Emperor’s Domination

Within the stone egg was an apex grand dao connected to the celestials and three thousand worlds. Time and space embraced them; all powers within worked to suppress the thing.

Li Qiye specially crafted this prison with the help of worldly dao runes and the emperor's suppression. This completely stopped the thing from moving.

He no longer sensed anything from it; it seemed inanimate like a piece of metal. One would be hard-pressed to imagine that it was capable of piercing through Eight Desolaces earlier. They would assume that it was a strange illusion.

He started contemplating. It became clear how Drystone Courtyard disappeared now and what power dragged it away.

The question was - what existence or what form possessed this power?

He has never seen it before; it didn't exist in the records. In history, as long as something existed, there would be clues scattered about, especially in the legends or folktales. This wasn't the case here.

He thought that it was certainly new. However, this was impossible. Reaching a power of this magnitude required time and accumulation - an arduous process. It couldn't have appeared out of nowhere like this.

"How interesting." Li Qiye became awfully curious, not because of the looming threat. He simply wanted to find out more.

"Seems like I've spent all of my time on the villainous heaven and missed out on other details." He stroked his chin, realizing his carelessness.

His main focus and vision were on the ultimate expedition. This made him neglect other matters. Perhaps this existence has been there all along, just slumbering in an unknown corner.

It simply didn't want others to know; this didn't mean that it didn't exist.

"This will be very amusing." Li Qiye looked up at the sky again: "The party in the future won't be boring at all. More guests will be coming." Li Qiye's eyes became profound.

"Well, I welcome it, the more the merrier." He grinned and stared at the thing in the stone. His next objective was to analyze it without missing any information.

This required breaking it down completely. He was no stranger to this and had plenty of experience. Nothing could ever hide from his dissection and examination.

"This will be fun." He had a smile that would scare those in the know as he was leaving.

He had smiled like this back during the Ancient Ming Era. What came next was a butcher with blood-stained hands.

"Crack! Crack!" The area behind him started cracking before collapsing altogether. Only a hole was left.

He then left Fire Domain. There wasn't anyone here - a stark contrast to the lively scene not long ago. Even Shi Wawa and Pearlstone Saintess were gone.

He chuckled and continued forward after taking a look around.

Everyone had moved to the stone forest. In theory, now that the treasure hunt was over, everyone should be leaving. On the contrary, they decided to wait outside.

The powers there far exceeded imagination, even more so than before. Numerous ancestors were here now.

A while ago, the ancestors that came were relatively young or just elders. The more powerful ones chose to hide in the shadows because this land still belonged to Ancestral City.

Now, they lost their patience and showed up in public. The reason was very simple - Li Qiye had obtained both the imperial treasury and the legacy of the phoenix.

No one would miss this opportunity to grab both in the case of success. Just one was enough to drive people insane from greed, taking a sect to the next level in no time at all. They might be able to exert total domination afterward.

That's why it was worth the risk even if it meant offending Ancestral City.

Numerous groups waited outside including large armies from Yin Yang, Skylight, and Firmaments. More ancestors have shown up.

They lost 100,000 men or so in Fire Domain but this didn't matter. They were still able to muster mighty armies in just a short time. People couldn't help but be amazed. This was why they were the top dogs right now.

All eyes were on the entrance, quietly waiting for the target to appear.

Of course, not all wanted to rob Li Qiye. Some knew their place and that they wouldn't be able to compete with the rest. Thus, they were only here to watch.

"I can smell the stench of blood already." One expert murmured.

It was obvious that taking Li Qiye down wasn't the end to this. The successful party would become the next target.

Thus, this place would turn into hell soon enough. Numerous cultivators would fall as a result.

That's why some have already prepared an escape plan. The moment they grabbed the treasury or the legacy, they would instantly retreat with haste.

A few ancestors chose to hide their background just in case they were successful. Otherwise, others would come for their sects soon enough.

Others wanted to hide for a long time afterward in order to fully understand the spoils before showing up again.

The area seemed quiet from people scheming and being on guard with each other. Many actually wielded weapons already, ready to deliver a fatal blow.

"He's out!" A furor started with Li Qiye's appearance by the entrance.

All eyes were on him, hot enough to shoot out rays and illuminate the place. They all wanted to know what he got from the imperial treasury.

Time came to a halt; the greedy spectators clenched their weapons tighter.

Of course, no one dared to be the first to make a move lest they wanted to be public enemy number one. This resulted in a deadlock.