The crowd has come to understand that what was previously understood as the lakes changing color proved to be wrong.
What Li Qiye had done right now was the real phenomenon.
Just what secrets and mysteries were hidden in this place? Thus, the crowd anticipated with excitement while staring at the clear water.
“If it wasn’t for His Majesty today, the world will continue on the wrong path for generations to come.” An elder said sentimentally.
That one stream of clear liquid has changed all the lakes. Finally, the splash stopped since the box was now empty. The original shades of the various lakes were nowhere to be found.
From a distance, one could see almost see the bottom of the lakes. They almost served like mirrors, seemingly made from nine pure crystals.
The surface also had water vapor condensing into a thin layer of mist, wafting in a transcending manner. It didn’t take long before people started thinking that the place was a land of immortals.
As they peered into the bottom of the lakes, they felt as if there was a different world beneath, a better one.
The nine lakes looked like entrances, that’s why this immortal mist would ooze out on the surface.
“Is this a portal to an immortal realm?” Someone murmured while staring at the scintillating lights.
Everyone held their breath, eagerly waiting to see the secrets of the lakes.
“This thing has been buried for too long, it’s time for it to see the sun again.” Li Qiye smiled.
While the crowd was still astounded, he drilled his palm into the lake, seemingly wanting to reach its deepest part.
It penetrated the bottom and reached the other world.
The crowd instantly felt the world spinning around and that they have become weightless, losing the sense of gravity and stabilization. The earth beneath them seemed to be shrinking and turning soft. However, this sensation came and went quickly.
Everything returned to normal in the blink of an eye, the chaotic loss of control disappeared.
They looked down and saw that the ground was still the same as ever, not an inch was missing.
The tangibility of the physical realm beneath them remained, but they somehow felt that something in Nine-linked Mountains has been taken away.
Of course, none could sense the presence of this particular thing but after it was gone, they felt that this place seemed to be missing a little something.
In a different location in the sect, Southpeak Woodcutter sighed and said: “Yearned by all for ages yet none could take it. Emperor Zhang and Jiu Ning both failed but he got it so easily with a single reach. This power is unbeatable, no one in Immortal can stop him either.”
The old man knew that the item was very important for Nine-linked Mountains but all he could do was watch. He hoped that it would eventually be returned in the future.
Now the focus shifted towards Li Qiye. People saw him holding something in his hand.
It was a rope made from the most ordinary hemp in the mortal world. The entire thing looked old and red, but the red had shades of black - perhaps from being used countless times.
It had nine thumb-sized bells, seemingly made from old bronze. The material itself probably wasn’t good or maybe too much time had passed so they have lost the initial luster and were full of spots, even green rust.
Everyone was surprised to see this rope. They assumed it would be a peerless item, perhaps an extremely heaven-defying ancestral artifact.
They already imagined the scene of him being unstoppable after obtaining the great artifact, sweeping through the realms and the ages to come. However, this rope possessed no destructive intent or amazing divinity.
“Umm, someone tell me what’s precious about that rope? What does it do?” Someone regained their wits and quietly asked.
The old Li Qiye would have met a barrage of derision and scorn. They would say that the rope wasn’t worth a single coin.
However, people still felt as if this rope was the greatest treasure in existence despite its meager appearance.
To be frank, even if he was holding a regular blade of grass, people would still think that it was an immortal vegetation. After all, he was someone who could casually gift the nine secrets away.
Unfortunately, no one could decipher anything about the item.
“Nine Immortals Rope.” Jianyao stared intensely in disbelief before coming up with the name unlike the rest of the crowd.
She wasn’t too confident when saying this title, still full of skepticism.
Li Qiye looked over at her and chuckled: “Little girl, you have many flaws but knowledge is not one of them. You certainly know more than many old geezers.”
“Isn’t it just a legend?” She didn’t mind the criticism from him, only caring about the confirmation. Of course, this could already be considered generous praise from Li Qiye.
She felt that this ordinary rope was too different compared to its legends.
Li Qiye casually played with the rope and laughed: “A legend doesn’t exist, in a strict sense. So is it still one?”
She said: “It’s a rumor started by a villager. According to the text, the villager saw nine immortals plucking hemp in order to create this rope as a present, hence its name.”
She read it in a scroll before during her youth, just casual reading. This anecdote wasn’t really qualified to be considered a tale.
It was too simple, almost like a child’s bedtime story with no hidden layers of intricacies. No one would take it seriously.