Emperor's Domination

After a while, he looked up at the sky: “Villainous heaven, is this your doing?”

“No.” He shook his head and denied this conjecture: “He wouldn’t have wait until today to do so, no need for world destructions, and not in this troublesome manner either.”

His eyes became profound and frightening as he stared into the horizon.

He began calculating about various possibilities. Each was a horrible scenario that could scare people to death. He eventually came up with the most likely scenario and sat there in silence.

“It doesn’t matter the reason and possibility. If it is actually happening, eternal damnation is coming. Three Immortals, nine worlds, thirteen continents... none will be able to escape.” He sighed at this point.

Youzheng didn’t know what was going on but given Li Qiye’s mood, something big must have happened. The sky was falling down.

Just think about it, Li Qiye had no problem destroying the ten Vajras and an entire fleet. He challenged the Mu in a nonchalant manner, clearly viewing them like ants.

But now, this was the first time he wore such a serious expression. It made Youzheng fear for the worst.

Youzheng eventually regained enough strength to get up. He came before Li Qiye and quietly asked: “Young Noble, is there something wrong?”

He was fully aware of his inability to help, but he wanted to show his concern anyway.

“What will you do if the world is heading for destruction.” Li Qiye looked at Youzheng and said.

“The world destroyed?” Youzheng couldn’t react right away: “What do you mean?”

Li Qiye continued staring without answering.

Youzheng maintained his composure and scratched his head, not overthinking it: “If the world is really being destroyed, then I, I suppose I’ll be eating a good meal with my family and fellow sect members. At the very least, we won’t become hungry ghosts. Participating in a feast like that before death is a luxury of sorts.”

He smiled wryly and awkwardly rubbed his palms together: “I’m just a little character with no grand ambition, please don’t laugh, Young Noble.”

“No, it’s a good state of mind. “Li Qiye said: “You have people to eat together and to say a final goodbye, that’s happiness.”

“What about you, Young Noble?” He asked.

Li Qiye averted his gaze towards the horizon and eventually answered: “Fight.”

“Fight.” Youzheng didn’t quite understand.

“When all is said and done, fight to the very end.” Li Qiye spoke in a simple manner yet it showed his unyielding determination.

“Fight to the very end.” Youzheng could sense this determination: “Young Noble, you are a savior, a great man. We can only look up at you.”

Youzheng deeply bowed and showed his respect.

To which Li Qiye responded: “You think too highly of me.”

Youzheng coughed and said: “Well... then, what are you fighting to the very end for, Young Noble?”

“I need to bear my teeth even if it means eternal damnation!” Li Qiye said: “I don’t care what kind of existence it is, all I want to do is to topple and kill them, that’s all.”

“Your firm dao heart is beyond us.” Youzheng emotionally said, appreciating the domineering declaration.

Li Qiye had a contemplative gaze and didn’t reply.

“Young Noble.” Youzheng continued while staring at Li Qiye: “Before the great battle, have you thought about saying goodbye to people, such as your friends and followers?”

This made Li Qiye think. Would he actually do something like that?

Those who love him, those he loves, those with absolute and undying loyalty towards him... There have been too many partings with them since the start of his journey.

It wasn’t that he had forgotten about these sad memories; he just didn’t wish to remember them. They have been buried in the deepest crevice of his mind.

After a long time, he stopped gazing and said: “As long as I’m around, the light of dawn will still be there. My battle will sweep through the ages and I shall return triumphantly, so there is no need to say goodbye. Save that for another day.”

Now, this domineering statement revealed his absolute confidence as well.

Youzheng stood there in a daze, just trying to imagine the scene of this great conquest...

***

The sudden appearance of corpses took Mingluo like a storm. Something else added to this on the second day.

“There are black stones in the corpses with incredible effects.” A piece of shocking news spread quickly everywhere.

“Black stones? What are the effects?” Many were surprised.

So during the previous night, an ancestor has captured a corpse “alive” for research on its rebirth. He managed to find some clues.

In fact, other ancestors also did the same. This rebirth phenomenon was too alluring. They couldn’t stop themselves from doing research.

“Grind the stone down to powders for a mixer can yield increased power.” One cultivator from a big system revealed.

“Really?” The crowd became ecstatic. Everyone in the world wanted to increase their power.

“It’s true, but the effect is clearer for disciples with shallow cultivation. The yield is rather insignificant for an expert.” The person said.

His system clearly experimented with these stones and came up with these results.

This disappointed many because the ones who came here were predominantly powerful.

“But many little things will add up to something great. Maybe it’s an issue of quantity?” Someone else speculated.

The crowd found this to be a logical take.

“There are more corpses spotted in the northern area.” Someone interrupted the conversation.

“Let’s go kill them then!” Numerous cultivators ran northward.

The corpses that have just gotten out of the ground didn’t have enough time to ambush anyone before being surrounded and captured.

“No need to kill it, just take its black stone and it will be finished anyway.” It became a competition for the corpses.

“There are more in the southern streets.” More information came out.

“Go go!” The horde headed southward right away.

The corpses became hot commodities. No one was afraid of them anymore. In fact, eyes lit up after hearing about their appearances.

“An ancestor is paying a lot for these black stones. It’s a very good price.”

“That ancestor is very strong already so the stones should be useless to him, why are they paying so much for them?” Someone questioned.

“Immortality.” An expert elaborated: “Look, these corpses are coming back to life, so there should be an incredible secret behind it all, maybe hints towards immortality. Which ancestor doesn’t want immortality?”

“That makes sense.” People got the point right away.