Heaven-Sealing City

Half a month later.

Su Ye carried a golden staff on his back and rode a large black dog, traversing treacherous mountain ranges. Along the way, he endured ambushes by various fierce beasts and raptors, surviving dozens of bloody battles before finally arriving at a gathering place for the human race.

"Big Brother, can you let the old... let the little one go now?"

The pitch-black dog said with a fawning tone. It was as large as an ox, its entire body covered in black fur that shone with a glossy, satin-like luster. It looked incredibly fierce, enough to strike terror into any region, yet at this moment, it was deeply anxious.

This was because the one sitting on its back was extremely ruthless, consuming a fierce beast in a single meal, and it had no desire to become the next item on the menu.

Su Ye looked down at the black dog beneath him. This was a descendant he had subdued along the way; it appeared to be a wolf-dog, but in reality, it was neither dog nor wolf.

It was a Qilin.

"That you and I could meet in this vast Great Wilderness proves that we are fated. From now on, you shall follow by my side and join me in conquering the world; one day, you will be renowned throughout the Great Wilderness."

Su Ye spoke with impassioned fervor, painting a glorious blueprint for the future.

This Qilin had suffered some internal affliction, otherwise, it would have been difficult to subdue. But since he had stumbled upon it, there was no chance of it escaping. The Qilin Precious Technique was, after all, incredibly powerful.

Of course, this Qilin was not one of the Ten Fiends, but merely a descendant. The Qilin Precious Technique it inherited was incomplete, yet even so, it remained formidable, comparable to the supreme techniques of ordinary pure-blooded fierce beasts.

I believe your nonsense. Who is fated with you? You, wanting this young master to follow you? If not for my own condition, I would have slapped you to death with a wave of my hand.

The Qilin roared inwardly, but dared not show it on its face, fearing this brutal fellow might eat it. It fawningly said, "I am just a dog, a dog of little use. If you want powerful descendants, I know where to find them—like the Suanni or the Bian. They are truly majestic and only they would be worthy of your noble status."

"You make a fair point. Riding a dog, and a black one at that, does indeed diminish my majestic image."

Su Ye nodded, fully agreeing. "Since you are useless, keeping you serves no purpose other than to be eaten. However, I just finished a beast, so I am not hungry. Perhaps I should slaughter you and sell the meat for some coin; dog meat is quite fragrant, I imagine it would sell well."

"No, I am useful! I have great use! I can serve as a mount, guard the house, I can..."

The Qilin spoke hurriedly, its eyes filled with terror. Although it felt the one before him was merely bluffing, it dared not gamble; losing meant losing its life.

It cursed repeatedly in its heart, vowing that once it recovered, it would make this fellow pay.

A brilliant smile appeared on Su Ye's face, quite satisfied with the response. He reached out and patted the dog's head. As for how he knew this was a Qilin descendant rather than a black dog?

Naturally, it was because his Samsara Eye could clearly perceive the various fierce beast bloodlines within the creature, the strongest of which was the Qilin bloodline.

The so-called descendants were beasts that possessed the bloodlines of powerful ancient creatures.

"Descendant" was the polite term; the less polite term was a crossbreed, a hybrid, or even worse, a mongrel.

The Qilin was furious that he dared to pat its head, but with the Qilin now under the eaves, it had to bow its head. Once it recovered, it would surely suppress this fellow, take him as a slave, and ride him to conquer the eight wildernesses.

"Since you are following me now, I shall bestow a name upon you."

Su Ye looked at the large black dog beneath him, a name surfacing in his mind. "A dog is fine; one can still look down upon the ages. From now on, you shall be called Black Emperor."

"Black Emperor?"

The Qilin paused. It had expected a hideous name, but to its surprise, it was actually quite imposing. "Isn't 'Emperor' a bit too arrogant? How about changing it to 'King'? Call me Black King. One day, this King will become a supreme powerhouse who shakes the Great Wilderness, a ruler of a clan."

"Emperor" was a title for supreme existences, beings comparable to gods. It feared that using such a name would lead to it being beaten to death in the future.

As for "King," that was nothing; even Venerables could be called Kings. Even if it couldn't become a god, becoming a Venerable who shook a region would be more than enough. Calling itself Black King would be well-deserved.

"Bang."

Su Ye slapped the Qilin on its head. "As my mount, can you have a bit more ambition? Only the incompetent call it arrogance; for the capable, it is called confidence. From now on, you are Black Emperor."

"%￥#@..."

Black Emperor cursed under its breath.

Heaven-Sealing City.

An ancient city on the border of the Stone Kingdom. As for how ancient?

Heaven-Sealing City was even older than the Stone Kingdom itself; it had been an ancient city as far back as the primordial era.

Legend had it that Heaven-Sealing City originated from the distant Archaic Era, where a supreme powerhouse once stood to confer titles upon the gods on behalf of Heaven, hence the name Heaven-Sealing.

Of course, this was merely a legend; the truth had long since been lost to time.

Su Ye rode Black Emperor to the gates of Heaven-Sealing City and looked up at the simple, ancient characters "Heaven-Sealing" inscribed above the gate.

The two characters were very primitive and quite scrawled, looking like ghost runes, yet he recognized them at a glance, as if they had long been deeply branded into his mind.

"Heaven-Sealing City... I have some memories of this place. It seems... right, there is a famous trial ground nearby that produces a special precious liquid capable of tempering the physical body."

Black Emperor said. The place where it lived was not far from here, less than a hundred thousand miles away, so it knew some information about this area.

Su Ye ignored Black Emperor and continued to stare at the "Heaven-Sealing" characters. The longer he looked, the more extraordinary he felt they were. He secretly activated his Samsara Eye to investigate them.

The ghost-rune-like characters seemed to come alive, radiating a unique Dao resonance. Suddenly, they evolved into a vast world filled with mist, from which chains emerged. Each chain was formed by the laws of the Great Dao—the order of rules—sealing a portal, a portal leading to Heaven.

"Hey, this Emperor is talking to you, did you hear me?"

Black Emperor turned its head to look at Su Ye, only to see his expression was vacant, as if he had lost his soul. His eyes shifted, light flickering within them. He was distracted, leaving himself wide open. Should it strike him now and send him to reincarnation?

If it killed him, it would be free.

But what if it failed? Wouldn't it then be...

There is no "what if"; if he went all out, a single strike would be enough to kill.

For the sake of freedom.

"You're full of killing intent. What are you plotting? Don't tell me you're planning to betray me?"

Su Ye snapped back to reality and looked down at Black Emperor beneath him. The smile on his face was brilliant, appearing incredibly innocent and giving off a harmless vibe.

"How could that be? Is this Emperor the kind of... dog? This Emperor is the most loyal, unwavering in devotion, and would never commit an act of betrayal."

Black Emperor spoke in a rush, his heart burning with rage.

That guy definitely exposed a flaw on purpose just now to test this Emperor.

Just you wait. Once this Emperor recovers, I will suppress you.

Su Ye ignored Black Emperor and glanced at the two characters "Heaven-Sealing." Although his Samsara Eye could see things invisible to ordinary people, his current mastery of ocular techniques was insufficient to see through them completely. He would return to investigate once his Samsara Eye progressed further.

"Right, you mentioned treasure liquid earlier. What kind of treasure liquid?"

"Heaven and Earth Treasure Liquid. It can temper the physical body. It is located in the Mist Mountains and is worth a fortune. A single drop sells for ten thousand Jingbi, and even then, it is priceless and hard to find."

Black Emperor's gaze was fervent as he said, "Since we are already here, why not try our luck? We might just walk away with a significant harvest."

"The Mist Mountains?"

Su Ye took a very old map from his robes and examined it carefully. He could not find the Mist Mountains on it, but he did find Heaven-Sealing City.

The location of Heaven-Sealing City was near the eerie and dangerous Ancient Battlefield. Before leaving the Wind Clan, the Old Patriarch had sternly warned him to stay far away from that region.

Black Emperor looked at the ancient map in Su Ye's hand and said speechlessly, "Where did you get this antique? This map looks at least a thousand years old."

"It's an heirloom."

Su Ye replied. A thousand years was neither long nor short; in this world, a millennium could change many things. He asked, "Could this Mist Mountains be that Ancient Battlefield?"

"The Ancient Battlefield?"

Black Emperor was stunned upon hearing this, then realized something and said, "Yes, but also no. The Mist Mountains originally belonged to the Ancient Battlefield, but five hundred years ago, an incident occurred. The eerie substances of the Ancient Battlefield contracted, and thus the Mist Mountains were born."

The reason the Ancient Battlefield was dangerous was not because of powerful living beings within, but because countless powerful beings had fallen there, turning the earth into blood-stained demonic soil. Though the ancient gods had perished, their resentment remained, causing the battlefield to be filled with eeriness and misfortune.

Black Emperor continued, "In the Mist Mountains, if you are lucky, you might even discover artifacts left behind by the ancient gods. Of course, the Mist Mountains cannot compare to the Hundred Broken Mountains; after all, not many ancient powerhouses fell here. If there were more, I fear the Mist Mountains would have formed a special small world just like the Hundred Broken Mountains."

"It is rumored that the treasure liquid in the Mist Mountains is the divine essence formed after the gods fell, their divine blood merging into the earth and gestating over endless years."

"Isn't that just corpse fluid?"

"..."

Black Emperor was speechless. Was it necessary to be so blunt? He said, "It is different. Although it looks like a rotting corpse... never mind, if I keep talking, I won't be able to eat in the future."

His expression was very ugly. Originally, he had planned to search for some treasure liquid to temper his body, but now he had lost his appetite.

Su Ye smiled. He naturally knew it was different. Although the raw materials and the process were the same, the final result was different. It was like how wheat left to rot in a pile forms foul water, yet the process of brewing wine follows the same fundamental path.