Chapter 868: Golems In Bi'an City
The beastworld was devoid of life and living creatures, and this was even more true for Bi'an City. So now, a voice coming out of nowhere in this chamber would horrify any timid person.
A golem came out from a dark corner, the place where the voice came from. This golem wasn't too different from the other statues. The main discerning characteristic was that there was a divine crest on its head. It was exactly the same one as the crest on Mei Aonan's master.
Li Qiye glanced at this golem and spoke: "Even after millions of years, all of you are still the same. Just a bunch of rocks without any humanity at all."
"Your Excellency is funny. We are not living beings or golems so we naturally wouldn't have any emotions." The golem sat down opposite to Li Qiye. 1
Li Qiye lazed there and told the golem: "People who come are guests. I am a guest who has come such a long way, so your city should at least treat me with a bit of sincerity. Your Bi'an Wine is the best in the nine worlds, so give me two cups."
The golem waved his hand. From a dark corner came another golem carrying a huge stone goblet. After presenting it, he silently retired, just like a ghost.
Inside the goblet was an amber-like liquid. However, this wine had hardened into resin. As Li Qiye held the stone goblet, a heavenly wine fragrance emerged not long after. It had been warmed so the wine began to melt inside like snow. Inside this fine wine was the shadow of the divine beast Bi'an. It even emitted the faint roars of this creature, instilling fear in the hearts and souls of others.
Li Qiye drank it all in one gulp. After the wine entered his stomach, his body emitted a divine light as if the Bi'an had entered as well. A violent aura gushed outward like a tornado.
This tyrannical aura slowly dispersed after a long time. Li Qiye smacked his lips and emotionally commented: "Great stuff. How many people were able to taste such a supreme wine across the eons?"
The golem quietly sat there the entire time. He waited until Li Qiye finished drinking before asking: "Your Excellency, may I ask the reason for your long journey here?"
"Oh? Am I someone who doesn't come to a shrine without a reason?" Li Qiye looked at him insipidly: "Plus, even though some treasures in your chamber are incredible, they aren't at the level where I have to come to personally take them." 2
"Your Excellency misunderstood me. That is not what I was trying to say. You are the sovereign of the nine worlds so your time is precious. A little place like ours doesn't dare to waste your time." The golem quickly defended himself.
Li Qiye laughed in response: "I understand that you are nervous about me having ideas about your beastworld. However, it is true that I came this time for your beastworld. I want two spots. Outside of those chosen by me, no one else should even think about entering."
"Your Excellency wants to go in again?" The golem couldn't help but look at the painting on the wall. He was truly becoming nervous this time.
"Well, I have been to it already so I won't be entering this time." Li Qiye gently waved his hand and said: "We can just get straight to the point. This time, only my appointees can enter."
"Your Excellency, you should know that this is going against the rules of the beastworld. That domain is only meant for the fated ones." The golem hesitantly brought up the rules of their land.
Li Qiye interrupted him: "Rules are meant to be broken. Plus, this won't be the first time your beastworld has broken the rules."
"Your Excellency, this will make it very difficult for us." The golem was in a tough position: "We have already made an exception to let Your Excellency seal the Brave Tiger Legion in our beastworld."
"I know, but a deal is a deal." Li Qiye lightly said: "If I didn't show you all the way back then, would you have been able to regain control of the city? And on top of that, if I didn't destroy the beast realm, your beastworld would still be locked in their agreement as well! To be frank, you all owe me two favors, understand?"
"This is all the doing of that traitor!" The golem was helpless. Li Qiye phrased it in a way that made him unable to deny.
This golem was the person currently in charge of the city and was known as the City Guard Commander. He acted as the protector of the city.
Prior to this, the last commander was Mei Aonan's master. In a distant era, her master was tempted by an Immortal Emperor from the beast realm. In order to wake the beastworld, he brought many golems from the city to sign a treaty with the beast realm.
Later on, the Dark Crow came to the beastworld and brought along a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The golems who didn't agree with the treaty back then were able to regain control of the beastworld while the previous commander was exiled!
However, the treaty remained intact. It wasn't until Li Qiye destroyed the beast realm that the beastworld was able to truly escape.
"That is your internal affair. Who's right or wrong doesn't matter to me." Li Qiye only shook his head.
Whether it was Mei Aonan's master or the current commander, both were working for the sake of the beastworld. It was only that their methods were different.
The golem had to bargain: "Your Excellency, you also took away four golems from our beastworld, wasn't that quite beneficial for you?"
"Those four golems? Everyone knows that the reality is that I brought them back from the brink of death." Li Qiye waved his sleeve dismissively: "I'm not here to bargain with you this time. Even if you don't agree, I'll just do it myself. Do you want me to follow the rules, or should I personally go inside again? I do believe that it is not in your best interest for me to go inside once more!"
"Your Excellency…" The golem jumped after hearing this: "Your Excellency, you promised us that that kind of matter will never happen again."
Li Qiye chuckled and said: "Can you blame me for it? I only tried out an idea of mine once, but by chance, three stones fell down from there."
"Your Excellency, it wasn't as simple as just three stones falling." Even the golem turned cold at this moment while displaying an unfriendly expression: "You almost destroyed our entire city back then!"
That year after entering the painting, Li Qiye used an extremely heaven-defying means to sabotage the domain. It didn't matter how incredible that location was, Li Qiye still managed to slam down three stones from there. Afterwards, these three divine stones were lost in the Stone Medicine World.
One of these stones accomplished something that all future descendants knew about — becoming Immortal Emperor Bi Shi! This particular stone was obtained by the Alchemy Kingdom after flying out of the beastworld.
"It is fine if I don't enter, but my condition is very simple. I shall be in charge this time; only two people chosen by me will be allowed inside! As for the others, I don't care for their fortunes, they will not enter!" Li Qiye uttered slowly. This time, his expression was completely serious.
From looking at his expression, the golem realized that Li Qiye did not come here to negotiate. He awkwardly asked: "Your Excellency, our beastworld was sealed for so long, must we wait for another generation?"
"Is that so? You're truly underestimating me." Li Qiye smiled: "Do you think the people I nominate won't be able to succeed? Do you think there is someone else in the world who understands this place better than me?"
"Your Excellency, you are saying…?" The initially helpless golem became excited after hearing this: "You are saying that your candidates can definitely succeed?"
Li Qiye replied: "I cannot say for sure about the other candidate. That is someone trained by your old friend who said that you all promised him something. I don't know if it was you, the current commander, or someone else who agreed — that's your problem. Either way, that's what he said."
"Hmph! He still hasn’t given up!" The golem immediately knew who "he" was referring to. He responded by snorting with annoyance.
"It's quite simple. You all had promised him, so follow through on this promise. We'll give him one spot." Li Qiye said.
The golem was musing this thought. He didn't have any other choice in this matter since Li Qiye was not here to talk. Even if he said no, Li Qiye would continue to do as he pleased, and the consequences might be even worse at that point.
"Moreover, I'll tell you some good news. My own candidate has deep ties with your beastworld. In terms of origin, all of you golems carved out of stone are far weaker than her." Li Qiye spoke.
The golem's eyes widened as he immediately stood up after hearing this and asked: "Your Excellency is saying… that you were successful?"
"I'm not sure, we'll have to give it a shot to see." Li Qiye replied: "However, after all of this talking, it seems like you don't really understand me. I'll just be frank then. The beastworld will belong to me!"
The golem was stunned from both shock and excitement. He fell back on his chair, not questioning Li Qiye's ability and determination. After calming down, he looked at him and asked: "If Your Excellency is successful, what are your plans afterward?"
"I know what you golems are thinking." Li Qiye said dismissively: "But rest assured, I will give all of you an answer by bringing everyone along!"
The golem stood up in astonishment and loudly exclaimed: "Your Excellency, you really mean it?"
"Correct." Li Qiye slowly said: "Do you think that I need to lie to you?"
"Well, in that case, I wholeheartedly agree to Your Excellency's proposal." The golem took a deep breath and voiced his agreement.
868 TeaserThe beastworld was devoid of life and living creatures, and this was even more true for Bi'an City. So now, a voice coming out of nowhere in this chamber would horrify any timid person.
A golem came out from a dark corner, the direction where the voice came from. This golem wasn't too different from the other statues. The main discerning characteristic was that there was a divine crest on its head. It was exactly the same one as the crest on Mei Aonan's master.
Li Qiye glanced at this golem and spoke: "Even after millions of years, all of you are still the same. Just a bunch of rocks without any humanity at all."
"Your Excellency is funny. We are not living beings or golems so we naturally wouldn't have any emotions." The golem sat down opposite of Li Qiye.
Li Qiye lazed there and told the golem: "People who come are guests. I am a guest who has come such a long way, so your city should at least treat me with a bit of sincerity. Your Bi'an Wine is the best in the nine worlds, so give me two cups."
[collapse] Golem as in the golem race in the Stone Medicine World. This golem/statue does not consider himself to be one of them ↩ This is an idiom. It is saying that no one will come visiting for no reason. If they come, there is a reason or have a favor that they want to ask. So basically, no one comes to the temple to worship, only when they want to ask for something. ↩Chapter 869: Demonic Lion Legion
It was very lively inside the large Bi'an City with people all over the place. Cultivators from all kinds of sects were present. They pondered how to enter the buildings present. Others were also finding treasures while some had ideas about the carved statues. They wanted to bring these statues out of the city.
Despite their aspirations, many of them found out after personally experiencing it that obtaining a fortune here was far more difficult than they had ever imagined.
More than half of the cultivators could enter the buildings in the other villages and cities. As for whether they could make it back alive with a fortune, this would depend on their own luck.
However, things were different at Bi'an City. Entering these buildings was far more difficult compared to the locations outside. Moreover, it didn't have much to do with strength and more to do with one's fate and talents.
No more than ten were able to enter a building inside the city. They were either geniuses or grasped the exact right time.
Without great perception, one wouldn't be able to understand the seals from the buildings no matter how strong they might be.
Even though there were millions of buildings here, the sects and experts that had sufficient strength focused on the master mansion. There was no lack of masters and brilliant geniuses here. All of them wanted to open the gate and enter the master mansion.
This was because of the legend stating that there was an incredible fortune inside. It was the reason why the beast realm was able to reign supreme for several generations.
However, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't open these gates. One talented genius after another tried to connect and understand the gate ahead, but there was no reaction at all.
Someone exasperatedly said: "I clearly saw Li Qiye go in." They kept on trying again and again but all of their attempts ended in failure.
"This Fierce Li Qiye is truly unfathomable. His talents must be at an extraordinary level. It is easy to tell just by looking at his achievements in the dao of alchemy. Sweeping through the four prodigies and defeating all the other alchemists… Only Celestial Being Ye Qingcheng and Imperial Edge Mei Aonan can compare to his talent." A sect master said with a tinge of emotion. He couldn't have been feeling good when there was a mountain of treasures right in front of him, just out of his reach.
"Not necessarily. Hmph, Li Qiye has the Bi'an Immortal Rod in his hands. It is not strange that he could enter." One genius was unconvinced and scowled.
While the cultivators were wondering how they could enter these buildings, a thunderous rumble echoed in the sky. The earth started to spin as a demonic energy as great as a flood rushed forth and engulfed the entire city.
"Bang—bang—bang!" A very domineering army rushed into the city in a bullish manner. It drove all the other cultivators away from the streets! This was a supercilious rampage with wanton disregard for others. The army consisted of powerful demonic lions, a legion that had a majestic aura capable of looking down on the world, allowing them to run amok as they wished.
"The demonic legion of the Ancient Lion Kingdom…" Many were alarmed at the sight of this legion. Even if the legion wasn't chasing people away, they would still quickly retreat to make way for them.
The leader of the legion was the Ninehead Lion Emperor, the eldest sworn brother of Ye Qingcheng.
He and his legion were extremely famous in the Stone Medicine World. Not only was he a renowned genius, but his kingdom also claimed to be the strongest demon race outside of imperial lineages.
In the last few years, the legion under his command had many illustrious victories and even destroyed a few lineages. Their Lion Formation had actually trapped and killed a Virtuous Paragon!
The lion emperor came to support Ye Qingcheng, but now he suddenly appeared here. This made everyone wonder if Ye Qingcheng had come back victorious.
The legion under his guidance directly went to the master mansion and chased away all the cultivators who were trying to open the gate.
"On what basis is your kingdom chasing us away? Bi'an City isn't your home." This was met with dissatisfaction and opposition right away, especially from a few powerful great powers.
Although they considered themselves to be number one, this didn't mean other great powers didn't dare to oppose them.
The lion emperor only fiercely glared at the unhappy cultivators like a great demon king capable of devouring others. He raised his voice: "The imperial lineages want to reinstate the Bi'an Agreement. Everyone's wish is for my second brother to become the host, so before the agreement takes effect, no one is allowed to come close to the master mansion!"
Such words alarmed everyone. Many cultivators were very wily and experienced. They immediately understood that this was Ye Qingcheng trying to take the Bi'an mansion for himself. The agreement was only an excuse.
"Haha, what is this about imperial lineages wanting to reinstate the agreement? I haven't heard of any imperial lineage coming to this place. Don't speak so boldly if you don't have proof!" An unconvinced cultivator sneered.
Despite Ye Qingcheng's worldwide infamy and the plethora of great powers willing to support him, a few other sects were very annoyed at him. In recent years, he rose to prominence too quickly as if he was about to become the young prince and future leader of the Stone Medicine World. This naturally made sects who didn't want to join him uncomfortable.
"In your eyes, just what kind of sects would be considered an imperial lineage?!" But at this time, a proud voice appeared. This person arrived at the scene as refined sunfire erupted like a scorching volcano, causing everyone to retreat.
Many people gasped after seeing the newcomer. All eyes fell upon him immediately, the Golden Crow Prince.
His eyes swept through the crowd with a frightening and awe-inspiring aura as he proclaimed: "My Heavenhoof Ravine and the Stony Edge Kingdom along with fifty-four other sects propose that Brother Ye be the host. Anyone else got something to say?!"
The crowd glanced at each other after hearing this. Everyone knew that if the Alchemy Kingdom, the Jianlong Clan, and the Beastmaster Citadel trio didn't come out, then no one would be able to compete with the ravine! Its prestige was currently incomparable!
Although the elders of the ravine had yet to arrive, the prince's support also meant that the ravine had Ye Qingcheng's back!
Despite his prior defeat to Jian Wushuang, the prince's reputation wasn't harmed. In the eyes of many, even if he lost, he was still a contemporary genius, the unshakable descendant of the ravine.
Moreover, Jian Wushuang was the golden daughter of the Jian Clan with peerless archery. This arrogant phoenix was also a contemporary genius, so losing to her was not necessarily shameful at all.
"Even the ravine and the Stony Edge Kingdom cannot represent the imperial lineages of our world. There are still the Alchemy Kingdom, the Jianlong Clan, and the citadel!" A Heavenly King from a great power was unhappy with the prince's overbearing actions and spoke his mind.
"Is that so?" The prince's eyes turned cold with a murderous glint: "The legitimacy of our representation is not up for you to decide!"
Having said that, he instantly shifted his body like a serpent and unleashed a palm towards this Heavenly King.
The king was shocked. His blood energy soared to the sky as he revealed his techniques to stop the incoming palm. However, the prince was extremely agile; it was as if he was everywhere at the same time. The king's techniques couldn't stop this palm.
"Boom!" His Heavenly King's arts couldn't stop the attack. He was blown away while spurting blood.
With an unsightly expression, he struggled to stand up again. He glared at the prince and angrily shouted: "Golden Crow Prince, do not push us too far!"
He was the ruler of a country, yet he was wounded by a junior in front of everyone present. How was he going to show his face again?
"Push you too far?" The prince arrogantly sneered: "So what if I push you too far!"
Losing to Jian Wushuang left a simmering fury in his heart. Right now, he needed to kill in order to feel better!
Such words annoyed many people. They were too overbearing and bullish. However, no one wanted to provoke the descendant of the ravine.
The ragged Heavenly King was at an impasse. If he chickened out, how could he have a place in this world in the future?
The Heavenly King laughed in anger and declared: "Very well, the younger generation shall surpass us in time, right? Let me witness the emperor laws of an imperial lineage to see just how powerful they are!"