Chapter 1148: Deepest Love
Li Qiye held her hand and stared at her incomparably beautiful features then smiled: “Sometimes, I feel that the world is too far away. Why the need to travel so far? If possible, I want to stop and start a family. Perhaps this isn’t a bad idea.”
“Don’t say that.” Her fingers gently pressed on his hand as she spoke with a tone as soft as water: “A man should be ambitious. Don’t worry about me or other women, we are only your shackles. You should go further, to the end of the world.”
She stared at him deeply and gravely spoke: “If I become something that impedes your path, then I shouldn’t have appeared in your life. In fact, this should be the case for any woman that you have met.”
Li Qiye chuckled and said: “It jolts me when you put it that way. Am I heartless, or is it because of the circumstances?”
“It is neither you or the circumstances.” She said: “In fact, I have never blamed you before. In this vast world, you have traveled for so many years. Even after suffering through countless hardships and troubles, you kept walking forward. Your life is at the end of the world; if you suddenly stop and give up... I don’t care what you think, but at the very least, I feel that I would become a sinner if you did it for me. A sinner to the history of cultivation.”
Li Qiye gripped her jade-like hand and stared at her wondrous eyes to say: “Although the years are endless, when you put it that way, how can I not persevere?”
She firmly said: “Many have gone and fallen on this path. Emperors, gods, and heroes... all have become dried bones on their journey, but I believe that in this generation, only you will reach the end and discover a new world, an entirely new world. After the primordial chaos, it will be a world created by you.”
“I got it!” Li Qiye became quiet. The path of cultivation was long and arduous. Like he had said before, Immortal Emperor was only the beginning. The journey of the emperors and gods towards the end was not easy, it was paved with countless bones.
She gently spoke while still holding his hand: “My only regret is not being able to accompany you to the end of the world. What a shame that I won’t be able to see the most brilliant moment of your life.
He looked at her and said: “If you are willing, I can try again. I have a method to at the very least prolong your life for a very long time!”
“No.” She gently pressed her finger to his lips and quietly said: “I won’t hold you back. So what if you are able to let me live longer? There is a price for everything in this world. This is not my choice. I just want you to be able to go forward without any worries.”
She stared at him deeply before becoming more serious: “I trust that in the last millions of years, I was not the only one who made this choice. Those who followed you and those who loved you must have made it as well. None of us wish to be the ones slowing you down on the path towards the grand dao.”
Her reply left Li Qiye speechless with a difficult emotion in his heart.
“Eternal life is too far away, so giving up is not necessarily a bad thing.” She gently caressed his face before continuing: “On this path, no one can stay with you for one generation after another, no one can always share your pain and happiness. You need to rely on yourself and persist until the end! As for the others, they will slowly fade away with time.
“If someone else shackles you and causes you to stop, do you think that it would be worth it? No one else is worth anything on this path, understand? If you give up, you will no longer be you, no longer the teacher of Immortal Emperors that suppress the nine worlds, no longer the wily Dark Crow that could fool deities, no longer the man without fear!”
“This path towards the grand dao is forever and a day!” He gently sighed, not knowing what else to say.
In this long trek, countless people had left him. There were those who could prolong their life but chose to let go.
For some, eternal life was not a happy matter due to the great price that comes with it. He would send them off, and there were times when he even buried them personally. What else could he feel in his heart other than a sense of numbness from all of the partings?
“Don’t worry about eternality, just appreciate that we had it once!” She gently said while embracing his neck and gazing at him intimately: “Even though I can’t leave behind any treasure for you, I can leave you an heir.”
After hearing this, Li Qiye laughed and held her beautiful and exquisite chin to gently say: “Passing on my everything is not easy.”
“I know.” She gave a firm yet beautiful smile with the trace of a woman’s shyness.
Li Qiye lowered his head to kiss her full, red lips. She closed her eyes and invited her lover while tightly hugging his neck...
***
The Mortal Emperor World was peaceful while the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect was thriving. It had reestablished its kingdom after tens of thousands of years of decline, ushering in a new era of prosperity.
Li Qiye did not ask about the rebuilding of the kingdom. He cultivated in isolation with a focus on the Space Scripture, even more so than the Physique and Death Scriptures.
This was a long process. He eventually came out after a while to find Gu Tieshou coming to find him.
“Virtuous Nephew, people from the sect master’s home, the Su Clan, are here.” Gu Tieshou immediately spoke after seeing him.
“People from the Su Clan?” Li Qiye’s eyes slightly shifted after hearing this. The Su Clan was far away and had never asked about mundane matters, but now, they were suddenly here?
He inquired: “Did the sect master not come back?”
Gu Tieshou shook his head: “No, the Su members came because she didn’t return to the Su Clan!”
He was a bit worried about this issue as well.
It wasn’t easy for the sect to have a capable and talented sect master. Gu Tieshou understood that Su Yonghuang could definitely lead the sect to a new golden age. If anything happened to her now, it would be a great blow to Cleansing Incense.
Li Qiye ordered: “I understand, tell those people to come and meet me.”
Gu Tieshou acknowledged the command and immediately went to carry it out. The person from the Su Clan who came to meet Li Qiye was an old man. He was very scholarly and his demeanor slightly resembled Su Yonghuang’s.
“I have heard of your thunderous fame.” The old man came and cupped his fists together before slightly bowing.
“You must be the Su Clan Master.” Li Qiye glanced at him and immediately knew that he was Su Yonghuang’s father.
At this time, Gu Tieshou quietly left the room, leaving behind Li Qiye and the old man.
The old man sat down and got straight to the point: “My daughter told me that if anything happens, I should come and see Virtuous Nephew.”
“If there is anything I can do to help, let me know.” Li Qiye spoke while looking at the old man. He was very protective of the Su Clan because he owed General Su back then.
The old man pondered for a moment before speaking: “My daughter has gone to the Heaven Spirit World. There has not been any news yet, so I am quite worried.”
Li Qiye was slightly surprised as he replied: “Your Su Clan opened the secret pathway? This is quite a rare occurrence.”
“You know about it?” The old man was shaken to hear this.
Li Qiye flatly said: “Not too many things can hide from me. Plus, the relationship between Cleansing Incense and the Su Clan is quite good, so it shouldn’t be strange for me to know a few things.”
The old man eventually nodded his head and said: “Yes, my Su Clan has indeed opened the pathway, and she took it to get to the Heaven Spirit World!”
This secret pathway was a channel to pass the boundaries of the nine worlds. The nine worlds were currently separated, so it was quite difficult to go to the other worlds. Not even a Godking would dare to attempt this.
However, it was a different story if there was a secret pathway. The only problem was that in the contemporary, fewer than few lineages had such a pathway. Moreover, it required a large number of refined jades — a very expensive price to pay. Thus, even if the particular sect had enough Immortal Emperor Refined Jades, they were not necessarily willing to open one.
Li Qiye left such a pathway to the Su Clan in the past so that they would have a venue of escape in case a real calamity befell them.
So Su Yonghuang using this pathway to go to the Heaven Spirit World really surprised Li Qiye. After all, this secret passage couldn’t be used trivially. The expenditure of the refined jades was one thing, but more importantly, it could expose the coordinates of the Su Clan’s portal.