Dominator Emperor

Within a Jiang Country, for a disciple from a relatively ordinary background, this was an extraordinary accomplishment.

When Li Qiye arrived outside the Thousand Islands’ hall, he asked if Lu Baiqiu was in. A guard at the hall replied, "Master Lu has taken the hall’s experts out to sea to battle."

"Battle?" Li Qiye couldn’t help but frown. The Thousand Islands faced a vast sea. Although there were some Demon Races and Sea Demons overseas, they all lived deep within the vast sea and basically never launched wars against the mainland.

"The Snail Crab Clan has started a war recently." The hall’s guard recognized Li Qiye and said, "The Snail Crab Clan appeared in the sea region outside the Thousand Islands, plundering our Sea Fields. In the last two or three months, they’ve stolen a large quantity of our Sea Crystal Stones!"

The Thousand Islands hall owned numerous properties throughout the islands and this stretch of sea. Among them, the Sea Crystal Stones produced by the undersea Sea Fields were one of the hall’s major assets.

Sea Crystal Stones were a type of Essence Jade. Although they couldn’t completely replace Essence Jade, in Jingxi Country, they could be used as a substitute in many situations. The Ocean Spiritual Energy contained within the Sea Crystal Stones was also a branch of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi.

"Master Lu has led the hall’s experts to repel the Snail Crab Clan several times already, but they showed up again yesterday. Master Lu is preparing to wipe them all out in one go," this Soldier Guard said.

Just then, Lu Baiqiu returned, and she brought back many wounded. A number of experts from the Thousand Islands were being carried back.

"Master Lu?" Seeing that even Lu Baiqiu was injured, the Soldier Guard at the entrance was shocked and hurried forward to greet her.

"I’m fine. Get the wounded treated first." Lu Baiqiu was decisive, ordering the numerous Soldier Guards to help the injured into the hall for treatment. Li Qiye glanced at the wounded and followed them inside.

As soon as Lu Baiqiu returned, she immediately redeployed defenses and dispatched disciples to treat the wounded. She acted with crisp efficiency and resolute decisiveness, possessing the air of a great general.

Only after Lu Baiqiu had handled all matters did she notice Li Qiye sitting quietly in the main hall. She spoke, "Brother Li, what brings you here?"

"Nothing much." Li Qiye smiled. "I was planning a trip out to sea and came to bid Master Lu farewell."

"Out to sea?" Lu Baiqiu couldn’t help but frown. Among the girls Li Qiye knew, she wasn’t the most beautiful—one could only say she was above average. However, with her short hair, she had a valiant and heroic air, giving off a refreshing feeling that was quite eye-catching.

Lu Baiqiu shook her head gently. "Brother Li, I’m afraid the seas are not peaceful right now. The Snail Crab Clan has been causing frequent disturbances, even appearing in our Thousand Islands’ sea region to plunder. Why don’t you wait until the storm has passed? It won’t be too late to leave then."

In truth, Li Qiye and Lu Baiqiu didn’t have much of a relationship. However, as they were both of the Human Race, Lu Baiqiu still looked out for him a bit.

"The Snail Crab Clan?" Li Qiye said. "From what I know, the Snail Crab Clan isn’t a warlike race among the Sea Demons. They’re also highly territorial. They are generally unwilling to leave their own Ancestral Land, let alone come ashore to plunder from others."

"That’s the strange part." Lu Baiqiu gave a wry smile and shook her head. "This time was even stranger. We had planned to ambush them at Watch Horn, but for some reason, they suddenly appeared behind us. They ambushed us instead."

"The area within Watch Horn is our Thousand Islands’ territory, and we have defenses laid out in this sea region. If the Snail Crab Clan had used a Daoist Door to teleport their Warriors, we would have discovered them immediately. But this time, it was completely silent. They just suddenly appeared behind us and ambushed us!" Lu Baiqiu said with a wry laugh. "I’m afraid I’ll have to report this to the Capital. This matter is quite suspicious."

"Watch Horn?" Li Qiye couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. Then he smiled and asked, "And where is the Snail Crab Clan now?"

"We were ambushed. They plundered the Sea Crystal Stones from the Sea Field and then retreated," Lu Baiqiu said. "If Brother Li has no other business, I will take my leave for now."

Li Qiye said with a smile, "I happen to have a way to help you repel the Snail Crab Clan. As for why they suddenly appeared inside Watch Horn, you’ll understand in due time."

"Brother Li has a way?" Lu Baiqiu couldn’t help but glance at Li Qiye. In her impression, Li Qiye was exceedingly ordinary. It wasn’t that she looked down on him, but in her eyes, he was likely a common disciple from some sect. A disciple like that, out gathering herbs, would generally have limited Dao Practice.

For Li Qiye to suddenly claim he had a way to defeat the Snail Crab Clan made Lu Baiqiu hesitate.

"The Snail Crab Clan was able to appear within Watch Horn for a very simple reason. There is an ancient path inside your Watch Horn," Li Qiye said with a smile.

"An ancient path? What ancient path?" Lu Baiqiu was stunned.

Li Qiye smiled and said, "A hundred zhang below the seabed, on the left flank of your Watch Horn, there is a trench overgrown with seaweed. If you pull the seaweed aside, you will find an ancient path. Although the path is only a hundred zhang long, it leads to a place a thousand li overseas. If I’m not mistaken, they must have entered from there. It won’t be difficult for you to defeat them; just lay an ambush in the trench."

"A hundred-zhang path that leads a thousand li overseas?" Hearing Li Qiye’s words, Lu Baiqiu was half-in-doubt, half-believing. She knew nothing of such a thing, and this sea region was supposed to be the territory of their Thousand Islands.

"You’ll know once you go take a look." Seeing Lu Baiqiu’s disbelief, Li Qiye just smiled and said.

Lu Baiqiu looked at Li Qiye and couldn’t help but ask, "And how does Brother Li know about this ancient path?"

"That’s a secret," Li Qiye said with a grin. "If you don’t believe me, you can take some people to see for yourself." ’How could he not know about such an ancient path? He was the one who had carved them back then. In those days, he wanted to enter the depths to find another island, so he had opened up quite a few ancient paths in this sea region.’

’Later, because he never found it, many of the ancient paths were destroyed, while others were simply abandoned and left behind.’

Lu Baiqiu still looked at Li Qiye with suspicion. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, but the matter was just too sudden. Anyone else would have long since suspected Li Qiye of being a spy sent by the enemy.

"Fine, I’ll stay in your hall for a few days. You can tell me when you’ve had some results." How could Li Qiye not see what Lu Baiqiu was thinking? He laughed and said.

"Since Brother Li puts it that way, we will give it a try," Lu Baiqiu nodded. "We would be more than happy to have Brother Li as a guest in our hall." After speaking, she immediately arranged for Li Qiye’s accommodations.

Lu Baiqiu did not make things difficult for Li Qiye. She had him stay at the hall, treating him with the courtesy due to an honored guest.

Li Qiye, for his part, didn’t mind at all. He settled into the hall leisurely, perfectly at ease, and was in no hurry to go out to sea for the time being.

「Three days later.」

Lu Baiqiu returned in high spirits. The moment she saw Li Qiye, a smile bloomed on her face. "Brother Li, your insight is truly divine, predicting events with such accuracy! The Snail Crab Clan really did come through that ancient path. We ambushed them in the trench and wiped them out in one fell swoop. In this battle, the Snail Crab Clan’s defeat was like a landslide. I fear it will be difficult for them to recover their Primordial Qi anytime soon, and they won’t dare to come back to plunder again."

This was all within Li Qiye’s expectations. He simply smiled and said, "Congratulations, Master Lu. With this battle, you have certainly rendered great service to Jingxi Country. Perhaps you will even be promoted to Guardian. With your prospects, you might even be able to take charge of Jingxi Country in the future."

"Brother Li overpraises me." Lu Baiqiu smiled, looking refreshingly charming. She chuckled and shook her head. "Our Jingxi Country is full of talented people. It is not yet my turn to take charge of the Jiang Country."

The great power of Jingxi Country was not passed from father to son; rather, the capable were the ones to rule. The throne of Jingxi Country had always been passed to the disciple with the greatest merits and the highest Dao Practice.

"Since Master Lu has repelled the enemy, it’s time for me to take my leave," Li Qiye said to Lu Baiqiu with a smile.

Li Qiye had been willing to lend Lu Baiqiu a hand simply to repay the care she had shown him these past few days.

"Brother Li is going overseas..." Lu Baiqiu hesitated for a moment, then said, "We made a small discovery overseas during this battle. Brother Li is a man of great knowledge; would you be willing to take a look? Perhaps you could clear up our confusion."

"A small discovery?" Li Qiye said, rather surprised.

Lu Baiqiu quickly explained, "We captured some of the Snail Crab Clan’s experts alive. From them, we learned that they had discovered some ancient ruins overseas. They were plundering Sea Crystal Stones for the sake of these ruins. I went to take a look, but I couldn’t understand the Profound Secret within."

"Ancient ruins?" Li Qiye couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. He stroked his chin and said with a grin, "If that’s the case, then what’s the harm in taking a look?"

Hearing Li Qiye’s words, Lu Baiqiu’s spirits were instantly lifted. She immediately handed over the hall’s affairs and then set out to sea with Li Qiye.

Lu Baiqiu piloted a flying ship across the Void, heading out to sea. In fact, the ancient ruins discovered by the Snail Crab Clan were not far from the Thousand Islands’ sea region, only a thousand li away.

Traveling by flying ship, it didn’t take them long to arrive.

The ruins discovered by the Snail Crab Clan were located at the bottom of the sea. Within a deep-sea trench, there was a structure that resembled an Ancient Temple.

It was unknown how many ages this Ancient Temple had been at the bottom of the sea, yet it remained Immortal.

It had once been submerged beneath countless fronds of seaweed, but the seaweed enveloping the Ancient Temple had now been cleared away.

"This place—" Upon seeing the Ancient Temple, Li Qiye couldn’t help but rub his chin. He had been to this place before, a very long time ago.