âI canât take all the credits since I had the help of an item. He hid very well, it wouldnât have been easy.â Li Qiye shook his head and smiled before taking out a box to hand it to Emperor Sui.
The box was left behind by Fire Ancestor. It contained the unicornâs hair and fingernail. This made it easy for Li Qiye to calculate its position.
âThis child, always so intelligent. He had his own plan going on.â Emperor Nong let out a deep sigh.
It didnât matter what Fire Ancestor did. None could change the fact that many progenitors have been killed by him.
âForget about the past.â Emperor Sui summoned a flame in his palm.
âPoof!â The flame instantly turned the box into ashes that scatter to the wind.
âWar is always cruel, at least Three Immortals is lucky enough to survive.â Emperor Xi stared at the scattering ashes and said.
âWe canât escape responsibility for this.â Emperor Nong became serious.
âRight, our damned mistake started all of this.â Emperor Xi didnât deny.
âWell, struggling is a part of life. Otherwise, might as well just be a rock.â Emperor Sui smiled and said.
âRight, overcoming struggles gives meaning to life. It makes us more than walking corpses.â Li Qiye added.
âYes, youâre one of us, one of us.â The three immortals clapped their hands and laughed.
âAlas, weâre inferior compared to you.â Emperor Xi said: âThe struggle back then got the best of us which is why we ran back to Three Immortals. We stopped struggling.â
âItâs not easy returning alive from that place.â Li Qiye said with a profound gaze: âVery few have managed to do so.â
âWe didnât do much in the ultimate battles compared to you and the wise sages. We just messed around and eventually knew when to give up and leave. Our accomplishments are exaggerated by the unaware, thatâs all. We donât deserve any praise.â Emperor Sui put on a forced smile.
The three immortals were survivors of an expedition. Theirs was much earlier compared to Li Qiyeâs group.
âAs if the villainous heaven would allow for people to mess around in its domain.â Li Qiye chuckled. No one incapable could have survived in that place.
âWell, in the end, we realized our limits and left with dejection. The truth is that we tasted a lot of bitterness there.â Emperor Xi added.
The inhabitants of this world probably viewed the three immortals as unbeatable figures. How could they ever be defeated?
On the other hand, the three immortal themselves had no problem accepting their defeat. This was already a peerless deed.
âNo, what you three have done is magnificent, immortalized in history.â Li Qiye still praised.
âLetâs not dwell on the past. We gave up after that attempt while youâre still as spirited as before, still having the confidence to try again. Our dao heart is not as strong.â Emperor Nong replied.
âYes. We gave up on this idea after returning and decided to stay in our nest until now.â Emperor Xi said: âWeâre old now, the same with our fire.â
âItâs because Iâm only eighteen that I have the energy and hotbloodedness to keep on struggling. Thatâs the only way to get rid of my youthful restlessness.â Li Qiye joked.
The three immortals chuckled in response. He was indeed young compared to them. Alas, his grand dao had surpassed them at this point, which was why they addressed him as âBrotherâ. [1]
âBuzz.â A very, very tiny strand of darkness suddenly emerged inside the group of stars. The naked eyes couldnât tell where it came from.
It shouldnât be underestimated despite its size. This power immediately contaminated the stars.
This place used to have a gorgeous glow. Each ray was pure and immaculate.
Now, more than half of the stars have been tainted. More dark rays oozed out and continued spreading. Darkness took over the area in no time at all.
âItâs here again.â Emperor Suiâs eyes glinted coldly. Even a progenitor would shudder at this sight.
He raised his palm and unleashed a flame large enough to cover the stars. The darkness was burnt to a crisp before a complete manifestation.
It didnât look or feel that impressive yet it was one of the strongest types of fire. Just one spark would be enough to instantly kill a progenitor. After the darkness was gone, he gathered the flame back into his palm before lowering it.
The stars regained their beauty and luster afterward.
Li Qiye noticed that at the deepest region of the stars was a tiny crack the size of a feather. This spatial crack was insignificant but it seemed to be an eternal scar. There was no curing or destroying it regardless of the methods.
âLooks man-made.â Li Qiye concluded.
The three had an awkward expression after hearing this. One of them admitted: âYes, we did it.â
âCuriosity kills the cat.â Li Qiye chuckled.
âMore than that, we almost brought the entire world down with us. Thus, we have to stay here forever to deal with it, this is karma.â Emperor Nong said.
âYou definitely need this.â Li Qiye smiled and took out an item.
He held it near his chest as if he was holding three thousand worlds.
âThree Immortals Tree.â The item stole the trioâs attention.
âItâs finally back, after so many years.â Emperor Xi became emotional.
âIndeed.â Emperor Nong reached forward to gently rub it.
âI feel like itâs hard to put a price on something so priceless.â Li Qiye smirked.
The trio exchanged glances, contemplating.
âDo we have a choice?â Emperor Nong spoke first since he was the one who made a deal with Li Qiye.
âNo, but you can choose not to get it.â Li Qiye shook his head.
âSo we donât have a choice. Just state your conditions, we only need the tree.â Emperor Xi smiled.
âWell, I need to think about it very carefully.â Li Qiye rubbed his chin, looking as if he was about to make an outrageous demand.
Alas, the trio couldnât do anything about it. They needed to obediently accept all of his demands since they were fish on the chopping board.
They wouldnât have waited until now if they didnât need the tree. To switch it up, they themselves didnât need it but Three Immortals did. Thatâs why they didnât have a choice.
1. Note, they refer to him as Older Dao Brother but this is just too long