Imperial God Emperor

There was regret in her eyes, as well as helplessness. 

“Lord Ye Qingyu, according to the ancient historical records of the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect, it was once a place called Golden Pond City, which was famous for its ores. Once upon a time, it was also one of the most popular trading centers in Ancient Sky Dragon Domain. The chambers of commerce of major domains all had a station here, and the ores they exported were extremely pure. It was once a magnificent mining landscape... Unfortunately, thousands of years ago, because the environment and resources of Ancient Sky Dragon Sect were more and more depleted, not only were there no minerals in Golden Pond City, other natural resources also gradually declined. The chambers of commerce and forces of foreign domains also left one after another, and later, in order to survive, the slightly more capable residents of the city also moved away. The once prosperous Golden Pond City had become ruins buried under the yellow sandy soil more than three hundred years ago.” 

The flourishing of a town or city depended on the population and the transfer of resources. They complement one another and can't do without either.

Once either one is in decline, even the most giant city would gradually decline and eventually disappear from the world.

Ye Qingyu stood with his hands clasped behind his back. 

Even though he had seen countless ruins and villages along the way, but the ruins of the ancient city before him, based on the scale and area, was absolutely not inferior to the Snow capital of Heaven Wasteland Domain. Unfortunately it had fallen to such a state. He couldn't help sighing with regret again. Since coming to Ancient Sky Dragon Domain, Ye Qingyu had never felt such a heavy heart before. 

The life span and decline of a domain was so terrifying.  

Every domain would deteriorate one day. Heaven Wasteland Domain also could not escape this law of Heaven and earth. If that day were to come, would Heaven Wasteland Domain become like Ancient Sky Dragon Domain, would the living beings of Heaven Wasteland Domain struggle like the people of Ancient Sky Dragon Domain, waiting for doomsday to come in despair? And was there any way to reverse all this?  

In Ye Qingyu’s heart, there was both sorrow and pity. 

Everybody continued on the road. 

After another hour.

They were still in the vast desert, the wind whistled bleakly over the sand dunes. 

Ye Qingyu came to a stop again.

This time, it was not the ruins of a giant city that appeared in front of him. 

It was a small village that looked completely abandoned.  

The reason that Ye Qingyu stopped was because the village was located on the edge of the desert. There were relatively much less wind and sand, and around the village were bowl-sized roots of trees that looked already weathered, though several times smaller than those of the ancient Golden Pond City. However the remaining tree branches and trunks caught Ye Qingyu's attention, which he seemed to feel a wisp of life. 

Qin Hui's eyes also lit up in joy. 

Could this be a surviving human town, and perhaps there were people living in the town? 

The several people slowed down and walked towards the depths of the village with hope. 

Along the way, the residences in the village were very simple. There were only a dozen houses, which were all built from simple rocks. Though shabby and simple, and covered by sand and wind, the degree of damage was much less. Evidently in recent years, there were still people living here, but they did not see any figures along the way. The buildings were empty, the doors were missing, and the houses were half filled with yellow sand... 

“Where are the people?” 

“They wouldn't be...” 

A bad feeling floated up in Ye Qingyu's heart. 

He did not observe with his divine sense.  

It was not because he didn't want to... but perhaps it was because he was unwilling to give up, he hoped to find people living here.

After a while. 

Ye Qingyu's footsteps halted, his whole body inexplicably went a little stiff.

Qin Hui and Luo Yi as well as Little Nine who were behind him were also taken aback for a moment, before they took a few steps forward, and were similarly stunned by the scene ahead.

Less than fifty meters away from them there was a well made of yellow rocks. 

And surrounding the well were many dried up corpses. 

Among the corpses, there were young men and women, as well as elderlies and small children, some of whom were affected by the wind and sand and had gradually become dried out, while others revealed parts of their skeleton though also dried up. But their faces were still faintly recognizable. Some had a fierce look, as though they were struggling with something before death, while others, though had dried and dark eyeballs, seemed to be displaying a strong thirst in the bottom of their eyes. There were also elderlies with endless despair and pain left on their faces. 

The only thing that they had in common was that they were all humans. 

Also they basically were ordinary people who did not have the slightest yuan qi. 

Ye Qingyu took a few more steps forward.  

With one glance, he noticed that the villagers were still clutching onto some broken ceramic pots, and some bowls made from yellow mud. Everyone, whether men, women or children, in the last moment before death, seemed to be crawling in the same direction. It even could be said that they had exerted the last bit of strength to move their body one step closer to that direction.

And the direction in which the corpses were all moving to was the well in the middle of the village.

Beside the well, there were also numerous corpses, at least one hundred, stacked up like a hill. The scene was simply a tragic sight. 

“These people all died of thirst.” 

Ye Qingyu already knew. 

He went over to the ancient well, and saw that the well was more than thirty meters deep, deeper than ordinary wells, but there wasn't any water below. The silt at the bottom was slightly moist, but there appeared to be no water...

Ye Qingyu felt indignant. 

At this time, he finally released his divine sense. The appearance of the whole village was fed back into his mind.

The village was not big, less than five kilometers, and there were dozens of wells of varying depths. The other wells had completely dried up, and it was only the bottom of this central well that was slightly moist. It could be imagined that the people inside the village all persevered to the end, to the last well. The men, women and children of the village had all gathered at the last thousand-year-old ancient well in the hope that the heavens would take pity on them, and bless the thousand-year-old ancient well of the village with water. However, fate was merciless, and they were eventually thirst and starved to death around the well... The whole village died as a result. 

Examining the condition of the corpses, Ye Qingyu speculated that the last villager should have died around half a month ago. 

If only he could come a little earlier... 

Ye Qingyu blamed himself a little, but in the end there was nothing he could do. 

The remarkable ability of a Saint, in the face of the power of Heaven and earth, was still somewhat small and weak.  

The villagers of the village were kind and tenacious. In the face of death, they still maintained order. There were no signs of chaos, killing and fighting in front of the last water source. Upon a careful look, he noticed that near the well there were old and frail women and children, while the young people were at the very back. In the last moments of their life, they still held on to the virtues and limits of the Human Race, and gave the opportunity to live to the weak. 

This was what Ye Qingyu found the most shocking and sorrowful. 

They were just ordinary people, good people, why couldn’t they live? 

And the traitors of the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect, the savages were living well? 

Ye Qingyu gazed afar, the killing intent in his eyes was like a storm brewing. 

“One day I will kill all the evil in this world!” 

Ye Qingyu made a vow. 

At this very moment, the skies and ground of Ancient Sky Dragon Domain changed colour. 

A gust of wind blew, rolling up the yellow sand like waves, submerging the whole village, including the ancient well and corpses. Ye Qingyu, Qin Hui and other people left. As they were kilometers away they still turned their head back, sighing emotionally and prayed, “I hope you rest in peace!” 

……

The desert was vast and mysterious. 

One could never fathom what kind of history and civilization was buried under the yellow sand.

Just as Ye Qingyu was filled with murderous intent because of the tragedy in the unknown village, and as they were about five thousand kilometers from their destination, there were people struggling in the ruins of an ancient city.

The ruins of the ancient city stood on the vast desert, like a lofty giant abandoned by time. Although it was already in ruins, from the city walls that were marked with cracks and covered in sand from time to time, one could still feel and hear the past prosperity and glory of the giant ancient city. 

The city gate had long been eroded, but from the collapsed rocks and broken stonewalls, one could still faintly piece together the solemn and imposing characters of Lifeng City.

The city was called Lifeng City. 

More than two thousand years ago, it was once a huge city with abundant water source and grass, was rich in natural resources, and had a thriving population. 

But today the grand and prosperous giant city was the same as Golden Pool City, in that it was almost buried in yellow sand. Like an old man, Lifeng City, which was solemnly standing on the vast desert, could only wait for the sand and dust to gradually completely bury itself and be forgotten with time. 

North of Lifeng City.  

Next to a low, semi-curved building, there were hundreds of seemingly distressed and haggard humans.

Among them, there were elderly who were covered in yellow sandy soil, in ragged clothing, and with a haggard face. There were also women who were covered in dust, dress tattered, and in shoes that were almost unable to cover their feet. There were children with sallow small faces, cracked lips, and because hunger and thirst were wailing in their mother's arms.  

“Mummy... I'm thirsty...” A little boy, about four or five years old, was huddled in his mother's arms, and seemed to be talking in his sleep. 

“Endure a little longer... Uncle Luo and the others are almost back... When they come back, there will be water...” the mother gently comforted him. She looked at the direction of the door, and then gently kissed the child's cracked lips, seemingly to moisten his mouth with a little saliva, but her lips were completely dry. Her voice was so hoarse that her words were unclear, like there was a ball of fire in her throat constantly emitting smoke——