This was none other than the old servant. He glanced at the sky; just one glance alone chased away the clouds and winds.

“Young Master, a few old men were smart enough to leave early.” He respectfully said: “Would you like me to catch and feed them to the pets?”

In reality, most didn’t know anything about the real big shots hiding in the shadows. They didn’t make a move even when their sect members died to the chaos primal beasts.

When the egg appeared, they still kept their patience for some reason, continuing to observe. They then left in silence after the event was finished. Only very few knew about their appearance in this area.

“Forget it, I’m not merciless enough to do that.” Li Qiye shook his head.

The old man’s eyes said that he didn’t believe this, not even a little bit.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Li Qiye smiled: “I only kill those who deserve death. The innocent has nothing to do with me. If they want to die, then I’ll just send them on the path a little faster.”

“You’re enforcing justice on heaven’s behalf?” The old servant couldn’t help but ask.

“Justice? What kind of existence do you think the old villainous heaven is?” Li Qiye chuckled and stared at the old man.

“More losses than gains.” To which the old man responded. [1]

“Hahaha, you’re mistaken.” Li Qiye smiled in response: “The unfair losses suffered by the heavenly dao is only in people’s imagination. You still have a long way to go on this path. The old villainous heaven has never suffered losses before, the same with the heavenly dao. This also applies with the belief that the universe is inhumane and regards everyone as straw dogs.” [2]

The old man took a deep breath and earnestly asked: “Young Master, what do you think the heavenly dao is?”

“In reality, it doesn’t exist. The heavenly dao is something that people hope exists. But if it actually does, then there’s only one, the true self or anima.” Li Qiye replied.

“Anima…” The old man murmured.

“The evilest devil king and the most benevolent savior won’t do. In order to jump out, one must rely on anima.”

The old man carefully digested this information.

“The villainous heaven has never worried about the tragedies of living beings or the injustice of the world. There’s only one thing it cares about.” Li Qiye elaborated.

“What is it?” The old man couldn’t help asking.

“You don’t need to know right now. There is still a long, long way to go.” Li Qiye shook his head.

The old man nodded slightly without being offended. He was a proud man, whether it be during his youth or the present.

After all, those capable of fighting him evenly in Western King could be counted with one’s fingers.

However, Li Qiye was at another height. He had fought the strongest character in West King before but this was nothing compared to Li Qiye. The guy resembled a boundless cosmo capable of encompassing everything.

He once thought that he was already standing at the apex and that dao lords were the limit.

Now, he realized that he was ludicrously incorrect. Dao lord might only be the starting point on this journey.

Experts like them thought that they were at the top. Perhaps the real masters viewed them as insects.

“Young Master, what is your mission in this world? Or rather, what is your pursuit?” The old man became curious.

Supreme merit laws and treasures weren’t enough. Li Qiye considered them trivial.

“There’s no mission, I am simply walking on my path.” Li Qiye shook his head and responded: “However, as for a pursuit, I actually do have one.”

“What is it?” The old man became tense - a very rare feeling for him due to his numerous battles and near-death experiences.

Li Qiye gazed towards the sky, seemingly reaching the end of the world.

“Just an answer.” He said softly. His words seemed to carry a mysterious and profound rhythm.

“An answer?” The old man didn’t expect this response. He thought that he might not be at the right level to comprehend Li Qiye’s intent.

“You’ve listened enough.” Li Qiye suddenly glanced at a peak and casually threw his hatchet.

There was a black-robed man hidden among the boulders on top of that peak. He seemed to be one with the peak - virtually undetectable.

However, blood was dripping down his forehead since the hatchet made direct contact.

His eyes were wide open in disbelief. His stealth technique was second to none. None in West King could detect him. Moreover, he was a famous big shot and a capable cultivator.

Alas, Li Qiye spotted him in no time at all and just a casual hatchet toss managed to take his life. He didn’t have the chance to dodge.

He fell onto the piles of rock, not understanding how the hatchet got there in the first place.

The hatchet then returned to Li Qiye’s hand in a silent fashion. The old man watched and didn’t find this surprising.

As for the abyss, a tiny creature was peeking its head out of the hole, looking all around as if afraid of being spotted. It looked ready to run right away.

Li Qiye whistled and got its attention. “Brat, I’ve been waiting long enough. Come over here.” He waved and smiled at it.

The little thing wanted to run but didn’t have the courage. It eventually obeyed in an unwilling manner.

Li Qiye spread his palm and said: “Come up here, let me take a look.”

This little thing was also a crownless king. The moment it showed up, all the other chaos primal beasts backed off. Though it was young, the high-level heaven beasts were still afraid of it.

Nonetheless, it obediently jumped up and landed on Li Qiye’s palm.

It was around the size of a fist, looking like a dragon or another auspicious beast. It had two wings and a dragon-like tail. Its strange body was the main distinguishing factor. No one has seen something like it before.

Its flat head looked tough and playful; its green eyes looked like emeralds. It was covered in shiny black scales from top to bottom. Each seemed to have been polished meticulously.

Upon careful inspection, the surface of the scales had complex dao runes. They were shallow and hard to see. With more time, one would find that they made up complicated and ancient symbols of Buddhism.

Li Qiye squeezed it with some force. The young creature was hurt and struggled a bit, still not daring to do anything reckless.

“Buzz.” The runes lit up with a Buddhist light, fully activating the symbols. It seemed to be containing a hidden kingdom. Its Buddhist power was boundless and beyond imagination - completely different from its tiny frame.

1. This phrase actually has multiple interpretations that are the opposite of each other. One interpretation is a positive outlook on heaven, the other is negative. I have to base it on the flow of the conversation and the responses. The literal translation is “plenty of damage/harm, not enough benefits/mend”. The negative translation is “more harm than good”, meaning that the villainous heaven is unproductive to the world. The positive one would be “more losses than gains”, meaning that the heaven loses more than it gains, perhaps due to the nature of the cultivation world. To elaborate, cultivators take energy from the world which is bad for nature and heaven. So the problem here is that he simply said the phrase without elaborating. The choice I made is due to Li Qiye’s answer and his negative outlook on the villainous heaven, which means that the guy’s comment should be positive.

2. So the last part is confusing and seems to be mentioned out of nowhere, at least for the English readers. However, this last phrase is extremely common in Chinese novels. It is from the Book of Dao by Laozi, the sacred text of Daoism. The literal translation is what I chose. There are several interpretations for this too. One is the literal one, that heaven is cruel and treats everyone as straw dogs. Straw dogs were used as ceremonial tributes. Another interpretation is that heaven is impartial, treating everyone in the same manner. Thus, everyone’s destiny is based on their own actions and luck (luck is separate from the will of the heaven in this case). Everything just carries out in a natural manner without being interfered. So that’s the two main interpretations, I don’t know which one is right so the literal is the best choice. It’s been a while since we got a chapter warranting long footnotes