Emperor’s Domination

"During the day of departure, please take me along." She asked.

"Fine, if you want to see a different world, so be it. It won't hurt." He nodded.

She bowed again and left. She came silently and left in the same manner without making any sound. This mirrored her existence - a state of serenity and peace.

"Who is she? Where did she come from?" Jian Ming was curious about her.

He could tell that Li Qiye's attitude toward Si Jingru and Lin Mo was completely different. He clearly favored the latter by a considerable margin.

Who the hell could be superior to the priestess of Ancestral Divine Temple? Jian Ming couldn't come up with an answer. All he knew was that Lin Mo's background must be special.

Only a peerless and unique existence would be able to earn Li Qiye's grace. Unfortunately, Li Qiye didn't answer.

"Swindler, since you've seen her face, would you be able to calculate her background?" Jian Ming came over and whispered.

The daoist shook his head in response: "No, a supreme master must have concealed her everything so she's incalculable. The price to seer is unimaginable, borderline suicidal."

"Just try a little, maybe her background will be shockingly interesting." Jian Ming tried.

"You go be an idiot, don't drag me down with you." The daoist glanced at him with disdain.

He was obviously curious about Lin Mo as well. However, there must be something forbidden and taboo about her. Forcefully calculating her background would have grave consequences. He didn't mind the risk to his life as much but it could drag his clan members down as well.

"Hmph, here I am forgetting why I call you a swindler in the first place. Given your meager abilities, you can train for another eight lifetimes and still won't be able to see a single clue from her." He tried to use a psychological taunt.

The daoist naturally didn't bite and stared at the guy as if he was an idiot.

Jian Ming gave up since he couldn't pry a single piece of information from the daoist. Intuition told him that the guy must know a little bit but chose to be quiet.

"Ancestor, what do you think?" Jian Ming then asked Wise Ancestor.

Wise stared in the direction of Lin Mo's departure and mused: "I couldn't see through her but I'm sure that we absolutely can't. She seems rather special because even her cultivation is a mystery, let alone her background."

Lin Mo was the second who made Wise Ancestor feel this way. The first was Li Qiye.

"Seems like there are many secrets going on here. Why the need to be so secretive?" Jian Ming murmured.

No one was born with these concealments. She must have chosen to be mysterious and reclusive for a particular purpose. Otherwise, she would have become a famous figure in the cultivation world.

"Let's go, we're heading back to save the Tree of Contribution." Li Qiye didn't mind Jian Ming being such a busybody and told the group.

Wise and the others trembled after hearing this. They have met their goal of obtaining the dao stone from the Lu. It was time to return now and try to revitalize their clans.

Jian Ming and Wise contained their excitement and hurriedly follow Li Qiye. The daoist also tagged along.

"What are you doing? We're going home now." Jian Ming instigated.

"I'm not going to your clan, I'm just following the young noble." The daoist strongly responded.

"I don't want you any where close to our clans. Heh, tell the truth, you want to steal our supreme treasures." Jian Ming sneered.

"I am a member of an orthodox sect, the successor of a great clan, don't be ridiculous." The daoist angrily retorted.

"Please, who are you trying to fool? You tried to steal from the auction house and got caught, haha." Jian Ming said.

The daoist turned red because that was indeed the case. He failed and had to run for his life.

"I was only going to take a look, that's all, don't besmirch the reputation of an innocent man." The daoist uttered coldly. Alas, his tone was no longer as confident.

"Right, only went to take a look and if no one was there, you would have taken them with you too, right? It's a good thing Seal Ancestor scared the hell out of you." Jian Ming laughed.

"My innocence can't be tainted by your foul mouth." The daoist glared at him, embarrassed.

Jian Ming laughed heartily. He naturally had no intention of stopping the daoist from visiting the four clans. Plus, Li Qiye - the boss - would have to be the one to deny permission.

***

They climbed up the peak after returning to the four clans and stood before the withered tree. All four dao stones have been gathered together.

The elders of the four clans stared at the dao stones with bated breath. They were rather nervous and tense because this pertained to the prosperity of their clans.

"What a tree, just like a divine tree in the legends." The daoist's eyes lit up.

Jian Ming saw this and warned him: "If you dare to think about stealing our tree, all descendants from the four clans will flay you, rip out your tendons, and drink you blood."

"Idiot, this tree is connected to an earth vein, how is anyone going to steal it? There's something wrong with your brains." The daoist didn't appreciate the threat.

"You're the idiot here." Jian Ming angrily barked back.

"Clank!" The four dao stones were embedded into their respective slot. It didn't require strength because once placed correctly, they were sucked inside.

"Buzz." They became bright enough to illuminate the entire altar. Tiny runic lines appeared and flowed with great speed in the direction of the dead tree.

Li Qiye loudly chanted and formed hand seals, resulting in particles shooting at the tree. They then melted like snow flakes after making contact, seeping into the body.

"Buzz." Life suddenly returned to the dead tree as it awakened. It felt as if this has been an unreasonably long slumber.

"Boom!" Something else also woke up deep underground, similar to a colossal monster turning its body. Next came a majestic tsunami of endless life force shooting upward.