Emperor's Domination

It would be shocking for the world to find out how he had to obey someone else.

“I can’t imagine such an existence.” Zhitian murmured.

“An ancient progenitor.” The old servant once held a high position and had talked to the upper echelons of Celestial Court before.

“I see.” Zhitian hasn’t heard of this before. After all, this was definitely a top secret.

“Where did the emperors’ cultivation method come from? And the three grand bloodlines?” Li Qiye asked.

Zhitian had never thought about this question before. Few tried to search back to the origin. Moreover, even if they did, they lacked the ability to actually do so. This was either due to the erasure of time or a taboo aspect.

“Perish.” The old servant answered instead.

“Oh? You know all the secrets, it seems.” Li Qiye was surprised to hear this.

“I am only displaying my slight skill before a true master. It’s just that I visited Perish back then after receiving some guidance and figured out a few things.” The old servant lowered his head.

“Perish is the answer? That’s the source of the grand dao for the ancient emperors and monarchs?” Zhitian became emotional: “That is a place where everything returns to the void.”

“My Lord, it’s due to refinement, right?” The old servant asked.

“That is correct. Someone had established a dao source there and after numerous experiments and refinements, they were able to excavate the source’s power. This reduced the area to the void once more.” Li Qiye said.

“A dao source from a distant past…” Zhitian murmured.

“To be exact, that is the cultivation path of Trinity Epoch, it is not the case anymore.” Li Qiye smiled.

“Trinity Epoch, that’s the name of the nine worlds and thirteen continents?” Zhitian knew about these historical locations since his ancestors came from there.

“Yes, Trinity is an archaic name. The monikers of the nine worlds and thirteen continents became popular subsequently.” Li Qiye explained.

“Perish was melted from the refinement, why did it split later?” The old servant asked.

“Well, let me ask this first. As an apex cultivator, what is your view on the current cultivation system?” Li Qiye asked.

The old servant paused briefly before answering: “Obtaining the twelve fruits to craft an immortal avatar. Next comes anima for the sake of everlasting life.”

“And back then?” Li Qiye inquired again.

“The heaven’s wills, twelve of them.” The old servant answered.

“Why did it stop at the heaven’s wills?” Li Qiye asked.

The old servant took a while to ponder the issue this time.

“Twelve wills or twelve fruits, that’s not the end pursuit of the dao path.” Li Qiye continued.

“What is it then?” Zhitian asked.

“Anima.” Li Qiye responded.

“Right, either path will reach anima.” The old servant said.

“Anima, or the true self, is there at the initial inception. However, the chaos of life prevents people from seeing it. Cultivation is only a way to circumvent the chaos, whether with twelve wills or twelve fruits.” Li Qiye said.

“I understand.” The old servant realized something: “Back during the of the emperors, the anima was not allowed to be seen.”

“Your guess is correct.” Li Qiye said: “Unfortunately, no secrets can be kept forever. Some couldn’t help but continue the search. Of course, as long as anima is real, which it is, they will come across it eventually.”

“So that’s the pathway to everlasting life?” Zhitian asked.

“The world has yet to see true everlasting life.” Li Qiye stared at him and earnestly responded: “But without anima, there is no point in even talking about everlasting life and immortality, akin to trying to fetch the moon out of the sea or looking at the flowers through the fog.”

“Our cultivation system has all of that right now, what prevented the past from having the same privileges?” Zhitian asked.

“It was separated from the start.” The old servant had spent time in Perish and understood the differences.

“There is still a long path after obtaining anima, nonetheless, there is hope for everlasting life with the slim possibility. Becoming what’s known as a supreme overlord isn’t impossible.” Li Qiye said.

“A supreme overlord.” This was Zhitian’s first time hearing this classification.

“Perish was refined and buried in the river of time, the great calamity dragged it out. The one who caused this has a title.” Li Qiye told the old servant.

“Please enlighten me, Young Noble.” The old servant bowed.

“Imperial Progenitor of Myriad Realms.” Li Qiye said softly.

The moment he said these words, something in an abyss was awoken. However, since it came from him, the existence didn’t dare to do anything outside of hiding.

Li Qiye chuckled after the deliberate provocation, still scanning the world. Alas, there was no response.

This was naturally a new title for Li Zhitian. For him, reaching the apex was hard enough. However, these legendary beings known as supreme overlords were still higher than apex emperors.

“An emperor and a progenitor.” The old servant said.

“That’s one way to put it. Progenitor first and emperor later. The dao was split and anima could no longer be seen.” Li Qiye nodded.

“I see.” All of the old servant’s questions regarding Perish have been answered at last with the help of Li Qiye.

Moreover, he gained a deeper understanding of Celestial Court. In the past, he was formally invited but didn’t know much about this power.