Dominator Emperor

For someone with Li Qiye’s aptitude to reach such a realm within a year, the only explanation was that he was cultivating the ”Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique”!

”Yes.” This matter was no longer a secret in the Xiyan Ancient Sect, so Li Qiye had nothing to hide. He simply spoke calmly.

The Great Elder fell silent upon hearing this. If it were any other disciple, he would have surely advised them against cultivating this art. But did Li Qiye have any other choice? A Mortal Body, Mortal Wheel, and Mortal Life—with such an aptitude, no matter what Cultivation Technique he chose, the final result likely wouldn’t be much different!

Finally, the Great Elder said, ”The sect has already prepared the ingredients for this Emperor’s Body Ointment. However, you need to be mentally prepared. For this Body Ointment, besides the main ingredient, the other herbs are one hundred thousand years old, with the better ones being around one hundred ten to one hundred twenty thousand years old. The main ingredient, the Beast Marrow of a Hell Iron Bull, is a bit lacking, though. It’s just shy of the one-hundred-thousand-year mark. So, you must be prepared for the ointment’s potency.”

At this point, the Great Elder added, ”The sect has done its utmost for this Body Ointment. I hope you won’t let the sect down!”

In fact, regarding the Body Ointment, it was more accurate to say that the Great Elder had done his best. For the sake of Li Qiye’s ointment, he had poured in his greatest effort, sparing no expense. To ensure Li Qiye could marry Li Shuangyan, one could say he was willing to bet the farm!

”You don’t have to worry about that, Elder,” Li Qiye said with a small smile. In truth, he was already prepared for this. The Xiyan Ancient Sect was in decline; it was already a monumental task for them to gather the ingredients for a single Emperor’s Body Ointment.

The Great Elder was silent for a moment before saying, ”There is another, rather tricky matter: the Pharmacist. Within our Xiyan Ancient Sect, there are two individuals with the highest attainments in the Medicine Dao: Elder Cao and Elder Sun.”

Looking at Li Qiye, the Great Elder continued, ”In terms of Medicine Dao Power, Elder Cao is a notch above Elder Sun. If Elder Sun were to refine the Body Refining Ointment, six refinements would be no problem, but he would likely struggle with a seventh. If Elder Cao were to do it, a seventh refinement shouldn’t be much of an issue.”

”I doubt Elder Cao would be willing to refine the Body Refining Ointment for me,” Li Qiye said with a smile, already certain of the outcome.

The Great Elder didn’t want to dwell on the issue, merely saying, ”Regarding the Body Refining Ointment, Elder Sun is very willing to refine it for you. However, he cannot guarantee its potency.”

”You don’t need to worry about the Body Refining Ointment, Elder. How about this: you prepare the ingredients, and I’ll arrange for the refinement?” Li Qiye said, full of confidence. It was well within his expectations that Cao Xiong wouldn’t be willing to refine the ointment for him. But then again, he had no need to beg Cao Xiong.

”Very well.” Seeing Li Qiye’s confidence, the Great Elder could only nod. ”I’ll have the disciples in charge of inventory prepare the ingredients for you. Just say the word when you plan to start the refinement, and I’ll have them delivered.”

After thanking the Great Elder, Li Qiye returned to Solitary Peak.

”First Brother, this is bad! This is bad!” Before Li Qiye could even reach Solitary Peak, Nan Huairun, his face pale, rushed down and exclaimed urgently.

Following Nan Huairun were Xu Pei and a few other disciples from Washing Stone Valley, all of them looking grim.

”Has the sky fallen?” Li Qiye asked, glancing at Nan Huairun.

Nan Huairun quickly replied, ”First Brother, the sky hasn’t fallen, but... your courtyard has been demolished.”

”Demolished my courtyard?” Hearing this, Li Qiye’s eyes narrowed, and he said with a beaming smile, ”Who was so interested in tearing down my little courtyard?”

The sudden narrowing of Li Qiye’s eyes made Nan Huairun’s and Xu Pei’s hearts skip a beat. To them, Li Qiye’s beaming expression was more chilling than a Demon’s smile.

”It... it was Brother He Yingjian,” Xu Pei whispered to Li Qiye.

”First Brother, I heard... I heard Brother He is pursuing... pursuing Li Fairy,” a disciple dared to say softly.

Although the Washing Stone Valley disciples were all from Washing Stone Peak, the three hundred of them now stood with Li Qiye, sharing his camp.

”I... I also heard that Brother He tried to give Li Fairy treasures...”

”First Brother, Brother He is a genius of our Xiyan Ancient Sect. He... he’s a powerful rival for your affections!” another disciple added worriedly.

The disciples all started talking at once. At this moment, they all shared a common enemy with Li Qiye. Still, they couldn’t help but worry for him. After all, He Yingjian was a genius of the Xiyan Ancient Sect and the Direct Disciple of Elder Cao.

It could be said that He Yingjian had it all: looks, talent, backing, and pedigree! Although the Washing Stone Valley disciples emotionally hoped Li Qiye would be the one to marry Li Shuangyan—after all, they had seen Li Qiye and Li Shuangyan together constantly these past few days and were happy for them—with a formidable rival like He Yingjian in the picture, Xu Pei and the others couldn’t help but worry for Li Qiye.

”A powerful rival?” Hearing this, Li Qiye found it amusing. The corners of his lips curled up, and a smile spread across his face.

Nan Huairun reminded him, ”First Brother, He Yingjian has Cao Xiong’s tacit approval for this, and perhaps even his full support. It’s easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to defend against an arrow in the dark. It would be best for you to be careful.”

’A powerful rival?’ Of course Nan Huairun didn’t think He Yingjian was qualified to be Li Qiye’s rival. What did He Yingjian amount to? Li Qiye dared to challenge the Nine Saints Demon Gate, so what was a mere He Yingjian in comparison?

Why had Li Shuangyan come to the Xiyan Ancient Sect? For none other than Li Qiye. No matter how outstanding He Yingjian was, he couldn’t possibly compare to Li Qiye. The two weren’t even in the same league. What right did He Yingjian have to be Li Qiye’s rival!

”Let’s go. We’ll go see how my ’most powerful rival’ is demolishing my little courtyard,” Li Qiye said in a leisurely and relaxed manner, as if it wasn’t his courtyard being torn down at all.

When Li Qiye arrived at Solitary Peak with Nan Huairun, a series of RUMBLING sounds echoed. He Yingjian was directing several disciples to tear down Li Qiye’s courtyard, which was already mostly demolished.

In front of the nearby Treasure Tower, Li Shuangyan was simply watching with a cold gaze, saying nothing.

”Li Qiye, you’re just in time.” Seeing Li Qiye return with Nan Huairun and the others, He Yingjian jutted out his chin and said, ”Starting today, you’re moving to Little Spring Peak!”

He Yingjian spoke to Li Qiye in a commanding tone, as if Li Qiye was obligated to obey him.

”And why should I move to Little Spring Peak?” Li Qiye glanced at the demolished courtyard, his amiable smile never wavering, seemingly not the least bit angry.

He Yingjian grew impatient and said coldly, ”You’ll move because I told you to! Enough with the nonsense! From today on, I am living on Solitary Peak! This broken-down courtyard is an eyesore. After I tear it down, I will build a Divine Pavilion here!”

With that, He Yingjian ignored Li Qiye and flashed what he believed to be his most charming smile toward the distant Li Shuangyan. ”Solitary Peak overlooks the entire Xiyan Ancient Sect; the view is splendid. For Fairy Li to choose to reside here shows her unparalleled judgment. I am fortunate to have the chance to be Fairy Li’s neighbor, to spar with Daoist Techniques and discuss Profound Mysteries. It would surely make for a wonderful story!”

This wasn’t the first time He Yingjian had tried to pursue Li Shuangyan since she arrived at the Xiyan Ancient Sect. However, he was met with a closed door every time; Li Shuangyan couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge him.

Finding his pursuit fruitless, He Yingjian decided he might as well move to Solitary Peak. He intended to live next to Li Shuangyan to create opportunities to get close to her. As the saying goes, the pavilion closest to the water gets the moonlight first!

He Yingjian’s public declaration infuriated Nan Huairun and the others. Li Fairy and their First Brother had a marriage agreement; everyone in the Xiyan Ancient Sect knew about it. For He Yingjian to pursue Li Shuangyan right in front of Li Qiye was a blatant show of disrespect.

As for Li Shuangyan, she looked at He Yingjian as if he were an idiot. ’This kind of person truly doesn’t know how he’s going to die. With his meager strength, he dares to pluck the tiger’s whiskers and provoke Li Qiye? He must have a death wish. Back at the Nine Saints Demon Gate, even my master, the Sun Demon Emperor, was wary of Li Qiye. What is a mere He Yingjian in comparison?’

Li Qiye couldn’t help but laugh at He Yingjian’s posturing. Of course he knew He Yingjian was pursuing Li Shuangyan. He had absolute confidence in the woman by his side! He couldn’t be bothered with such trivial matters.

But now that He Yingjian had brought the trouble to his doorstep, he let out a soft laugh. He shot He Yingjian a pitying glance, then turned to Li Shuangyan and asked, ”So you just watched as they tore down the courtyard?”

”Isn’t this an internal matter for your Xiyan Ancient Sect?” Li Shuangyan replied with a faint smile, one that could topple cities and ruin nations.

That faint smile alone was enough to make He Yingjian’s Divine Soul spin. When he came to his senses, his heart was instantly filled with jealousy. He had tried to get close to Li Shuangyan several times, but she had never shown him any warmth, let alone a smile. This immediately made him burn with hatred for Li Qiye.

”What are you still dawdling here for? Scram! Is Solitary Peak a place for you? From now on, this is where I will cultivate my mind and spirit. If you dare trespass here again, you will be punished for breaking the sect’s rules!” He Yingjian’s face turned cold as he barked the order.

Before Li Qiye could even get angry at He Yingjian’s words, Nan Huairun and the others were already seething with indignation. Nan Huairun in particular was furious. The elders had assigned Solitary Peak to Li Qiye. Now, He Yingjian was forcibly occupying his peak, destroying his Cave Mansion, and even threatening him with sect rules. This was too arrogant, too tyrannical!

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