Dominator Emperor

Chapter 154: Chapter 153: Celestial Ancient City (Part 1)

Hearing this, Li Qiye smiled. "How about this," he said. "Since he’s a dying man anyway, how about I propose a plan for him?"

"Young Master Li, please speak. I am all ears," the Sun Demon Emperor said hurriedly, his spirits immediately lifting.

Li Qiye said leisurely, "My plan is simple. I’ll help them find a Netherworld Ship and bury him inside. The burial will last for one to two years, extending his lifespan by three to five hundred years."

"A burial of one to two years to extend a lifespan by three to five hundred years!" Hearing Li Qiye’s words, the Sun Demon Emperor couldn’t help but be deeply shaken. This was a feat that defied the heavens! Such an astonishing result was even more incredible than burial in a Fengshui Treasure Land!

"Three to five hundred years is enough for him to catch his breath. However, dreaming of becoming an Immortal Emperor or taking another step to a higher realm will be impossible. He is already a dying man; his Life Wheel is damaged, and his Blood Qi is exhausted. Being buried in the Netherworld Ship can only allow him to cling to life," Li Qiye said calmly.

"That’s more than enough!" The Sun Demon Emperor was deeply moved. For a powerhouse of his level, three to five hundred years was enough time to accomplish many things. Even if it was merely clinging to life, his existence held immense significance for the War God Hall.

"However, I have one condition. I want something from the War God Hall, and this is non-negotiable," Li Qiye said in a slow, unhurried voice.

After hearing Li Qiye’s condition, the Sun Demon Emperor fell silent for a moment. He then said, "Young Master Li, please stay at our sect for a few days. I will go discuss this with their stationed elder."

The Sun Demon Emperor was fast. On the third day, he returned with a message for Li Qiye. "The War God Hall wants the old man to live for another lifetime. You can name any condition, any condition at all!"

If any outsider were to hear these words, they would be stunned speechless. The War God Hall—what a terrifying existence! It had stood since the Desolate Era, producing countless Elder Sages. It was ancient beyond measure, unfathomably deep, and its exact location was unknown to the outside world!

And today, the War God Hall was actually allowing someone to name any price they wished. How astonishing was that! Anyone hearing such words would be shocked into a stupor. The offer was simply too tempting.

"Another lifetime?" Li Qiye sneered. "That’s a fool’s dream. How could living another lifetime be so simple? If it were that easy, even Immortal Emperors would be begging me for help, let alone the War God Hall! Tell those old men not to be too greedy. It’s three to five hundred years. Take it or leave it!"

Li Qiye’s attitude was resolute. The Sun Demon Emperor didn’t dare to negotiate further and immediately relayed Li Qiye’s message to the War God Hall. The next day, the Sun Demon Emperor finally brought back news for Li Qiye: "The War God Hall agrees to Young Master Li’s conditions. As long as the old man returns, the item you require will be presented immediately! If you are not successful, the collateral will not be returned."

The Sun Demon Emperor was making a huge gamble this time. If the deal fell through, the collateral the Nine Saints Demon Gate had put up with the War God Hall would be like a meatbun thrown at a dog—gone for good.

"Fine. I’ll go over there and wait. Let me know when they arrive," Li Qiye agreed without hesitation. "However, I’ll need a few things. Demon Emperor, you’ll have to gather them for me." With that, he gave the Sun Demon Emperor a list.

The Sun Demon Emperor glanced at the list. He hadn’t even heard of many of the items on it, but he agreed at once, saying, "Leave this small matter to my Nine Saints Demon Gate."

After settling things with the Sun Demon Emperor, Li Qiye left the Nine Saints Demon Gate with Li Shuangyan. Upon returning to the Xiyan Ancient Sect, Li Qiye called a meeting with the elders and the Sect Leader, Su Yonghuang.

"I plan to set off for the Ancient Sky Corpse Land," Li Qiye announced.

"To the Ancient Sky Corpse Land!" Hearing Li Qiye’s words, all the Elder Guardians present were shaken, and even Su Yonghuang’s expression changed.

"Qiye, the Ancient Sky Corpse Land is boundlessly dangerous. Even if a Great Sage were to go, I’m afraid they might not come out alive," Gu Tieshou said worriedly.

Su Yonghuang was also shaken and said, "The Ancient Sky Corpse Land... who knows how many Great Sages, how many invincible existences are buried there. I’ve heard that those ancient corpses have each claimed their own territory within the land. Anyone who enters is walking a path to certain death! It’s simply too dangerous for you to go."

"That’s right, Qiye. At a place like that, it won’t matter if you’re carrying an Emperor’s Treasure, or even an Immortal Emperor’s Artifact. Legend has it that an expert from an Emperor Immortal Gate once charged into the Ancient Sky Corpse Land with an Immortal Emperor’s Treasure, but he still died inside, and the Immortal Emperor’s Treasure was lost there as well," Elder Sun added, his voice full of worry.

Although countless dying people flocked to the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, that was only for the dying. For the living, that damn place was a topic so terrifying it made their faces pale! Who knew how many people had died there? You could even say that whoever entered was likely to die!

"I know all of this." In the face of their concern, Li Qiye just smiled and said, "I will be careful. My mind is made up; I’m merely informing the elders of my decision."

Though Li Qiye spoke calmly, the elders couldn’t help but exchange a look. In the end, they all let out a soft sigh and stopped trying to persuade him, understanding that once Li Qiye made a decision, his mind could not be changed.

"Let Elder Tu go with you." In the end, Su Yonghuang, still worried about Li Qiye, had Tu Buyu accompany him.

Li Qiye didn’t refuse, and so the matter was settled.

For this trip to the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, after careful consideration, Li Qiye decided to bring Niu Fen. As for Li Shuangyan and Chen Baojiao, it went without saying that they would accompany Li Qiye. In addition, Li Qiye also picked out several disciples to go with them: Qu Daoli, Xu Pei, Zhang Yu, and Luo Fenghua.

These were the disciples he was specially grooming, and he needed them to be able to hold their own in the future. Therefore, Li Qiye was taking them along this time to broaden their horizons.

Of course, that brat Nan Huairun shamelessly insisted on tagging along, and in the end, Li Qiye agreed to take him as well!

"The Ancient Sky Corpse Land?" Hearing they were going there, even Niu Fen was shaken. He was stunned for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, he sighed with emotion. "A very long time ago, legend says one of our ancestors buried himself in the Ancient Sky Corpse Land. As for whether he successfully extended his life and was revived, no one knows."

"Your Celestial Beetle Ancestor lineage never went to pay respects?" Li Qiye asked with a smile.

Niu Fen gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "The truth is, we descendants don’t even know where he was buried. As for paying respects, I’ve never heard it mentioned."

"You can pay respects to someone buried in the Ancient Sky Corpse Land?" Chen Baojiao asked, moved by the thought and finding it incredible.

Paying respects to deceased relatives, to elders who have been laid to rest, was a normal thing. But no one had ever heard of paying respects to someone buried in the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, because it seemed fundamentally impossible.

"In principle, it’s possible," Li Qiye said with a smile. "In practice, it’s not so easy. In many cases, the conditions simply don’t allow for it."

Chen Baojiao was stunned for a moment. It was hard to imagine what the scene of paying respects to an ancestor in the Ancient Sky Corpse Land would be like. That place was a mountain of corpses and a sea of graves, permeated by Corpse Qi. How could anyone possibly pay their respects there?

Although they were both in the Great Middle Realm, the Xiyan Ancient Sect was a vast distance away from the Ancient Sky Corpse Land. The gap was hundreds of millions of miles wide, spanning more than half the Great Middle Realm. Trying to fly there was basically impossible.

For Li Qiye’s group to get to the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, their only option was to teleport directly via a Dao Platform. Teleporting such a great distance required a shocking amount of Essence Walls. For the now-declined Xiyan Ancient Sect, this would have been a considerable strain. However, this time the Nine Saints Demon Gate was providing full financial support, so the matter of the Essence Walls was handled directly by them, leaving Li Qiye without a worry.

The Ancient Sky Corpse Land was located in the western part of the Great Middle Realm. One could say its existence served to sever the Great Middle Realm from the Western Wilderness. Situated in the west of the Great Middle Realm, it was like an impassable Demon Realm that sundered the world.

Although the mere mention of the Ancient Sky Corpse Land made people turn pale, just outside it lay one of the most ancient of cities—Celestial Ancient City!

Celestial Ancient City could even be called one of the oldest cities in the Great Middle Realm. It had existed since a very distant era, and no one even knew in which age it was built.

This ancient city, Celestial Ancient City, was also known as Corpse City. Besides its proximity to the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, this was because many dying cultivators who wished to bury themselves in the land treated Celestial Ancient City as the final stop in their lives. As a result, the coffin business in Celestial Ancient City was particularly booming. From coffins that cost only a few coins—made from just four nailed-together planks—to expensive ones crafted from Divine Wood, every kind of coffin imaginable was available!

You could find a coffin made of any material you could name in Celestial Ancient City. There was even a joke among cultivators: if a cultivator on the verge of death wanted to buy the perfect coffin, their best bet was to go to Celestial Ancient City.

Although Celestial Ancient City was called Corpse City, it was by no means lifeless or desolate. On the contrary, Celestial Ancient City was extraordinarily lively and bustling with endless traffic. Countless cultivators came to Celestial Ancient City from all corners of the Human Emperor Realm, from the Nine Realms and Ten Lands! One could even see cultivators of all races, including rare ones like the Stone People and Celestial Demons.

One could say that Celestial Ancient City was one of the largest ancient cities in the Great Middle Realm. It had always been exceptionally bustling, even earning the moniker "the city that never sleeps"!

Li Qiye’s group used a Dao Platform to teleport to a sect near Celestial Ancient City, and finally entered the city riding on snails.

The moment they entered Celestial Ancient City, a wave of bustling noise washed over them. Before them were countless buildings and wide streets. High in the sky, numerous Ancient Divine Halls floated and bobbed.

The streets were even more crowded, a sea of people with endless traffic. Cultivators and mortals alike thronged the streets, shoulder to shoulder. The hubbub of voices was deafening; it was incomparably lively.