Dominator Emperor

Once they learned that a Celestial-Destroying Demon Ape was holed up in the Uninhabited Area, neither Celestial Emperor Qingxuan of the Qingxuan Ancient Country nor the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist of the Holy Heaven Sect dared to set foot inside. Facing the Celestial-Destroying Demon Ape, anyone who went would just be throwing their life away.

At the border of the Extremely Dangerous Area, the cultivators who had just escaped from the Uninhabited Area were scared witless. They collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up for a long time, their legs having turned to jelly.

However, just as their faces turned ashen, they saw someone casually strolling out of the Uninhabited Area.

”Li... Li... Li Qiye—” Seeing Li Qiye casually emerge from the Uninhabited Area riding his snail, the cultivators who had escaped with their lives were all stunned.

These cultivators had all assumed Li Qiye had met a brutal end at the hands of the Celestial-Destroying Demon Ape. They never imagined he would stroll out so casually, looking completely relaxed and at ease, as if he were taking a walk in his own private garden.

The survivors couldn’t believe their eyes. They were the last group to chase him into the Uninhabited Area, and they had risked life and limb just to escape. As for the first wave of powerful cultivators, they had been completely wiped out; not a single one made it back. Yet here was Li Qiye, emerging alive. It left everyone stunned. This was just too bizarre for words.

At that moment, Li Qiye hung the heads of Jiangzuo Iron Armor and Marquis Jiangzuo from the highest branch of a tree. He looked at the ashen-faced cultivators and said with deliberate slowness, ”If you’re all still interested in the Emperor Technique, feel free to come and hunt me down anytime. I, for one, don’t mind having more enemies. At worst, it just means more rivers of blood and mountains of corpses. This land is unbearably thirsty, and I imagine nothing can quench its thirst quite like a feast of fresh blood.”

The cultivators, still paralyzed on the ground with ashen faces, were dumbfounded. They stared at one another, unable to comprehend this outcome. Tens of thousands of cultivators, tens of thousands of experts—some from ancient Noble Families, others from powerful kingdoms—had all been buried here, slaughtered until rivers of blood flowed. And yet, Li Qiye, the one everyone had treated as a fat sheep ripe for the slaughter, was completely unharmed. It was simply too bizarre.

”It... it was you! You deliberately lured everyone into the Celestial-Destroying Demon Ape’s lair!” a figure of the Sect Leader level stammered, having pieced it all together.

”And what if I did?” Li Qiye said with a laugh.

”You... you’re a murderer! You... you’re a Demon who slaughtered thousands!” a cultivator spat out in fury.

Li Qiye wasn’t angered by such words. He replied with composure, ”A murderer? And are your own hands free of blood? In this world, don’t be a whore and then pretend you’re a Saintess. Of course, I don’t care if you call me a murderer. But before you think of making an enemy of me, take a good look at those two heads. Next time, your own might be hanging there.” As he spoke, Li Qiye pointed to the heads of Jiangzuo Iron Armor and Marquis Jiangzuo, dangling high from the branch.

Both Jiangzuo Iron Armor’s and Marquis Jiangzuo’s eyes were wide open, as if unable to rest in peace.

Seeing the heads of Jiangzuo Iron Armor and Marquis Jiangzuo, a chill went down the spines of many. The Jiangzuo Family was incredibly powerful, and Jiangzuo Iron Armor himself was a ruthless tyrant whose hands were stained with blood. Yet today, his head was hung up for all to see.

”I have an Emperor Technique. You’re all welcome to try and take it. But before you come, you’d better leave some last words for your descendants.” With that, Li Qiye floated away on his snail, his parting words delivered with a sarcastic gentleness.

From start to finish, no one dared to make a move on Li Qiye. Too many people had been scared witless that day. They could only watch him leave, their faces a mixture of fear and indecision.

No matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn’t understand it. The cultivators who entered the Uninhabited Area had been all but slaughtered by the Celestial-Destroying Demon Ape, especially the first wave, from which no one had returned alive. Yet Li Qiye, the one who had led them all to the ape’s lair, had emerged without a single scratch. It was a riddle they felt they would never solve.

The great massacre brought a hush over the Eastern Division of Demon’s Back Ridge. For a time, the many Sects and Great Teachings that had been eagerly treasure hunting here began to lie low. The appearance of the Celestial-Destroying Demon Ape had terrified countless people.

Now, even the strongest experts couldn’t help but be cautious when entering the Dangerous Area. They feared that another Celestial Beast Longevity Spirit might be lurking there. Encountering a Celestial Beast Longevity Spirit that was hundreds of thousands of years old was simply a death sentence.

After leaving, Li Qiye didn’t re-enter the Uninhabited Area. Instead, he tracked that toad and eventually found its trail in the Extremely Dangerous Area.

Li Qiye stood atop a high peak, gazing at the rolling mountain range before him. He eventually muttered to himself, ”Heh, what a glutton. Eating so many good things, isn’t it afraid it’ll burst?”

”Should we pursue it?” Li Shuangyan asked, seeing Li Qiye staring off at the mountains.

”No. If it truly decides to flee, catching it is practically impossible,” Li Qiye said, shaking his head. ”Its real escape speed is beyond your imagination.”

”So you have a plan?” Li Shuangyan asked, glancing at Li Qiye’s confident expression.

Li Qiye broke into a brilliant smile. ”After a big meal, one always gets sleepy. Since it wants to sleep, we’ll just have to prepare a cozy nest for it!”

Li Qiye led Li Shuangyan to find a suitable location. In the end, he selected a swamp. Squinting at the marshland, Li Qiye ordered Niu Fen, ”I need you to plow this entire swamp. The mud needs to be fresh, like a steaming hot bun straight out of the oven.”

Niu Fen was left speechless. ”I’m a snail, not an ox,” he said. ”What am I supposed to plow a swamp with?” Despite his complaints, he got to work. He instantly burrowed into the marsh, and soon the mud began to churn as if it were boiling.

Li Qiye took Li Shuangyan to prepare the other materials. He gathered a large quantity of Spiritual Elixirs and Herbs, including many trees, vines, and grasses that Li Shuangyan couldn’t even name.

Li Qiye burned the large amount of gathered Spiritual Elixirs and Herbs to ash. Then, he led Li Shuangyan to dig up various mineral clays she had never seen before. Under Li Qiye’s guidance, the two of them mixed the mineral clay and ash together, like children playing with mud.

”What are we doing?” As a Heavenly Pride Girl and the Princess of the Ancient Ox Territory, this was the first time she had ever done such menial labor as mixing mud.

”Making it a nest,” Li Qiye said with a smile. ”For a full-bellied toad, there’s nothing better than an incredibly comfortable nest to sleep in.”

”Of course, once it’s asleep... as for how long it’ll take to wake up, I can’t say for sure.” At this, Li Qiye flashed a brilliant smile.

Li Shuangyan knew, of course, that Li Qiye was plotting against this so-called toad. By now, she couldn’t even be bothered to ask how he knew all this. Take the toad, for example—Li Qiye seemed to know it like the back of his hand, as if it were his own pet. She knew asking would be pointless. She would never believe his usual excuses about ”a simple divination” or it being ”common knowledge.”

”What exactly is this toad?” Li Shuangyan couldn’t help but ask. Li Qiye had tossed away a million-year-old Longevity Spirit Annual Ring as if it were garbage, gifting it to Xu Pei, yet now he was relentlessly pursuing a mere toad.

Hearing Li Shuangyan’s question, Li Qiye’s eyes narrowed, his expression turning strange. Seeing this look, Li Shuangyan didn’t press the matter. She had followed him long enough to understand his personality.

Li Shuangyan lowered her head and continued to knead the lumps of slurry. Of course, she had never done such dirty work before and wasn’t used to it. She was clumsy, fumbling as she tried to sprinkle in the ash and add water to mix the mud. This was the kind of work only a Mortal would do, and for a Heavenly Pride Girl like her, it was all a bit bewildering.

Li Qiye couldn’t help but smile as he watched the clumsy Li Shuangyan. She, who was normally as cold as ice, possessed a beauty that could topple nations. Her temperament was like a winter plum blossom, her grace captivating. A woman like her was truly mesmerizing. And yet, here was this Heavenly Pride Girl, acting like an ordinary woman from the mortal world, doing something as trivial as mixing mud.

If anyone were to see this, they wouldn’t believe their eyes. The successor of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, the Princess of the Ancient Ox Territory, the Heavenly Pride Girl Li Shuangyan, doing the dirty work of mixing mud? No one would ever believe it.

Li Qiye couldn’t help but laugh. He playfully smeared some mud on her fair, flawless face and said, ”Effort brings reward. You’ll find that this trip to Demon’s Back Ridge will have been absolutely worth it.”

”Stop smearing mud on my face! It’s filthy!” Li Shuangyan shot Li Qiye an annoyed glare. Her petulant tone and girlish charm were truly captivating. It was a beautiful and moving sight that only Li Qiye was there to savor.

In the end, Li Qiye fashioned a den out of the mud. When it was finished, it gave off a very faint, grassy fragrance that could be smelled even from a great distance.

”It’s going to absolutely love this nest,” Li Qiye said with a grin, admiring his masterpiece.

As for Li Shuangyan, she just rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. After all, she had done most of the work on the den.

When Li Qiye and Li Shuangyan returned, Niu Fen had already finished plowing the entire swamp. Just as Li Qiye had described, it was like a steaming hot bun fresh from the oven; the rich, earthy smell carried a long way.

Li Qiye submerged the finished den into the swamp. It sank until only the entrance remained visible above the murky water.

Third Chapter of the day is done. Good night.