Dominator Emperor

”You... you’ve met the Elder Ancestor?” Li Qiye’s words shook Niu Fen to his core. His eyes went wide as he stared at Li Qiye in utter disbelief. Upon reflection, he realized there was only one being in the entire world who could possibly know his clan’s Eighteen Understandings! The fact that Li Qiye knew them meant he must have met that legendary existence!

”That isn’t important,” Li Qiye said. ”Serve me with all your heart and strength, and one day, you will ascend to the realm of gods!”

”At your command, Young Noble, I will go through fire and water!” Niu Fen kowtowed, prostrating himself on the ground.

Li Qiye gave a slight nod. ”Now listen closely. I don’t intend to repeat myself. Don’t bring shame upon your Celestial Bull Ancestral Calamity clan.”

Niu Fen straightened his robes and sat in a posture of utmost respect, hanging on Li Qiye’s every word.

After imparting the seventh understanding to Niu Fen, Li Qiye prepared to depart. He had no intention of lingering. However, given Li Qiye’s current level of Dao Practice, Gu Tieshou couldn’t help but feel worried.

”Take this portrait with you; it can protect you.” While seeing him off, Gu Tieshou stuffed the Immortal Emperor’s Portrait into Li Qiye’s hands, speaking with great solemnity.

From Gu Tieshou’s perspective, Li Qiye was simply too important to the entire Xiyan Ancient Sect. If any harm befell Li Qiye, the blow to the sect in its current state would be too devastating to bear.

Li Qiye shook his head and smiled. ”Elder Gu, I’m not some delicate flower raised indoors. For a cultivator, weathering storms and hardships is perfectly normal. Besides, if I dare to travel alone, it’s because I’m confident I can handle it.”

”In my opinion, the Holy Heaven Sect won’t give up so easily. You should be careful, Elder Gu. With the Immortal Emperor’s Portrait here, you can at least annihilate them once or twice,” Li Qiye said, returning the Immortal Emperor’s Portrait to Gu Tieshou.

Seeing Li Qiye’s firm resolve, Gu Tieshou had no choice but to silently put away the Immortal Emperor’s Portrait. He gave one last exhortation, ”Be careful. A swift journey and a swift return.”

”Rest assured, Elder. I’m taking this trip to temper my Dao Practice. I’ll be gone for three to five months at the least, a year at the most,” Li Qiye said.

Li Shuangyan, Gu Tieshou, Niu Fen, and even the taciturn Tu Buyu were there to see him off. As for Nan Huairun, Li Qiye’s self-proclaimed lackey, he did not come along this time. Since Li Qiye wasn’t even taking Li Shuangyan, Nan Huairun understood there was no chance he would be brought along either.

During the farewell, Li Qiye glanced at the quiet Tu Buyu and said, ”You wish to walk the Patriarch’s path? To be blunt, it’s impossible for you. You started on this road far too late, and you lack the Patriarch’s fortuitous opportunities and tempering. However, you can focus on diligently cultivating the Ritual Techniques within the Divine Technique you practice. In the future, once you ascend to the rank of Great Sage, you will surely be one with extremely powerful attacks. Other Great Sages at the same level will be no match for you!”

Li Qiye knew the War God Technique all too well. It was an extraordinary Cultivation Technique that originated in an extremely ancient era, a true classic of its kind.

He was the one who had taught this Divine Technique to Mingren Immortal Emperor back in the day, who then went on to become an Invincible Immortal Emperor.

”Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother. I will be sure to diligently study these Ritual Techniques from now on.” Tu Buyu bowed, a wide smile on his face.

Tu Buyu constantly referring to himself as ”little brother” left Gu Tieshou and the others speechless. Tu Buyu was quite possibly even older than Gu Tieshou himself. For him to call himself ”little brother” in front of Li Qiye was truly exasperating!

Longevity Technique, Life Technique, and Ritual Technique were the three main classifications for a cultivator’s Cultivation Techniques. Ritual Technique largely referred to Daoist Techniques that purely evolved for attack and defense. Simply put, they were Techniques.

In truth, many Life Techniques already included techniques for protecting one’s life and attacking enemies. However, not every Cultivation Technique could be used to establish one’s Dao Foundation.

This was the fundamental difference between a Ritual Technique and a Life Technique. A Ritual Technique could not be used for Dao Foundation Establishment, nor could it be used for Refining True Destiny; it was a set of techniques for attacking enemies and protecting one’s life.

Finally, Li Qiye waved farewell to Gu Tieshou and the others and departed from the thousand-mile Holy Land.

After leaving, Li Qiye got his bearings and headed west. He had left Gu Tieshou and the others for his own reasons. In addition to using this westward journey to cultivate, he also intended to handle a personal matter.

Li Qiye wanted to cultivate and temper himself alone. He didn’t want Gu Tieshou and the others by his side for two reasons. First, he wasn’t ready to let anyone see the true, ultimate potential of his Prison Suppressing Divine Body! Second, he had other methods he preferred to keep hidden.

ROAR— However, less than a hundred miles from the Holy Land, Li Qiye ran into a Celestial Beast. Although this place wasn’t far from the Osmanthus Lotus Tree’s sanctuary, some Celestial Beast Longevity Spirits still patrolled the area. Of course, million-year-old behemoths wouldn’t dare show themselves here so casually.

A Celestial Beast now stood in Li Qiye’s path. It resembled a rhinoceros, but its body was more than three times larger, and its single horn was as sharp as a sword.

Puffs of fiery vapor billowed from the Celestial Beast’s enormous nostrils. The vapor was intensely hot; a single blast could inflict severe burns.

”A Sword Rhinoceros.” Li Qiye observed the beast blocking his path, looking calm and unhurried. ”A thousand-year Celestial Beast dares to block my path?” he said to it. ”Get out of the way if you know what’s good for you. Otherwise, be careful, or I’ll slaughter you, take your Beast Marrow, and seize your Dao Bone.”

THUD—THUD—THUD— However, the thousand-year Sword Rhinoceros before him simply pawed at the ground with its barrel-thick legs, taking a few steps back to build momentum for a charge.

’Trying to match my impact force?’ Seeing that the Sword Rhinoceros wasn’t backing down, Li Qiye let out a small laugh and also assumed a charging stance.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— After creating some distance, the Sword Rhinoceros charged forward with insane speed and immense force. There was no doubt a charge like that could shatter a small peak.

The Sword Rhinoceros was a heavy-set beast, and its explosive power and speed were incredible. Its method of attack was simple: a direct charge. If struck, even if you weren’t impaled by its sword-like horn, you’d be flattened into meat paste by its powerful body.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— The Sword Rhinoceros’s charge was staggering, but Li Qiye’s was even more so. As he charged, each step he took made the very earth heave and sink. Even a casual use of his Prison Suppressing Divine Body made him weigh as much as a mountain range.

BOOM! Li Qiye and the Sword Rhinoceros collided with devastating force. The rhino’s body was instantly flung backward, sent flying even faster than it had charged. Blood sprayed like a torrential downpour. From that single impact, the Sword Rhinoceros didn’t even have a chance to scream before every bone in its body was pulverized.

THUD! The Sword Rhinoceros crashed heavily to the ground. It was completely motionless, its blood soaking the earth crimson.

A Thousand-Year Sword Rhinoceros was something that even a cultivator at the Vigorous Longevity Realm might not be able to handle, let alone Li Qiye, who was merely at the Palace Breaking Realm. Unfortunately for the beast, it had run into Li Qiye.

’Comparing physical bodies with me?’ Li Qiye mused with a small smile as he walked closer. For him, the result of such a collision wasn’t even worth mentioning.

The Prison Suppressing Divine Body could suppress Hell itself; even Immortal Demons would be crushed beneath it. One could only imagine how terrifying the Prison Suppressing Divine Body, one of the Twelve Immortal Bodies, truly was!

Although Li Qiye’s Immortal Body was still incomplete, the Immortal Body Technique he cultivated was the world’s number one Supreme Body Technique. Its might was simply unimaginable.

Li Qiye sliced open the Sword Rhinoceros’s corpse, extracting its Beast Marrow and seizing its Dao Bone.

For cultivators, although Celestial Beasts were terrifying, they were also rare Treasure Beasts. The Beast Marrow of a Celestial Beast could be used for Body-Brewing Ointment. As for the Dao Bone, it was even more precious. A complete Celestial Beast Dao Bone could be refined into a Treasure Artifact, and such an artifact would even possess the might of the original beast.

For example, if this Sword Rhinoceros’s Dao Bone were refined into a Treasure Artifact, it would possess the power and might of a Sword Rhinoceros.

After collecting the Beast Marrow and Dao Bone, Li Qiye continued on his journey. However, he hadn’t gone far before he was surrounded by a pack of Celestial Beasts. The further west he traveled, the more beasts gathered to surround him.

Earth-Walking Wolves—a species of pack-dwelling Celestial Beast. They were ferocious and aggressive. Unless one killed the Wolf King, killing them would only attract more.

A chorus of rustling sounds arose as more and more Earth-Walking Wolves appeared, trapping Li Qiye in an ever-tightening circle. He was now caught in the middle of the wolf pack.

”Mere three- to five-hundred-year-old Celestial Beasts. What a waste of my time. I’d have to take their beast bones and Dao Bones one by one, and for what? They’re worthless.” Even surrounded by the pack, Li Qiye remained perfectly composed, shaking his head as he spoke.

AROOO— In response to Li Qiye’s comment, a five-hundred-year-old Earth-Walking Wolf let out a howl and lunged, aiming straight for his throat.

Earth-Walking Wolves weren’t just simple pack animals. Their claws were like swords, their teeth like daggers, and their pelts were incredibly tough and difficult to pierce.

PFFT! Without even a second glance, Li Qiye’s Qimen Saber flashed out. A single, fatal strike instantly slit the Earth-Walking Wolf’s throat. Blood sprayed. The wolf that hit the ground didn’t even have time to twitch. Fast, ruthless, precise!

Li Qiye had existed for millions upon millions of years. What kind of Celestial Beast Longevity Spirit hadn’t he seen? Was there any whose strengths and weaknesses he didn’t know?

AROOO— The scent of blood drove the Earth-Walking Wolves into a frenzy. In an instant, a dense swarm of them lunged at Li Qiye.

”Fine. I’ll use you all to practice my speed.” Li Qiye let out a long cry as his Life Palace emerged and the Kunpeng leaped forth. In that instant, he became a long, trailing shadow, weaving through the wolf pack at an unbelievable speed.

The Celestial Transformation, one of the Kunpeng Six Transformations. This transformation granted extreme speed and the freedom to soar through the skies. Once its speed was pushed to the absolute limit and its Profound Mystery fully unlocked, it could rival the speed of the fastest Kunpeng in the world!

Of course, the ultimate speed in the world didn’t belong to the Kunpeng, but to the Flying Immortal Body, one of the Twelve Immortal Bodies, which transcended the very concept of velocity. However, within the conventional realm of speed, the Kunpeng could be called number one. One can only imagine how fast the Celestial Transformation was.

PFFT! One slash, one life. Under the effect of the Celestial Transformation, Li Qiye’s figure became an indiscernible blur. The Earth-Walking Wolves couldn’t keep up with his speed at all. A single flash of his blade, and another wolf’s throat was slit.

AROOO— However, the thicker the scent of blood, the more Earth-Walking Wolves appeared. As howls echoed through the air, countless more wolves charged forward.