Li Qiye withdrew his gaze and said flatly: “This is fine, just let the high gods and emperors know that I’m fine.”

The shopkeeper said: “Your Excellency, do you need our protection? If you want to find anything, just let us know and we shall find it for you. You only need to worry about reaching your peak state, leave mundane matters to us.”

It was really too easy for Li Qiye to reach the top at this moment and shoulder the Heaven’s Wills. Some emperors would personally become his dao protectors.

“No.” Li Qiye shook his head: “You can’t get what I need. The grand dao can’t be obtained so easily, each experience would yield a different result and understanding. I need to personally walk on my journey instead of relying on others. No one can avoid the toil of cultivation. Otherwise, their culmination would only be a pavilion in the air or sand castles, at risk of collapsing at any moment.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency. My thinking was too simple.” The shopkeeper respectfully said, having benefited from the advice.

“Certain things are inevitable, no exception.” Li Qiye said softly: “All of you need to get ready, the world is about to change.”

“We’ll definitely be ready for your order.” The shopkeeper affirmed.

Li Qiye nodded: “Good, the order will come when the time is right.”

“Your Excellency, what about World Emperor and the others from the three races?” The shopkeeper became worried.

“Don’t worry, I might be helpless right now but if they think it through, they won’t provoke me. Geezer Qian knows it very well so he won’t be the one to start. As for the other Grand Emperors who want to take a risk, let them come. I’ll use them as nourishment.” Li Qiye said flatly.

He paused a bit before continuing: “Plus, World Emperor isn’t that bored to worry about this problem. He needs to carefully think about picking a side because of the inevitable nature of what is to come. No one will be able to escape it, not even his twelve Heaven’s Wills since that’s insufficient by that point. This is also the reason why Purewood Divine Emperor disappeared in the river of time. World Emperor understands this but whether he can let go or not is a different story. A lot of rumination will be necessary for the future.”

“Even if World Emperor can let go, the other emperors from the three races might not be willing to let go of past feuds.” The shopkeeper wondered.

He was referring to Emperor Hunt. It started with the Dark Crow and certain Immortal Emperors seizing the initiative and killed several Grand Emperors. When World Emperor realized that they needed a coalition of their own, Li Qiye’s group had already solidified his foothold.

If it wasn’t for the great number of Grand Emperors and High Gods from the three races participating in the world, it wouldn’t have ended with just a three-point covenant.

Because of the ambush, a few Grand Emperors still couldn’t let go of this feud. In the past, they were the hunters and had all the advantages but after Emperor Hunt, several emperors were killed in a short time and they became the preys.

That brief period was the darkest time of the three races. This darkness could even compare to when the Ancient Ming used to be in the thirteen continents.

The lineages and cultivators of the three races had to live in vigilance and fear. Just think about it, they have always considered themselves to be the rulers of the thirteen continents. In their eyes, the hundred races were mere insects.

Emperor Hunt affected the fundamental status of the three races in this world. It wasn’t until World Emperor led the others that they managed to get an even footing against the Dark Crow.

This has left a shadow in their mind, especially the emperors who had actually participated. From then on, they always had a prejudice against the hundred races and the Dark Crow.

In their mind, until the Dark Crow is destroyed, he would eventually take down their three races. Thus, they refused to work together with the Dark Crow. Even someone as visionary as World Emperor shared this feeling and tried time and time again to kill him.

“Let them be, if World Emperor and the others dare to stand in my path, I will not show mercy and flatten them!” Li Qiye’s eyes turned cold.

The shopkeeper quietly nodded. The group here wasn’t surprised to hear such a bold statement before. This wasn’t the first spar between the Dark Crow and the gods and emperors. If anyone in this world was capable of crushing these beings, it would be the Dark Crow.

After a while, the shopkeeper said: “Are you coming to Jilin City specifically for the clan?”

He had heard about the relationship between the Dark Crow and Nightfall Immortal Monarch before. Since His Excellency was here, the old man also wanted to accompany him to the Jilin Clan.

“I will.” Li Qiye confirmed: “They have something there that you might have heard of.”

The shopkeeper carefully thought about it before answering: “This was a while ago, two or three generations. I wasn’t born yet during that period but according to the records, the Jilin Clan indeed obtained something a while after an ultimate expedition. However, they were very secretive about it so people have only caught winds recently.”

“We don’t know what it is at all.” He smiled wryly: “It’s hard for outsiders to figure it out since it happened too long ago and the Jilins are very strict about this information containment.”

“Looks like I have to personally see it in order to get an answer.” Li Qiye said.

He had speculations about the item but a personal trip was still necessary.

“Would you like us to go with you?” The shopkeeper asked.

“No need for now since I want to go to the Mad God Ominous Ground before visiting the Jilin.” Li Qiye revealed.

“Mad God?” The shopkeeper was finally surprised: “That place is a death zone now, there’s nothing there outside of barren lands.”

“There hasn’t been any changes in that place?” Li Qiye smiled.

“Well, Your Excellency, we haven’t been paying attention since that sinister place had been deserted long ago.” The shopkeeper said.

“That’s fine, not a big deal. It is only a little matter. Just help me get a portal ready.” Li Qiye gently waved his sleeve.

“Affirmative.” The shopkeeper sent the order.

Finally, Li Qiye said goodbye with the elders. The four men outside carried the palanquin back with him on it. From start to finish, these specter-like men didn’t alarm anyone else.

***

After the night meeting, at the depth of an abyss outside of the Jilin Clan, there was a sudden explosion. A bright ray of light erupted from the depth and crossed through the night sky like beautiful fireworks before disappearing right away.

A few experts took note of this but the big shots paid much more attention. This ominous ground was called Mad God because an Ancient God had fallen here. According to the rumors, a war between an emperor and this Ancient God raged on and afterward, this vast land fell into darkness without any sign of life. Nothing wanted to stay in such a place.

This remained the case for many generations until the present with this ray of light.

“There’s nothing in Mad God, how can a ray be crossing through there?” Some cultivators who saw it with their own eyes became curious.

“Maybe an immortal artifact is emerging? That’s the grave of an Ancient God, an Ancient God! That’s a being on the same level as a peak emperor.” Older characters were much more excited.