Chapter 1: Old Devil (1) (2/2)
At this moment, a young boy around the age of thirteen and a lowly old man with three golden teeth were standing outside of the Heaven Protector Palace.
Just beyond the perimeter of the palace’s outer city, Li Qiye burned ceremonial money while whispering: “Little Black Dragon, you don’t have to worry. You have helped me regain my body, my life. One day, I will destroy the evil land to seek revenge for you.”
After the ceremony was over, Li Qiye stared at the Heaven Protector Palace in front of him. The scene was still the same, but the people were no longer there; everything had become foreign. He reminisced about the old days with the Little Black Dragon, the memory of them building this city from the ground up through their efforts was fresh in his mind.
Unfortunately, after thirty thousand years, not many remembered the Dark Crow hiding behind the curtains.
“Heh, let us go back to the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect.” At this time, the old man glanced at Li Qiye and stated his purpose while revealing his three s.h.i.+ny golden teeth.
“Let us go.” Li Qiye calmly nodded his head. No matter how ill.u.s.trious or mysterious this old man might be, his origin could not surprise Li Qiye. Li Qiye had experienced countless difficulties and his soul had been trapped inside the Dark Crow for millions of years. Era after era, he walked together shoulder to shoulder alongside Immortal Emperors and became friends with the Alchemy G.o.d, so what could actually surprise him?
As they were leaving, an extremely elegant and beautiful girl stepped out of the palace. She resembled an angel from heaven, an otherworldly G.o.ddess. The moment she stepped out, she inadvertently noticed the remains of the fire from the ceremony as well as some mysterious symbols beside it.
After seeing these symbols, her expression greatly changed: “Who was having a ceremony here just now?”
An old servant nearby immediately went around to look for information and came back with results: “The city guards say that an old man and a young boy around the age of thirteen were here just now. They were burning ceremonial money.”
The girl issued her command: “Give chase and find them immediately.”
“Your Highness is supposed to go to G.o.d’s Mountain right now.” The old servant hesitantly whimpered.
The G.o.ddess softly yelled: “Find them!” Her body then disappeared as she flew across s.p.a.ce to find the two.
In the end, she was unable to find them. She dejectedly returned to the palace after her search. The symbols beside the fire remained in her head. These symbols hadn’t appeared for a long time, so why was it that they appeared in the outskirts after tens of thousands of years? Were they friends or foes?
An old loyal servant reported: “Your Highness, we couldn’t find the people who were burning the ceremonial money.”
The G.o.ddess commanded with a serious demeanor: “Order everyone to keep in mind that if any news about those two people show up, immediately report back to me.”
The servant was extremely surprised to hear this. With the current power of the Heaven Protector Palace and the reputation of their G.o.ddess, it would be rare for her to show such a serious expression.
The servant asked: “Then what about the trip to G.o.d’s Mountain…?”
“Cancel it!” The G.o.ddess exclaimed: “I have to read the ancient books that the ancestors have left behind. Something strange is happening.”
She then immediately went to the deepest parts of the forbidden grounds in the Heaven Protector Palace.
The Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect resided in the nation of the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom. This sect was an Immortal Emperor lineage with a long history. At the beginning of the Emperors Era, Immortal Emperor Min Ren proudly stood at the peak and established a sect, naming it Cleansing Incense.
Unfortunately, after millions of years, it could not withstand the test of time and its unforgiving nature. The sect was no longer of the Immortal Emperor rank and could no longer rule the land like in the past. No matter how hard it tried, it could neither regain their ancient glory nor prevent their unrelenting and slow demise.
“Elder, I have bad news. A mortal said that he wants us to accept him as the prime disciple.” A disciple hurriedly reported to the first elder of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect as this elder was stepping outside.
“Kick him off the mountain!” Without giving the disciple a glance, the first elder continued: “Why would you even report something so ridiculous?”
A mortal wanting to become the prime disciple of their sect? What a joke. A prime disciple was the same as the sect master’s protege, the one with the highest chance of becoming the future sect master. Of course, when the sect master wasn’t present, the first elder could still personally take care of these matters.
The disciple stuttered: “But, but he was recommended by Old Devil.”
Raising his eyebrows, the first elder unhappily repeated: “Old Devil? Was he bribed by liquor? Is that why he is recommending a mortal?”
Old Devil belonged to the sect, but the sect did not want to recognize this geezer.
Although the name sounded very heroic, this old man had caused the sect to lose all face.
[2]
He had not cultivated any methods to the end, but he did have a very shocking background within the sect. Rumor has it that he was the b.a.s.t.a.r.d child of the previous sect master. This was why, when the last sect master pa.s.sed away, he asked for the current sect master to take care of Old Devil.
However, there was another rumor stating that Old Devil was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d from the sect master two generations ago. Because the previous sect master owed this person a great favor, he had no choice but to accept this piece of trash and unwillingly took care of Old Devil. Before the previous sect master pa.s.sed away, he also asked the current sect master to take care of Old Devil.
No matter who his father was, the whole sect and its upper echelons had no love for the old man. They detested the unflattering words regarding Old Devil’s character and didn’t care about the rumors in the world.
From the elders to the lowest ranking disciples, the entire sect did not welcome this old man without any cultivation.
The first elder yelled out in annoyance: “So what if it was Old Devil’s recommendation? Kick the mortal off the mountain!” His morning and good mood had been ruined by this event.
“But, but he said he has the Cleansing Incense Ancient Order from Old Devil.” The disciple stuttered once again out of fear.
“Cleansing Incense Ancient Order?!” After hearing these words, the first elder’s expression darkened. After quietly contemplating the situation, he quickly ordered: “Gather all of the elders and tell the mortal to wait outside of the grand chamber.”
The Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect had a total of six elders. After hearing the four words “Cleansing Incense Ancient Order”, the other five quickly came to the meeting.
The patriarch of the sect was Immortal Emperor Min Ren, the one who left behind three of these orders. Two had been reclaimed by the sect, but the third one fell into the hands of Old Devil.
Outside of the request from the previous sect master to take care of Old Devil, the second reason why the elders were helpless against him was because he possessed the last order.
The order represented Immortal Emperor Min Ren; the holder could request anything from the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect.
Sitting in the grand chamber of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect while staring at an elusive statue covered in golden smoke, Li Qiye couldn’t help but recall many stories from the past.
The statue of Immortal Emperor Min Ren stood strong at the highest point of this location. Although many years had pa.s.sed, the statue still carried an ancient aura seemingly capable of piercing the nine heavens. Spectators couldn’t help but wors.h.i.+p this statue; it was as if the emperor was actually in front of them.
Li Qiye didn’t know how to describe his feelings as he stared at this statue. The emperor was gone, but Li Qiye was still alive and forever will be. Although he had achieved his goal and regained his body, all of his old acquaintances had slowly disappeared in the river of time.
1. Qi meaning seven, Ye meaning night
2. Fei = fly, Xue Xi = Blood Seal, Min Ren = Bright Benevolence, Tun Ri = Swallow Sun, and Bing Yu = Icy Feather.
1. Ta Kong = s.p.a.ce Trample
2. Originally, we used the name San Guiye instead of Old Devil, but this is now being changed to reflect the recent chapters. San = Three, Gui = Ghoul, Ye = Old man.