Emperor’s Domination

Yang Ling looked around after listening to the two. She didn’t find anything special about this peak.

Though it was considered one of the two great peaks, it seemed inferior compared to Seer Peak.

It lacked dangerous yet picturesque terrains and an air of magnificence. Nonetheless, the vegetation and trees were verdant and lush.

The only thing comparable to Seer Peak was its height. In fact, it might be a little taller. There seemed to be nothing else on the same level.

Nonetheless, she didn’t think that this peak was unworthy of its fame. After all, it must be the Biandu’s ancestral peak for a reason. It’s just that she couldn’t see its magicalness right now.

In fact, virtually everyone thought the same thing - that it was inferior compared to Seer Peak. If they had to pick one, they would always pick Seer Peak.

That’s why people were confused regarding the Biandu patriarch’s choice in picking this one. Only a few top masters understood but they didn’t tell anyone else.

“What is special about this peak?” Yang Ling eventually gave up and asked.

“The patriarch of the Biandu is an exceptional character. He picked this place for its roots.” The old servant smiled.

“A peak has roots?” She asked.

“Everything has roots.” Li Qiye spoke: “It’s just that people didn’t know and couldn’t know. For example, what was the name of this peak before the Biandu got here? Who did it belong to? Who lived here? What grew here? That’s part of its history and roots.”

She definitely didn’t know any of the things he brought up just now. Everyone only thought about the Biandu when talking about this peak. They have had ownership over it for a very long time now. The years before that were too distant.

Perhaps no one in Black Wood right now could answer these questions, not even the Biandu themselves.

“Do you know, Young Master?” She inquired.

“Of course.” He nodded with a smile.

“Mmm, tell me more about it.” She became quite curious. Maybe after knowing the answers, she would know why the patriarch chose this place.

Unfortunately, Li Qiye didn’t answer and only stared at Seer Peak on the other side.

These two peaks were the tallest in Black Wood, standing opposite of each other. Seer Peak was closer to Black Tides. When standing here, one would see all of Seer Peak along with Black Tides.

This was indeed beautiful and magnificent scenery. Alas, Li Qiye wasn’t here for that.

She didn’t ask him either because he would have told her already if he wanted to.

He eventually stopped looking and crouched down to look at a rotten stump. Weeds and grass have taken over this area because the Biandu didn’t take care of it.

This particular stump looked huge, needing many men to fully surround it. It died later on, perhaps cut down or fell from disease. Only a stump was left now.

After years of rains and winds on top of termites, it became rotten. Nonetheless, layers of thick barks still surrounded the surface.

The damages were immense in many areas but overall, it was still tough like metal. Of course, it was hard to see it due to the overgrowths. Those who could see it wouldn’t care too much either.

Yang Ling became curious again because Li Qiye was carefully looking at it. What made this rotten stump so special?

“Young Master, this stump is special too?” She asked.

“You tell me.” He responded.

“I don’t think it’s special because if it was, it wouldn’t be rotten right now.” She gave her opinion.

“What if I tell you that it’s older than Eight Desolaces?” He revealed.

“Ol-older than Eight Desolaces?” Her mouth became agape after hearing this.

Adding up the actual age of Eight Desolaces was virtually impossible since so many generations have passed.

The land produced numerous dao lords. Lineages rose and fell due to the long trek of time.

She thought about one particular adage that applies to this situation - oceans can dry up and stones will break down yet this rotten stump will always be here. 

Just its age alone was indicative of its true value. Now she finally understood why the patriarch of the Biandu chose this peak. As a top general of the holy ground, he was far more insightful than others.

“Are we going to dig it up?” She calmed down and asked.

“It’s doing well here so no need to dig it up.” Li Qiye shook its head and patted the stump. He then told the old man: “We’ll be staying here for a while.”

The old man followed the order without thinking twice. It didn’t take long before buildings were erected.

As for Yang Ling and Fan Bai, they took care of the overgrowths nearby. They didn’t know what Li Qiye wanted to do but still decided to entertain him.

Not even the old man had a good idea. He could see some clues, just not the entire picture of Li Qiye’s plan. He knew that Li Qiye’s real goal was Black Tides, just not the actual details.

Their sudden appearance on top of this peak didn’t come unnoticed. The Biandu Clan eventually found out that outsiders were occupying their ancestral ground. This wasn’t something they could overlook.