Emperor’s Domination

Meanwhile, in a palace in the Heavenhoof Ravine, the presence of all the elders created a tense atmosphere.

An elder slammed the table and angrily shouted: “This Li Qiye is pushing us too far!”

Sheng Fei’s master also added with hatred: “This Li Qiye is too arrogant. He’s killing our disciples and doing as he pleases within our territory as if we aren’t here! We cannot sit idly by and do nothing!”

“Elders, don’t be impatient.” Miao Chan calmly spoke amidst the furious elders: “This might not necessarily be a bad thing for our ravine.”

“But Li Qiye killed our disciples!” Sheng Fei’s master had to bring up this fact.

Miao Chan nodded in response: “I can understand Elder’s frustration. Remember that we have one hundred thousand disciples and countless outer sect members. If we have to maneuver each time a disciple is killed, then how will we ever have time for growth? Just the wars alone would drag us down.”

“Moreover, Jian Wushuang didn’t assassinate or use a despicable method to kill Sheng Fei. It was on the battlefield, so his death could only be attributed to his lack of skill.” Miao Chan said.

“Then is his death meaningless?” Sheng Fei’s master was a bit unhappy and stated his view.

Miao Chan solemnly said: “Elder, I know you aren’t happy, but I am only stating my take on this matter. All the elders are here, and I trust that all of us know the right course of action. Take you, for example, you have ten disciples under you. Our ravine has more than ten elders, not to mention the high elders and protectors. If we have to take revenge each time, then what else will we have time to do outside of exacting vengeance one after another?”

“I understand backing our own people. This is necessary for a great power so that others will know that our ravine isn’t easily bullied.” She spoke while looking at the elders then raised her voice: “However, this also depends on the situation. If Sheng Fei died while carrying out a task from the sect, then we shall carry out retribution. However, Elder should know that Sheng Fei’s actions were encouraged by someone else. Without permission from the sect, he gathered the great powers on his own accord for his own gain. He should be held accountable for these actions.”

Another elder gravely responded: “My niece, Li Qiye is currently looming over our heads so we can’t sit back and do nothing.”

“I am not saying that we will let Li Qiye off.” Miao Chan gently shook her head: “Our feud with him will eventually be settled. However, now is not the right time!”

She glanced at the elders: “He is not someone easy to deal with. As an imperial lineage, many sects and masters are afraid of our prestige, but this does not include everyone. Right now, a single word from Li Qiye will rally many dying paragons and God-Monarchs.”

“Every elder here has weathered many storms and should be aware that although our prestige is great right now, our situation is not that optimistic. Behemoths like the Alchemy Kingdom chose to hide, so we have become the biggest target in the Stone Medicine World!” Miao Chan explained.

“Even so, our ravine has never been afraid of anyone. We are still standing strong after the countless trials throughout millions of years!” Sheng Fei’s master added.

“These words are too prideful.” Miao Chao shook her head gently: “In fact, we have been too conspicuous for the last few generations. We should be hiding instead; it is not a bad thing at all. Many imperial lineages had fallen in the past few millions of years. Even the matchless Divine Beast Realm collapsed and was completely destroyed. Aren’t we nothing compared to the beast realm?”

The elders turned quiet after the beast realm was brought up. Their sect hadn’t even been established back when this realm existed. Thus, its destruction was a warning to many imperial lineages.

“This generation of ours can be described as a time of turmoil, and our situation is not optimistic either. We all know that our hope for having an Immortal Emperor is a forlorn wish. The Alchemy Kingdom’s Ming Yexue, the Jianlong Clan’s Mei Aonan, and the Stony Edge’s Ye Qingcheng are all at the peak in the current generation.” Miao Chan said.

One elder was about to say something, but he managed to hold it in. The golden prince indeed was talented with very few peers, but some elders here also understood that he was a bit lacking compared to Ye Qingcheng.

They valued Miao Chan more, but she didn’t want to replace the prince. Moreover, the Golden Crow Tribe was very important in the ravine. Getting Miao Chan to replace the prince would result in chaos within the ravine.

“We are not afraid of others.” Miao Chan told the elders: “However, we should still keep a low profile. Although many elders here have disciples that get along with Ye Qingcheng, I still need to say something. He is not our friend. At the very least while I’m still in charge, I do not hope for our ravine to have too many ties with him.”

“He wishes to become the Immortal Emperor, thus he needs scapegoats along with stepping stones! If he wants to rule the nine worlds, dealing with our ravine would be his best option! If we fall, who else would dare to oppose his path?” Miao Chan spoke gravely.

“My niece, don’t forget that nephew Golden Crow is a sworn brother of Ye Qingcheng.” An elder reminded Miao Chan in a quiet tone.

“I know.” Miao Chan spoke solemnly: “That is why I specifically brought this up. Even if Junior Brother and Ye Qingcheng are brothers, I hope that our ravine will not be friends with Ye Qingcheng.”

She secretly sighed at this point. In fact, she had brought this up more than just once with the Golden Crow Prince. However, he didn’t listen to her at all! In her opinion, the prince was not Ye Qingcheng’s match regarding schemes and wits, so he would only be used as a weapon in the end.

The elders didn’t say anything. In fact, a lot of their disciples had good ties with Ye Qingcheng. Some of them thought that Miao Chan was overthinking things. After all, the ravine and the Stony Edge Kingdom had a good relationship. The two of them even formed an alliance in the past.

“We should be discussing something else today.” Miao Chan returned from her thoughts and looked at the elders: “Although Li Qiye destroyed the Feather Country and the others, from another perspective, this is not a bad thing to us.”

“At the moment, there is chaos in the territories of the destroyed countries. For the peace of the southern region, Elder Shi will take over the Sacred Demon Tribe’s territory, Elder Wang will take over the Tombskull Sect’s land, and Elder Sun will rule over the Feather Country’s region…” Miao Chan commanded.

This was good for the ravine because they could use this chance to recall these territories without losing a single soldier.

Although many elders didn’t agree with the topic about Ye Qingcheng, many of them were in accordance with Miao Chan’s decision. Thus, this next course of action was unanimously agreed upon.

“Nephew is about to leave his training, should we avoid letting him know that Jian Wushuang is at the Beast Realm right now?” An elder voiced a reminder.

Many elders glanced at each other after hearing this. They were not willing to touch on this subject.

For the elders and ancestors of the ravine, they would be happy to see Miao Chan and the prince together. However, the prince had always been distant towards Miao Chan since Jian Wushuang was who he liked.

The prince had wasted a lot of time in the Alchemy Realm in order to court Jian Wushuang back then. Alas, Jian Wushuang was very arrogant and had no interest in the prince.

“There’s no need to hide this since we can’t keep it hidden forever. He’ll find out eventually, so just tell him outright.” Miao Chan secretly lamented with a sense of loss.

The elders didn’t say anything either. They all knew that Miao Chan had given up a lot for the prince. She backed out of the descendant position and chose to hide behind the curtains, so the world only knows that the prince was the best in the ravine.

Otherwise, Miao Chan would have been terrorizing the world with great fame. She could even have the opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with Mei Aonan and Ye Qingcheng.

***

Back in the Heavenly Flame County, Li Qiye continued to chant to the stone tablet each day. Under his persistence, there was finally some results.

After finishing his last chant of the day, the tablet finally lit up with a buzzing sound.

“Is there actually a treasure?” The group gathered around. Even Tie Lan who had always been apathetic came over.

Runes emerged on top of the tablet as Li Qiye resumed his chanting. This time, the contents of his incantation were different from before.

These runes combined with intersecting lines. In the blink of an eye, these magical runes finally turned into a book.

“Incredible, such a method must be at the level of Immortal Emperor.” Long Jingxian emotionally commented after seeing the book formed from the runes.

Li Qiye slowly flipped through the book before eventually stopping on a particular page. His mind opened up, revealing various runes. They flew out and fell onto this page. At the moment of contact, these runes turned into a blinding mantra.

The book suddenly disappeared as a small portal emerged on the stone tablet. This little portal looked just like a window.