Once Li Qiye loosened his grip, the Buddhist light disappeared and the baby beast returned to its original form. It looked obedient while coiling in his palm.

Who would have thought that this was a dangerous creature given its appearance? Nonetheless, few could actually grasp it due to its innate Buddhist power.

“This beast will be incredible once it reaches maturity. What is its type?” The old servant was astonished.

“A mahoraga.” Li Qiye responded.

“Hmm…” The old servant has never heard this strange name before: “This is my first time hearing it.”

He knew that this thing was dangerous even when it was just a golden egg. Once it matured, top masters like them wouldn't be able to fight it. It was definitely comparable to a dao lord.

“That’s expected.” Li Qiye smiled: “This ferocious thing is a Buddhist beast. It’s too dangerous so it only exists in the legends.”

He stopped and looked around for a bit before concluding: “However, someone might have known about it. Otherwise, this valley wouldn’t have remained untouched for so long.”

Numerous have entered Myriad Beast Mountains across the years but no one noticed the seal in the valley? Why was it currently exposed?

This meant that someone had purposely destroyed part of the seal, allowing people to see it.

“Must be his idea.” The old man said.

“Whatever.” Li Qiye didn’t care for the schemes and strategies.

The old man understood why Li Qiye thought so. Strategies and schemes couldn’t reach the apex before Li Qiye who could easily dismantle them with one wave.

“Let’s go back.” Li Qiye picked up the firewood and left while the baby beast lay on his other shoulder.

The old man followed along without saying anything.

A long time later after they were gone, another figure emerged next to the corpse of the black-robed man, staring at the fatal wound on the forehead.

“Hmph.” The old man scowled and stared quietly towards the direction of Li Qiye. In reality, he has been staying near the mountain range for the last several days. He didn’t dare to get close and hid his identity.

He then disappeared from sight, not leaving a single trace behind. No one would know that he was even here.

***

The next period consisted of the same thing - Li Qiye spending his time at the temple. He cultivated and gathered firewood but most importantly, chanting in front of the portrait. This happened every day without fail.

The old man had no idea why Li Qiye chanted every morning. What was so special about that wall and the portrait?

He didn’t ask since Li Qiye didn’t bring up this topic. Nonetheless, he knew that Li Qiye had a reason for doing so. Perhaps this was his purpose in coming to Myriad Beast Mountains. His goal should be something in this temple, not the mahoraga.

Li Qiye’s grand dao was improving from the peaceful cultivation. Today, cracking noises could be heard. Li Qiye has broken through the bottleneck of Violet Marquis to reach the Conqueror Vessel realm.

His violet energy was transformed into a regal aura. He exuded an extraordinary presence as if he was sitting among the clouds.

The old man was surprised once he saw Li Qiye again. “Congratulations, Young Master, for reaching Conqueror Vessel.” He bowed to show respect.

In reality, this realm was nothing, completely insignificant. Normally, he wouldn’t bother to look at other conquerors.

This wasn’t the case for Li Qiye. His regal aura was completely different from the rest. He looked like the emperor of kings, the tyrant of the gods. Just one strand from him would suppress all of his subjects.

A regular conqueror was indeed a king but only among mortals. Li Qiye was a king among all beings. This was the biggest difference.

“Not too bad, finally a new vessel. Looks like it’s goodbye to the mortal physique.” Li Qiye smiled in response.

In the cultivator world, the realm of Conqueror Vessel served as an important threshold. People beneath this realm were considered to have a mortal body. The true transformation came after.

Of course, Li Qiye was only entertaining the old man. These physiques didn’t matter to him in the slightest. His cultivation was actually a polishing of the self while gaining more experiences. Cultivation realms didn’t matter.

“Which merit law will you choose now?” The old man became curious.

“Heavensplit Mantra.” Li Qiye responded.

This was another of the seven mantras. He had learned five so far and only needed two more.

“You wish to cultivate all seven?” The old man didn’t know the mysteries behind this style of cultivation.

“Can’t put it like that. The seven used to be one, I’m just experiencing it for myself.” Li Qiye smiled.

“The seven were one?” The old man has never heard about this before and gained a new perspective on the seven mantras. This was a new type of cultivation.

Li Qiye chuckled and didn’t answer the old man.

As Li Qiye started learning Heavensplit, he seemed to be splitting the sky up into a new world. His regal aura became boundless. It seemed capable of destroying the entire world after fully activated.

This broadened the old man’s horizon. Li Qiye’s aura was already this terrifying in the conqueror realm. What about at the dao lord realm?

***

Today, Li Qiye still woke up early and chanted to the wall painting. As he was half done, a buzz could be heard.

Strands of light emanated from the wall as if an ancient power was awakening. The woman in the wall also lit up. The strands of light seemed to be carving on the wall and re-creating her outline.

This sudden power fluctuation startled the old man and Fan Bai who was cultivating outside. She hurriedly ran in to take a look.

The old man’s body flashed and he appeared inside, shouting: “Young Master!”

Li Qiye didn’t pay attention to the two; his eyes were firmly fixated on the woman in the wall.

The painting seemed to be moving just a bit, prompting Fan Bai to cover her mouth to stop screaming.

The old man realized that they shouldn’t be here and pulled Fan Bai outside.

Fan Bai also regained her wits and continued walking away. However, she couldn’t help glancing back one more time because the painting was too beautiful. This woman might be the most gorgeous in the world.

After they left, the wall became brighter and the woman became more animated.

“Pop!” Finally, she seemingly came back to life. Spatial ripples emerged and she walked down from the wall that seemed to be a portal leading to another world.

Everything lost its colors because she was unreasonably beautiful. All other women would feel inferior in her presence.

Words wouldn’t do justice when describing her. She seemed to be a fairy from an immortal world, blessed with unmatched looks and intelligence.