"Bang, bang, bang!" Li Qiye had knocked on the door for tens of thousands of times now, but there was still no answer.
For the majority of cultivators, this was not a good sign. It showed how your low inner talents were. However, Li Qiye had an unwavering willpower; even if he had to knock for a million times, he would keep on going.
"BANG!" After five days and five nights, a small sound resounded. Under the patient knocking of Li Qiye, his Fate Palace was finally opened.
Entering the door, one could see the power of the souls and spirits. However, his Mortal Fate Palace was extremely limiting. At this time, the Kun Peng's Six Variants incantations flew into the Fate Palace along with Li Qiye's consciousness.
The space inside the Fate Palace was very vast, approaching infinity. In the middle of Li Qiye's Fate Palace were mysterious incantations in the form of calligraphy; they flew around in a natural order around a radiant light as if wanting to wake it up.
This light was the soul. To others, it was the three souls and seven spirits or even the True Fate. This was the thing that determined a person's fate through their life.
Only by cultivating could one activate the True Fate and the souls. Once they were awakened, the cultivators would gain their magical power. They would also be able to connect to the heavens and earth, borrowing their energy.
Kun Peng's Six Variants was a Fate Palace merit law; it had to wake up the souls and use them as the foundation of cultivation for Li Qiye. This was why the incantation calligraphies that represent the mysterious truths of the Six Variants were twisting the souls nonstop to wake them up. These words sometimes were an eagle flying, other times, they were a Kun playing in an ocean, or even a completed Kun Peng. These beasts caused Li Qiye's Fate Palace to resemble a wide sky and deep sea, and his Fate Palace light was heavily affected by their presence.
This process was the second step named, Second Awareness. Because of Li Qiye's low innate talents, this event would also take longer compared to other geniuses despite having an Immortal Emperor merit law.
His Fate Palace grew wider and bigger in size; one could not see the boundaries. Even if the awakening process was completed, he wouldn't be able to see through all of his Fate Palace. However, he felt an existence far away in his Fate Palace.
Towards the extreme side, in the east direction, it was as if there was a gigantic spring; however, it was dried out; there was no water running.
This Spring of Life was one of the Fate Palace Four Symbols. There are many theories regarding it; some immortal sages believe that it was the source of life and fate energy.
To the far west, Li Qiye felt an image of a huge cauldron, but, at this moment, it was extremely cold.
This was the Cauldron of life. It's flame was capable of burning and dissolving any existence. People believed that the source of its flame were the souls, hence the name, Soul Fire.
Towards the south was a gigantic tree piercing the sky itself. This tree was massive; however, it showed no sign of life as if it had died ages ago.
The Tree of Life was the most mysterious object in the Fate Palace. Legends told that it could steal from the heavens and obtain great fortunes.
At the distant north was a towering pillar that connected the heavens and the earth. The pillars were engraved by countless mysterious symbols. It looked as if it had been standing there since the beginning of time.
Pillar of Life, it was also known as the source of life. Without it, nothing would exist.
The Fate Palace Four Symbols included: the Spring of Life, the Cauldron of Life, the Tree of Life, and the Pillar of Life. These were the most enigmatic entities in the world. Many ancient sages tried to understand the four symbols in order to get a better sense of cultivation.
The world believed that if one could understand the truths of all four symbols, he would be able to obtain the Heaven's Will and become an Immortal Emperor.
Li Qiye was still letting the Six Variants method stimulate the souls while his Revolving Crescent Sun Merit Law was cultivating his Life Wheel; this resulted in a strange and mysterious state during his cultivation.
He kept the same pace without hastiness because he had absolute trust in himself. No one, or anything, could ever shake his willpower.
After ten days, Nan Huairen had finally returned. He immediately went to meet Li Qiye and apologized: "Senior, sorry about letting you wait so long. Sect Master was in isolated cultivation; I had to wait till she came out before I could finish my report."
"It is not a big deal." Li Qiye calmly answered.
Seeing Li Qiye's nonchalant disposition, Nan Huairen paused for a second and then voiced his concern:
"Senior, from what I've gathered while listening to the Sect Master, second brother is returning to the sect." He hesitantly added: "Second brother is the Sect Master's disciple."
When 'second brother' was mentioned, Nan Huairen's eyes were a little strange. He remained silent afterwards.
"Second brother?" Li Qiye noticed the strange gaze of Nan Huairen so he inquired.
Nan Huairen scratched his head and said: "Senior, to tell you the truth, I don't know how to explain it. Once you meet second brother, you will understand."
Finally, he added another sentence. "Second brother's circumstances are a bit special."
Li Qiye only smiled and did not interrogate. This matter, to him, was not very important. He couldn't care less about the circumstances of the second brother. Ultimately, the second brother could be sent here to teach him or to monitor him; it had nothing to do with Li Qiye.
Li Qiye's determination to rebuild the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect would not be interrupted by anyone. Once the time was right, he would reinvigorate the sect. On this road, no one could stop his footstep. Anyone who tried to stop him would meet their death. If Buddha was in the way, slay Buddha; if God was in the way, slay God.
That year, under his tutelage, the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect had swept over the Nine Worlds. In this life, he would do the same. His Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect would rule over the Nine Worlds and destroy the Immortal Demon Grotto.
Nan Huairen was already used to Li Qiye's temperament even when facing the Demon King Lun Ri; thus, he was not surprised by how carefree Li Qiye was about the return of the second brother.
Nan Huairen stared at Li Qiye a little bit, and he suddenly noticed that he had started his cultivation.
Nan Huairen happily exclaimed: "Senior, you had opened your Fate Palace? How long did it take?"
"Not too long; it only took five days and fight nights." Li Qiye said slowly.
"Uh…" Nan Huairen was at a loss for words after he heard the answer. Five days and five nights? You dared to say it wasn't a long time? In any sect, if a disciple was to take even three days and three nights to open the Fate Palace, he would be scolded by the seniors as being incompetent; so much so that he wouldn't be able to raise his head anymore. For taking five days and five nights, he would be considered trash among trash. If people knew Li Qiye took such a long time, he would become the biggest laughingstock in the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect.
The worst disciple of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect had only taken three days and three nights, yet Li Qiye required five days and fight nights.
However, Nan Huairen could tell from Li Qiye's expression that he didn't consider spending five days and five nights as something to be ashamed about.
If other students took that long, their self-esteem would be at an all-time low. However, Li Qiye didn't feel inferior or pride from it; it was just another day to him.
Thinking about the deaths of Xu Hui and Protector Hua, Nan Huairen trembled. A person that was considered idiotic by the world had an unstoppable aura; he possessed a calm and elegant demeanor at all times, and the utmost self-confidence as well as his unshakable willpower that showed through his ability to kill people without any remorse; people like Li Qiye would be the most frightening of existences.
Nan Huairen stopped here with that thought, and he tagged along with Li Qiye to select his treasure.
***
Once they reached the Ancient Triangular School, Li Qiye and Nan Huairen carried the order to the Weapon Armory. Here, they saw an extremely large statue standing in the middle.