Emperor’s Domination

"Rumble!" The Dragon Palace crushed space as it soared through the sky without a clear path. It continuously changed direction akin to a hawk searching for prey.

It attracted everyone's attention, many of whom decided to follow. This was the eighth grave potentially containing a divine dragon sword.

For the crowd, even if they couldn't get the legendary sword, just getting another sword in there was more than good enough for their future.

"Boom!" An ancestor made his move and released a torrent of dao laws. He shouted and summoned a pagoda to smash the palace.

His move was domineering and impressive, enough to stun the spectators.

"Bam!" The expected result didn't happen. The ancestor's intent was obvious - smashing the palace down to the ground. Fiery sparks splashed everywhere like numerous volcanic eruptions. Alas, the power of this strike couldn't shake the palace even a tiny bit.

It was unharmed and continued flying forward. This was akin to a mayfly trying to shake down a great tree.

"Go!" Another leaped up with lightning speed, clearly wanting to board the palace.

The moment he got close, the flames of the palace gathered into a palm and smashed him. He was sent flying into the ground while vomiting blood.

"You're not going anywhere!" A great king roared and raised his hands to pull down the stars above. They turned into a trapping formation and surrounded the palace.

This was far from enough, unable to hinder the palace at all. It destroyed the celestial net just like a bull rampaging through spiderwebs.

Eventually, numerous ancestors made their move, either wanting to stop or board the palace. This proved to be futile.

"It's useless, we have to wait for it to land before being able to come inside. Doing this forcefully is just a waste of time." An old ancestor shook her head and told those nearby.

"You're right." An ancient ancestor agreed.

Thus, people stopped attacking the palace and waited for it to land instead.

"I didn't expect to see the eighth-ranked grave this trip." The princess watched the palace disappearing into the horizon.

This grave was quite elusive and didn't show up every time. The princess found this trip more and more worth it.

Li Qiye only smiled and didn't bother to give chase.

***

There were thousands and thousands of graves in this area. However, not all of them were that obvious, not even for top cultivators.

Though the peerless eighth grave has appeared, it was reserved for the top powers. Ordinary cultivators focused on obtainable graves instead.

Of course, finding a grave often resulted in death rather than a divine sword. This was a common sight along the duo's trip.

In reality, both weak and strong cultivators were killed alike by the divine swords. The cemetery was rather fair in this regard.

Li Qiye crossed a particular peak and saw billowing red smokes. A radiant banner was summoned and exuded violet rays. Its relentless power could split the mortal coil apart.

"An artifact banner from Dao Institution!" A spectator shouted after seeing the banner attacking a green hill surrounded by red smoke.

"Activate!" Several elders controlled this banner, hoping to open a straight path towards the hill.

Their combined effort in empowering the banner resulted in an attack capable of splitting the ocean into two halves.

"Woosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Rays of red smoke pierced their chest, prompting them to scream and fall to the ground.

"Elder Wu!" Snowcloud Princess watched her sect members die and wanted to go save them. However, Li Qiye stopped her.

"What's the point? You'll die even if you have a heavenly sword." Li Qiye said.

She stopped and composed herself. She wasn't the reckless and emotional type, realizing that she alone couldn't save those elders by dispelling the red smoke.

"That's scary…" One spectator said: "So many elders failed to open the path, they didn't even have time to defend themselves."

"Well, this is not a regular grave. It is the fifth, Red Smoke Hill. Only a dao lord can stop the smoke here." An older cultivator had a serious expression.

"Wait, this is the place where Jade Bamboo Dao Lord left a branch? The fifth grave." A youth became surprised.

"This is it." A senior confirmed.

Previously, Jade Bamboo Dao Lord came to pick up the corpse of Wooden Sword Holy Devil. The dao lord then left a branch in this place in order to help the future generation out.

"I heard that because of this, a youth entered the hill and obtained a sword, is it true?" The youth asked again.

"Yes, I'm sure you know this youth's current title, War God." An ancestor said.

"One of the Five Overlords!" The youth blurted out in astonishment.

Most knew about the five members, just not their past.

"Where is the branch?" Someone looked around and didn't notice a branch.

"It's gone long ago." An expert said: "This is Sword Burial Zone we're talking about. It was impressive how long it lasted, three thousand whole years."