Imperial God Emperor

Yu Xiaoxing and the others were completely stunned when ripples appeared over the core formation of the Light Palace. It suddenly flickered and two figures emerged from it. One of them was none other than Ye Qingyu who they were constantly thinking about. At that moment, everyone except for the Empress Shui Xiu who was maintaining the formation stared at the newcomers with their mouths agape before they were filled with joy. 

Then, there was a series of strange shouts before Old Fish emerged as well. 

"Where am I?" Old Fish immediately went on his guard and readied to attack at any moment. 

After Old Fish took on a human form, he was much slimmer and looked more solemn than before and thus, Yu Xiaoxing and the others did not recognize him immediately. Old Fish recognized Yu Xiaoxing and the others; after a moment of stunned silence, he quickly realized what had happened and said, "Have we arrived at the Heaven Wasteland Domain? Ah, I get it now. The place that is bursting with life is the Heaven Wasteland Domain. That makes sense. I knew that the Heaven Wasteland Domain was different from all the other domains across the Vast Thousand Domains from the very beginning. It's a domain that had emerged later on but is blessed with vast lands, abundant produce, and such strong vitality that it's ranked first amongst the three thousand domains of the Vast Thousand Domains... hahaha, I get it now... hahaha..." 

Old Fish laughed maniacally as though he had just narrowly escaped death. 

Yu Xiaoxing and the others finally recognized this maniacal laughter and Ximen Yeshui said doubtfully, "May I know who you are? I've got a friend whose voice is similar... uh, to yours..." the black-faced scholar didn't know how else to describe it. 

"Are you trying to say my voice is crass?" Old Fish said with a strange smile. 

The black-faced scholar suddenly acted like he had found a bosom friend and said, "Yes yes yes, how did you know?" 

Ye Qingyu finally understood that the place that was bursting with life was none other than the Heaven Wasteland Domain. A small-scale model of the Heaven Wasteland Domain could be found at the Light Palace and this was also the heart of the entire Heaven Wasteland Domain. This would explain many previously unexplainable mysteries, such as why the suspicious palace of the [Formation Emperor] had appeared at the Heaven Wasteland Domain, and many unnatural scenes that shouldn't have appeared in a new domain. 

"This is because he is none other than Old Fish," Ye Qingyu's spirits were lifted and immediately revealed Old Fish's identity. 

Everyone was rendered completely speechless. 

Ye Qingyu's gaze swept across the people in the great hall and only paused when he saw Lan Tian, the mysterious tall and skinny expert, and the Empress Shui Xiu. Then, he asked, "What's going on? Hmm? Why does the Light Palace seem to be in a strange state...?" 

"Brother Qingyu, what... what are you doing here?" Yu Xiaoxing grew emotional, not only because she had seen her savior in her moment of despair, but because the man that she had yearned for every day and night had suddenly appeared in front of her. The suffering she had endured over endless days and nights turned into a delightful surprise that couldn't be expressed in words, as she impulsively threw herself into his arms. 

Her delicate fragrance filled his nose and he gently stroked her dark hair and said, "It has been hard on you... What has happened recently?" 

Wen Wan could no longer hold his tongue back and together with Ximen Yeshui, they filled him in on the recent events in the Heaven Wasteland Domain. 

"What? The Sky Emperor is here, in the Heaven Wasteland Domain?" Ye Qingyu exclaimed in shock. 

The Sky Emperor's forces had all withdrawn and gone into hiding in the Dark Realm, so he hadn't expected they would mobilize to the Heaven Wasteland Domain under the guise of withdrawing from the Dark Realm. However, wasn't there a killing formation? One that drew on the power of the universal laws, which had been installed by the formidable founder of the Dark Realm and laid between the Dark Realm and the Vast Thousand Domains? It would be easy for those from the Vast Thousand Domains to pass through, but this formation could kill experts from the Dark Realm who tried to leave. Thus, how did the Sky Emperor and his fellow sovereigns manage to pass through it safely? 

Ye Qingyu was filled with self-reproach and anger when he heard about the fall of Deer City, the destruction of White Deer Academy, and the countless lives that had been lost because of the horde of beasts. 

Empress Shui Xiu who had been maintaining the formation at the Light Palace suddenly swayed unsteadily, her face leeched of all color. The core formation of the Light Palace started to tremble. 

"Little Silver, come out," Ye Qingyu said and summoned the little silver dragon that was stationed at the Light Palace. 

The little silver dragon was now a core spirit animal of the Light Palace's formation. It was thanks to the little silver dragon that Empress Shui Xiu managed to draw on the Emperor qi of this era to activate the Light Palace's defensive formation and block the Sky Emperor's tough attacks. It would have taken Empress Shui Xiu some time to figure out the mysteries behind the formation without Little Silver's help, which would have made defending against the Sky Emperor's attacks impossible. 

"Master," Little Silver appeared and its appearance had changed. It was no longer as small as a chopstick but was now as big as a large serpent. Its body flickered with silver light, while it had the appearance of an ancient true dragon. It was full of dragon power and was exceedingly beautiful. It shook its tail and said, "Master, we finally meet again... I want to drink some wine." 

Thanks to Little Nine, the little silver dragon had become addicted to wine and would drink on a daily basis. Ye Qingyu was surprised to find that it still hadn't been able to get rid of the habit. 

Ever since the little silver dragon had become a spirit animal of the Light Palace, he had hardly spent time with it, unlike Little Nine who was always by his side. They were both his spirit pets that he treated like family, but he hardly showed enough concern for the well-behaved Little Silver. He felt a little guilty and thus took out a huge vat of Immortal wine from the [Cloud Top Cauldron] and gave it to Little Silver. 

His figure flashed and he teleported Empress Shui Xiu out of the core formation of the Light Palace. Then, he used his hand to draw several mysterious formations from the one hundred and eight ancient characters that took over Empress Shui Xiu's place. Instantly, the formation of the Light Palace stabilized and even became more powerful than before. 

His current cultivation and strength far surpassed Empress Shui Xiu's, and his familiarity with the formations within the Light Palace far exceeded her knowledge. Thus, he could use several formations made of ancient characters to replace her and the formations even worked more effectively than before. 

"Benefactor..." Empress Shui Xiu was extremely surprised when she saw Ye Qingyu after she opened her eyes and quickly bowed in greeting. 

"There's no need to stand on ceremony, my Dao friend," Ye Qingyu said with a smile. 

Shui Xiu was no longer the weak girl who had been trapped in a prison cart and tortured so badly that she wasn't even allowed to drink a sip of water. She was now a true Empress who stood at the peak of the martial way. As Ge Ming from the Seven Fingers Race had once said, Shui Xiu would become an Empress one day and would definitely repay the kindness that Ye Qingyu had shown the Seven Fingers Race. He had not taken Ge Ming's words seriously back then because although Shui Xiu had shown extraordinary aptitude, the road to becoming an Emperor was extremely tough and it had sounded like a frivolous dream. However, he had been proven wrong. This descendant of the Seven Fingers Race had indeed risen to become an Empress, and Ye Qingyu guessed that the wisp of luck that could give someone the chance to become Emperor from the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor had probably landed on Shui Xiu; this helped her become an Empress in the Vast Thousand Domains against all odds. 

Since she was also an Empress, he could address her as a 'Dao friend'. 

"I'm sorry for not being able to protect the Heaven Wasteland Empire and failing to repay your kindness," Empress Shui Xiu said remorsefully with a bow. She meant every word. 

Ye Qingyu shook his head and said, "I know how terrifying the Sky Emperor can be and I've experienced his power myself at the Dark Realm, almost dying because of him. I, and the Heaven Wasteland Domain owe you a huge favor for managing to keep him at bay till today." 

Empress Shui Xiu said, "I had assumed that I'd be able to look down at all the creatures in the universe after becoming an Empress, but after I've seen you and the Sky Emperor, I realized that I still have a lot of room for improvement. I'll continue to work hard and improve my cultivation. At the same time, I want to fight by your side and witness for myself how much more powerful Martial Emperors can be. Please don't reject my offer of assistance." 

Ye Qingyu said with a smile, "As you wish. I wouldn't dare to reject your offer." 

Empress Shui Xiu had become an Empress while cultivating at the Vast Thousand Domains and would definitely improve further in the future. She would become an important ally in his future plans, and her presence was like a godsend, so why would he reject her offer? 

Ye Qingyu’s gaze fell on Lan Tian and recalled Wen Wan's and Ximen Yeshui's words. 

They had already informed him earlier that Lan Tian was the physical body of the Sky Emperor, but he still had several doubts that he wanted to clarify. However, it wasn't the right time to be asking these questions, so he stopped himself from asking. It was more important for him to settle the pressing issue of the Sky Emperor who was right outside the door. 

Ye Qingyu's strength had soared thanks to the nourishment from the World Tree and he was confident that he would not be defeated this time. 

It would be a good time to go all out in battle. 

He slowly made his way to the main gate of the divine temple. 

"Wait here. Don't go out," he said. 

If everyone followed him out, they would only distract him and he could not afford a formidable opponent like the Sky Emperor to find any flaws or seize any chance to counterattack. After several battles with the Sky Emperor, Ye Qingyu already knew that the Sky Emperor would definitely go all out to attack and would not mind resorting to unscrupulous measures for the sake of his final goal. 

An image of the situation outside appeared in Ye Qingyu's head when he reached the large silver doors. 

He reached out and pushed. 

Boom! 

A mysterious force suddenly burst forth and sent the sovereigns who had joined forces to attack the Light Palace flying and they landed in a heap all over the ground. 

At the same time, the door opened. 

Countless rays of light spilled out all around Ye Qingyu from the divine temple. 

He walked toward the group one step at a time, enveloped by this light energy. 

The Sky Emperor's soul that had been so confident of his plan earlier looked extremely shocked and asked as though he had just seen a ghost. "It's you... how is that possible?" 

"We meet again," Ye Qingyu said as he slowly climbed down the stone steps. He looked haughtily down at the Sky Emperor and his aura skyrocketed as he said, "I wonder who'd emerge victorious this time after we battle?"