Imperial God Emperor

The feeling of space-time travel through the dark door was longer and more difficult than any formation teleportation that Ye Qingyu had ever experienced. He felt that his body was being squeezed by some terrifying force, like a fetus in a mother's womb before birth. 

After approximately twenty breaths had passed by. 

Ye Qingyu felt that his feet had firmly touched the ground.

The darkness was erased. 

Colours and patterns began to appear in sight. 

Ye Qingyu slowly opened his eyes, his vision was recovering. When he surveyed his surroundings, he was struck dumb with astonishment by the spectacle in front of him. 

He found that he was standing on a huge black boulder, with a silver spatial wall barrier behind him, like a space tore apart from the Void by some kind of great power. The place was filled with a dangerous aura, like water flowing and rippling about, flickering indefinitely.

And in his whole field of vision, all that could be seen were numerous buildings that were close together, seemingly endless.

These buildings were of an ancient style. As far as the eye could see there were carved beams, decorated buildings, as well as beautifully styled pavilions and everything one could think of.

However... there was no water. 

But there was wind.  

The wind was howling. 

Ye Qingyu felt a bit shaken by the sight. Many of the ancient buildings, like the illustrations found in tales, were of varying sizes and shapes, and the striking imposing and towering palaces and pavilions, supported by stone steps, extended all the way up to the furthest reaches of one’s vision, where there were still unexpectedly high-rise temples and halls. 

Upon a closer look, in addition to the magnificent and bizarre ancient buildings, there were black spirit paths all around the stone steps. 

The spirit paths were paved with black rocks, about ten meters wide, enough for horses to run across. Like a spider web, they shuttled between the buildings, stretching endlessly from the depths of the palace, as if directly linking to the boundless sky.

“This is... is this the 18th district of the Black Demon Abyss? I didn’t expect it to look like this,” Ye Qingyi exclaimed in a low voice. 

He originally thought that the 18th district would be similar to the previous 16th and 17th districts, being an expanse of wilderness, a forest, or an undeveloped desolate land. He did not expect to see an ancient city such as this. 

Ye Qingyu surveyed the area. 

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden was quietly standing on his left. He could not clearly see the expression under the strange Phoenix mask, but her eyes were still blank and without focus, seemingly gazing in the endless distance. 

And on the right...

It was empty. 

What was going on? 

Where was the fatty Sheng Yan?  

Didn't they get here together? 

Why would the Celestial Phoenix Maiden be here but the fatty was nowhere to be seen? 

He wouldn't have died on the way through the spacetime transportation, right? 

Ye Qingyu made such a guess without malice.

But he also knew that it should not be the case. Although the transportation through the dark door was uncomfortable, it was not too dangerous. Moreover, the fatty was very mysterious and should not be as simple as he looked. He must have been concealing his strength or identity. 

At the same time, what surprised Ye Qingyu was that there was no trace of the other experts that enter through the dark door.  

“Could it be that one would be transported to a different place depending on the dark door taken?” Ye Qingyu speculated.

He calmed down a little but dared not to ignore the surroundings. He released his divine sense and observed the movements around him.

At that moment, Ye Qingyu suddenly observed a strange phenomenon. 

In his line of sight, all of the palaces, pavilions and other buildings were, without exception, next to a giant black pillar about ten meters high, leaning closely and seemed a little strange. 

“What is that, the black pillars... look like tombstones?” Ye Qingyu mumbled to himself. 

“It's tombstones.” It was the voice of the Celestial Phoenix Maiden.

Her voice was cold and indifferent, and her tone was so peculiar that although she was clearly responding to Ye Qingyu, it sounded as if she were talking to herself or speaking to someone else.

Ye Qingyu was startled.  

Was it really tombstones? 

He looked closely again. The things that looked like black stalagmites and scattered between the palaces and buildings were blank stone tablets, which were indeed the tombstone style of the God and Devil Era. Each tombstone, although of varying height and width, had different inscriptions and markings, all were exquisitely carved from the same type of black and grey rocks. 

Although there was no writing engraved on the tablets, there was still a tinge of sadness being exuded, as well as a hint of lingering aura that had transcended the era of ancient times.

“If they are really tombstones, then...” Ye Qingyu thought of another question. 

Who were the many tombstones for? 

Under the tombstones, who were buried? 

There were at least one thousand of the black tombstones in sight, could there by corpses buried beneath all of them?

The more Ye Qingyu thought, the more frightened he was. 

The scene before him added a feeling of silent decline to this side of the world.

In his heart, Ye Qingyu inexplicably wanted to lament. 

From what he had observed through his divine sense, there was not a single life or aura in the endless ancient city. It was surrounded by silence, like a ghost city, incredibly chilling.

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden did not say a word. She gracefully descended from the black boulder and then headed toward the desolate ancient city.

Ye Qingyu followed behind her. 

One of his missions was to protect this female prodigy.

Along the flat spirit path and into the ancient, desolate, mysterious and empty city, there were low howls of wind. Yellow sand spread across the path, which covered the surroundings in dust. Upon a closer look, more of the ancient city’s grandeur and majesty was revealed.

“I’m certain it is the architecture of the God and Devil Era, and had most likely been around for countless years...” Ye Qingyu was incredibly surprised by this thought. The Black Demon Emperor was after the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and far from the God and Devil Era, why would there be an empty city like this in the 18th district of the Black Demon Abyss?

Was it created out of thin air? 

Or could it be that... this ancient city has another origin? 

Ye Qingyu curiously followed behind the Celestial Phoenix Maiden, carefully observing the surrounding buildings.

Surrounding the palace buildings on both sides of the spirit path and tombstones were rows of towering and majestic statues of the Fiendgods of ancient times. 

Each statue was about thirty or forty meters tall, created from an unknown black material similar to jade, delicate and glossy, and exuding a surging mysterious power, like the guardians of this side of the world. 

In this ancient city, the lights were slightly dim, but one could still see everything, similar to night time in the outside world, and there were stars that twinkled overhead...

Wait? 

Stars?

Ye Qingyu suddenly realized something.

He threw his head back. 

On the dark dome top, there seemed to be a river of stars quietly flowing across the vast and endless universe. The specks of stars above were twinkling with a gem-like luster, containing a power that was even more magnificent and ancient. 

Could it be that we are in the Void of the universe... No, this is clearly the depths of the Black Demon Abyss, how can... 

He wondered in his mind. 

He released his divine sense to the top of the dome. 

After several moments. 

“So it was like this.” Ye Qingyu finally came to understand.  

Through his divine sense, he could sense that it turned out to be an extremely old starry river formation from the ancient times. If it were not for his divine sense, it would have been impossible to detect the mysterious formation left behind by a powerful expert.

Ye Qingyu had once seen a similar formation in the [Fiendgod Titled Chart], which was why he could recognize the origin of the formation on the dome.

But what made him astonished and fearful was the abundant power contained within the formation of these stars. If any one of the illusory stars were to fall down it could directly smash and shatter a person into pieces.  

“I didn't expect... there to be such a sight behind the Door of Life...” Ye Qingyu couldn't help marveling again. “There are so many tombstones here. Could the legends be true... is this really the tomb of the Black Demon Emperor?” “

There was no response. 

There was only the faint sound of airflow and the aura of the Celestial Phoenix Maiden.

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden evidently had no interest in Ye Qingyu. 

She quietly walked ahead without saying a word. 

The golden Phoenix mask on her face glowed a glistening luster, and although her true face was not seen, her graceful figure was enough to reveal her ethereal beauty. 

“Where are we going?” 

Seeing how the Celestial Phoenix Maiden seemed to be travelling ahead aimlessly, Ye Qingyu finally couldn't help asking. 

There was not the slightest response from the figure. 

After a while, the Celestial Phoenix Maiden came to an abrupt stop. 

Her eyes under the Phoenix mask seemed to be gradually focusing, flashing a glimmer of brilliance, and suddenly fixed on a place in the distance. 

Immediately, she twisted her head to look at Ye Qingyu, her voice cold as before as she said, “Do you feel it?” 

“Feel... what?” Ye Qingyu was a little startled.  

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden turned her head back, moved her feet, and darted ahead, completely paying no attention to Ye Qingyu any longer. 

Ye Qingyu showed an inexplicable expression of helplessness. 

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden was just like an iceberg. Unless she wanted to say it herself, she took no notice of him and simply answered nothing from him, otherwise she would never open her mouth.

So Ye Qingyu did not continue to ask.

But in the depths of his heart, Ye Qingyu also found it strange. Just now he really did not notice anything special around them, but there must be a reason why the Celestial Phoenix Maiden asked him that question. What was it that she felt at that moment? 

What could it be? 

Ye Qingyu did not think too much about it, closely followed the Celestial Phoenix Maiden, left the corner they were standing in and went along one of the winding spirit paths.

Along the path he saw the beautiful and dazzling empty city.

Along the sides of the spirit path, the palaces, temples and towers were built with an extremely unadorned and ancient style and in unique shapes. The exterior was majestic, grand and imposing, full of an extremely old and mysterious ethereal air. 

There didn't seem to be anything strange. 

The legendary danger still had not come——