Dominator Emperor

”Everything is ready. All we need is the right moment.” Li Qiye clapped his hands and instructed Li Shuangyan and Niu Fen, ”You two need to leave this place. Get at least a thousand miles away. Your cultivation auras are too strong. No matter how you try to conceal them, it will sense you. I’ll stay here and lie in wait.”

Seeing Li Qiye’s serious demeanor, Li Shuangyan and Niu Fen didn’t dare to delay. They immediately withdrew from the area, retreating a thousand miles away.

After Li Shuangyan and Niu Fen left, Li Qiye hid himself, held his breath, and stared intently at the mud hole, waiting for the toad to arrive.

Hiding by the swamp, Li Qiye concealed his entire aura. He didn’t dare let even the slightest trace leak out. He knew this toad all too well. If anything seemed even slightly amiss, it would immediately flee, no matter how perfect the den he had prepared.

To Li Qiye, this toad was far too important. Not just because he and the Medicine God had spent countless efforts on it back then, but more importantly, because the toad held a world-shaking secret—a secret known only to him and the Medicine God!

Time trickled by. Moments turned into hours, and hours into days. Li Qiye remained hidden by the swamp for four full days and nights. Then, on the fifth day, his heart suddenly stirred.

’It’s here,’ Li Qiye thought, his eyes fixed on the swamp, unblinking.

Sure enough, a sudden flash of light streaked across the sky and landed on the swamp. Its speed was so fast it was almost unbelievable.

As the light landed on the swamp, it revealed itself to be a toad. To be honest, it didn’t look much different from an ordinary toad. If there was one distinction, it was that its belly was especially bloated, as if it had eaten far too much.

Li Qiye knew this toad all too well. Millions of years had passed, yet seeing it again, he couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement. This was the very toad that he and the Medicine God had spent so much effort to capture. They had poured countless resources into it, feeding it vast quantities of Spiritual Medicines. Back then, they had even fed it Immortal Elixirs, which were practically unheard of in the world.

If anyone else knew they had used world-class Immortal Elixirs to feed a toad, they would surely think them mad. But neither Li Qiye nor the Medicine God were mad. They knew just how precious this toad was.

Back when he was the Yin Ya, both he and the Medicine God knew of the toad’s value. In the entire world, there was only one like it!

In truth, how many people in the world could know that this ordinary-looking toad was not only peerless but also held a world-shaking secret?

This was precisely why, in his later life as the Yin Ya, Li Qiye had scoured the ends of the earth more than once looking for this toad, but he had never found it.

It was so ordinary that no one would give it a second glance, which made it impossible for Li Qiye to gather any news about it.

After landing on the swamp, the toad first looked around very cautiously. It was clearly on high alert; the slightest disturbance would have sent it fleeing.

Li Qiye was even more careful, holding his breath. He didn’t dare to even breathe, let alone move a muscle.

Finally, seeing no danger, the toad slowly approached the hole Li Qiye had left for it. Even so, it remained cautious.

When it reached the entrance and confirmed there was truly no danger, it finally hopped into the mud hole Li Qiye had prepared for it. Just as Li Qiye had predicted, it had eaten too many good things and needed to hibernate to digest all the Spirit Medicine Treasure Grass it had consumed.

Even after the toad entered the hole, Li Qiye didn’t dare to act rashly. He continued to wait quietly, knowing he could only catch it once it was truly in a deep sleep. Otherwise, if it were startled awake, it would still escape with incredible speed.

An unknown amount of time passed. Li Qiye made a quick calculation and determined that the toad should be sound asleep by now. Only then did he emerge from his hiding place.

Even so, Li Qiye still approached the mud hole in the swamp with extreme caution.

But before Li Qiye could get close to the mud hole, a sudden RUMBLE echoed from the horizon. A fleet of War Chariots tore through the sky, coming to an abrupt halt above the swamp. A tidal wave of imposing aura washed over the area.

Seeing the War Chariots appear out of nowhere, Li Qiye’s expression immediately darkened.

”Little Ghost, you’re here too? Have you seen a toad?” Aboard one of the War Chariots, Nan Tianhao looked down at Li Qiye and spoke.

Li Qiye kept his eyes fixed on the mud hole, not even sparing Nan Tianhao a glance. ”Get lost,” he said coldly. He continued to slowly approach the hole, still afraid of disturbing the toad inside the Mud Palace.

Li Qiye’s words made Nan Tianhao’s face turn cold, and killing intent flickered in his eyes. Seeing Li Qiye’s behavior, he snorted. ”So the toad is here!” With that, he leaped down with a group of disciples.

Nan Tianhao’s arrival caused Li Qiye’s expression to change drastically! Nan Tianhao showing up here would ruin everything.

”I’ve been hunting this toad for a long time. No one is allowed to touch it but me,” Nan Tianhao declared coldly.

At Nan Tianhao’s command, the disciples who had come with him immediately surrounded Li Qiye. This made Li Qiye’s face fall, his eyes turning icy.

”The toad is here.” At that moment, many Cultivators who had been hurrying over from a distance arrived. These Cultivators came from weaker vassal states and were following Nan Tianhao to pick up scraps.

Just as Li Qiye had guessed, Nan Tianhao possessed a treasure that could point toward other valuable items. This was no longer a secret on Demon’s Back Ridge.

Some of the sects and lineages with weaker foundations hadn’t found much, so they followed Nan Tianhao. While he dug up the main treasures, they would pick up the scraps. This way, they didn’t have to take any risks, and their gains were still decent.

”Get lost now and you might still make it,” Li Qiye said, his gaze fixed on the mud hole. He didn’t want to startle the toad, so he hadn’t attacked first.

Nan Tianhao shot Li Qiye a cold look and sneered, ”You reckless fool. Do you really think you can act so arrogantly just because you have the Nine Saints Demon Gate protecting you? Make an enemy of my Nantian Country, and there’s only one path: death. You want to get lost now? You’ve lost your chance.”

Li Qiye’s gaze hardened as he looked at Nan Tianhao. ”The Nantian Country? What the hell is that?” he said coldly. ”Get the hell out of here before you ruin my day, or I’ll slaughter you!”

”Just you?” Hearing Li Qiye’s words, Nan Tianhao couldn’t help but laugh. He looked down at Li Qiye with a condescending sneer. ”Forget you. Even if it were your entire Xiyan Ancient Sect, for my Nantian Country, wiping you out would be as easy as crushing an ant!”

Even the many Cultivators who had followed and were watching from a distance felt that Li Qiye’s words were too arrogant. The Nantian Country was a colossal existence; some even called it an Ancient Country. Legend had it that they had stood strong since the distant Desolate Era. To speak of destroying the Nantian Country was nothing more than a fool’s dream.

”This Little Ghost is unbelievably arrogant and ignorant, a real fool courting death. How dare he make such wild boasts? He doesn’t even know who he’s talking to. For the now-declining Xiyan Ancient Sect to make an enemy of the Nantian Country... that’s just suicide,” a Cultivator said, shaking his head at Li Qiye’s audacity.

”Teach him a good lesson. Don’t kill him too quickly,” Nan Tianhao said, a cruel smile spreading across his face. ”Torture him slowly first. Let him know the consequences of making an enemy of my Nantian Country!”

The disciples surrounding Li Qiye burst into laughter. One of them, a cruel smile on his face, mocked, ”Little Ghost, with your meager Yun Body Realm Dao Practice, it would be bullying for all of us brothers to attack you at once. I alone am more than enough to take care of you. So, how do you want to die? If you’re nice, maybe I’ll lessen your suffering before the end.”

Meanwhile, Nan Tianhao stepped forward with two old men. These two were Princes, powerful experts acting as Nan Tianhao’s Guardians.

To have two Princes serving as his Guardians was a testament to the immense power of the Nantian Country.

Nan Tianhao then led the two old men toward the mud hole, intending to capture the toad. In truth, Nan Tianhao had no idea what this toad was, only that the treasure in his hand had been tracking it relentlessly, which made him realize it must be astonishingly valuable!

Seeing Nan Tianhao reach into the mud hole, Li Qiye’s expression changed dramatically. ”Don’t—” In an instant, his figure flashed as he lunged toward Nan Tianhao.

”Little Ghost, don’t even think about it!” The disciples from the Nantian Country surrounding Li Qiye attacked, trying to intercept him. However, with a leap of the Kunpeng, under the Celestial Transformation of the Kunpeng’s Six Transformations, these disciples couldn’t stop him at all. Li Qiye’s shadow flickered, and in an instant, he was lunging at Nan Tianhao.

”Get lost—” Li Qiye’s speed startled the two Princes beside Nan Tianhao. They attacked instantly, their two large hands smashing down toward Li Qiye like a pair of Giant Peaks.

He had intended to pounce on Nan Tianhao, but with the two Princes suddenly attacking, he had no choice but to raise his hands and meet their giant palms head-on.

These were Princes. A strike from their giant palms could shatter a mountain, let alone a junior whose Dao Practice was so shallow it was negligible.

BANG—With a tremendous crash, the two giant palms slammed down, sending Li Qiye flying. He was blasted into the nearby forest, snapping tree after tree as he went.

At this sight, even some of the distant Cultivators couldn’t bear to watch. Under a single palm strike from two Princes, even a body forged of iron and cast in bronze would have been shattered to pieces.

”He was seeking his own death. To oppose Prince Nantian with such a shallow Dao Practice... truly arrogant and ignorant,” a Cultivator said with pity, shaking his head.

”Foolish thing,” Nan Tianhao sneered with disdain, then reached his hand into the mud hole to grab the toad.