Emperor’s Domination

It seemed like a painting but was actually a magnificent world. It had a majestic aura and brimming with life force.

The races prospered with cultivation sects competing against each other - a true golden age. Billions of existences could have a bright future here; all things were possible.

"The nine worlds." Li Qiye murmured after seeing the all-too-familiar worlds. He remembered the cities, sects, and races there.

His mind shuddered as lost memories resurfaced like a tsunami. He quickly calmed his mind and became normal again.

He took another step forward to enter the painting. A grave tablet still on the high mound, a continent with nothing but ruins, a sect with eagles and cranes, the burial grounds here were still profound and impossible to grasp…

He traveled to many familiar places, even areas with unpleasant memories when he had to bury his followers. Another contained joyous laughter coming from the heart; all worries were thrown away.

There was no time in this painting. Everything kept on moving as normal but the temporal flow had stopped. One could stay here forever without affecting the external timeline.

Today, the memories of the past for him seemed so distant. This was his nine worlds yet not. Of course, the nine worlds were no longer around, replaced by Eight Desolaces.

This painting managed to preserve the nine worlds in such a perfect fashion. A powerful seal was in charge of this. It was also deliberate and meant for the fated ones. Or rather, perhaps it was meant for Li Qiye only.

He stopped in one vast realm with three ancestral veins together. It was naturally prosperous thanks to them.

"Stone Medicine World." He murmured, deciding to find the source of this world. The creator of this place wanted to show him something.

Everything was hidden extremely well. Another master might be able to reach this painting but wouldn't be able to find the source because they didn't understand the creator well enough.

"Geezer, what are you trying to show me? There has to be a reason right? You wouldn't do this for nothing." Li Qiye said.

He took a deep breath and eventually entered the deepest parts of the three ancestral veins. The place was still the same as before. Remember, this wasn't reality, only a remnant image.

He stood on a cliff to look at everything here. There was no sound, only peace. He tried to sense the changes in this place.

He has visited this place many times in the past. A lot of things happened here. However, this wasn't the time for remembrance, only to see what the geezer left for him.

"Activate!" His supreme eyes derived the mysteries and profundities in the next second.

"Rumble!" The entire courtyard and phenomena crumbled. A terrible power pulled everything downward.

Darkness took over; the light seemed to have been devoured. Li Qiye was in free fall for a long time. It seemed to be a bottomless abyss requiring a billion years of falling.

Li Qiye still managed to stay calm and waited patiently.

Who knows how long this went on for? "Boom!" Everything suddenly stopped along with Li Qiye's fall.

He floated in the air and saw an entrance with light. This light was quite dimmed. It seemed to be another realm there, looking blurry and ethereal.

His eyes shot out a beam of light to penetrate the entrance. Unfortunately, even his scanning ability couldn't see the situation in that world.

The recording image seemed incomplete. This made him try again numerous times in order to compile all the small details.

He didn't want to miss a single one since the answer was hidden in all of them. Finally, after countless sweeps, the dimension popped like a bubble.

He found himself standing on the same cliff. The courtyard was still around. Below the cliff was nothing but pitch-black.

He started thinking. "Looks like you do get me." Li Qiye said: "Leaving behind this original form for me to see, knowing that I'll return alive."

No answer came from the cliff this time, only a creepy silence.

Li Qiye knew that something had happened here and the geezer wanted to let him know.

"I'll get to the bottom of this, be sure of it. The villainous heaven didn't do this, not those fiends either. They don't have the ability!" He stayed quiet for a while before speaking again.

By this point, nothing should be able to elude him. Alas, this development was out of his expectation.

Back in Divine Black, he noticed something strange going on while learning the history of Eight Desolaces. Now, this certainly proved his prior speculation.

The old man purposely left this behind for Li Qiye because he knew that there were only two who could solve this mystery- the dark crow and the villainous heaven!

Li Qiye pondered again. It couldn't have been the villainous heaven. Not the fiends either; they didn't have the necessary condition. Moreover, this happened under the watch of the villainous heaven.

Who else could it be then if not them?

He had plenty of speculations after reading the historical texts. Alas, most of them were now eliminated after reaching this place.