After the Skyfall

Chapter 944 Huaqing Imperial City
Eight months have passed since we boarded the World Ship.

This time is not long for the cultivators of the Heavenly Realm, and is even a bit short. After all, cultivators are immortal beings and do not care about a year or two.

However, Li Yi experienced many extraordinary events that changed his fate in the Heavenly Realm.

this day.

The Boundary Ship stopped at the Third Heaven.

As the gate opened, a purple divine light flew out from a secret realm within the World Ship, followed by more than a dozen figures, each exuding the aura of a powerful celestial general.

The purple divine light vanished in an instant, quickly leaving the area near the Boundary Ship and heading eastward.

Li Yi felt the vastness of the celestial realm as he soared through the sky. Several stars twinkled around him as he unleashed the Celestial Light Transmission Technique, reaching an incredible speed.

Moreover, it moves silently and without a trace, its form able to pass directly through many tangible and intangible objects, without leaving any trace.

If this weren't the celestial realm, and if it were on Earth, this wondrous technique could even traverse a wormhole and enter another dimension.

Li Yi has learned many supernatural abilities, and he will use them whenever he has the chance, after all, practice makes perfect.

Moreover, the supernatural powers and spells of the celestial realm surpass all the spells he had previously learned. Now that his strength has increased, he naturally cannot afford to have any shortcomings in this area.

"Hua Qing, this is the Third Heaven where your hometown is located. Point me in a direction, and I'll send you back," Li Yi secretly transmitted his voice.

"Go east, keep going east. I'll remind you when we get there. I never thought that after all these trials, I, Hua Qing, would have the chance to return to my hometown. Looking back on these years, it all feels like a dream. If I had known this would happen, I should have stayed in the capital and enjoyed boundless happiness. Alas, I shouldn't have been so reckless and wandered around. Otherwise, I wouldn't have ended up like this." Hua Qing had now awakened and sighed.

Li Yi said, "Go back and cultivate diligently. Consider this a lesson learned, and just be more careful next time."

Hua Qing paused for a moment and said, "In my current state, I really don't know what will happen when I go back. I have neither cultivation nor strength. What you said before might be true."

"I'm afraid my capital has already fallen into ruin. It might have been completely swept away by my former wives, concubines, and maids. Moreover, it would be very dangerous for me to show myself like this."

“Right now, my combat strength is not even enough to be considered a Heavenly Soldier. Although I can still unleash a trace of Imperial Might by burning myself, it is of no use. Therefore, I would like to ask you to do me another favor.”

Suddenly, Hua Qing began to plead.

"What terrible idea have you come up with this time?" Li Yi asked suspiciously.

Hua Qing said, "How can it be considered a bad idea? It will also benefit you. If everything goes smoothly, you might be able to inherit a portion of my family fortune. The fortune of a Heavenly Emperor is very substantial. Don't you want it?"

"Tell me about it," Li Yi said.

"I want you to return to the Imperial City as Emperor Hua Qing, so that I may know how many people in the Imperial City are still under my control and how many are still loyal to me," Hua Qing said.

Li Yi immediately cursed, "Bullshit, you old bastard, you're trying to harm me again. If I appeared under your identity as Emperor Hua Qing, your former enemies would tear me apart. I'm only at the Heavenly General level, not a God Emperor."

"Trying to use me as bait to lure out a traitor, what a clever scheme."

He immediately sensed the danger and refused on the spot.

"Don't be so quick to refuse. You are now a direct descendant of the Heavenly God Royal Family, with a group of Heavenly Generals under your command and Heavenly Kings protecting you. Moreover, your Heavenly God Armband contains the power of a God Emperor. With so many trump cards, what are you afraid of?" Hua Qing said. "Furthermore, my Imperial City is located in a remote area, so there is no way there could be any other Heavenly Emperor powerhouses. If you return by using my identity, you can inherit everything from me in a reasonable and legal way."

"As for how much you get, it's all yours, how about it?"

"Including your wives and concubines?" Li Yi asked.

Hua Qing said, "I'll do this myself. Besides, you have the Dragon Girl and the Goddess by your side. Aren't they enough for you to keep doing day and night? How can you keep thinking about other people's wives and concubines? That's immoral. Besides, aren't you supposed to be indifferent to beauty? You weren't even tempted by such a beautiful fairy in front of you before."

"I'm just asking, what are you so nervous about?" Li Yi said. "However, while your suggestion makes some sense, considering that you almost got me killed before, I've decided to observe you after I go to your hometown."

“If there’s no major danger, I’d be willing to help you manage the Imperial City. But if not a single tile is left, then I’m sorry, I’ll have to leave. Right now, I’m quite useful as a direct descendant of the Heavenly God Royal Family, so there’s no need to take risks for some money.”

Hua Qing sighed and said, "Alright, you go to the Imperial City to observe first. If it works, then impersonate me and take back everything. If it doesn't work, once you've determined the situation, leave me behind and then go back."

"With the Celestial Clan backing you up, your future cultivation path will surely be smooth sailing. You might even become a God Emperor in the future. After I return to the throne, we will have the opportunity to sit down and discuss the Dao together again."

He didn't insist. After all, Li Yi was no longer the same as before. He was a genuine rich second-generation in the Heavenly Realm, with ten divine generals accompanying him and a Heavenly King as his guard. With such treatment, there was really no need for him to covet Li Yi's family fortune.

Li Yi used the Celestial Light Transmission Technique to travel eastward.

The Three Heavens are vast and boundless, and it will probably take a long time to reach Huaqing Imperial City.

"Heavenly King, where is Taiyi going? This journey isn't sustainable. Why don't you lend Taiyi a hand?" A goddess general couldn't help but secretly inquire. The Cold Mountain Heavenly King calmly replied, "Don't be impatient. Taiyi is coming to the Third Heaven for training. You only need to follow him. Moreover, I won't easily intervene. Even when traveling, Taiyi is free to make his own decisions. Besides, haven't you seen him cultivating supernatural techniques along the way?"

"Taiyi has just received the inheritance, and there is still much for him to learn. I estimate that he will need to travel for at least a hundred years to master everything and hopefully reach the Heavenly King realm. This escort mission is very important. If you encounter any danger, you must all be prepared to die in battle."

"Yes, Heavenly King," the goddess replied solemnly, and then asked no further questions.

They traveled for ten days and ten nights.

During this time, Li Yi crossed mountains, seas, and countless cultivator kingdoms, and finally, under Hua Qing's guidance, found the imperial city he had spoken of at the end of this continent.

This imperial city spans three thousand miles and is not large in scale. It is situated in a vibrant area with green mountains and clear waters. Although the spiritual energy is not abundant, it has been deliberately transformed to gather the energy of tens of thousands of miles, making it a place of outstanding natural beauty and countless wonders.

But no matter what, it doesn't change the fact that this is a poor and remote place.

It can't even be found on the celestial map.

"How did you, old man, come up with the idea of ​​building an imperial city in such a remote place?" Li Yi stopped and rested for a while.

Hua Qing said, "Because I was born here, and after becoming the Heavenly Emperor, I naturally wanted to benefit my hometown. Besides, the Heavenly Realm is vast and full of powerful beings. It has advantages to build the Imperial City a little off-center, at least it won't be easily targeted. If I had built the Imperial City on a feng shui treasure land, do you think this Imperial City would still exist now?"

"Moreover, an imperial city is enough to bless millions of miles. When I was alive, this place was a paradise, attracting countless rogue cultivators to flee here."

Li Yi ignored the old man's nonsense and, after resting for a while, entered the imperial city.

It was not quite what I had imagined.

Although this place looks like a paradise, there are not many cultivators in the imperial city, and many buildings are damaged and neglected. Moreover, the air is filled with a sense of gloom and chaos.

Moreover, Li Yi's appearance immediately attracted the attention of many people, including heavenly soldiers and generals. However, the gazes of these cultivators were not friendly; on the contrary, they carried a strong sense of malice.

Perhaps it was because a group of divine generals followed behind them that intimidated these people.

After realizing that Li Yi's power was not simple, they immediately withdrew their attention, scattered like birds and beasts, and soon disappeared without a trace in the imperial city.

"This place is nothing like a paradise; it's more like a chaotic place, a dark city," Li Yi immediately assessed the place in his mind.

Not only did he realize this, but Hua Qing also fell silent, as he too sensed the chaos in the area.

This also shows that his worst fears have come true.

Even if a Heavenly Emperor were to disappear, as long as the news of his death were uncertain, the Imperial City wouldn't be in such a state, because he would have Heavenly Kings and forces under his command, and maintaining the operation of an Imperial City wouldn't be a problem at all.

"Li Yi, go to the center of the Imperial City and see if the Imperial City Guard that I set up before is still there. There are two commanders of the Imperial City Guard. One is called Qinglan Heavenly King, who was one of my concubines. She has countless heavenly soldiers and generals under her command and is one of the few major forces in the Imperial City. The other is called Yingyi Heavenly King, who is also one of my loyal subordinates." Hua Qing suddenly spoke after a moment of silence.

“Okay, I’ll go take a look.” Li Yi didn’t refuse.

However, everyone knew that something huge must have happened to cause this imperial city to be like this. But it would be good to find out the specific situation so that old Bi Deng would give up.

He continued forward with the divine general, the dragon girl, and the heavenly king.

After realizing the danger lurking there, everyone became alert.

However, the cultivators who frequented Huaqing Imperial City were not stupid. They dared not provoke this group of Heavenly God Clan generals in the slightest. They could only guess that this was a young master from some powerful force who had gone out for a trip.

However, Li Yi's high-profile travel also had some drawbacks. Soon, news of a Celestial Clan guard team appearing in the city spread like wildfire.

After a while.

Li Yi arrived at the center of the imperial city. Some of the buildings here were also dilapidated, but they were in much better condition than those in the outer city. Nearby, there was a blue pagoda. This pagoda was enormous, reaching to the heavens and the earth, and it was actually a rare Heavenly King weapon.

"It's still here. This is the Azure Gold Tower of Heaven, which I personally crafted and later gifted to Qinglan. After Qinglan took over the Imperial City Guard, she placed this Heavenly King Weapon here and used it as the Imperial City Guard's residence." Hua Qing's eyes lit up when she saw the familiar object.

The existence of this Azure Gold Tower means that his concubine, the Azure Orchid Heavenly King, is also there. Perhaps he can contact her, gather his former subordinates, reorganize the imperial city, and restore its former glory.

Of course, Hua Qing also knew the principle that people's hearts are fickle.

That's why he wanted to use Li Yi to test the waters. After all, there was still the wealth he had accumulated over the years when he was the Heavenly Emperor in the Imperial City. If he didn't take it back, it would be very difficult for him to rebuild it.

Although he gained some things in the small world, it was not enough to support him to reach the Heavenly Emperor Realm.

(End of this chapter)