Dominator Emperor

Donglin City was immense. Its walls were vast and tall, with no end in sight, soaring straight into the clouds. The ancient ramparts were pitted and scarred, mottled with age. They bore countless arrow slits and blade marks, and even now, broken arrows remained embedded in the battlements.

Despite the wall’s ancient and mottled state, it still shimmered with a Dao-light. Every brick and stone was inscribed with Dao Patterns. The walls of this Ancient City had been blessed by countless Human Race Elder Sages, and these blessings were layered on, one era after another. It was precisely for this reason that Donglin City had withstood the ravages of endless Time and still stood tall.

Gazing at the ancient city, Li Qiye was filled with emotion. ’The current era is one of prosperity, but how many know of the Human Race’s past hardships? During the darkest times for the Human Race, right here in the Human Emperor Realm, they had once been driven to the brink, with nowhere to stand. In that era, Donglin City had been one of the Human Race’s last bastions.’

’How many people today know that during the Human Race’s darkest age, bloody battles were fought at Donglin City, time and time again? The Human Race held their ground repeatedly as the enemy attacked in wave after wave! In that era, Donglin City was shattered, but the Human Race remained indomitable. They rebuilt their fortresses again and again, reinforcing Donglin City over and over, holding out until the very end!’

Li Qiye sighed sorrowfully in his heart. ’Donglin City... it holds so many of my memories. But the Ancient Nether Era... how can I bear to look back on it? It was the darkest age for the Human Race. During that time, so many people by my side died in battle. So many of the Invincible Generation under my command fought to their deaths!’

And so, standing outside Donglin City, Li Qiye was lost in a daze. No matter when he recalled that dark era, his heart couldn’t help but grow heavy with sorrow.

”Brother Li, what’s wrong?” While Li Qiye was staring blankly at Donglin City, Chi Xiaodao called out to him several times with no response.

Seeing Li Qiye in a daze, Chi Xiaodie said irritably, ”What are you spacing out for? Don’t tell me you’ve never seen such a huge and prosperous Ancient City before! Don’t you always boast until the cows come home? Are you getting stage fright now?”

Li Qiye was already in a bad mood, and hearing Chi Xiaodie’s words, he gave her a cold glance and said slowly, ”If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all. It never hurts for a girl to be virtuous and gentle.”

Li Qiye’s sudden rebuke carried an indescribable authority that stunned Chi Xiaodie for a moment. When she came to her senses, she was both embarrassed and angry. Her beautiful eyes glared at Li Qiye as she was about to lash out, ”You—”

”Let’s hurry up and get inside. There’s nothing to see just standing out here.” Seeing the two of them were about to argue, Chi Xiaodao quickly played peacemaker and changed the subject.

Chi Xiaodie snorted coldly, ignored Li Qiye, and turned to enter the city. Li Qiye, still in a foul mood, couldn’t be bothered with her either.

Upon entering Donglin City, anyone would be swept up by the bustling and lively atmosphere. The entire city was a sea of people, shoulder to shoulder, their sweat falling like rain. You could see beings flying in the sky, walking on the ground, and even swimming in the water.

In Donglin City, one could see Cultivators of every race imaginable. The Human Race went without saying; as one of their Origin Lands, Donglin City had countless Mortals, to say nothing of its Cultivators.

As for the Demon Race, they were also a common sight in Donglin City. There were even innumerable demons who had not yet fully shed their beastly forms. Even the Mortals of Donglin City were unfazed by the sight of monsters with human bodies and snake heads, bird heads and snake bodies, or tiger bodies and human heads walking down the streets.

Even races rarely seen elsewhere, like the Ghost Immortal Race, Celestial Demons, Stone People, and the Blood Race, could be found in Donglin City.

In the East Hundred Cities, if you wanted to buy a Treasure Artifact or any medicinal ingredients, or if you wanted to sell your own treasures, Donglin City was the best choice. As one of the Origin Lands of the Human Race, Donglin City had a vast number of shops, and countless Great Teaching Territories had businesses there. Thus, there was a saying in the East Hundred Cities: ”In Donglin City, there’s nothing you can’t buy, only prices you can’t afford!”

However, even after visiting several of Donglin City’s largest shops for Spiritual Elixirs and Immortal Pills, Li Qiye and the others couldn’t find the Rotting Nether Beans they were looking for.

”What exactly are these Rotting Nether Beans? Why are they so hard to buy?” After failing at several of the biggest shops, Chi Xiaodie glanced at Li Qiye and asked.

Li Qiye’s mood had improved by then, so he explained unhurriedly, ”It’s not surprising that Rotting Nether Beans are hard to buy. They aren’t particularly precious right after they mature. They must be buried with a dead person for a long time before they become valuable and gain their incredible medicinal properties.”

Li Qiye and his group tried a few more places but still couldn’t find any Rotting Nether Beans. As they were continuing their search, they came to a street corner and happened upon a peddler hawking his Treasure Artifacts to passersby.

”Hehe, Immortal Lord, take a look! This is a page from a True Scripture passed down from the Feixian Sect. It’s utterly peerless! How about trading it for one of your Great Sage Treasures?” The peddler had a sanctimonious air about him, making one think he came from a Great Ancient Sect.

Peddlers in Donglin City were as common as ox hair, so one of them trying to sell his Treasure Artifacts to a passerby was nothing strange at all.

However, Chi Xiaodao, who was walking with Li Qiye, became agitated. The moment he saw the peddler, he immediately jumped and shouted, ”You thief! Give me back my medicinal ingredients!”

The peddler, who had been hawking his Treasure Artifacts, saw Chi Xiaodao and bolted like a mouse seeing a cat. In an instant, he plunged into the bustling crowd on the street, which was a torrent of carriages and people.

Just like that, the peddler vanished. The siblings, Chi Xiaodao and Chi Xiaodie, wanted to give chase, but they had already lost all trace of him.

”Follow me!” At that moment, Li Qiye’s eyes narrowed. With a low shout, he instantly stepped into the crowd and reached for a chubby, middle-aged man, saying in a deep voice, ”Let’s see how many times you can transform!”

This unremarkable middle-aged man was walking in the crowd and looked completely different from the peddler, a world of difference. But when Li Qiye’s hand reached for him, the man’s expression changed. He instantly retreated, melting back into the stream of people and vanishing once more. The chubby man was gone without a trace.

”Keep running!” But Li Qiye immediately pursued him into the crowd, his hand reaching for a hunched-over old woman! The old woman’s face changed drastically. She instantly shifted her position, dashed into the crowd on another street, and disappeared again in a flash! But Li Qiye remained hot on her heels.

This left Chi Xiaodao and Chi Xiaodie, who were following Li Qiye, completely dumbfounded. They were dazzled just trying to keep up, because the fleeing peddler was transforming again and again. One moment, he was a delicate, doll-like little girl; the next, a sickly old man who coughed every three steps; then, a strapping, muscular man...

With every transformation, the peddler instantly blended into the crowd. It was perfectly natural, without a single flaw. It was impossible to connect any of the people he became with the original peddler.

Each time the peddler transformed, even if he walked right past the Chi siblings, they would have never known that this was the very thief who had swindled Chi Xiaodao out of his medicinal ingredients!

But no matter how the peddler transformed, no matter what kind of person he became, no matter how seamlessly he blended into the crowd or how flawless his new identity was, Li Qiye could find him and identify him in an instant.

This seemed incredible to Chi Xiaodao and Chi Xiaodie, who were trailing behind Li Qiye. It was as if no matter how the thief changed, he could not hide his true form from Li Qiye’s eyes!

The four of them, with one fleeing and three pursuing, crossed one street after another. As for the pedestrians, they were already used to such sights. Things like this happened countless times every day!

In the end, no matter how he changed, the peddler couldn’t escape Li Qiye’s Dharma Eye. After fleeing into a small alley, he stopped transforming. He simply stood his ground and stopped running.

”How is that possible!” The thief stared at Li Qiye in disbelief, his face turning pale. ”This is impossible! My Eighty-One Transformations has never failed me before. Not even an Old Undying can see through my Eighty-One Transformations! You... how did you do it?!”

For the thief, his Eighty-One Transformations was unbelievably miraculous. No one had ever been able to see through his changes. When he transformed from one person to another, others simply couldn’t connect the two identities. Even with a Dharma Eye, they wouldn’t be able to spot any flaws; it would look just like a True Body!

But today, his always-successful Eighty-One Transformations had finally met its match. No matter what he turned into, Li Qiye saw through him with a single glance. It was simply incredible!

And so, the thief was so stunned that he just stared blankly at Li Qiye and gave up on escaping.

The thief wasn’t the only one who was stunned; the siblings Chi Xiaodao and Chi Xiaodie were just as shocked. Even when they used their Dharma Eyes, they couldn’t see any flaws in the thief’s transformations. From one person to the next, there was no connection between them in their eyes. Moreover, the transformation speed was extremely fast, completed in an instant, leaving them completely unable to tell what was real or fake.

But this impossibly miraculous art of transformation was useless against Li Qiye. It was beyond incredible.

”The Eighty-One Transformations... do you know its true origin?” Li Qiye glanced at him and asked nonchalantly.

At Li Qiye’s words, the thief paused. He had obtained the Eighty-One Transformations by accident, by a complete coincidence. After his Cultivation of this Miracle Technique, it had proven to be incredibly useful, often allowing him to escape from many dangerous situations unscathed. However, as for the true origin of the Eighty-One Transformations, he was completely in the dark.

”Don’t tell me you know its true origin?” the thief asked back, still dazed.