Chapter 669: Legends
"Yes." Yuan Caihe said: "Legend states that something happened at the Divine School. At that time, it was extremely prosperous with immense might. Some believed that the school, at that time, was no weaker than when it was back during its inception with its progenitor still present. Perhaps this was destined, an inevitable decline from being too magnificent. Many people initially thought that the school would be able to reach the next level, but who would have thought that in just one night, an unexpected event occurred at the school? Legend states that all existences near the Godking level died miserably overnight."
After hearing this, Li Qiye's expression quickly changed because he thought about a certain something, a matter that he didn't want to happen the most.
"It was said that something was dug out from the school's grounds." Yuan Caihe didn't see Li Qiye's change of expression and continued to speak as she gazed at the ruins: "Because of the unearthing of this item, a disaster befell the Divine School, killing all of their most powerful existences."
Li Qiye couldn't help but touch his chin and murmur: "Unearthed…" At this time, he knew what the school had dug out.
"However, no one knew what the school had unearthed, people only heard that this thing carried with it misfortune as the calamity spread across the school in one night." Yuan Caihe said: "That night, countless powerful characters from the school died, which is why the school started to decline. Eventually, it was unable to rise up and collapsed completely."
"What about the whereabouts of that thing?" Li Qiye asked with a serious expression. He hadn’t thought that such a thing could have happened because it was essentially impossible.
Of course, he knew that it existed underground and just how terrifying it was. There was a reason why the Ancient Ming chose to fortify this place with such a mighty force in the past.
This was also why he commanded his most powerful Godking to preside over this territory and transform it. At the same time, he warned the Godking to never dig out the item or else it would bring about a calamity to their Divine School.
The Godking also made a grand vow. Moreover, he forever sealed this secret and suppressed this ground. It could be said that the item underground never had the chance to see the light of day again.
After the transformation to turn this place into an auspicious ground, it became quite majestic. Especially after the death of the Godking, no one knew that an item was being suppressed underground at this location.
In fact, the Godking never told this secret to his descendants. This was the reason why Li Qiye could leave with peace of mind. He knew that there was no way the item could come out since no one else knew about it!
But now, it seemed that the Divine School failed their duty and personally unearthed the item. They didn't know that this action was akin to courting death and bringing them onto the path of no return.
After hearing Li Qiye's question, Yuan Caihe shook her head in response: "No one knows. By the time the outside world learned about this matter, the Divine School was virtually deserted already. Later on, others found out that after the unearthed calamity, the school's elite forces were annihilated and the survivors fled to elsewhere in the world. As for the location of the item… This remains a mystery."
Li Qiye sighed softly after hearing this. He didn't expect for this thing to eventually be excavated. If he knew that this would happen, he would have paid more attention before and perhaps would be able to find out its whereabouts now.
However, it came as a surprise. The Godking kept his promise that year and the land was sealed, so after the death of the Godking, that should have been the end of it.
Ultimately, all the calculations of man cannot overcome the whim of the heavens; the Divine School somehow dug it up and caused a disaster.
Li Qiye looked towards the distance with a serious gaze. He knew what had been underground. In fact, he had thought about taking it out to put an end to it once and for all.
However, back then was a period of endless war in the Nine Worlds, and he didn't have time to deal with this matter. Afterward, everything went as planned with the creation of the Divine School and the Godking's promise, so he no longer wanted to take it out.
"Perhaps it will come out again one day." Li Qiye murmured as he gazed towards the horizon. If there was a chance to find it again, he absolutely wouldn't let it go.
"It is possible." Of course, Yuan Caihe didn't know what Li Qiye was thinking about, so she misunderstood his intention and said: "I heard that item is extremely ominous. Although it had disappeared, people had searched for it during that era. Such a monstrous and evil item wouldn't just disappear, it will surely come out again one day. As for when, I'm afraid we'll never know."
"Let's go, we'll head for the Celestial Peak River." Li Qiye took one last look around and gently shook his head before burying his thoughts. He had to go to the river to find a certain something before contemplating this matter again.
This time, Li Qiye came to find a certain thing, a living creature, to be exact. However, Li Qiye was not too certain about whether this creature was still alive or not. After all, so much time had passed.
Nevertheless, he still had to find it because he had a certain plan for going to the Alchemy Kingdom; it was not just simply to participate in the alchemy conference.
After traveling through the extremely vast ruins, some pavilions and palaces could still be found standing. One could imagine just how majestic and extravagant this place used to be. Alas, even the most powerful lineage would collapse in due time.
One couldn't help but become emotional when gazing at this scene, including someone who was numb like Li Qiye. However, before they made it through the ruins, a rustling sound appeared and a figure emerged from the ground. This thing immediately stopped Li Qiye and Yuan Caihe while shouting: "This is my mountain and these are my trees. If you want to pass, you must pay the toll."
Li Qiye had yet to truly see the appearance of this thing that came out from the ground, but he was already speechless after hearing such bandit-like words. What generation was this to still have robbers hanging around?
The thing that blocked their path was a very old-looking demon. It was clear that he was from the demon race because his entire body had taken human-shape, with the exception of his left hand which retained its ant-like features.
People would be able to immediately guess his origin just by looking at his left hand. This had to be an ant demon.
"Ah…" This demon bandit had just finished speaking, but he choked on his words the instant when he saw Yuan Caihe, showing a very embarrassed expression.
"Umm…" The old demon scratched his head with his left claw and said: "So it is Fairy Yuan, I didn't think someone as great as you would come here."
"You know this fella?" Li Qiye was going to teach this blind bandit a lesson, but after hearing him, Li Qiye stopped.
"You are…" Although this old demon recognized Yuan Caihe, she didn't seem to remember him.
The old demon hurriedly said: "Fairy Yuan doesn't remember me? I am Tie Yi, the one who went to the Serene Garden five years ago to ask for medicine." 1
"Oh, I remember now." Yuan Caihe responded: "You are that old demon who came with the Sacred Curewater."
Having said that, she couldn't help but take another look at him and found something strange: "In my opinion, your wounds that year were impossible to cure, but you are now completely fine. What Immortal Medicine did you find?"
"Ah, this is all because of you." The old demon quickly said: "You handed me a bunch of medicine that was able to buy some time for my injuries. Yeah, maybe I had good luck, after a period of hardship, I found more amazing medicines and actually managed to heal the old wounds."
Yuan Caihe was not a meddlesome person, so she didn't pursue it any further after hearing this answer.
Meanwhile, Li Qiye, who was standing to the side, gauged this old demon and leisurely said: "For you to stay at such a desolate place to be a bandit, it seems that life must be really tough right now. It is more difficult to find a fat sheep here than to be hit by a pie from the sky."
The old demon, Tie Yi, blushed after hearing Li Qiye's sarcastic remark and gave a dry chuckle: "It is just a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, really. Young Noble misunderstood me. I am only hiding here to scare people a bit. There is no other intention, it is not like I really want to rob them. This is just a joke, nothing more."
The more Tie Yi tried to explain himself, the more people would feel that he was truly a bandit.
Li Qiye only glanced at him and replied without pressing the issue: "Is that so?"
This old demon Tie Yi looked honest, but he was a bit sly as well. His red face didn't want to discuss this matter any further, so he quickly changed the topic. He spoke to Yuan Caihe: "Is Fairy Yuan here to pick some herbs? I am very familiar with this area of the Celestial Peak, so if you want, I can lead the way."
Although Yuan Caihe's background was illustrious and many great powers were very respectful to her, she was easy to get along with and wasn't the type that put others at a distance. She gently shook her head and said: "The main reason I came this time is for the Draco-Bulls; I'm just picking some herbs along the way."
"Ah, so Fairy is here for the bulls." The old demon clapped his hands and excitedly said: "I almost forgot until you reminded me. It is now the season for the Draco-Bulls to go out to the river, the best time to gather Immortal Sulfur. I know of a path to the river, so let me lead the way for Fairy and this Young Noble."
669 Teaser"Yes." Yuan Caihe said: "Legend states that something happened at the Divine School. At that time, it was extremely prosperous with immense might. Some believed that the school, at that time, was no weaker than when it was back during its inception with the progenitor still present. Perhaps this was destined, an inevitable decline from being too magnificent. Many people initially thought that the school would be able to reach the next level, but who would have thought that in just one night, an unexpected event occurred at the school? Legend states that all existences near the Godking level died miserably overnight."
After hearing this, Li Qiye's expression quickly changed because he thought about a certain something, a matter that he didn't want to happen the most.
"It was said that something was dug out from the school's grounds." Yuan Caihe didn't see Li Qiye's change of expression and continued to speak as she gazed at the ruins: "Because of the unearthing of this item, a disaster befell the Divine School, killing all of their most powerful existences."
Li Qiye couldn't help but touch his chin and murmur: "Unearthed…" At this time, he knew what the school had dug out.
"However, no one knew what the school unearthed from the ground, people only heard that this thing carried with it misfortune as the calamity spread across the school in one night." Yuan Caihe said: "That night, countless powerful characters from the school died, which is why the school started to decline. Eventually, it was unable to rise up and collapsed completely."
"What about the whereabouts of that thing?" Li Qiye asked with a serious expression. He didn't think that such a thing could have happened because it was essentially impossible.
[collapse] Tie Yi is Iron Ant. ↩Chapter 670: Old Demon Tie Yi
This old demon volunteered and immediately led the way for Li Qiye and Yuan Caihe with great enthusiasm.
With the old demon ahead, Li Qiye and Yuan Caihe walked side by side while looking at the old demon. Li Qiye revealed a mysterious smile then told Yuan Caihe: "You know this fella?"
Yuan Caihe slightly shook her head in response and replied: "I don't really know him, but he came to the Serene Garden in the past for medicine and even brought the extremely precious Sacred Curewater in exchange for ointments. At that time, I examined and helped his injuries, but they were extremely fatal and I was powerless. I gave him some ointments and let him leave. Without some Immortal Medicines, I thought he wouldn't survive for another half a year. Who would have thought that he could persevere for so long and is actually still alive to this day?" While recalling the event, she couldn't help but look at the old demon in front of them once more; this was a cause for astonishment. Although she was not versed in refining ointments, the Serene Garden had a unique dao of alchemy, and it also had some very precious ointments.
Although Yuan Caihe's healing techniques were far from comparable to her plant cultivation skill, in her eyes, the old demon's wounds that year were not curable by anyone in the entire Stone Medicine World, unless he managed to find some Immortal Medicines.
She was a kind person and although she knew that he would not last much longer, she still gave him some ointments. She guessed that without Immortal Medicines, he wouldn't make it past half a year, so who would have thought that the old demon managed to persist and even fully recover?
She found it very strange, but she was not a nosy person. This was the old demon's personal matter, so she didn't question him despite her curiosity.
"So it is like that." Li Qiye stroked his chin and smiled while looked at the old demon's back as he walked on.
"Brother Li thinks something is amiss?" Yuan Caihe couldn't help but ask. Of course, she also found it strange as well.
"Well, only he knows." Li Qiye smiled, but a little glimmer could be found in his narrowed eyes.
The Celestial Peak was a wild area with dangerous hills. It could be said that there were dangers everywhere in the form of ferocious beasts and vicious birds. Although these creatures had yet to become enlightened, they were powerful beyond imagination and capable of rending the earth with their claws and destroying the sky with their wings.
There were poisonous insect kings all over the place. There were creatures so vile that a mouthful of toxic fumes spat from them could kill everything in a thousand mile radius — terribly shocking.
Because of this, ordinary cultivators didn't dare to intrude on the Celestial Peak. Only the strong would dare to show up here.
Its dangers also meant that there were many great treasures here that were untouched by man. Thus, this vast and majestic land was full of spirit medicines and herbs.
Along the way, Li Qiye and Yuan Caihe, accompanied by Old Demon Tie Yi leading the way, found many spirit medicines and herbs. Of course, the good ones had their own awareness, so it was a bit difficult to pluck them.
In fact, herb picking was also part of the dao of alchemy. With greater skill, one would be able to pick even better medicines, maybe even Immortal Medicines.
Of course, this was no issue for Li Qiye and Yuan Caihe, they managed to pick many along the way.
Meanwhile, Old Demon Tie Yi also got some leftovers from Li Qiye and Yuan Caihe. When they were picking medicines, he also managed to get some scraps in the form of herbs.
This harvest left him beaming with a delighted expression. It seemed that this old demon was a vagabond, so just a small batch of spirit medicines was enough to excite him.
"Wow, a nearly 1,000,000 year old Young King Medicine." The old demon started to salivate when he saw Li Qiye pick a root from a ravine.
"Pretty good luck there." Yuan Caihe also revealed an elegant smile and said: "A Young King Medicine nearing one million years of age is not easy to find, but Brother Li immediately caught one this easily. Your dao of alchemy is really amazing."
"You noticed it just as fast as me." Li Qiye said with a smile. Due to his knowledge of the alchemy dao, the moment he set foot on this land, he immediately knew the type of herbs that were growing here as well as their locations. In fact, he had already measured the land the moment he arrived at the Celestial Peak, so even King Medicines wouldn't be able to escape his grasp easily.
Of course, catching a 3,000,000 year old King Medicine was not difficult for him either, so him catching this Young King Medicine was just an easy matter.
Yuan Caihe gently smiled and said: "Brother Li flatters me too much. Although I also noticed that the root was hiding around this area, I wouldn't have been able to catch it as well as you. Whether it was the catching technique or sealing the area, I would be one step slower than Brother Li. Your moves are swift and flexible like flowing water and floating clouds and shows the great mastery ingrained in your mind. I have to say that regarding plucking medicines, you are a level higher than me."
Li Qiye only smiled after receiving the praise. For tens of millions of years now, his hands had plucked countless spirit medicines, so of course he had no peers in this regard.
"Fairy Yuan is the divine physician and Young Noble Li is the king with regards to the dao of alchemy. The two of you are at the peak of alchemy without rival." Meanwhile, Old Demon Tie Yi immediately flattered the two of them. He looked at the Young King Medicine in Li Qiye's hand and couldn't help but gulp.
Suddenly, right at this moment, a group of people descended from the sky with an imposing aura. This was a group of experts that wore precious robes, giving off a cold atmosphere filled with disdain. The leader of this group was a young man around the age of twenty with an imperial robe that showed off his nobility and contempt for others.
"The Golden Leopard Country's cavalry and the Golden Leopard Prince…" The moment the old demon saw this group of people coming down from the sky, his expression greatly changed. He did a roll and immediately went underground, disappearing without a trace.
His sudden escape into the ground left Yuan Caihe speechless. It was extremely rare to see a cowardly person of this magnitude.
"So it is Fairy Yuan, please excuse me." The person who led the group was the prince. He cupped his hands together and spoke to Yuan Caihe: "I have heard my followers' report. They were blind and stopped your path, so I am here to apologize." Having said that, he slightly bowed.
The Golden Leopard Country was a demonic great power with a number of Demon Monarchs that mainly consisted of animals. The Golden Leopard Prince was their first prince, thus his status was quite high.
However, his status was far from being comparable to Yuan Caihe's. People who were in a similar position to the Golden Leopard Prince in the entire Stone Medicine World numbered in the thousands, but Yuan Caihe was one of the four alchemy prodigies, someone with great fame; very few among the younger generation could be considered her peer. At times, many great powers and imperial lineages would require the aid of a young genius such as her.
She was a very easygoing and amiable person. Without any arrogance, she nodded and said: "Golden Leopard Prince said too much. There will always be some complications as we tread the outside world, so Golden Leopard Prince doesn't have to worry about it."
The prince bowed again and said: "Thank you for your tolerance." After apologizing, the prince's gaze fell upon Li Qiye. To be more exact, it fell on the Young King Medicine in Li Qiye's hand.
To the prince, an unknown nobody with such an ordinary appearance like Li Qiye was not worthy of his glance. In his eyes, this nobody was not worth mentioning.
What attracted his gaze was the root Li Qiye was holding. In fact, a 1,000,000 year old Young King Medicine — to any cultivator — would be a precious treasure and was worth coveting.
At this time, the prince asked Yuan Caihe: "This is…?" If it wasn't for the fact that he really wanted the root in Li Qiye's hand, someone with a great status like him would be too lazy to ask about an unnamed junior.
"This is Brother Li, he's also an alchemist." Yuan Caihe only did a simple introduction without going into great detail.
"Alchemist Li is truly lucky to be able to pluck a Young King Medicine; this is a rare occasion." The prince said. He felt that speaking to Li Qiye was already doing this nobody a great honor due to his great status. Because of this, he didn't even refer to Li Qiye as "Dao Brother", only "Alchemist".
However, Li Qiye was too lazy to even interact with someone like the Golden Leopard Prince; he simply stood there leisurely in complete indifference.
The prince's attention was not on Li Qiye but the Young King Medicine in his hand, so the prince clapped his hands together and spoke to Yuan Caihe: "To tell the truth, I came to the Celestial Peak this time in order to find a King Medicine in addition to Immortal Sulfur. I see that the Young King Medicine in this Alchemist Li's hand is just right for me, so I wonder if Alchemist Li is willing to do a trade?"
At this time, Li Qiye shifted his eyes and glanced at the prince. He still didn't say anything, but the prince continued on: "As long as Alchemist Li is willing, you can just name the price. Whether it is refined jades or treasures, this prince will try my best to satisfy you."
At this moment, Li Qiye slowly put away the Young King Medicine in his hand and shook his head to say: "My apologies, but this Young King Medicine is not for sale. I'm keeping it for my personal usage."
In his eyes, a Young King Medicine was no different to a weed. However, he wouldn't sell it to someone like this Golden Prince Leopard.
"Alchemist Li should reconsider, as long as you name the price, this prince will try to meet it."
Li Qiye didn't even bat an eye as he coldly refused: "Not for sale."
The Golden Leopard Prince's expression immediately sank because Li Qiye's attitude annoyed him. How could he remain cool when Li Qiye, this nobody, was acting in such a haughty manner towards someone as great as him?