Dominator Emperor

Peng Zhuang hadn’t even finished speaking when Qiu Rong Wanxue, who was sitting in front, turned around. Peng Zhuang immediately clamped his mouth shut, not daring to say another word.

Only Li Qiye smiled, meeting Qiu Rong Wanxue’s gaze. She stared at him for a moment but ultimately said nothing.

The Ferry Boat slowly sailed into the Night Sea. Having been here before, Qiu Rong Wanxue was unfazed. However, Peng Zhuang and the other juniors couldn’t help but feel their skin crawl.

There wasn’t anything particularly terrifying about the Night Sea itself. In fact, one could see far across its surface. And yet, for some unknown reason, once their Ferry Boat entered its waters, everyone felt as if they had been plunged into darkness, completely lost. The inky-black water seemed capable of devouring all things, a truly hair-raising sight.

And this was indeed the case. The Night Sea had always been an incredibly perilous place. Anyone, be they a Saint Emperor or a Great Sage, would meet a gruesome end if they dared to enter its waters without a Ferry Boat. The sea was like a primeval Fierce Beast, devouring all who entered and leaving no trace behind, not even bones. Even a Great Sage at the level of a Founding God could not escape this fate.

A legend claimed that only an Immortal Emperor could brave the Night Sea by force. However, this legend was never verified, and no one knew if it was true.

Now on the Ferry Boat and entering the Night Sea, Peng Zhuang felt his skin crawl. It was as if they had sailed directly into the gaping maw of a primeval Fierce Beast. At this moment, even without a command from Qiu Rong Wanxue, he and the other five juniors wouldn’t dare take a single step off the boat. To leave the Ferry Boat was to court death.

Li Qiye gazed upon the Night Sea, which resembled a dark world unto itself. He couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh and murmur, "The Night Sea..."

Li Qiye knew that the Night Sea, much like Fengdu City, concealed far too many secrets—secrets of monumental importance.

Once the Ferry Boat sailed into the Night Sea, the Ferryman handed everyone a net. The fishing nets were peculiar; no one could tell what they were made of. They seemed to be woven from flowing light and felt completely weightless in one’s hands.

These were special nets for catching Night Sun Fish, and only the ones provided by the Ferryman could do the job. Curiously, however, the Ferryman himself never fished for them. No one knew why.

Li Qiye and his group sat on the Ferry Boat, fishing in the Night Sea. However, after two full days, they hadn’t caught a single Night Sun Fish. Qiu Rong Wanxue changed their course time and again, constantly searching for new fishing spots, but their efforts yielded nothing. They still hadn’t caught a single one.

"Not a single Night Sun Fish! Don’t tell me all the fish in this sea have been caught already." After three days with no results, the Pengzhuang Sixth Minors were all feeling disheartened. The impatient Peng Zhuang was so frustrated he felt like jumping into the sea.

Unlike the six juniors, Qiu Rong Wanxue was far more patient. She shook her head and said, "When has catching Night Sun Fish ever been easy? They’re the common currency in Fengdu City. If anyone could catch them easily, you’d be able to trade for anything you want there. Many people fish for months before getting any. Without that kind of patience, it’s difficult to achieve anything in Fengdu City!"

Qiu Rong Wanxue also saw this as an opportunity to temper Peng Zhuang and the others, so she wasn’t in a rush. She remained perfectly calm, even without catching a single Night Sun Fish.

Another three days passed without any luck. However, Li Qiye’s group wasn’t the only one coming up empty-handed. In fact, over the past few days, they had encountered many other young people from all corners of the world, all riding Ferry Boats out to sea to catch Night Sun Fish.

Occasionally, Qiu Rong Wanxue’s group would run into young cultivators from familiar sects or clans of the Ghost Race. After exchanging greetings and chatting for a bit, they learned that some people had been here for a month and had only managed to catch three or five Night Sun Fish.

Hearing that others had caught so little made the restless Peng Zhuang and the other five juniors feel a bit better. If those people had only caught three or five Night Sun Fish after a whole month, it wasn’t so strange that they hadn’t caught any after just a few days.

On the eighth day, Li Qiye’s group encountered a powerful sect. They had chartered an enormous Ferry Boat, which was filled with young cultivators. Each one of them radiated with soaring Blood Qi, but it was the Divine Flames wreathing their bodies that truly made others hesitate to approach. This group of youths was like a host of children from the Divine Race, their presence overwhelming.

The young man seated at the bow was particularly remarkable. The Divine Flames dancing around his body coalesced into a series of Divine Rings behind him, as if he were under the protection of all the gods. He looked just like a Divine Son!

"The Divine Burning Country is here too? And Prince Shen Ran came in person." Seeing the young men on the boat, Qiu Rong Wanxue’s expression changed. Spotting their Ferry Boat from a distance, she immediately had the Ferryman steer clear.

"Why are we avoiding them?" It wasn’t Li Qiye’s style to shy away from people. He asked with a smile.

This prompted Peng Zhuang, sitting beside Li Qiye, to look at him curiously. "Brother Li, you’re from the Qianli River. Can it be you’ve never heard of the Divine Burning Country?"

"And what about the Divine Burning Country?" Li Qiye asked with a casual smile.

Peng Zhuang slapped his forehead. "Brother Li, are you for real? The Divine Burning Country is one of the most powerful lineages in your Nanyao Yun! Even if they aren’t an Emperor Immortal Gate, I’ve heard they’re a first-rate Great Sect, only a smidgen weaker than the real deal."

"That’s right. Rumor has it that the Divine Burning Country belongs to the Divine Race. They claim to be True God Descendants," another disciple added.

"Is that so," Li Qiye said without any change in expression, just offering a slight smile. ’In truth, he didn’t even care about Emperor Immortal Gates, let alone a Great Sect like the Divine Burning Country. Whether he paid them any mind made no difference to him.’

"There’s more," said the only female disciple among the six juniors. "Legend says the princess of the Divine Burning Country—the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady, one of the most famous beauties in your Nanyao Yun—is betrothed to the Emperor!"

"And who is this Emperor?" Li Qiye asked, looking at them with a smile. He wasn’t asking just to be difficult; he genuinely had no idea who the Emperor was.

The Pengzhuang Sixth Minors looked as if they were about to faint, staring at Li Qiye like he was some kind of monster. Peng Zhuang slapped his forehead and said in an agonized voice, "Brother Li, you can’t be serious! You don’t even know who the Emperor is? He’s one of the famous Three Heroes of our Ghost Sacred Realm!"

"Three Heroes? What Three Heroes?" Li Qiye wasn’t pretending; he truly didn’t know who the Three Heroes were.

"Chan Yang, the Emperor, and Tian Lunhui are the three most powerful geniuses in our Ghost Sacred Realm. Legend says that in this generation, they are the ones with the greatest chance of shouldering the Celestial Mandate. Plus, the Emperor’s background is the most terrifying of all—he’s the sole heir to the Ten Thousand Bones Throne!" Peng Zhuang explained hurriedly.

"Oh, the Ten Thousand Bones Throne. I have heard of that one. Isn’t that the lineage that produced three emperors?" Li Qiye said with an understanding smile.

"Isn’t that the lineage that produced three emperors?" Those words nearly made the Pengzhuang Sixth Minors faint. They all thought Li Qiye was impossibly dense. Peng Zhuang couldn’t stop himself from raising his voice. "Brother, that’s a lineage with *three emperors*! Do you have any idea how powerful the Emperor is? Legend says even the older generation’s Saint Venerables treat him with immense respect!"

"Is that so," Li Qiye replied flatly. He wasn’t being arrogant; to him, a lineage that had produced three emperors was truly nothing out of the ordinary.

"The Divine Burning Country’s princess, the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady, is the Emperor’s fiancée. I heard that after she was betrothed to him, the Divine Burning Country’s prestige rose with her," said the sole female disciple of the group.

"The one sitting at the bow earlier was the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady’s younger brother, Prince Shen Ran," Qiu Rong Wanxue, who was sitting at the front, finally spoke up. "The Divine Burning Country is a colossal Great Sect. It’s best for us to avoid such powers."

Qiu Rong Wanxue’s caution was understandable. Though the Snow Shadow Ghost Clan was part of the Ghost Race, they were a minor clan and couldn’t even be compared to a Great Sect like the Divine Burning Country. One might even say the Divine Burning Country could annihilate them with a single finger. Faced with such a behemoth, it was only natural for Qiu Rong Wanxue to keep her distance.

"So that’s how it is," Li Qiye said with a look of understanding, nodding with a smile.

"Even people from Nanyao Yun are here. It seems Fengdu City has been quite lively recently. We should be more careful and avoid causing trouble," Qiu Rong Wanxue warned the six juniors.

Qiu Rong Wanxue had good reason to be cautious. The Snow Shadow Ghost Clan was merely an insignificant, minor clan in the Netherworld. For them, survival amidst the Great Teaching Territories required the utmost care.

Li Qiye and his group had been at sea for ten days. It was on the tenth day that they finally had a breakthrough. With one cast of the net, neither Li Qiye nor Qiu Rong Wanxue had any luck. The last disciple to haul in his net wasn’t expecting anything either. But as he pulled it up, a dazzling burst of sunlight suddenly shone forth. Everyone looked and saw, caught in the net, a finger-sized fish that radiated sunlight from its entire body. It looked as if it were carved from Fire Jade, its body flickering with brilliant flames.

"A Night Sun Fish!" Upon seeing the tiny fish, even Qiu Rong Wanxue couldn’t help but break into a smile. When her stunningly beautiful face lit up with joy, she was like a peony in full bloom, exuding a peerless, celestial fragrance.

"A Night Sun Fish!" The Pengzhuang Sixth Minors were also thrilled. The disciple who caught it was especially ecstatic. He was the first among them to catch one—how could he not be overjoyed?

"We finally caught something!" The Pengzhuang Sixth Minors couldn’t help but jump for joy.

Catching the first Night Sun Fish was a great encouragement to Peng Zhuang and the others. They all thought a great haul was sure to follow. However, over the next two days, they still failed to catch another one.

Qiu Rong Wanxue remained composed, but the Pengzhuang Sixth Minors were growing restless again.