Chapter 1177: Ancestral Vines Calamity (2/2)

The fl.u.s.tered citadel lord didn’t believe Li Qiye at all. Nevertheless, he still asked: “Then, Sir, how long can our ancestral vine hang on for?”

“If I was motivated by my own gains, I could scare you and say ten years, or maybe that it’s already on the verge of demise.” Li Qiye smiled: “However, there’s no need to do so. Your ancestral vine can still survive a bit longer than the Peac.o.c.k Tree.”

The citadel lord simply didn’t believe Li Qiye and blurted out: “That is impossible!”

In fact, Teng Jiwen was skeptical as well: “Sir, that can’t be. Our ancestral vine is still full of vitality. It can shoulder stars and grasp the sun and moon. If it wasn’t doing well, we would have recognized it already.”

This was an understandable reaction. After all, the tree was still in its prime with exuberant life force. How could it collapse so easily?

“This has nothing to do with its lifespan.” Li Qiye lightly said: “It is due to the calamity. Despite it being very strong, it won’t be able to handle this stress for much longer.”

The lord countered: “Sir, our ancestors have sealed the calamity. If it broke through the seal, our citadel would know right away. I’m afraid your words are not very persuasive.”

Li Qiye looked at him with one eye and dismissively said: “It is your business to believe it or not. Go ahead and think about it, but let me remind you, my time is limited.”

There was nothing left to say, so the citadel lord stood up and bowed: “Since it is so, I will have to discuss this with the ancestors.” He turned and walked away afterward.

Teng Jiwen was one step behind his master. After the citadel lord, he hesitated for a moment and looked at Li Qiye then spoke with sincerity: “Sir, is this the truth?”

Li Qiye looked at him and smiled: “You can think that I am deceiving you, but the person making the choice is no longer me. I’m giving your citadel exactly one chance. Think about it carefully.” Li Qiye then pointed at his own head: “I can replenish the life of the Peac.o.c.k Tree, what else can’t I do? Do you really think that I must beseech your citadel for the calabash?”

Teng Jiwen mused quietly. It was definitely not wise for Li Qiye to try to trick them for the calabash. After all, it wasn’t that easy to trick them. Plus, if he offended them, there would be no place for him to stay at the Heaven Spirit World. Lastly, the people who are truly capable wouldn’t resort to such trickery.

He eventually said: “Sir, even if I trust you, the ancestors won’t.”

“That is your business. As the descendant, you can go do something about it. The fate of the Heavenvine Citadel is up to you and those old geezers.”

“I’ll try.” He said weakly: “But I’m not sure whether I can convince them.”

At this moment, he believed Li Qiye more. The person didn’t need to trick them. Moreover, curing the ancestral vine was much better than losing a single Heavenvine Calabash. Eventually, he bowed and left.

The citadel lord immediately met several ancestors upon his return. After hearing the claim, the group immediately went to check the seal of the calamity. The seal remained completely untouched.

Nevertheless, for prudence’s sake, the citadel lord still convened a meeting and invited several more ancestors. Many old ancestors disagreed with Li Qiye’s claim and thought that he was simply trying to scare them for the calabash.

However, the citadel lord still carried out this meeting solemnly. He personally met Li Qiye and, though he still had a lot of questions, his conversation with Li Qiye left him feeling that the probability of Li Qiye lying was quite low. After all, this was their territory, Li Qiye shouldn’t even think about leaving if he was trying to trick them. On the other hand, those strong enough to leave their citadel forcefully would look down on such trickery.

After the meeting, many ancestors opposed Li Qiye’s argument. They thought that even if he wasn’t trying to trick them, it was still exaggerated.

The citadel lord’s idea was to ask Li Qiye to treat the ancestral vine. In his mind, regardless of how long the vine had left to live, it indeed was trapped by a calamity that they had always wanted to eradicate.