Chapter 875: Bloodhand Butcher (1/2)
Chapter 875: Bloodhand Butcher
A never-dispersing evil aura lingered in the deepest parts of the swamp located in the farthest region of the beastworld. Li Qiye rode his carriage while it emitted an ancient law to prevent the aura from invading the s.p.a.ce around him.
As for the bull, it was able to tread steadily even in the most dangerous locations; it continued to carry Li Qiye to his destination.
Eventually, the carriage stopped. This was a swamp that had no distinct characteristics compared to other places.
Li Qiye slowly walked forward and left behind one footprint after another as if he was measuring something. Moreover, they were not simple footprints, they were marks from the runes of the dao.
Finally, after imprinting enough footprints, the dao runes began to move and intertwined to form laws. These laws then formed a door above the muddy ground.
Li Qiye formed a mudra with both hands while chanting a mantra. His mind opened as his sea of memories roared. A second door superimposed itself onto the first one.
Right when the two came together like two keys of a pair, Li Qiye shouted: “Open!”
A series of heavy sounds could be heard. A cave entrance emerged from the mud and morphed into the shape of a small fortress. As the two doors floated around, the fortress let out a sound that signaled the true opening of the door.
Li Qiye withdrew his mudra and closed his mind before sitting back on his carriage once more.
Beyond the entrance was a completely silent scene. It was also pitch-black as if this little fortress was a prison.
“No need to play dead, I know you are still alive. I spent countless efforts to trap you all here so that you could continue to survive.” Li Qiye lazily looked at the entrance while he remained on his carriage.
“Hue hue hue…” A strange laughter came from the cave, then was a sinister response: “Dark Crow, my Dark Crow… after so many years, you still haven’t given up. Hue hue hue… Go ahead and try all of your means. My old bones can handle the worst torture in this world.”
“I believe that.” Li Qiye chuckled: “I have destroyed your bones time and time again, but you continued to persevere — this is indeed very admirable. Bloodhand Butcher, this not just an empty t.i.tle.”
“So kind, so kind. But compared to you, I’m still lacking a little. The victor is the king while the loser becomes the bandit. I dominated a thousand generations only to lose to you in the end.” The strange laughter continued inside the cave.
“Likewise. Didn’t you order Immortal Emperor Tian Tu to capture me back then as well?” Li Qiye chuckled: “Fengshui will continue to change. However, it is in my grasp and will never come back to you. You have lost and will never be able to reverse the tides!” [1. Tian Tu is Heaven Ma.s.sacre. There was a war with him as the focus. I believe Li Qiye told this story back during the Heavenly Dao Academy arc and how he killed Tian Tu. I remember one more occasion back during the boat arc as well.]
The person in the cave turned silent. Fewer than few people knew the story between the two.
“Your Ancient Ming can’t rely on you or anyone else. After so many generations, you still carry the hope of them being able to rise again.” Li Qiye continued: “However, I have taken care of your tribe one by one and vanquished them from the nine worlds!”
“I only despise picking the wrong person. Hue hue hue, Dark Crow, if it wasn’t for Gong Yang, I’m afraid the ones that would never be able to rise again would be you humans and not my Ancient Ming! You humans would have continued to be our slaves!” The laughter rang again. [2. Gong Yang is a character in Li Qiye’s story back at Necropolis. He told this story to Imp.]
Li Qiye smiled in response: “One cannot undo what has already been done in this world. If there wasn't a legend about Gong Yang and the Dark Crow, then there would still be a legend about Xi Yang and the Dark Crow. In short, you Ancient Ming lost. The nine worlds isn’t a place for you all to come and intrude.” [3. Okay, Li Qiye is saying that their defeat was inevitable. Someone else would have contributed to the fall of the Ancient Ming eventually, if not Gong Yang.]
“Hue hue hue, Dark Crow, you can only make these cheeky remarks since you are the victor. If the nine worlds didn’t have an undying creature like you... hue hue hue… I’m afraid your nine worlds would have forever been enslaved, never to be able to see sunlight again!” The voice inside the cave responded.
Li Qiye couldn’t help but smile and shake his head: “Bloodhand, Bloodhand… You have lingered on for so long while controlling the Ancient Ming, how can you not understand by now? With the way your race is, it would never have been able to last forever! After being expelled from that place and then being completely annihilated by us in the nine worlds, what does your race have left? At best, there are only a few remnant troops hiding in unknown locations, holding onto their last breaths.”
The odd laughter inquired: “Hue hue hue, is that so? Back when my Ancient Ming unified and drowned the nine worlds in darkness, didn’t even you tremble back then, Dark Crow?”
“Tremble?” Li Qiye couldn’t help but smile: “Even I'm a bit bored of living, so why would I be afraid of death? That’s right, I have experienced indescribable suffering, but in terms of abnormalities, what in this world is more bizarre than me? I have been tortured by you along with countless other painful memories, but they are nothing to me now…”
“The only thing that makes me tremble sometimes is my own devilishness. As for your Ancient Ming, it has never made me tremble.” Li Qiye spoke without hiding anything: “It is true that the Ancient Ming Era was not a comfortable period. It lasted so long and no matter where I went, I saw your Ancient Ming’s dogs bearing their fangs. Later on, I finally thought it through. Ancient Ming, humans, all the other races… none of them matter. Only by using blood to wash the nine worlds would there be hope.”
“Thus, after gaining this enlightenment, I raised my butcher’s blade against the nine worlds to mark the end of your Ancient Ming Era.” Li Qiye slowly closed his eyes as he continued: “For million of years, the only truth I have stood by is that there is a bottom line in my heart. Those who cross this line, whether they be humans or Ancient Ming, will be ma.s.sacred again! Only a b.l.o.o.d.y ma.s.sacre can warn the world, only a merciless ma.s.sacre can let the future descendants know that I, the Dark Crow, will not allow anyone or any sect to come close to the Ancient Ming!”
“Hue hue hue, your incessant spiel makes it sound like you are the savior of the world. Those who truly know you, which of them isn’t aware that you are just a butcher?!” The strange voice spoke again.
“That’s right, I am a butcher.” Li Qiye chuckled: “I have never called myself a savior before. Those who have died in my clutches are too numerous to count. The myriad races in the nine worlds have all lost loved ones due to me; in fact, they amount to no less than the number of the Ancient Ming I've ma.s.sacred! However, I have never shown mercy just because of their races…”