<b>Chapter 390: Corner of Mourning</b>
This achievement was quite amazing for a disciple from an ordinary background in a regular country.
When Li Qiye went out to the edge of the Thousand Islands to see if Lu Baiqiu was there, a sea guard said: “Regional Lord Lu brought experts to fight out at sea!”
“Battle?” Li Qiye couldn't help but grimace. The Thousand Islands faced the vast ocean, and although there were a few demons and sea demons out there, they all lived in the far sea and would not start a war against inlanders.
“Recently, the Mollusk Tribe has started a war!” The guard knew about Li Qiye, so he immediately explained: “They recently appeared in the waters right outside of the islands and stole our sea farms. In the last two to three months, a large amount of our sea jewels have been taken by them.”
There were many industries for the Thousand Islands since they were so near the sea, and the largest of them were the sea farms at the bottom of the ocean.
Sea jewels were a type of refined jade; although they could not completely replace refined jades, there were instances where it served as an acceptable substitute, especially in the Static Stream Country. The spirit energy contained inside these sea jewels was still a part of the worldly essence.
“Regional Lord Lu and many experts had forced the Mollusk Tribe back many times, but they appeared again yesterday, so the lord wanted to catch them all in one fell swoop.” This guard explained.
Right at this moment, Lu Baiqiu returned along with many wounded people that had to be carried back.
“Lord Lu?” Seeing her injury, the guard was alarmed and quickly went to greet her.
“I'm fine… go treat the others.” Lu Baiqiu was very decisive and ordered for the guards to bring the wounded back inside for treatment. Li Qiye looked at their wounds and also followed them inside.
After returning, Lu Baiqiu fortified the defensive perimeter and sent disciples to treat the injured with resolution befitting a general.
After dealing with everything, she finally found Li Qiye sitting silently in the main hall, so she immediately asked: “What prompted Dao Brother Li's presence here?”
“Nothing.” Li Qiye said with a smile: “I planned to go out to sea so I'm here to say goodbye.”
“The sea?” Lu Baiqiu slightly furrowed her brows. Among all the girls Li Qiye knew, she was not the prettiest, but her short hair and valiant air had a remarkably cool charm.
Lu Baiqiu gently shook her head in response: “Dao Brother Li, I'm afraid the outer sea is not very stable right now due to the constant disruption of the Mollusk Tribe. Recently, it has gotten to the point of robberies. I think that it is better for you to wait until the storm passes before going out.”
Lu Baiqiu and Li Qiye didn't have a deep connection, but she still looked out for him because he was part of the human race.
“Mollusk Tribe?” Li Qiye replied: “I know of them, the Mollusk Tribe is not a warmongering tribe among the sea demons. Plus, they are also very territorial and normally wouldn't leave their ancestral ground, let alone come to the shore to plunder others.”
“That is the strange part!” Lu Baiqiu let out a wry smile and said: “It is too strange. We originally planned to ambush them at the Corner of Mourning, but I don't know how they suddenly appeared right behind us. They even ambushed us instead.”
“Inside the Corner of Mourning is our Thousand Islands' waters where a defensive perimeter has been set up. If they used a dao gate to teleport their warriors inside, then we would have found out right away. However, there were no signs of an ambush!” Lu Baiqiu continued on with a slightly bitter grimace: “I might have to report this to the capital since it is a bit odd!”
“Corner of Mourning?” Li Qiye squinted and then revealed a smile to say: “Where is the Mollusk Tribe right now?”
“After the ambush, they took the sea jewels from our farms and retreated. If Dao Brother Li doesn't have anything else to say, then I have to take my leave for now.”
Li Qiye then answered with a smile: “I have a method for you to repel the Mollusk Tribe. But as for why they suddenly appeared inside the Corner of Mourning, you will understand when the time comes.”
“You have a way?” Lu Baiqiu couldn't help but to take another look at Li Qiye. In her eyes, Li Qiye was very normal, but this did not mean that she looked down on him. He had to be an ordinary disciple of some sect that came out to pick medicine, so his cultivation must be limited.
However, this sudden revelation of a method to defeat the Mollusk Tribe left Lu Baiqiu with some hesitation.
“The reason why the Mollusk Tribe appeared inside the corner without any warning is very simple. Your corner has a certain pathway.” Li Qiye explained.
“Pathway, what kind of pathway?” Lu Baiqiu expressed with some surprise.
Li Qiye continued on with a smile: “To the left of the corner, about one hundred meters down, is a trench with a lot of seagrass. If you pull the seagrass out, you will find a pathway underneath. Although it is only a hundred meters long, it can reach thousands of miles to other places in the ocean. If my hypothesis is correct, they must have come from this place. It is not difficult for you to defeat them if you set up an ambush right at this particular trench.”
“A one hundred meter pathway capable of extending a thousand miles to sea?” After hearing this, Lu Baiqiu was quite skeptical. How could she not be privy to this when it was part of the Thousand Islands' territory?
“Just go and see for yourself!” Li Qiye noticed her skepticism and said with a smile.
She then looked at him again and couldn't help but ask: “How do you know about this pathway?”
“That is a secret.” Li Qiye simpered while speaking: “If you don't believe me, you can take people to check.”
How could he not know about this particular pathway? It was he who opened it in the past! He aimed to find another island undersea, so he opened many pathways in this region.
Later on, the search was unfruitful, so many pathways became destroyed and some were abandoned.
Lu Baiqiu remained wary as she looked at him. It was not because she didn't believe him, but rather, this matter was a bit too sudden. If it was anyone else, they would be wondering if he was a spy sent by the enemy right now.
“Very well, I will stay at your port for a few days. Come tell me once you find something.” How could Li Qiye not see through her, thus prompting his response.
“Since Brother Li puts it this way, we'll have to give it a try.” Lu Baiqiu nodded her head and said: “If Brother Li is willing to stay as a guest in our port, we will sincerely welcome you.” Having said that, she arranged for Li Qiye's accommodation.
She didn't make things difficult for Li Qiye and treated him like an esteemed guest.
And Li Qiye, on the other hand, didn't pay it any mind as he leisurely strolled around in the port. He was not in a hurry to go out to sea.
Three days later, Lu Baiqiu excitedly came back. The moment she saw Li Qiye, she couldn't help but to say with delight: “Brother Li is indeed magical and your prophecies are godlike. The Mollusk Tribe truly came from that pathway, so we had an ambush set up in the trench and completely defeated them in one blow. They might not be able to recover in a short period of time so they won't dare to come and plunder us again.”
This was within Li Qiye's expectations, so he simply smiled a bit and said: “Congratulations, Region Lord Lu. You have achieved a great merit for the Static Stream Country. Maybe you could even be promoted to a protector. With your future potential, maybe you could even take charge of the country in the future.”
“Brother Li is too kind!” Lu Baiqiu revealed a fresh and beautiful smile as she shook her head: “Talents are plentiful in our Static Stream Country, so it won't be my turn to take charge!”
The hegemony of the Static Stream Country was not passed down from father to son. Instead, it was for those who were capable. Even till now, the throne of the country was handed to the disciple with the most contributions and the best cultivation.
“Now that Region Lord Lu has driven away the enemy, I must be going!” Li Qiye told Lu Baiqiu with a smile.
His assistance was simply to return her hospitality in the past.
“Brother Li is going out to sea…” Lu Baiqiu pondered for a moment before asking: “We discovered a few things during this battle. Brother Li is a very well-informed person, so maybe you can go take a look and dispel our confusion?”
“A discovery?” Li Qiye was a bit surprised.
Lu Baiqiu quickly added: “We captured a group of experts from the Mollusk Tribe alive and found out that they have found some old ruins. They were stealing our sea jewels because of these ruins. I have checked it out once, but I didn't understand its mysteries.”
“Old ruins?” Li Qiye stroked his chin and cheerfully continued: “If this is the case, then I don't mind going to check it out.”
Lu Baiqiu's mind suddenly rang with excitement and immediately dealt with some administrative duties before leaving with Li Qiye to the sea.
She controlled a flying ship in the sky, heading for the ocean. In fact, these ruins found by the Mollusk Tribe were not far away from the Thousand Islands; they were only about one thousand miles apart.
With the flying ship, it was not long before they arrived.
The ruins were under the sea and inside a marina trench that had an architectural style that resembled an ancient temple.
This ancient temple had been under this sea for who knew how many generations; it remained eternal in this place.
It was once covered with a countless amount of seagrass, but now, it had been cleaned up.
“This place!” Li Qiye couldn't help but stroke his chin after seeing this ancient temple because he had been to this place a long time ago.
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