The immortal beam attracted many cultivators’ attention. They were naturally aware of what was going on - Golden Fist Emperor’s location.

Of course, Li Qiye didn’t care about taking him away.

“Look, the emperor! He’s over there!” An expert saw them from a distance.

“Why is he with Li Qiye?” An ancestor activated his heavenly gaze and became startled.

The gathering crowd became surprised as well. Li Qiye’s prestige exceeded the five conquerors at this point so everyone knew him.

“Is it that strange? That Jian brat wants to marry the daughter of Golden Gate.” Someone who was there during the battle competition stated.

Others agreed with this since they could be considered to be on the same side now.

“The immortal gemstone…” Many exchanged glances.

Numerous ancestors headed there silently and surrounded the group.

“It shall be mine…” A big shot thought to himself.

The problem was the emperor’s power that far surpass ordinary ancestors. Trying to rob him was rather suicidal. Therefore, they kept a distance and waited for the right opportunity to catch him off guard. Or, they could use their number advantage and force him to give it up.

Of course, the group naturally noticed the incoming cultivators. The emperor looked around and saw ancestors hiding in the peaks, forests, or higher in the sky.

“Rats.” He uttered thunderously. The derisive word exploded in their ears like loud drums.

This made the power disparity rather obvious. Just his voice alone intimidated them since he was at the ancient ancestor level. They found it difficult to breathe and immediately retreated to a safe distance.

Those strong enough remained calm and patient, still hiding in the darkness. The power of the immortal gemstone was simply irresistible.

A while ago, the alliance between the behemoths didn’t stop these ancestors from biding their time. Now, the alliance wasn’t here so their greed got out of control.

“The gemstone is in my possession. Make your move while I’m still here or it’ll be too late later.” Li Qiye stretched and said.

“Li Qiye has it.” Others became surprised.

“Really? The emperor handed it to him?” An ancestor remained skeptical.

A high elder stared at the emperor and agreed: “I don’t think he’s lying. He has the gemstone right now.”

Many checked the emperor’s expression and confirmed that Li Qiye was telling the truth.

“What are we waiting for?” A big shot whispered: “He’s a tiger with wings now. If we wait until he becomes a dao lord, no one will be able to stop him. Not even Blessed Dao Lord can compete with that.” 

Listeners took a deep breath. A dao lord was unbeatable in his generation but one with this immortal gemstone? This was akin to having double the power in a single being.

Currently, Li Qiye has surpassed all the competitors and had the best chance of winning the competition. If he could somehow use the gemstone as well, no one would be able to touch him.

“He already won.” A crowd member commented.

“I think so.” A big shot responded: “If he can control the gemstone, the conquerors and their backers won’t be able to do a damn thing to him.”

“Right, and don’t forget, he’s a master at controlling forces.” A high elder said: “He did it repeatedly too.”

Everyone saw him controlling the foundation of Golden Gate and then the fist intents of Worldbreaker. If he could duplicate this feat for the immortal gemstone, he would reach an insane level.

The dao protectors of the conquerors wouldn’t be able to stop him. In fact, he could slaughter their sects and become the next dao lord.

“Should we make a move now?” One ancestor whispered.

His peers carefully contemplated. One of them analyzed the situation: “We shouldn’t be the ones to make a move, the behemoths are far more anxious given the circumstances. It’ll be too late once Li Qiye learns how to use the gemstone.”

No one disagreed with this assessment. The behemoths had far more to lose by giving Li Qiye more time. True Immortal and Three Thousand Dao couldn’t possibly let Li Qiye keep it for various reasons.

Moreover, they knew how strong he was so without enough firepower and preparation, only death awaited them.

“Boom!” A figure descended from above, resulting in a large pit.

“Rumble!” Next came an entire group with surging auras.

They surrounded Li Qiye from all directions and formed a grand formation.

“Members of the Eight Paragons and Thirty-six Sovereigns.” The crowd recognized them right away.

“Yes, Wild Paragon is leading them.” Another said.

“Wild, Featherhat, Sacredscroll, Sword Dao…”  One ancestor took a deep breath and said their title.

“They’re strong.” Another counted that there were four paragons and sixteen sovereigns present.

They wanted to suppress Li Qiye, whether it be for revenge or for the immortal gemstone.

“The big shots from the east are here, Five-sun King’s group is going all out.” A spectator commented.