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The last time I had seen Emperor Li, his presence had been imposing, and the mere sight of him commanded respect. There was only a difference of a handful of years between that encounter and this one, but he looked like he had aged centuries in that time. With his sunken eyes and sallow cheeks, a passerby might think he was a walking corpse.

Even in his current state, reading his emotions was nearly impossible. His weathered face looked to be carved of granite. As he opened his mouth to speak, I expected to see chips of a stone facade break free from his face.

“I thought he wouldn’t even let me see you.” His gaze felt as if it were boring into my very soul. “Forcing me to wait until now only confirmed my guess, so maybe it all evens out in the end, but he’s still a bastard.”

I didn’t sense any anger in his voice this time. The words, like his body, were hollowed out.

“You should tell your friend to be a little more circumspect in the future. There are far too many eyes on him to be running around like he is. I’m not the only one who has a brain, you know. If you continue on like this, others will also be able to piece everything together, and I don’t think you want that, do you?”

A ball of fear began to form in the pit of my stomach.

“What do you mean?”

Emperor Li smirked.

He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a table, two chairs, and a tea set. After arranging everything in an instant, he took a seat and gestured for me to sit down across from him.

Knowing what this conversation was likely to be about, I was afraid, but I could deal with it. I didn’t want to die yet, but if this conversation went in the wrong direction, I would do what I needed to do. I could only hope that my improved space affinity would make up for my low cultivation base if he tried to will-lock my poison pill again.

After I sat down across from him, Emperor Li gave me a tired, worn-out smile. As he did, I felt that I could almost see the tether that held him in this world. It was a fraying, tattered thing that looked like it would snap at any time.

“Let me tell you a little of my history. Unfortunately, it is already known by a few others on this continent, and that is where your trouble lies, not with me.”

He swirled his tea and his eyes lost focus.

“I was born on the Central Continent to the patriarch of the Li clan. As the patriarch’s first son, my future was expected to be bright, but it would all hang on the blessing I received upon turning sixteen.” A scowl began to appear on his face. “During the ceremony, a voice spoke to me. Few hear the voice of the Dao during their blessing, you know, so I was exceptionally excited. It asked me one simple question. ‘What is your desire?’”

That ball of fear in my belly grew two times larger. I didn’t know what his answer was, but I understood the implications.

“I answered like anyone would. I had the same ‘desire’ that everyone on this dung heap does. Martial Ancestor wasn’t enough for me. Even Martial Saint wasn’t in my eye. I wanted to reach the fabled realm of immortality and ascend to the heavens. Do you know how that bastard responded?”

I silently shook my head, unable to speak.

“Blessing granted.” Li burst out into a wry chuckle. “I was so excited after the ceremony. I thought I would quickly ascend and become an immortal. My blessing started guiding me, telling me the right time to perform important actions, and pushing me ever further down a path that would see me rise far beyond anything my kin could imagine. I followed its instructions religiously. That’s how I ended up here. Stuck in a backwater where reaching Emperor is an impressive feat and Sovereigns are something out of legend. I’ve been trapped here for centuries.”

Li squinted his eyes at me.

“A few already know this story. You should be safe from old Nine as long as you stay on the continent since he only gets involved when people try to leave, but I can’t say for sure about anyone else. I expect the other Sovereigns to just laugh when I die and call me foolish, but you can’t be too sure. Your only real protection after I’m gone will be the sect’s rules. Jiu won’t let anyone mess with this experiment of his.”

Reaching into his storage bag once more, he pulled out three small boxes and a technique manual and placed them down on the table in front of me. Then, he opened the boxes to reveal three white stones.

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“You and that girl you’re with have been obvious enough that it would’ve been hard to hide anything from Jin and little Shen, but I needed their help with these anyway, so it’s fine. Just had to let them make one for themselves too. They’re decent enough people, so you should consider bringing them along with you. That’s your choice, of course. After all, I doubt we could force you to do anything. Even if we wanted to enslave you somehow, the bastard would probably stop us before we could even start plotting such a thing.”

I looked at the orbs in front of me. I could put everything together. I knew what these had to be, but I had to ask.

“What are these?”

Emperor Li snorted at my feigned ignorance. “Memory orbs.”

Panic raged through my entire body, but Emperor Li didn’t care.

“My blessing was supposed to allow me to become an immortal. Tomorrow, I am going to die. In all my time living here, my blessing has never even hinted at a time when I would be allowed to leave this godsforsaken continent, and now I am going to die. Do you know what that means?”

I didn’t respond.

“It means either the bastard was lying to me when he gave me my blessing, which I know he cannot do, or it means he is fucking with time, and the only hint I’ve ever gotten for even a possibility of that happening is you.”

His eyes, which had drifted away during the story, focused on me with a near-religious fervor. “Nothing about you adds up. He assigned you to be my disciple, but I was never allowed to so much as see you. And now, here I am, sent to talk to you right before I die. Even with the most powerful blessing I’ve ever read about, you shouldn’t have any way to save me at this point.”

He gave a mirthless chuckle. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure things out. Others will be able to figure it out too, but they have their heads far enough up their asses that it shouldn’t be a problem for now. You just have to be careful when you go to the Central Continent. Everyone should mostly leave you alone until then.”

I took a deep breath to calm myself. He wasn’t attacking me. He wasn’t trying to destroy me. He wanted something from me. He wanted my help?

My fear ebbed, and I looked Emperor Li in the eye. “What do you want?”

He snorted. “Weren’t you listening? My answer hasn’t changed. Immortality.”

I tapped my cup. “I can’t give you immortality. I’m weaker than you. What do you want now?”

He pointed at the three orbs on the table. “I’m just here to deliver those. Me, Jin, and little Shen. You can decide what to do with them. The book has instructions for making more, but they require both a Formation Emperor and an Artifact Emperor to create. You and that girl should be able to manage it eventually. I can’t believe the bastard gave you someone like her.”

I felt a flash of anger at how he described LiTing, but I wasn’t foolish enough to talk back.

He said he only came to deliver these items, but he had made no move to leave. If he was here, I might as well try to get something useful from him, right?

“You want me to help you reach immortality. Fine. I can do my best to make that happen, but it would help if you could give me something to make that happen.”

“I am about to die. I have no need for any of my possessions. As far as I’m concerned, you can have them all. The only question is if that bastard allows it. Ask for what you want, and we will see.”

Li was a Pill Emperor, so that’s where I focused my requests.

The first request was easy. “Your book on Rank 6 alchemy.”

He quickly took out a book and threw it down next to the three memory orbs.

The next request was one that I was interested in pursuing but hadn’t found the time to research further. “Information on using parts from demon beasts in alchemy.”

I wasn’t just interested in the information. I could buy it for a reasonable price from the System. I was far more interested in learning what a scion of a powerful family from the Central Continent would know about the topic.

Li squinted at me. “Which of my books do you have?”

I felt embarrassed. “Ranks 4 and 5.”

He took out three more books and threw them down next to everything else.

Then, he hesitated and took out several more volumes.

“I almost forgot about these. Little Shen made me promise to deliver them to you. The lazy fool refused to do it himself.”

I wanted to grin excitedly as I looked at the large stack of formation and alchemy books, but I schooled my expression. Books were one thing, but I expected him to have a far more valuable item that I would really like to get my hands on.

“The seed of the Three Thousand Flames Spirit Fire.”

Emperor Li burst into laughter. He pulled out a large jade box and opened it up. Then, he forced an inferno out of his chest and into the box. As he placed this box on the table, he gave me a meaningful look.

“When I die, people are going to be looking for that. You should make sure they can’t find it.”

“How… How much danger will I be in? They won’t be able to find it, but will they do something to me or my friends while they’re looking for it?”

“You’re safe in the sect. They have to play by Jiu’s and old Nine’s rules while you’re here. But if any of you leave, even if you’re still in the sect’s empires, they will come for you.”

Before I could say anything else, Emperor Li stood and returned the table and chairs to his storage bag.

“Looks like that’s all you get. Try not to let the bastard force you around too much.”

A crack in reality appeared directly in front of the Emperor. He vanished an instant later.

---------------------------------------------------

Li had given me a lot of valuable information, but I didn’t have time to sit and ponder it. I had to move.

He said he was about to die. After that, how long would it take for someone to realize the fire seed was missing? How long would it take for them to target me and the others?

I raced back to Profound City and barreled into Ning ChenKun’s palace. I didn’t know where to look for him, but the commotion I caused brought him to me instantly. The moment I saw him, I began rambling.

“I need to send a message to Yan, JiaQi, and YuLong. There’s no time to waste. They need to return to the sect immediately. They can’t leave. Not even to go on missions.”

Ning ChenKun’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

“What is this about?”

I didn’t know how much I could trust the man, but it didn’t matter. He would find out soon enough.

“Emperor Li is dying.”

I could see the puzzle pieces click into place in his mind.

He snapped his fingers and one of his deathsworn appeared in front of us instantly.

ChenKun addressed the deathsworn, but his eyes never left mine.

“Send the message.”