Emperor’s Domination

The men assumed these visitors harbored malice and could be robbers. After all, they rarely had visitors given the remote region, only the occasional immortals flying through the sky.

However, upon seeing Chu Zhu and Li Qiye, they were stunned by her appearance and how unaggressive Li Qiye was.

One resembled a fairy while the other was just an ordinary scholar. The two seemed to be master and servant. Could they be lost in this desert?

“Where are you from?” The village chief waved his hand, gesturing for the others to put away their spears.

“Very far from here.” Chu Zhu said with a smile.

The men seemed to be welcoming her due to her beauty.

“Are you lost?” The village chief became friendlier.

Meanwhile, Chu Zhu assessed the situation - the village looked normal enough. Why did Li Qiye want to come here?

“Right, I lost my direction due to the sandstorms.” She then responded.

“You actually made it back from over there? The high heaven must have protected you.” The villagers couldn’t believe it.

She didn’t respond and stared at Li Qiye, following his lead.

Li Qiye had gotten off and had been looking at the stone mound and the well.

“You’re running out of water.” He said.

“Friend, we only fetch water once every three days. This land is arid and water is scarce.” The village chief responded.

“True.” Li Qiye turned his attention back to the weathered mound.

“Is there something wrong?” Chu Zhu came over and took a look as well. Her divine intent didn’t notice anything either.

“Our lost friends, it will take several days to get to the city from here, please take a break.” The village chief invited them in. After all, guests were rarely seen around this part.

“Very well.” Li Qiye smiled and accepted the invitation.

Women and children finally came out from hiding. They paid special attention to the gorgeous Chu Zhu while Li Qiye wasn’t as well-received. The children couldn’t help but gasp after seeing her.

The houses here were simple with nothing valuable. Nevertheless, the village chief invited the two to his home, asking them to sit while pouring tea.

“This is our specialty, thorn tea, please try it.” The village chief welcomed them warmly.

Water was immensely precious here so this was a sign of his enthusiasm and hospitality.

Li Qiye took a sip and smiled. As for Chu Zhu, she wasn’t used to drinking tea from the mortal world, especially when it tasted bad.

Li Qiye turned his attention to a portrait hanging on the wall. It turned yellow and its corners curled up from age.

The person depicted was almost indistinguishable - a middle-aged man who looked somewhat scholarly with a profound pair of eyes.

Nothing else stood out, perhaps a shrine beneath the portrait. Instead of a regular shrine meant for worship, it resembled a small ancient city. There seemed to be statues of people but they were too blurry and lacked details.

“Who is this?” Chu Zhu asked due to Li Qiye’s curiosity. In the mortal world, many households kept portraits and shrines for their ancestors.

“Legend has it that this is our ancestor, Elder Songhao.” The village chief hesitated briefly before answering.

“Legend has it?” Chu Zhu was confused.

“We have more than just the surname Song here, there’s Yin, Bai, and a few more.” The village chief responded.

“Yes, one of our ancestors from long ago.” An old villager joined in.

“He was up there in age.” Li Qiye said.

“The legend says that he was an immortal.” The village chief said proudly. Perhaps they had very few interesting topics while living in this remote area.

“Immortal?” Chu Zhu was surprised.

“Yes.” The village chief bowed at the portrait and responded: “An immortal capable of flying and summoning heavenly flames. He had an immortal fire insect as well.”

“Fire insect?” Chu Zhu asked.

“A flame capable of various transformations, it can create special pills capable of granting everlasting life, hence our ancestor’s age, like a hundred million years.” The village chief elaborated.

“Or a billion.” One village jumped in: “We have Ancestor Yin too, a giant god from the heaven to slay monsters.”

“Don’t forget about Ancestor Bai and the flood. Monsters came out and our ancestor turned into a Buddha, the water only reached his ankle. He did one slash and killed dozens of monsters.” One more added.

“Our ancestors were immortals long, long ago, but they eventually moved here…”

The impoverished villagers’ lives were limited to this desolate wilderness, surviving for generations through foraging for food and water. Their only entertainment was gazing at the stars.

However, the fantastical legends of their ancestors brought them sparks of excitement and pride. They viewed these ancestors as incredible giants capable of unbelievable feats.

These stories gave them momentary solace from their harsh conditions.

As they told these stories, Chu Zhu couldn’t help but glance over at Li Qiye, thinking about these stories.