Chapter 454 452: The Master of the Ancestral Stream

An outsider, upon seeing this, would have thought Li Qiye was insane for talking to one of the Stone People.

However, at that very moment, the Stone Person on the stone chair began to soften. A second ago, it was clearly a statue, but now, the cold, hard lines of its body seemed to melt away, transforming it from a Stone Person into a person.

The person had been reclining on the stone chair. Now, he sat up straight. His eyes opened to reveal an incredible depth, as if they could see through all of time, past and present.

Though his face was obscured by the dangling tassels of the Divine Crown, his eyes could be seen with perfect clarity.

The Stone Person suddenly coming to life gave Qiu Rong Wanxue a huge shock. It was only then that she understood: the figure on the stone chair wasn't a Stone Person at all, but had merely been sleeping.

"You should know that you are not welcome here." The person on the stone chair finally spoke. His voice seemed to drift in from another place entirely, timeless and hard to grasp. Just from the sound, it was impossible to tell if he was male or female.

When Qiu Rong Wanxue looked closely at the Ancestor Flow Master, she felt a jolt in her heart. The faint traces of Blood Qi emanating from the Ancestor Flow Master's body made her one hundred percent certain that this was a living person. Not a ghost, not some lingering obsession without flesh and blood—this was absolutely a living, breathing person.

This discovery gave Qiu Rong Wanxue another shock. 'The Ancestral Stream is Fengdu City's most powerful and mysterious lineage, yet its master is a living person! How shocking would it be if this news got out?'

Within Fengdu City, every lineage was composed of the city's Ghost Envoys. It was impossible for an outside Cultivator to join any of Fengdu City's organizations.

'And now, the Ancestor Flow Master turns out to be a living person! How incredible is that!'

Li Qiye was completely unfazed by the Ancestor Flow Master's words. He replied calmly, "But you're meeting with me, aren't you? How can you say I'm not welcome?"

"It doesn't matter—" the Ancestor Flow Master's voice rang out. "Whether it pertains to the past or the present, there is nothing you need here!"

Li Qiye chuckled. "Don't be so heartless, now. Aren't we friends? Friends who've been through life and death together?"

Li Qiye's words left Qiu Rong Wanxue stunned for a moment. 'That's simply impossible,' she thought. 'A Ghost Envoy of Fengdu City could never befriend a Cultivator.' But then she reconsidered. 'Then again, maybe it's not so impossible. The Ancestor Flow Master before me isn't a Ghost Envoy, but a living person.'

'Still, for Li Qiye to have befriended the Ancestor Flow Master... that's just too incredible.'

"We are not. I don't know you," the Ancestor Flow Master stated bluntly.

Li Qiye couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. "You're only deceiving yourself. The me of the past, the me of now—no matter how I change, you know that I am still me. Others might not see it, but you definitely can."

Qiu Rong Wanxue found this exchange strange, but of course, she had no idea that the "me of the past" Li Qiye referred to was himself as the Yin Ya. She was not privy to such a secret.

"Even if I'm not the same Little Ghost in a hat from back then, I'm still me, wouldn't you agree?" Li Qiye said with a smile.

For millions of years, Li Qiye had not always appeared in the True Body of the Yin Ya. He often used various methods to assume other forms, hiding his true face and traces behind the curtains of the Long River of Time.

"You know yourself!" the Ancestor Flow Master's voice replied, seemingly from a great distance and carrying a hint of coldness. "Ever since you tricked that person into leaving Fengdu City, you should have known you were unwelcome here. If it weren't for me, you probably wouldn't have even been able to get inside Fengdu City. You would have been hunted down long ago!"

"Don't put it like that. If I truly wanted to come to Fengdu City to see you, no one could stop me, right? And you know I'm a deeply loyal and sentimental person," Li Qiye said with a smile. "Of course, I am very grateful for what happened back then…"

In response to Li Qiye's words, the Ancestor Flow Master let out a cold snort.

Li Qiye smiled and shook his head. "You can't blame me for what happened back then. It's completely wrong to say I tricked him away. He was the one who wanted to leave. How can you pin the blame for that on me?"

"You dare say you didn't encourage him to escape?" the Ancestor Flow Master's voice rang out. Though it was impossible to tell if his voice was male or female, it was clear he was very displeased with Li Qiye.

"Er—" Li Qiye gave a dry laugh. "Well, how should I put it... I just had a heart-to-heart with him, chatted a bit about how wonderful the outside world is, and that's it. I didn't do anything else."

"Do you think anyone would believe he could have left Fengdu City without your help?" The Ancestor Flow Master was clearly annoyed with Li Qiye.

"Er, well..." Li Qiye laughed dryly again. "About that... how should I explain it? It was actually a great Creation that belonged to him. If he didn't have such a Creation, no one could have helped him, no matter who they were. Wouldn't you agree? Since he was blessed with such a great Creation, it must have been the will of the heavens. All I did was lend a little push to go with the flow."

"Besides, everything that happened afterward had nothing to do with me. That was all his own effort," Li Qiye said with a smile. "I barely saw him after he left Fengdu City. And as for his later achievements... well, that can only mean leaving this place was truly the will of the heavens. You should be able to accept that, right?"

Qiu Rong Wanxue found their conversation strange. She didn't know who this "he" they were talking about was, but she had gathered two things. First, Li Qiye and the Ancestor Flow Master knew each other, and their relationship was quite deep. Second, Li Qiye had helped someone escape from Fengdu City!

At this moment, Qiu Rong Wanxue realized that Li Qiye must have been to Fengdu City before. 'Perhaps he's been coming and going for the past few years,' she thought. 'Otherwise, he couldn't possibly be so familiar with the Ancestor Flow Master.'

However, Qiu Rong Wanxue had no way of knowing that this hadn't happened a few years ago, or even in recent years. And, of course, the person who left hadn't done so just a few years ago either.

The events Li Qiye and the Ancestor Flow Master were discussing hadn't happened in the last few years, but hundreds of thousands of years ago. A matter from the very distant past!

The Ancestor Flow Master clearly responded to Li Qiye's words with another cold snort.

Li Qiye smiled. "I didn't come here to make things difficult for you this time. I want to know about the Night Sea clearing up. I hope you can tell me something."

"I don't know," the Ancestor Flow Master said. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!"

Faced with the Ancestor Flow Master's attitude, Li Qiye fell silent. After a long while, he spoke gently to Qiu Rong Wanxue, "Wait for me outside. I have a little something to take care of."

Qiu Rong Wanxue didn't ask why. She simply nodded and exited the Grand Hall.

After Qiu Rong Wanxue left, Li Qiye looked at the Ancestor Flow Master and sighed softly. He then simply sat down cross-legged on the floor, ready to wait him out.

"About what happened back then... I really shouldn't have gotten him out of Fengdu City. It truly broke the city's rules." Li Qiye gave a wry smile. "But I was genuinely moved by his talent. You know as well as I do, for him to obtain such a Creation was like an act of heaven. Whether he was a man or a ghost, you should have understood that he had the potential to become an Immortal Emperor, and he ultimately proved it. I kept my promise. After he left Fengdu City, I hardly helped him at all, but he did become an Immortal Emperor, did he not?"

"You should also know that if even one step had gone wrong back then, it would have triggered a world-shaking disaster!" the Ancestor Flow Master said coldly.

Li Qiye nodded. "I know. But he never took a wrong step. He bore no ill will toward Fengdu City, don't you agree? He just wanted to get out. In fact, after he became an Immortal Emperor, he protected Fengdu City on more than one occasion! Don't you think giving *that side* one more powerful enemy is an excellent thing?"

The Ancestor Flow Master said nothing, falling silent. Li Qiye also sat quietly, not saying a word.

"Congratulations. You finally took back your body," the Ancestor Flow Master finally said after a long silence.

Li Qiye smiled. "Where there's a will, there's a way. I hope you, too, can one day walk out of Fengdu City. The years have been long, haven't they?"

"I can leave whenever I wish!" the Ancestor Flow Master said, their voice cold.

"But you haven't left, have you?" Li Qiye sighed softly. "Ten thousand years is an eternity, yet you slumber here. Your existence has been nothing but sleep. I know you don't wish for it to be this way, but I still hope that one day, you can go out and see the world. A long life isn't what's important; a wonderful life is!"

"I will be the master of my own affairs," the Ancestor Flow Master finally said.

"However, this is an opportunity, don't you think?" Li Qiye said. "This time, I want to go big! First, you must tell me about the Night Sea! I need to know the specifics. And at the same time, I want to borrow something else from you."

"The key to the First Evil Tomb?" the Ancestor Flow Master asked coldly. Even after all Li Qiye had said, it seemed his dissatisfaction still lingered.

"No—" Li Qiye smiled and shook his head. "With our history, let's not talk about 'borrowing' the key to the First Evil Tomb, shall we? Why don't you just give it to me? You could say I'm shamelessly asking you this time!"

"Then why weren't you so shameless the other times?" the Ancestor Flow Master retorted coldly.