Chapter 448 446: Ancient Legend

"Was this treasure left behind by an Immortal Emperor?" Qiu Rong Wanxue was visibly moved. 'A treasure that once sealed an entire realm… just how terrifying, how invincible must it be! Something like this is definitely comparable to an Immortal Emperor True Artifact.'

"No." Li Qiye gently shook his head. "This item wasn't left by an Immortal Emperor. At the very least, no one in this world knows who left it behind. Its origins… they can be traced back to a very, very ancient era. The Mythical Era at the very least, and perhaps even an era far older than that."

"How is that possible?!" Qiu Rong Wanxue's expression changed. "The Mythical Era is just a legend. It's not even real. How could there possibly be an era older than the Mythical Era?"

There were four known eras in the Nine Realms, arranged in chronological order: the Desolate Era, the Pioneer Era, the Ancient Nether Era, and the Age of Emperors.

The Age of Emperors has lasted until the present day, though some believe it ended with Ta Kong Immortal Emperor. The reasoning is simple: during the great battle with Ta Kong Immortal Emperor, the Black Dragon King tore apart the Celestial Mandate. This act plunged the Nine Realms into the Tough Dao Era. However, others argue that the Age of Emperors is still ongoing, believing the Tough Dao Era was too short to be classified as a distinct age.

In truth, the only era with truly complete historical records was the Age of Emperors. Although some relatively complete records of the Ancient Nether Era still exist, they are fragmented. Some events that occurred during that time have become eternal secrets, unknown to all.

By the time of the Pioneer Era, the records were already severely incomplete. One could say the Pioneer Era was when the various races of the Nine Realms established their foundations, when their Elder Sages chose the lands where they would take root. Take the Human Race, for example. It is difficult to say whether they originated in the Human Emperor Realm, but it is certain that during the Pioneer Era, they put down roots there. From that point on, the Human Emperor Realm became the Ancestral Land of the Human Race.

The even more distant Desolate Era is nearly impossible to trace. In that age, all the races of the Nine Realms were very weak. Records from this period are but scraps of information; very little was written down.

Everyone in the Nine Realms believed that history began with the Desolate Era, that it was the most ancient of all ages.

Of course, there was another age—one that preceded the Desolate Era. This was known as the Mythical Era. It was called this because no records of it remained; it existed only in fragmented myths. Later generations could never know if this era truly existed. Most people believe the Mythical Era was nothing more than a legend.

So now that Li Qiye spoke of an era even older and more remote than the Mythical Era, how could Qiu Rong Wanxue not be shaken? The Mythical Era itself was already the stuff of legend. 'If an era older than even the Mythical Era existed, what kind of age would that be?'

"It does exist," Li Qiye said nonchalantly. "It's just that some things can no longer be traced. They are too ancient, too remote. Some things have simply become myths, become legends. But, if you have enough time and enough patience, you can still discover the traces left behind by those older, more distant eras, even though those traces are on the verge of disappearing."

Qiu Rong Wanxue was stunned. The Mythical Era was already ancient and remote enough. An era even older than that was something she simply couldn't imagine.

"What kind of era would that have been?" Qiu Rong Wanxue couldn't help but ask.

"No one knows." Li Qiye gave a faint smile. 'Of course, there are some things I do know, and some things that even I am not certain of. If I could obtain one of the Nine Great Heavenly Treasures, perhaps I could unlock some secrets that have remained unknown for eons.'

At this moment, Li Qiye reached out and gently caressed the copper door. As his hand passed over it, the Dao Patterns on the door seemed to come alive, swimming about like river fish. As his large hand stroked the surface, a faint copper light scattered from it, as if he were summoning the treasure.

"The Five Heaven-Sealing Daoist Sects... It seems Little Ghost was in desperate need of something. Otherwise, he wouldn't have traded an item like this," Li Qiye said with a sigh of emotion.

Qiu Rong Wanxue saw the Dao Patterns swimming like river fish. She took one look and didn't dare to look again. The object was too terrifying, as if it could steal one's very soul.

Li Qiye, however, observed it for quite a while before finally shaking his head gently and saying nothing.

Qiu Rong Wanxue didn't dare look at the object and closed her beautiful eyes. A moment later, Li Qiye's teasing voice sounded in her ear, "Our dear Clan Leader, are you planning to share a pillow with me tonight?"

Li Qiye's words gave Qiu Rong Wanxue a huge shock. She opened her eyes to find his face just inches away. For a moment, she froze. It was only then that she realized she was still lying in his arms. She had been so frightened earlier that she had completely forgotten she'd fallen into his embrace.

At this moment, their posture couldn't be more intimate, and the atmosphere between them couldn't be more ambiguous. In short, the two of them were pressed tightly together.

"It seems our dear Clan Leader has agreed to share a pillow with me," Li Qiye said with a smile.

Qiu Rong Wanxue's pretty face immediately turned beet red, and her whole body felt like it was on fire. This was the first time she had ever been so intimate with a man, and she was so embarrassed she wished she could disappear. She immediately struggled and jumped up.

"Nonsense! There's no such thing!" Qiu Rong Wanxue's face was as red as a sunset, and she didn't dare to look up at Li Qiye. Though normally mature and elegant, her shy and bashful appearance at this moment was alluring to the bone. Her limpid, autumn-water eyes looked as if they were about to overflow.

Qiu Rong Wanxue was mortified. She felt her entire body burning up, and a strange sensation lingered in her heart. This peculiar feeling made her whole body tingle.

Qiu Rong Wanxue didn't dare to stay any longer. The atmosphere here was simply too ambiguous. She turned and fled the room.

"Nurture the Cyan Heaven Cicada well." Just as Qiu Rong Wanxue reached the doorway, Li Qiye's voice came from behind her. "That thing is extraordinary. It will be of great benefit to your Snow Shadow Race in the future. It might even be the key to your race's rise."

Hearing Li Qiye's words, a warmth spread through Qiu Rong Wanxue's heart. She was moved in a way she couldn't describe. The feeling coiled within her, finally transforming into a sweetness that seemed to melt her heart…

After Qiu Rong Wanxue left, Li Qiye just smiled faintly and shook his head. He then looked at the Five Heaven-Sealing Daoist Sects and silently put it away.

Finally, Li Qiye took out the Small Wooden Coffin. He held it before his eyes, examining it carefully and turning it over in his hands. After a long while, he couldn't help but mutter, "Even something like this has appeared in the world. What else is impossible? At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if that Wooden Coffin from the Ancient Sky Corpse Land showed up."

In the end, Li Qiye put away the Small Wooden Coffin as well. He sat cross-legged on the bed, circulated his Cultivation Technique, and began his Cultivation.

At this moment, Li Qiye was completely enveloped in an Aura of Chaos. The Yin Yang Blood Sea emerged behind his head, refining his Blood Qi and transforming it into droplets of Longevity Blood. The Yin Yang Blood Sea had an astonishing origin. If he could unleash its ultimate Blood Qi, it would be absolutely terrifying. Unfortunately, with Li Qiye's current Dao Practice, he was still unable to unearth the true Profound Mysteries of the Yin Yang Blood Sea.

And when Li Qiye's Life Palaces opened, seven of them were already suspended above his head. He had successfully opened his seventh Life Palace and was now in the process of opening the eighth, which was also nearing completion.

With Li Qiye's current foundation, opening the eighth and ninth Life Palaces was not difficult. Even the tenth wouldn't be much of a challenge. For that matter, not even the eleventh Life Palace could be considered a true challenge for him. The most difficult one would be the twelfth. If possible, the thirteenth Life Palace would be the greatest challenge of his entire life.

Li Qiye was challenging the twelfth Life Palace, and if the conditions allowed, he would challenge the thirteenth. In fact, for the Cultivators of this world, twelve Life Palaces was already an impossibility. Legend had it that throughout all of history, no more than three people had ever possessed twelve Life Palaces, and even that was just a legend. No one knew if anyone had truly achieved it.

As for thirteen Life Palaces, they simply didn't exist in this world. Twelve was the limit for a Cultivator. For the Cultivators of this world, the twelfth Life Palace was already an insurmountable peak. There was no such thing as a thirteenth Life Palace.

However, Li Qiye's ambitions went far beyond simply achieving a dual-bodied physique. That was no longer a challenge for him. He had personally trained an invincible existence like the Black Dragon King, who had such a physique. His ambitions soared far higher than that.

Li Qiye's Blood Qi circulated, and his True Destiny ebbed and flowed. At times, it transformed into a Kunpeng; at others, it became a vast, endless Great Dao; and at others still, it turned into an infinite, starry sky…

An unknown amount of time passed. The night had deepened. Suddenly, Li Qiye opened his eyes. His gaze sharpened, revealing a cold, murderous intent.

Qiu Rong Wanxue was staying in the adjacent room. Being a cautious person, she had set up defenses in her room to prevent anyone from plotting against her.

However, in the dead of night, a mist coalesced, and a shadow appeared silently in her room, like a phantom or a ghost.

It was Ye Sha. He had appeared in Qiu Rong Wanxue's room without a sound. Ye Sha had long coveted the treasures Li Qiye and his companion possessed. Never mind the treasures from the Ghost River; even the three coffins won at the auction from Little Ghost were enough to make him drool.

There were too many people and prying eyes at the Ancient Courtyard, so it had been inconvenient for him to make a move. Thus, Ye Sha had targeted Li Qiye and Qiu Rong Wanxue, preparing to strike tonight.

In Ye Sha's eyes, a junior of the Human Race like Li Qiye was not worth mentioning. As long as he captured Qiu Rong Wanxue, a junior like Li Qiye would be his to command.

As Ye Sha neared the bed, the sleeping Qiu Rong Wanxue's instincts flared with alarm, and she woke up instantly. The moment she opened her eyes and saw Ye Sha standing by her bed, Qiu Rong Wanxue was scared out of her wits.