Chapter 1172: Teng Jiwen

Eventually, Li Qiye looked at the bunch of grasses connecting to the main root of the Peacock Tree before telling Kong Qinru: “Come, we have a lot of things to do.”

With that, he turned and left. After returning to the resting point of the Exquisite Valley, he wrote down a long list and handed it to her: “Go gather these things for me, as fast as possible.”

She carefully scanned the list. It contained many things such as pills and alchemy ingredients among other strange items. Some were quite common while others were even poisonous…

She put the list away and cupped her fists to say: “Young Noble Li, don’t worry, I will personally go back to the Exquisite Valley. While I’m not here, just tell the other disciples if you ever need anything. They will take care of it for you.”

Li Qiye needed too many things that were quite precious, so she had to personally take a trip back.

After she left, Li Qiye carried out his own business. He truly had too many things to do, such as working hard to sever the roots of the Peacock Tree. Moreover, he had to once more climb to the peak to prepare a grand stage for the entire land.

This was indeed a great price to pay for life replenishment. Alchemy materials alone weren’t enough, so Kong Qinru couldn’t afford to pay this price. This tree used to be a treefather. The difficulty of this life replenishment was not much different from revitalizing an Immortal Emperor.

Even with minimizing the use of Pinnacle Lifewater, the other method was quite expensive. It required a lot of life force, so Li Qiye had to prepare this stage for the final moment.

While he did all of this, the valley maintained a steady stream of materials to him.

Kong Qinru was very determined in this process. She spent painstaking efforts to gather the massive amount of materials and expensive treasures.

Even as the master, she couldn’t decide it all by herself due to the sheer amount that was involved. In order to do so, she worked hard to convince the other ancestors of the valley and gained their support.

Due to the constant supply of materials, Li Qiye’s plan was moving along quite smoothly.

On this day, Li Qiye was at the top of the Peacock Peak and was using the Myriad Heavenly Cauldron to unclog the blocked runic lines of the Peacock Tree. He controlled the cauldron with one hand and its fire with the other. This flame poured into the tree like a type of liquid.

Because of its age, many of its runic channels were blocked. By doing this, it would buy a lot more time for the tree.

However, in order to replenish its life, Li Qiye must get through all the blocked channels. Otherwise, its blood energy and essences would be quite limited, so the entire process would be meaningless.

As he was clearing through these impassable channels, someone came to worship the Peacock Tree once more. It was the descendant of the Heavenvine Citadel that Li Qiye had met before, Teng Jiwen.

The same three old men were following behind him. The moment Teng Jiwen reached the top, he saw Li Qiye burning the tree and immediately shouted in shock: “Stop, what are you trying to do?!”

He was a treant, so as one of its disciples, he was full of admiration for an existence like the Peacock Tree. So now, after seeing someone actually burning the treefather, he was astounded and wanted to stop the perpetrator.

When he rushed over to see Li Qiye’s cauldron pouring an endless amount of fire into the tree trunk, he was completely stunned. The elders following him were stunned as well.

Their Heavenvine Citadel was also a lineage with a treefather, so they understood these great existences very well. Naturally, this scene was certainly astonishing.

Teng Jiwen asked in disbelief: “What, what are you doing?” Earlier when he told Li Qiye to stop, it was just an instinctive reaction.

Coming from the Heavenvine Citadel, he naturally knew that ordinary people couldn’t harm this ancestral tree that used to be a treefather.

Li Qiye revealed a mysterious smile and spoke in a profound manner: “Life replenishment for the Peacock Tree!”

“Life Replenishment?!” Teng Jiwen and the three old men stared at each other. If this was a joke, then it certainly wasn’t a funny one. However, all four of them were speechless at this moment.

If others were to say this, they would be amused by the joke. However, the scene unraveling before them was too far removed from a joke.

Li Qiye didn’t look like he was joking. More importantly, he could actually invade the Peacock Tree. This was simply inconceivable.

When a treefather turned into an ancestral tree, it wouldn’t keep its original sentience, it would become just like other trees. However, there was one aspect that was different; these ancestral trees were extremely powerful. Even Immortal Emperors wouldn’t be able to invade them easily.

It didn’t matter if the Peacock Tree had given permission or Li Qiye used a special technique, this was still a heaven-defying matter and definitely not a joke.

The four of them then watched Li Qiye add more gushing fire into the body of the tree.

After a long while, Li Qiye withdrew the flames and the cauldron. This was enough time to ameliorate these blocked runic pathways.

Before leaving, he glanced at Teng Jiwen and smiled: “Life replenishment isn’t such an easy matter.”

He drifted away cooly after leaving behind those words. Meanwhile, the four of them were still astounded, unable to say anything.

A long time after Li Qiye left, the group finally calmed down. Teng Jiwen looked at the old man next to him and asked: “Third Uncle, do you think this is possible?”

The old man pondered for a moment before replying: “I really haven’t heard of life replenishment for an ancestral tree before. These are unfathomable existences, this task is probably as difficult as trying to prolong an Immortal Emperor’s life.”

A different old man added: “Although it's pure speculation, there is only one possibility. He is an Alchemy Emperor! Only an Alchemy Emperor would be able to replenish the life of an ancestral tree.”

At this time, Teng Jiwen touched the spot Li Qiye was pouring fire into, but there were no signs of charring. It looked as if the Peacock Tree had opened a hole for Li Qiye to pour in the fire.

“Life replenishment for an ancestral tree…” He muttered to himself in a daze. Eventually, he composed himself and told the old man: “Third Uncle, go back and tell the elders that I won’t be coming back for now.”

This old man was surprised to hear this and retorted: “You can’t, all of the elders are coming out now for your assessment! If you miss this chance, you will be handing the citadel lord’s position to someone else.”

Teng Jiwen was only one of the descendants from the citadel. He had another strong competitor that was not lesser than him in either background or ability. Because of this, the position for the main successor had yet to be decided.

Teng Jiwen was touring the world and offered his respects to the different ancestral trees in order to learn the dao. Through this, he wanted to enhance his strength to pass the assessment of the ancestors.

But now, he actually said that he wasn’t going back. This made the people near him jump in shock.

A different old man worriedly spoke to persuade him: “That’s right, this assessment is of utmost importance. If you miss it, I’m afraid your chances of becoming the citadel lord will become slim.”

Teng Jiwen took a deep breath and earnestly said: “I know the gravity of the situation, but I will still remain here. Everyone, don’t worry, I understand the implications very well.”

The three old men glanced at each other. They couldn’t do anything if Teng Jiwen had made up his mind.

***

Kong Qinru returned from the Exquisite Valley. All of the supplies Li Qiye specified had been brought in full.

With enough materials, Li Qiye began to perform the finishing touches for the stage he was building at Peacock Land. He had been through all the locations here, including the oceans nearby, and nailed down formation arrays. The center was done as well.

After finishing the final preparations, he could breathe easy. He looked down at his work from the mountain before casually entering a tavern in a nearby town.

He leisurely ordered some dishes and sat by a window. After being served, he slowly poured wine into his cup as if he was waiting for someone.