Chapter 995: Storm God
The Storm God was someone who was very defensive of her own people on top of having a bad temper and a bossy style. Many people stayed far away from her; this includes some of the ancestors from Crimson Night itself.
Those who dealt with her all had a negative impression of her. Some of these ancestors referred to her privately as a witch as well.
But ultimately, she was still the emperor's daughter. Even those who were annoyed with her couldn't do anything about it.
After entering the Holy City, the first thing the Storm God did was to capture Si Yuanyuan. However, the Thunder Tower Lord did not agree. He had promised Li Qiye and the Bloodbull Godfiend before.
Thus, due to the conflicting words, they immediately fought. The tower lord naturally had a great advantage inside the Thunder Tower. The furious Storm God took out an imperial weapon and trapped the tower lord's group inside the tower.
However, Yi Chuan's group was not so fortunate. They had just left the Godwar Mountain to return to the Holy City but were immediately captured by the Storm God's underlings. The reason was very simple, they were acquaintances of Li Qiye.
"Li brat, listen up. Come admit your crimes in three days at the Thunder Tower or my Crimson Night Kingdom will kill all of your friends and acquaintances!" After capturing Yi Chuan's group, she immediately sent out this message.
The whole city was silent after hearing this. Many people glanced at each other, and one ancestor commented: "The witch is here. Tough luck for anyone who makes her angry…"
No one wanted to mess with her. Provoking such an unreasonable person was the same as poking a hornet’s nest. Even if you were in the right, it would still be meaningless in the end!
Of course, the Blood Race was the most excited. Many Blood experts secretly rejoiced. A Blood disciple sneered: "The Storm God is finally here to take care of business. That Li guy dared to kill our disciples so he must be crushed to dust!"
"Li Qiye is here!" Not long after her message was sent out, Li Qiye was spotted in the Holy City.
"He definitely can become the number one genius after climbing the Prime Peak. What a shame that he had offended the Storm God prior." An ancestor of a different race saw him walking into the city alone and lamented with a sigh.
"The Storm God might not kill him!" A human expert said: "Even if she is strong, there is still a limit. Li Qiye is so heaven-defying and devilish that I feel he has a chance to reverse the tide."
The humans didn't wish for Li Qiye to die in the Storm God's hands. Plus, they wanted to see him reach the peak and bring glory to the human race in the southern region!
"The Storm God is definitely unkillable. Don't forget, she is Immortal Emperor Chen Xue's daughter. Although she had been sealed for countless ages, people do say that she has her father's protection. Outside of emperors, no one in this world can kill her." An ancestor who knew more about the Storm God spoke with frustration.
"The Storm God didn't come alone either, a few Blood ancestors followed her." A knowledgeable person spoke: "Li Qiye is not only facing the Storm God, he is facing the entire Blood-devil Tribe and perhaps even all of the Blood Race."
"Maybe we can go find the ancient clans in the Holy City." Many humans didn't want a direct confrontation between Li Qiye and the Storm God to take place: "If the ancient clans here come out, maybe they will be able to resolve this conflict!"
Many people were skeptical of this proposal. The ancient clans were not so accessible. Those who had the ability to meet them were not necessarily willing to talk to them for Li Qiye's sake.
Under the watchful eyes of many people, Li Qiye entered Crimson Night's branch in the city. His last visit ended with a bloodbath. Today, he came again, so everyone wanted to see how this storm would end.
Excitement was at its peak. No one dared to even breathe out loud while watching Li Qiye make his entrance.
The first thing one would see after entering Crimson Night's branch was the Thunder Tower. At this moment, it was sealed by an imperial decree.
This piece of paper emitted a vast imperial energy with words as immense as Mt.Tai; it had the ability to suppress gods and devils!
Anyone would understand after seeing this decree that if it was pressing down on them, they wouldn't be able to move no matter how powerful they might be!
It was left behind by Immortal Emperor Chen Xue, a decree capable of commanding the nine worlds and suppressing myriad realms! It was a one-time use emperor's possession. If it wasn't for the heaven-defying nature of the Thunder Tower, the Storm God wouldn't have used it!
There was an old woman sitting on an imperial throne in front of the Thunder Tower. Her hair was already white and many wrinkles decorated her face. However, her eyes were especially cold and sharp like an owl. People's hair would stand on end if they were stared at by this pair of eyes.
She was the Storm God, the most headache-inducing character in the Barren Earth.
Yi Chuan, A'Li, and the others were imprisoned on the side. They were kneeling on the ground and couldn't move at all.
"Good, you have finally come to admit your crimes." The Storm God sat imperiously on her throne and smiled coldly.
Everyone couldn't wait to see how Li Qiye would react to this overbearing tyrant!
"Admit my crimes?" Li Qiye smiled and glanced at her: "Who says I'm here to do so?"
"Really?" The Storm God said with a sneer: "Junior, I can still let you go even if you don't admit your crimes! However, from now on, I will kill anyone who is even remotely connected to you! For example, the Pure Lotus School! As long as I give the order, my Blood Race will completely massacre the school within three days!"
"Haha, you can go now." The Storm God smiled deviously: "I'll kill them first to show you that we are serious!" She pointed at Yi Chuan's group.
She continued on: "I'll keep you alive, but you will never find peace again. Make a friend and I shall kill them. In the next thousands of years, my Blood Race will murder all of your children and descendants so that you will never have peace!"
Her insidious smile creeped many people out. The contents of her words were even scarier!
No one doubted what she was capable of. It could even be said that she didn't need to dirty her own hands. A single command would be enough to rally many Bloods and carry out her will!
LI Qiye couldn't help but smile while staring at her: "Go? I haven't thought about leaving. Since I'm already here, I might as well slaughter every single one of you as well as any Blood who wishes to oppose me and challenge my authority!"
"Hahahaha, such a big tone!" The Storm God smiled insidiously: "Junior, I don't need to take action to kill an ant like you. Watch, I just need to give the order and you shall be destroyed!" With that, she gently clapped her hands.
More than thirty old men with gray hair instantly appeared from the left and right sides. Even though their blood energies were withered, they still emitted the aura of Virtuous Paragons that made many people tremble. These were not regular ancestors but top-level paragons, including legendary masters and eternal existences!
"Saber Emperor School, Blood-devil Tribe, Wang Clan…" A few big shots recognized these ancestors' identities and quivered in fear!
There were actually very few Crimson Night ancestors here. The majority of them came from the Blood-devil Tribe!
Such a lineup was quite intimidating. With just one word from the Storm God, the ancestors from these great powers immediately came to help her. Her ability to rally strength was truly frightening.
"Leave if you want, I won't keep you here." The Storm God sneered: "Like I said, no confession, no peace for the rest of your life."
"You think they alone can protect you?" Li Qiye smirked after glancing at the ancestors on both sides.
The Storm God stared him down and snorted: "Junior, I know you have some incredible means! However, without the Thunder Tower, you will still die even if you were a Godking!"
Li Qiye smiled in response: "Feng Piaoluo, after so many years, you still haven't changed at all. You're still a vixen, ignorant and stupid. You didn't inherit even one percent of your father's wisdom. People say a dragon will give birth to a dragon and a phoenix begets a phoenix…"
"… I can only say that it is such a shame for Immortal Emperor Chen Xue. He was a wise emperor of a generation, yet he gave birth to you, a daughter stupid beyond remedy! He used heaven-defying means to rebuild your constitution, but you are so stupid that you can only barely reach the God-Monarch level. What's even more laughable is that you run around claiming to be a Godking. Wow, if a pig can eat the wondrous natural supplements of this world for daily meals, then it can become a God-Monarch too!"
He shook his head at this moment: "Fine, a congenital case of stupidity is still forgivable. After all, not everyone is born a genius, it's just that there is no cure for you! You still think that this is still the generation when your father rules the world and so you keep on acting like a princess. Look around you, who is still following you now? Only a bunch of worthless nobodies…"
"… If you weren't so helplessly stupid, then all of the generals left behind by your father would be willing to stay and pledge loyalty to you. But alas, all of them made excuses to live reclusively, not one was willing to follow you. What a failure of an imperial princess you must be to make even the loyal generals of your father stay far away from you despite the kindness shown to them! There is no saving you." At this point, Li Qiye looked at the Storm God with pity. 1
Was this the longest monologue in the series? ↩Chapter 996: Blood Devouring Curse
Li Qiye's mockery left the Storm God with an extremely ugly expression. She was shaking with anger and could only point at Li Qiye.
The cultivators standing far away all glanced at each other as well. For millions of years, no one dared to say something like this to her, but now, Li Qiye publicly mocked her. This was truly astonishing.
"That felt good!" A few ancestors secretly cheered. Those who had talked to her before were applauding. They couldn't stand her either, but out of fear for her power, they didn't dare to complain.
But now, Li Qiye's unrestrained derision left them feeling great. It was truly too fun.
"Lit-little animal!" She was about to explode from anger. Even her finger pointing at him was shaking up and down.
"Little animal, I actually wanted to let you live today, but I have changed my mind!" The Storm God pointed at him and snapped: "I want to strip your skin, crush you, and taste your flesh and blood!"
"Okay, stop swearing like a vixen." Li Qiye interrupted her with a wave: "If you let them go and apologize this instant, then I can spare your life out of consideration for your father. Otherwise, even if you have his protection, I will still nail you to a wall!"
"Capture him!" The Storm God commanded the thirty paragons standing to her sides.
Li Qiye smiled at them and said: "Very well, I also want to see what you all are capable of." He took one step forward.
The thirty ancestors grimaced after being looked down upon like this. They scowled and instantly surrounded Li Qiye.
Considering their status, more than thirty of them fighting together was simply bullying with numbers. It was even tarnishing their reputation. However, Li Qiye was too contemptuous this time and shamed them publicly. Without taking Li Qiye down and torturing him, they wouldn't be able to vent their rage.
"Boom!" Li Qiye's blood energy was released. A tyrannical force like a True Dragon soared to the sky and loomed over its enemies with a bullying momentum.
"Do it." Li Qiye was in high spirits and seemed to be in complete control with his domineering presence. He looked like a completely different person at this point.
"This is it, the genius of our human race, an extraordinary Virtuous Paragon." The human experts couldn't help but applaud after seeing his mighty appearance!
A Blood-devil ancestor shouted: "You court death!" More than thirty of them attacked at the same time. Some raised their hands while others slammed them down to form various mudras. Magical runes emerged and sealed the location.
"Buzz!" A bloody shade engulfed the entire branch. A huge array appeared above the ground with horizontal lines intertwining to form the surface. Profound runes rose from this array. Both the lines and the runes were covered in a bloody shimmer as if they were drowned in blood.
At the same time, the thirty ancestors suddenly turned bright red. It looked like they had been soaked in a blood pond.
A terrifying matter occurred at this time. With loud rumbles, Li Qiye's blood energy in the sky was no longer under his control. The paragons crazily devoured his blood energy.
"Blood Devouring Curse!" Even an ancestor from the Blood Race exclaimed in fear after seeing this.
"Rumble!" The blood energy no longer under Li Qiye's control was like a flood that had broken the dam. The energy frantically flew towards the ancestors!
Meanwhile, the ancestors swallowed this energy and seemed to be wanting to turn it into their own.
"Blood Devouring Curse…" Both Blood ancestors and big shots from the other races all gasped after hearing its name.
Another Blood ancestor was even more aghast as he murmured: "They're going all out by starting with this curse immediately. This is one of the defining techniques from the Blood-devil Tribe. Moreover, there are talks that no single lineage could do this alone. Only the combined effort of two or three would be able to create a complete version."
"Little animal, even if you were a Godking, we would still drain you of your blood and turn you into a cripple!" The Storm God let out an awe-inspiring laughter: "Today, not to mention you, even three or five Godkings would die under the Blood Devouring Curse!"
"It seems like the Storm God came prepared. She didn't only summon enough ancestors from the tribe to support this curse, she also found people in the branch to prepare it. Anyone who enters the branch would fall into an inescapable net and become a fish on the chopping block, powerless to resist." An ancestor said with fear.
The Blood Devouring Curse was an extremely powerful curse formation. Legend states that it came from the Blood Primal Ground; it was ancient and eternal. Once trapped in this formation, the enemy would be powerless and be drained of all their blood energy. Eventually, they would turn into weak mortals. Even if their dao foundation was still there, without blood energy fueling it, it was the same as a fish stuck on land.
In the blink of an eye, Li Qiye's blood energy had been drained. He was completely pale and couldn't even stand straight. His legs kept on quivering as if he could flop over at any moment.
"So scary." The spectators trembled after seeing Li Qiye's weakened state.
"Dying at the prime of one's life — this is too saddening." Seeing Li Qiye in such a sad state left the humans and experts from the other races extremely tense.
Meanwhile, the Blood Race was laughing and some spoke in a chilling manner: "There is no good end for those who oppose our Blood Race. We will kill anyone who murders members of our Blood Race no matter what!"
The human experts could only stay quiet at this point. They understood just how powerful this formation was. Even unfathomable Godkings would be helpless once trapped inside. No one wanted to risk their lives to save Li Qiye.
"Little animal, we won't kill you so fast." A Blood-devil ancestor smirked: "We'll flay you slowly to have revenge for my Saber Emperor disciples!"
However, despite being terribly pale and trembling, Li Qiye was still smiling leisurely: "Do you know anything about fishing? If one wants to catch a big fish, the line has to be long. Now that the big fish has swallowed the bait, it is time for me to reel in the line."
With that, his fate palace opened. The cauldron of life emerged along with an engulfing flame. The Heavenly Dao's Primal Chapter carved on his cauldron began to light up in a blinding fashion.
"Buzz!" At this second, Li Qiye's body also became immersed in a bloody light. The entire Blood Devouring Curse was under his control.
"Impossible…" The more than thirty ancestors here felt that they were losing control of the formation and shouted in dismay.
"Clank!" A crimson light soared from his body with the sound of something being unlocked. A huge lock appeared on his chest with refined flames floating around it.
"Zzz—" A searing noise appeared along with a pungent smell permeating through the air.
"No…" The ancestors all screamed in despair because their bodies caught on fire! A terrifying extremely refined sunfire incinerated them from inside out, rendering them to ashes.
This all happened too quickly. It didn't matter that they were eternal existences, they still couldn't stop the refined sunfire from burning their flesh!
Next, one could hear clanking noises. From their ashes rose strands of refined sunfire as red as blood. These fire strands quickly entered Li Qiye's body, allowing his blood energy to recover and his complexion to return to normal.
It all happened too fast. No one could react in time. He instantly took control of the Blood Devouring Curse and incinerated more than thirty ancestors while reclaiming his lost blood energy.
At this very second, many people were stunned and couldn't regain their wits.
Heavenly Dao's Primal Chapter and the Nine Sun Locking Heaven Law — these two supreme techniques immediately defeated the curse!
The curse came from the primal ground, but the primal chapter was the source of all Blood merit laws. It was simple to imagine that all laws from the race would be under its control, thus his takeover of the curse was all too easy.
The Blood-devil ancestors that swallowed Li Qiye's blood energy were courting death as well. The Nine Sun Locking Heaven Law was the founding art in this regard! His blood energy was only the bait. It immediately turned into a fire law once it entered their bodies and refined their own blood energy while stealing all of their essences.
"Although their blood energy is weak, they are still paragons, I suppose it is still a bit nutritious." Li Qiye clicked his tongue as if he was tasting a meal before revealing a smile.
This scene made everyone shiver.
"What evil art did you use?!" The shocked Storm God returned from her daze and stared intensely at Li Qiye.
Chapter 997: The Treasure Inside The Little Golden Coffin
"Evil art?" Li Qiye stared at her and shook his head while laughing: "Feng Piaoluo, you are just throwing away all of your father's prestige. As an imperial princess, your knowledge is so shallow. Frankly, you would really have nothing if you weren't Immortal Emperor Chen Xue's daughter; you're even lesser than the most vulgar village girl in this world."
"Little animal, die!" The Storm God shouted and instantly lunged towards Li Qiye. Her speed was unbelievable. She used a destructive emperor law right away as she attacked with the momentum of a ferocious dragon! Only annihilation awaited those who stood before her!
Despite being foolish, the Storm God was still a God-Monarch. Once she attacked, the stars were shaken while the sun and moon lost their brilliance. Her God-Monarch's momentum rampaged everything.
"She's still a God-Monarch after all!" Her aggressive and dominating style left people in awe. Even ancestors who were unhappy with her had to admit that she had the power to be so imperious!
"Buzz!" She aimed to crush Li Qiye and was only inches away from him in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, space suddenly quaked.
Time seemed to have stopped in this split second, or at least became as slow as a snail. Everything else slowed down as well.
Stagnation Domain — Li Qiye had activated this domain without any delay. Within this realm, he was the sole sovereign.
Anyone would be under its suppression. Even the fastest speed would become extremely slow, and this applied to time as well. At the same time, an immense weight would press down on them.
Thus, everything moved at a snail's pace after entering the Stagnation Domain as if three thousand worlds were pressing down on whatever entered the perimeter. The passing of one second would feel like a year!
"Pop!" Even the Storm God couldn't break through this domain. Under this absolute suppression, Li Qiye punched her down to the ground and a little something more until her blood sprayed.
He grabbed her hair and more banging sounds resounded as he ruthlessly slammed her up and down without any mercy. Her blood began to paint the ground red.
This scene shocked countless people. In just a second, the spectators' eyes fell to the ground while watching this impossible spectacle play out.
Just how high was the Storm God's status in the Barren Earth? People and ghosts alike would be afraid of her. But now, Li Qiye was grabbing her by the hair and slamming her down to the ground as if she was an insect.
"Isn't, isn't this too domineering…" A person murmured absentmindedly.
Others were without words and couldn't speak at all. Domineering was no longer enough to describe Li Qiye. Fiercest — this was the only title suitable for him!
"Xsh!" Blood spurted everywhere. Eventually, she managed to escape from his hands. Being a monarch, she knew many different emperor laws! She activated a heaven-defying escape technique and ran to the side.
Alas, the price she paid was her scalp being ripped off. At this moment, she was drenched in blood. The blood dripping down her face was hideously scary!
"Boom!" Imperial auras surged. One weapon flew out after another. In the blink of an eye, five imperial weapons emerged around her as protection, creating a supreme atmosphere.
Earlier, she had underestimated her enemy too much. She thought that as a God-Monarch, she wouldn't lose after a single exchange, but it actually happened! Thus, she now summoned five weapons for defensive measures!
As a daughter of an emperor, she most likely had more imperial weapons than anyone else. No one else besides her was more qualified to inherit Immortal Emperor Chen Xue's imperial weapons in Crimson Night.
The majority of the cultivators and even some ancestors became quite jealous and filled with greed. Her tyrannical nature was not without reason. She had more treasures than anyone else, an absolute advantage in terms of resources!
"Feng Piaoluo, I thought too highly of you." Li Qiye casually threw away her scalp and shook his head: "I was flattering you too much when I said that you have barely reached God-Monarch. From the looks of it right now, your limit is at the door of the God-Monarch realm. As an imperial princess, if you were virtuous, then the people of this world would have respected you. Unfortunately, you lack this characteristic and are even dictatorial and unreasonable. You are simply courting death."
Even the Blood ancestors didn't dare to let out a fart at this moment due to the tense atmosphere. Li Qiye's victorious exchange over the Storm God was truly too overbearing!
The Storm God was furious from his incessant taunting. She crazily shouted: "Little animal, I'll kill them all, then you will be next!"
With that, she went over to kill Yi Chuan's group. They were helpless prisoners at this moment, so they couldn't resist the oncoming imperial weapon. They could only sit there and watch.
"Boom!" However, the weapon was stopped before it could slash Yi Chuan's group. An old man stopped the attack from the Storm God.
He had a friendly face and wore a paper hat. At a first glance, there didn't seem to be anything special about him. It could even be said that no one here recognized the old man's identity.
It was Arcane Guru. After stopping the Storm God, he still seemed quite at ease as if nothing had happened.
The Storm God immediately shouted after seeing the old man that stopped her: "Who are you!"
The guru took off his hat and saluted before slowly speaking: "Storm God, I'm just someone who can't reach the apex, but you, as an imperial princess, you ought to be aware of your conducts and not shame Immortal Emperor Chen Xue's prestige."
"Scram!" The Storm God attacked with her weapon. The strike swept through the sky, but the guru leaped up as well. He casually repelled it with a flip of his palm, causing it to fly straight into the sky. Meanwhile, he glided upward and looked down on the Storm God: "If you want to fight, I can keep you company, there's no need for Young Noble Li to take action."
As the imperial princess, she had always been the person looking down on others; no one dared to look down on her like how the guru was looking down from above. This made her livid. She leaped into the sky as well and screamed: "Ignorant fool, I'll kill you first before taking care of that little bastard then!"
With that, she grabbed onto an Immortal Emperor True Treasure and instantly attacked the guru in the sky.
The guru was as agile as a dancing crane in the nine heavens. He used an unbelievable stepping technique to dodge her true weapon and countered with his bare hands.
"Boom!" He made contact, but it couldn't hurt the Storm God due to the five weapons protecting her. It was impossible to touch her without a weapon.
"Die!" She swung her true treasure and shattered the void. She aggressively went at the guru in a tyrannical fashion like a mad dragon. Her appearance at this moment was exactly like a vixen.
The true weapon in her hand exerted even more power. It resonated across the sky and suppressed myriad laws in an incredible fashion. Despite her low cultivation relative to her background, she was still her father's daughter. Because of this, his weapons were extremely powerful in her hands!
However, Arcane Guru was mysterious and amazing as well. He danced in the sky using a profound stepping technique and dodged the true weapon's onslaught time and time again.
The crowd marveled at this scene. No one knew who this friendly looking old man was, but he was moving freely under the attacks of a true weapon. His extraordinary style had to be commended.
"Fool." Li Qiye only shook his head while looking at the Storm God acting like a human-shaped T-rex and no longer wanted to judge her. 1
She was hotheaded and narrow-minded on top of being imperious without paying any heed for consultation. If she wasn't an emperor's daughter, she would have died countless times already.
Li Qiye walked forward and flicked his finger. "Bang!" The shackles on Yi Chuan's group instantly shattered. After he dispelled the seals on their bodies as well, they quickly stood up.
Li Qiye smiled and told Yi Chuan: "It seems like I have involved all of you this time."
Yi Chuan wryly smiled back and shook his head: "That's too much, Young Noble. People in jianghu are always at the risk of violence and death. A cultivator wouldn't be a cultivator if they were without enemies. 2
"That's a good state of mind." Li Qiye smiled and slowly sat on the throne. He looked at the sky and said: "Arcane, why are you playing around? Imperial weapons are powerful, but this also depends on their user! Don't forget, you have that item in your possession."
The guru didn't hesitate any longer: "Go…" He opened a small golden coffin. With some clanking sounds, six bronze coins few out from the coffin.
Initially, the six coins weren't anything special. However, once they got close to the imperial weapons, the Storm God lost control of the five protecting her as well as the true treasure in her hand.
"Buzz—" The five protecting weapons suddenly flew away, followed by the true treasure.
It is actually the word for Tyrannosaurus Rex. This was feeling very out of place in a Xianxia so I've been using furious dragon for it, but this particular passage just fits T-rex so much. ↩ Most xianxia/wuxia readers should know what jianghu is, but this is the term for a sub-culture in China, popularized during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Usually, the ruling governments stayed away from dealing with jianghu's matters and vice versa. Bards and novelists began using the term jianghu to create a literature of a fictional society of adventurers and rebels who lived not by existing societal laws, but by their own moral principles. ↩