Emperor’s Domination

Li Qiye and the girls came to the boundary between the Imperial Border and the Devil World. They were standing next to a lake and watching its calm waters.

Chen Baojiao asked: “What are we here for?”

“We’re going to the Nihility Temple.” Li Qiye answered calmly.

“Nihility Temple?” Li Shuangyan was a bit startled: “The temple that Little Autumn always talked about? I thought it was located in this realm.”

“You can say that it is both in the lesser world yet not.” He smiled and threw the Buddhist lotus into the lake.

“Burble! Glop! Burble!” Once it was thrown in the water, the calm lake suddenly boiled. The water whirled around like boiling water.

Li Qiye jumped onto the lotus and told the girls: “Come, this will lead us to the highest point in this world, the Nihility Temple.”

The girls jumped onto the lotus without any hesitation.

“Splashhh!” The unimaginable happened. A huge whirlpool appeared on the lake’s surface and sucked everything inside, including Li Qiye and the others on the lotus flower.

The girls were looking around during the swallowing process. It was swirling quite fast, but not a single drop of water touched them. It seemed that this lake was sucking them into another world.

This scene was truly too magical and bizarre. The girls didn’t know that this lotus had such a use.

After a while, the girls heard a crashing sound. The water rose again and the swirling water keeping their lotus afloat became tranquil.

They found themselves in the middle of the lake again. If it wasn’t for the different scenery, they would have thought that they didn’t move at all and were still at the same lake as before.

Li Qiye took a quick glance around and said: “We’re here.”

The girls observed their surroundings. There was a medium-sized mountain in front of them, but it gave off quite an incredible feeling, as if it encompassed all the spirit energy and Buddhist affinity in this world. The mountain itself had a layer of zen and the most profound and complex dharma.

This was a seemingly ordinary yet completely extraordinary mountain. It didn’t have towering Buddhist lights or an extraordinary presence. However, it had the appearance of being washed by countless years. It resembled a meditating Buddha that had been freed from the withering of time.

There was an old and small temple at the top. No one knew when it was built since it was too archaic to make out any discernible clues.

Those with sharp eyes would be able to see a plaque at the entrance. It looked like it was about to fall down and had the words “Nihility Temple” written on it.

The words were almost too faint to see. They had been baptized by the endless time and faded into blurriness.

While looking at this wondrous temple, Bai Jianzhen became cautious and asked: “What kind of temple is Nihility? How does it compare to the eighteen temples on Spirit Mountain?”

“The eighteen temples cannot compare to it at all.” Li Qiye noticed her vigilance and slowly explained: “All the monks here right now are retired Buddhist Lords.”

“These monks were all Buddhist Lords from the Buddhist Kingdom?” The girls were frightened after hearing this.

Just think about it, the Eight-faced Radiant Bodhisattva was enough to scare Godkings. Just what kind of existences are these Buddhist Lords then?

This seemingly inconspicuous old temple had monks who used to be Buddhist Lords. Just how frightening was this?

Li Shuangyan took a deep breath and murmured: “This Nihility Temple is too scary.”

“The most dreadful part about it is not the monks inside.” Li Qiye flatly said: “However, it is indeed quite scary. For generations now, countless Godkings and True Gods have fallen inside.”

“According to the legends, Immortal Emperor Fei Yang and Immortal Emperor Hao Hai have been here as well.” Mei Suyao had a serious and respectful expression on her face while looking at the temple.

“Yes, both of those emperors have been here before.” Li Qiye nodded: “Back then, Immortal Emperor Fei Yang only arrived due to trickery while Immortal Emperor Hao Hai was more forceful. However, Immortal Emperor Hao Hai didn’t seize any advantages and had to leave in the end using all of his might. After leaving, he never entered the Buddhist Funeral Plateau again for the rest of his life.”

The girls were amazed after hearing this. Even Immortal Emperors couldn’t do anything to the Nihility Temple.

Li Qiye got off the lotus while looking at the mountain. The girls were right behind him. All of them, including Mei Suyao and Bai Jianzhen, looked quite serious.

If there was a most difficult fight in one’s life, then this absolutely frightening situation ahead could be it. Even Mei Suyao felt nervous and greatly uncertain.

“Damn bald and stinky donkeys, get the hell out here. Stop hiding in your lair!” Before the group made it to the base of the mountain, they could hear some cursing coming from the distance.

“Stinky donkeys, do you hear me or not? Are you all deaf?” This incessant cursing didn’t stop and instead became increasingly louder and more vulgar: “Asses, listen to your uncle well. I want to dismantle and burn down your crappy temple!”

The girls glanced at each other, especially Li Shuangyan and Chen Baojiao. The two of them found this voice very familiar.

Li Qiye, on the other hand, smiled wryly and shook his head. He knew who was swearing.

Sure enough, on top of a boulder at the foot of the mountain was a worm. To be more accurate, it was a little dragon with a body full of glittering golden light. It radiated waves of lights and had a very sacred appearance. Others would think that it would transform into a golden dragon and fly into the nine heavens.

However, who would have thought that this worm that resembled a dragon would have such an abusive foul mouth? It completely contradicted its holy appearance.

After cursing for a while, it seemed to grow tired and rested on the boulder instead.

“Don’t tell me you have been cursing this whole time?” Li Qiye smilingly asked while looking at the fella lying on the boulder.

The little guy heard Li Qiye’s voice and looked over. It was ecstatic to see the group and lunged forward: “Boss, Little Autumn knew you would personally come here! With your presence, you will meet god, slay god, meet devil, slay devil and kill all the bald donkeys in there!”

Li Qiye slapped the chest on the worm’s back and scolded with a smile: “Okay, Little Autumn, stop sucking up.”

Ever since it received the fortune at the World Tree, it underwent a great transformation and was turning into a dragon.

“Hehe, Boss and everyone is here now. I can rest assured this time. We should attack that broken temple together and burn everything down.” After seeing that his backing was here, Little Autumn turned quite bold and let out a cocky laugh.

“How did you get here?” Chen Baojiao was very curious. It seemed that Little Autumn had been here for a long time even before the opening of the lesser world.

It was full of hot air as it declared with great confidence: “Hehehe, little girl, look again and see how amazing I am. As a natural divine dragon, is there a place that I cannot reach among the nine heavens and ten earths as well as myriad realms?”

“Less boasting!” Li Qiye laughed and kicked it flying: “The Eight-faced Radiant Bodhisattva told me that you have been using my name to intimidate others?” 1

After being found out by Li Qiye, the worm let out an awkward laugh and said: “Boss, you should at least give me a little face. Even though those bald donkeys are ignoring me and letting me do as I please, I did rely on my own ability to come here. If I didn’t have such peerless abilities, how could I have come to this place?”

Little Autumn was right about this. Even though its secret arrival was due to the tacit consent of Spirit Mountain, it wouldn’t have been able to get here without its ability to travel.

“Alright, I know how amazing you are.” Li Qiye looked at it with one eye and said: “Why don’t you go in then?”

1. The raw would be — you have been using my name like a fox exploiting the tiger’s might. This does sound a little weird and too formal. Idioms are so common in China that it has become part of normal conversations, so they sound less contrived in many scenarios versus the concise English meaning.