Emperor’s Domination

Li Qiye and the Kui patiently waited by the pond, far away from the uproar that is outside.

He reached a zen state in order to derive the myriad laws, searching for the great mysteries - something that he is capable of doing regardless of the location.

In fact, he had no fear of being disturbed because of his unshakable dao heart. Even if someone were to break his meditation, he would be unaffected and could come back to his wits in an instant with no chance for qi deviation. Wu Bingning and Ling Ximo risked their lives needlessly earlier.

The Kui also meditated with lightning currents flowing on its body, issuing thunderous crackles.

Coinbeasts were different from the animals outside, perhaps a unique type of existence only found in Moneyfall. Their origin was a mystery.

The Kui was frighteningly strong, a king of the coinbeasts. Moreover, its divine bloodline destined it for greatness.

However, it was different from a regular divine beast, such as its father and mother. After reaching a certain level, the latter would gain an amazing intelligence.

Unfortunately for the Kui, coinbeasts didn’t share the same path of evolution. Thus, it still relied on instincts, even when it came to cultivation.

The reason for it being here was due to an awaiting fortune - one that could transform it from this beast shell. It simply followed its instinct without possessing more information.

Because of this, it has always tried to reach this place. All ended with failure until today.

“Splash!” After a while, something finally happened inside the pond. Bubbles started appearing on the surface.

Normally, bubbles would pop soon after reaching the surface but this wasn’t the case. They actually sank back down and looked like water pearls. 

“Ooo!” The Kui came back from meditation and excitedly cried out.

It didn’t take long before the pond was full of them. Strange enough, the water didn’t spill over at all even when the bubbles took over.

Despite wanting to jump into the pond, the Kui still looked over at Li Qiye.

He finally opened his eyes and smiled: “This is a type of fate. Very well, you go first or there won’t be anything left after I’m done.”

“Ooo!” The Kui instantly jumped into the pond, creating a huge splash.

“Is this necessary?” Li Qiye shook his head after seeing the eager beast.

It quickly calmed down and meditated while inside the water. Long hair started to grow, or so it seemed. It was in fact strands of lightning coming out of the beast, around the size of a needle. These strands began to penetrate the water bubbles, turning them black. Upon closer inspection, one would find that it was actually a ink-like liquid streaming from the beasts to the bubbles via the lightning strands.

After being filled with the black liquid, the bubbles floated up to the surface and finally popped.

However, the black liquid didn’t flow back in the water. They started floating like smoke and after sizzling noises, they were burned into nothingness.

The longer the beast stay in the pond, the more bubbles floated up and more black liquid being incinerated. The quantity of bubble in the pond never decreased because new ones would rise from the bottom.

As time passed, less and less liquid flowed out of the beast until there was none.

“Boom! Boom!” The strands of lightning disappeared, replaced by golden ones now, as bright as gold.

“Splash!” The beast jumped out of the pond. It was flashing with the same golden glow; its skin had turned into the same shade. It emitted a unique aura, becoming even more powerful and nobler than before.

It started beating its chest, resulting in thunderous rumbles. 

“Ah, ah, oh…” The beast uttered strange sounds to Li Qiye, almost human-like. It had undergone a transformation. If it could truly escape this beast shell, it would gain intelligence and a new form.

Li Qiye smiled after seeing the excited beast: “Yes, yes, it is worth celebrating. Maybe after you shed this shell, you will be able to see the world outside. Of course, there is a long way to go with no guarantee of success.”

The powerful beast still didn’t quite understand this. Li Qiye didn’t seem to mind though.

He raised his hand and all of the bubbles in the pond suddenly left and started to float in the air.

Next, he pushed down his hand and the entire pond collapsed, revealing a clear maelstrom around the size of a mirror.

After separating it from the earth, he made all the bubbles enter the whirling phenomenon like dumplings being thrown into a boiling pot.

Finally, after a loud bang, the spin of the vortex slowed down since the bubbles came together to form something akin to a crystal ball.

His eyes became serious after seeing this: “I’ve found what I came for, it is time for a meeting.”