Dominator Emperor

BOOM— With a deafening explosion, the Pumo Tree’s trunk saw that countless of its roots had been devoured. It was finally slowing down. The trunk frantically burrowed downward, its main root tearing open the ground and plunging into the deepest part of the earth. As it madly took root deep underground, the very land was ripped asunder!

WHOOSH— At that exact moment, an immensely abundant power surged skyward. This force erupted from the earth like a demonic pillar, propping up the heavens.

BOOM— Bolstered by this new power, the Pumo Tree, which had been getting dragged along, instantly stabilized itself. It began to pull back against the Dao Platform, causing the platform to wobble under the immense counterforce.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— The heavens rocked and the earth quaked. The Pumo Tree frantically retracted its roots, trying to drag the Dao Platform toward it.

”Wh-what is that?” Seeing the Pumo Tree suddenly turn the tables, Li Shuangyan and Chen Baojiao were horrified, their expressions changing drastically. If the Pumo Tree broke free from the Dao Platform’s grasp, it would surely be the end of them.

”A Pumo Tree is a rare sight, even across the eons. There’s a reason it’s growing here,” Li Qiye said, still as calm and collected as ever, a faint smile on his face. ”Beneath this Eastern Division lies a Demon Vein, and within that vein gushes a Demon Spring. The water from that spring is incredibly precious to a Pumo Tree. If it could use it for Body Tempering and to nourish its core, it could one day become an existence on par with the gods.”

VMMMM— In that instant, the black hole of the Dao Platform doubled in size. With the CLANG, CLANG, CLANG of tightening chains, the Law Divine Chains wrapped around the Pumo Tree contracted severalfold, strangling it even tighter. The increased force began dragging the Pumo Tree toward the black hole once more.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— The ground was ripped open. The scene was like a Heavenly Bull plowing through the land, overturning immense clumps of soil. Huge chunks of earth were flung high into the air.

Even with the Pumo Tree rooted in the Demon Vein, it was no use; it still couldn’t resist the Dao Platform’s pull. Its roots were dragged into the black hole one by one, where they were devoured and pulverized.

CRACK... CRACK... CRACK... But then, something even more terrifying happened. All the Demonic Qi the Pumo Tree had absorbed from the bone spikes shot into the sky, rushing toward the Uninhabited Area where innumerable white bones lay. The Demonic Qi surged into the Sea of Bones.

At that moment, all the white bones in the Sea of Bones suddenly linked together. Skeletons from the Human Race, Celestial Demons, and Stone People—all of them—assembled into a single, incomparably gigantic tree.

A Giant Bone Tree of immense proportions materialized before Li Qiye’s group. In that instant, the tree acted like a Giant, its massive trunk whipping toward the Dao Platform.

BOOM— The Giant Bone Tree’s trunk struck the Dao Platform, causing the entire structure to tremble. However, the black hole only grew stronger, opening even wider as it continued to drag the Pumo Tree toward itself.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— The Giant Bone Tree began to frantically lash at the Dao Platform, trying to smash it to pieces.

”Holy crap, that damn thing has come to life!” Safely sheltered on the Dao Platform, Niu Fen and the others still paled at the sight. Chen Baojiao and Li Shuangyan had never witnessed such a crazed and ghoulish spectacle, and their faces drained of all color.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— However, the Pumo Tree’s terror didn’t end there. At that moment, the bone spikes from the Uninhabited Area, each one piercing the heavens, suddenly erupted from the ground.

Each bone spike was ten thousand zhang long and terrifyingly thick. They instantly assembled into a giant disc that resembled a five-pointed star covered in thorns. Then, the Bone Spike Giant Disc flew toward the Dao Platform, its power seemingly capable of grinding heaven and earth to dust.

BOOM— Struck by the terrifying Bone Spike Giant Disc, the Dao Platform shook violently. The black hole flickered, dimming for a moment from the impact.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— The Bone Spike Giant Disc and the Giant Bone Tree relentlessly hammered and slashed at the Dao Platform, trying to shatter it completely. Under their combined assault, the Dao Platform’s black hole flickered again, giving the Pumo Tree a moment to breathe. Seizing the opportunity, the disc and the tree attacked with even greater frenzy.

”I don’t think the Dao Platform can hold! We have to run! If that monstrous thing breaks free, it’s a-all over for us!” Niu Fen’s face was white as a sheet as he spoke to Li Qiye.

”It’s just a trifle,” Li Qiye replied, still completely unperturbed. He smiled at the Pumo Tree, which was now surging with Demonic Qi. ”I hadn’t planned on wiping you out completely, but since you’re courting death, I’ll be happy to oblige.”

With that, Li Qiye formed a hand seal and stomped his foot heavily. He let out a long cry as his Blood Qi shot into the Celestial Vault. He then spoke the True Words: ”By my will, open the Blood Seal Emperor Gate and descend, Demon Slaying Array...”

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— At that moment, something incredible occurred. The entire sky and earth of Demon’s Back Ridge were illuminated by a blood-red light. A colossal gateway opened in the Celestial Vault, unleashing an endless torrent of Emperor’s Power. In that instant, a web of celestial lines crisscrossed the sky. Stars materialized, the sun and moon turned, and the Celestial Universe itself seemed to ebb and flow as a gigantic array formation was branded upon the Celestial Vault.

WHOOSH—WHOOSH—WHOOSH— In an instant, countless Blood Spears rained down from the heavens. It was as if a Blood God had descended, spear in hand, to slaughter all demons and annihilate everything in its path.

BANG—BANG—BANG— The descending Blood Spears shattered the bone spikes and pierced through the assembled skeletons. In the face of the Blood Spears, neither the Bone Spike Giant Disc nor the Giant Bone Tree could withstand their might; they were both pierced through.

Forget the Pumo Tree—even the Celestial Beast Longevity Spirits throughout Demon’s Back Ridge trembled when they felt the murderous power unleashed by the Blood Spears from the Emperor Gate. At this moment, whether they were million-year-old Celestial Beasts or million-year-old Longevity Spirits, all of them cowered in their nests, not daring to show themselves.

”Holy mother of... there’s a slaughtering array branded in the sky!” Even an expert like Niu Fen felt his knees go weak at the sight of the Emperor Gate opening, the Grand Array appearing, and the Blood Spears descending. He cried out in terror, ”Th-th-this is practically an Immortal Emperor Level Grand Array! Whoever faces this is a dead man!”

As for Chen Baojiao and her old servant, they were utterly speechless, staring at the scene in disbelief. The rain of Blood Spears was a force that would slay gods and slaughter demons without distinction.

After a long moment, Chen Baojiao regained her senses. She looked at Li Qiye, her face pale, and stammered, ”Y-You... you’ve had this kind of power all along, haven’t you?” Even with her beautiful face drained of color, the nation-toppling beauty was still a pitiable, heart-stirring sight.

A chill ran down the spines of both Chen Baojiao and her old servant. They now understood: Li Qiye had possessed this trump card from the very beginning. ’Perhaps,’ they thought, ’he always intended to slaughter every sect and cultivator who entered Demon’s Back Ridge!’

Only now did Chen Baojiao and the old servant understand. The Qingxuan Ancient Country, the Holy Heaven Sect—they were all just pawns in his game. No wonder he had no fear of people like Celestial Emperor Qingxuan. No wonder he dared to declare himself an enemy to the world. It was all part of his plan. Yet, fools like the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist thought they held the upper hand, trying to forcibly seize the so-called ”Treasure of the Gods”!

They wouldn’t even know how they died when their end came.

The old servant, a man who had weathered many storms in his life, felt cold sweat bead in his palms. He couldn’t help but feel a secret sense of relief. ’Thank heavens we didn’t make an enemy of him,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, no matter how powerful I am, I would not have escaped death.’

Li Qiye simply glanced at Chen Baojiao in response to her question and said leisurely, ”Demon’s Back Ridge is the private property of the Xiyan Ancient Sect. As its Chief Disciple, is it really so strange that I know of such measures?”

Of course, this Grand Array had nothing to do with Mingren Immortal Emperor; it was laid down by the Blood Seal Immortal Emperor. When they had come here in the past, their original plan was to ambush and kill the Pumo Tree. They had intended to annihilate it in one fell swoop by branding an Unparalleled Great Array upon the Celestial Vault. At the time, they had truly laid a Heaven and Earth Net.

Unfortunately, before they could act, the Six Paths Lotus made a move against the Pumo Tree, so the Heaven and Earth Net they had prepared was never used.

Back then, Li Qiye, in his form as the Yin Ya, was supposed to preside over the grand array to ambush the Pumo Tree. Since it went unused, he simply left it in place as a trump card, hoping it might one day be of use.

Today, by forming the Array Seal and speaking the True Words, Li Qiye had easily communicated with the Grand Array, opened the Emperor Gate, and called down the Blood Spears to slaughter his powerful foe.

SCREEE— At that moment, the Pumo Tree let out a wretched scream. Its trunk had been pierced by a Blood Spear, and even more of its roots had been severed by the others.

CRACK— Just then, the Pumo Tree’s entire trunk split open. In a flash, a thumb-sized old root shot out from within. The moment it was free, the old root immediately tried to flee into the distance!

”What is that?” Li Shuangyan asked, her expression shifting as she saw the old root escape.

”The primal root,” Li Qiye said with a smile, watching the old root flee at incredible speed. ”This entire, unformed Pumo Tree grew from that one small primal root.”

”Aren’t you going to chase it?” Niu Fen asked, worried. ”If that primal root can grow into a Pumo Tree, can you imagine the consequences if it escapes? It would be a total disaster!”

”It doesn’t understand this world, nor does it understand this realm,” Li Qiye said with a smile.

As they spoke, the thumb-sized primal root flew out of the Eastern Division, trying to escape to a faraway place.

The very instant the primal root flew out of the Eastern Division, the Osmanthus Lotus Tree in the far-off south let out a ”VMMMM.” A tender green branch suddenly shot across the sky. Like a Divine Sword, the branch pierced the Celestial Vault, severed Reincarnation, and annihilated the six daos.

It was just a single tender branch, yet even Divine Spirits trembled before it. As it struck, it was as powerful as any Divine Sword.

SHHIIINNG— The tender branch sliced down, and the primal root was instantly obliterated, turning into countless motes of dust!