“Is it alright if I let Lu Qi guide you to Hallowed City? I’m afraid I’ll be in isolated cultivation and can’t accompany you, Young Noble.” Xi Yue said.

Lu Qi was stunned because her lord was speaking as if she was Li Qiye’s maid. Nothing like this had happened before.

“That’s fine.” Li Qiye smiled.

“Lu Qi, you’ll be serving the young noble from now on. His orders are my orders. If he ever needs anything, the sect will do everything in its power to support him, understood?”

Lu Qi calmed down and prostrated towards Li Qiye: “My name is Lu Qi. I am ready to serve.”

She then took off her veil and revealed an enchanting and lovable appearance. Each of her smiles and frowns could stir the souls of spectators.

Lu Qi was clearly superior to Xi Yue in terms of appearance. She only lacked the grand temperament found in the latter.

“Good.” Li Qiye nodded approvingly.

“When would you like to embark on the trip?” The experienced maid asked Li Qiye.

“Whenever, no rush.” Li Qiye smiled.

“I will prepare a boat for you, Young Noble.” Lu Qi didn’t waste time and went to prepare.

Because of this, the two left Ancient Crimson on the next day.

Xi Yue came to see their departure and said: “Young Noble, I apologize for my lack of hospitality. I will come to find you after my session.”

Li Qiye waved his hand, telling her to go back. As he was leaving, he glanced back at the broken city and sighed.

Nonetheless, he chose against restoring its former glory back. After all, he was only a passerby. 

Rise and fall were part of the dao. Nothing lasts forever so the fall of the city was acceptable. It couldn’t escape its fate just like other sects. The city had its own end and he wasn’t responsible for it.

By the shore, Lu Qi had called for a boat and helped Li Qiye board.

In fact, Lu Qi and her sect were more than capable of taking Li Qiye to Hallowed in no time at all. However, he said he wasn’t in a rush so Lu Qi obeyed his will.

The helmsman was an old man, wearing clothes with a low-hanging hat. He looked rather ordinary but once one got close enough, everyone would be able to feel immense pressure.

Nonetheless, he was willing to play this role. He only glanced at Li Qiye once before focusing on his responsibilities.

As the boat was about to leave, someone ran to the shore and started shouting. It was none other than Daoist Peng.

His speed increased after spotting Li Qiye: “Young Brother, didn’t you want to join our courtyard? Why are you leaving so soon?”

He heaved for breath but didn’t care about his image. He grabbed Li Qiye’s sleeve, afraid of the guy escaping.

He had woken up earlier and didn’t see Li Qiye so he searched all around the island. He wanted nothing more than to bring Li Qiye back right now.

Lu Qi watched with great curiosity, unaware of the details.

“I’m afraid it’s not meant to be, I’m leaving for the main continent to see Hallowed.” Li Qiye smiled.

“Sigh, you don’t have to rush. Why not stay at our courtyard for several more days, I’ll pass our secret laws down to you first then you can leave. Once you learn them, I’ll teach you our legacy arts too.” Daoist Peng was on the verge of begging. It wasn’t easy for him to find an interested party so giving up was unacceptable. 

“Please go back, Daoist.” Li Qiye shook his head.

“What am I going to do, I have to pass down our lineage.” Daoist Peng couldn’t force the guy to obey so he was stuck in quite a predicament.

“Just let it go when it’s the right time. It is inevitable for the courtyard to fall eventually, plenty of sects have failed before, yours isn’t the only one.” Li Qiye sighed softly.

The old daoist smiled bitterly and said: “Of course I know this, it’s just that, the courtyard will end with me… I am too ashamed to see the ancestors…”

How could he get anyone to join when they had nothing left - no resources and usable merit laws. The only thing left was a broken courtyard.

This wasn’t qualified to be a sect, let alone wanting to recruit more disciples.

Li Qiye saw the guy’s sad appearance and changed his mind. 

“Karma… let’s settle this.” He murmured to himself before raising his hand.

Time floated in his palm in a resplendent manner. It was as if he was a time lord capable of traversing through the epochs.

Lu Qi was shocked; the helmsman became emotional too with his eyes wide open.

However, Daoist Peng didn’t have a clue and only stared curiously at Li Qiye’s palm.

“I shall bestow a fortune upon you. You will bear the heavy responsibility now.” He then placed his palm on the daoist’s head.

Time started flowing again and its destination was the old man’s mind. His body trembled violently before becoming radiant. He was engulfed by the temporal affinity and lost control of his body.

Lu Qi couldn’t believe it. Li Qiye didn’t need to gather his strength or activate anything at all yet he could still control time.

This required immense strength. Lu Qi followed Xi Yue and had access to supreme laws. She could take down any ancestors.

However, she couldn’t casually grasp time like this. Her lord couldn’t do so either.

“Blessed by an immortal and taught the art of immortality…” Lu Qi recalled a tale that has been passed down for eras.

She finally realized why her lord showed nothing but respect for Li Qiye. The man was unfathomable and beyond her comprehension.

She thought that if she had met Li Qiye in a different scenario, she wouldn’t have looked at him twice. Only her lord had such insight.

As for the helmsman, he was left speechless. He was a big shot in their sect and if he were to reveal his identity, it would be enough to frighten many in Sword Continent. Though he was inferior to Lu Qi in many ways, he could still see that Li Qiye was doing something monstrous.

Only Daoist Peng was unaware of this as he became immersed in time.

“Let’s go.” Li Qiye pulled his hand back and lay down on a large chair on the deck.

The two calmed down and immediately obeyed his command.