Dominator Emperor

However, the giant tomb entrance everyone had imagined was not before them. There was no underground necropolis, not even a single coffin or corpse. None of what they had envisioned was here; there was only an endless, vast void.

”Th-th-this is the First Evil Tomb?” Someone stared at the endless void before them and couldn’t help but ask in disappointment.

”The First Evil Tomb is just... this?” someone else said, unwilling to accept what they saw as they gazed at the endless void.

”Perhaps this is just the entrance. There might be more to it,” a Great Sect Leader said. ”Let’s go. We’ll head in and take a look.” With that, he piloted a flying ship toward the vast void ahead.

However, something terrifying happened. The moment the Great Sect’s flying ship rushed into the void, the entire vessel seemed to lose all weight, plunging into the depths of the void as if into a bottomless pit.

”AH—AH—AH—” A series of screams echoed. The flying ship carried several hundred experts from that Great Sect. When the ship suddenly began to fall, they were horrified. As powerful experts, their first reaction was to leap into the air and abandon the vessel.

But the result was the same. They couldn’t fly at all. Here, a Cultivator’s ability to fly was completely nullified! In that instant, no matter what Body Technique they executed or how many Flying Treasures they summoned, nothing could save them. They all plummeted straight down as if they had stepped on empty air, completely weightless.

For a moment, the several hundred experts were scared out of their wits. Their screams tore through the void. Everyone watched as they fell like shooting stars into the endless depths, eventually vanishing from sight. No one knew where they had fallen.

”H-h-how is that possible!” Seeing this, everyone was startled. The Cultivators and sects who had been about to follow immediately halted, shivering in fear and falling deathly silent.

”That can’t be... There was even a Saint Venerable among them!” an Emperor from a Jiang Country remarked, his face turning pale and his legs growing weak at the sight.

One had to understand that for Cultivators who had reached a certain level, flying through the heavens and burrowing through the earth was completely normal. For a Cultivator to suddenly lose the ability to fly—what a devastating blow would that be?

”This is a Void Domain. Even if you are a Great Sage, falling in means certain death,” an ancient voice declared from the Ancestor Mountain of the Ten Thousand Bones Throne.

Upon hearing this, the countless Cultivators and lineages present couldn’t help but shudder. Although many didn’t know what a Void Domain was, the fact that even a Great Sage would die in it was enough for them to understand just how terrifying this place was.

”Look, what’s that?” a sharp-eyed person suddenly shouted, pointing into the distance.

Everyone looked toward the vast void ahead and saw patches of red clouds drifting over from the distance. The clouds were crimson, like flowing fresh blood. They drifted over one after another in a long procession, resembling a flowing river of blood from afar.

In the blink of an eye, the long procession of red clouds reached the cliff’s edge. When the first cloud touched the stone face of the cliff, it immediately rebounded and drifted in another direction. The other clouds did the same, bouncing off and following in the same direction.

”Those are the legendary Corpse Blood Clouds,” an ethereal voice drifted down from the Earth Fool Treasure Tree. It was impossible to tell who had spoken.

Just as a Corpse Blood Cloud drew near the cliff, with a SWISH, the entire Earth Fool Treasure Tree flew onto it. The Corpse Blood Cloud immediately began to roil with a bloody mist, as if it were a monster with countless tentacles trying to envelop the Treasure Tree. The tree suddenly unleashed an endless Immortal Light that blocked the misty tentacles.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the Earth Fool Treasure Tree rode the Corpse Blood Cloud into the distance, and no one knew where it was headed.

”So that’s how you do it! You ride the clouds!” Seeing the Earth Fool Treasure Tree from the Yu Shan Old Immortal Kingdom successfully ride a Corpse Blood Cloud into the distance, everyone finally understood.

At this moment, an Elder Cultivator immediately jumped onto a Corpse Blood Cloud that had just drifted close. The moment he landed, the cloud began to roil, and countless misty tentacles coiled toward him.

”AH—” This Elder Cultivator had been too arrogant and was completely unprepared. The blood mist instantly engulfed him, and in the blink of an eye, his entire body was reduced to a bloody vapor, leaving not even a single bone behind.

Witnessing such a horrifying scene, many of the Cultivators present couldn’t help but shudder. Only then did they realize it wasn’t so simple; this bloody mist was extremely dangerous.

A low HUM echoed as the Ancestor Mountain of the Ten Thousand Bones Throne mounted a Corpse Blood Cloud. The mountain easily repelled the dangers of the blood mist and rode the cloud into the distance.

Following them, the Ten Thousand Ancient Country, the Yin Yang Sect, the Ju Que Holy Land... one Great Teaching Territory after another leaped onto the Corpse Blood Clouds. These major powers had sufficient strength, and their treasures easily blocked the might of the bloody mist.

”Let’s jump in too.” Seeing the Great Teaching Territories riding the Corpse Blood Clouds into the distance, the other Cultivators and Minor Sects were unwilling to be left behind and followed suit, leaping onto the clouds.

Some sects and Cultivators successfully used their treasures or Cultivation Techniques to block the bloody mist. Those who failed let out a bloodcurdling scream before being reduced to vapor, leaving not even a bone behind.

”Let’s team up.” For a time, many of the Minor Sects and Loose Cultivators began to discuss forming alliances, hoping to join forces to ride the Corpse Blood Clouds into the distance.

But Li Qiye, the very person who had opened the First Evil Tomb, was not in a hurry at all. He simply watched everyone leap onto the Corpse Blood Clouds with a faint smile. He turned to Treasure Turtle Daoist and said, ”Sect Leader, take our people and jump onto that Corpse Blood Cloud over there. Just ride it across.” He pointed to a cloud drifting over from the distance.

”What about you?” Treasure Turtle Daoist knew Li Qiye must have his reasons for choosing that specific cloud, so he couldn’t help but ask.

”Yunzhu and Suan Tian Daoist will come with me,” Li Qiye replied. Though he was speaking, his gaze remained fixed on the Corpse Blood Clouds. At the same time, he was silently counting them in his mind as they drifted by.

Seeing the cloud Li Qiye had pointed to draw near, Treasure Turtle Daoist let out a great shout. He led the Elders, riding a gigantic carp, and landed instantly on the Corpse Blood Cloud. The massive carp easily blocked the blood mist, and the Elders of the Qianli River rode the cloud into the distance.

As for the other sects and Cultivators present, none dared to contend with an Emperor Immortal Gate like the Qianli River for a Corpse Blood Cloud.

”Should we go now?” Lan Yunzhu asked after the Qianli River Elders had disappeared into the distance.

”Wait.” Li Qiye’s eyes remained fixed on the Corpse Blood Clouds as he continued to silently count them in his mind.

An unknown amount of time passed. The number of Cultivators dwindled as many sects and individuals successfully rode the Corpse Blood Clouds away. Even the Minor Sects and Loose Cultivators, after joining forces, had enough strength to block the blood mist. As they rode off, they couldn’t contain their excitement. ’We’re finally entering the First Evil Tomb! The legendary great creation and the fabled Longevity Technique are waiting for us!’

As the crowd thinned, a long time later, Li Qiye finally locked his sights on a particular Corpse Blood Cloud. As it drifted closer, he said to Suan Tian Daoist and Lan Yunzhu in a low voice, ”Get ready. You two block the blood mist. Remember, follow my command when the time comes.”

Neither Suan Tian Daoist nor Lan Yunzhu knew what was so special about this particular cloud, but they both took a deep breath, not daring to be careless, and fixed their gazes upon it.

When the cloud Li Qiye had chosen drifted near, he grabbed Suan Tian Daoist on his left and Lan Yunzhu on his right and shouted in a deep voice, ”Jump—” In that instant, he pulled them both onto the Corpse Blood Cloud.

The moment the three of them landed on the cloud, the blood mist roiled, lunging toward them like countless tentacles. Suan Tian Daoist, standing to Li Qiye’s left, brandished his Old Banner. Images of soaring dragons and flying phoenixes appeared as it unleashed Laws to block the mist. On Li Qiye’s right, Lan Yunzhu let out a delicate cry. Without any visible movement, Xingchen coiled around her, easily deflecting the blood mist as well.

With the two of them blocking the mist, Li Qiye, standing in the middle, was completely unaffected. In fact, the moment he landed on the cloud, he had already closed his eyes, mentally measuring the distance the Corpse Blood Cloud traveled.

Lan Yunzhu and Suan Tian Daoist didn’t know what Li Qiye was doing, but they remained vigilant, not daring to lower their guard as they defended against the endlessly roiling blood mist.

The three of them rode the Corpse Blood Cloud into the distance. They were not the only ones; a long procession of clouds drifted onward, like a river of blood flowing through the vast void.

After drifting for an unknown amount of time, the long, river-like procession of Corpse Blood Clouds reached a certain point and began to separate. Each cloud drifted off in a different direction!

From this point on, all the Corpse Blood Clouds dispersed, each with its own destination. For a moment, they looked like tiny boats in a vast ocean, drifting off toward every corner of the sea.

The direction in which a Corpse Blood Cloud drifted was not something the Cultivator riding it could control. No matter how Heaven-Defying or invincible one might be, they could not change the cloud’s course.

Seeing the clouds disperse, each one heading in a different direction, Lan Yunzhu finally understood why Li Qiye had specifically chosen a cloud for the Qianli River group.

”So the Corpse Blood Clouds don’t all go to the same place,” Suan Tian Daoist muttered as he watched their own cloud drift off in a completely unknown direction.

Now, there were no other Corpse Blood Clouds around them. They were all alone, drifting through the vast void. It felt like being on a small boat adrift on the open sea, making one worry when a giant wave might strike.

”Of course they don’t go to the same place. Each Corpse Blood Cloud has its own destination, and every destination is different. That destination is your creation. Whether it’s a good beginning or a bad one all depends on whether you chose the right cloud,” Li Qiye said with his eyes still closed, silently measuring the distance they had traveled.