<b>Chapter 345: Fortunes in the World Temple</b>
“Enter. The opportunity is right there, but it is up to you to determine how great it is. I can only help you so much.” Li Qiye smiled and said while the other three were still in a daze.
He took the lead to enter the temple while the other three excitedly followed behind him. To them, this perhaps could be their greatest opportunity in their lifetime.
No one in the world knew about this temple's existence, but they managed to reach it! This was the most tempting and mysterious fortune!
Once they got inside, they discovered that this ancient temple cast from bronze was completely empty. The entire place gave an impression that no one had entered for tens of millions of years.
They also found that the temple's dome was open like a patio. They looked above only to find a vast and indiscernible nothingness.
Beneath the dome was a bronze crane that was exceedingly vibrant. It was as if this bronze crane existed all alone by itself, mottled by the ravaging of time just like the rest of the temple.
Besides this bronze crane, nothing else could be found inside. The three girls were quite stunned because they didn't expect to only find this crane at this place.
“Where are the fortunes?” Chen Baojiao couldn't help but look around and say: “Is there only this bronze crane? I thought that there would be countless immortal treasures and divine weapons stacked on top of each other like a mountain. This bronze crane alone is not enough to be shared among the four of us ah!”
“Immortal treasures and divine weapons — these things are too common.” Li Qiye smiled and shook his head: “To us, immortal treasures and divine weapons are only external things. We came here to ask for a chance of self-improvement, a new fortune. We do not need to come to this place for immortal treasures and divine weapons. After all, this world is extremely vast and has so many places that we can rob these items from!”
“How do we ask for a new creation?” Chi Xiaodie couldn't contain her curiosity. [1. Here, I am using creation instead of fortune because they are two different words. The “creation” here is at a higher level than the word “fortune”. In Chinese, it can mean good luck, existence, and natural. So when Li Qiye is using this word “creation”, he is talking about a change in oneself, a fortune that would grant a rebirth or something so great that one would no longer be the same.]
Li Qiye stared at the bronze crane and smiled: “Stroke the crane. Remember, each person only has one chance, so you must treasure it. No matter what kind of things you meet, you must stay calm. Sometimes, a fateful re-creation has to be identified with a discerning sight; do not let a pearl fall into the haystack!”
“Stroke the bronze crane?” Li Shuangyan, Chen Baojiao, and Chi Xiaodie were all shocked for a moment. They didn't expect that the chance for a new fortune began with touching this crane.
“Let me!” The lively Chen Baojiao excitedly went before the crane to touch it, but it had no reaction. She then disappointedly said: “Why won't you give me a fortune…”
“Whoooosh!”
Before she could finish her sentence, she was shot high above like an arrow and disappeared amidst the vast emptiness.
“Go ahead, treasure this one and only chance for a new and improved self.” Li Qiye reminded the other two.
Chi Xiaodie took a deep breath and mustered her courage to touch the crane. She was taken above the dome and disappeared amidst the emptiness just like Chen Baojiao.
She was then followed by Li Shuangyan, who also underwent the same experience in the blink of an eye.
The last to go was Li Qiye. He rubbed the crane and was sent up to the vast sky above the dome. The crane shot him up for an unknown distance before his feet reached the ground. There, he found himself standing next to a fish pond. This pond was not very big, but it was filled with a certain liquid serum.
This serum was just like brass. At a first glance, it appeared to be liquefied brass. However, after a more careful observation, this was not the case at all. Ordinary people would not be able to see through the mysteries of this serum. Although it looked like brass, within the liquid dwelled an endless chaos like the primordial beginning.
“Worldly Prime Liquid!” Seeing the substance in the pond, Li Qiye emotionally exclaimed: “A great fortune! A fortune capable of reversing all things. This is 'truly being unable to find the destination after wearing out iron soles, then inadvertently finding it without any effort.' That year, if Little Blacky had this Worldly Prime Liquid, then maybe everything would have been different.”
Li Qiye took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the pond. He became enveloped by this liquid like an eggshell protecting the yolk as his relaxed pores crazily devoured this liquid.
The appearance of the World Tree drove countless people mad. Many great powers wished that they could rush into the portal and climb the tree to obtain these mouth-watering fortunes!
Unfortunately, because of the rules set by the academy, the experts from the previous generations were not allowed to enter the portal. Once a fair number of descendants returned to ask for ancestral weapons, these great powers skipped the discussion and immediately went back to give their descendants ancestral weapons to bring to the portal.
To many great powers, ancestral weapons were their sect-protecting and defining treasures. However, it was fine to summon these weapons in order to obtain a great fortune from the World Tree.
Everyone understood the meaning behind a great fortune from the World Tree. In the past, the personal achievements of Immortal Emperor Hao Hai stemmed from a great fortune, and a fortune of this caliber was the dream and aspiration for many cultivators.
As for his miracle of creating the Thousand Emperors Gate… Needless to say, this was an absolute miracle throughout the ages that drove the rest of the world crazy!
Suddenly, many inheritances did not mind giving their descendants ancestral weapons with the hope that they could use them to climb the World Tree.
After Li Qiye, Jikong Wudi, and Mei Suyao entered the World Tree's area, Le Yi was the next!
He had the complete support of the academy as well as all the benefits of being the first disciple. With the academy's power, it was not a difficult matter to enter a changing timespace.
Rumor has it that the descendants of many great powers also entered right after him, such as the Saint Childs from the Thousand Mountains Sacred Ground, the Crouching Dragon Cliff, the Heaven Sweeping Mountain, and a few others…
After this news became widespread, all the descendants from Immortal Emperor lineages all over the Mortal Emperor World brought along Immortal Emperor True Weapons to the academy. They not only wanted to climb the World Tree, they also intended to reach the peak!
However, entering did not mean that they could climb the tree, and climbing the tree did not mean that there was a sure chance at obtaining a fortune.
Sure enough, some disciples with ancestral weapons were able to open the way into the timespace, but these ancestral weapons did not help them climb up the World Tree. They could only muster their own strength to ascend. Unfortunately, many people did not make it very far before the suppression forced them back down.
Of course, these disciples were not discouraged. It was quite difficult just to enter, so how could they give up? They kept on climbing and falling. In the end, a few of them barely managed to reach the nearest branch from the ground.
Those who had no methods of climbing racked their brains. Some of them decided to cut down the World Tree. They thought that even if they couldn't climb any higher, they could chop off a piece of bark or two and take it back — this would still be a great merit! However, the World Tree's toughness was far beyond their imaginations.
They had ancestral weapons with them, but even after using every last bit of strength, they couldn't cut off a big piece of bark. One or two of them, with extremely powerful ancestral weapons, were able to scrape down a piece of bark the size of a fingernail after using all of their blood energy.
It goes without saying that the great fortunes of the World Tree were not so easily obtainable. Even a successful climber would not necessarily be able to meet any fortunes.
The first unlucky person was the descendant from a great power in the Western Desolate Wasteland. He made it to the first branch and stepped inside its world, but he was kicked out not too long after and was without any benefits. After being sent outside, he was no longer allowed to enter.
After learning the lesson from such a hapless fella, many experts realized that the chance for a fortune increased with how high they ascended, so they risked their lives to reach greater heights!
“Can anyone make it to the top of the World Tree?” While many were eager to climb, there were also countless people who were excited from anticipation as they waited.
Since so many great powers sent their disciples here using the fastest means without caring about the waste of refined jades, spectators were discussing this matter with great interest.
“I'm afraid to do so would be very hard.” Someone replied: “Rumor has it that even Immortal Emperor Hao Hai did not reach the top during his climb.”
“Although Immortal Emperor Hao Hai did not reach the top, he obtained the greatest creation. A few ancient predecessors said that reaching the top was not a prerequisite to obtaining the greatest creations.” An older expert said.
“The first to enter were Jikong Wudi, Mei Suyao, and Li Qiye. Perhaps those three have already taken the greatest creation.” A person said with admiration: “I heard that Li Qiye even brought many people along with him. This brat is too heaven-defying. Deity and Goddess only went by themselves, but Li Qiye actually brought others with him. This person is devilish beyond all heavenly laws!”
As time passed, more and more people wanted to enter this changing timespace in order to climb the World Tree. Many descendants from the great powers gave up on investigating within the timeless portal and focused solely on the World Tree.
[spoiler title='344 Teaser'][/spoiler]