Chapter 3: The Xiyan Ancient Sect (Part 1)
"In three days, you will pay respects to the patriarchs. After that, you will be the Xiyan Ancient Sect's Chief Disciple," the Great Elder finally announced, his voice cold and dripping with dissatisfaction.
Li Qiye, who was seated, showed no surprise at this outcome. He simply smiled calmly and said, "Since I am the Chief Disciple, shouldn't I have a weapon or two for self-defense?"
Another elder found Li Qiye's composure odd. The boy was only about thirteen, yet he was as calm and composed as a lord governing his domain. This aura didn't seem feigned, yet it was impossible for a Mortal like him to possess such a commanding presence.
The elder glanced at Li Qiye, then shook his head. "Though you are now the Chief Disciple, we can give you an ordinary weapon or two. But if you're thinking of treasures, you're dreaming. If you want powerful Treasure Artifacts or Immortal Emperor's Techniques, you must first make sufficient contributions to the Xiyan Ancient Sect. That is the rule of our sect."
Li Qiye chuckled. His targets were certainly not Immortal Emperor's Techniques or World-Extinct Ancient Techniques. His gaze fell upon a charcoal-black wooden stick beside the incense burner. "Very well," he said. "How about I take that stick?"
"That stick?" Hearing Li Qiye's request, the other elders were stunned. The stick beside the incense burner was just a poker, used to stir the ashes when burning paper money for the sect's patriarchs. It seemed like it had always been there, and being just a stick, no one had ever been interested in it.
The elders present had assumed Li Qiye would leverage his status as Chief Disciple to demand some valuable treasure or an Emperor Technique. They never imagined he would actually ask for a stick. This was completely beyond their expectations!
Li Qiye spoke in a leisurely tone. "As the Chief Disciple, my identity and status within the Xiyan Ancient Sect carry significant weight, representing excellence and a long, venerable history. This wooden stick comes from within this Grand Hall, which is our Xiyan Ancient Sect's Ancestral Hall, a place of extraordinary meaning. By that logic, the origin of this stick is also nothing short of extraordinary. It represents the authority of our sect and is thus perfectly suited to my status as Chief Disciple…"
Li Qiye went on and on, spewing a torrent of grand pronouncements. Elder Xiong and the others simply stared at him as if he were an idiot. At that moment, they shared a single thought: 'Perhaps only a gambling degenerate like Three Ghosts Master could stand the company of an idiot like Li Qiye. Birds of a feather, indeed!'
"Fine, the stick is yours," the Great Elder cut in impatiently. To him, it was just a Fire-Burning Staff, hardly worth mentioning. He couldn't be bothered to listen to another second of Li Qiye's foolish, incessant rambling.
"Excellent. My thanks to the elder for this gift." These were the words Li Qiye had been waiting for. He snatched up the stick and tucked it into his belt. To the elders watching, this action made him look like a complete fool.
"Huairun, take him to his quarters!" one of the elders finally snapped, impatiently ordering a nearby disciple to get Li Qiye out of his sight.
For the six elders, the day's events couldn't have been more infuriating. A good-for-nothing had somehow become the Chief Disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect. Although their sect was no longer what it once was, it hadn't fallen so far as to let a useless fool become its Chief Disciple!
A disciple from the Xiyan Ancient Sect led Li Qiye to a solitary peak. The peak was not particularly small—its summit spanned more than a dozen mu of land, upon which sat a small courtyard.
The small courtyard was clearly in a state of disrepair, overgrown with weeds and tangled vines. Though this solitary peak was in a relatively remote part of the Xiyan Ancient Sect, it was still within the Sect Territory.
Opening the gate to the courtyard, the disciple said to Li Qiye, "Junior Bro— no, Senior Brother, you will be living here from now on." The disciple was quite quick to correct himself.
In terms of time spent in the sect, Li Qiye couldn't compare to him. However, Li Qiye was now the Chief Disciple. Therefore, according to the hierarchy, all third-generation disciples, regardless of age, had to address Li Qiye as "Senior Brother."
Li Qiye glanced at the disciple who had corrected himself so quickly, then surveyed the surroundings. He wasn't picky. "A solitary mountain with a distant view," he nodded, "this is a good place as well."
"Coincidentally, this peak is named Solitary Peak," the disciple said with a smile. He couldn't help but steal a few more glances at Li Qiye before giving a dry laugh. "Senior Brother will move to one of the main peaks in the future."
In reality, according to the rules of the Xiyan Ancient Sect, the Chief Disciple was, of course, qualified to live on a main peak. The sect had many main peaks, and the Chief Disciple was entitled to choose any one of them as their residence.
However, all the major peaks of the Xiyan Ancient Sect were currently occupied. Furthermore, the Six Great Elders were deeply dissatisfied with a Chief Disciple like Li Qiye, who they felt had undeservedly stumbled into the position. Naturally, they wouldn't let him reside on a main peak.
Residing on a main peak offered many benefits, the greatest of which was that the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi was far denser there than on the lesser, subsidiary peaks.
"This place will do," Li Qiye said with composure. He was not one to be picky about such matters, his expression as placid as an untouched well.
"I've already brought the items you'll need, Senior Brother." The disciple handled matters with practiced ease and thoughtfulness. He gave Li Qiye the daily necessities and said, "If you need anything, Senior Brother, you can come find me at the Outer Hall."
"What's your name?" Li Qiye asked casually, stopping the disciple just as he was about to leave.
The disciple was taken aback for a moment. Frankly, he didn't think much of Li Qiye. With such poor aptitude, Li Qiye wasn't even qualified to join the Xiyan Ancient Sect, to say nothing of becoming its Chief Disciple.
Back in the Grand Hall, Li Qiye had acted like a fool, but his current calm and collected demeanor made the disciple wonder. Was Li Qiye just incredibly thick-skinned, or was he truly self-assured?
"Replying to Senior Brother, my name is Nan Huairun, an emissary of the Outer Hall," the disciple replied, finally snapping out of his daze.
"I am Li Qiye," he said with a simple, light nod. After millions of years of rising and falling through the river of time, those who knew his true origin and name were few and far between.
After Nan Huairun left, Li Qiye did not remain idle. He set about sweeping the small courtyard and tidying the area around Solitary Peak. After his efforts, the long-uninhabited peak finally had a touch of life to it.
Li Qiye worked in a methodical, orderly manner. Any outsider watching would have found it hard to believe he was only a boy of about thirteen. His calm and mature way of doing things was completely at odds with his age and appearance.
After the strenuous work, dusk began to settle. Li Qiye, both tired and hungry, plopped down at his doorstep. After catching his breath for a while, he took out the Fire-Burning Staff tucked at his waist.
Gazing at the charcoal-black stick that people had used simply to poke paper money, distant and dusty memories surfaced in his mind. In the end, he could only offer a bitter smile.
'It was rumored throughout the world that an Immortal Emperor who shouldered the Celestial Mandate could achieve eternal life. But now, where were invincible beings like Mingren Immortal Emperor or Tun Ri Immortal Emperor?'
Snapping out of his reverie, Li Qiye slowly scraped the ash from the Fire-Burning Staff, revealing its true form. It was a wooden stick, a little over three feet long and dark-greenish black in color. Although it had been used as a poker for countless ages, it hadn't been burned in the slightest. Other than that, however, the stick had no other miraculous qualities.
Li Qiye gently caressed the stick and murmured, "The Snake-Beating Staff!" With a soft sigh, memories of the past rose to the surface. Holding this staff again today brought with it a wave of complex emotions.
Back then, before Mingren Immortal Emperor had shouldered the Celestial Mandate, he, as Mingren's guide, had cultivated a group of young men to serve as a reserve force. In order to properly teach those brats a lesson, he had specially brought this Snake-Beating Staff back from the Ghost Forest.
In time, every one of those young men, who would later become world-renowned and awe-inspiring figures, was brutally beaten by this Snake-Beating Staff until their skin split and their flesh was torn. After their training was complete, he had casually tossed the staff aside in the Xiyan Ancient Sect, never imagining that it would remain in the Ancestral Hall.
Gripping the Snake-Beating Staff, Li Qiye fell into a long, deep silence. After lifetimes of struggle, he had finally reclaimed his own body. His soul had at last escaped from the Yin Ya.
Yet, so many had faded away, one by one… his kin, his former friends, the Medicine God, Blood Seal Immortal Emperor, Mingren Immortal Emperor… even the Black Dragon King, who had lived for three full lifetimes, had eventually passed on.
In a distant, desolate era, he had been just an ordinary thirteen-year-old shepherd boy. But while searching for a lost sheep, he had fallen into the Immortal Demon Cave. From that day on, his soul was trapped in the immortal body of the Yin Ya, lifetime after lifetime.
Terrified and lost at first, his body no longer his own, he was transformed into the Yin Ya. He could only fly endlessly between heaven and earth, following a path laid out by the Immortal Demon Cave. He had entered the Burial Ground, crossed ancient lands, and soared over the Nine Realms... In every life, he was forced to return to the Immortal Demon Cave once more.
Although he had become the Yin Ya, by entering and exiting the mysterious and dangerous Burial Land Old Soil—a place from which even Great Sages recoiled—lifetime after lifetime, he came to learn innumerable secrets. After countless tribulations, his Dao Heart was forged.
Later, unwilling to remain an undying puppet Yin Ya for all eternity, he hatched a world-shattering scheme and severed the path the Immortal Demon Cave had imprinted upon his soul.
To escape from the Yin Ya, to reclaim his body, he made one attempt after another. He guided countless promising youths onto the path of Cultivation, even leading them down the road to invincibility and helping them shoulder the Celestial Mandate!
And now, today, he had finally succeeded. He had reclaimed his body and could be human again. But how many people were now gone?
In the end, Li Qiye could only let out a soft sigh. But a moment later, he took a deep breath and clenched his fists. 'In this life, no matter what, I must reach the absolute peak, a place where none can stand against me. One day, I will stand as sovereign over the Immortal Demon Cave!'
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