Dominator Emperor

Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Celestial Ancient City (Part 2)

It could be said that the mortals of Celestial Ancient City had seen all sorts of bizarre and motley cultivators and no longer found any of it strange.

In contrast, it was Nan Huairun and the others, who were visiting Celestial Ancient City for the first time, who were left dumbstruck. They were the ones who looked like country bumpkins, dazzled by everything as if they had just stepped into the Grand View Garden for the first time.

Countless cultivators came and went from Celestial Ancient City, arriving from all corners of the land. Some arrived on Flying Treasures, some traversed the void, and others even rode on Insect Kings...

A giant ship rumbled across the sky, flying into Celestial Ancient City and rushing toward an ancient hall in the celestial vault. On the streets below, a cultivator rode a giant centipede, weaving through the crowd before vanishing at the end of the road. Above people’s heads, an ancient bamboo stalk grew like a dragon from the distant horizon, piercing into one of the city’s tall buildings and allowing a cultivator to arrive in an instant by treading upon it...

In comparison, Li Qiye’s group, riding on their giant snail, seemed rather inconspicuous. There was nothing particularly surprising about them.

The only thing about Li Qiye’s group that drew any attention was Li Shuangyan and Chen Baojiao. As two peerless beauties, they were dazzling and eye-catching no matter where they went.

Li Shuangyan was like a proud plum blossom in the snow, causing people to stop and admire her from a distance. As for Chen Baojiao, she was a nation-toppling beauty that was simply mouth-watering, enough to make anyone fall head over heels for her!

The streets of Celestial Ancient City were bustling with traffic. Countless shops and taverns lined the roads, but there were even more street vendors and hawkers. The moment one entered the city, they would be drowned in an endless wave of shouts and calls.

"Celestial King Flower! One glance will stir your soul, a second will make you a Flying Immortal! Only trading for a True Artifact, a Saint Venerable True Artifact, and it must have a Great Sage’s Seal!" The shouts rose and fell along the street.

"A Sea-Moving Spaceship! A mobile fortress personally refined by an Ancient Saint! It has thirty-six layers of defense and eight layers of offense! Trading for a seven-transformation, seven-footed Life Pill!"

"Six-Wen Treasure Gold! Three wen to form a phrase, two wen for slaughter, and one wen to purify a saint! An extremely rare Treasure Gold! Only selling for Saint Emperor Level Essence Jades, but the price is negotiable."

In Celestial Ancient City, aside from the shops and auction houses run by Great Teaching Territories and Emperor Immortal Gates, many individual cultivators would also put their own items up for sale or trade.

As the saying goes, don’t flash your wealth. To dare sell good items out in the open here, one either had absolute strength, a powerful backer, or was a scammer!

Many vendors shouted to attract business, while some cultivators simply placed their wares on the roadside and sat there in meditation, not responding to inquiries and waiting only for a fated buyer.

Of course, Celestial Ancient City was a place with a mix of all sorts, and there were far too many scammers. However, most of them could only swindle inexperienced country bumpkins.

"A Saint Emperor’s Finger Bone! From the legendary invincible Saint Emperor, the eleven-fingered Heaven-Felling Saint Emperor! He was a Saint Emperor who once swept through the Great Middle Realm and challenged a Great Sage with the Power of the Saint Emperor! His eleventh finger was refined by the heavens and earth and remained in this world after his death! Come and see, a Saint Emperor’s Finger Bone, great price!" a vendor shouted.

Li Qiye’s group had been riding the snail, but since it was Nan Huairun and the others’ first time in the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, they dismounted and walked through the streets instead.

Li Qiye and Li Shuangyan were fine, but as for Nan Huairun and the other disciples, one glance was enough to tell they were first-timers. The sentiment "first time here" was practically written across their faces. Anyone could tell they were country bumpkins.

Thus, they had barely passed a single street corner when Nan Huairun and the others were eagerly pulled over to a vendor’s stall, who began to promote his treasures.

"My venerable lords, please look! A Saint Emperor’s Finger Bone! This humble one risked his life to obtain this from the Ancient Sky Corpse Land! This is the eleventh finger bone of the Heaven-Felling Saint Emperor, the Heaven and Earth Finger! It has absorbed the Saint Emperor’s lifetime of divine power. The might of this single piece of finger bone is no less than that of a Saint Emperor Treasure Artifact!" The vendor carefully took out a Treasure Box and opened it for Nan Huairun to see. The moment the box opened, a surge of imperial power rushed out, and the vendor immediately snapped it shut.

"A Saint Emperor’s Finger Bone!" The sudden burst of imperial power stunned Nan Huairun, Luo Fenghua, and the other young disciples.

"What’s the price?" Nan Huairun, ever the greedy one, couldn’t help but ask.

"Sirs, I can be reasonable. How about three hundred Saint Emperor Essence Jades?" In the vendor’s eyes, Nan Huairun, Luo Fenghua, Zhang Yu, and even the more composed Qu Daoli were all country bumpkins.

In truth, they couldn’t be blamed. After the decline of the Xiyan Ancient Sect, they truly hadn’t seen much of the world.

"Saint Emperor Essence Jades!" Needless to say, the faces of Nan Huairun and Luo Fenghua fell. They couldn’t possibly afford something like that.

"Sirs, how about this? I can see this Fairy has a limitless future and will surely become an Immortal Emperor one day. This humble one is just looking to form a good connection. I’ll sell it at a huge loss—just give me one thousand True Destiny Essence Jades!" The vendor, skilled at reading expressions, immediately changed his price.

For a moment, Nan Huairun and Qu Daoli just looked at each other, then they all couldn’t help but glance at Xu Pei. Zhang Yu and Luo Fenghua had only recently become official disciples and were relatively poor. Nan Huairun and Qu Daoli, on the other hand, had some savings.

"The eleventh finger? The Heaven and Earth Finger?" Li Qiye, who had been standing by and watching the show, walked over with a smile. "Speaking of the Heaven and Earth Finger, I’ve seen one before. It should be amber-colored, with a blood-iron bone spur at the tip. A single point can shatter the heavens, unstoppable in its sharpness. Let me see the quality of your Heaven and Earth Finger. If it’s good, it might even be worth the Saint Emperor Essence Jades."

The moment Li Qiye spoke, the vendor’s expression changed. Without another word, he rolled up his stall and turned to leave. As someone who had been making a living here for so long, how could his eyes not be sharp? He knew from Li Qiye’s first words that he had run into a true expert. Sticking around to continue the scam would just be asking for trouble.

The sudden change left Nan Huairun and the others dumbfounded. Nan Huairun still couldn’t help but gulp and say, "B-but... the finger bone in that box just now really did emit a burst of imperial power."

"You’ve been blinded by greed!" Li Qiye slapped the back of Nan Huairun’s head good-naturedly and chided, "How long has Celestial Ancient City existed? The oldest profession in this city is being a scammer! This trade has been passed down for countless ages here, and their tricks are endless. Don’t even talk about imperial power. If you give me enough time, I could even conjure a wisp of an Immortal Emperor’s might for you. He opened and closed the box in an instant. All you felt was a momentary sensation. Imperial power, my ass."

The slap from Li Qiye seemed to knock some sense into Nan Huairun. He scratched his head and said, "Th-that’s true, I guess."

"You’re just greedy, kid. You even fancy yourself an expert at reading people, yet you still fell for this? You might as well go jump off a building," Li Qiye said with a laugh.

Nan Huairun gave a dry laugh. In fact, Qu Daoli and the others also chuckled awkwardly in embarrassment. It wasn’t their fault. It was their first time in a place like Celestial Ancient City, their first time seeing the wider world. It was no surprise they were a bit clueless.

"A Life Palace! The unopened Life Palace of a complete Saint Venerable’s ancient corpse! Whether there are treasures or cultivation techniques inside all depends on your own luck!" Before they had even made it down the street, Nan Huairun and the others were pulled into a small building by another vendor.

Inside, there was a wooden coffin containing an ancient corpse. The corpse’s head was perfectly intact, and wisps of divine radiance emanated from within it, as if a treasure was hidden inside.

"Can a Life Palace survive? When a cultivator dies, their Life Palace collapses!" Qu Daoli couldn’t help but say, his expression moved by the sight.

The vendor quickly said, "It’s true that when a cultivator dies, their Life Palace collapses and their Life Wheel shatters. However, under special circumstances, sealed by laws, there is a chance for a deceased cultivator to leave behind their Life Palace and Life Wheel. There was even once an Immortal Emperor who left his Life Palace to his descendants! I dug this ancient corpse up from the Ancient Sky Corpse Land myself. From what I can tell, he was likely a Saint Venerable in life. His Life Palace has been perfectly preserved, and we haven’t opened it. Whether there’s anything good inside is anyone’s guess. That’s why we aren’t selling it for a high price. We’re just letting people take a gamble on this Life Palace. I wonder if any of you are interested in making a bid?"

Compared to the previous vendor, this one was not only a cultivator himself but also much more professional.

"What does Eldest Brother think?" Xu Pei asked Li Qiye in a low voice.

This time, Nan Huairun and the others had learned their lesson and all looked toward Li Qiye, who had just walked in.

Li Qiye nodded with a smile and said, "This Fellow Daoist is correct. Under certain conditions, even after a cultivator dies, there is a small chance their Life Palace and Life Wheel can be preserved. Such a situation is extremely rare. If a complete Life Palace is preserved, it will carry the cultivator’s lifetime of Dao might! If an Immortal Emperor really managed to leave behind his Main Destiny Palace, it would be terrifyingly powerful—not even an Immortal Emperor True Artifact could necessarily compare to it!"

"See? This Fellow Daoist is a man who knows his goods. A pleasure, a pleasure. I’m an honest businessman and would never deceive you. This is absolutely a Saint Venerable’s ancient corpse that I dug up from the Ancient Sky Corpse Land," the vendor said with a calm smile.

At this, Nan Huairun and the others were deeply moved. A Saint Venerable’s Life Palace! Even if there were no treasures inside, it was still an astonishing thing. They couldn’t help but look at each other, their hearts stirring.

"I’ll know if this ancient corpse was dug up from the Ancient Sky Corpse Land after I stab it with my sword," Li Qiye said with a leisurely smile. As he spoke, he drew the Six Paths Sword that Li Shuangyan had been holding.

When Li Qiye drew his sword, the vendor’s face fell. He immediately blocked Li Qiye and said hastily, "Fellow Daoist, Fellow Daoist, this is an ancient corpse—"

"If he continues to lie there, believe it or not, I’ll chop his head off and use it as a chamber pot." Li Qiye leveled the Six Paths Sword in his hand, which pulsed with black and white light.

The vendor’s expression changed drastically. He immediately bowed and said, "My apologies, my apologies! Fellow Daoist, you are a master, a true master! We’ll be on our way."

As soon as the vendor finished speaking, the ancient corpse lying there shot straight up to a standing position.

"AH—" Xu Pei let out a shriek of terror. The sudden "reanimation" scared Nan Huairun and the others so much that they stumbled back several steps.

By the time they finally came to their senses, the vendor and the "ancient corpse" had already fled. Only then did Nan Huairun and the others realize that it wasn’t an ancient corpse at all, but a living person!