Chapter 577: Path Of Death
Cowards would wet their pants while treading on this path, but Li Qiye remained calm and relaxed as if it was a stroll in his own garden.
After reaching a certain depth, the mist slowly emitted a terrifying aura of death. One’s skin would start to sizzle when met with this aura, and one’s muscles would quickly age until they became dozens or even hundreds of years older.
If they tried to block it with blood energy, then no matter how powerful this blood energy might be, it would still be withered by this powerful death aura. This corruption wouldn’t stop until the person died.
Li Qiye felt this corrosive death aura and murmured: “Countless eras have passed, yet your death aura is still here. It seems that you are still not dead, what a relief.”
Li Qiye carefully took out the lamp with the flicking fire in the center that seemed as if it would go out at any time. This little black flame seemed to be the death aura’s nemesis. When the aura tried to approach Li Qiye, it would instantly be burnt away by the flame.
After sizzling noises arose, the aura was burnt by the flame into little patches of smoke. Li Qiye went even deeper inside and the aura, no matter how powerful, couldn’t come close to him due to the black flame of the lamp.
The corpses that paved the path became fewer, but they were even more powerful than before. Prior to this, there were heaven-defying big shots, but Li Qiye didn’t know them because people of that level couldn’t enter his sight.
However, as he walked deeper inside, Li Qiye noticed a few characters among these fewer corpses.
An old man was lying on the path and had been dead for who knew how long. Although he was being corroded by the death aura, his corpse was not yet corrupted and decayed.
“All-Heaven Monarch, why didn’t you just stay in the Stone Medicine World? Why run here to die?” Li Qiye looked at the corpse and muttered to himself.
He walked a bit further and saw a skeleton holding a stone bowl which triggered another response: “Endless Longevity Alchemy Emperor, did you come here to find an Immortal Medicine for everlasting life? What a shame... The Endless Longevity Bowl, such a supreme treasure was robbed of its divine intent by the death aura.
“Glorious True God — how arrogant was this little brat in the past? So after you lost to that brat Min Ren, you ran here... It must have been because you wanted that heaven-suppressing item to defeat Min Ren...
“Autumn Goddess, what a pity. The number one beauty of the Charming Spirit Race in the past; countless prodigies of the nine worlds swooned over your incomparable allure. However, no matter how pretty you might have been, you are nothing but a corpse now.”
Along the way, Li Qiye recognized several famous people from the past. A few of them were his acquaintances when he was the Dark Crow, but all of these invincible existences eventually died inside the path of death.
Outsiders’ hearts would stop if they heard the names of these characters. Among them were unbeatable Imperial Princes, unparalleled True Gods, and number one beauties. [1. Imperial Princes are Immortal Emperor candidates, not actual princes.]
No one knew how long Li Qiye had been walking for, but there were fewer and fewer corpses as the death aura became stronger. Eventually, Li Qiye followed a trail the length of a small bridge.
After making it through this trial, he arrived at a plain. This plain was even more terrifying with its thick death aura.
Red glares flashed inside this thick aura. With a closer look, one would find that these red glares belonged to invincible characters. They seemed like living people, but they were actually all corpses.
These corpses looked just like True Gods with invincible divine lights surrounding their bodies. Legendary masters would quiver in front of them while even eternal existences would feel dread. [2. Undyings, legendary masters, and eternal existences are the general titles of strong people.]
Some of the corpses also resembled Godkings. Three of them wore crowns that were also True Treasures — real Godking crowns. The number of Godking crowns could be counted on one’s hand in this world, but there were actually three right in front of him.
If others were here, they would understand why even Godkings died on the path of death. It was not just the corrosion of the death aura, they would also have to face a bunch of corpses as powerful as gods.
Li Qiye remained undeterred against these deity-like corpses despite the fact that the death aura coming from them could completely crush him. He quickly said: “The ninety-nine divine ghosts, so you guys really were here.”
Right when the ninety-nine ghosts wanted to rush forward, Li Qiye took out a wooden ruler and raised it up high: “The Ghost’s Origin Ancestral Key is here! Ninety-nine divine ghosts, stand down!”
The ninety-nine ghosts could tear Li Qiye limb from limb at any moment, but at this time, all of them stopped and gazed at the key with their red eyes.
Li Qiye obtained this key back at the Eastern Hundred Cities, but the world didn’t know of its effect.
The ghosts continued to stare at the key while standing completely still.
“It seems like this thing cannot command you all, but luckily I am prepared.” Li Qiye formally took out an item that caused the myriad dao to scream as the world became gray. Supreme universal laws that seemingly had their own conscience hovered around his palm.
“Dinnngg!” The hymn of the grand dao appeared as countless strings of universal laws interwove as an unparalleled spear appeared in his hand.
Li Qiye raised the wooden key with one hand and the spear with the other while he shouted with a loud voice: “The Origin Sealing Spear is here. Ninety-nine divine ghosts, stand down!”
The Origin Sealing Spear also had an unbelievable origin. It was a supreme treasure borrowed from the Ancestral Flow Master, a supreme mythical treasure that no one had seen before.
The ghosts looked at the key then back at the spear in Li Qiye’s hands with fear in their reddened eyes before retreating to make way for Li Qiye.
Li Qiye smiled after seeing the ghosts withdraw and slowly said: “Millions of long years have passed. You guys have been dead for so long, yet you still linger on with regrets? If I am successful this time, then I might help you guys.” [3. The raw is one billion years when you count up the zeros, but it is also an expression for a long time. One billion sounds a bit too much so I chose millions.]
The ninety-nine divine ghosts were not living beings; they were once terrifying existences in a distant era, but they met their end millions of years ago and turned into evil spirits that guarded this place, waiting for a certain day to come. [4. This sounds silly, I know, but remember ghosts in ED are more human than real ghosts.]
The ninety-nine ghosts watched Li Qiye walk by, then they went back to the thick death aura like evil spirits as if nothing had happened.
***
Not long after Li Qiye infiltrated the path of death did a piece of news quickly spread throughout the Prime Ominous Grave and its five realms.
“What? The Divine Guard is descending? Is this true?” An ancestor of a great power shivered after hearing this news.
The messenger disciple reported in a serious manner: “Respectful Ancestor, it is one hundred percent true. First Uncle saw it with his own eyes since he was responsible for greeting the Divine Guard, so I came to report with full speed.” The disciple guaranteed that it was from a trustworthy source.
The ancestor’s expression greatly changed upon hearing this. Two days ago, the Yin Yang Master had brought this up, and many had heard of it as well. So within the last two days, many great powers and imperial lineages had many speculations.
But now, more information had come and the Divine Guard was actually descending, so how could these powers not be alarmed?
In fact, this news traveled very quickly and everyone received the news. The emperor’s lineages found out even earlier than the ordinary great powers.
“It’s so strange. The lord of the Ancestral City personally arriving is one thing, but now the Divine Guard is here as well.” All the sects were very wary, and even the ghost race itself was on high alert.
An ancestor of an emperor’s lineage placed great importance on this matter, so he solemnly asked the messenger: “Which character is descending this time?”
The messenger answered with absolute confidence: “Dear Ancestor, I heard that it is the captain himself.”
The ancestor’s face became a bit ugly as he said: “The older generation of the Divine Guard... Is it only because of the lost mythical island? Just what is on it?”
As the news continued to cause a storm, an expert was quite confused after hearing it: “Didn’t people say that the portal to the Ancestral Realm only opened once every hundred years? It has not been that long since the last time someone came down to find a descendant, so how could it be opened once more this quickly?”
A ghost king who knew more sighed and said: “There are methods, of course, if the Ancestral Realm truly wants to send people down, but they have to pay a great price. This is absolutely a sky-shattering event for them to send down the captain of the Divine Guard himself. Usually, sending down a regular member of the guard would be enough to resolve all problems since they could just use the prestige of the Ancestral Realm to command the ghost race. But now, the captain is coming down, proving that this matter is of the greatest importance.”
“The Ancestral City has never entered the grave before. First it was the lord himself, now the captain of the Divine Guard is coming as well.” A great character emotionally wondered: “Could there really be an egg of a divine beast on the island?”