Dominator Emperor

“How can we tell if a Corpse Blood Cloud’s landing spot is good or bad?” Lan Yunzhu couldn’t help but ask. However, Li Qiye’s eyes were closed in concentration, and he didn’t answer her.

They had been riding the Corpse Blood Cloud for an unknown amount of time when suddenly, Li Qiye spoke in a low voice, “Get ready. We’re jumping.”

“What—?” Li Qiye’s sudden words made both Suan Tian Daoist and Lan Yunzhu jump. This was the boundless Void, with no solid ground anywhere in sight. Wouldn’t jumping here be courting death? They had seen with their own eyes the fate of the cultivators who fell.

“Jump!” However, before Lan Yunzhu and Suan Tian Daoist could even think, Li Qiye grabbed them both and leaped from the Corpse Blood Cloud.

In an instant, they were plummeting in freefall. The sensation terrified both Suan Tian Daoist and Lan Yunzhu. They tried to use their Flying Techniques, but even a peerless Flying Technique was useless here; they couldn’t fly at all.

“Don’t move!” Li Qiye barked, just as Lan Yunzhu and Suan Tian Daoist were about to summon treasures to try and fly.

Lan Yunzhu and Suan Tian Daoist froze. In the end, they simply resigned themselves to their fate. They didn’t summon any treasures, closed their eyes, and let themselves plummet.

“AHHH—” Their screams tore through the Void. The three of them plummeted like meteors, falling into an abyss-like emptiness.

After what felt like an eternity of falling, the three of them suddenly felt as if they had hit a soft, cottony surface. This yielding force arrested their meteoric descent.

With a THUD, they finally slammed onto the ground. The moment they hit, both Lan Yunzhu and Suan Tian Daoist were greeted by the rich aroma of fresh earth.

At that moment, they were overcome with joy. The scent of the soil had never smelled so wonderful. After that long fall from the sky, the simple feeling of solid ground beneath their feet felt like the greatest fortune, a truly thrilling sensation.

When they came to their senses, Lan Yunzhu and the others immediately opened their eyes. They saw the sky shimmering with light. Only then did they realize the cottony thing they had struck was a barrier in the sky. They had fallen from high above, hit the barrier, and passed through it into this place.

Li Qiye got to his feet, and Lan Yunzhu scrambled up as well. The moment she was up and saw the sight before her, she froze in astonishment.

Before them was a vast lake, its azure surface rippling like a great piece of jade. A gentle, refreshing breeze drifted by. The lakeshore was a huge, rocky beach, formed by a chaotic pile of smooth, rounded stones.

Seeing such a sight, anyone who didn’t know better would never guess they were inside the First Evil Tomb. They would assume they were on the shore of some great lake in the Ghost Sacred Realm.

“Wh-wh-where is this?” Suan Tian Daoist, now back on his feet, stared in a daze at the great lake. This was completely different from the First Evil Tomb he had imagined.

With the rippling azure water, an outsider might mistake this for a secluded paradise. Who would ever imagine that this was inside the First Evil Tomb, a place most pictured as gloomy and steeped in Ghost Qi?

“A Secret Realm. One of the Secret Realms within the First Evil Tomb,” Li Qiye said leisurely, sitting down. “When you enter the First Evil Tomb by riding a Corpse Blood Cloud, you’ll always have a landing spot. Whether it’s a good or bad one is hard to say. But as long as you can leave your landing spot, you can enter the Tomb Realm.”

“The Tomb Realm?” Suan Tian Daoist asked, his curiosity piqued. “What’s the Tomb Realm like?”

Li Qiye glanced at him. “It’s not much different from a continent. However, if your luck is bad and you wander into the wrong area, you’ll die. Of course, if you go to the right place, you might find a great Creation. There are five Tomb Realms in total within the First Evil Tomb. Moreover, as long you find a Dao Platform, you can teleport between them. For anyone entering the First Evil Tomb, the landing spot is their first Creation. Whether you get anything from it depends on luck. But once you enter the Tomb Realm, obtaining a Creation is no longer so simple. Inside the Tomb Realms, if you want to find a Medicine King or other treasures, you need more than just the good luck to be in the right place. You must also have sufficient strength, comprehension, and talent!”

“In short, aside from the landing spot which relies on luck, the Tomb Realms rely on strength,” Li Qiye said with a smile. “If you have enough strength, you might just leave laden with rewards. Of course, if your luck is bad, it’s very possible you’ll die in a Tomb Realm! You could say the First Evil Tomb isn’t dangerous, and you’d be right. You could also say it’s incomparably dangerous. It all depends on what you’re after. If you’re easily satisfied, your chances of getting out alive are very high.”

“Then what about the Secret Realms?” After Li Qiye’s explanation, Lan Yunzhu and Suan Tian Daoist finally had a basic understanding of the First Evil Tomb. Lan Yunzhu couldn’t help but ask as she gazed at the vast lake before them.

Li Qiye chuckled. “Ah, the Secret Realms. They aren’t part of the Tomb Realms. Just as their name implies, no one knows where the First Evil Tomb’s Secret Realms are, or even how many exist. If you want to enter one, it’s simple: you jump off a Corpse Blood Cloud. The catch, of course, is that you have to choose the exact spot where a Secret Realm is located. Otherwise, jumping only leads to one outcome: falling to your death.”

“Then how do you know where a Secret Realm is?” Suan Tian Daoist couldn’t help but ask.

Li Qiye looked at him, smiled, and shook his head. “No one knows. It’s all about luck and destiny. If you jump in the right spot, congratulations, you get a Creation. If you jump in the wrong one, I’m sorry, but it’s a one-way trip to the grave. However,” he added, “isn’t your Heart Demon Clan’s art of divination supposed to be peerless? You could give it a try if you’re interested.”

“No, no, I’m not playing that game!” Suan Tian Daoist jumped in fright, frantically waving his hands and shaking his head. “A place like the First Evil Tomb is a Burial Ground, a taboo of heaven and earth! It can’t be divined! Forcibly attempting to divine it would bring about a world-ending catastrophe! Our Heart Demon Clan once had an Elder Ancestor who wanted to obtain the legendary Longevity Technique from the First Evil Tomb. Rumor has it, after he came here, he tried to forcibly divine the technique’s location. He was instantly struck dead by heavenly lightning. Not only that, but our Heart Demon Clan incurred Heaven’s Wrath—we were bombarded by lightning for an entire day and suffered catastrophic losses.”

“So, does that mean the Longevity Technique really exists in the First Evil Tomb?” Lan Yunzhu said, her expression shifting.

Suan Tian Daoist shook his head, his expression growing solemn at the mention of the topic. “I can’t say for sure. But for our Elder Ancestor’s forced divination to trigger such a catastrophe… logically, it must exist. And even if it doesn’t, there must be something here that the heavens don’t want anyone to know about.”

“As for the Longevity Technique… I happen to know a thing or two about it,” Li Qiye said with a smile.

“There really is a Longevity Technique?” Hearing this, both Lan Yunzhu and Suan Tian Daoist were stunned. “Is it real?” Lan Yunzhu asked, visibly moved.

Longevity and immortality have always been the ultimate pursuit of all cultivators. It was rumored that not even an Immortal Emperor could truly live forever. But as for where the Immortal Emperors went… no one knows. Some say they died. Others say they ascended to the legendary Tenth Realm!

“If a true Longevity Technique really existed in this world, I would definitely risk life and limb to seize it.” Li Qiye smiled and shook his head. “However, it’s not impossible to achieve longevity. There is indeed something in the First Evil Tomb that can allow a person to live for a very, very long time. But the price is beyond your imagination.”

“What kind of thing is it?” Suan Tian Daoist was incredibly curious. Longevity and immortality were an irresistible temptation for anyone. Countless Old Undyings had sealed themselves away just to stave off death.

However, being sealed within a Time Blood Stone wasn’t true longevity or immortality; it was merely a way to evade the world. By sealing themselves inside, they could pass through one era after another, but they couldn’t experience the changes of time at all. Once they emerged from the Time Blood Stone, they would still be unable to escape death!

Li Qiye just gave a mysterious smile and didn’t answer the Daoist’s question. Suan Tian Daoist sighed and knew not to press the matter.

“How are the Secret Realms different from the Tomb Realms?” Lan Yunzhu asked, gazing at the azure lake before them.

“It’s simple. If you can enter a Secret Realm, you are guaranteed to receive a Creation. This kind of Creation is a one-time opportunity, and what’s more, it comes with no danger whatsoever!” Li Qiye said with a smile.

Suan Tian Daoist said doubtfully, “Is it really worth risking certain death for a single Creation? Th-that’s not just a slim chance of survival… that’s no chance of survival!”

‘Choosing the right place to jump is fundamentally impossible! Heaven knows where the Secret Realms are. The boundless Void is so vast; picking the right spot is harder than finding a needle in an ocean!’

“If you’re lucky enough, it’s worth it!” Li Qiye said with a smile. “The origin of the First Evil Tomb is beyond the world’s imagination. Every Secret Realm has a Realm Guardian Treasure. If you can obtain one, and if you’re the type to be easily satisfied, you don’t even need to go to the Tomb Realms; you can just leave. A single one of these Realm Guardian Treasures is an incredible find.”

“Every Secret Realm has a Realm Guardian Treasure?” Lan Yunzhu asked in surprise. “Then just how many Secret Realms are there in the First Evil Tomb? If there are countless Secret Realms, wouldn’t the Realm Guardian Treasures be worthless?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Li Qiye laughed. “If there were countless Secret Realms, would you even need to choose? You could just jump with your eyes closed, and even an idiot would stumble into one. The exact number of Secret Realms in the First Evil Tomb is difficult to determine, but in my personal opinion, there is either only one, or there are three!”

“My heavens, only one?!” The moment he heard this, Suan Tian Daoist was so terrified his soul nearly left his body. His legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to his knees. His face was deathly pale as he stammered, “Young Noble, you’re not just guessing, are you? The odds are even smaller than finding a needle in an ocean!”