Dominator Emperor

Li Qiye sat calmly at the prow. He glanced at Qiu Rong Wanxue, who was seated beside him, and couldn't help but smile. When it came to seductive beauty, Qiu Rong Wanxue was far from Chen Baojiao's equal. However, Chen Baojiao lacked Qiu Rong Wanxue's mature allure and her dignified, elegant air.

Chen Baojiao was a femme fatale whose beauty could topple nations. She was a peerless beauty, a single glance at whom could leave one utterly enchanted and breathless.

The Qiu Rong Wanxue before him, however, was also undeniably gorgeous and captivating. Her mature allure, in particular, gave off an aura reminiscent of a ripe peach, enough to make one's heart skip a beat. She was the type of beauty one grew to appreciate more and more with every glance.

"Qiurong Clan Leader, is there something on your mind?" Li Qiye asked casually, gazing at her blossom-like face.

Qiu Rong Wanxue looked at Li Qiye, who was so much younger than she was. As she stared at this utterly enigmatic young man, she was filled with an indescribable mix of emotions. In terms of both appearance and aura, Li Qiye seemed perfectly ordinary, no different from the common folk.

But the more she interacted with him, the more she felt he was brimming with mystery and charm. He seemed like a black hole, possessing a dreadful gravitational pull from which no one could escape!

"Young Master Li, what brings you to Fengdu City?" Qiu Rong Wanxue finally asked after a moment of contemplation. She hoped to have an open conversation with him, especially if they were to continue on together in Fengdu City. After all, they knew absolutely nothing about him.

Li Qiye didn't answer her question, smiling as he countered with one of his own, "Then what might be the Qiurong Clan Leader's purpose for coming to Fengdu City?"

Qiu Rong Wanxue found herself looking at Li Qiye, who met her gaze and stared directly into the depths of her clear eyes. They looked at each other for a moment before she involuntarily turned her head away.

Qiu Rong Wanxue took a deep breath, mulling it over for a moment. At last, she spoke with a slow, deliberate gravity, "Since we're on the same boat, we might as well be in this together. If Young Master Li wants to know, I can tell you. I came to Fengdu City this time to find something my clan has lost."

Qiu Rong Wanxue wanted to have an open discussion with Li Qiye, which was why she had decided to tell him this after some thought.

"I see." Li Qiye smiled faintly, understanding her hesitation. He said with a chuckle, "I don't mind telling you, Qiurong Clan Leader. I also came to Fengdu City to find something."

"What is it that Young Master Li is looking for?" Qiu Rong Wanxue couldn't help but ask.

Once again, Li Qiye didn't answer, instead looking at her flower-like face and asking, "And what might be the item your Snow Shadow Ghost Clan has lost, Qiurong Clan Leader?"

At his question, Qiu Rong Wanxue fell silent. This item was of great importance to their Snow Shadow Ghost Clan; she couldn't easily reveal it to an outsider.

Seeing her caution, Li Qiye smiled. "Let's change the subject, then," he said. "Why don't we talk about that time the sky went dark? When it suddenly happened that day, did you see anything unusual, Qiurong Clan Leader?"

Li Qiye had already learned what he wanted to know from Peng Zhuang, but he wanted to confirm it now. The reason was simple: every time Peng Zhuang mentioned the giant hand from the First Evil Tomb, Qiu Rong Wanxue would silence him. Li Qiye knew that she must know something.

At his words, Qiu Rong Wanxue couldn't help but glance back at Peng Zhuang and the others. They were sitting far away at the stern, their backs to the two of them, seemingly paying them no mind.

"So, you came for this matter after all, Young Master Li." Qiu Rong Wanxue had suspected as much for some time, since Li Qiye had been so interested in the topic from the start.

Li Qiye made no effort to hide it. He just smiled and said, "You could put it that way. I'm sure you know something, Qiurong Clan Leader. How about you tell me what it is?"

Qiu Rong Wanxue pondered for a moment. She looked at Li Qiye, who waited calmly for her answer. She took a deep breath, finally nodding. "What Peng Zhuang said about the giant hand... it's true. The moment the sky went dark, I happened to be absorbing Heaven and Earth Qi, and I was facing the direction of the First Evil Tomb!" She paused here.

"And then?" Li Qiye wasn't anxious. He was already confident he knew what had happened.

Qiu Rong Wanxue took another deep breath and finally said, "The moment the darkness ended, I saw something. The First Evil Tomb must be about to open!" After saying this, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

This was something Peng Zhuang couldn't be sure of. He had seen a giant hand, but after the sky went dark, he was scared stiff. Qiu Rong Wanxue, however, had kept her eyes fixed on the First Evil Tomb.

The moment the darkness ended, she saw the First Evil Tomb actually open. She herself had been completely stunned at the time. It should have been impossible. The First Evil Tomb hadn't opened for a very long time. Moreover, she had heard that one needed a key to open it, but no one in the current age was known to possess the key to the First Evil Tomb.

This was precisely why Qiu Rong Wanxue found the matter so suspicious. She felt there was a secret hidden within that she didn't know. It was also why she always silenced Peng Zhuang whenever he brought it up. She didn't want this affair to bring trouble to the Snow Shadow Ghost Clan.

"I see." Hearing Qiu Rong Wanxue's words, Li Qiye smiled. He was now completely certain about what had transpired. He had to get the key to open the First Evil Tomb. He had to enter it.

Qiu Rong Wanxue looked at Li Qiye and said, "Now that I've told you what you wanted to know, Young Master Li, perhaps you could tell me something as well?"

"Please, ask away," Li Qiye said unhurriedly. "I'm an open book. As long as it's something I know, I'll be more than happy to tell you."

"How can you predict the locations where the Night Sun Fish appear, Young Master Li?" Qiu Rong Wanxue asked. Their current harvest was already staggering. A successor from an Emperor Immortal Gate once came to the Night Sea with a Supreme Treasure and fished for a full year, yet he caught fewer Night Sun Fish than Li Qiye's group had in just one month. This question had been weighing on Qiu Rong Wanxue's mind.

Li Qiye smiled faintly. "So you don't believe me, Qiurong Clan Leader. Everything I said about this is true. My intuition has been very sensitive since I was a child. When I stay in one place for a long time, my intuition becomes exceptionally sharp. I guess you could say it's a natural talent."

Qiu Rong Wanxue shot him a resentful glare. He had completely played her! She didn't believe a word of his nonsense. If the Night Sun Fish in the Night Sea could be found so easily by intuition, they would have been fished to extinction ages ago.

Seeing her blossom-like face flush red with indignation, Li Qiye couldn't help but smile faintly. This was one secret he could never share with anyone.

He had, after all, once poured countless eons of effort into Fengdu City. Over millions of years, the First Evil Tomb had opened several times, and Li Qiye, as the Yin Ya, had been the shadow pulling the strings for at least half of them.

Finding the key to the First Evil Tomb was no easy task. It required dealing with the native inhabitants of Fengdu City. And as for dealing with the ghosts of Fengdu City, that was also a simple matter—as long as you had enough Night Sun Fish, you might be able to get many things you wanted. Of course, the prerequisite was finding the right person... no, the right ghost!

Li Qiye had opened the First Evil Tomb several times, sometimes alone, sometimes with others. Each time required a massive amount of Night Sun Fish. Thus, for the sake of the fish, Li Qiye could be said to have studied the Night Sea for a very, very long time. He had once spent an entire era in Fengdu City!

One could say that in this entire world, no living person understood the Night Sea better than him. No one knew Fengdu City better than he did.

"Young Master Li, even if you're unwilling to tell the truth, there's no need to use such an excuse to trick me." Qiu Rong Wanxue glared at him resentfully, fuming internally. As a clan leader, she had always been astute and cautious, but this time she had been thoroughly played by Li Qiye. How could she not be furious?

"Does this mean I have wounded your heart, Qiurong Clan Leader?" Li Qiye said, feigning shock. "If so, then I must compensate you properly. I can't believe I've betrayed your sincere affections."

"You—" Qiu Rong Wanxue was so angry her full chest rose and fell dramatically, and she glared furiously at Li Qiye. She couldn't help but clench her delicate fists. 'This Little Ghost is too audacious! He actually dares to flirt with me! I'm going to die of anger! I used to think this brat was so well-behaved, but now I see it was all a complete act. He's a wolf in sheep's clothing!'

But Li Qiye remained calm and composed, completely unafraid of her anger. He met her gaze with a look of utter innocence.

Qiu Rong Wanxue was completely helpless against his feigned innocence. She found she couldn't even stay mad at him.

While Li Qiye and Qiu Rong Wanxue were talking, the Pengzhuang Sixth Minors at the stern were whispering amongst themselves about Li Qiye and their clan leader.

"Heh, I think Brother Li and our Clan Leader are a pretty good match," Peng Zhuang said softly, his voice low.

"No way," said the only female disciple from the Sixth Primary School, tilting her head. "Brother Li is around our age, but the Clan Leader is much older."

"Age is just a number, as they say," the mischievous Peng Zhuang whispered. "I think the Clan Leader thinks very highly of Brother Li. Haven't you seen it? The Clan Leader is always paying attention to Brother Li. Doesn't she often stare at him in a daze?"