Dominator Emperor

The well-informed Old Turtle King of Feijiao Lake advised his Young Master, ”Young Master, in my humble opinion, this is not a good place. I fear it is ominous. Our gains on this trip have already exceeded all previous ones, so why must we take such a great risk? Besides, with the Qingxuan Ancient Country and the Holy Heaven Sect already inside, Feijiao Lake won’t be able to get much of anything. Why bother competing with them?”

Ultimately, persuaded by the Old Turtle King, the Young Master of Feijiao Lake gave up on entering the depths of the Uninhabited Area. He led the Demon Kings back to the Ordinary Area. However, the Young Master was still interested in the legendary Treasure of the Gods, so after retreating, he had the Demon Kings set up a Celestial Mirror, intending to watch the situation in the depths from afar.

Besides sects like Feijiao Lake that didn’t follow them into the Uninhabited Area, the ones who left most decisively were lineages like the Purple Mist Temple. The old Daoist of the Purple Mist Temple saw the strange phenomena in the eastern depths and felt it was a bad omen. Moreover, their gains from this trip were already substantial, so he was unwilling to take any more risks. He led his disciples away from Demon’s Back Ridge, completely withdrawing from the treasure hunt.

In the end, the sects that chose not to enter the Uninhabited Area were in the minority. Most still followed after Celestial Emperor Qingxuan and the others into the deepest part of the Eastern Division.

Because a terrifying existence like the Celestial-Destroying Demon Ape was no longer guarding the area, all the sects soared into the sky. Riding their treasures and walking on air, they pushed deep into the eastern reaches. As a result, their speed increased tremendously.

The first to arrive in the deepest part of the Eastern Division were Celestial Emperor Qingxuan and Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist. When they reached the depths and saw the scene before them, they were completely stunned.

Before them were bones everywhere. As far as the eye could see, there were countless bones, some even piled up into mountains. Within these mountains of bone, there were skeletons of every kind: those of Human Race cultivators, Demon Race cultivators, and even Celestial Beasts and Longevity Spirits. There were also many skeletons of creatures that couldn’t even be named...

Skeletons littered the ground. Some were as small as a fist, while others were as large as mountains, with a single bone stretching for several miles... Bones were piled like mountains, and it was clear all the creatures before them had met violent ends.

Many Treasure Artifacts and Exotic Weapons were scattered on the ground, but they had all lost their divinity, reduced to scrap metal. Moreover, every single weapon showed signs of being shattered. It was clear that the beings who died here had been very powerful in life. They had all resisted before their deaths, but in the end, they still perished here.

Normally, when a cultivator dies, if they have reached a certain realm, their physical body—or at least its strongest part—can be preserved. However, all the beings here had been reduced to bones after death. There could only be one explanation: all of their essence, from their Longevity Blood to their Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, had been stolen from them before they died!

Seeing the fields of corpses and bones, countless people shuddered. While Celestial Emperor Qingxuan and his group stared blankly at the scene, the cultivators from the various Great Teaching Territories behind them arrived. Seeing this sight, everyone was stunned speechless for a long time. An untold number of people felt a chill run down their spines, their hearts filled with dread.

”W-w-what in the world happened here?” Seeing the endless bones, one Sect Leader couldn’t help but turn pale. ”This is simply too terrifying.”

”We’re going in.” Just as countless people were frozen in terror, Celestial Emperor Qingxuan remained unmoved. Completely enveloped in azure energy, his gaze was as sharp as ever as he led the Elders with him and continued forward.

Not to be outdone, Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist also led his Princes deeper inside.

At this moment, many of the Sect Leaders and Emperors from the Great Teaching Territories simply looked at each other, all of them shaken by the mountains of bone before them.

”Since we’ve come this far, there’s no reason to turn back. The fact that so many people have come here proves that there must be something world-shaking.” an Emperor said in a deep voice. With that, he led his men and followed them inside.

Seeing that Celestial Emperor Qingxuan and the others had gone in emboldened many of the other cultivators. Gritting their teeth, they all followed. Having come this far, very few wanted to turn back.

Riding his snail at top speed, Li Qiye was still the last to arrive in the eastern depths. When he reached the land of bones, it wasn’t just Li Shuangyan; even Niu Fen was shaken.

”What the hell is this place!” Seeing the mountains of bone and the scattered skeletons everywhere, never mind Li Shuangyan, even Niu Fen, who had been to many Evil Lands, felt his skin crawl and had an ominous premonition.

Li Shuangyan’s expression also changed drastically at the sight. She murmured, ”What kind of place is this?”

”It’s just the feeding ground. We’re still a ways off from the real nest.” Li Qiye said with a slight smile as he looked at the endless bones.

”Feeding ground?” Li Shuangyan’s expression changed again. She asked, ”What kind of monster was it? Is it still alive?”

”It shouldn’t be alive.” Niu Fen said, carefully examining the bones everywhere. ”All of these bones are incredibly ancient. In my opinion, the vast majority of them are from before the Age of Emperors.”

”You’re right about that.” Li Qiye said with a smile. ”To be precise, it was slain during the Ancient Nether Era. However, no one can say for sure that this damned thing was one hundred percent destroyed. Even if you butcher it a thousand times, as long as a single root-tendril survives, it has a chance to revive! Originally, it should have been impossible for it to ever revive, even if it had a glimmer of hope. What a pity...” As he spoke, his expression turned cold.

Back then, as the Yin Ya, he and Blood Seal Immortal Emperor had come here. When the Six Paths Lotus made its move, they joined forces to slaughter the monster here, even incinerating the Eight Desolations and refining the very earth in an attempt to completely erase any chance of its revival.

Later, he and Mingren Immortal Emperor dragged Demon’s Back Ridge back to the Xiyan Ancient Sect, making it the sect’s private property. At that time, fearing they might leave behind a hidden danger for the sect, he and Mingren had left behind two incredibly powerful trump cards to suppress this place. Even if the monster had a sliver of life force left, it would never be able to revive. Little Confusion was one of those measures!

Unfortunately, someone had fought their way in here and broken Mingren Immortal Emperor’s two great measures—which were also his, Li Qiye’s, two great measures. This matter had already stirred a killing intent in Li Qiye’s heart!

When Li Qiye’s expression turned cold, Niu Fen didn’t dare to ask any more questions, and neither did Li Shuangyan.

Li Qiye’s group passed through the so-called ”feeding ground,” crossing the land of bones! They then stepped onto a stretch of scorched earth. This was the true depths of the Eastern Division. As far as the eye could see, the scorched land stretched for ten thousand li, and the ground was covered in fissures, as if this land had been dried out, and even cracked, by the most powerful flames in the world!

”Whoever made a move back then was terrifying, absolutely heaven-defying and invincible. Even if they weren’t an Immortal Emperor, they must have been incredibly close.” As Niu Fen crawled across the scorched earth, he could still feel wisps of an aura fluctuating beneath it, despite the millions of years that had passed. It was the aura of invincibility.

”Incinerating the Eight Desolations, refining the very earth... This is what it truly means for not even a blade of grass to grow.” Li Qiye said slowly.

Back then, although that brat Blood Seal was already invincible, he had not yet shouldered the Celestial Mandate or become an Immortal Emperor. At that time, in order to extinguish every last trace of the monster’s life force, he incinerated the Eight Desolations and refined the earth. Millions of years have passed, yet not a single blade of grass grows on this scorched land.

Finally, carried by Niu Fen, Li Qiye and Li Shuangyan arrived at their destination. It was a massive sinkhole. This had once been a vast stretch of land, but in a very ancient era, it had been pierced through, creating a giant chasm. Looking down, it seemed bottomless. The entire sinkhole was like a colossal Primordial Fierce Beast opening its bloody maw, a sight that made one’s skin crawl.

When Li Qiye arrived, he found that everyone was already standing before the chasm, peering into its bottomless depths.

Li Qiye’s arrival drew everyone’s attention. Many experts turned to look, and upon seeing Li Qiye riding a giant snail, their expressions were varied.

”Yo, what a lively crowd. Everyone’s here.” Seeing so many people, Li Qiye said with a broad smile, ”Has anyone seen the Treasure of the Gods yet?”

Present here were not only the many lineages from the Great Teaching Territories, but also Celestial Emperor Qingxuan and Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist. Even Chen Baojiao of the Treasure Pillar Saint Sect was here.

Seeing Li Qiye, everyone had a different reaction. Celestial Emperor Qingxuan, shrouded in azure energy, had an unreadable expression, but his eyes were incredibly profound. His gaze alone could make one’s soul tremble, forcing anyone to feel a healthy dose of fear.

As for Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist, with whom he had clashed before, he didn’t bother to put on a pleasant face. He simply stared coldly at Li Qiye.

Behind Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist, Marquis Zhenwei’s reaction was even more telling. He gritted his teeth at the sight of Li Qiye. He had been defeated by Gu Tieshou and was bedridden for a long time, only for his position to be taken over by the Purple Mountain Marquis!

Although many people disliked this arrogant and conceited brat, they had all heard about Nan Tianhao’s miserable death. Rumor had it that Li Qiye possessed an Emperor’s Treasure. Even though those who hadn’t seen it with their own eyes didn’t know if it was true, they were still extremely wary of such a possibility. Thus, most people merely shot Li Qiye a cold glance.

”Yo, Miss Chen is here, too.” As for Li Qiye, he couldn’t care less about what others thought. He greeted Chen Baojiao with a wide, leisurely smile and said, ”Miss Chen, this is a treacherous place, one where you have a nine-in-ten chance of dying. For safety’s sake, I think you should come with us. I can absolutely guarantee your safety. I’ve always been a kind-hearted person, and for a beautiful and charming girl like you, Miss Chen, I’d never charge a fee.”

Li Qiye’s actions left many people speechless. To openly and shamelessly flirt with a peerless beauty like Chen Baojiao in front of everyone... this was simply too outrageous.