Li Qiye glanced at the scattered corpses and shook his head: “It’s not a living being, just an ancient ceremony that had been excavated again. When an old ceremony like this appeared, it required a sacrifice.”

“A sacrifice?” The princess had an ominous feeling. This wasn’t a good word at all: “A life offering?”

“Nothing to be surprised about.” Li Qiye smiled: “Not to mention the untraceable epochs, even in our own, so many sacrifices have happened among the long years. For certain powerful people, others were mere ants. A million or ten millions are only a number, virtually the same thing.”

Li Qiye’s nonchalant words made her feel even more anxious. She had also heard of these legends when she was younger but it had a different significance when it came from Li Qiye. It meant that certain old tales actually happened.

“A sacrifice on such an immense scale?” She murmured.

“These evil events never stopped. It happened in the past and will again in the future. Perhaps you live in a generation for one too.” Li Qiye leisurely said.

“No one can stop it?” Her heart sank and had to ask.

Everyone knew that after reaching a particular level, a fight between cultivators was devastating. However, these fights normally took place in the sky.

Plus, a sacrificial offering was different from a battle. Sacrificing so many living beings was such a cruel deed.

“For a few things, once it reaches a certain threshold, they are inevitable. When one finds it hard to stay alive themselves, there’s no time to worry about others’ business, let alone worrying about ants. For example, if you were to burn a forest, do you actually care about killing one or ten million ants?” Li Qiye said emotionlessly.

This made the princess think in silence and had a moment of self-reflection.

“But the ones being sacrificed are humans, just like us. I would definitely take it seriously.” She eventually said after a long lull.

“Because you are not standing at the apex. If you are an ant, you will care for the welfare of ants, not wanting to burn them to death. If you are a human right now, you won’t care about these ants.”

“Right.” The princess had to admit this logic.

Even though these words were cruel, one still had to accept it. If she were to burn a forest, she wouldn’t care about these tiny creatures. She would care about humans because she was also one.

At the very top, these supreme existences only saw other cultivators as ants. They wouldn’t give a damn about the number of death.

“Sacrificing millions is only child’s play. At the end of an epoch, lives are not worth a single coin. Mortals, cultivators, and even emperors… under the grand momentum, all are insignificant. At that time, even a trillion is not a big deal.” He stared straight at her and continued: “For their own survival, someone could sacrifice the heaven and earth along with all the existences inside. Both the nine worlds and the thirteen continents are only nutrients for them to live longer; it is only another method for them to employ.”

“That… can’t be…” The princess shuddered mentally before softly asking: “How could someone even accomplish such a task? That’s impossible.”

Li Qiye chuckled: “Nothing is impossible. Look at the cruelties of Exploration Grounds. They are the broken pieces of epochs. What I described earlier had happened in these past epochs, and not just once. Existences have sacrificed the entire world before.”

She was overwhelmed by this revelation. Sacrificing an entire world and all living beings? 

“That is too cruel.” This was all she could muster. 

As a cultivator, especially an imperial successor, she naturally understood the merciless nature of the dao. Death was an ordinary occurrence.

Sect destruction happened on a daily basis in the thirteen continents. However, this was the law of the jungle between cultivators. She didn’t dare to think about treating the world as a sacrifice.

“The dao is merciless, only the heart has emotions.” Li Qiye slowly said: “Remember, there is no savior in this world, don’t count on one. In order to jump out of this world, you need to make yourself stronger!”

The princess contemplated before looking at him with a great earnest: “Young Noble, what will you do if this epoch is about to collapse?”

Her earnest expression made him smile: “You can be more direct than that. Your question is, whether I will sacrifice the world if the epoch is nearing an end?”

Such frankness made it difficult for the princess. Nevertheless, her stare remained strong.

“Don’t worry, I won’t sacrifice this world. The only thing I will do is to fight on. Death is not scary to me since it is also a kind of release. I don’t need to live on like a coward, no need to sacrifice the world.” Li Qiye answered.

The princess found solace in this answer because perhaps the guy was possible of this task. This was someone even her progenitor respected.

But it also worried her. What did this supreme existence experience to consider death as relief? She felt a tough weight in her mind.

“No need to be excited.” Li Qiye amusingly said: “Even if I don’t do it, someone else will.”

She blurted out: “I don’t think anyone in the world can do such a thing. Plus, World Emperor and the others will protect their own races.”

She had her reasons. If anyone in the world was capable of this task, it should be someone among the apex emperors. World Emperor, Profound Emperor, and Immortal Monarch Yi Ye could probably do this by working together.

But she found this impossible for this wasn’t in their nature. These emperors have started wars before, only for the survival and prosperity of their race.

In other words, these emperors fought and protected their kind; how could they sacrifice their people?

“You’re not at the level to see the ever-looming darkness. Even ordinary emperors can’t.” Li Qiye shook his head: “Certain things are beyond the control of Geezer Qian as well even if he wants to protect his race.”

“Why?” She wasn’t quite a frog under the well but she couldn’t possibly imagine something troubling World Emperor outside of the Heavenly Execution.

“You might not be eligible to know even after winning the throne. Once you reach a particular level or join the Heavenly Authority, you will understand a little more. Of course, even the emperors from your clan couldn’t join it.” Li Qiye said.

“Heavenly Authority!” The princess gasped. This was the strongest organization in the thirteen continents.

It was rumored to be the oldest organization of the heaveners. The form it took remained unknown. The ancestors in the clan told her that even ordinary Grand Emperors from the heaven race couldn’t join this organization. Only Grand Emperors with ten wills and up were eligible.

This organization was the symbol of the heaven race. All of their members would want to join after reaching a certain power level.

This was also the highest symbol of authority in the thirteen continents, the strongest group available. It was more terrifying than any existing imperial lineage.