Imperial God Emperor

Chapter 316 – Bury The Dead

"Is it that tentacle monster that appeared before?"

Ye Qingyu's chest was suddenly throbbing.

A terrifying aura came from the shadows.

After Ye Qingyu transformed into a dragon, he can be regarded as the emperor of the sea. He had no fears, but for some reason, when he saw the huge mysterious shadow, an involuntary shudder passed through him.

"Should I dive down to see… Forget it, time is pressing. It's more important to search for the [Formation Sovereign's] legacy."

Ye Qingyu dismissed all thoughts of diving down to investigate.

With a slight jerk of his body, the silver sky dragon shot into the sky and broke out of the sea.

In the blink of an eye, he had arrived at the shoreline.

The golden sandy shore that was washed by the blood red sea was not stained in the slightest, and the sand-like spheres of gold, glowing slightly, was swept into the sea. The coast was extremely wide and calm, and the sea was very shallow… There was no doubt that this is an almost flat and perfect beach.

Further in the distance, there were huge mountain peaks and green trees, range upon range of mountains and dense forests.

Song Xiaojun, Ximen Yeshui and Qin Zhishui were waiting on the shore.

There were no signs of the armoured old man and they also did not know where he had gone.

Ye Qingyu went passed the beach, landed in the middle of a forest and put on clothes before coming out of the forests to meet up again with the other three people.

[True Will of the Sky Dragon] is indeed strong, but the only bad point is that once he transforms, the clothes on his body will be damaged and when he transforms back he will be naked. Luckily, Ye Qingyu had a lot of spare clothes with him, or else he would really have to run around naked.

"Just now, thanks for your help Brother Ye."

Qin Zhishui expressed his thanks again.

"Brother Qin is too polite…" Ye Qingyu smiled, then looked at Ximen Yeshui. "We have followed the route markings on the black jade scroll map, what do we do next? Is it the island the [Formation Sovereign's] imperial palace?"

Xiemen Yeshui gazed at the mountains and forests in the distance. "My family has said that at the end of the blood sea is the imperial palace. It should be right, it is very likely that the real [Formation Sovereign's] imperial palace is here. Ahahaha, our chance is here… Where are you looking?"

He stretched out his hand to point to the deepest part of the mountains and forest.

In a distant place shrouded by masses of white clouds, vaguely there really was a palace floating in space.

The palace and the shrine that emerged in the sky at the end of the fog zone were almost exactly identical, giving a majestic and sacred atmosphere.

"Go!"

Ye Qingyu no longer wasted time, leading the way, he leapt up and darted towards the depths of the forest.

They were on the ground now, which was completely different from being on the surface of the sea. There were places where they could borrow force, and strong people like them, with one leap, can reach thousands of meters away.

Rumble!

The crowd, like giant rabbits, kept leaping and speeding forward.

Only Song Xiaojun was on a dark demon lotus, floating in the sky, looking relaxed and at ease.

In the twinkling of an eye, the crowd went into the forest.

It looked like ordinary vegetation with no strange breath and smell, and there were no formations that they imagined it should have. Everything was normal, and between the vegetation, there were little birds and insects chirping, as well as snakes, worms, leopards and ants. Compared to the endless deathly red sea in the distance, this forest seemed like a paradise.

Ye Qingyu was looking forward to finding some rare herbs and unusual plants in the forest.

But he was disappointed.

The vegetation seen in the forest were all very common species and nothing special.

Suddenly, a strange smell of blood wafted over from the front.

Ye Qingyu and the other three people landed on a rock.

Water was gurgling.

The small stream was crystal clear, its colour was bright and beautiful, completely different to the water of the blood sea, flowing rapidly through the shade between the trees.

On the river bank, it was a mess and vegetation was destroyed.

There was a puddle of sparkling bloodstain, which had not completely dried and was emitting a faint delicate fragrance,. In the surroundings of the pool of blood were the remnants of dozens of worms and pythons, all ruptured like they had died an extremely miserable death.

"It seems that some strong people have fought here and someone was injured."

"Hm, it should be the people that entered when the shrine gate opened three times before, they arrived early."

"The blood of the high-level experts had sprayed all over here, and the fragrance had attracted tigers, leopards and worms to come lick it, but the animals on the island are just ordinary creatures and can not withstand the power of the blood of the strong people. Even if they licked a drop of blood, they would instantly explode…"

Qin Zhishui could not help sighing.

"Yes, the pursuit of strength and longevity, and the pursuit of improvement in the quality of life are the instincts of every creature, but the ones that can achieve it, how many are there?" Ye Qingyu agreed with this conjecture.

"Let's go!"

Ximen Yeshui urged.

The people continued their journey.

Along the way, they again encountered traces of combat.

Because yuan qi had been suppressed here, simply relying on strength, the destructive power of the battle was limited and this forest was considered to be in a good condition. The smell of the corpses of the strong people that died in combat was enough to cause their hearts to shiver. The weakest one was at least of the Bitter Sea stage and when placed outside in the real world, he would still be a terrifying existence that can rule a region. Unfortunately, here, their life was as lowly as an ant; even when dead, there was not a person to bury their body.

Every time Ye Qingyu saw such a scene, he could not help sigh.

His personality was a little stubborn.

Whether it's because he's a soft-hearted person or a stupid person, he stopped and patiently buried all the bodies.

There was another scene of traces of combat.

The closer they were to the central area, the more shocking the battle scenes were. There were more than five corpses on this battlefield.

Ye Qingyu did not speak, and tidied and buried each of the bodies.

"Brother, what are you doing with these dead people at this time?" Ximen Yeshui could not help complaining.

Having been continuously delayed by him, Ximen Yeshui and Qin Zhishui were eventually unable to bear it and tried to persuade Ye Qingyu but he still would not listen. Seeing the [Base of the Formation Sovereign] in front and knowing that they came a bit late and other people have arrived before them, they could not hold back any longer. They bluntly advised Ye Qingyu a few words, before the two of them anxiously hurried ahead.

Only Song Xiaojun was on the dark demon lotus, leisurely floating in the sky and accompanying Ye Qingyu.

"Girl, you should go, don't wait for me," Ye Qingyu smiled, lifted his head and shouted.

Song Xiaojun looked at him, but did not speak and did not leave.

Ye Qingyu smiled and didn't say anything else.

"Woof, what exactly are you thinking?" Silly Dog Little Nine was turning crazy. "We should make use of the time to find the legacy of the [Formation Sovereign] and take possession of it. You're so leisurely… you are making me impatient."

"The legacy will be obtained by a fateful person, it's not important to be early or late," Ye Qingyu said calmly.

"But… you have to fight for your fate, if you don't fight for it, how would it fall into your hands…" Silly dog said anxiously, "Master, at this time, you can't be foolish. These dead people were probably not all good people, leave them."

"We are already late, the strong people that have entered before us were the real top-level existences, but even Mo Lingfeng, who was at the Ascending Heaven stage, had died. It can be seen how cruel and brutal this place is, so even if we hurry over, there is no way we would get a share." Looking at the restless silly dog, Ye Qingyu said with a smile, "Since strength can't obtain it, it depends on luck and character."

"Can… what does luck and character have to do with you burying the dead?" Silly dog Little Nine jumped up and down madly, wishing that he could drag Ye Qingyu.

Ye Qingyu gave a mysterious smile. "It's not related. Saving a life is better than winning a seven-level pagoda. I buried a dead man that should be a one or two-level pagoda. Doing good deeds builds a good reputable character."

"I…" Leading the way, silly dog wailed to the heavens, "I am such a good dog, how did I meet such an unreliable master, it's a sin."

Ye Qingyu glanced at him, "if you can't stand it, you can go first, we'll meet there."

The silly dog very seriously thought for a moment, and although there was an anxious look of his face, he eventually answered in a disappointed tone, "Forget it, I'm staying here. If you encounter danger, I can still save you."

Ye Qingyu smiled and did not say anything else.

Digging a hole, lifting the corpse, filling the hole, erecting a sign…

Several bodies were buried.

He stood up and clapped his hands. "Well, we…"

Before his voice died away.

Ye Qingyu's expression suddenly changed, looked to a distant thicket, his eyes taking on a guarded look, he slowly forced his way through. "Who are you? Why hide in the trees. Please show yourself."

No movement.

The silly dog jumped on to Ye Qingyu's body, his rosy nose was twitching and his expression was serious.

Whoosh!

He turned into a bolt of lightning and darted to the tree.

"Careful." Ye Qingyu immediately followed.

"Master, come, it's the old man, he's dying…" Little Nine's voice echoed.

Ye Qingyu hurried over.

Wading through a dense thicket, he saw the armoured old man that ran away before lying on the grass, his breathing was shallow and weak, and his face was pale and lifeless. He could not move and was breathing in more than breathing out. It was evident that he was almost dying. He could not speak any words and was holding the oar tight in his hand…

Ye Qingyu squatted down and carefully examined him.

On the old man's chest was a clear palm print on his armour and based on the extent of it dented in, it most likely had pressed into his chest. The attacker's strength is frightening to be able to shatter the old man's organs with just one palm attack. In the situation where yuan qi had been suppressed, the armoured old man would not survive.

This nice man, the mediator, the crafty old fox, had come all the way here, but ultimately could not get pass this step.

Ye Qingyu squatted down, single-handedly supporting him up, and after some thought, infused wisps of [Supreme Ice Flame] into the armoured old man's heart meridians.

With Ye Qingyu’s control of the [Supreme Ice flame] today, not only would it not hurt him, but it would even be able to increase his vitality.

“Cough cough…” The armoured old man began coughing acutely, spitting out a mouthful of blood with pieces of his organs contained within it. His complexion was slightly red. This was evidently the last moments before his death. He was clear in his own heart that his death was imminent, but he finally had the strength to speak, “So it… it was Ye… .young hero Ye, I… I won’t be able to make it…”

“Do you have any last wishes or words?” Ye Qingyu asked.

“Cough cough… I… did… I did not think I would overlook someone. Ye… young hero Ye… just who are you…” the armoured old man asked with great difficulty.

“Youyan Pass, Ye Qingyu.” Ye Qingyu did not hide who he was.

When he had entered, he had not held the intention of hiding his identity deliberately. But it was just that the other experts, seeing his strength was low, did not place any importance to him at all. They did not even give him the opportunity of introducing himself.

“So… so… it was so…” The armoured old man had an enlightened expression. “So it was… [The Leaf of Youyan], Marquis Ye… you… you really are… I am… Snow… Snow Empire, Snow capital… I…”

The armoured old man’s breathing intensified, not able to last much longer.

Finally, he took out a coiled dragon jade ornament and stuffed it in Ye Qingyu’s hands. He struggled to say something more, but ultimately he could not even let out one more breath. He died.

Ye Qingyu looked at the dragon jade ornament in his hands, with shock.

Snow Empire?

Snow capital?

Could it be this old man was someone belonging to the Snow Empire?

Just what did the last words of the armoured old man mean?

And just what did this jade dragon represent?

Ye Qingyu let out a sigh, shaking his head. His hand covered the eyes of the armoured old man, so he would die with his eyes closed. Then he slightly arranged his corpse, digging a hole beside him and buried the armoured old man.

“Wait until I enter the Snow capital. If I am able to obtain enough clues, I will definitely hand this dragon jade to your descendants. Then you can rest in peace.”

Ye Qingyu erected a tomb with a nameless plaque.

Then he brought the big headed dog to enter deep within the center of the forest, leaping as he went.

On the way, they would occasionally meet with the vestiges of battle, as well as the corpses of those fallen experts.

Ye Qingyu took care and buried all of hem.

After wasting a whole two hours, they finally reached the most central part of the forest.

Song Xiaojun had always remained following behind him.

The golden masked young girl stood in the air on her demon lotus with the wind blowing on her red dress as if she was independent from the world.

A mountain was in front of them, with white mist encircling around it. This was not the terrifying [Fog of Annihilation], but it was a divine mist that contained hints of Spirit qi. Just by breathing it in, it would make someone feel refreshed, as if they had just eaten a divine pill.

Under the highlight of this white encircling mist, the peak of the mountain seemed extremely mysterious.

There were little stone steps in a poor state, that rose up in a coil to the top of the mountain and then disappeared in the white mist.

Next to the first step of this little stone passageway was a stone sign, the height of one person. There were two lines of ancient characters etched onto it. It was not the characters of the God and Devil Age, but the ancient characters of the era of the Three Sovereigns.

Ye Qingyu carefully inspected and translated it.

“This path leads to seclusion, and within lies the formation grounds within the Ninth Heaven. The battle will soars to the heaven and the incredible descends upon the mortal world."

And next to these two lines of ancient characters, there were two other smaller characters etched onto it

Luo So.

There was the little face of a little cat sticking its tongue out next to these two lines of characters.

Everyone knew that there was once a sacred twelve winged moonlight beast that followed beside Luo So. It's appearance was like a cat. It was extremely famous. In the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, it was known as the moonlight beast. It was a mighty existence, and therefore the seal of the Formation Sovereign had always been the image of a little cat sticking its tongue out.

“In other words, at the peak of this mountain, there really is the palace of the [Formation Sovereign] Luo So?"

Ye Qingyu stared at the stone plaque thoughtfully.

According to what some of the ancient texts had said in the library of White Deer Academy, before this, the Human Race had seen hundreds of palaces of the [Formation Sovereig] Luo So. But the vast majority of them were evidently false, it was the misleading clues Luo So had left behind in his later years. There were only seven instances where they had truly discovered some of the legacy left behind by the [Formation Sovereign] Luo So. This had brought huge hope to the Human Race.

But sadly, the things obtained from these seven palaces were not completely intact.

According to the explanation of the [Formation Treatise]—some of the sacred treasures held by the [Formation Sovereign] had not yet appeared.

If it was not wrong, then on the top of these stairs should be the eighth true palace of the [Formation Sovereign].

“Master, what the hell are you standing around for, looking at the stone plaque dumbly. Woof, you are really infuriating me.” Little Nine was so impatient he was about to cough up blood.

“En, go, let’s go.” Ye Qingyu took step by step up the stone steps.

The silly dog was astounded and incredulous. “You can’t have been thinking of going step by step up?”

“Then how else should I go up?” Ye Qingyu countered.

“Jump it, or perhaps transform into a Sky dragon and fly over it… don’t waste time.” Little Nine really wanted for Ye Qingyu to bring him up by flying.

Ye Qingyu smiled, the rows of ancient characters left on the stone sign flashing by in his mind. Shaking his head, “No, no, for this road, we must take it step by step up.”

Little Nine was dumbfounded.

Ye Qingyu shook his head with a smile, beckoning to Song Xiaojun in the air.

Song Xiaojun shook her head.

“You have to walk this path with your feet. Believe in me.” Ye Qingyu opened his mouth.

Song Xiaojun shook her head. “We have different aims."

“Ah?” Ye Qingyu was taken aback.

Song Xiaojun did not say anymore.

She was like a shadow that floated above Ye Qingyu. She was not fast or slow, as if she was not even slightly impatient.

There were some guesses in Ye Qingyu’s heart, but he could not further insist. If he intereferred with Song Xiaojun’s fortuitous encounter, that would not be good. After thinking, he began running on the stone step, one step after another. He ran very quickly, but he stepped on every step, not missing or skipping over any step.

He seemed like a shadow that madly charged towards the top of the mountain.

Song Xiaojun followed closely behind him.

After approximately fifteen minutes later.

“Huff, huff… in total, there are eleven thousand, one hundred and eleven steps.” Ye Qingyu looked at the end of the little passageway, an arched shaped stone gateway appeared. When one passed the stone gateway, there would be a flat yard. At the end of the yard, one could see the towering majestic palace they had seen on the shore.

On the courtyard, there were many figures.

There were twenty or thirty figures that silently stood at the entrance to the divine palace, as if they had fossilised. No one said anything. It was unknown what they were thinking, it was as if something had attracted all their attention, as if they had lost all their souls. They seemed completely motionless. From far away, they seemed like strange statues. The situation was incomparably strange.

Ye Qingyu stepped onto the courtyard.

At that time, he finally realized that the stone tiles of the courtyard were exceedingly strange.

There was faint blue strange markings on every faintly yellow tile.

It seemed like a formation, but also not so.

And the marking on every tile was different from each other.

It you carefully inspected, you would discover a strange light flickering within the blue brush strokes of the marking like it was a liquid. But when you reached out your hand to touch it, you could only feel the rough texture of the yellow tile.

After inspecting it for a while, he did not seen anything strange about it, so he headed on towards the deepest parts of the courtyard.

The sky was clear with little clouds.

There was a faint wind blowing past.

There was an exceedingly strange sensation in Ye Qingyu’s heart as he came to be behind the twenty or thirty figures.

They were definitely the experts who had arrived beforehand.

Because Ye Qingyu could see Ximen Yeshui, as well as Qin Zhishui who was also standing there motionlessly.

There were frozen expressions on these two fellows that stood at the very front. Their muscles did not even twitch, their eyelids freezing in place. There was an expression of overjoyed delight on Ximen Yeshui’s face, his white teeth showing. And there was a thoughtful and shocked expression on Qin Zhishui. Both of them stood there dumbly, staring at the sky.

Ye Qingyu followed their gazes.

There was nothing at all.

There was nothing at all in the sky.

Apart from these two fellows, the other twenty or so people also stood where they were. The others expressions were also much like so.

There was aproximately ten meters separating every person. What was below them were yellow tiles with different blue markings. The light blue light faintly emitted, and surrounded and protected them within.

Ye Qingyu attempted to come closer, but this blue light prevented him from nearing.

“Eh? This fellow is also here?”

Ye Qingyu’s gaze fell on a figure, and was stunned.

A person wearing a sky blue robe, his figure slender and well proportioned, stood there. He word a golden hoop, and at his waist, there was a golden gilded jade hilt long sword. His expression was somewhat lazy, and there was a nobility about him. He had an expression that was a smile that was not a smile as he stared at the sky.

Blue Sky.

He had once pretended to be a teacher in White Deer Academy. He had brought Ye Qingyu and the others for their first training, and had once killed everyone within the [Boundary Canyon Battlefield]. He was the handsome and unreliable fellow that had once been imprisoned along with Ye Qingyu in the disciplinary hall.

Ever since leaving White Deer Academy, Ye Qingyu had not ever seen this fellow.

But he faintly felt that the background of Blue Sky was definitely not common.

He did not imagine that today, he would see this lazy and unreliable fellow.

It made Ye Qingyu completely shocked.

Apart from Blue Sky, he did not recognize anyone else.

But what made him really shocked was that there was a figure whose body was already completely destroyed from his abdomen and below. He only had an upper body left, but he floated above a stone tile. He was similarly staring at the sky, his expression calm and peacefully without the slightest trace of pain. It was as if he was immersed in something beautiful.