“Fellow Daoist Li is indeed above us.” Jin Ge said slowly while staring at Li Qiye: “Your dao heart is not just as hard as steel; you can freely use it however you want. A single thought to turn into a Buddha or a devil. It has nothing to do with cultivation any longer. With your dao heart, there is no fear of not becoming an Immortal Monarch, surely capable of reaching twelve wills. Unfortunately, I have lost my first chance or I wouldn’t mind meeting you again at the apex, to see which of us is better then!”
He was full of regrets at this point. The discerning fella understood Li Qiye’s worth. At the same time, he was still fierce enough. Despite knowing his inferiority, he still wanted to compete without any fear. This was the reason why he was the top candidate to become a Grand Emperor!
Jin Ge shocked the crowd with that statement. He was considered the greatest genius with few rivals in both cultivation and innate talents.
But now, he dared to claim that Li Qiye was capable of becoming a twelve-will Immortal Monarch. This was an acceptance of Li Qiye’s status.
Remember that in the contemporary, the hundred races only have one emperor with twelve wills, Immortal Monarch Yi Ye.
If Li Qiye were to reach this level, it would completely change the current landscape. The hundred races would have two top emperors then, quite a shocking development.
“Fiercest will be the first human with twelve wills?” The humans here felt their blood boiling.
Immortal Monarch Yi Ye was ultimately a half-human, half-charming spirit. In fact, rumor has it that his human bloodline is very faint. Because of this, on a stricter level, he wasn’t counted as an Immortal Monarch of the human race. It was just that many humans preferred to view him as such to elevate their own race.
Li Qiye only smiled and didn’t reply to Jin Ge’s evaluation.
“Fellow Daoist Li has won this match completely. Brother Jin Ge, do you think we should continue? Personally, I think conceding is the right choice now.” Baili shook his head and said.
Previously, Baili and Jin Ge were quite evenly-matched in their bet with three wins each. The gap between them in regards to dao heart and knowledge was minuscule.
Their cultivation was one thing but their origin, foundation, and knowledge were evenly matched. They were indeed worthy rivals.
But now, they were instantly crushed by Li Qiye. Even if they had an advantage in cultivation, there was no way for them to beat him in this shrine.
Because of this, Baili frankly accepted his defeat. It wasn’t shameful at all in his eyes. The guy had earned his victory.
“Fellow Daoist Li is at the next level for his dao heart. One would only continue the bet with him here out of ignorance and baseless confidence.” Jin Ge replied: “No need to continue, I accept my loss.”
Their straightforward and graceful acceptance of defeat was well-received by the crowd.
Li Qiye smiled and said: “Not bad. Very well, we’ll end this here then.”
In fact, he quite enjoyed both Baili and Jin Ge. Enemies or not, they were enjoyable to deal with.
“What a shame about these treasures, such a waste of heavenly gifts.” Qin Baili looked at the divine crest and imperial gauntlet.
The two returned these treasures back to their original position.
They weren’t the only ones who had this thought. Many people outside the shrine felt the same way, that it would be so nice to bring these treasures to the outside world. If it was possible, then a great character would instantly teleport the shrine back to his own treasury.
Unfortunately, no one had ever been able to do it before.
“That statement is a bit too strong for this kind of treasures.” Li Qiye said with a tinge of playfulness.
“Fellow Daoist Li, you mean there are other things even more precious here?” Baili was shocked.
“Not just more precious. There is another thing here that can easily be considered the shrine’s defining artifact.” Li Qiye said flatly.
“Defining artifact?!” Qin Baili became interested right away: “What is it and what can it do? Do tell.”
He a.s.sumed a respectful posture towards Li Qiye, eager to learn.
Jin Ge also gave his full attention since he was quite curious as well. After all, a “defining” artifact in a place this great would undoubtedly be incredible.
In fact, the crowd’s ears perched up in order to listen. How could people not be excited about the shrine’s defining treasure.
Li Qiye gently shook his head: “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you but I want to avoid being criticized for scheming to kill the two of you. I’m not looking down on anyone but the moment this treasure comes out, the two of you won’t be able to calm your dao heart.”
The duo looked at each other with a slight astonishment. They have seen too many treasures and couldn’t possibly imagine something that could move them completely.
Jin Ge cupped his fist and said: “I truly want to listen even more now. Don’t worry, we’ll immediately leave at the first sign of trouble. We are ready to listen, Fellow Daoist Li. Please.”
“Brother Jin Ge is right. You are not to blame even if we were to die here. That would be the fault of our lacking dao heart.” Qin Baili chimed in.
After seeing their eagerness, Li Qiye smiled: “Very well, then I shall let you know so that you can prepare.”
The two of them took a deep breath and solemnly nodded: “Thank you, Fellow Daoist Li.”
The rest of the spectators outside watched with bated breath, all wanting to know what kind of treasure it was.
“Its name is Heaven Reckon.” Li Qiye revealed: “This ruler was born naturally from the world. It might not be an Ultimate Artifact but it is still a top treasure of an epoch. After it appeared, everyone vied for it for many generations; countless died as a result. Even the G.o.ds and Buddhas joined in. It wasn’t a combat artifact; its true strength lies in its ability to measure the heaven, the world, and the myriad ages. Divination, in essence.”
“Not good.” Jin Ge and Qin Baili immediately backed off with unreal speed. Their shadow was still back in the shrine but their body was already outside.
The crowd was stunned. This meant that the two had difficulty controlling their dao heart.
“The world really has a treasure like this? Capable of auguring even the heaven?” Baili was in disbelief. Same with Jin Ge.
Many experts here didn’t understand the gravity of Li Qiye’s description unlike these two. If there was no embellishment, then the treasure was quite frightening.
“There are many strange and magical things in the world, so why not this ruler?” Li Qiye said with a faint smile.
Jin Ge asked with a changing expression: “This ruler is still in the Golden Shrine?”
Li Qiye looked at him and said: “Your old man, War-Monarch, found an immortal remains back at Hope. If it wasn’t for that, he would still be thinking about this ruler. Alas, he didn’t want to be involved in its karma. The result would either be a Heavenly Execution or a disaster for the clan. It is a grand karma of Buddhism, even the top-level emperors must tread carefully.”
The crowd quickly turned to see Jin Ge’s expression after hearing this.
Jin Ge was dumbfounded as well. He knew very little about this particular secret, only that their clan had records of an amazing treasure situated in Buddhist Plain. In the beginning, he a.s.sumed that this particular item was located on the other sh.o.r.e. But now, he felt like the text was referring to Heaven Reckon.
In a short time, the crowd swallowed their saliva. This was a treasure coveted even by War-Monarch Heaven Emperor. It must be so heaven-defying.
Qin Baili murmured: “Heaven Reckon, capable of measuring all things. What a shame that I can’t see it for myself.”
He knew full well that he wouldn’t dare to search even if the ruler was in there right now because he wasn’t confident about maintaining his dao heart upon its sight. If he couldn’t, he would be buried in this place.