Chapter 1174: Ongoing Plan
“Rob?” Li Qiye chortled and said: “Whether by force or as a gift, it is entirely up to them. This is their own good fortune; if they miss the chance, I can only say that they will feel very regretful later on.”
Kong Qinru lamented the upcoming event. Forcing a treefather’s lineage into giving him something… Outside of Immortal Emperors, no one would dare to carry out this domineering task.
“The ancestral vine from the citadel is still there.” She had to remind him: “Rumor has it that it is still very young and powerful, plenty capable of fighting an Immortal Emperor.”
After treefathers turn into ancestral trees, these existences wouldn’t care for mundane matters and weren’t much different from ordinary plants.
However, when an enemy invades their lineage or when a calamity approaches, these non-sentient beings would still fight to kill the enemies to protect their descendants.
The young trees were especially powerful, no less than their peak form when they were still alive. Thus, not even Immortal Emperors could defeat them with certainty.
“I know.” Li Qiye chuckled: “It’s no big deal if that tree is still there. If I wasn’t certain, I wouldn’t be going to the citadel in the first place.”
She heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. Even though she knew that Li Qiye was not a bulliable nice guy, she still didn’t know the true source of his power. After all, he will be facing a treefather’s lineage, an invincible ancestral tree. Not too many would come out unscathed from a battle against such foes.
Both Godkings and Emperor Candidates won’t do unless they were at the Emperor Assailant level.
“Is there no other way? Maybe we can try negotiating with them. My Exquisite Valley still has some influence, perhaps we can exchange some treasures with them.” No matter which angle she looked at it, she didn’t want him to quarrel against the citadel.
In her mind, even if he couldn’t replenish the Peacock Tree’s life, he still had an imperial bloodline. She hoped that he would be able to pass down this legacy in great numbers.
“Your valley has a lot of treasures, but even if you take out the best ones hidden in your sect for exchange, they still won’t agree.” Li Qiye smiled and shook his head.
Kong Qinru was startled and blurted: “Don’t, don’t tell me that you want that item from the citadel…”
“Yes, precisely.” He nodded before she could finish speaking: “It won’t be easy for the Peacock Tree to survive for another eight to ten generations, so that item will be very useful.”
She was dumbfounded right away. Initially, she thought that he wanted something else from the citadel, not their mythical item. While looking quite silly, she had to spill her mind: “Well, well, it will be impossible. The citadel will definitely not give it to you.”
“Don’t worry, they will.” He smiled and shook his head after noticing her expression: “Don’t think of me as an unreasonable brute. Sometimes, I am very reasonable. I might need someone else’s stuff, but I will give them a deal of equivalent value. Look, I’m giving them a huge chance right now, it is up to them to take it.”
“It’s still impossible, they will want nothing in exchange for it.” She shook his head: “It is too precious to them.”
“That’s a pity because if that’s the case, the Heavenvine Citadel will collapse into ashes.” He faintly smiled.
“What…” She was stunned once more. No one would believe the upcoming destruction of the Heavenvine Citadel. Their ancestral vine was in its prime and would live for a much longer time across the generations.
Furthermore, with its protection, who would dare to attack the citadel?
“Don’t let your imagination run wild. It won’t be destroyed right away and I won’t be the one to do it.” Li Qiye gently shook his head: “I can only say that if they give up this godsend opportunity, they will cease to exist in one or two generations.”
She didn’t know what to say for this matter was beyond her comprehension and imagination.
He glanced over and said: “Outside of some other things, there is one more matter that you need to do. Go spread a message that the Peacock Tree is about to die. Remember, do not leave any traces.”
“That the Peacock Tree is dying?” She tried to confirm: “Do you want to spread this message right now?”
“No, wait until the time is right. I will let you know then.” He insipidly stated: “But you must be ready before then. I want this news to spread very quickly across the entire Heaven Spirit World.”
“I understand, the valley will do our best.” She nodded.
“One more thing.” He ordered: “Make plans to temporarily evacuate everyone from the Peacock Land. I will let you know when the time is right.”
“Evacuation?” Despite being a bit startled, she still agreed: “Leave this to our valley as well.”
Li Qiye asked: “And how are you doing on my issue?”
She quickly replied: “I have just received a new message. The person you are looking for has been seen before. She was seen at the Jade Sea, to be exact, at—”
“Cavalry Town.” Li Qiye gently sighed and finished her sentence. Who understood the Su Clan’s secret channel more than him? He naturally knew where she landed after coming to the Heaven Spirit World.
“Yes, her first appearance was at Cavalry Town. She traveled through several places since then, it seems like she was asking about an ancient tribe.” She elaborated: “But later on, she crossed the sea to the Dragon Demon Sea. It gets more complicated there and we haven’t received anything back. It might require more time.”
Li Qiye nodded and said: “Keep on searching and update me when possible. Let Teng Jiwen in, it is about time for me to leave as well.”
Kong Qinru acknowledged and followed his instructions. Of course, she couldn’t see Teng Jiwen herself. She took Li Qiye from Golden Isle, so if others were to find out that she was the mastermind behind this, it would bring a lot of trouble to the Exquisite Valley.
A moment later, Teng Jiwen marched inside and bowed the moment he saw Li Qiye: “Sir, this little brother will be bothering you again.”
Li Qiye glanced at him and eventually smiled: “You are not bad at all.”
Teng Jiwen was surprised to hear this. He didn’t know why Li Qiye would suddenly make this statement. Nevertheless, he still bowed and said: “Thank you for the kind words, Sir. This little brother, no, this student came this time to ask you to come visit my Heavenvine Citadel.” 1
Li Qiye cheerfully and said: “It seems like your ancestral vine’s problem is not trivial.”
The youth coughed and replied: “There is indeed a problem with our ancestral vine, so I’m inviting you to personally come and perform your skillful healing art, Sir.”
Li Qiye nonchalantly responded: “If I can’t cure your ancestral vine, no one else in the world can. However, you, or rather, your citadel should be ready. My price will be sky high, don’t blame me for not bringing this up at that point.”
Teng Jiwen felt that he and the citadel were fishes on a platter; Li Qiye was free to do whatever he wanted to them.
He took a deep breath and solemnly said: “Sir, rest assured that everything is negotiable as long as you can cure our ancestral vine.”
Li Qiye looked at the boy and smirked because the boy didn’t know what he wanted at all. Li Qiye then spoke: “It is good that you all have such determination. Let us go then, my time is very precious.”
Teng Jiwen didn’t waste words and immediately led the way.
The Heavenvine Citadel was a great lineage in the Jade Sea. It was built on top of the Heavenvine Ancestor, also known as the Heavenvine Treefather.
Of course, it was not comparable to Golden Isle. The isle had two ancestral trees and was much older than the citadel with inconceivable resources.
Nevertheless, the citadel was still a great lineage even when placed among the rest of the Heaven Spirit World since it still had one treefather. Not to mention ordinary cultivators, even Godkings wouldn’t dare to have any ideas against a place protected by an ancestral tree.
However, little did the citadel know that Li Qiye was preying on them. Moreover, the item he wanted was their lifeblood.
Teng Jiwen and Li Qiye traveled through a portal to directly reach the Heavenvine Citadel.
While standing here, anyone could feel a majestic aura full of life wafting in the air. On the platform, Li Qiye glanced at the lofty sky and boundless sea.
1. It is important to note that he has been calling Li Qiye “sir” nonstop. This “sir” can also be what students use to call their teachers. He moved himself one position lower on the hierarchy by addressing himself as student instead of little brother. This sentence is awkward but is necessary to show the change of tone, the speaker’s change of belief in the duo’s relative status.