Chapter 961: Death Without A Burial
The current assembly was startled at this moment. Even the group of the Half-moon Princess didn't expect that Si Yuanyuan was a disciple from Crimson Night since she had been quietly following Li Qiye the entire time. Her obedient demeanor made it so that no one paid any attention to her.
In fact, very few in the Barren Earth knew that the kingdom had an extraordinary disciple like her. Several ancestors didn't want her fame to spread far on the outside due to her great talents. If she were to gain a reputation, it would be detrimental to Chi Zixian's position. Thus, the ancestors chose to erase her presence so that no one would find out about a genius like her.
On the other hand, she didn't want to have a direct confrontation against the ancestors from the imperial family. Because of this, she wasn't known at all in this region.
"Little girl, you underestimate me too much." Li Qiye smiled and shook his head, then he made her go back behind him again: "The Storm God cannot frighten me. Stand behind me and watch. Since you have decided to follow me, no one in the nine worlds will dare to touch a hair on your head."
Si Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment after hearing this. She didn't know how strong Li Qiye was, but she knew full well just how terrifying the Storm God was.
"It's okay, just leave everything up to him." Ye Chuyun noticed her hesitation and comforted her.
After hearing Ye Chuyun, Si Yuanyuan glanced at the Supreme Elder for a moment before quietly walking back behind Li Qiye. Given the choice, she naturally would not want to go back and be placed under house arrest.
The elder became extremely unhappy after seeing this. This was truly challenging their kingdom's prestige.
"This girl is now one of my people." Li Qiye looked at the elder and lazily spoke: "Go back and tell that vixen Storm God that before me, she'd better tuck her tail and hide! Even if her father, Immortal Emperor Chen Xue, was still in this world, I still wouldn't put her in my eyes, let alone now. Otherwise, I'll crush her to death with my own hands!"
"Disobedient animal! You dare to shame my ancestor?! You deserve death!" The Supreme Elder was furious after hearing this. He roared like an enraged lion and flipped his hand over to unleash a murderous palm technique. It carried a destructive aura towards Li Qiye.
The attack of an Early Era Paragon carried a devastating momentum along with the power of many living beings, causing people to tremble. It was as if the entire world was in disarray and there was no place to hide.
Li Qiye didn't bat an eye against this attack. He casually reached out and formed the Dragon-subduing Palm. Such a leisurely gesture was able to reverse the universe and displace the sky.
The oncoming palm was quickly pushed away by Li Qiye's Dragon-subduing Palm. Meanwhile, the elder's body left the ground as if he had lost control.
His center of gravity was completely in Li Qiye's grasp as he tumbled through the air.
"No—" This was an unwilling cry of disbelief and despair.
Initially, Li Qiye's casual swing didn't harm the elder at all. At best, it only made him stumble a bit. However, the huge cave was behind Li Qiye, so the elder fell down after his misstep.
Death was assured for anyone who fell into this cave on the Dragon Platform. It didn't matter if one could soar in the sky or traverse the earth. Once they fell inside, they could only watch themselves fall and disappear from this world!
"No!" The elder's echoes continued to rise from the cave. This fall marked his departure from this world!
Chi Tianyu's group couldn't help but take several steps back in unison. Even a Virtuous Paragon was helpless after falling in — this made their legs grow weak. They would also disappear after falling in.
"Why are there always some people who think that I am so easily bullied?" Li Qiye smiled. "Pop!" He kicked the Crimson Night Duke into the cave as well.
"No…" The duke watched himself fall into the cave and screamed out in despair. However, it didn't matter how loud he screamed or how much he struggled, his demise was inevitable.
Si Yuanyuan couldn't react in time for it all happened too quickly. Even if she wanted to plead for the duke, it was already too late.
The marquis was scared out of his mind after seeing the two fall into the cave and screamed: "Brother, hurry and save me…"
"Pop!" However, before he could finish his sentence, Li Qiye kicked him into the cave as well.
"You!" Chi Tianyu was both frightened and furious after seeing this. He wanted to rush forward, but the Half-moon Princess stopped him.
Li Qiye lazily glanced over them once and declared: "In my eyes, all of you are mere insects. I didn't want to start a massacre after coming back this time, but if you want to die, I don’t mind washing the Holy City with blood. It's a shame, I do feel sorry for breaking the tranquility of this city!"
"Remember well, anyone who wants to provoke me best prepare a coffin beforehand!" With that, he turned around and left.
Si Yuanyuan quickly chased after him. Meanwhile, Ye Chuyun stared dismissively at the crowd before shaking her head and following after him as well.
"Li Qiye… it's him." Bai Jian suddenly remembered a certain someone after seeing Li Qiye's overbearing arrogance, someone that had been long-forgotten.
"Is he really still alive?" He murmured to himself. He had never seen this person before, only heard of his tales. Several years ago, the legends about him arrived at the southern region from the Eastern Hundred Cities.
However, the world thought that he was dead so no one really paid attention to him.
Chi Tianyu's eyes were completely red as he quivered with anger. He gritted his teeth and viciously said: "I swear to have vengeance even if it is the last thing I do! Li, I will crush you to pieces!"
His bone-deep hatred towards Li Qiye was not only because Li Qiye killed his junior brother, but moreso due to Ye Chuyun. He was stricken with jealousy to the point of losing his reason. In his vengeful mind right now, only one of them could continue to live in this world!
The rest of the group on the platform stared at each other without saying anything. Li Qiye's first attack threw the Supreme Elder into the cave and gave them the feeling that he was mysterious and unfathomable.
Nevertheless, they still didn't know whether Li Qiye was hiding his skills or the elder was merely uncareful and stumbled into the cave by himself.
"The treasure from the Dragon Platform… it must absolutely be something incredible." After the group regained their wits, someone murmured with mouth-watering greed.
Alas, even if they coveted his treasure, no one would recklessly take action. In their opinion, even if Li Qiye was not powerful, who would dare to do anything with Ye Chuyun protecting him?
The Pure Lotus School had a property in the Holy City. This was an old mansion where Ye Chuyun was staying.
The group went to this mansion. Li Qiye immediately took out a box and handed it to Ye Chuyun: "Chuyun, staying with me for the last few days has been tough for you, so this treasure is yours."
The treasure inside the box was the one from the Dragon Platform. Li Qiye didn't even bother researching it and directly gave it to Ye Chuyun without a care in the world.
"But…" Ye Chuyun was startled: "Brother Li, this is a Dragon Platform's treasure, it's not a trivial item at all."
Countless people coveted the treasures from the platform, yet at this moment Li Qiye was casually handing it to her.
He smiled in response: "I didn't come to the platform for the treasures anyway. It was only to confirm something. Grabbing the treasure was just a part of the process."
"I have benefited a lot by staying at your side, especially from your guidance." Ye Chuyun hesitated for a bit before answering: "I can't accept something so precious."
"Accept it." Li Qiye flatly said: "I can't take back what I have given away."
Ye Chuyun slightly bowed towards him and quietly accepted the treasure box without saying anything else.
Next, Li Qiye told Si Yuanyuan who was standing to the side: "Before I leave, I will pass down more primordial laws to you. In the future, I will also give you one or two suitable treasures should the chance arise."
"Thank you, Young Noble." Si Yuanyuan responded instantly. She didn't go with him for any treasures but rather the primordial laws. For someone who cultivated the Sunset Glow Scripture like her, nothing was more important than the primordial laws.
It was not surprising for Li Qiye to know the primordial laws of the Blood Race. This was because he had obtained the heavenly dao and primordial chapter of the Blood Progenitor. The race's merit laws came from this heavenly chapter. It was just that prior to this, Li Qiye was too lazy to look into these primordial laws.
Si Yuanyuan was very special in his eyes. Her accomplishments with the Sunset Glow Scripture were without comparison. Li Qiye willingly taught her these primordial laws because he hoped to leave behind some insurance at the Barren Earth. Who knows if the Blood Race would change in the future?
As long as he left behind this preparation, even if there were changes to the race in the future, someone else would still be able to control the overarching situation.
Chapter 962: Chi Zixian
"Where do you want to go?" Ye Chuyun asked after hearing Li Qiye.
Li Qiye lifted his head and gazed at the majestic Hidden-dragon Mountains: "I want to go to the Hidden-dragon Mountains. It might take some time."
"I'll go with you." Ye Chuyun replied with haste: "Maybe I will be able to assist you."
"No." Li Qiye gently shook his head: "This trip is a personal matter. At the same time, I hope that you can stay behind since I have something else for you to do."
She replied: "Just give the order."
Li Qiye looked at Si Yuanyuan and said: "It seems like the Crimson Night Kingdom won't give up. Before I return, you just need to protect Yuanyuan."
"I'm afraid that will involve Sister Ye and the Pure Lotus School." Si Yuanyuan felt apologetic in her mind. She was not only dragging Li Qiye down with her, but also Ye Chuyun.
Li Qiye shook his head: "Don't worry about that. I am not someone who is afraid of trouble, and those who stand by my side should be the same. If the kingdom is smart, they will run away as far as possible. Otherwise, if they anger me, I'll personally visit them!"
"Don't worry, little sister." Ye Chuyun consoled her as well: "With Brother Li as your protector, the kingdom won't be able to do anything to you."
Si Yuanyuan only gently sighed in the end and held her words. She didn't want the two to fight the kingdom, but there was a good chance of her being placed under house arrest if she were to return.
This was because it was nearly time for Chi Zixian to ascend to the royal throne. The elders of the imperial family naturally didn't want a competitor like her to appear at this crucial moment!
"If nothing unexpected happens, I'll come back soon. At most, it will only be ten days." Li Qiye stated.
Ye Chuyun nodded in response: "What about the Godwar Mountain?"
They initially came for the Godwar Mountain, but the trip had been delayed this whole time.
Li Qiye glanced at the horizon and said: "There's no rush, everything is within my grasp no matter what happens. After I'm done with the Hidden-dragon Mountains, we'll go to the Godwar Mountain."
In fact, Li Qiye's trip to the dragon mountains was only to confirm something, not for a treasure.
Over the next few days, Li Qiye taught the primordial laws to Si Yuanyuan. Although the laws were quite abstruse, Si Yuanyuan had a great foundation due to the Sunset Glow Scripture, so she learned very quickly. Moreover, she was able to understand the scripture to this extent without any guidance, and now she had Li Qiye to teach her. Thus, it was not difficult for her to learn the primordial laws.
After doing so, Li Qiye left the Holy City and entered the mountains alone.
Within this period of time, the news of the Crimson Night Kingdom's Supreme Elder's tragic death reached them. Chi Zixian heard it as well.
Her expression quickly shifted to a chilling glare! She was one of the Blood Race's five saints. She ranked higher than the Half-moon Princess and Chi Tianyu because she came from the Crimson Night Kingdom and was destined for greatness.
In terms of pure talent, she might be weaker than Bai Jian and the Skybearing Duke. However, she had an incomparable advantage in hailing from a sect with two emperors.
She was not born as the heir to the throne and had to defeat several competitors in the imperial family. Right now, the most fortunate thing for her was that their kingdom hadn’t produced a brilliant genius like Ye Tiandi. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to win this successor position despite her powerful backing.
However, there was still a great shadow looming in her mind — Si Yuanyuan!
Si Yuanyuan came from a side branch and had to teach herself, yet she was successful in the Sunset Glow Scripture. Her accomplishments had a big impact on Chi Zixian's current position.
More importantly, Si Yuanyuan's side branch had an ancestor who came from the imperial family, thus she had the direct bloodline of an Immortal Emperor!
However, the most shocking thing to Chi Zixian was that Si Yuanyuan's enlightenment of the Sunset Glow Scripture was peerless. This meant that Si Yuanyuan coming to rule the Crimson Night Kingdom was not out of the question.
The kingdom had a tradition of tracing back to the origin. Moreover, this tradition was started by their progenitor, Immortal Emperor Chi Ye.
At a young age, the emperor cultivated the Sunset Glow Scripture as his starting point. He entered the Blood Primal Ground for training as well. His status was recognized by the primal ground, and he even took the reins of the Blood Race in place of the Primal Ground!
Later on, the Crimson Night Kingdom went on a decline until Immortal Emperor Chen Xue’s birth. He also returned to the primal ground at a young age to work on his grand dao and eventually won the throne to revitalize his kingdom! This allowed the kingdom to once again take charge of the Blood Race instead of the primal ground!
Because of its prestigious past, the kingdom had always wanted to return to the top of their race, to once more become their leader!
Even though the Storm God backing Chi Zixian was very influential, this didn't mean that all the ancestors in the kingdom supported her.
This was especially true after Si Yuanyuan's appearance. To a certain extent, it truly affected Chi Zixian's position. A few elders were able to see hope in Si Yuanyuan due to her mastery of the Sunset Glow Scripture. This meant that she had a great chance of returning to the primal ground to cultivate the legendary primordial laws just like Immortal Emperor Chi Ye back then! If she could achieve this, then it meant that the Crimson Night Kingdom could return to the top of the Blood Race and gain the ability to command the entire race across the nine worlds!
If this situation came true, then not only would Chi Zixian lose her royal throne, her branch would also lose control over the kingdom.
Thus, both she and her branch would never allow for this to happen. The imperial family's ancestors of her branch decided to erase all signs of Si Yuanyuan's existence, so outsiders never found out that the kingdom still had such a brilliant disciple.
In fact, if certain powerful ancestors didn't allow it, Si Yuanyuan might have disappeared from this world already.
Chi Zixian coldly uttered with a twisted expression: "This slut dared to actually show her face again instead of hiding for the rest of her life!"
"Your Highness will be able to ascend to the throne soon, so her sudden appearance right now might be a reaction to that." An expert next to her speculated.
Chi Zixian coldly responded: "Someone from a side branch like her wants to compete for the royal seat against me? Just a fool's dream!"
Despite saying that, Chi Zixian knew full well that if Si Yuanyuan could return to the primal ground, she would actually have the chance to take control of the kingdom.
"Her appearance might not be an attack on Your Highness." Her strategist mused: "Your Highness' inauguration has already been decided. Even if Si Yuanyuan has the protection of the ancestors, she still won't be able to reverse the situation. Your Highness should just wait in peace before your ascension instead of being distracted by this matter."
"No!" Chi Zixian's expression darkened: "This slut cannot be left alive. The longer she lives, the longer she will remain a threat! Even if I become ruler, she can still come back and take over the royal throne when she returns to the primal ground!"
"Your Highness, we shouldn't do it!" The strategist was startled: "If Your Highness kills Si Yuanyuan, then it would break the pact. The ancestors will not be happy!"
The only reason Si Yuanyuan was still alive right now was because she had ancestors protecting her. However, because of the Storm God's imperious authority, both sides made concessions. Si Yuanyuan couldn't enter the imperial family to learn emperor laws while Chi Zixian's side guaranteed not to harm her despite her being a thorn in Chi Zixian's eyes.
"Really now?" Her eyes turned cold and her words were even colder: "It is different now. The slut seduced outsiders to murder the Supreme Elder. This is treason and must be punished with death! I, as the main descendant of Crimson Night, have both the responsibility and the authority to dispose the sect of traitors!"
Chi Zixian didn't want Si Yuanyuan to live any longer since her existence would always be a threat to her! In Chi Zixian's mind, Si Yuanyuan had to die!
"Hmm…" The strategist pondered: "It won't be easy to answer those older forefathers once we kill Si Yuanyuan."
"There is nothing to say." Chi Zixian sneered: "Everyone has the responsibility to deal with traitors! That slut conspired with outsiders to kill our Supreme Elder — this is a sin of renouncing her ancestors and sect! Even if the forefathers were to blame us, the ancestor can still handle it!"
The ancestor Chi Zixian referred to was the Storm God. As the daughter of Immortal Emperor Chen Xue, she had absolute authority in the kingdom!
Chi Zixian drily said: "Make the preparations, I will go to the Holy City tomorrow to personally deal with that traitorous slut!"
Her underlings acknowledged her command and went to carry it out.
She then looked outside with a chilling smile, 'that slut is dead for sure this time!' She would be able to sleep soundly after the slut was dead.
For her future goals, she wanted to use the Storm God for as long as possible while the ancestor was still alive to suppress the other ancestors. She must plan aggressive reforms so that the control over the kingdom would truly be in her branch's hands!
Chapter 963: Hidden-dragon Mountains
Li Qiye left the Holy City for the Hidden-dragon Mountains. He continued to travel through the mountain ridge while gauging the location the whole way.
This mountain range spanned across the land for millions of miles like a gigantic dragon in all of its grandeur. Many existences were born here. This was not only the paradise of the human race, but also home to many animals.
The average person might not be able to feel anything after entering the mountain. However, it was different for Li Qiye since he could sense the powerful quake underground, a supreme impact as if there was an endless source of life gushing out of the ground.
As he continued around the ridge, he finally made it to a ravine. While inside, he took a look around before whistling.
It was a piercingly harsh whistle. People would cover their ears after hearing this as they would feel that the sound would cause pain that felt like it was piercing their eardrums.
There was a strange and obscure characteristic of this whistle that allowed the sound to travel deep into the ground.
"Crashh!" A long time after his whistle, mud and soil flew everywhere as a creature crawled out of the ground.
This creature's entire body was as black as ink. The scales on its body seemed to be made out of black steel. It had a dragon's head with a single horn at the top while its body resembled a Pixiu. 1
It cautiously stared at Li Qiye after crawling out of the ground. It postured offensively, but at the same time, it was ready to burrow again at any moment.
"Earthdrake, quite a rare creature." Li Qiye chuckled after seeing the beast.
Li Qiye took out a handful of leaves hanging on a branch and dangled it in front of the drake before smiling: "Come, as long as you take me to that place, I'll let you eat your fill."
This branch was from the Dracotree. It was completely irresistible to the Earthdrake.
After noticing that Li Qiye was not hostile, the drake slowly came over from the mud. Nevertheless, it was still quite cautious. After a while, it bit the branch in his hand. With some rustling sounds, it quickly ate the entire branch and the leaves.
Li Qiye took out some more leaves. The drake leaned in for another bite, but Li Qiye was even faster and shifted away so that the drake couldn't eat it.
"You should be very familiar with this smell." He raised the leaves up in the air and stopped the drake from eating before smiling: "Take me to that place and then you can eat. If you agree, then nod your head."
The drake looked at Li Qiye then back at the leaves up high. It was a bit hesitant, but ultimately, appetite triumphed over reason. It quickly nodded while staring at Li Qiye and then crouched down with its body.
Li Qiye chuckled in response: "That's more like it. Leaves from the Dracotree… even you might not have the chance to eat these more than a few times in your life." Having said that, he mounted the drake.
"Boom!" The Earthdrake instantly burrowed into the ground, causing a series of rumbles. It crossed the earth at an unbelievable speed. Only a creature like this drake would be able to move so fast beneath this mountain range.
The mountain range was an extraordinary location. No matter how powerful one might be, the moment they penetrated this earth, they wouldn't be able to tell their location and the four directions.
The drake continued to carry him under ground for a very long time. He wasn't worried that it would go to the wrong place. If even the drake couldn't go to the right destination, then no one else would be able to find it.
"Boom!" Eventually, the drake running at full speed rushed out from the mud and entered a stone cavern.
It stopped to let Li Qiye get down. He took a look around the stone cavern that was located deep beneath the land. No one knew its exact coordinates!
There was a stone arch entrance in front of the cavern. Behind it was a pitch-black scenery; who knew where it led to.
Li Qiye revealed a faint smile and murmured: "Yes, this is it. I have finally returned."
"Ziii—" The Earthdrake behind him cried out.
Li Qiye turned around and looked at the drooling drake. He couldn't help but smile and threw the rest of the leaves towards it: "This is your reward."
The drake happily roared after seeing so many leaves from the Dracotree and began its feast. In the blink of an eye, it ate everything then drilled back into the ground.
Li Qiye shifted his gaze towards the stone arch: "I want to see whether it came back to life this time…"
After going through the stone arch, a precipice could be found in front of Li Qiye. Ahead of him was still complete darkness. No one would be able to see anything.
Li Qiye stopped before it and used his steps as a measure to determine the direction. Afterward, he jumped down without any hesitation. He descended like a falling meteor with the wind howling in his ears.
"Boom!" Li Qiye didn't know how long he had fallen before he slammed into the ground like a huge nail drilling into mud.
"I hate this step the most!" He murmured while more than half of his body was stuck in the mud. Each time he came to this place, he always had to get dirty.
He didn't stand up just yet. He took out a small bottle and poured out the dew inside. These dew drops dampened his body and then seeped into the soil as if it had its own consciousness.
These dew drops were from the Dracotree and were infused with moonlight. After some minor noises came out, the mud and soil around Li Qiye turned into a swamp. His entire body sank down extremely quickly.
"Almost…" Li Qiye quietly counted down in the midst of this sinking process. After reaching a certain number, he activated all of his blood energy.
"Buzz!" A clear light exploded from his body!
This was the Heaven's Will Crystallized Physique, the secret art of the Crystallized Sea Sect, the most powerful and flawless defensive technique in this world! Although Li Qiye's dao foundation was sealed, he was still able to activate this technique due to his great blood energy. The main difference was that he couldn't use it for as long as before.
He continued to sink deeper into the swamp. He was completely helpless since even the strongest existences wouldn't be able to fly up.
"Bang-bang-bang!" Some time after the start of his descent, a towering inferno capable of burning everything erupted from below.
Even a God-Monarch would be scared out of their mind if they were to see this scene because this surging inferno was the mythical draconic flame from legend — extremely frightening!
Since he had no control over his body, he was consumed by the inferno instantly. However, the crystal physique protected him perfectly, so he didn't feel a single thing.
A moment later, he escaped the inferno. However, crackles were heard right afterward. Below was a pool of tribulation lightning. Extremely thick bolts of lightning were down here and flashed continuously; these bolts were capable of ripping apart any creature that fell down here.
"ZZZZ—" Bolts of lightning frantically assaulted his body in an attempt to rip him to shreds. Fortunately, they failed to break through the crystal physique despite their might.
He continued to fall down uncontrollably…
In this manner, he met layers of tribulations one after another. It seemed that he was falling into the eighteen layers of hell.
In the face of such disasters, even a Godking would not be able to persevere and would be eventually rendered to ashes.
However, with the crystal physique, he managed to fall down and survive all the layers of tribulations.
"Boom!" He heavily slammed onto the ground once more and the crystal physique began to slowly disappear from his body.
"That was a bit risky. Luckily, the time limit was within my calculations." Li Qiye laughed after seeing the physique going away. This was not his first time here, so he knew how long it took to fall all the way down.
After standing up, he took a look around and eventually, his gaze focused on two large doors ahead of him. He then slowly walked towards them. The two doors were cast from divine bronze. They emitted an ancient luster that would never fade for all of eternity.
Pixiu (Chinese: 貔貅; pinyin: píxiū; Wade-Giles: P’i-hsiu) is a Chinese mythical hybrid creature commonly but incorrectly referred to in the West by the Greek word “chimera”. It is considered to be a very powerful protector to practitioners of Feng Shui. It resembles a strong, winged lion. ↩