<b>Chapter 1214: A Funny Story</b>
The air stopping blowing and the spectators stopped moving. No one thought that just one move would render the deputy leader of the Dual-Pupils Sect to smithereens.
Some couldn't help but take a deep breath, realizing that this seemingly ordinary boy was incredibly fierce.
“Truly someone who dares to eat dragon tendons.” Some female cultivators looked at Li Qiye with some admiration: “A real man has to be this fierce.”
The demeanors of the onlookers changed while looking at him. They now understood that this kid was not only a murderer, but also an ominous star. He would provoke a bunch of enemies wherever he goes. Teeming Fish, the Immaculate Expanse, and the Extreme Yang School on top of the Dual-Pupils Sect… none were left unoffended!
If he kept on killing regardless of the location like this and made enemies everywhere, his death would only be a matter of time.
“What a ruthless human.” The Ophidian elder revealed a dark smile: “Do you want to kill everyone here to take all the treasures for yourself? Your plot will not go as planned, the heroes of this world are still flocking to this place…”
“Pop!” A crisp slapping sound came about. Before the elder could finish, Li Qiye had mercilessly slapped him with enough force to deform his skull. The fangs in his mouth were blown out as well.
This elder only wanted to escalate the situation to get everyone involved in this feud with Li Qiye. He didn't expect that Li Qiye would slap all the teeth out of him so quickly.
“Little animal!” He was furious and cried out before spewing a billow of poisonous smoke. This terrifying smoke engulfed Li Qiye like a tornado, attempting to melt him down completely.
This smoke was extremely poisonous. A few drops that fell down turned the seawater into a white liquid. Many aquatic creatures were instantly killed by the poison.
Li Qiye simply didn't care for this smoke. He reached out with his hand again, a hand akin to a blossoming lotus capable of purifying all corruption.
Void Imperfection Fist — the moment this fist came out, myriad laws would retreat and everything would be purified.
The smoke was not enough to reach the apex before this fist. With a sizzling sound, it pierced through the poisonous smoke, straight towards the elder.
The elder was stunned and turned to flee. However, even if he was faster, he wouldn't be as swift as Li Qiye's Soaring Immortal Fist. Li Qiye's hand immediately caught the fleeing elder.
“Ah!” A sharp and miserable cry resounded across the wide sea. With a tearing sound, the snake and the tree encompassing his body were torn apart. Blood spattered everywhere.
For the Ophidian Tribe, the separation of the snake body and the tree trunk meant certain death. Thus, this elder twitched for a while before dying.
Li Qiye casually threw his corpse down to the ground and coldly uttered: “Not even a Virtuous Paragon yet you still dare to prance around in front of me? You are but a mere insect.”
Now, people's expressions sank. This brat was truly too ruthless. This was no longer a rumor but reality.
Even the characters from the previous generations were staring at Li Qiye in astonishment.
Li Qiye looked at the disciples from the Dual-Pupils Sect and declared: “Go back and tell your sect to take the long way around me or I'll kill you all! Scram!”
These stunned disciples were ecstatic to hear this; it was as if they had been granted amnesty by him. They immediately fled without any hesitation while showing their clean pair of heels. [1. Idiom meaning running so fast to the point where you lose your shoes.]
After one final sweeping gaze through the crowd, Li Qiye entered Peacock Land.
His entry to the land attracted a lot of attention. People were also curious as to why he came to this place.
However, no one dared to provoke him after he made an example out of the deputy master and the Ophidian elder. They understood that this human boy was ruthless, having no qualms about murder. If one wasn't a Virtuous Paragon, they simply wouldn't be a match for him. Provoking him would be suicide.
Li Qiye went straight to the peak and arrived before the Peacock Tree. He took out the Myriad Heavenly Cauldron and controlled its fire.
“Whoosh!” The cauldron's fire gushed out like a spring and poured into the earth.
Oddly enough, this fire flowing into the earth didn't burn any plants or grasses. It was clearly a radiant flame, but it resembled flowing water. Moreover, it was becoming increasingly violent. It was a miracle that nothing was being hurt.
“What a great fire manipulation technique!” Even those who weren't alchemists recognized his mastery when nothing was being hurt by the streams of fire.
The spraying fire came out faster and crazier like a huge river. In fact, it was not an exaggeration to call it a volcanic eruption.
However, it didn't carry the destructive force of a volcano. It actually brought about a cool feeling like spring water.
This fire seemed to have its own life as it ran through the mountains, gullies and plains. In a short period of time, this huge amount of fire covered the entire Peacock Land.
Next, it flowed into the sea and floated above the currents, as if it wanted to merge with the seawater.
Afterwards, a change occurred in this fire. A different liquid carrying a spark came out from the cauldron with fine strings of laws. They seemed to have their own sentience as they flowed to the sea.
Many people smelled a faint scent. It was difficult to explain this calming sensation that stemmed from the fragrance. The spectators waiting by the sea were fixated on Li Qiye. They were confused and didn't know what he was trying to do.
Eventually, someone couldn't help but ask him from the distance: “Daoist Li, may I ask what you are doing?”
Li Qiye was still controlling the cauldron as he answered nonchalantly: “Nothing much, just life replenishing the withering Peacock Tree so that it can stay alive since its lifespan is running out.”
“Life replenishment for the Peacock Tree?” This cultivator's eyes turned wide. He thought he had misheard and confirmed: “You are replenishing the Peacock Tree's life?”
“Why not?” Li Qiye looked at him dismissively before he ignored him and continued to pour more fire into the earth and sea.
The many people that heard this had to look at Li Qiye once more. Some even felt that they were looking at a fool.
An alchemist spoke: “Even if you are an alchemist, do you know the meaning of life replenishing this ancestral tree? It is not only a heaven-defying feat, one can even say that it is simply impossible. The difficulty is no less than replenishing the life of an Immortal Emperor. Not to mention you, even an Alchemy Emperor would be powerless in this endeavor.”
Li Qiye glanced at him and was too lazy to reply. He continued on with his task.
A sacred lord of the Charming Spirit Race sneered: “What a guy. This is the most ridiculous and outlandish thing I've ever seen.”
Li Qiye was not interested in responding to this charming spirit either. Nevertheless, Li Qiye's words startled the human cultivators quite a bit. They suddenly saw hope and asked: “Daoist, is this possible? Can you actually succeed?”
The human race naturally didn't want to see the Peacock Tree die as they would lose this land completely.
Li Qiye plainly answered: “Yes.”
“Heh, people actually believe in this pretentious mess?” A sea demon snorted: “Only a fool would believe him. Everyone knows that for millions of years, no one has ever life replenished an ancestral tree. In my opinion, this so-called life replenishment is only a facade, he is secretly plotting something else.”
What did all the other cultivators come here to do? Of course they came for the treasures. They were all waiting for the tree to die, so who would want to hear about Li Qiye trying to save it? Wasn't this cutting off their path to riches? He had become public enemy number one.
“That's right. Prolonging the life of an ancestral tree is a lunatic's raving. He must be hiding his true purpose.” Quite a few members of the crowd echoed this sentiment with jeers.