Dominator Emperor

Li Qiye looked at the Pengzhuang Sixth Minors and said, ”You can indeed buy some good things in the various cities of Fengdu City, but it requires luck and a keen eye. Your Night Sun Fish were hard-earned, so don’t squander them. I’ll point you to a place. Head east, and you’ll find a small city. If you see a place with this symbol, pay the Night Sun Fish to enter. You might want to try going inside a few times. As for whether or not you’ll have an incredible fortuitous encounter, that will depend on your own fortune.” He then drew a symbol and handed it to Peng Zhuang.

Peng Zhuang carefully put away the symbol from Li Qiye, then said to him with a grin, ”Brother Li, we’ll be on our way. We’re entrusting our Clan Leader to you, so you’d better take good care of her.” As he spoke, he gave Li Qiye a suggestive wink.

Li Qiye couldn’t help but smile at the Pengzhuang Sixth Minors’ instigation. ’Of course he knew what these rascals were thinking.’

The Pengzhuang Sixth Minors grinningly bid them farewell and departed in high spirits. After watching them go, Qiu Rong Wanxue couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

The Pengzhuang Sixth Minors were the promising new generation of their Snow Shadow Ghost Clan. As their Clan Leader, she was, in truth, not entirely at ease letting them travel alone. However, if she personally oversaw everything and protected them every step of the way, they would never learn to stand on their own.

”Where are we going?” Qiu Rong Wanxue asked, coming back to her senses. She took a deep breath and looked at Li Qiye.

Li Qiye’s eyes narrowed. ”To the Five Realms Gate! We’ll go there and try our luck.”

”The Five Realms Gate?” Qiu Rong Wanxue’s expression changed at his words. ”The Five Realms Gate is an exceptionally dangerous place. It’s said that four of its five gates are great Evil Lands.”

”In Fengdu City, if you don’t take risks and you don’t gamble a little, you’ll never know what opportunities await,” Li Qiye said with a smile.

Qiu Rong Wanxue nodded silently. She didn’t object. ’Since I’ve decided to follow Li Qiye, I’ll have to go wherever he goes.’

Though Fengdu City was full of ghosts, they weren’t just chaotic, wandering spirits. On the contrary, the ghosts of Fengdu City were not so different from the people of the outside world—they practiced Cultivation as well.

The ghosts of Fengdu City were actually the lingering obsessions of the dead. These obsessions held no memories of their past lives. Moreover, as newly formed existences, the ghosts of Fengdu City were not immortal; if their obsessions didn’t strengthen while they remained in the city, they would eventually fade away with the passage of time.

No one knew when it began, but Cultivation came to exist in Fengdu City. A long, long time ago, sects emerged, some of which were far older than even the most Ancient Sects in the Nine Realms. The existence of certain sects in Fengdu City was so ancient that no one could trace their origins to any specific era.

The sects in Fengdu City all occupied the city’s best locations—which could also be described as its most dangerous.

It was true that Fengdu City held treasures. However, to the ghosts of the city, the treasures that Cultivators sought were useless trinkets. This was because they were beings of obsession; even their Cultivation was a power granted to them by Fengdu City itself. In this, they differed from Cultivators, who absorbed Heaven and Earth Essence Qi.

The Cultivation of Fengdu City’s ghosts, however, stemmed from their faith in the city itself. The better they integrated with the land of Fengdu City, the deeper they rooted themselves in it, the longer they could exist as obsessions—as ghosts—and the more powerful they would become.

For this very reason, items that were treasures to Cultivators were useless to the ghosts of Fengdu City. Nevertheless, the ghosts occupied the places where these treasures could be found, claiming them as their own. Any Cultivator who wished to enter these places to seek treasures and opportunities had to pay them Night Sun Fish as an entrance fee.

Cultivators sought treasures, and the ghosts of Fengdu City needed Night Sun Fish. In a way, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

The Five Realms Gate was a lineage in Fengdu City, a very ancient one. It occupied five mountain passes to the north of the city. Legend said that incredible things were hidden within these passes; it was even rumored that the key to the First Evil Tomb had once emerged from one of them.

Because of this, many visiting Cultivators wanted to enter the passes to see if they too could find a great opportunity.

When Li Qiye and Qiu Rong Wanxue arrived at the Five Realms Gate, two long lines were already snaking from the mouths of the passes. They were all visiting Cultivators—men and women of every description, from the Ghost Race, the Human Race, the Demon Race, and even Celestial Demons…

”Fengdu City seems to be getting lively,” Qiu Rong Wanxue remarked to Li Qiye, surprised to see so many people waiting in line to enter.

Li Qiye glanced at the lines, then got into one with Qiu Rong Wanxue.

The lines were filled with young people from various races. Two ghosts—or rather, two obsessions—stood guard outside the pass. They guarded the entrance, and anyone who wished to enter had to pay them Night Sun Fish.

While Li Qiye was waiting in line, a sudden RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE echoed as the very ground began to shake. Everyone turned to see a Giant striding toward them. Despite his immense height, he moved with surprising speed, arriving at the line in the blink of an eye.

He was a young man, but he stood three times taller than anyone else present. He looked incredibly solid and exuded a fierce, domineering aura. Strangely, a three-colored halo floated above his head.

Though the young man was enormous, he was no clumsy brute. On the contrary, his features were handsome, and the three-colored halo, in particular, lent him a somewhat divine air.

After arriving, the giant youth gave the crowd a cold glance and queued up at the back. However, some of the young men and women in the line recognized him and obediently made way. The giant youth accepted the spot without a word of thanks.

”Mo Li Dao…” A young Cultivator from Yao Yun couldn’t help but gasp upon seeing the young Giant.

Li Qiye glanced at the three-colored halo above the youth’s head, a hint of surprise in his voice. ”The Heaven-Reaching Race.”

The Heaven-Reaching Race was a branch of the Sky Demon Clan. Seeing a member of this relatively rare branch here was indeed an unusual occurrence.

”He’s Mo Li Dao, the successor of the Heaven-Reaching Sect.” Seeing that Li Qiye didn’t seem to know the young Giant’s identity, Qiu Rong Wanxue whispered a reminder, ”I hear he’s a terror back in Yao Yun.”

Although the Snow Shadow Ghost Clan was a minor clan, as its leader, Qiu Rong Wanxue always kept an eye on world affairs. She knew a fair bit about the influential figures of the current generation.

Li Qiye couldn’t help but smile. ’People in the Human Emperor Realm call me a terror, too. I wonder just how terrifying this Mo Li Dao really is.’

After a while, it was finally Li Qiye and Qiu Rong Wanxue’s turn. The ghost guarding the pass glanced at them, its face impassive. ”Fifty Night Sun Fish per person. You may only choose one pass.”

Fifty Night Sun Fish just to enter the pass. The ghosts of Fengdu City really knew how to do business; whether you found treasure or not, the fifty Night Sun Fish were non-negotiable.

After Li Qiye and Qiu Rong Wanxue paid their Night Sun Fish, the two ghosts guarding the pass let them through. ”Of the five passes, you may only choose one.”

”We choose the Ban Mountain Pass,” Li Qiye said with a grin, glancing at the five passes.

When Li Qiye chose the Ban Mountain Pass, many people turned to look at him. A young Cultivator from the Human Race kindly offered a piece of advice. ”Brother, is this your first time here? The Ban Mountain Pass is the safest of the passes, but it’s also the most hopeless. The two of you won’t be able to move that mountain. Even a Saint Venerable would have a hard time moving it. Why not choose the first pass? The risk is low, and the opportunities are decent. Even if you don’t get a great treasure, you won’t leave at a loss. And if you strike it rich, you might walk away with one or two amazing items.”

The young Human Race Cultivator meant well. After all, the Human Race was a weaker race here, so its members tended to look out for one another when away from home.

”Many thanks, Brother Dao,” Li Qiye said with a smile. ”I’m just hoping to strike it big. Who knows, maybe I’ll have a great fortuitous encounter.”

”A great fortuitous encounter? You two? Forget about it.” Another young Cultivator nearby laughed and shook his head. ”Even if you could move it, I doubt you’d get any great opportunity.”

Li Qiye simply smiled and led Qiu Rong Wanxue into the fifth pass—the Ban Mountain Pass.

”Those two just wasted a hundred Night Sun Fish. What a shame,” someone lamented after seeing Li Qiye and Qiu Rong Wanxue enter.

The moment Li Qiye and Qiu Rong Wanxue entered the pass, a wave of dry, scorching heat blasted them. When they saw the scene before them, anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they’d come to the wrong place.

Before them stretched a boundless desert. Stranger still, this desert was perfectly flat, its ground dry and cracked as if it had been scorched.

If the pass weren’t right behind them, anyone seeing this desert would have sworn they were in the wrong place. This looked nothing like Fengdu City.

”The Ban Mountain Pass?” Qiu Rong Wanxue stared, dumbfounded, at the desert before her. She had never been here, but she had heard the rumors.

”This… can we really do this?” Qiu Rong Wanxue asked, her voice filled with uncertainty. ”I’ve heard that almost no treasures have ever come from the Ban Mountain Pass, and that its requirements are the highest of all five passes.”

”Let’s take a gamble,” Li Qiye said with a smile. ”The other four passes might have a higher chance of producing treasures, but ordinary treasures are boring. If you’re going to gamble, you might as well gamble big. If we’re lucky, we’ll truly strike it rich.”