Dominator Emperor

Chapter 166: Chapter 165: Ants Moving a Coffin (Part 1)

Everyone couldn’t help but look beneath the coffin. As Xu Pei had said, it was filled with a dense mass of ants. The insects were arranged in neat, orderly rows, like an army, holding the coffin aloft as they emerged from the canyon.

The sight of ants carrying a coffin was so bizarre that it wasn’t just the juniors like Nan Huairun who were spooked; even worldly men like Niu Fen and Shi Gandang felt their skin crawl.

Truthfully, nothing that happened in the Ancient Sky Corpse Land should have been surprising. After all, it was one of the most mysterious and sinister places in the world, and they had all seen plenty of strange things since entering.

However, the sight of the ants carrying the coffin still sent a chill through their hearts. It was simply too bizarre, too horrifying.

"Ancient Ant Moving Coffin—" Watching the ants carry the coffin, Li Qiye’s eyes narrowed, his expression turning grave as he murmured the words.

As the Yin Ya, he had existed for countless ages. He had traveled throughout the Nine Realms, visiting every Burial Ground, old domain, and mysterious Evil Land. Over millions upon millions of years, what strangeness had he not witnessed?

Ancient Ant Moving Coffin... he had seen it once before. He never expected to see it again in this life.

"Is there a corpse in the coffin? Or a Treasure Lord, or an Earth Immortal?" Chen Baojiao couldn’t help but ask with a shudder, watching the bizarre scene.

"Maybe it’s a treasure, not a corpse, a Treasure Lord, or an Earth Immortal!" Greed sparked within young Nan Huairun, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the coffin held by the ants.

"First Brother, why don’t we open it and have a look!" Luo Fenghua, who was one of the more impulsive juniors, couldn’t help but say after hearing Nan Huairun.

"Th-that’s not a good idea." Xu Pei stared at the coffin with her big, round eyes and said with a shiver, "This whole thing is too freaky. What if we encounter something ominous?"

Nan Huairun didn’t give up. He chuckled and said, "What’s there to be afraid of? With First Brother here, we kill gods and slay buddhas. What’s a mere ancient coffin to us?"

Of course, the older generation like Shi Gandang weren’t about to join the juniors in their ruckus.

At this moment, Li Qiye, who had been staring at the Ancient Ant Moving Coffin, looked away and slapped Nan Huairun on the back of the head. "If you want to die so badly, I’ll throw you over there myself!" he scolded. "Even if you were invincible, there are some things in the Burial Land Old Soil that are taboo!"

Scolded by Li Qiye, Nan Huairun chuckled sheepishly and ducked his head.

At this point, the ants were carrying the Ancient Coffin toward the deepest part of the Ancient Sky Corpse Land. Strangely enough, as the dense swarm of ants moved, the nearby Earth Corpses gave them a wide berth. Even the Earth Corpses hiding underground fled, staying far away from the ants’ path.

Seeing this, it wasn’t just the juniors; Niu Fen and the others also felt their skin crawl and couldn’t help but gasp.

"Even the Earth Corpses are giving it a wide berth. What in the world is inside that Ancient Coffin?" Li Shuangyan murmured. Her question was less for the group and more for Li Qiye.

Li Qiye stared at the ants carrying the Ancient Coffin into the depths of the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, saying nothing and making no move. Seeing his expression, Li Shuangyan knew this matter was extraordinarily serious.

They watched the Ancient Ant Moving Coffin disappear into the distance. Just as the Ancient Coffin was about to vanish from sight, the usually taciturn Tu Buyu asked in a low voice, "Should we follow and take a look?"

"No—" Li Qiye finally shook his head. "Some things are not for us to provoke. Even an invincible being would face certain death if they meddled with something taboo."

"Let’s go. Our business is done; we can’t stay here." In the end, Li Qiye struck the Corpse-Rousing Gong again and led everyone away.

Li Qiye’s group was among the earlier arrivals to Celestial Ancient City. After they entered the Ancient Sky Corpse Land, Celestial Ancient City became increasingly lively, with more and more Cultivators from Great Teaching Territories arriving.

The Great Teaching Territories and Holy Land Secret Sects from the Middle Grand Realm, in particular, had the advantage of proximity. Many of them dispatched powerful Cultivators to Celestial Ancient City.

Many older experts from these Great Teaching Territories also brought their sect’s younger generation to Celestial Ancient City to broaden their horizons. After all, any disciple with enough talent would, sooner or later in their life, have to face an existence like the Twelve Burial Lands.

Among the young geniuses arriving at Celestial Ancient City, a few particularly outstanding individuals drew the most attention. The Holy Heaven Sect’s Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist was one of them.

Thirty thousand years ago, the Holy Heaven Sect was merely a Great Sect that could barely be considered a First-tier Sect. However, thirty thousand years ago, the Sheng Tian Ancestor led a massive army, broke through the Xiyan Ancient Country, and shattered the Xiyan Ancient Sect, an Emperor Immortal Gate. This forced the Xiyan Ancient Sect into an irreversible decline from which it never recovered.

Because of this, the Holy Heaven Sect had been in the spotlight in the Middle Grand Realm for the past thirty thousand years. Especially during the Tough Dao Era, an existence like the Sheng Tian Ancestor was feared by all. Even the Old Undying from Emperor Immortal Gates were wary of him.

The Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist arrived in Celestial Ancient City accompanied by numerous experts from the Holy Heaven Sect. In addition, more than ten Princes from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country came in his retinue, surrounding him like stars around the moon. The Princes emanated overwhelming Royal Qi, riding Jiao Horses, seated in War Chariots, and commanding Flying Towers. The Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist was in their midst, like a Crown Prince escorted by his royal court.

Such pageantry left countless Cultivators in Celestial Ancient City deeply impressed. One must understand that during the Tough Dao Era, countless geniuses were stuck at the King and Marquis Realm. As long as they couldn’t overcome their Fate Calamity, they could never step into the True Realm.

Although the Tough Dao Era was over, it was still easier said than done for a Prince to overcome their Fate Calamity. In the current era, as long as the Old Undying who had sealed their vitality remained in seclusion, it was an age for True Masters to dominate and Princes to reign supreme.

For many sects in the current generation, obtaining a Prince was already difficult; obtaining a True Master was like finding a Divine Treasure! For the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist, a member of the younger generation, to command the support of so many Princes from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country was enough to demonstrate his status and make him a dazzling figure.

"The Treasure Sacred Upper Country is incredible, growing more prosperous by the day. As long as the Sheng Tian Ancestor is alive, the number of Princes pledging allegiance to them will only increase!" Seeing such pageantry, some experts from Great Ancient Sects couldn’t help but sigh in admiration, or even jealousy.

All the sects in the Middle Grand Realm had witnessed the rise of the Holy Heaven Sect. They had defeated the Xiyan Ancient Country, which had stood for millions of years, and plundered enough resources to make anyone green with envy. However, as long as the Sheng Tian Ancestor was alive, no one dared to move against the Holy Heaven Sect.

"The Treasure Sacred Upper Country is flourishing. I’m afraid they are destined for great things in this generation. The previous generation had an outstanding figure like the Baosheng Human Emperor, who was called one of the two heroes of the Middle Grand Realm. And today, the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist is a rare genius in the current Middle Grand Realm. With such worthy successors, how could the Holy Heaven Sect not rise?" An older expert from another sect sighed gloomily.

With an imposing aura, the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist entered Celestial Ancient City in a grand procession with the Princes and Holy Heaven Sect experts, attracting countless gasps of admiration and glares of jealousy.

"A peerless genius. Among the geniuses of this generation, I fear few can compare to the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist." Even a Saintess Princess from a Holy Land Sect sighed with admiration. Some female Cultivators were practically swooning.

"Hmph, a peerless genius?" A Demon King sneered. He clearly disliked the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist and said with a sinister chuckle, "He’s nothing but a stray dog!"

"Brother Ba Snake, what do you mean by that?" a friend of the Demon King asked curiously.

This Demon King glanced at the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist being fawned over, curled his lip in disdain, and said, "If the Celestial Emperor Qingxuan hadn’t saved his life back at Demon’s Back Ridge, he’d have been long dead."

"Brother Ba Snake, you went to Demon’s Back Ridge with the Old Turtle King of Feijiao Lake. Your gains must have been astounding. I heard a world-shaking disaster occurred on Demon’s Back Ridge back then, and many sects were completely wiped out. Could you tell us about it?" one of his friends asked with interest.

The annihilation of so many sects on Demon’s Back Ridge had caused a huge tremor throughout the Middle Grand Realm and stirred up great waves. However, the matter then quieted down without a trace, which many people found strange.

"Greed leads to ruin! Back then, everyone entered Demon’s Back Ridge for the legendary Treasure of the Gods, but it was found by Li Qiye and the others from the Xiyan Ancient Sect." At this mention, the Demon King couldn’t help but shudder.

"The Treasure of the Gods?" Hearing this, the Demon King’s friends’ eyes turned red with greed.

"The so-called Treasure of the Gods was nothing but a death warrant. At the time, the Holy Heaven Sect, the Qingxuan Ancient Country, and many other sects were green with envy. They tried to force Li Qiye of the Xiyan Ancient Sect to hand it over." Even after so long, a chill ran down the Demon King’s spine as he spoke. "That ’treasure’ was just a death warrant! Opening it released a Demon that slaughtered everyone trying to seize it. Heh, if the Celestial Emperor Qingxuan hadn’t used an Emperor’s Treasure to escape, saving that Sheng Tian brat’s life in the process, would he be acting so high and mighty today?"

Speaking of this, the Demon King was filled with lingering fear. If he hadn’t escaped quickly with the Old Turtle King and the others back then, he might have died on Demon’s Back Ridge.

"No wonder so many experts from all those sects were wiped out on the trip to Demon’s Back Ridge. And no wonder such a huge event was hushed up so quietly. So that’s what happened," an expert murmured after hearing the story.

As the saying goes, bad news travels fast. The story of what happened on Demon’s Back Ridge quickly spread throughout Celestial Ancient City.

When the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist, who had been basking in the limelight, heard this news, his expression immediately turned ugly. This gossip damaged his prestige; for him, the incident was a matter of great humiliation.