Dominator Emperor

Li Qiye studied the inscribed patterns on the Ancient Stele for a long time. These patterns were extremely rare; he had only ever seen them in one place before—the Ancient Sky Corpse Land!

As the Yin Ya, Li Qiye had ventured into the deepest parts of the Ancient Sky Corpse Land more than once throughout the eons. He could even be called the foremost expert on the matter. Yet, no matter which part of its depths he considered, he couldn’t connect any of it to this Ancient Stele.

That night, when the Nether River appeared, the words of Li Shuangyan and Chen Baojiao had stirred something in Li Qiye’s mind. A bold idea took root: perhaps this Ancient Stele was related to that legendary place—a place even he had never been to. A place, one might say, that no one had visited since the beginning of time!

”When the Netherworld emerges, rebirth begins.” This saying was so well-known in the Human Emperor Realm that countless people were familiar with it. It meant that when the Netherworld Ship drifted out, the chance to be reborn and live again had arrived.

However, very few people knew that this was not the complete saying. In fact, the true, complete version went like this: ”When the Netherworld emerges, rebirth begins; When the Celestial Road appears, the Divine Stone opens. Enter the Celestial Coffin, become eternal; Awaken the Corpse Land, for the Ancient Celestial General!”

This was the truly complete version of the legend! But in the current age, those who knew the full saying were few and far between, because no one knew from which era it had originated.

But Li Qiye knew. This saying could be traced back to the legendary Mythical Era! In fact, during the Desolate Era, the Pioneer Era, and even the Age of Emperors, many people had tried to trace this saying, to understand it! But in the end, they only ever understood the first short part: ”When the Netherworld emerges, rebirth begins.” These two things had both happened before. The Netherworld Ship appeared in every generation, and people had indeed ridden it to be reborn and live for another lifetime!

However, the latter, longer part of the saying—”When the Celestial Road appears, the Divine Stone opens. Enter the Celestial Coffin, become eternal; Awaken the Corpse Land, for the Ancient Celestial General”—was never understood, because the events it mentioned had never been witnessed.

No one had ever seen the Celestial Road, no one had seen the so-called Divine Stone, and certainly no one had seen the legendary Celestial Coffin, said to contain an existence beyond imagination. As for ”become eternal,” ”awaken the Corpse Land,” or ”the Ancient Celestial General,” those were nothing but ethereal legends.

This made Li Qiye wonder. ’Perhaps the Netherworld Ship is not just for rebirth and extending one’s life. The key is whether or not you possess the Divine Stone!’ This led him to a bold idea. ’What would happen if one possessed the Divine Stone and rode the Netherworld Ship?’

It was precisely this bold idea that gave Li Qiye his crazy plan: to board the Netherworld Ship! In truth, he couldn’t be certain that the stele in his hand was the Divine Stone, nor did he know if this journey would truly lead him to the Celestial Road. But he still wanted to take the gamble. From the patterns he had deciphered on the stele, he was certain of only one thing: this stone was inextricably linked to the Ancient Sky Corpse Land.

So, Li Qiye decided to take the risk. He wanted to see just what was entombed within the Celestial Coffin. Who was it that the Ancestors of the Ten Thousand Realms mourned with such sorrow? In that distant era, just who had the Ancestors buried?

He wanted to know what ”the Ancient Celestial General” truly was! In fact, having lived for millions of years, this was one of the mysteries he had always wanted to solve.

Silence reigned within the Netherworld Ship. It seemed to have been drifting for countless eons, in a place devoid of time and space.

”My treasure, I hope I bet right this time,” Li Qiye murmured, gently stroking the stele. ”Otherwise, I’ll really be heading to the Underworld to meet that damned ghost, and I’m not ready to die just yet!”

The Netherworld Ship drifted endlessly and silently upon the Nether River. There was no sky, no earth, nothing to be seen. It was as if it were adrift in a static world.

The world had always believed that the Netherworld Ship would eventually drift to the deepest part of the Ancient Sky Corpse Land. But whether this was true or not, no one knew. No one had ever discovered where the Nether River ultimately flowed. Even Immortal Emperors had once entered the depths of the Ancient Sky Corpse Land to seek the answer, but they all failed to find it.

An unknown amount of time passed as it drifted. Li Qiye sat inside the Netherworld Ship, deep in meditative Cultivation. He circulated his Heart Technique as his Life Wheel spun round and round. His Blood Qi flowed, eventually undergoing Refinement into Longevity Blood that settled within his Life Wheel.

Although he was on the Netherworld Ship, although he didn’t know where it was drifting, Li Qiye remained patient. Having lived for countless years, he had experienced dangers far greater than this!

Finally, after an endless drift, something happened. It was unclear when it started, but the stele placed before Li Qiye slowly began to glow. Its patterns turned crystalline and, as if alive, started to flow slowly. They looked like running water, and also like a network of veins.

When all the patterns on the stele had lit up, the entirely pitch-black Netherworld Ship also reacted. Patterns began to appear on its hull. As these lines lit up on the ship’s body, one could tell at a glance that they were identical to the ones on the stele.

Before this, there were no such patterns on the hull. But now, as if it had been stimulated, or perhaps summoned—driven by some mysterious power—the hull produced patterns identical to those on the stele!

At this moment, the Netherworld Ship truly seemed to be driven by a mysterious power. Li Qiye, sitting inside, clearly felt the ship change its course.

Drifting on the Nether River, it was impossible to distinguish north, south, east, or west. One might even say that the Netherworld Ship’s drift created the illusion of being completely still.

But now, Li Qiye was absolutely certain the Netherworld Ship had changed direction. As for which direction it was heading, he couldn’t say.

”Looks like I bet right this time.” Feeling the distinct change in the Netherworld Ship’s course, Li Qiye couldn’t help but smile and murmur to himself.

After the Netherworld Ship changed course, the longer it drifted, the brighter the patterns on the stele and hull became. Eventually, they seemed to shoot out rays of brilliant light. These rays wove together, forming what looked like a Heaven and Earth Chapter Order. Li Qiye stared intently at this Heaven and Earth Chapter Order, but for the moment, he couldn’t comprehend its true contents.

One must understand, having lived for countless years, Li Qiye understood Law Chapter Orders better than anyone. Whether it was the legendary Ancient Nether Chapter or the Mythical Era Chapter Order that only existed in legends, he had seen them both—things the people of the world had never even heard of. However, the Heaven and Earth Chapter Order before him was completely different from any Chapter order he had ever seen. He couldn’t understand this kind of Chapter order. One might even say that this Heaven and Earth Chapter Order was even more bizarre than the mythical Chapter orders he had seen in the past!

Although Li Qiye couldn’t yet decipher the Heaven and Earth Chapter Order before him, he had already branded it into his mind, ensuring he would never forget it.

Finally, after an unknown period of drifting, the Netherworld Ship slowly came to a halt. When the ship stopped, Li Qiye’s heart jolted. ’We’re here.’ At this moment, Li Qiye narrowed his eyes, his expression turning solemn. No one knew where the Netherworld Ship had stopped. No one knew what he would face upon leaving it.

Li Qiye took a deep breath, picked up the Ancient Stele, and slowly drove the Four-Battle Copper Vehicle out of the Netherworld Ship.

When Li Qiye emerged from the Netherworld Ship and saw the scene before him, even he—a man who had weathered countless storms, who had been called a mentor to Immortal Emperors, who was regarded as a legend—couldn’t help but be shaken to his core!

At this moment, there were no mountains or rivers, no heaven or earth. Before him was only an endless Void. The Void was infinite, desolate, and silent. There were no living beings, not even a trace of life, not so much as a single blade of grass.

Before him was a Celestial Road leading straight up. The Celestial Road seemed to be paved with luminous stone, emitting a soft and eternal light! The road stretched endlessly upward, its destination unknown.

Looking back, he saw that the Netherworld Ship was no longer borne upon the Nether River, but a Star River. The Star River was brilliant, winding endlessly, its origin a mystery.

”It seems things are just as I imagined!” Li Qiye murmured as he took in the sight, a thrill of excitement rising in his heart. ’Perhaps, since the beginning of time, I am the first person to arrive here.’

”When the Netherworld emerges, rebirth begins; When the Celestial Road appears, the Divine Stone opens. Enter the Celestial Coffin, become eternal; Awaken the Corpse Land, for the Ancient Celestial General!”

This was the complete legend! For ages, many people, including Immortal Emperors, had speculated and deduced that one could only see the Divine Stone after ascending the Celestial Road. But that was likely not the case! The Divine Stone was not in the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, nor was it at the end of the Celestial Road. The so-called Divine Stone had probably been circulating in the Mortal World all along!

Perhaps the stele in Li Qiye’s hands was very likely the Divine Stone. Only by possessing this stele could one ride the Netherworld Ship to reach the Celestial Road.

Throughout the eons, many had searched for the Celestial Road, not even Immortal Emperors were an exception, and that included Li Qiye himself! Now it seemed the Celestial Road was not necessarily in the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, and neither was the Divine Stone!

Li Qiye took a deep breath and drove the Four-Battle Copper Vehicle slowly up the Celestial Road. The moment he left the Netherworld Ship, it turned into a piece of rotten wood, which then weathered away and scattered into dust. The Netherworld Ship was gone. This also meant that Li Qiye had no way back!