Dominator Emperor

Li Qiye took a deep breath. He understood, of course, that this was not the original landscape. This place was supposed to be situated upon an Ancestral Vein, a location overflowing with life force. Now, the world before him had become a Land of Death. Without a doubt, this was the damage caused by the Domain God.

"To burn the heavens and boil the seas"—for a being at the Domain God’s level, this was no empty boast; it was a fact. If the Domain God were to truly go berserk, it would surely mean the destruction of the entire Celestial Dao Academy.

Li Qiye stepped onto this Red Land. The further he walked, the more scorching the air became. Deeper in, the damage to the earth grew more severe. When he reached a certain depth, the ground was completely shattered with no intact areas, as if the entire land had been torn apart by a rampaging, peerless force.

Finally, Li Qiye saw the Domain God! The Domain God, once one of the two great gods of the Human Emperor Realm, was as famous as the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s Snail God. The two were revered in the world as equals.

If you thought the Domain God was an invincible powerhouse who looked down upon the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands and controlled the Six Paths and Eight Desolations, you would be completely and utterly wrong!

The Domain God is a pine tree. Not a person, but a pine tree that has achieved the Dao. An incredibly ancient pine tree, said to have grown within the Void Gate before being brought out by an ancestor of the Celestial Dao Academy.

As for whether the Domain God truly came from the Void Gate, outsiders had no way of knowing. In fact, throughout the eons, most people in the world believed the Void Gate didn’t exist at all, that it was nothing more than a distorted rumor.

Li Qiye had seen the Domain God more than once. In fact, back when he was the Yin Ya, he had seen the Domain God several times. It could be said that in those days, the Domain God’s grace was unparalleled. Even when it maintained its true form as a pine tree, one glance at its dashing form would tell you this was an ancient pine that had attained the Dao.

But today, when Li Qiye saw the Domain God again, its appearance had changed completely. An ancient pine grew upon this Red Land, but it was withered. Its leaves had fallen, leaving it bare. Only a few sparse needles remained on its boughs, and even many of the branches were broken.

Li Qiye circled the Domain God, examining it carefully. His expression changed the moment he saw the wound. The fact that this pine tree was withered was not the main point. The main point was that half of its branches were scorched black, as if struck by lightning! It looked like it had suffered a great calamity from the heavens.

Of course, Li Qiye could tell with a single glance whether the damage was caused by a Celestial Tribulation. He carefully inspected the scorched-black parts of the tree. The lightning-strike-like wound had completely severed its life force. This was a fatal injury; even for an existence like the Domain God, such a wound would be difficult to heal.

Li Qiye examined the wound again and again. Finally, he pulled a black needle from the scorched injury. The needle was incredibly fine and pulsed with a black light, seemingly devouring time itself and inspiring fear in any who saw it. To call such a thing a black needle was less appropriate than calling it a black Mang.

"A Mang of Spacetime Chaos!" Seeing the black needle in his hand, Li Qiye’s expression changed again as he murmured the words.

Xiao Niqiu had also brought one such black needle back. The moment Li Qiye saw it, he knew what it implied!

"The World Tree... is it really going to appear?" Li Qiye murmured to himself, staring at the black Mang in his hand.

The matters related to this black Mang were a mystery to the people of the world, but Li Qiye knew. Moreover, this was connected to the Domain God’s origin!

After a long moment, Li Qiye put away the black Mang and called out gently to the pine tree, "Domain God, Domain God, can you feel anything? Do you feel a devouring sensation...?"

However, no matter how Li Qiye called, the Domain God did not react. It seemed as if it had already lost all life force, a dying ancient pine that had endured a Celestial Tribulation.

"Domain God—Domain God—" Li Qiye called out, but there was still no response whatsoever.

But Li Qiye didn’t give up. He continued to call out gently, for he knew the Domain God was still alive. It had merely suppressed itself and fallen into a deep slumber.

Just as Li Qiye was entering the deepest part of the Celestial Dao Academy, outside its five great academies, Immortal Light suddenly shot into the sky. Streaks of incomparably brilliant Immortal Light soared upward. As the surging light enveloped the entire Celestial Dao Academy, it illuminated the grounds, making it look like an Immortal Realm.

The surging Immortal Light hovered above the Celestial Dao Academy. Eventually, it slowly descended back into the academy grounds. Right in the area of the five great academies, the Immortal Light intertwined to form a portal. The portal was ancient, with Immortal Light flowing endlessly across its surface, reflecting ever-changing visions.

Through the portal, one could see all sorts of scenes. At one moment, it reflected a Divine Mountain so majestic it reached up to the Nine Heavens. At another, it showed a massive, bottomless valley, then a dilapidated Ancient Hall...

"The ancient portal has opened!" On this day, a shocking piece of news spread throughout the entire Celestial Dao Academy, and even further beyond!

When this news got out, it caused an uproar. Countless people grew excited, and many began to flock to the Celestial Dao Academy. So many people rushed over from all corners of the world, all for the sake of entering the ancient portal!

"GRIND—GRIND—GRIND—" Just as numerous Cultivators were flocking to the Celestial Dao Academy, a series of heavy, grinding sounds echoed. The Celestial Dao Academy had sealed its mountain gates, blocking everyone outside.

Before this, basically everyone had already withdrawn from the Celestial Dao Academy. Only the academy’s own students had remained behind, especially those from the Great World Academy and the Leisure World Academy.

It was understandable that all the Great Teaching Territories had withdrawn from the Celestial Dao Academy. The academy had laid a trap and wiped out the conspiratorial alliance in one fell swoop, a move that chilled many a Great Teaching Territory to the bone. The Celestial Dao Academy’s methods were too ruthless. Those who had been harboring ill intentions were especially terrified, so they had simply withdrawn from the academy to wait outside. This was to prevent the academy from suddenly getting vicious and "locking the door to beat the dogs." If that really happened, they would be completely helpless, their cries to the heavens and earth falling on deaf ears.

"What is the meaning of this, Celestial Dao Academy!" The academy’s sudden closure of its gates, refusing everyone entry, immediately drew the dissatisfaction of countless Cultivators.

"The ancient portal has opened." An elder from the Celestial Dao Academy appeared and announced to the crowd in a deep voice, "Those who enter the ancient portal seek fortuitous encounters. With the exception of disciples from the Great Teaching Territories on this academy’s blacklist, all other Cultivators—regardless of background, sect, or origin—may enter, as long as they are under three hundred years old."

"Why can only Cultivators under three hundred years old enter!" Upon hearing this announcement, many older-generation Cultivators immediately voiced their discontent!

The Celestial Dao Academy elder said, "Opportunities should be left to the young. If the older generation of experts were to enter, how could the younger generation, especially the juniors from the ranks of Loose Cultivators, possibly compete with their elders!"

"I agree! If all the older-generation experts go in, we won’t even get the scraps, let alone the meal." This decision by the Celestial Dao Academy immediately won the support of many younger-generation Cultivators.

Needless to say, the older-generation Cultivators were far stronger than the younger generation and possessed more resources. If the older generation were allowed to enter, the younger generation would be at a complete disadvantage.

"Your Celestial Dao Academy is going back on its word!" a dissatisfied Cultivator immediately protested. "You previously proclaimed that the ancient portal would be shared with everyone, but now you’re not keeping your promise!"

"You of the older generation can send your disciples in!" In response to the older Cultivators’ dissatisfaction, the Celestial Dao Academy elder calmly said, "This action by the academy is based on the principle of fairness!"

"I don’t see any problem with the academy’s decision. If a bunch of us old fogeys ran in there, wouldn’t that just be the strong bullying the weak and the old bullying the young?" Of course, many older-generation Cultivators from smaller sects and minor schools were in favor of the decision.

The Celestial Dao Academy’s decision was highly beneficial to the smaller sects, minor schools, and even Loose Cultivators. The older-generation Cultivators from the Great Teaching Territories were simply too powerful. When the time came, forget Saint Venerables—even some Old Undyings might show up. How could the small sects and Loose Cultivators possibly compete with those Great Teaching Territories for fortuitous encounters then?

But it was different for the younger generation. The gap in Dao Practice among them was not yet so vast. Even though there were exceptional geniuses, they were ultimately few in number. A decision like this from the Celestial Dao Academy greatly benefited the large number of young Cultivators with ordinary aptitude and talent.

The indirect beneficiaries were the small sects and Loose Cultivators. Naturally, a great many of them approved of and supported the Celestial Dao Academy’s decision.

Next, the Celestial Dao Academy elder announced a long list. Finally, he declared in a deep voice, "Disciples from the sects and territories on this list are forbidden from entering!"

The list was very long, involving a large number of Great Teaching Territories and Emperor Immortal Gates. Even existences like the Yao Guang Ancient Country and the Qingxuan Ancient Country were included.

"Why can’t we go in?!" an expert from a blacklisted sect immediately protested, shouting, "If you said the older generation couldn’t enter to leave the opportunity for the young, we would have accepted it. But now, why can’t even our younger generation enter?! How can your Celestial Dao Academy just go back on its word like this? Do you have any credibility left?"

"The Celestial Dao Academy’s credibility is for its friends, allies, and neutral Sect Territories, not for its enemies! For our enemies, the fact that our academy didn’t press its advantage and annihilate you is already the utmost benevolence. And you still want to enter our ancient portal? You’re dreaming!" The Celestial Dao Academy elder’s attitude was unyielding!

"Don’t you dare slander us, Celestial Dao Academy!" a dissatisfied expert from a Great Sect immediately shouted in protest.

Faced with this protest, the Celestial Dao Academy elder remained calm and unconcerned. He said, "Since your esteemed sect has such confidence in its own people and believes you did not attack our Celestial Dao Academy, then you are welcome to come to our academy at any time to identify the bodies. See if any of your disciples are among them!"

The elder’s words instantly caused the expression of that sect’s expert to change dramatically!

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