“I can’t take all the credits since I had the help of an item. He hid very well, it wouldn’t have been easy.” Li Qiye shook his head and smiled before taking out a box to hand it to Emperor Sui.

The box was left behind by Fire Ancestor. It contained the unicorn’s hair and fingernail. This made it easy for Li Qiye to calculate its position.

“This child, always so intelligent. He had his own plan going on.” Emperor Nong let out a deep sigh.

It didn’t matter what Fire Ancestor did. None could change the fact that many progenitors have been killed by him.

“Forget about the past.” Emperor Sui summoned a flame in his palm.

“Poof!” The flame instantly turned the box into ashes that scatter to the wind.

“War is always cruel, at least Three Immortals is lucky enough to survive.” Emperor Xi stared at the scattering ashes and said.

“We can’t escape responsibility for this.” Emperor Nong became serious.

“Right, our damned mistake started all of this.” Emperor Xi didn’t deny.

“Well, struggling is a part of life. Otherwise, might as well just be a rock.” Emperor Sui smiled and said.

“Right, overcoming struggles gives meaning to life. It makes us more than walking corpses.” Li Qiye added.

“Yes, you’re one of us, one of us.” The three immortals clapped their hands and laughed.

“Alas, we’re inferior compared to you.” Emperor Xi said: “The struggle back then got the best of us which is why we ran back to Three Immortals. We stopped struggling.”

“It’s not easy returning alive from that place.” Li Qiye said with a profound  gaze: “Very few have managed to do so.”

“We didn’t do much in the ultimate battles compared to you and the wise sages. We just messed around and eventually knew when to give up and leave. Our accomplishments are exaggerated by the unaware, that’s all. We don’t deserve any praise.” Emperor Sui put on a forced smile.

The three immortals were survivors of an expedition. Theirs was much earlier compared to Li Qiye’s group.

“As if the villainous heaven would allow for people to mess around in its domain.” Li Qiye chuckled. No one incapable could have survived in that place.

“Well, in the end, we realized our limits and left with dejection. The truth is that we tasted a lot of bitterness there.” Emperor Xi added.

The inhabitants of this world probably viewed the three immortals as unbeatable figures. How could they ever be defeated?

On the other hand, the three immortal themselves had no problem accepting their defeat. This was already a peerless deed.

“No, what you three have done is magnificent, immortalized in history.” Li Qiye still praised.

“Let’s not dwell on the past. We gave up after that attempt while you’re still as spirited as before, still having the confidence to try again. Our dao heart is not as strong.” Emperor Nong replied.

“Yes. We gave up on this idea after returning and decided to stay in our nest until now.” Emperor Xi said: “We’re old now, the same with our fire.”

“It’s because I’m only eighteen that I have the energy and hotbloodedness to keep on struggling. That’s the only way to get rid of my youthful restlessness.” Li Qiye joked.

The three immortals chuckled in response. He was indeed young compared to them. Alas, his grand dao had surpassed them at this point, which was why they addressed him as “Brother”. [1]

“Buzz.” A very, very tiny strand of darkness suddenly emerged inside the group of stars. The naked eyes couldn’t tell where it came from.

It shouldn’t be underestimated despite its size. This power immediately contaminated the stars.

This place used to have a gorgeous glow. Each ray was pure and immaculate.

Now, more than half of the stars have been tainted. More dark rays oozed out and continued spreading. Darkness took over the area in no time at all.

“It’s here again.” Emperor Sui’s eyes glinted coldly. Even a progenitor would shudder at this sight.

He raised his palm and unleashed a flame large enough to cover the stars. The darkness was burnt to a crisp before a complete manifestation.

It didn’t look or feel that impressive yet it was one of the strongest types of fire. Just one spark would be enough to instantly kill a progenitor. After the darkness was gone, he gathered the flame back into his palm before lowering it.

The stars regained their beauty and luster afterward.

Li Qiye noticed that at the deepest region of the stars was a tiny crack the size of a feather. This spatial crack was insignificant but it seemed to be an eternal scar. There was no curing or destroying it regardless of the methods.

“Looks man-made.” Li Qiye concluded.

The three had an awkward expression after hearing this. One of them admitted: “Yes, we did it.”

“Curiosity kills the cat.” Li Qiye chuckled.

“More than that, we almost brought the entire world down with us. Thus, we have to stay here forever to deal with it, this is karma.” Emperor Nong said.

“You definitely need this.” Li Qiye smiled and took out an item.

He held it near his chest as if he was holding three thousand worlds. 

“Three Immortals Tree.” The item stole the trio’s attention.

“It’s finally back, after so many years.” Emperor Xi became emotional.

“Indeed.” Emperor Nong reached forward to gently rub it.

“I feel like it’s hard to put a price on something so priceless.” Li Qiye smirked.

The trio exchanged glances, contemplating.

“Do we have a choice?” Emperor Nong spoke first since he was the one who made a deal with Li Qiye.

“No, but you can choose not to get it.” Li Qiye shook his head.

“So we don’t have a choice. Just state your conditions, we only need the tree.” Emperor Xi smiled.

“Well, I need to think about it very carefully.” Li Qiye rubbed his chin, looking as if he was about to make an outrageous demand.

Alas, the trio couldn’t do anything about it. They needed to obediently accept all of his demands since they were fish on the chopping board.

They wouldn’t have waited until now if they didn’t need the tree. To switch it up, they themselves didn’t need it but Three Immortals did. That’s why they didn’t have a choice.

1. Note, they refer to him as Older Dao Brother but this is just too long ☜