Washing Yan Ancient Sect (Part One)

Washing Yan Ancient Sect (Part One)

"In three days, you will pay respects to the patriarch. Then you will be the Chief Disciple of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect." In the end, the Grand Elder spoke coldly, deeply dissatisfied.

Li Qiye sat there, not surprised by this outcome in the slightest. He smiled calmly and said, "Since I am the Chief Disciple, shouldn't I be given one or two weapons to protect myself?"

Another Elder found Li Qiye's composure rather strange. Li Qiye was only around thirteen years old, yet he was calm and unhurried, like the master of a domain. Such an air did not seem feigned, but a mortal like him could not possibly possess such great bearing.

This Elder glanced at Li Qiye and shook his head. "Although you are now the Chief Disciple, we can give you one or two ordinary weapons. But if you want treasures, you are daydreaming. If you want powerful treasures or Immortal Emperor cultivation methods, then you must first render sufficient merit to the Washing Yan Ancient Sect. Those are the sect rules."

Li Qiye could not help smiling. Naturally, his goal was not some Immortal Emperor cultivation method or unparalleled ancient art. His gaze fell upon the charcoal-black wooden stick beside the incense burner. "Fine, then how about I take that wooden stick?"

"That wooden stick?" Hearing Li Qiye's request, the other Elders all froze. The stick beside the incense burner was used to rake ashes when the Washing Yan Ancient Sect burned paper offerings for its patriarchs. It seemed to have always been lying there. It was only a wooden stick, and no one had ever taken an interest in it.

The Elders present had thought Li Qiye would rely on his status as Chief Disciple to demand some treasure or Imperial Technique. They had never expected him to want a wooden stick. It was far beyond their expectations!

Li Qiye said leisurely, "Since I am the Chief Disciple, my identity and status in the Washing Yan Ancient Sect carry weight and represent excellence and longevity. This wooden stick originated within this great hall, and this hall is the ancestral hall of our Washing Yan Ancient Sect, carrying extraordinary significance. By that reasoning, this stick's origins are far from ordinary as well. It represents the authority of our Washing Yan Ancient Sect, making it perfectly suited to my status as Chief Disciple..."

Once Li Qiye opened his mouth, he poured out an endless torrent of lofty reasoning. Elder Xiong and the others looked at him as if he were an idiot. At that moment, they had only one thought: perhaps only a whoremonger like Third Ghost Lord would find common ground with an idiot like Li Qiye!

"Fine, this wooden stick is granted to you." The Grand Elder impatiently cut Li Qiye off. To him, it was merely a fire poker, nothing worth mentioning. He could not be bothered to listen to any more of Li Qiye's endless idiotic rambling.

"Then many thanks to Elder for granting me this stick." This was exactly what Li Qiye had been waiting for. He snatched it up and tucked it at his waist. In the Elders' eyes, that action made him seem no less than an idiot.

"Huairen, take him to where he should live!" At last, an Elder impatiently instructed a disciple to send Li Qiye away.

For the six Elders, today's affair was as stifling as could be. A piece of trash had actually become the Chief Disciple of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect. Although their Washing Yan Ancient Sect was no longer what it had once been, it had not fallen so far that a trashy idiot should become its senior disciple!

A disciple of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect led Li Qiye to a solitary peak. The peak was not small, with over ten mu of land at its summit and a small courtyard built there.

The courtyard looked somewhat dilapidated from years of neglect, with weeds and tangled vines growing thickly. Though this solitary peak stood in a relatively remote part of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect, it was still within the sect's territory.

Opening the courtyard gate, the disciple said to Li Qiye, "Junior Brother, no, Senior Brother will live here from now on." He corrected himself rather quickly.

In terms of when he had entered the sect, Li Qiye could not compare to him. But Li Qiye was now the Chief Disciple, so in terms of seniority, regardless of age, every third-generation disciple had to address Li Qiye as Senior Brother.

Li Qiye gave the disciple, who had changed his form of address so quickly, a glance. Then he looked around at the surroundings. Without being picky, he nodded and said, "A lone mountain and distant shadows. This is a good place too."

"As it happens, this mountain is called Solitary Peak." The disciple could not help laughing. As he spoke, he gave Li Qiye several more looks before letting out an awkward laugh. "Senior Brother will move into one of the main peaks in the future."

In truth, according to the rules of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect, the Chief Disciple naturally had the right to live on a main peak. The Washing Yan Ancient Sect possessed quite a few main peaks, and the Chief Disciple could be said to have the right to choose any one of them to reside in.

However, every major peak of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect was currently occupied. The six Elders were extremely dissatisfied with a Chief Disciple like Li Qiye, who had muddled his way into the position, so naturally they would not allow him to live on a main peak.

Living on a main peak naturally came with many benefits. One of the greatest was that the Heaven and Earth Essence on the main peaks was much denser than on the branch lines and lesser peaks.

"Living here is fine." Li Qiye spoke calmly. He did not fuss over such matters, his heart as still as an ancient well.

"I have already collected the items Senior Brother needs." This disciple was experienced and thorough in handling matters. He gave Li Qiye the necessities of daily life and said, "If Senior Brother needs anything, you may come find me at the Outer Hall."

"What is your name?" As the disciple was about to leave, Li Qiye stopped him and casually asked.

The disciple could not help being taken aback. To be honest, he did not think highly of Li Qiye. With Li Qiye's aptitude, he was fundamentally unqualified to join the Washing Yan Ancient Sect, much less become its Chief Disciple.

Back in the great hall, Li Qiye's performance had seemed somewhat idiotic. Yet Li Qiye's current calmness and composure made the disciple wonder whether Li Qiye was simply thick-skinned and dull-witted, or whether he truly had everything under control.

"Reporting to Senior Brother, my name is Nan Huairen. I am an Outer Hall envoy." The disciple came back to his senses and ultimately answered Li Qiye's question.

"My name is Li Qiye." Li Qiye merely nodded lightly. Across millions upon millions of years of rise and fall, there were scarcely any who knew his true origins and name.

After Nan Huairen left, Li Qiye did not remain idle. He personally cleaned the small courtyard and tidied up the surroundings of Solitary Peak. After he had put it in order, this solitary peak, long uninhabited, finally gained a trace of human life.

Li Qiye handled matters with perfect order. If an outsider had been present, they would hardly have believed that he was merely a youth of around thirteen. His calm maturity in doing things utterly mismatched his age and appearance.

After all that labor, evening drew near. Li Qiye was exhausted and hungry, so he dropped down in front of the door. After catching his breath for quite some time, he picked up the fire poker tucked at his waist.

Looking at this charcoal-black wooden stick, used by others to stir paper offerings, distant memories long buried beneath dust surfaced in his heart. In the end, he could not help giving a bitter smile.

The world said that Immortal Emperors bore the Heaven's Will and could live forever without dying, but where were invincible beings like Immortal Emperor Mingren and the Immortal Emperor Tunri today?

After recovering himself, Li Qiye slowly scraped away the ash on the fire poker, finally revealing its true appearance. It was a wooden stick over three feet long, blue-black in color. Though it had been used as a fire poker for countless ages, it had not been burned or damaged in the slightest. Yet apart from that, there was nothing remarkable about it.

Li Qiye gently stroked the stick and murmured, "Snake-Beating Cudgel!" With that soft sigh, old memories rose in his heart. Holding this cudgel again today brought a wholly different feeling.

Back then, before Immortal Emperor Mingren had borne the Heaven's Will, Li Qiye, as Immortal Emperor Mingren's guide, had trained a group of youths as reserve strength for him. In order to properly discipline those youths, he had specifically brought this Snake-Beating Cudgel back from the Ghost Forest.

Later, every one of those youths who became famous throughout the world and intimidated all directions had been beaten by this Snake-Beating Cudgel until their flesh split and their skin burst! After finishing their training, he had casually thrown this Snake-Beating Cudgel into the Washing Yan Ancient Sect. He had never expected it to still remain in the ancestral hall.

Holding the Snake-Beating Cudgel, Li Qiye sank into a long silence. After the efforts of countless lifetimes, he had finally reclaimed his own body. His soul had at last escaped the prison of the Shadow Crow.

Yet so many people had departed one after another: his family, his former friends, the Medicine God, Immortal Emperor Xuexi, Immortal Emperor Mingren... even the Black Dragon King, who had lived through three entire lifetimes, had ultimately passed away!

In that distant past, during that savage era, he had only been an ordinary thirteen-year-old shepherd boy. Yet while searching for a lost sheep, he had fallen into the Immortal-Demon Cave, and his soul had been trapped within the body of the immortal Shadow Crow, lifetime after lifetime!

At first, terrified and unable to control his own fate, he became a Shadow Crow and could only follow the route laid down by the Immortal-Demon Cave, flying endlessly between Heaven and Earth. He had entered burial grounds, crossed old lands, traversed the Nine Worlds... Every lifetime, he was forced to return to the Immortal-Demon Cave once.

Though he had become a Shadow Crow, after entering and leaving those mysterious and perilous burial grounds and old lands—places so dangerous that even great sages feared to tread—lifetime after lifetime, he came to learn countless secrets. After innumerable hardships, his Dao Heart became firm.

Later, unwilling to remain an immortal puppet Shadow Crow generation after generation, he laid down a heaven-shaking plan and severed the route the Immortal-Demon Cave had set within his soul.

To escape the Shadow Crow and reclaim his own body, he had struggled time and again. He had guided one promising youth after another onto the path of cultivation, even leading them onto the road to invincibility, to bear the Heaven's Will!

Though today he had finally fulfilled his wish, reclaimed his body, and become human once more, how many had already gone?

In the end, Li Qiye let out a soft sigh. But soon, he drew a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly. In this lifetime, no matter what, he had to ascend the pinnacle and become unmatched by anyone. One day, he would rule over the Immortal-Demon Cave!

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