Emperor’s Domination

Ancestral City was the center of Stone Plateau, the symbol of the golems. Some believed that this city itself was this race’s ancestral ground. This wasn’t too much of an exaggeration because it had the highest population of golems currently. [1]

However, the majority were mixed-blood golems. They weren’t as pure as the ones living in Stonewind Canyon. This made it harder for them to reach pseudo or actual atavism under normal circumstances.

Nonetheless, Ancestral City still had the highest number of pseudo-atavistic golems in the world.

In reality, the place wasn’t a city in the conventional sense despite its name. There were no walls and fences, rendering it difficult to distinguish its actual boundary line.

Mountains could be seen, some in a group while others all alone. Rivers were a common sight along with waterfalls flowing from the firmament. Plenty of lakes scattered around the land like pearls…

Thus, it was more accurate to consider Ancestral City a great continent. The majority of people in the plateau gathered here, resulting in prosperity.

One could see the palaces built next to each other on the mountain ranges or a lonely hall at the top of a peak. Some jade pavilions were floating on the lakes; more architectures could be found in the valleys too.

The noticeable absences were walls and streets. Nonetheless, this didn’t deter people from living here.

Statues stood tall among these places. They had varying height and shape - these were the pseudo-atavistic golems.

It remained difficult to get an exact count of this cultivator type. Some haven’t woken up for millions of years. This made them as big as a mountain; some were pushed lower to the ground.

Because of this, the place was considered one of the strongest areas in Eight Desolaces.

If all these pseudo-atavistic golems were to wake up, they would definitely be able to sweep through the world uncontested.

That’s why no one or any single race dared to look down on the golems. These slumbering cultivators were just too strong.

There was one special sect at Ancestral City with the same name. It served as the core of the city and the symbol of the golems.

This branch belonged to the Golem Ancestor, or Black Duck. He himself didn’t personally create it but rather, his disciple with the title of Golem Monarch Dao Lord.

Nonetheless, Golem Ancestor used to stay here to train and left behind his scriptures. This was a sect with two dao lords.

Golems from all of Eight Desolaces would make pilgrimages to this wondrous holy land.

***

Li Qiye’s group finally made it to the outskirts of the city. They saw the amazing atmosphere permeating across the land along with the colorful and diverse landscapes.

The peaks looked cool all alone while the brilliant reflections from the lakes were beautiful, to say the least. This place was worthy of being the jewel in the eyes of the golems.

“That’s Ancestral City, right in front of us!” Shi Wawa shouted excitedly.

They saw people flying in the air. Some preferred treasures; others flying beasts. All races were present - golems, demons, humans…

Shi Wawa lived all alone and rarely saw strangers. The prosperity of this place shook him to the core.

“It looks amazing! So amazing!” He shouted while entering with Li Qiye, just like a country bumpkin.

Li Qiye smiled and didn’t mind at all. As for Qing Shi, this was obviously not his first time here. He had a natural expression while following Li Qiye. He actually found the guy far more interesting than Ancestral City.

The group walked through the mountains and peaks that were connected by stone bridges. Of course, cultivators preferred to simply fly over - far more convenient.

There were plenty of shops as well from merchants all over the world. Shi Wawa’s eyes brimmed with curiosity and excitement. He looked left and right and couldn’t keep his mouth closed.

Li Qiye sauntered through the area and left behind his marks. Remember, Qing Shi has been observing him the entire time.

In the beginning, Qing Shi didn’t realize anything. As they moved forward, he found that Li Qiye was actually measuring Ancestral City. Strangely enough, this massive place seemed to be moving in accordance with Li Qiye’s steps. This was a very strange feeling.

Qing Shi didn’t know why or how the guy was doing it. Nonetheless, this was an unfathomable power. The massive place meant nothing to Li Qiye.

“Excellent, the gathering of spirit energies. No wonder why golems picked this place for their atavism.” Li Qiye eventually concluded with a smile.

“Do you know how many pseudo golems are here?” Qing Shi suddenly asked.

This has been an ongoing question for many generations. People only knew that the place was extremely strong.

“I’m not Wawa. If you want to know, go back and look at the archive.” Li Qiye stared at him.

Qing Shi smiled wryly and stopped asking.

“Young Master, I, I think I want to take a look at the dao courtyard of the golems.” Shi Wawa eventually suggested after they had walked for a while.

This dao courtyard was the place where the golem sages passed down their dao enlightenment. It had produced many more because of this.

Thus, most golems visiting for the first time would come to the courtyard to pay their respect.

“Go, I’ll find you later.” Li Qiye touched his forehead and said.

“Thank you, Young Master.” Shi Wawa bowed and ran off.

Li Qiye continued with his stroll, seemingly without a destination in mind.

“Young Master, is there a place you want to visit here? I can show you the way.” Qing Shi eventually asked, still unclear about Li Qiye’s goal.

“Sounds like you’re very familiar with Ancestral City.” Li Qiye half smirked at the guy.

“A bit, I’ve been here many times and know most places.” Qing Shi felt that it was impossible to hide anything from Li Qiye. He tried to evade it.

“Don’t make lying to me a habit, it’s not good.” Li Qiye said.

Qing Shi became awkward and opened his mouth. Alas, he didn’t know what to say.

Li Qiye ignored this and moved on. They were now at the bottom of a mountain, an entrance. There were more mountain ranges afterward with magnificent buildings.

This place certainly belonged to an influential clan. Numerous guests were visiting judging by the entrance. The majority consisted of lords and famous cultivators.

Within the clan were smokes and a deep medicinal fragrance. Anyone would realize that these came from alchemy refinement.

1. Changing the ancestral city to Ancestral City to match the proper name.