible blow in this world that was intended to kill Li Qiye, had been stopped by the thirteen Immortal Emperors.
Three from the Myriad Bones Throne — Immortal Emperor Wan Gu, Immortal Emperor Yang Sheng, and Immortal Emperor Yao Shi. Two from the Immortal Kingdom — Immortal Emperor Di Yu and Immortal Emperor Fan Chen. There were also Immortal Emperor Qian Li, Immortal Emperor Ming Du, and Immortal Emperor Fei Yang along with the five emperors from the reclusive clans. Thirteen emperors in total all arrived at the same place today!
At this moment, the entire Sacred Nether World was suppressed; even the strongest existences felt this oppressive aura while the hidden bosses across the eons felt so much dread that they didn't dare to breathe too loudly.
All the ancestors watching from the mirrors kneeled on the ground. One of them yelled out in fear: "This… this… is thirteen Immortal Emperors! This… is too unbeatable!"
An older ancestor added: "They are the eternal battle intents of thirteen emperors!"
Inside the Myriad Bones Throne, all the ancestors were stunned and speechless while looking at the mirror. They didn't expect their three emperors to help Li Qiye.
"Wan Gu… All of you…!" The dark existence was taken aback after seeing the thirteen eternal battle intents from the emperors.
Despite his own invincible prowess, victory was not assured against these thirteen intents. However, what posed the most danger to him was the Origin Sealing Spear hovering in the sky.
After taking a deep breath, the dark existence asked: "Why… are all of you working together?"
Li Qiye smiled and answered instead: "This is called 'persisting in evil brings about self-destruction'. Today has been long overdue; Immortal Emperor Qian Li had come before and knew that killing you was near impossible, so the emperor went to find the eternal battle intents left behind by Immortal Emperor Wan Gu's group. All of them agreed that as long as you lost the Ghost Ancestral Tree and someone successfully borrowed the Origin Sealing Spear, then they would take action to annihilate you. What do you think about that?"
"Brat, if I knew this was the case, then I would have killed you from the start!" The dark existence replied coldly.
Li Qiye answered: "I know. Nevertheless, I was successful since I knew you fiends are greedier than what I imagined. You were taking a gamble to see if I could revive the tree or not, then you would kill me afterward so that you could possess a real immortal body. Who do you think won the gamble, you or me?"
All the ancestors that heard Li Qiye's swift explanation had to compose themselves. Not even in their dreams did they think that this plan that had been laid out tens of millions of years ago in Immortal Emperor Qian Li's generation, a plan that was only now coming to fruition.
After thinking to this point, they were frightened of Li Qiye. This guy had been carrying out the big plan from millions of years ago!
At the same time, the Thousand Carp Elders were shaken as well. They now understood why Immortal Emperor Qian Li chose him as the Guardian. So it turned out that Li Qiye was the person carrying out this grand and ancient scheme!
The dark existence still couldn't help himself from vomiting blood due to anger despite his training throughout the eons. If he had just killed Li Qiye from the start, it surely would have been without any resistance; alas, he was too greedy. He wanted to see if Li Qiye could revive the tree or not since it was something he had craved for countless ages!
606 TeaserIt seemed that this person in the darkness caused the ghosts to instinctively kneel as if they were seeing their progenitor. Their souls were shivering with fear towards this person; it was as if he could open his mouth to devour the souls of billions of ghosts.
The entire ghost race was horrified at this second. Those who didn't know what was going on still prostrated on the ground. Those who knew a thing or two couldn't remain composed; even Virtuous Paragons were affected. They knew something ominous had happened.
"Whoosh!" The person in the darkness reached out. His hand swept towards the devourer and Fei Yang's battle intent while the other hand went for Li Qiye.
Fei Yang's battle intent with the Soaring Banner could be considered invincible, and the devourer roared then recklessly pounced forward.
"Boom!" Their combined strength was able to push back this hand. The devourer managed to chomp a mouthful of the crimson muscles as it excitedly swallowed it as if it had just taken in the most nutritious meal it had ever had. However, its body was also pierced by a finger and its blood spurted out. Nevertheless, it didn't seem to care and had an appearance as if it was the one who got the better deal from that exchange.
[collapse]Chapter 607: Destruction Of The Ancestral Realm
The dark existence had been certain of victory, but he didn't expect to jump into Li Qiye's trap instead!
At this time, Li Qiye slowly spoke: "The emperors have waited till this day throughout many long eras. That year, when the five ancient clans were still in the mortal world, the emperors started a crusade against you. Alas… they were not successful. Because of that, they told their clan members to leave the secular world, forcing their imperial lineages to close down. Nevertheless, they still left something behind, hoping for a day to reverse the tides. That day is today."
The dark existence didn't answer. Although the thirteen emperors were not real, their battle intents were enough to threaten him.
Li Qiye spoke: "Emperors, go for it. Carry out your wish today."
In the blink of an eye, thirteen emperors wielded the Origin Sealing Spear that hovered in the sky. It emitted waves of universal laws; each law represented the will of myriad worlds and the source of different races.
This primal power clashed with the entire Sacred Nether World. The emperors with this spear sent out a power capable of suppressing all things. Even unbeatable existences had to kneel before it.
"Die!" The dark existence screamed out and threw out his most terrifying weapon. He was not optimistic in any way, but he had no choice other than to recklessly fight.
"Boom—boom!" The collision from the two sides was so horrifying that it suppressed everyone else. This battle overwhelmed even those who were very far away from the realm.
Eventually, the Origin Sealing Spear finally pierced the body of the dark existence. His body exploded as the darkness evaporated and was replaced with his spilled blood.
"Nooo!" The dark existence screamed miserably after suffering this wound. Right upon his death, a bright light shot out from his body — his True Fate. Although his life had been ended due to this fatal blow, a wisp of divine intent still managed to sneak away.
This divine intent opened up a portal to escape to the endless void. The thirteen battle intents quickly gave chase and Li Qiye gave a command to the devourer. The devourer roared then quickly rushed into the void as well.
After the portal disappeared, the path to the void disappeared along with it. The world became silent. Li Qiye didn't chase after this dark existence since he had other things he needed to do.
The Sacred Nether World was completely quiet, so quiet that one could hear their own heart beating. The thirteen battle intents disappeared, and a long time later, people could finally heave a sigh of relief. People who were kneeling on the ground finally stood up.
The ancestors before their mirrors were still not able to calm down as they looked at each other with confusion. Even though they were amazing characters, they were still shocked by the recent events.
Meanwhile, back in the basin full of corpses, Li Qiye stood there silently. There were no more fiends climbing up from the ground.
The ancestors were also anxiously watching him while waiting to see if there were any more powerful existences that would climb up or not. However, after a long time, there were no signs of activity.
One ancestor then commented: "It is over for the Ancestral Realm." No one expected for it to end this way.
Another ancestor took a deep breath and said: "There will be no more Ancestral Realm or Ancestral City from now on." This ghost didn't really know how to feel at this moment; it was a mix between happiness and bitterness since the Ancestral Realm carried a great significance to characters of the ancestor level.
It had been standing strong for so long, but now, it had finally fallen. It was defeated not at the hands of invincible Immortal Emperors, not at the hands of existences that had lasted for eons, but at the hands of a human junior.
Anyone would be caught off guard by such an unbelievable development. From beginning to end, Li Qiye never truly fought; without a single technique, he managed to destroy the Ancestral Realm. This was even more frightening than if he personally destroyed it with his own power.
Although in actuality, it was the thirteen emperors who destroyed the realm, Li Qiye controlled this grand plan that had been in the making for millions of years.
"Buzzz!" With radiating light, the Ghost Ancestral Tree poured down a universal law that took root deep in the ground. Li Qiye then focused his thoughts to sense the situation underneath.
He felt a change underground and whispered in a serious tone: "This is…"
After a long time, he recalled this universal law from the tree and slowly turned around to look at the distant horizon. His gaze pierced the Ancestral Realm all the way to Necropolis.
"Go!" He let go of the Ghost Ancestral Tree. The tree flew up, crossing the realm and flew into the Sacred Nether World.
Everyone watched with bated breaths. This was the Ghost Ancestral Tree whose myth indicated its relationship to the origin of the ghost race, yet Li Qiye was letting it go. If it was anyone else, then they surely would have taken possession of this one and only divine tree, so many were in disbelief of Li Qiye's decision.
The tree traversed the Sacred Nether World's realms and instantly reached Necropolis, then it took root at the Ancestral Flow. Many existences slumbering at this place suddenly woke up.
The master of the Ancestral Flow, who was sitting in her stone chair, also got up and felt something was amiss. Her eyes shot out a light towards the Ancestral Realm to the spot where Li Qiye was standing and quietly murmured: "You… what are you trying to do?"
Li Qiye stood in the middle of the basin and gently sighed as he looked towards Necropolis: "This is the most I can do; the rest is my own business."
Li Qiye shook his body, creating a clanking sound as the Primal Ancestral Armor fell down.
"Buzzz!" The armor flew out of the realm and back to the Kingdom of Heaven.
When he took the armor from the kingdom, he made it clear that it was only a temporary loan. Now that the feud was over, it was time for him to give the armor back to its owner.
He took a deep breath at this time and asked: "Please help me one more time with the last of your firepower."
With that, the ninety-nine cannons around him rearranged into an array once more to form one gigantic cannon where all of its power was sent into a final shot.
It destroyed the basin and all became ashes. The power of this final shot caused everyone standing before their mirrors to tremble.
Such a shot was more than enough to destroy an imperial lineage; how terrifying was this?
After exerting all of their firepower, the cannons suddenly dimmed. With a loud explosion, all ninety-nine cannons sank down from the islands as if nothing had happened.
Inside the realm where the basin was destroyed, a maelstrom appeared before Li Qiye. This maelstrom resembled many galaxies intertwining. This silver maelstrom was very mysterious, and no one knew where it connected to.
Li Qiye looked at the maelstrom and murmured: "The mystery of the Ancestral Realm is not the thing I am looking for, but I'll give it a try." Having said that, he stepped into the maelstrom.
The moment he did so, back at Necropolis, the Ancestral Flow Master's heart started beating faster as she yelled out: "Don't try it!"
Unfortunately, Li Qiye did not hear her pleading. He took out the lamp and used its light; its black flame then shot into the silver maelstrom.
"Boom!" The black light swept through the maelstrom and angered it. A huge vortex that spanned for countless miles was set off like a tidal wave, drowning the Ancestral Realm.
Li Qiye was covered by this silver vortex, but he maintained his composure. He took out the pentagate, the Yin Yang mirror, and other treasures to protect his body then screamed: "I don't care if you are alive or not, I want an answer today!"
In this instant, his forehead split open and a boundless imperial aura was freed. It seemed as if Immortal Emperors were walking out of his sea of memories. He used all of his secret moves to attack the deepest part of the silver maelstrom.
It was clearly provoked from being attacked by Li Qiye. Inside, countless stars exploded, their blasts heading straight for Li Qiye with unstoppable momentum.
Li Qiye did not give up as he roared and used his invincible weapon to unleash a Resplendent Break.
Meanwhile, imperial auras raged like a storm in Li Qiye's sea of memories. With an extremely dominating pressure, the auras fought the silver maelstrom!
"Boom!" Finally, a loud detonation occurred as everything exploded. At the last minute, Li Qiye felt as if his body had ruptured.
This blast shook the entire Sacred Nether World. The Ancestral Realm was blown into pieces by the silver maelstrom at this moment; everything had become ashes.
Chapter 608: Stone Medicine World
"No!" The Ancestral Flow Master's heart skipped a beat after seeing this scene. After a long time, she finally took a calming breath and murmured: "You absolutely cannot die, you still owe me!"
At the same time, many imperial lineages were lit up all of a sudden. The explosion of the Ancestral Realm caused the imperial mirrors to emit a blinding and endless radiance. This was an explosion that simulated the end of the world.
All the ancestors standing in front of their mirrors palpitated at this scene. Many pale ancestors fell to the ground. After a long time, the endless light finally disappeared from the mirrors.
The mirrors lost their aim as only a vast nothingness was left.
"The Ancestral Realm was blown away?" Everyone was dumbfounded at this scene. Although the realm was not as big as the Sacred Nether World as it was only a minor world or a huge heavenly grotto in another world, even an emperor couldn't easily destroy a minor world like this. At this time, the realm was completely destroyed and disappeared from the earth; the Ancestral Realm was no more.
Inside the Myriad Bones Throne, one dazed ancestor murmured: "What about the silver maelstrom? Did it explode as well?"
The near-death ancestor shook his head and said: "No, it flew away."
Another ancestor asked: "Ancestor, what is that thing? It seemed like it had its own consciousness and life. Is it related to the origin of us ghosts?"
"I don't know." The ancient ancestor sighed softly and said: "There have been many confusing events today. In my life, I have never seen such amazing things as this before."
All the other ancestors were quiet. Their ancient ancestor was right, they had never imagined that the Ancestral Realm would be destroyed. Thirteen Immortal Emperors working together was indeed incredible.
Inside the Thousand Carp River, before their own imperial mirror, Lan Yunzhu quivered with her fists gripped tightly, her nails cutting deep into her skin.
"Don't worry." Venerable Yang consoled her: "That guy's fortune is great. My intuition tells me that he definitely won't die that easily."
Although he said this, he himself wasn't so sure in his mind. No one knew whether he was consoling Lan Yunzhu or comforting himself.
At the Simple Mountain Immortal Kingdom, this blast also shook the ancestors before their mirror. Xian Fan was also there to watch the vast mirror. She murmured: "Don't die. If you are dead, it would be very boring to have no invincible rival on this long path of the dao."
Some time after, this news finally made it to Qiurong Wanxue. Her heart fluttered as she slumped into her chair. After a while, she calmed down and stood up to firmly say: "No, Young Noble is absolutely not dead. I believe in him. There is nothing in this world that can kill him, he is still alive!"
With that, she became determined with a serious pair of eyes. A long time later, she took a deep breath and finally made a decision in her mind!
An unknown amount of time after, Li Qiye opened his eyes and took a look around. The first thing he saw was a simple wooden house. Although it was plain, it was very clean, which showed that its owner was a hardworking and meticulous person.
Li Qiye tried to sit up, but he couldn't move at all. His entire body was aching painfully as if it was about to split apart. He noticed that he was wrapped in cloth; someone had been tending to his wounds.
He quickly tried to analyze his current condition and couldn't help but smile wryly. His entire body was cracked with heavy bone and muscle damage. It could be said that not a single inch of muscle was intact. During his internal examination, he found that there was something extra inside his forehead. It was a silver light around the size of a finger. With a more careful look, this was not a silver light but rather a lock or an order in the shape of a sword. Countless silvery lights intertwined in a complicated and convoluted manner. Li Qiye wouldn't be able to understand its mysteries in a short time.
He suddenly remembered the last blow that resulted in the huge explosion. At that time, he faintly sensed that the storm of imperial auras in his sea of memories seized something in the deepest part of the silver maelstrom. Now, he realized that his intuition was correct and that this silver thing was stolen from the maelstrom.
He forced a smile and sighed. This was not the thing he was looking for. Discarding the old plan, he decided to go to the Ancestral Realm for the Ancestral Flow Master. She couldn't do it herself so he wanted to help her.
There was also one more thing, and this was Li Qiye's personal matter; he wanted to find a person. In the past, this person also went to the Ancestral Realm but disappeared later on.
The dark existence said that that person was not with him, and Li Qiye believed this. Once someone reached a level like the dark existence, there was no need to trick Li Qiye.
However, he was sure that the person he was looking for disappeared in the Ancestral Realm. The only thought in his mind now was about the silver maelstrom — this was the crux of the issue.
He gently sighed and uttered: "There will be another chance later on."
At the very least, he finished two of his wishes so all of his efforts were not wasted.
"You are awake." Right when Li Qiye was lamenting, the door opened and someone quickly came inside. When this person got close to the bed, Li Qiye saw that this was a healthy and strong young man.
How could this youth not be strong? Other than his head, the rest of his body was made out of rock. Only his head seemed to be made out of blood and flesh. If it wasn't for his head that resembled that of a human's, he would be no different from a carved statue.
The youth's eyebrows were thick and large with a pair of bright eyes that gave him the appearance of a straightforward and simple man.
Anyone else would have a heart attack when they saw a person made of stone, but Li Qiye was very calm. What situation had he not encountered before?
"Where is this place?" He asked the youth. Li Qiye couldn't move so he knew that this young man had saved him.
"This is Jadeblood Mountain." The youth answered right away: "You are hurt very badly so don't move."
"Jadeblood Mountain?" Li Qiye's brows furrowed. He had been all over the nine worlds, but he had never heard of this place.
"Hahaha, my bad, I gave it this name." This youth was very simple-minded and quickly explained: "This is the countryside of the Stonetreading County of the Giant Bamboo Country. This is where I plant Jadeblood Bamboo, so I gave it the name Jadeblood Mountain."
"Giant Bamboo Country…" Li Qiye was a bit surprised to hear this and asked: "This is the Stone Medicine World?"
The young man was startled by the question and said: "Of course! Where would this be if not the Stone Medicine World?"
"Stone Medicine World…" Li Qiye was in a daze. He understood that the explosion from the silver maelstrom had broken the worlds’ barrier, blasting him into the Stone Medicine World.
The Stone Medicine World was one of the nine, just like the Mortal Emperor World and the Sacred Nether World. All were considered major worlds.
Li Qiye asked: "This place is the Giant Bamboo Country? Its capital has a gigantic bamboo, right?"
"Yeah." The youth became even more surprised: "This place is indeed the Giant Bamboo Country. Do you not know where you are?"
Li Qiye put on a wry smile and said: "It's a long story; I was on an adventure but there was an explosion in a dangerous location. I was blown away so I don't know where I was sent to."
"To be blown away yet still alive, your luck is quite good." The youth shivered after hearing Li Qiye's story: "I saw you falling from the sky. When I got to you, your entire body was cracked. Luckily, your heart was still beating or else I would have had to bury you right there."
Li Qiye looked at the youth and said in a serious manner: "You saved me… I will repay this life debt later."
The youth scratched his head and laughed: "Hahaha, you are too polite. The truth is that we have a similar bloodline. One fourth of my blood is from the human race. You should know that there are very few humans in the Stone Medicine World, so maybe we are actually relatives."
Li Qiye smiled after hearing the youth and replied: "Perhaps."
The young man suddenly realized something and quickly told Li Qiye: "Oh right, I almost forgot. I am cooking a medicinal congee for you. Wait a bit, I'll go get it." Having said that, the youth hurried away.
"Giant Bamboo…" Li Qiye murmured in a daze after the youth left. Giant Bamboo Country — what an old name. Li Qiye didn't expect to find himself in this place today.
A few things from the past appeared once more in his head, a past that was covered in a thick layer of dust. After remembering these things, his heart sank as he lamented while sighing.
Tens of millions of years had passed. Li Qiye had undergone numerous life and death situations as well as goodbyes. He had grown used to all of this and could even be considered numb.
No matter the era, he maintained a positive and optimistic mind as he courageous trod forward. Even if he was the last one standing, he would continue to walk alone.
However, there were a few people and things that were especially hard to forget. They were buried deep in his memories, but once the dust was brushed away, he unavoidably recalled them.
After all this time, he had forgotten what if felt like to cry, but the past always had some things that caused his heart to ache upon remembrance.
Chapter 609: Shi Hao
Li Qiye eventually sighed and uttered: "I'm still alive after so many years." He was quite dejected and sentimental at the moment, but he had to bury some of these old memories deep in his heart. There were a few secrets, a few people, a few matters that Li Qiye had no choice but to seal and act as their guardian by himself!
Right when Li Qiye had many complicated thoughts, the young man carried a bowl of hot porridge inside: "Come, come." He was very enthusiastic and spoonfed Li Qiye. With a taste, Li Qiye knew right away that there was some ointment inside, so he asked: "This is a healing porridge, you are an alchemist?"
The youth answered: "Hahaha, I am only a Junior Alchemist. At the moment, I am working as a county envoy for the Stonetreading County."
Li Qiye drank the porridge while chatting with the young man. He made up an identity since he was already used to doing this.
The youth revealed many things about himself. His name was Shi Hao, a messenger of the county who was also responsible for growing Jadeblood Bamboo.
A county envoy also had another title — alchemy apprentice. However, Shi Hao was a Junior Alchemist. His status was much higher than that of an apprentice.
He came from a prestigious clan in the Giant Bamboo Country. Unfortunately, the clan had fallen several generations ago, and there was nothing left from the time of Shi Hao's father. His parents only managed a pharmacy.
Although he was a golem, like he said, one-fourth of his blood belonged to the human race. Shi Hao said that his ancestor married a human girl, a great expert.
From this, it was clear that his ancestor was once extremely distinguished. The Stone Medicine World was the land of golems and demons; humans were a rare sight. If one could marry a female human cultivator, especially an expert, then the person must have come from a great clan.
After generations of decline, the clan had become nothing by his father's time.
Shi Hao was the only male child of the clan and also its only inheritor, so he truly wanted to revive his clan. He was very average when it came to cultivation, but he was a bit talented with alchemy so he chose the path of an alchemist.
This path was not strange at all, because the Stone Medicine World specialized in alchemy. It could be said that this world had the most alchemists out of the nine.
Since the start of time, two-thirds of all the Alchemy Emperors had come from the Stone Medicine World. From this, one could see how the path of alchemy flourished in this place.
There was also a saying in the Nine Worlds: if there are ten alchemists, then seven of them came from the Stone Medicine World.
This world's alchemy was famous everywhere. Countless cultivators had come running to this place in search for medicine.
Although Shi Hao had chosen the path of alchemy, finding success was not easy.
First, refining alchemy was very expensive. Whether it was physique pastes, longevity medicines, fate pills, or ointments, each cauldron required many ingredients. A single batch would range from one hundred to one thousand!
In addition to the financial requirement, one also needed the guidance of a teacher. Outside of secret family recipes for ointments, most recipes for longevity medicines, fate pills, and physique pastes were well known. However, doing a good job of refining them was rather difficult. Alchemy was a form of cultivation; flame control, methods of dan refinement, and incubating the cauldrons were all secrets of an alchemist, secrets that would they would not easily part with.
Finally, one required a good Heavenly Cauldron to refine good medicines. A bad one would have a negative effect on the outcome no matter how skilled an alchemist might be.
Shi Hao lacked all three. His clan had fallen so they had neither money nor a network. Because of this, he was a mere envoy of the Stonetreading County.
Alas, this was still a chance for Shi Hao. Although the Giant Bamboo Country neither had a system for alchemists nor great knowledge of alchemy, it still had several great guest alchemists.
Shi Hao wanted to rise step by step. As long as he contributed enough while amassing experience, he would then have a chance to enter the county government and have the opportunity to meet some of these alchemy masters.
Another reason why he chose not to join an alchemy lineage but the Giant Bamboo government was because he was an only child. If he joined an alchemy lineage, then he would always be a disciple of that sect. However, he was the only male child of his family; he carried the torch of reviving the clan, so he didn't want to become a disciple of another sect.
Taking a government post was different. This was only a job that required loyalty to the country, so Shi Hao could still maintain his lineage and clan.
He was planting Jadeblood Bamboo on this "Jadeblood Mountain". This place was desolate and not many people came here normally. But now, there was someone to chat with, so the talkative Shi Hao revealed everything about his family and more.
"I almost forgot that you are wounded, please rest." After chatting for a long time, Shi Hao scratched his head and said: "I'll be right next door. You can call for me if you need anything."
Li Qiye heaved a sigh of relief after Shi Hao was gone. Li Qiye smiled at the thought of arriving at the Stone Medicine World. A bit later, he commanded: "Come out and heal my wounds."
A Fate Palace appeared and an Immortal Injury Peony flew out. An ordinary peony would have limited effects on injuries, but this was an Immortal Medicine; it was way above a King Medicine. Its spirit had been living for eight to nine million years. It was the finest grade medicine for treating injuries; it allowed flesh to grow on bare bones and could spout out limbs that were previously torn apart. It could also dispel curses and even had a chance of curing a mortal wound.
Any cultivator would go crazy over this kind of Immortal Medicine. It was a fact of life that cultivators would eventually be wounded, so with an immortal root on them, they would still be able to recover even when their bodies were torn asunder.
This Immortal Injury Peony was one of the several Immortal Medicines that followed Li Qiye from the lost garden of the immortals.
Li Qiye was completely at ease with it curing his wounds. Although his injuries were grave, they were not a problem when he had the peony. With its help, after just three days, the broken bones and torn muscles all reconnected without any harm. However, his internal injuries still needed more time to recover.
Shi Hao saw Li Qiye getting up from the bed and exclaimed: "You healed this fast? That is incredible." When Shi Hao saved Li Qiye earlier, his body was covered with wounds, but now he could walk again.
Li Qiye replied with a smile: "It was no big deal. My skin and bones are thick and I get injured a lot, that's why my wounds recover so fast."
Shi Hao saw that Li Qiye was walking normally and became happy in his stead: "I was worried that your injuries would become worse and was about to ask the county lord for some more ointment."
"No need." Li Qiye smiled in response: "I have some ointment with me that has decent effects. I just need some more time to rest and everything will be fine."
The youth was an honest person, so he accepted this explanation without questioning it and said: "Then stay here until your wounds are fine before leaving."
"Then I will have to bother you for a bit longer." Li Qiye said with a nod.
Li Qiye stayed at Shi Hao's little room afterward. The Immortal Injury Peony quickly cured his wounds. If someone else was injured to the same level, they would be bed-stricken for one to two years, even with the best of ointments.
His body had been struck by the silver maelstrom. A wound from a maelstrom of this level was difficult to recover from. It was even more difficult than creating an entirely new body because it was difficult to drive away the harmful remnants, let alone to recover.
However, since Li Qiye had an immortal root, it was no problem at all. Complete recovery was only a matter of time.
He had only just arrived at the Stone Medicine World and had plenty of time, thus he was not in a hurry.
While healing, he began to study the Death Scripture. This was a supreme heavenly scripture that had existed for billions of years, so Li Qiye read it with a solemn expression.
The book he was holding was the original. It was birthed by the heaven and earth, unlike the Physique Scripture he had before.
The one he had was placed in martial arts manuals while the real one was hidden away. Thus, when he was holding the original Death Scripture, rain and storms appeared in the sky as strange images materialized up above. The appearance of such a supreme treasure heralded great fanfare.
However, Li Qiye was ready with the Heaven Sealing Pentagate; he sealed off his room before taking the Death Scripture out so he could comfortably read it inside.
The strange images from the Death Scripture were incredible, especially when he turned the pages. Immortal words appeared along with mantras. Nevertheless, these images were sealed in the gates, so they didn't alarm anyone, not even Shi Hao on the other side of the wall.
As one of the Nine Grand Heavenly Scriptures, the Death Physique was naturally peerless and unique. Its mysteries were boundlessly profound and difficult to comprehend.
However, it was not as prohibitive for Li Qiye. Since time immemorial, which merit laws had he not seen or tried to comprehend? More importantly, Li Qiye completely understood the Physique Scripture and had become used to the heavenly scriptures, so he was quite familiar with its style.
For these scriptures, even the most brilliant geniuses would require decades, centuries, or maybe even longer to understand one of them. However, to truly grasp their profundities, they would need thousands of years — there was no exception.
Nevertheless, Li Qiye had millions of years of experience of researching countless merit laws. He had an advantage that no one else had. No genius could compare to him!