Emperor’s Domination

Li Qiye eventually stopped before a rather normal-looking cave devoid of danger. It was only wide enough for several people to jump down at the same time, pitch-black with no bottom in sight.

A heavenly gaze wouldn’t spot anything either, resulting in an uneasy feeling. Because of this endless property, one would think that by jumping down, they would enter a new world.

This darkness would also bite back on those daring to stare at it for too long. It gave the impression of not allowing anyone to return after jumping down.

“What’s down there?” Yang Ling also attempted to use her heavenly gaze and didn’t see anything.

The old man had a terrible feeling about the cave. Intuition told him that if he were to jump down, he would never return alive. His grip on the saber hilt tightened as he tensed up.

“This is the place, very well hidden.” Li Qiye glanced below and said.

“We, we’re going down there?” Yang Ling was slightly afraid. Nonetheless, she thought that it would be okay with Li Qiye around. The only problem was not wanting to be a nuisance to him.

“No longer want to see a magical world?” Li Qiye smirked at the group.

“I’m not afraid as long as you’re around, Young Master.” Yang Ling hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Go down then.” Li Qiye smiled and jumped first.

Fan Bai followed him blindly without thinking twice. As for Yang Ling, fear of the unknown struck her but she eventually mustered enough courage to take a step forward.

The old servant was the last one to jump in. He readied his saber in order to deal with any potential complication.

As the group fell down, the only thing they heard was heavy wind noises. The drop was lasting for what seems to be an eternity. Yang Ling would be screaming right now if Li Qiye wasn’t close by.

After a long while, they finally touched the ground and heard something cracking beneath their feet.

Darkness still blinded them. They activated their heavenly gaze and found this place to be virtually infinite in size. It seemed larger than all of Eight Desolaces.

They only saw faint outlines - something like a mountain range ahead. The rest was a blur.

“Crack!” They felt something moving beneath their feet.

“Something’s awakening?” Yang Ling became alarmed.

“Watch carefully, it’ll be quite a spectacle.” Li Qiye smiled.

Due to the creepy nature of this place, his answer frightened her even more. She thought that nothing good would be here.

“Pop! Pop! Pop!” They heard quiet pops, similar to something opening their eyes.

Red lights suddenly appeared in this dark world, just bright enough to slowly illuminate the area. Once enough of them manifested, the group could see again.

“Ahh!” Yang Ling screamed right away.

Fan Bai turned pale as well, speechless.

“Skeletal monsters.” The old man took a deep breath and said, still shaken despite his experience.

What they saw were skeletal creatures as far as the eye can see in this infinite world. There seemed to be nothing but bones here.

A while ago, the two hordes attacking Black Cliff were populous enough. But now, the disparity was immense.

“We’ve fallen into their lair!” Yang Ling shouted.

The waves of invaders they saw first could destroy Buddha Holy Ground. As for the army here? It might be enough to take down Eight Desolaces.

These creatures were awakening - evident by the red flame in their skull. Li Qiye’s group came uninvited to their world.

Gigantic skeletons began walking over. The four looked as small as ants. This was enough to frighten anyone.

“Young Master…” Yang Ling tugged Li Qiye’s sleeve.

“Click, clack, click, clack…” The awakened ones approached the group.

They didn’t roar aggressively and attack like the waves on the surface. Nonetheless, the group was still intimidated.

“They’re coming, Young Master.” Yang Ling spoke again.

The old man was ready to fight to the very end. However, he knew that it would be futile with his power alone.

“Still a bit left, let’s give it to them.” Li Qiye took out the bottle containing the ashes. There wasn’t much left.

He removed the cork and blew ashes in all four directions.

“Zzz-” The skeletons hit by the ashes immediately turned to ashes. This opened a wide space for the group.

Alas, though thousands of them were cleared out in the blink of an eye, Li Qiye was running out of ashes. This was akin to pouring a cup of water on a burning wooden house. 

The endless horde didn’t stop moving. They didn’t need to do anything either. Just them squeezing together would be enough to make meat paste out of Li Qiye’s group.

“What should we do, Young Master?” Yang Ling noticed that they didn’t have any ashes left.