Li Qiye was unmoved by her sharp eyes. He responded by looking her up and down with a carefree gaze as if he wanted to see every inch of her flesh.
Such wanton att.i.tude enraged the guards. Their city lord was n.o.ble in their eyes; such disrespect was unacceptable.
“I am the Pearl City Lord. May I ask why you want to see me?” She slowly said with a dignified and unquestionable tone.
After gauging the woman, he smiled and shook his head: “Unfortunately, you’re not who I want to see. If Lu Zhangsun is still around, I want to see him.”
Her expression slightly changed before responding: “If you have some business, it’s fine to talk to me.”
She was the Peac.o.c.k Bright Monarch, one of the strongest disciples from Heaven Suppression with a preeminent position.
He only smiled and said: “Can I go in now?”
She stared at him and eventually answered: “Yes, Pearl City is always open. You can come and go as you please.”
He entered without looking at her again. Meanwhile, her eyes became profound as she slightly tilted her head in contemplation.
Despite the state of vigilance, the city was still very lively with people everywhere on the streets. The crowdy nature of the street naturally caused a lot of perspiration. It seemed that the city wasn’t affected at all by the current situation.
After all, this was the largest city in this sea region. Many cultivators and mortals were running around here for trading and gathering necessary materials.
Li Qiye leisurely strolled through the familiar streets. Eventually, he came to a remote location with only a few old buildings. The majority of them were ruined. It seemed that this place was prosperous once but it has fallen for a long time with weeds growing everywhere.
He made his way before a little courtyard with only two or three rooms. The architecture was very dated.
There were two pine trees growing here, one on the left and the other right. They weren’t that large but stood completely straight. Their barks were quite thick, like dragon scales. They looked like two young dragons with horns.
He gently sighed again, lamenting the pa.s.sage of time. Back then, he personally planted these trees here after taking them from a dangerous location. In the blink of an eye, they grew up so fast and have even become divine.
He patted the both of them and was met with the rustling of their branches as if they were answering him.
He smiled back at them. Though the world didn’t always go as he wanted, some things still remained. The entrance consisted of two old wooden doors with many holes on them because of insects. Who knows how many worms have gotten their belly full throughout the years in this place?
They weren’t locked so Li Qiye pushed softly and opened them. He entered the little courtyard and they closed on their own.
There was actually an abundance of flowers inside. Such a tiny courtyard actually had an impressive energy and gave off a comfortable feeling.
He looked up and saw an old man noisily sweeping the leaves on the ground.
The hunchback old man dressed humbly while holding a bamboo broom. He looked quite feeble like a candle in the wind but he was very meticulous in his cleaning. Not one leaf was left behind.
There was also a fountain but it was dried up now. No water was coming out as Li Qiye walked closer. It was made from ordinary stones with many decoration pebbles inside. They scattered randomly as if someone had picked them up from a river and threw them in there.
He smiled and squatted down to place the pebbles in a different manner like a playful child. He carefully arranged them together one by one.
As he piled them up, the old man continued to sweep without looking over at all. It was as if the guy was deaf and didn’t notice Li Qiye.
The two did their separate thing so the courtyard became quite peaceful. It didn’t matter how vast the world was or what was going on, it couldn’t disturb the serenity of this place. This tiny location has escaped from the rest of the world.
A while later, Li Qiye finally finished placing all the pebbles. The neatly placed formation resembled an old picture depicting sparkling waves as if this fountain was full of water again.
“Splas.h.!.+” Water suddenly gushed out of the dried fountain. It was a refres.h.i.+ng moistness - full of life. Just a little later, the fountain was drowned with water and rippling waves
He washed his hand carefully as if wanting to clean every single spot. After he made contact, an unbelievable change happened. The clear water suddenly became golden in its entirety.
Anyone would think of the popular saying after seeing this - golden spring gus.h.i.+ng from the earth.
The old man froze for a bit and finally looked up at Li Qiye. His muddled eyes became extremely bright but this didn’t last long.
He put down his bamboo broom and walked into a room. A while later, he came out with a key in his hand while walking towards a different direction. Li Qiye chuckled and followed him.
The old man entered an alleyway with a small hut at the end. It was locked with a rusted iron padlock. It seemed as if just a bit of force could break this lock.
With some clicking sound, the old man seemed to need all of his strength in order to open it. After accomplis.h.i.+ng his task, he turned and left without looking at Li Qiye at all.
Li Qiye didn’t chat either. He pushed the wooden door open and went inside.
It was dark inside this little hut and he walked straight into a wall. However, he kept on walking.
Oddly enough, he immediately crossed through the wall. Before him was a majestic palace, the place where a king of the nine heavens would reside.
There was a chair decorated with draconic symbols in this palace. It was as if only the ultimate supreme would be able to sit on it. Li Qiye didn’t hesitate at all and sat down. He then turned the armrest of the chair. With a whoos.h.i.+ng sound, he instantly disappeared.
At the next moment, he turned up in a desolate region with a lone hill. Old vines grew as far as the eye can see; beasts were howling everywhere.
He perused the scene and sighed to say: “One of the earliest lairs, how many times have I slumbered here?”
His fate palaces opened and a dao portal surfaced. It s.h.i.+ned onto the hill and with a rumbling noise, half of the hill moved to reveal a cave.
There were three words carved on this cave - Allheaven Grotto!