Dominator Emperor

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Demon’s Back Ridge (Part 1)

In the eyes of many Great Ancient Sects and Sacred Gate Territories, Demon’s Back Ridge was a land of treasures. It was rich in Divine Gold and produced Spiritual Elixirs and Herbs, Celestial Beasts roamed, and Longevity Spirits gathered in droves.

Although Demon’s Back Ridge fell far short of the legendary Burial Land Old Soil, it was still a rare treasure trove. The place was simply too bountiful.

As for the specific origin of Demon’s Back Ridge, no one could say for certain. Some said it was naturally born from this very land. Others claimed it came from beyond the heavens. Still others believed Demon’s Back Ridge was a possession of the gods...

Thirty thousand years ago, Demon’s Back Ridge belonged to the Xiyan Ancient Sect. In fact, for as long as anyone could remember, it had always belonged to the Xiyan Ancient Sect. That is, until thirty thousand years ago, when the Xiyan Ancient Sect suffered a crushing defeat in a war against the Holy Heaven Sect. Although the Xiyan Ancient Sect ultimately managed to defend its core territory, it lost Demon’s Back Ridge in the end.

In those days, Demon’s Back Ridge was effectively the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s private hunting ground. No one dared to touch it. Even though the ridge was rich in Divine Gold and Treasure Iron that made others covet it immensely, no one dared to have designs on the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s property.

This continued until thirty thousand years ago, when the Xiyan Ancient Sect was defeated and forced to retreat to its core territory, leaving Demon’s Back Ridge without an owner. Although the Holy Heaven Sect had defeated the Xiyan Ancient Sect, the Great Teaching Territories of the Great Middle Realm—and indeed, of all realms—were eyeing Demon’s Back Ridge like hungry tigers. Because of this, the Holy Heaven Sect ultimately didn’t dare to monopolize the ridge and declared it would be shared with the world.

Demon’s Back Ridge opened once every hundred years. Recently, great figures from the Great Teaching Territories calculated that its next opening would be, at the latest, within the year, and at the earliest, within three months.

So, in a short span of time, the more experienced Great Teaching Territories all began sending their disciples to Demon’s Back Ridge to see if they might have a great enough fortune to obtain the legendary treasures.

As the host, the Treasure Sacred Upper Country had long since dispatched its own disciples to guard the entrance to Demon’s Back Ridge. Besides welcoming disciples from the Great Teaching Territories from all corners of the Central Realm, they were also responsible for verifying which sects or cultivators were qualified to enter.

Although Demon’s Back Ridge was said to be shared with the world, in reality, the only factions that could obtain the qualifications to enter were, without exception, the Great Teaching Territories or renowned regional powerhouses. As for the other minor sects and factions, or ordinary cultivators, they couldn’t even dream of being qualified to enter.

In truth, Demon’s Back Ridge was not far from the Xiyan Ancient Sect—a journey of a little over a hundred thousand miles at most. If the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s former Ancestral Land and Sect Territory could be described as conch-shaped, then the current Xiyan Ancient Sect was situated at the tail of the conch, while Demon’s Back Ridge was at its mouth. To get to Demon’s Back Ridge, the Xiyan Ancient Sect had to pass through its own former territory.

After calculating the dates, Li Qiye saw that the opening of Demon’s Back Ridge was fast approaching. He decided to set out early, intending to get to the ridge and wait for it to open.

The selected disciples were all packed and ready to go. At that moment, Niu Fen transformed into a gigantic snail. Because so many disciples from the Xiyan Ancient Sect were going on this trip, Niu Fen’s body became even larger, resembling a mountain.

Seeing such a colossal snail left the disciples of the Xiyan Ancient Sect completely dumbfounded. In all their lives, it was the first time they had ever seen a snail so huge.

"Depart." With a single command from Li Qiye, Niu Fen began to move toward Demon’s Back Ridge, carrying the disciples of the Xiyan Ancient Sect on his back. Riding on the giant snail’s back, the disciples were filled with both excitement and a sense of novelty.

For this trip to Demon’s Back Ridge, Li Qiye brought nearly a thousand disciples. In addition to the three hundred disciples from Washing Stone Valley, Qu Daoli and Guardian Mo each led a contingent. Besides having Tu Buyu in tow, Great Elder Gu Tieshou also came along, while the other four elders remained behind to guard the Sect Territory.

As Li Qiye’s Sword Attendant, Li Shuangyan also accompanied him. She was one of his primary heavy hitters, so of course he would bring her along.

As for Nan Huairun, who had always been Li Qiye’s errand boy, he was naturally coming along as well. Nan Huairun was fiercely loyal, and Li Qiye wouldn’t forget him when it was time to hand out rewards.

In fact, long before the disciples of the Xiyan Ancient Sect departed—as early as half a month ago—people were already stationed at the entrance to Demon’s Back Ridge.

The entrance to Demon’s Back Ridge was located over a hundred thousand miles from the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s Sect Territory. A great ridge lay across the land here, like a giant dragon slumbering on the earth. The entire mountain range lay sprawled out, as if separating heaven from earth.

The entrance to Demon’s Back Ridge was before a cliff on this great ridge. The crest of this cliff was several million miles wide. Standing atop such a massive precipice and gazing out in all directions, one felt as if the entire world was minuscule.

The cliff at the entrance to Demon’s Back Ridge could be called the highest peak in the area and was incredibly majestic. Of course, this was only the entrance; the true Demon’s Back Ridge was unimaginably vast.

The first to establish a presence at the entrance to Demon’s Back Ridge was a team dispatched by the Treasure Sacred Upper Country. This advance party was stationed there not only to act as hosts and welcome disciples from the Great Teaching Territories but also to take responsibility for verifying the qualifications of the sects and cultivators wishing to enter Demon’s Back Ridge.

This advance party from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country was personally led by Marquis Zhenwei. This Marquis Zhenwei was an older-generation Prince from the same era as Purple Mountain Marquis. It is worth mentioning that Marquis Zhenwei’s family had a good relationship with the Dong Family, and the Marquis himself was also on very good personal terms with Dong Shenglong!

By the time the Treasure Sacred Upper Country’s team was stationed at the entrance, many cultivators had already arrived after hearing the news. In particular, the Loose Cultivators and Junior Cultivators from the vicinity had come early to this part of Demon’s Back Ridge to watch from a distance.

These Loose Cultivators and Junior Cultivators definitely didn’t have the qualifications to enter Demon’s Back Ridge. However, they were hoping to fish in troubled waters and see if they could sneak in during the chaos. Even if they couldn’t get in, just having the chance to watch the great figures from the Great Teaching Territories from afar would be good enough. If they could catch a glimpse of the magnificent presence of a True Master or an Ancient Saint, then the trip wouldn’t be a waste.

After the Treasure Sacred Upper Country’s team was stationed at the entrance, these Loose Cultivators sensibly kept their distance, watching from afar. They weren’t foolish enough to make an enemy of a behemoth like the Treasure Sacred Upper Country.

"The Mixed Element Marquis is here—" Not long after Marquis Zhenwei took up his post, a Prince was seen approaching on a Jiao Horse. This Prince was only accompanied by a handful of people, but even so, his Primordial Blood Qi surged powerfully, causing the expressions of many Junior Cultivators to change in alarm.

"The Mixed Element Marquis is incredible! He’s been a marquis for less than fifty years, yet he’s already received special permission from His Majesty the Human Emperor to enter Demon’s Back Ridge." Seeing the Mixed Element Marquis approach from a distance, many Junior Cultivators spoke with envy.

When the Mixed Element Marquis arrived, Marquis Zhenwei, who was acting as host, merely offered a distant fist-cup salute and no further reception. The Mixed Element Marquis didn’t dare to be arrogant in front of Marquis Zhenwei and went to settle in on his own.

Following that, several other Princes from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country who had obtained qualifications also arrived one by one. However, most of these Princes could only enter by themselves!

"The Purple Mist Temple is here—" As the days passed, disciples from other Great Teaching Territories outside of the Treasure Sacred Upper Country began to arrive.

A rainbow was seen stretching from the horizon, spanning across the cliff. Once the disciples from the Purple Mist Temple arrived, Marquis Zhenwei ordered his own disciples to welcome them.

The arriving disciples from the Purple Mist Temple were all extraordinary. Each had Blood Qi as vibrant as a rainbow. A discerning eye could tell at a glance that most of these disciples had stepped into the Heavenly Essence Realm!

For disciples of the younger generation, being able to step into the Heavenly Essence Realm was already a remarkable achievement. This was especially true given that just ten years ago, it was still the Tough Dao Era, a time when the Celestial Mandate had collapsed, the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi was depleted, and cultivation was incredibly difficult!

"Feijiao Lake is here too! Incredible, this time they’re being personally led by their Young Master. I heard Young Master Feijiao is a giant python who became a demon through cultivation. He might have a chance to become a Demon Emperor in the future!" someone said, visibly moved.

As Feijiao Lake arrived, a dragon’s cry echoed. A giant Jiao-dragon spanned the sky, carrying over a hundred disciples on its back, each one appearing remarkably talented. However, most of Feijiao Lake’s disciples were members of the Demon Race who had attained the Dao, so their appearances varied greatly. There were disciples with the heads of eagles and the bodies of men, disciples with ox horns, and even disciples with wings sprouting from their backs and the heads of humans on the bodies of birds...

As more and more disciples from the Great Teaching Territories outside the Treasure Sacred Upper Country arrived, the cliff became exceedingly lively. It could be said that no sect or cultivator in the entire Great Middle Realm who was qualified to enter Demon’s Back Ridge would miss this once-in-a-century opportunity.

"Why haven’t we seen any Ancient Saints arrive?" As one Great Teaching Territory after another arrived, some of the less experienced cultivators, not understanding the reason, asked with curiosity.

"There’s something you don’t know," an Elder Cultivator explained. "Legend has it that Demon’s Back Ridge was once the hunting ground for the disciples of the Xiyan Ancient Sect. It was used to train and reward the younger generation of disciples. Therefore, only cultivators below the Ancient Saint Realm can enter. Otherwise, anyone who tries to force their way in will be suppressed by an invincible Immortal Power!"

An even older cultivator gently shook his head and said, "Ancient Saints don’t appear so easily these days. The Tough Dao Era tormented everyone for a full thirty thousand years. Most of the great figures at or above the True Master level achieved their status before that. During those thirty thousand years, whether they were Ancient Saints or Saint Emperors, most found their Dao Practice stagnating. The number of new Ancient Saints to emerge in that time can be counted on one hand. Therefore, of the Ancient Saints from thirty thousand years ago, most have either run out of their Lifespan and passed on, or they have sealed their blood and suspended their lives, hiding away and unwilling to emerge."

Legend has it that thirty thousand years ago, the Black Dragon King suddenly went berserk and fought a great war against the Ta Kong Immortal Emperor, seeking to seize the Celestial Mandate the emperor shouldered. The battle was so cataclysmic it was said that gods wept and ghosts howled. In the end, legend says, the Celestial Mandate was torn asunder. From that moment on, the very fabric of heaven and earth was transformed, and the world’s Essence Qi was depleted. This began the most difficult thirty thousand years for all cultivators.

During these agonizing thirty thousand years, many great figures who had already achieved the rank of True Master or Ancient Saint found their path of cultivation blocked, their Dao Practice at a complete standstill due to the depletion of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi.

Such a Tough Dao Era forced countless True Masters and Ancient Saints to simply die of old age. Those Ancient Saints, and even Saint Emperors, who managed to escape this cruel fate all did so by sealing their blood to suspend their lifespans, hiding themselves away and not daring to appear in the world.