Chapter 1080: Deal
Heaven Relinquish glanced at him right away and slowly stated: “So, you are saying that you have something that can help me.”
Li Qiye smiled: “I actually do have something.”
With that, he took out an item and tossed it over to the devil king. The king caught and carefully looked at it and found himself astounded despite his great status.
He eventually lifted his head to look at Li Qiye: “Where did you get this thing!”
“Does that matter?” Li Qiye answered: “It is more important that the thing has a great effect for you.”
This was the item given to him by Immortal Emperor Chen Xue in exchange for the life of his daughter, the Storm God.
He stared at the king and said: “With that, you can think about boarding the Evil Slaying Platform.”
The king pondered for a bit while holding the item before flatly saying: “All dark cultivators wish to go there. Moreover, all of them can do so as well.”
“I know they can.” Li Qiye said: “However, after being here for so long, I have come to understand something else as well. Why is it that capable dark cultivators do not easily go up there? Why is it that they only go there once their evil energy is strong enough?”
Li Qiye looked at the king and asked: “For what reason is someone as powerful as you still refusing to go up there for all this time?”
The devil king sat there emotionlessly, unwilling to elaborate.
Li Qiye continued with amusement: “Even if you don’t say it, I still know a thing or two. In the past, weak dark cultivators still climbed the platform. However, a few things happened afterward that made people come to understand something. From then on, the majority of dark cultivators would not try to go up there without reaching a certain level.”
“For example, you. You are strong enough, but you are still not confident. This lack of absolute confidence might be indicative of your wavering will towards reaching the other side.” Li Qiye faintly smirked.
The devil king responded chillingly: “No dark cultivator has ever changed their mind about wanting to reach the other side. You are an exception because you do not belong to the Devil World!”
“I do not deny that I am not someone from this world. In the past, I was only able to become an imperial monarch and devil king due to knowing a few secrets. I schemed and planned in secrecy to reach those positions.” Li Qiye said dismissively: “I won’t deny that I am also quite suspicious about the mysteries behind both the platform and pathway — there’s nothing wrong with this.”
“If I truly trusted in it, I would have done so long ago.” His eyes turned serious after speaking.
“Haha, no trust? Who do you not trust?” The devil king asked: “The Devil Lord or the Buddhist Lord?”
“To be honest, I don’t have a strong opinion on the two lords, it is not that I don’t trust them.” Li Qiye’s tone became serious as his eyes narrowed: “Perhaps they themselves do not completely understand what is behind these paths.”
Heaven Relinquish spoke indifferently: “For both dark cultivators and imperial soldiers, I’m sure there will be a home for them. Definitely.”
He turned quiet after saying this. After millions of long years, so many had entered the Evil Slaying Platform. However, there had never been any news of returning. This was their fate. The world on the other side had a fatal grasp on all cultivators.
“Everlasting life and immortality — these are what everyone has pursued for many eras.” Li Qiye gently sighed: “So many great men have vied for them, but how many have been successful?”
“Then what is it that you are after?” Heaven Relinquish asked with a solemn gaze.
“Fighting to the very end!” Li Qiye awe-inspiringly spoke: “In fact, these are the two greatest pursuits from one generation to the next — immortality and fighting to the end! People have been doing so since eras immemorable, the Legendary Era, and even now!”
With a solemn demeanor, Li Qiye went on: “Perhaps the two are the same thing. Only by fighting till the end would one be able to obtain immortality!”
The devil king did not answer for this topic was beyond his understanding. Even though he knew a few things after listening to the devil lord, they were very ancient matters of the old ages.
“Certain things are widely discussed while others are spoken of in secrecy. Many things sound quite distant, but they are very closely related, it is just that people aren’t aware of this. This is due to everyone not being able to see outside of this limitation, they do not know what exists above the firmament.” He sighed at this point before looking at the devil king: “For example, dark cultivators, what is it that you are pursuing? To go to the other world? For what reason?”
“No reason, it’s just fate.” The king answered coldly.
Li Qiye laughed and said: “Oh my Heaven Relinquish, if other dark cultivators said this, I wouldn’t be surprised because they are ignorant, they can’t compare to you. However, as a devil king who has seen the Devil Lord before, your answer just now is incredibly untrue to your own thoughts.”
The devil king asked: “Then what do you think dark cultivators like us are pursuing?”
“To be exact, we are talking about you, not dark cultivators because they don’t know what they will face. They only follow the old tradition of entering the platform in order to reach the other side, a different world.” Li Qiye responded.
“But you are not the same.” Li Qiye stared intensely at the king: “You know things that they do not, this is why you have been patient until now instead of boarding the platform right away, because of the uncertainty in your mind. Perhaps you know the result of failure!”
“Is that so?” The devil king didn’t deny or confirm this claim.
Li Qiye flatly said: “Dark cultivators, imperial soldiers, or even sacred monks, maybe they all have the same end. Dark cultivators like you do not have emotions like us mortals. No flesh and blood, or to be frank, all of you are dead, the living dead!”
“Not to mention the fact that you all can’t leave the lesser world and how you will face destruction after leaving just like those monks at the plateau, hypothetically speaking, even if you dark cultivators could leave the lesser world, would you?” Li Qiye asked.
The devil king answered: “Dark cultivators have their own wishes, this world naturally has its own fate as well.”
Li Qiye laughed: “Heaven Relinquish, you should be saying these words to other people. My ability to become a devil king and reaching this level should be indicative of my own logic. Let us be frank with each other. This will be good for the both of us. Perhaps I will give you some incredible warnings and you will be able to give me some ideas.”
“Really now?” The devil king maintained his aloof stance.
“We won’t talk about why the inhabitants of this world are able to live forever without flesh and blood because that is no secret to me.” Li Qiye said: “Let us talk about your instinct, the most primal instinct in your heart. Perhaps other dark cultivators aren’t aware of this, they don’t know why the other side attracts them so or just what it is that is driving them to that different world.”
“However, Heaven Relinquish, you know a little about this.” Li Qiye stared at the king: “Your kind does not belong to the nine worlds because you do not have life; you cannot share the same emotions as mortals! Because of this, you need a world with happiness and sorrow, anger and joy — emotions that belong to you. To be even more specific, you do not need immortality. What you want is to be a living being, not a puppet...”
“... Perhaps in that other world, there are no cultivators or imperial soldiers, only emotion-filled living beings. Of course, I am not ruling out immortality either. This is simply a paradise, a paradise that has been chased after by countless people in history!” Li Qiye slowly went on: “Perhaps after entering the platform to reach a new world, everyone will find salvation. So in a sense, this is a resurrection, a rebirth!”
“This is your true instinct, and precisely because of this urge, all of you are tempted to climb up the Evil Slaying Platform to reach this different world.” Li Qiye finished with a dignified expression.
“I don’t know anything about this instinct.” Heaven Relinquish gently shook his head: “For me and the other dark cultivators, this is only our long-cherished wish and the fate of this world.”
“Haha, Heaven Relinquish, you are telling me about wishes and fate?” Li Qiye couldn’t help but laugh: “You can deceive others about many things, but not me. I know very well how this world was formed, so in my eyes, there are no wishes or fate.”
Li Qiye glared at him and said: “I am aware that this is a plan, an extremely grand plan that has been in the making for countless eras and has quietly continued on for all that time.”