“Venerable Deer Merchant!” One spectator cried out.

People immediately recognized him, contrary to the king. They had a better understanding of him because he was more famous. Of course, Four Esteemed King rarely left the grotto, so everyone thought that there were four of them.

“An incredible Eternal. He’s basically a living fossil.” One cultivator felt respect.

He’s no longer the strongest Eternal right now. Some said that he wasn’t a match for Gu Yifei and now, Solar Daoist has become an Everlasting. His rank dropped even more as a result but certain members of the crowd still respected him.

“Who is older? Him or the daoist?” This question popped up.

“In terms of their dao debut, the merchant should be one generation older than the daoist. But seniority doesn’t matter, only strength.” An ancestor said.

Solar Daoist has become an Everlasting so many thought that he was older than the deer merchant. This certainly wasn’t the case.

Of course, the deer merchant wasn’t weak either, only slightly inferior to the daoist or Gu Yifei.

***

“Nothing is ever certain in this world until the very end. It’s too early to call a victor right now.” The merchant said. His elder appearance gave off a friendly impression like a doting senior.

Some of the crowd naturally didn’t believe this. Would a nice person sacrifice several million lives for a forbidden weapon? This appearance was only a guise.

“No, it’s pretty certain because, in my eyes, all of you are already dead, just waiting for your body to fall down. There’s no difference.”

The emperor and the deer merchant’s expression turned ugly. Though their mental fortitude was incredible by this point, they still felt a flame of fury rising in their chest. They were imperious beings that could order the world but Li Qiye spoke as if they were so helpless.

“So everyone else in the world are mere ants in your eyes?” The king was even more furious and retorted. His eyes spewed out golden rays that look like all-melting springs.

“Yes.” Li Qiye straightforwardly answered: “You all are ants, suicidal ones too. Since you have wasted my time, I don’t mind crushing you all to death since it takes no effort.”

The opposing group became angrier. The merchant’s eyes became dazzling and illuminating. Everything became clear with outlines beneath his gaze.

Others could only exchange glances after hearing this and put on an awkward smile. This guy didn’t give a damn about Solar Daoist, so why would anyone expect him to show any respect towards this current group?

“Who will win? These three or Fiercest?” Someone quietly asked.

“Well…” Even the most experienced and oldest ancestors couldn’t answer this right away.

One of them eventually said: “Hard to say because I still can’t see the limit of Fiercest after all this time. That’s why it’s hard to make a prediction.

In the past, this wouldn’t even be a question. The merchant, a True Emperor, and the Esteemed King versus a junior? They would absolutely dominate.

But now, Fiercest was completely bizarre, devilish, and seemingly had no limit.

A powerful Eternal joined: “The conventional belief is that the deer merchant is only slightly weaker than Gu Yifei, so when we add Puresword True Emperor and the Four Esteemed King, this group is probably stronger than Gu Yifei. Only an Everlasting like Solar Daoist should be able to beat them. However, we also know how impossible it is to try and gauge Fiercest. He can’t be analyzed with conventional wisdom and rationality, so all of this is thrown out the window. Only heaven knows. Fiercest has been defeating his enemies with just a move or two, so let’s see how destructive his next one will be.” He smiled wryly after saying this.

“This will still be amazing to watch regardless of who wins. Missing this will be the regret of a lifetime. I mean, how often do we get to watch characters like the deer merchant and the emperor teaming up against one enemy?” An expert murmured.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Masters of this level rarely teamed up against one enemy because they were strong enough most of the time, especially in Imperial Lineage.

This group was exuding immense murderous intent. They clearly wanted to kill Li Qiye in order to have peace of mind in the future.

“We’ll try our best to see your supreme arts then.” The deer merchant stepped forward and coldly uttered.

This was stating their intent to go together instead of doing one-on-one. The three naturally weren’t stupid enough to attempt going solo in this crucial moment.

“Add me in! I’ll have vengeance for my descendant!” Suddenly, a chilling voice sounded. One person stepped through the realms and crushed the spatial fabrics to appear above Mingluo City.

Everyone looked up right away and saw an old man. He was one-third shorter than an ordinary cultivator. He was covered in leaves instead of wearing regular clothing. Above his head was a mess, almost like a bird’s nest. This person looked just like a wild man.

“Who is he?” Many didn’t recognize this person.

“The Tree Observer.” An experienced ancestor knew who he was.

“Who’s that?” This title didn’t ring a bell to the crowd.

“The strongest and oldest ancestor of Famed Bamboo.” The ancestor said while looking at the Tree Observer: “If the Adamantine Tree is their divine artifact, then this Tree Observer is their guardian deity, the person who takes care of this tree and the only one who knows how to communicate with it. Through this, he could combine power with the tree, resulting in something terrifying. A very long time ago, this system once stated that their Tree Observer fused with the tree could take on Gu Yifei. Of course, Gu Yifei didn’t bother verifying this claim, but just the audacity of this claim should be indicative of their power.” 

“It’s good to have you here, Fellow Daoist.” Four Esteemed King was ecstatic to see this person.

“The four of us together are unbeatable.” The deer merchant nodded.

“Want to gang up on him? Hmph.” A snort came about. The voice was pleasant yet domineering - a strange combination.