Emperor’s Domination

This prompted the madam’s inquiry: “Why is it that our Divine Guardian chose not to become a demon?”

For plants, birds, and animals, as long as there was an opportunity, they would immediately turn into a demon and obtain intelligence — this was their ultimate pursuit.

“Why should it turn into a demon?” Li Qiye replied with a grin: “Wisdom is not necessarily a good thing. Whether you are human or demon, there is too much trouble and sadness, too much responsibility as one gains strength. Even Immortal Emperors have moments of weakness and fatigue.” At this point, he couldn’t help but gently sigh.

The madam noticed his expression and was jolted for a moment. Looking at his countenance that seemed to be worn out by the vicissitudes of time, she felt an unexplainable pain in her heart. She gently reached out and took his hand while gazing at him with her most tender and sincere pair of eyes to soothe him.

Finally, Li Qiye smiled and gently raised her alluring chin. She looked back at him quietly with her eyes as gentle as water.

He eventually smiled and withdrew his hand before letting out a faint smile: “What is so bad about being a bamboo tree? Shouldering the nine heavens while looking down on everything… Hundreds of thousands of years would simply be a snap of the fingers to it.”

Madam Zi Yan was startled. She was initially a Violet Bamboo so after hearing this, she couldn’t help but have an inexplicable feeling. Back when she was still a bamboo, she was cultivated by the country. After she gained the slightest bit of sentience, she yearned to become a demon.

Her congenital conditions were quite favorable due to the Giant Bamboo Country’s cultivation. After she gained intelligence, she kept on cultivating hard, aspiring for the day where she could reach the dao. The high heavens didn’t let her down, and eventually, after twenty or thirty years, she finally became a demon.

But now, after Li Qiye said those words, she couldn’t help but recall the days when she was still a Violet Bamboo. Inadvertently, she became lost in thought.

After a while, her mind returned and she couldn’t help but wryly smile. She shook her head and didn’t want to think about this matter.

“After I leave, the Demon Monarchs will be under your command.” Madam Zi Yan said: “For the All-pine Treefather’s birthday milestone, the entire Stone Medicine World will go to celebrate so I’m afraid it will last for a while.”

“No.” Li Qiye interrupted her and gently shook his head to say: “You don’t have to leave the national affairs to me, just leave it to the monarchs. I also intend to leave.”

He had spent a long time waiting at the Giant Bamboo Country, and Shi Hao had finally settled in. If it wasn’t for the alchemy conference, he would have left already.

“Young Noble wants to leave?” The madam was frightened after hearing his wish.

Li Qiye couldn’t help but laugh and say: “You don’t need to be so alarmed. I already promised to attend the alchemy conference, so I will go. I have a place I want to visit and I also have a few things to do. You can go to the birthday milestone; after I’m done with my business, I will take a trip to the All-pine Mountain as well.”

The madam let out a sigh of relief after hearing Li Qiye. She was still very unwilling regarding Li Qiye’s departure, but she knew that she couldn’t prevent him from leaving.

“In that case, after we meet each other, we can go straight to the Alchemy Kingdom. We should have plenty of time to go to the conference after the birthday celebration.” Madam Zi Yan told him of her decision.

“Not necessarily, maybe we will be very busy after entering the Alchemy Kingdom.” Having said that, Li Qiye revealed a smile with narrowed eyes.

Right now, the madam knew a bit about Li Qiye. She couldn’t help but feel a bit jumpy after seeing Li Qiye narrowing his eyes.

“Young Noble, don’t tell me…” The madam was indeed feeling nervous. In short, she was very disturbed after seeing his expression and felt that something big would happen.

Li Qiye smiled after noticing her anxiety. With a glance, he said:: “Don’t worry, I do have a sense of propriety.”

The madam paused for a moment before whispering: “Young Noble, although the Alchemy Kingdom’s imperial family rarely shows itself, their power is unimaginable…”

She had always felt that Li Qiye’s trip to the Alchemy Kingdom could herald a bloody mess, so she couldn’t help but worry for him. In the end, they would be facing the behemoth that is the Alchemy Kingdom.

“I know that.” Li Qiye smiled and said: “I’m going to the Alchemy Kingdom for the conference, not to kill people. Of course, if people don’t mess with me, then I won’t mess with them.”

Madam Zi Yan sighed softly. She could only pray that those other people would grow a pair of eyes. Otherwise, some would die miserable deaths.

In the end, Li Qiye was the first to leave the Giant Bamboo Country. Madam Zi Yan still had a lot to do before leaving for the birthday celebration, unlike Li Qiye who could leave as he pleased.

Li Qiye left the capital and after deciding on a direction, he immediately soared into the sky. However, as he was not in a hurry, he would frequently stop.

Sometimes, he decided to cross over rivers or stop at a solitary peak. Sometimes, he stopped in a small village to take a break… As he traveled towards his destination, he passed by a few places and couldn’t help but recall the past.

In the beginning, there were no problems at all. However, after a few days, Li Qiye noticed that there was a carriage right behind him.

There was nothing special about this carriage. At a glance, it seemed to be very common, and the curtains were closed so no one could see who was inside. The driver was a very old woman. Her hair was gray and her face was covered with wrinkles. This old woman had average looks as well. However, from her tidy clothing, it was clear that her master was not a nobody.

She sat on the carriage as her whip gently met the back of the horse. Her head was hanging loose as if she was fairly drowsy.

This carriage had not been following Li Qiye the entire time in the last two days. Sometimes, it was not able to keep up, but after some time, it once again appeared behind Li Qiye.

If it was only one or two days, then perhaps they were going towards the same destination. However, after two days, it still continued to appear behind him.

Although Li Qiye had always been calm like the water in a well and didn’t even bother glancing at the carriage behind him, one must keep in mind that despite his numerous stops, when he was moving, his speed was extremely frightening and even faster than many flying treasures.

It didn’t matter if he moved fast or slow, the carriage always followed behind him. This was impossible for an ordinary carriage.

Of course, Li Qiye’s courage stemmed from his skill, so even if the carriage was purposely following him, he was not the least bit afraid. He also didn’t care about this horse-drawn carriage.

But after the sixth day, this carriage began to appear in front of Li Qiye. It was no longer following him but was speeding ahead.

Oddly enough, it seemed to know where Li Qiye wanted to go. Along the trip, Li Qiye was still taking breaks, and no matter where he chose to go, the carriage would appear before him time and time again.

Whether it was in front or behind him, Li Qiye continued to ignore it. The same could be said for the carriage’s master. Despite their close proximity, the master didn’t bother Li Qiye and maintained a distance between the two of them.

This situation continued for some time until Li Qiye entered Celestial Peak Mountain. The carriage then disappeared and never showed up again.

As he entered this mountain range, a gust of cool air blew into his face. This was a desolate place with many rolling mountain ranges and tall trees that had old vines coiled around them. There were many wolf packs and eagles flying in the sky. After taking a look, no signs of humans could be found in this land.

Li Qiye emotionally said after entering this mountain range: “Celestial Peak…”

Although the Celestial Peak was not one of the eight Grand Veins of the Stone Medicine World, it was still quite large and spanned over 100,000 miles across a vast expanse of different sceneries.

Despite its immense size, there were very few sects here. Even if there were some sects, they would be outside of the mountain range. However, a very long time ago, there was an extremely huge lineage in this place. Moreover, it was established by humans.

Because of this, a legend once told that this was the gathering place of humans in the Stone Medicine World.

Li Qiye became a bit emotional after seeing the rolling hills and lush trees inside the Celestial Peak. Who would have known that this beautiful and majestic landscape ahead used to be an ancient battlefield? An epic war had taken place here as blood flowed like rivers and mountains were made of corpses.

It could even be said that many ominous things had happened here until an invincible Godking of the human race took over and established his lineage. After a long period of change, this place finally became magnificent, as one could see before them in present times.

Future generations were unaware that this once-invincible Godking was a brave general under the Dark Crow, a general that had once swept through this world.

They didn’t know that a great war against the Ancient Ming took place here. In this war, the most powerful sector of the Ancient Ming during its era was wiped out in one fell swoop in the Stone Medicine World.

They didn’t know that because of this victory, there was the Stone Medicine World that everyone came to know of today. Without this victory, the masters of the current Stone Medicine World wouldn’t be golems or demons, but the Ancient Ming instead!

After this great war, many terrible things happened in this location. Afterward, Li Qiye commanded this Godking to protect this area and build a lineage. Eventually, after the Godking’s efforts transforming this place for tens of thousands of years, this battlefield gradually calmed down and the Celestial Peak of today appeared.

However, the lineage of this Godking had fallen a long time ago. Eventually, it disappeared from this land, along with its past brilliance that evaporated into smoke.