Dominator Emperor

Li Qiye’s remark made everyone on the cliff blanch. Marquis Zhenwei was a Prince from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country’s older generation and held a truly lofty status. Moreover, his Dao Practice was at the apex of the Prince level, and his strength was a source of great dread. Within the Treasure Sacred Upper Country, his fame was on par with that of Purple Mountain Marquis!

”Ignorant whelp! This Marquis will deal with you today!” Marquis Zhenwei’s expression twisted. As a Prince, when had he ever been berated by a junior like this? What would become of his reputation? In a fit of rage, he struck out at Li Qiye. A giant hand, like a mountain, descended with enough force to crush him flat!

BANG! However, Li Qiye remained seated high atop the snail, completely unmoved. He didn’t even need to act. Gu Tieshou shifted a single step and blocked Marquis Zhenwei’s massive hand.

”Marquis Zhenwei, if you want a fight, then I shall be your opponent. There’s no need to attack a junior,” Gu Tieshou said coldly.

Gu Tieshou’s words made many people’s expressions change. For him to speak like this showed a complete lack of fear towards the Treasure Sacred Upper Country; it was a blatant show of disrespect.

Before this, the declining Xiyan Ancient Sect had always kept a low profile, not daring to stir up trouble, let alone clash with the Treasure Sacred Upper Country. Now, Gu Tieshou was unhesitatingly challenging a Prince of Marquis Zhenwei’s caliber over a mere junior. Could this be a sign of the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s resurgence?

”Good. Good. Good. Gu Tieshou, this Marquis wants to see just how deep the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s foundations run. Bring out everything you have.” Marquis Zhenwei shot a chilling glare at Li Qiye and declared, ”After I’ve slain Gu Tieshou, it won’t be too late to deal with a junior like you.” With that, he leaped into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, Marquis Zhenwei and Gu Tieshou had taken up positions on opposite sides of the sky. In that instant, both men erupted with Blood Qi that soared to the heavens. Their Life Wheels floated into view as torrents of Blood Qi, like monstrous waves, billowed endlessly. A bloody light pulsed from them, and the might of a Prince swept across ten thousand miles.

Faced with a duel between two Princes, the lower-level Cultivators couldn’t help but tremble. Even though the two had opened up their own battlefield in the sky, their terrifying auras as Princes were still enough to inspire awe and fear!

Marquis Zhenwei held a Treasure Tower in his right hand, his eyes pulsing with streams of Laws as he stared coldly at Gu Tieshou. Gu Tieshou’s gaze was equally sharp. His Life Palace hovered above his head, his Life Wheel spun without end, and his Longevity Treasure channeled a powerful Blood Qi that surged like an unending flood.

”KILL!” Marquis Zhenwei bellowed. He activated the Treasure Tower, which let out a deafening roar and swelled to the size of a mountain in an instant. As the tower opened, it unleashed tidal waves of Gang Qi. As this tsunami of energy crashed down, a single stream was powerful enough to shatter a mountain peak.

”OPEN!” Gu Tieshou roared as his Life Palace flew wide open. A Kunpeng leaped forth. As it jumped, its massive tail swung out with a resounding ”CRACK!” The scene was like a gigantic, sky-blotting Kunpeng leaping from the ocean’s surface and smacking the water with its massive tail. It instantly dispersed the Treasure Tower’s Gang Qi, even batting some of it right back at the tower.

Marquis Zhenwei’s face fell. He quickly flipped the Treasure Tower to recall the reversed Gang Qi. In that same instant, Gu Tieshou appeared before Marquis Zhenwei as if he were a Kunpeng soaring through the heavens. The Kunpeng avatar dove, its wings like clouds descending from the sky. As its wings swept down, they carried the power to flatten mountains and send Giant Peaks flying.

”KILL!” This display of power made Marquis Zhenwei’s expression turn grim. He held nothing back. His Treasure Tower began to greedily devour the surrounding Heaven and Earth Essence Qi like a whale swallowing the sea. Wielding an unparalleled might, it pressed down, shattering the Void and cracking the earth, intent on suppressing the Kunpeng!

For a time, the battle between Gu Tieshou and Marquis Zhenwei in the sky was world-shaking. Marquis Zhenwei’s Treasure Tower danced through the air, his attacks ruthless and deadly. Gu Tieshou, however, hadn’t even summoned a Treasure Artifact, relying solely on the Kunpeng Six Transformations to clash directly with Marquis Zhenwei’s True Artifact.

This scene made many onlookers’ expressions change—from Mixed Element Marquis, who also hailed from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country, to the old Daoist of Purple Mist Temple and the numerous Great Demons of Feijiao Lake. The other Cultivators were so overwhelmed by the sheer destructive power of the battle that they could barely breathe.

’An Emperor Technique is truly peerless.’ Seeing Gu Tieshou fight Marquis Zhenwei to a world-shaking, inseparable stalemate using only the Kunpeng Six Transformations—without even summoning a Treasure Artifact—caused Mixed Element Marquis, who was also from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country, to pale. He muttered this in astonishment.

Any worldly Cultivator present was visibly moved. The Old Turtle King from Feijiao Lake paled and said with envy, ”The Kunpeng Six Transformations... Legend says it was Mingren Immortal Emperor’s most magnificent Emperor Technique, derived from the evolution of an invincible Kunpeng.”

Even Marquis Jiangzuo of the Jiangzuo Family felt his eyes turn cold as he watched Gu Tieshou’s Kunpeng Six Transformations. His expression flickered, and a rapacious light gleamed in his eyes. To him, and to the entire Jiangzuo Family, this particular Emperor Technique held a special significance. If possible, he would seize it from the Xiyan Ancient Sect.

For the Jiangzuo Family, Mingren Immortal Emperor’s Emperor Techniques were a sore spot. Their ancestor, Jiangzuo Prince, had once been an unparalleled titan. In his era, he was hailed as the most gifted genius in the Human Emperor Realm; even Mingren Immortal Emperor himself had once been defeated at his hands.

However, it was Mingren Immortal Emperor who had the last laugh. The Cultivation Technique created by their ancestor, Jiangzuo Prince, ultimately proved inferior to the one created by Mingren. After Mingren Immortal Emperor shouldered the Celestial Mandate, his Cultivation Technique was elevated, becoming an Emperor Technique!

This meant that the Cultivation Techniques of the Jiangzuo Family, be they Great Sage Techniques or Ancient Secret Techniques, were ultimately a cut below the Emperor Techniques of Mingren Immortal Emperor.

Now, witnessing the invincible Divine Power of the Kunpeng Six Transformations, Marquis Jiangzuo’s gaze grew fearsome. If he could seize the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s Emperor Technique, it would mean the Jiangzuo Family could ascend to an even higher level!

”’The Xiyan Ancient Sect may have declined, but its Emperor Technique is still invincible.’ This scene stirred deep emotions in the onlookers. The current Xiyan Ancient Sect was just a minor sect, not even considered second-rate in the Great Middle Realm. Yet, in Gu Tieshou’s hands today, its Emperor Technique was still just as terrifying!”

This display caused even more people to watch like tigers stalking their prey. Many were secretly salivating at the prospect. If they could annihilate the Xiyan Ancient Sect and seize its Emperor Technique, it would vastly deepen their own sect’s foundation.

It was for this very reason that Gu Tieshou had rarely acted in the past, and even more rarely used the Emperor Technique. It was an item that attracted far too much envy. But now, the situation had changed.

Li Qiye didn’t spare the battlefield a second glance. He ordered Niu Fen to head toward the stone gate on the cliff.

”Halt! This is no place for the Xiyan Ancient Sect! Retreat at once, or your Xiyan Ancient Sect will face utter annihilation!” one of Marquis Zhenwei’s disciples bellowed, blocking Niu Fen’s path.

”’Utter annihilation?’” Li Qiye, perched high on the snail’s back, glanced coldly at the expert from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country. ”Anyone who wants to attack my Xiyan Ancient Sect is welcome at any time. The more the merrier, otherwise it would be boring. Now, get lost!”

”’What arrogance! When did the Xiyan Ancient Sect produce such a conceited disciple? Is he trying to challenge the entire world?’ Li Qiye’s words left many people staring at each other in speechless astonishment.”

”You’re courting death!” Li Qiye’s arrogant words instantly enraged the experts from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country. One of them hurled a Treasure Artifact toward Li Qiye on the snail’s back.

BOOM! However, Niu Fen’s massive body suddenly shuddered. The hundred-some experts blocking their path were instantly sent flying. As they soared through the air, a tentacle shot out, coiled around all of them, and swept them into its mouth. It devoured all hundred-plus experts in a single, ravenous gulp!

”What kind of monster is that?!” Seeing Niu Fen swallow over a hundred experts in a single gulp, many people shivered, a cold chill running down their spines.

Even the Xiyan Ancient Sect disciples on the snail’s back couldn’t help but shiver. The female disciple, Xu Pei, turned pale, her palms breaking out in a cold sweat as she stammered, ”It... it... it eats people?”

”It’s a natural-born predator. What’s so strange about it eating people?” Li Qiye replied calmly from his high perch on the snail’s back, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

His words sent another shiver through the Xiyan Ancient Sect disciples, making their hair stand on end. Niu Fen looked like an unremarkable, shriveled old man, so before this, the disciples had assumed he was just an ordinary snail demon. Now, after seeing him swallow over a hundred experts in one go, a cold dread crept up their spines.

This was no ordinary demon, but a truly ferocious beast. If Li Qiye weren’t present, they wouldn’t have dared to remain so calmly on Niu Fen’s back.

Of course, the Xiyan Ancient Sect disciples didn’t know that the Celestial Bull Ancestral Calamity had been a notoriously ferocious creature in ancient times. They were only rarely seen now because the species had been driven to the brink of extinction.

The giant snail now began to crawl slowly toward the stone gate at the cliff’s edge. The Treasure Sacred Upper Country experts guarding it couldn’t help but shudder and retreat. None of them dared to block its path; the snail was simply too terrifying.

The snail crawled to the edge of the cliff, and Li Qiye jumped down. At the cliff’s edge stood a pair of massive stone doors, sealed tightly shut. The great doors were built atop a high dais, suggesting the place had once been a sacrificial altar.

Both the dais and the stone doors were so dilapidated that their original color was indiscernible. The stone foundation was damaged, and the doors themselves were mottled and pockmarked with the clear indentations of blades. Obviously, someone had tried to attack these doors in the past.

In fact, Demon’s Back Ridge only opened once a century, a fact many were unwilling to accept. Numerous people had attempted to force open the stone gate leading into the ridge, but alas, no one had ever succeeded—not even a Great Sage.

’Demon’s Back Ridge... it held so many memories.’ Li Qiye gently caressed the stone gate. ’In truth, the first person to enter Demon’s Back Ridge wasn’t Mingren Immortal Emperor. In a distant era, when I was still the Yin Ya, I brought more than just Mingren inside. It’s just that, in the end, we spent countless efforts to turn Demon’s Back Ridge into the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s property.’

”Do you know who was the first to open this stone gate, back in that distant era?” Li Qiye finally pulled his hand back and asked Li Shuangyan, who was beside him.