1347 - The Sage of the Underworld
Chapter 1347 The Sage of the Underworld
It was no simple feat to link the fates of two star domains together.
Ye Qingyu spent another two years before discovering a method that could probably work—he could begin from the Formation of Stars.
Now, both the Vast Thousand Star Domain and the Underworld Star Domain were already closely linked to Ye Qingyu. He tried to use his power of control to change the positions of domains and planets, thereby altering their course of travel and positions in the Formation of Stars. This caused a transformation in the entire star domain and formation. The most ideal status was for each star domain's formation to channel its own formation individually after the transformation. If two Formation of Stars were separated by vast space and did not repel each other, it would be a perfect marriage.
In more direct terms, he was setting up a formation with the stars as his chess pieces.
Ye Qingyu began to try over the next few years.
Firstly, he had to completely understand the star formations within the Vast Thousand and Underworld Star Domains.
Ye Qingyu's physical self had broken free of both star domains, and he revealed his main true form. He sat amongst the stars and used his [Eyes of the Void] to observe the course of the star formations. He observed the role that each star in each domain played in the system it was in, as well as its drifting course. This was the same thing that Ye Qingyu did when he became the main sovereign of the Vast Thousand Star Domain, but he did so in greater detail now. Not only did he record his findings, he even thought about them.
Fifty years later—
Shui Xiu and Li Xiaofei became Underworld Emperors.
Ye Qingyu led the others out of the Underworld Star Domain before sending them back to the enclosed dimension in the [Cloud Top Cauldron], so that they could maximize their time spent absorbing the Underworld power. As for how much they could take in, it would be dependent on their own fate and luck.
At the same time, even though the auras of the three top-level Emperors in the Underworld Star Domain who were slain were far weaker than that of the Ancient Ghostly Emperor, they had been absorbed and gathered by Ye Qingyu, who had begun to grasp a little about the essence of these auras, and introduced them into the [Cloud Top Cauldron].
Ye Qingyu's original plan was to take down and execute all of the Emperor-level experts in the Underworld Star Domain. However, he gave up the idea eventually.
This was because he began to vaguely realize, as his understanding of the Underworld Star Domain deepened, that the ghostly creatures in the domain were not naturally evil, and that the power of the Underworld was not a completely evil power as well. Unintelligent undead creatures were only equipped with the instinct to kill and devour, just like the wild beasts in the Vast Thousand Star Domain. Those that were intelligent, however, were able to differentiate between good and evil. They created their own civilization, and they were "alive" in a sense. If Ye Qingyu slaughtered them without any consideration, it would be no different from the Ancient Ghostly Emperor's behavior in the Vast Thousand Domains. This would turn Ye Qingyu into an Invader of the Underworld Star Domain.
Furthermore, Ye Qingyu had another plan in mind.
After settling Li Xiaofei and Shui Xiu down, Ye Qingyu ventured to the Underworld Star Domain again.
He did a series of experiments, such as taking a part of the World Tree and planting it on a planet in the Underworld Star Domain. The unknown Quasi-emperor who cultivated the World Tree in the Underworld gave him inspiration, therefore he wanted to try planting it in the Underworld Star Domain as well. That was because Ye Qingyu had already confirmed that there was no World Tree that existed in the system yet.
After a decade, Ye Qingyu eventually managed to bring a division of the World Tree to live in the star domain.
This proved the uniqueness of the World Tree. It was also within Ye Qingyu's expectations.
However, according to Ye Qingyu's observation, the World Tree mutated slightly after coming to life. For now, he was still uncertain, but he was sure that it would turn out differently from the real World Tree. He could only continue observing now.
Ye Qingyu set up hidden barrier formations around the area where he grew the World Tree, before creating layers of illusory formations. He left after ensuring that it would not be affected by the actions of external parties for a long time.
However, he was completely in no hurry to leave the Underworld Star Domain.
Over the next ten years or so, Ye Qingyu transformed into the Underworld Emperor and roamed the huge planets of the Underworld Star Domain. He also interacted with the intelligent undead beings, and melded into their civilization. He even created his own faction and sect of undead members, eventually earning the fearsome reputation as the new King of the Undead.
While within the civilization of the Undead, the Immortal Underworld God Emperor, a manifestation of Ye Qingyu, was like a streaking comet. He belonged to no school or sect, but his strength was terrifying. He became a legend of the martial arts community and his fearsome reputation spread around the lands. To Ye Qingyu, however, this was achieved without breaking much sweat, as his own power alone was enough to take down all the other experts in this star domain.
Under his purposeful planning, the Immortal Underworld Emperor became a legend with a great reputation and immense charisma.
He set up another Immortal Dojo in the Underworld Star Domain and began recruiting. He also gathered unknown breathing techniques and Ancient Spirit Manuals, thereby enabling him to create an extremely unique undead technique. It allowed him to stimulate the consciousness and wisdom of lower-level spirits. This was an earth-shattering and hugely transformational technique in this star domain, as this meant even those unintelligent, barbaric and lower-ranked chaotic undead could train and become intelligent once this technique became popular. This would, in turn, change the entire landscape of their civilization.
Ye Qingyu named the technique [The Heavenly Underworld Mantra].
The birth and spread of this technique caused the Immortal Underworld God Emperor's reputation to reach its peak in the entire Underworld Star Domain. He had become somewhat of a saint to the undead in the star domain, and his name was so dazzling that he seemed to have been elevated to savior status.
Under the pretext that the previous sovereign, the Ancient Ghostly Emperor, had gone missing, Ye Qingyu had evidently become the new pillar of support and peak martial artist in the minds of the beings of the Underworld Star Domain.
It was also at this moment that Ye Qingyu could suddenly sense a strange movement of the Underworld Power in his body. It resonated with the entire star domain, as if they were pulsing together. Strange phenomena appeared in the entire star domain, causing the Emperors in the domain to feel a strange sense of trepidation.
"The Power of the Sovereign of the Underworld... Now I understand."
Ye Qingyu could sense the qi within his body surge. The Underworld power that had already been absorbed in his body turned active again, as if it were a scorching torrent. It surged wildly, and eventually truly melded into his body. New power was generated endlessly as a result of the new merger.
At this moment, Ye Qingyu had completely advanced to a stage worthy of being known as the sovereign of the Underworld Domain.
"This time, I stumbled my way to success."
Ye Qingyu could feel his newfound powers coursing through his body, and he felt inspired.
He understood now that if he wanted to achieve the title of sovereign and be accepted by the entire star domain, he would not only have to absorb as much aura as possible, he would also need the telepathic power of the beings in the star domain. This followed the same theory as the way the [Life Sword Mantra] passed down by the peerless War God which gathered the faith of the people. The combination of the beings' telepathic faith, worship, aura, and martial prowess would turn him into a true sovereign. He realized that he had only truly embarked on a new journey out of all the paths he took mindlessly in the Vast Thousand Star Domain.
To this end, Ye Qingyu managed to attain the esteemed position of sovereign of both the Vast Thousand Domains and Underworld Star Domain at the same time.
This increased the confidence Ye Qingyu had of adjusting the star formations of both huge star domains greatly.
He kept running through his thoughts over and over again, before deciding to run some more experiments prior to the real attempt.
After all, this was an important matter.
After that, Ye Qingyu returned to the Vast Thousand Domains.
News from the military headquarters came. The Invaders west of the defensive line at the Great Wall of the Dark Realm were becoming increasingly restless. Huge, indescribable amounts of Invaders carried out a wild counterattack. As time passed, the Invaders' battle prowess seemed to be increasing exponentially, as did their terrifying presence. Some of the scout posts and temporary camps set up at critical forts beyond the Great Wall by the military headquarters had completely been destroyed, pushing the combined forces of the Dark Realm and the Vast Thousand Domains back to the Great Wall defensive line.
The situation of this battle turned intense suddenly.
At the same time, the casualties suffered by the military headquarters in the war were also increasing unavoidably.
Of course, the Great Wall defensive line was still in solid shape, with a few current Emperors holding the fort.
However, the morale of the troops, which was immense at its peak, had taken a hit.
To solve this, Ye Qingyu appeared personally and unleashed his remarkable ability. In one move, he turned all of the Invaders within a five hundred-kilometer area west of the Great Wall defensive line into dust. This caused the entire area to be covered with hazy chaos sword qi, and any Invader who attempted to enter this area within a one-year time span would be instantly turned into dust.
The morale of each troop greatly increased.
The Imperial God Emperor had not shown himself for centuries, and there were only legends of him that were being passed around. People rarely saw his true self, and his appearance was earth-shattering. It shook the world, and caused everyone's confidence to increase. With such a peerless sovereign on their side, final victory would surely be theirs.
However, the battle became more cruel.
Over the next century, the people began to realize that the Invaders were changing their usual chaotic and unorderly form of wild attacks. They seemed to have evolved and began to introduce structure into their attacks. They coordinated with each other and even came up with formations. Also, their organization was tighter.
The form of the battle was beginning to change.
The reputable generals cultivated by the military department gradually realized that they were fighting alongside mindless and lowly beasts. Instead, they were fighting with intelligent and smart warriors and commanders, and that the enemy had become cunning.
At the same time, Li Xiaofei and Shui Xiu emerged from isolation.
Both of them had absorbed the aura of the Underworld, and their fighting prowess skyrocketed. Even though they were still not at the sovereign level, they already possessed levels of cultivation akin to the peak of the Ancient Ghostly Emperor level. They were already many times stronger than before.
Without hesitation, Ye Qingyu sent them to the Underworld Star Domain to take over the Immortal Dojo he had set up there after a discussion in the [Cloud Top Cauldron], without even revealing them to the outside world.
Over the next few centuries, these two peerless experts did not appear in the Vast Thousand Domains again.
In the same timespan, Ye Qingyu made countless simulations, attempts, and divinations. Ye Qingyu even set up formations deep in space on uninhabited planets as simulations, expending countless numbers of dead stars and desolate planets in the process. Eventually, he discovered a way of moving the Underworld and Vast Thousand Star Domains, making use of their conflicting natures to repel each other.
He began to really execute his plan.
The attempt took five centuries.