Lord Empior - Chapter 3

Three days later, after paying respects to the ancestors, you will officially be the chief disciple of the Washing Face Ancient Sect.

The Grand Elder was extremely displeased, his voice harsh.

Li Qiye, however, remained seated calmly, showing no surprise. He merely smiled and said,
"As the chief disciple, I should have one or two weapons for self-defense, shouldn't I?"

Seeing Li Qiye's calm response, the six elders all felt strange. After all, this young man was only thirteen years old, yet his actions were as composed and relaxed as a lord of a region, capable of controlling everything. Where could a mere mortal like him possess such great aura?

The Grand Elder glanced at Li Qiye, shook his head, and replied,
"Although we acknowledge you as the chief disciple, we can only give you ordinary weapons. Treasures are not yet yours to use." If you want to receive a powerful treasure or an Immortal Emperor's cultivation technique, you must make a contribution according to the rules of the Cleansing Face Ancient Sect.

Li Qiye subtly smirked. He didn't care about Immortal Emperor's cultivation techniques, peerless ancient techniques, or any other ancient artifacts. What he wanted was the black wooden staff lying on the altar. Looking at the staff, Li Qiye continued:
"Alright, then I want that wooden staff?"

"That wooden staff?" Upon hearing Li Qiye's request, the six elders were stunned.

That wooden staff was only used to scoop up ashes during the burning of paper offerings to the sect's founder. It seemed to have always been there, and few people were interested in using it.

The elders had originally expected Li Qiye to use his new status to demand some treasure or imperial technique, but unexpectedly, he only wanted a wooden staff. This request was truly beyond their expectations.

Li Qiye calmly said,
"Since I am the chief disciple of the Washing Face Ancient Sect, my status and identity deserve respect. This wooden staff is in the main hall, which is the ancestral hall of the Washing Face Ancient Sect. Everything here is very significant. It can be said that this wooden staff represents the authority of our Washing Face Ancient Sect, so it is very fitting for my status as the chief disciple…"

Seeing Li Qiye rattle off a long string of philosophical pronouncements, the six elders were momentarily stunned. They thought to themselves, this foolish boy and that scoundrel, the Three Ghost Lords, are truly a pair of birds of a feather.

"Alright, I'll give you that wooden staff."
The Grand Elder, impatient, interrupted Li Qiye's words. To him, this was just an ordinary ash-scooping stick; he'd rather give it to Li Qiye early to avoid listening to his rambling.

"Thank you, Elder, for the gift."
Li Qiye's rambling was just waiting for this from the Grand Elder. While still thanking him, he quickly grabbed the wooden stick and tucked it into his waistband. His actions, in the eyes of the six elders, were nothing short of incredibly foolish.

"Huai Ren, take him to rest!"

Finally, one of the elders, unable to bear it any longer, loudly ordered his disciple to take Li Qiye away.

For the six elders, today's events had truly infuriated them. A worthless person had become the chief disciple of the Xi Yan Ancient Sect. Although the Xi Yan Ancient Sect was no longer as glorious as before, it hadn't fallen into such a state that it would let a foolish, worthless person be its chief disciple.

Li Qiye was led by that disciple to a solitary mountain. This mountain was not small, and at its summit stood a small courtyard built on a ten-acre plot of land. (A unit of measurement, ten acres is one unit of measurement (3600 square meters is one unit of measurement))

The small courtyard seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, no one had come to repair it, and weeds grew profusely all around. The mountain was also in a rather secluded and isolated location, but regardless, it was still within the territory of the Washing Face Ancient Sect.

Pushing open the courtyard door, the disciple immediately said:
- Junior brother, no, senior brother, this will be your residence from now on.
He quickly corrected himself after saying the first two words.

In terms of the time since joining the sect, Li Qiye couldn't compare to him, but Li Qiye had become the chief disciple, and according to seniority, all third-generation disciples, young and old, had to call Li Qiye senior brother.

Li Qiye glanced at this quick-witted disciple, then looked around, nodding and saying:
- This isolated mountain in the distance is also... It's a good place to live.

- Moreover, it lives up to its name, "Lonely Peak."
The disciple said with a smile, glancing at Li Qiye several times, and finally spoke:
- From now on, Senior Brother will be the master of this mountain.

Actually, according to the rules of the Washing Face Ancient Sect, the chief disciple is fully qualified to live on one of the main mountains. The Washing Face Ancient Sect owns quite a few large mountains, and the chief disciple can freely choose one for himself.

But most of the main mountains of the Washing Face Ancient Sect are already occupied, and moreover, the six elders are dissatisfied with Li Qiye's demand to become the chief disciple, so of course they would never allow it.

He was allowed to stay on a main mountain.

Staying on a main mountain had many advantages, the best of which was that those places had extremely dense heaven and earth spiritual energy, far exceeding that of ordinary mountains.

"This place is fine too," Li Qiye said calmly. He didn't really care about arguing.

"I've also brought the necessary items for Senior Brother," this disciple said, acting maturely and thoughtfully. After arranging Li Qiye's daily necessities, he said, "If Senior Brother needs anything else, just come to the Outer Hall and find me."

"What's your name?" Li Qiye asked casually before the disciple left.

The disciple was surprised by the sudden question; he hadn't thought much of Li Qiye. A person with the aptitude of Li Qiye, let alone becoming a senior disciple, wouldn't even have the qualifications to be admitted to the Washing Face Ancient Sect.

In the main hall, Li Qiye's actions made others feel he was utterly foolish. But now, Li Qiye was incredibly calm and composed, making this disciple feel strange, wondering if Li Qiye had a mental problem or if he had foreseen everything.

"Senior Brother, my name is Nan Huai Ren, I am an external historian of the Outer Hall."

This disciple quickly recovered his composure and replied to Li Qiye.

"My name is Li Qiye."
Li Qiye nodded slightly.

Having risen and fallen over hundreds of thousands of years, the number of people who knew his background and name could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

After Nan Huai Ren left, Li Qiye didn't sit idly by. He swept the courtyard and, while he was at it, tidied up the entire mountain. When he had relatively finished everything, this abandoned Lone Peak finally felt a little human presence.

Li Qiye did everything meticulously and orderly, slowly but surely. If someone were to accidentally see him repairing this place, they wouldn't believe Li Qiye was only thirteen years old.

After a while of hard work, the sky gradually darkened. Li Qiye felt both tired and hungry, so he sat down in front of the courtyard. After taking a few deep breaths, Li Qiye pulled out the wooden staff tucked at his side and examined it.

Looking at the black wooden staff, the kind people use to stir up ashes during the burning of gold, distant memories associated with it flooded back, causing him to smile faintly, a bitter smile on his face.

The world often rumored that if an Immortal Emperor bore the Mandate of Heaven, they could achieve immortality, but where had the Mingren Immortal Emperor, the Sun Devouring Immortal Emperor, and the other leading figures of each era gone? In what immortal realm were they?

Li Qiye regained his composure, slowly scraping away the ash clinging to the staff, finally revealing its true form. It was a wooden staff about one meter long, and although it had been poked in the fire for hundreds of thousands of years, it hadn't been damaged in the slightest. In everyone's eyes, apart from that, this wooden staff had no other miraculous qualities.

Li Qiye gently wiped the staff with his hand, murmuring:

"The Snake-Slaying Staff!"

Holding the staff in his hand, he recalled the past, his heart filled with indescribable emotion.

Back then, before Emperor Mingren bore the Mandate of Heaven, he, as the Emperor's guide, had cultivated a group of young men to serve as his attendants. It was precisely to properly educate those young men that he had specially brought this Snake-Slaying Staff from the Ghost Forest.

Those young men who would later become famous throughout the world were once whipped to the bone by Li Qiye with this wooden staff. After finishing their training, Li Qiye casually left the Snake-Slaying Staff at the Washing Face Ancient Sect, and unexpectedly, it remained there in the ancestral hall.

Clenching the Snake-Slaying Staff, Li Qiye fell into deep silence. After countless efforts, he had finally regained his body, and his soul had escaped the control of the Yin Crow.

Time passed relentlessly, without a trace of regret. Many of his friends and relatives, such as the Medicine God, the Blood-Scaled Immortal Emperor, the Mingren Immortal Emperor… and even the Black Dragon King who lived through three lifetimes, had finally departed from the mortal world.

In the distant past, during the Primordial Era, he was just an ordinary thirteen-year-old goatherd. While searching for a lost goat, he stumbled into the Immortal Demon Cave, where his soul became trapped within the Dark Crow, forever living on from one lifetime to the next.

At that time, Li Qiye was terrified. Unable to resist the Dark Crow, he could only follow the path laid out by the Immortal Demon Cave. He flew relentlessly through the heavens and earth, into the Burial Ground, across the Old Land, through the Nine Realms… and ultimately, was forced back to the Immortal Demon Cave.

But because of the Dark Crow, Li Qiye traversed countless mysterious and perilous places that even invincible Great Sages feared, learned countless secrets, and endured immense hardship, refining his Dao heart to an unwavering degree.

From then on, he absolutely refused to become an immortal puppet of the Dark Crow, so he devised an enormous plan to sever all restrictions and pathways within his soul.

Because of this...

Having escaped from the Dark Crow and sought to reclaim his body, he successively guided and mentored many promising young men onto the path of cultivation, even assisting the most outstanding individuals to ascend the path of invincibility and shoulder the Mandate of Heaven.

But today, when Li Qiye has returned to his former body, once again becoming human, all his old friends have vanished.

Li Qiye sighed softly, then quickly took a deep breath to stabilize his heart, overcoming all obstacles, and one day he will march straight into the Immortal Demon Cave.