The Souleater Corps was the strongest army that the Exalted Han Empire revealed on the surface, and it was entirely formed from Spirit Realm experts. The Exalted Han Empire spent around 20% of the yearly gains in its National Treasury to foster this army, and it was exactly the reason why this army was capable of instilling fear in the extraordinary sects!
At this moment, the Souleater Corps were camped outside Ancient Domain City. Or to be more precise, Ancient Domain City was surrounded by it. After all, the first thing they had to do after arriving at the southern territory was to find somewhere to set up their basecamp, and Ancient Domain City had was definitely their best choice. However, the state within Ancient Domain City was complicated, and even the Exalted Han Empire didn’t dare underestimate the powers that resided here!
There were only two ways for it to enter Ancient Domain City. The first was the take the city by force, and the second was to obtain the permission of those powers and the City Governor of Ancient Domain City. In the beginning, Luo Jun had chosen to negotiate instead of attacking, but it was obvious that the negotiations weren’t that smooth. So, this scene where the Souleater Corps surrounded the city had appeared!
Before long, An Nanjing, Qing, Hong, and the others received orders to return to Ancient Domain City, and Yang Ye knew that the situation there was probably very bad.
“Isn’t that fellow, Luo Jun, afraid of infuriating those extraordinary sects from the central territory and the two An Clans by surrounding the city?” Yang Ye asked An Nanjing who was sitting in front of him.
“In the past, the Exalted Han Empire wouldn’t dare do that no matter what, but now… those powers within the city will refuse to join forces against the Exalted Han Empire,” said An Nanjing.
Yang Ye was puzzled. “Why?”
“The birth of the Mortal Emperor represents that the continent is about to be united, so how many would be wiling to offend the future overlord of the continent? Moreover, those powers had originally joined forces and guarded Ancient Domain City because of the Hidden Dragon Pagoda. But now, everyone knows that the white dragon beneath the pagoda has left it, so Ancient Domain City isn’t of any use to those extraordinary sects when this benefit is gone. After all, the benefits within the city have been practically fully seized by my two An Clans and the City Governor. So, it’s probably only my An Clan and the City Governor who would go against the Exalted Han Empire!” said An Nanjing.
“Will they be able to resist the Exalted Han Empire?” Yang Ye said in a low voice, “100,000 Spirit Realm experts would probably even be able to crush a Monarch Realm expert, right? How will your clans resist that army?”
“Don’t underestimate the An Clan and the City Governor’s Estate!” An Nanjing spoke flatly. “Since we’ve been able to survive for thousands of years, we naturally have our own trump cards. If it comes to the point where we have no choice but to fight, then it wouldn’t be very difficult to annihilate that army with the joint forces of the two An Clans and the City Governor’s Estate. The reason we’ve been summoned back is probably because they’re worried the Exalted Han Empire would dispatch other armies or experts to the southern territory!”
Yang Ye remained silent for a moment, and then he said, “I’ll go back with all of you!”
An Nanjing glanced at Yang Ye with surprise and said, “Why?”
“Because we can be considered to be friends now!” Yang Ye smiled and said, “Since we’re friends, then how could I not lend a hand when me friend is facing difficulty? Even though I’m all alone, I’ll absolutely not refuse if you need my help with anything.”
“Friends?” An Nanjing blinked. She seemed to be very puzzled by this word, or it should be said that she wasn’t accustomed to it.
“Are we not?” Yang Ye said, “Let me put it this way. If we were to fight, and I lost the battle. Would you still think as you did in the past? Would you think that I’m useless to you and kill me if you had the chance?”
An Nanjing pondered deeply for a moment, and then she shook her head.
Yang Ye was just about to speak when An Nanjing said, “That outcome doesn’t make sense because I can’t kill you.”
Yang Ye was speechless.
“But no matter what, it really makes me feel nice to hear those words you spoke!” An Nanjing continued.
“Which words?”
“I won’t tell you. Think about it yourself!”
Yang Ye felt speechless again.
After he promised to return to Ancient Domain City with An Nanjing and the others, Yang Ye left the Darkbeast Empire and arrived at Death Abyss.
Yang Ye walked over to Elder Mu’s cottage and bowed. He was just about to speak when Elder Mu’s voice suddenly came from within it. “Come in!”
In there? Yang Ye was slightly astounded. After all, Elder Mu had never asked him to enter the cottage in the past. Even if he was very curious about what resided inside it, he’d never asked to enter it. Because he knew that since Elder Mu hadn’t allowed him to enter, then there was definitely a reason behind it.
But now, he hadn’t expected that Elder Mu would actually ask him to enter!
Yang Ye hesitated for a moment before he pushed the door open and walked in. He’d just walked in when he felt the world around him spin, and then everything within his field of vision warped. Moreover, a wave of dizziness struck him, and he couldn’t help but frown because of it.
After an unknown period of time passed, Yang Ye opened his eyes slowly.
At this moment, he was on an extremely vast square, and a dense expanse of black stone coffins were laid out on the square. There were thousands of them!
“In the past, I didn’t let you come in here because your strength was too weak, and you would be unable to resist the might of the illusion formation. Now, it’s time to let you know about some things, otherwise, it would probably be too late!” Elder Mu appeared in front of Yang Ye and spoke slowly.
“These coffins…?” Yang Ye asked with shock on his face. He hadn’t imagined that there was actually a completely different space within Elder Mu’s cottage.
“The Grave of the Great!” Elder Mu said, “There’s an expert within every single coffin. The weakest is at the first rank of the Monarch Realm while the strongest is at the ninth rank of the Monarch Realm. Of course, all of them are dead now!”
All of them are Monarch Realm experts!Yang Ye gasped. Thousands of Monarch Realm experts!
Elder Mu waved his hand, and then the cover of a coffin in front of them soared slowly into the air. Yang Ye’s pupils constricted when he saw the person lying in the coffin because it was none other than Daoist Zui.
“A mere fifth rank Monarch Realm profounder like him actually dared to challenge the Heavenpath. Alas, he was really courting death.” Elder Mu raised a finger, and then the Azure Sword which Daoist Zui carried instantly flew to Yang Ye as he said, “Even though this sword can’t compare to the Void Flash sword in your possession, it’s still a rare and good sword. Unfortunately, its Sword Spirit has been shattered and fallen into deep sleep again. Repair it if you can.”
Yang Ye nodded and put it away. Even though he had no use for it, he could give it to Su Qingshi, and she would be much safer with it by her side!
Yang Ye hesitated for a moment and asked. “Elder Mu, what exactly is the Heavenpath? Why are even Monarch Realm experts like ants before it?”
Elder Mu fell silent for a moment before he said, “The Heavenpath was originally something the Laws of the Heaven Dao in this world created to limit the amount of Saint Realm experts here. Because the birth of every single Saint Realm expert is like a disaster to the heavens and the earth, and even the world would be almost unable to endure their presence. So, for the sake of limiting the birth of Saint Realm experts and for the sake of protecting this world, the Heavenpath was born.”
When he spoke up to this point, Elder Mu’s expression suddenly sank, and he said, “However, this so-called Heavenpath suddenly changed.”
“Changed?” Yang Ye frowned and said, “The current Heavenpath is unlike the Heavenpath of the past?”
Elder Mu nodded and said, “My guess is that the Heavenpath, or I should say the Laws of the Heaven Dao in this world have been destroyed. The current ‘Heavenpath’ is merely something that’s being controlled by someone from behind the scenes.”
Yang Ye’s eyelids twitched as he said, “Someone is controlling the Heavenpath? Senior, that’s probably impossible, right? Because if someone is controlling it, then that person’s strength is at least at the Saint Realm, right? With the strength possessed by a Saint Realm expert, that person should already be invincible in this continent, so why go to all that trouble?”
Elder Mu said, “I used to think just like you are thinking right now. However, the facts prove that my guess is probably true. Because all the corpses of the experts that I’ve put to rest for thousands of years show that they’ve died in the exact same way. Of course, most importantly, it wasn’t the energy of the Laws of this world that killed them, and it was a form of energy that I’ve never heard of….”
When he heard this, Yang Ye had a slight understanding of why Elder Mu helped bury the corpses of these experts. It turned out that it was for the sake of investigating the Heavenpath.
“With the strength I possess, it shouldn’t have been difficult for me to overcome the Heavenpath.” Elder Mu said in a low voice, “However, I don’t want to die without knowing why like they have. So, I ceaselessly suppressed my cultivation while investigating these experts that perished while trying to overcome the Heaven Path. I did all of it for the sake of figuring the Heavenpath out. Unfortunately, besides finding out that it’s being controlled by someone, I haven’t been able to attain any material developments!”
Yang Ye laughed bitterly and said, “Senior, all of this you’ve spoken off seem to be too far away from me. Moreover, I feel that I’m unable to help you at all. After all, I don’t have the ability to challenge the Heavenpath right now!”
“It isn’t very far from you!” Elder Mu chuckled and said, “You know, I’ve sensed that the energy within this world of ours is vanishing swiftly. I don’t know the reason, but I think it’s related to that existence that’s controlling the Heavenpath from the shadows. You should be aware of the consequences we would face if the energy within this world vanishes! At that time, the lifespan of humans would be 100 years at most, and we would be unable to cultivate. So, all profounders would become like ordinary people or even worse than that. To put it simply, it would almost be the end of the continent.”
Yang Ye’s heart shook because the little girl within the tiny vortex had spoken similar words. Could this world really be on the verge of destruction?
Yang Ye shook his head and said, “Senior, you wouldn’t be thinking of asking me to be the savior of this world, right? If it’s that, then I’m afraid I won’t be able to accomplish it. In my opinion, it’s enough so long as the people I care about are safe. As for the fate of others? I’m sorry but I’m not that noble. Moreover, I don’t have the strength to be that savior!”
“The Boundless Sea of Energy is in your possession, right? No, it should be called the tiny vortex now, right?” Elder Mu smiled spuriously as he gazed at Yang Ye.
Yang Ye’s expression changed violently, and it seemed like he’d suffered a heavy blow!
