Chapter 34: The Qimen Saber (Part 2)
After returning to Solitary Peak, Li Qiye glanced at Nan Huairun, tossed the two Mortal Iron short sabers to him, and said casually, "Since you want a look, then take a good one."
Realizing Li Qiye had seen through him, Nan Huairun was quite embarrassed. He couldn't understand why Li Qiye would choose these two Mortal Iron short sabers. He desperately wanted to see what was so magical about them, but he had been too embarrassed to ask.
Now that Li Qiye had tossed the two Mortal Iron short sabers to him, Nan Huairun didn't stand on ceremony. He meticulously inspected the two short sabers in his hands, but no matter how he looked at them, he couldn't see anything extraordinary.
The two Qimen Sabers were covered in rust, mottled and ancient. The entire blades were forged from Mortal Iron, without the slightest trace of anything magical. This left Nan Huairun completely baffled.
"Why did Senior Brother insist on choosing these two Qimen Sabers?" Nan Huairun was certain that Li Qiye had set his sights on them the moment he entered the Armory Pavilion.
Li Qiye smiled. "If even you could see through them, they wouldn't have been left there for so long."
"What kind of treasure are they?" Nan Huairun asked humbly. He couldn't fathom the mystery of these two sabers at all.
"They're not treasures." Li Qiye gave a faint smile. "Just two Qimen Sabers forged from Mortal Iron. In terms of materials, they aren't even worth a tael of silver."
"But..." Li Qiye's words only confused Nan Huairun more. If these two Qimen Sabers were really just that, why would Li Qiye choose them?
"But," Li Qiye interrupted Nan Huairun's confusion, "they can slice through a Prince's Weapon or a True Master's treasure as easily as cutting tofu."
"How is that possible?" Nan Huairun was flabbergasted. What level of existence was a Prince, let alone a True Master? Legend had it that the Xiyan Ancient Sect hadn't produced a figure of that level in thirty thousand years!
In response to Nan Huairun's shock, Li Qiye just smiled. He looked at Nan Huairun and said slowly and deliberately, "You're very smart, and you have a good grasp of the situation. Stick with me, and I won't treat you poorly. Emperor Technique Sacred Treasures are nothing. As long as you work hard, I will let you cultivate a Core Emperor Technique."
Hearing this, Nan Huairun's heart trembled. This was a promise that not even his master, or even his grand-master, Elder Sun, would dare to make. After all, the Xiyan Ancient Sect now possessed very few Core Emperor Techniques.
"Thank you, Senior Brother." After recovering his senses, Nan Huairun hurriedly bowed to Li Qiye, who accepted it calmly.
After Nan Huairun left, Li Qiye picked up the two Qimen Sabers. The two Mortal Iron short sabers were completely unremarkable. He gently caressed the dull, rusted blades and couldn't help but sigh softly. 'The past cannot be relived.'
'Even for an invincible existence like an Immortal Emperor, what was the final outcome? I personally raised that Mingren Kid. He shouldered the Celestial Mandate, was unrivaled in his generation, and even cultivated the Daytime Celestial Body, but in the end, he still vanished into the long river of time.'
Li Qiye ground the rust off the two Qimen Sabers. Even after the rust was polished away, the sabers still showed no sign of being magical. The only pleasing thing about them was their simple and elegant antiquity.
Li Qiye gently caressed the blades, slowly feeling their chilling aura. 'That's right. Just as everyone would say, these two Qimen Sabers are indeed forged from Mortal Iron. In terms of materials, they're practically worthless.'
However, these two Qimen Sabers had a heaven-shattering origin. These two Qimen Sabers, forged from Mortal Iron, were the very same Mortal Iron Blades that the Mingren Immortal Emperor had used in his youth.
In terms of material, the two sabers were indeed nothing special. But they had always been with the Mingren Immortal Emperor. Later, when Li Qiye guided Mingren to the path of Cultivation, the emperor couldn't bear to throw these two Qimen Sabers away and always kept them by his side. This was especially true after he shouldered the Celestial Mandate and became an Immortal Emperor.
Whenever he reminisced about the old days, the Mingren Immortal Emperor would gently stroke these two Qimen Sabers that had accompanied him in his youth.
The Mingren Immortal Emperor never reforged these two Qimen Sabers, but he always carried them with him, stroking them time and time again.
An Immortal Emperor—what kind of existence was that? One who shouldered the Celestial Mandate, commanded the universe, reigned over the Nine Realms, and swept through the Eight Desolations! Nourished by the Blood Qi of an Immortal Emperor, polished by the will of an Immortal Emperor—even if the two Qimen Sabers were forged from Mortal Iron, they were now anything but ordinary.
These two Qimen Sabers were carried by the Mingren Immortal Emperor for a lifetime and stroked by him countless times. They now contained the Mingren Immortal Emperor's Emperor's Immortal Intent!
The true value of these two Qimen Sabers lay not in the sabers themselves, nor in their materials, but in the Emperor's Immortal Intent hidden within.
The intent of an Immortal Emperor—what a terrifying thing that was. Although these two Qimen Sabers couldn't compare to an Immortal Emperor's Treasure or an Immortal Emperor True Artifact, they were definitely far, far stronger than the treasures of Princes, True Masters, or even Ancient Saints. A single wisp of an Immortal Emperor's intent could annihilate anything!
Li Qiye slowly stroked the blades, feeling the Emperor's Immortal Intent concealed within. He could faintly sense the ferocity hidden inside the saber's body.
Of course, it was impossible to fully connect with the Emperor's Immortal Intent in a short amount of time. It required time and skill. However, Li Qiye wasn't in a hurry. He just slowly felt for it, slowly capturing the Emperor's Immortal Intent within the sabers.
In this world, if there was anyone most familiar with the Mingren Immortal Emperor's intent, it had to be Li Qiye. He had personally trained the Mingren Immortal Emperor; he was intimately familiar with the Mystical Meaning of his Emperor's Immortal Intent.
In the days that followed, Li Qiye took his time, progressing step by step. He cultivated the "Moon Vortex Sun Technique" and the "Kunpeng Six Transformations," and each day he would also comprehend the Emperor's Immortal Intent within the Qimen Sabers.
Although Li Qiye was the Chief Disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect, while he remained there to cultivate, basically no one ever asked about his situation or his Cultivation, with the exception of Nan Huairun and his master.
Li Qiye had almost become an invisible person within the Xiyan Ancient Sect. Never mind the elders who couldn't be bothered to check on him; even the other disciples didn't care. To the Xiyan Ancient Sect, Li Qiye seemed to have become an expendable existence.
The only regular visitor to Solitary Peak was Nan Huairun. Whenever he had time, he would come to visit Li Qiye. In fact, Nan Huairun was the one who arranged for everything Li Qiye needed, from daily necessities to essential items for every Cultivator, like a Qiankun Pouch.
Guardian Mo also came once. He had intended to offer Li Qiye some guidance on his Cultivation, but seeing that Li Qiye already had everything under control and seemed to have a clear plan, Guardian Mo tactfully abandoned the idea.
「Finally, after three months...」
On this day, as Li Qiye was meditating, his entire body suddenly trembled. In that instant, his Life Palace pulsed with rings of light, and the radiance in his eyes exploded forth.
At that moment, a dramatic change occurred within Li Qiye's Life Palace. In the eastern part of the palace, the Spring of Life began to GURGLE, pouring out the Water of Life. The gushing water flowed without end, forming a small creek.
In the west, flames suddenly shot to the sky. The Life Furnace had been lit, burning fiercely with the legendary Soul Fire. It seemed as if this Soul Fire could refine anything in the Three Realms.
In the south, the immense Tree of Life emitted rings of brilliance. Its branches and leaves swayed, as if the Tree of Life had suddenly burst forth with endless Power of Life. It was like a slumbering Giant Dragon had suddenly awakened, filled with infinite strength.
In the north, Dao sounds suddenly echoed. At this moment, the Pillar of Life seemed to connect heaven and earth. The Dao Patterns on the giant pillar appeared to come alive, flowing and circulating without rest.
At this time, Li Qiye could clearly feel something awakening within his body. When he used his Inner Vision, he felt as though the True Destiny within his Life Palace had just opened its eyes. In that instant, the True Destiny was like a sleeping infant, opening its eyes for the first time to gaze upon everything it could see.
Awakening! The second level of the Palace Knocking Realm, Awakening. Li Qiye's True Destiny had finally awakened. It had taken him a full three months.
At this point, the runic Dao rhythm of the "Kunpeng Six Transformations" was incomparably joyous. It transformed into a Kunpeng, sometimes circling the True Destiny, sometimes merging into it, and sometimes leaping into the air like a fish breaking the water's surface...
Li Qiye was happy. He took a deep breath. His True Destiny had finally awakened. This process had taken him a full three months.
For anyone else, taking three months to awaken their True Destiny would be nothing to be happy about. Such a pace was practically no different from that of an idiot!
However, for Li Qiye, this was a joyous occasion. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The awakening of his True Destiny was an excellent start.
After his True Destiny awakened, Li Qiye was only happy for a moment. He didn't stop his Cultivation but began striding toward the next level!
Li Qiye knew clearly in his heart that his innate talent and physique were poor. However, he could make up for it with hard work and diligence. As long as his Dao Heart remained firm and he persevered, he would definitely be able to reach the peak, shoulder the Celestial Mandate, and sweep through the Nine Realms!
A slow bird has to start flying early; diligence can make up for a lack of talent. Having lived through countless years, he had seen story after story of experts with average aptitude but firm Dao Hearts rise to prominence through diligent Cultivation. He had also seen tragedy after tragedy of geniuses who ultimately fell.
This made Li Qiye understand better than anyone that innate talent and physique were not everything. As long as his Dao Heart was unwavering and he persevered, one day, he would be the one to have the last laugh. One day, he would reach the absolute peak!