Emperor's Domination

The latter could feel his sense of disgust intensifying. While being under this condition, those affected would start to hate the world and feel tired of life. They would prefer to live reclusively instead, retreating to the farthest reaches away from humanity.

“How does it feel to be dead?” Li Qiye asked.

The emperor stroked his chin and for a split second, he returned to his original state and had escaped the boundary of repulsion.

“Better than being alive.” He said.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Li Qiye said sentimentally.

“My wish is fulfilled.” He stared at the puddle as if it was the manifestation of his self-hatred.

“So go in peace, there’s nothing left in the world for you to cling to.” Li Qiye said.

“Right, but where do I go now?” He asked a rather difficult and profound question.

“Anywhere you want.” Li Qiye said.

“Nowhere to stay, just like when I was alive.” He shook his head. Was there a different world for the dead?

“Life and death, both are the same.” Li Qiye sighed and said: “Death is sweet release for me while it is a test for you, an experiment to another world. It doesn’t seem to be successful.”

“Perhaps it will be the same for you after death, no sweet release.” The man said.

“We are different in that you are weary of life while I am willing to move forward where my heart leads. In the beginning, there might be some distinction between life and death for you but eventually, they possess the same end.” Li Qiye said.

“Hated by heaven and all living beings.” He said softly.

“Yes, and even ghosts hate you too.” Li Qiye shrugged.

He couldn’t help but smile, but his smile was uglier than if he were sobbing. After a while, he murmured: “Right, even ghosts abhor me, let alone living people.”

After a brief silence, he added: “You best go on living.”

“You want to die yet you tell me to stay alive?” Li Qiye joked.

“Because I have a feeling that if you die, ghosts will hate you too.” He said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised, I have some ghosts who hate me even right now.” Li Qiye said.

He only sighed and didn’t respond.

“Say, what if I give you another chance to live?” Li Qiye suddenly asked.

This prompted him to stare at Li Qiye for a second before lowering his head: “Life and death, both are the same.”

“That is indeed the essence of this path.” Li Qiye sighed and said: “Do you regret your decision?”

“Do you?” He answered with the same question.

“I do not.” Li Qiye shrugged while speaking with a firm tone.

He stared at the puddle in a daze, contemplating certain things. This caused the aura of repulsion to intensify and spread even more.

“Okay, okay, I went through the effort of coming here to pick up your corpse so let’s cooperate now.” Li Qiye patted his shoulder.

He calmed down and once again tried his best to control the aura before responding: “Death isn’t what I imagined.”

“Because your world-weary dao and its aura of repulsion live on.” Li Qiye said.

“Can you reduce me to ashes, leaving nothing behind?” He asked.

“Doing that will splatter it onto me, am I the only one who can do this?” Li Qiye smiled wryly.

“Yes, only you.” He agreed.

His killer didn’t touch him physically yet was still stained by his aura. Purifying this mess required eras of hard work.

Today, Li Qiye came to help him with his corpse - something no one else wanted to do.

“If both your body and dao are destroyed, would you want to start over?” Li Qiye suddenly asked.

He looked up at Li Qiye for a second before becoming dejected again. He wrapped his arms around his knees and shook his head: “Just being reduced to ashes is already an impossible wish. That’s all I can ask for and I will truly appreciate it if you can do this for me.”

He yearned for death and after being killed, he came to find that death was not enough. His dao still remained.

Destroying his dao required purifying his hatred. Otherwise, he would continue to be stuck in this world. The issue was that no one would take up this task lest they be infected by his aura as well.

“Starting over might be possible after total destruction.” Li Qiye said.

“Impossible.” He blurted out.

“Why not?” Li Qiye asked casually.

He stared at Li Qiye and shook his head again: “Even if it is possible, what’s the point, just another cycle of the same thing.”

“What if it is severed?” Li Qiye asked.

“Now that is even more impossible.” He responded, aware of the implication of death.

No heaven-defying method could revert this for a new cycle. Plus, given his circumstances, living again wouldn’t change anything.

Others coveted this possibility, especially the epoch overlords. They wanted to live again after death, starting the cycle anew while conveniently keeping certain advantages of their previous life. The same couldn’t be said about the emperor.

“Well, let’s pretend that it is possible.” Li Qiye said.

This caused him to ruminate while staring at the puddle.