Chapter 311: First Emperor Jiang Li

Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu had a good relationship with Old Buddha Xumi, who had once talked about this in his spare time.

Unfortunately, Old Buddha’s theory had no basis—just a hypothesis he came up with while meditating on the Dharma.

He even once tried to ask Immortal Elder Changcun about it. Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu were right there when it happened, but Changcun’s response was disappointing.

He said even the Immortal Realm had no research on the topic, and as for whether parallel worlds truly existed—he had no idea.

If even the Immortal Realm didn’t know, there was no way Old Buddha could figure it out on his own. In the end, he merely lowered his head, recited a Buddhist mantra, and never brought it up again.

“If Old Buddha were still alive, he’d be thrilled to meet you,” Jiang Li suddenly said to Daoist Dongxu—a remark that left him baffled.

“Why have you never told anyone about this?” Bai Hongtu asked curiously. If Daoist Dongxu had shared his dreams publicly, Old Buddha might have heard about it.

The world only knew that Daoist Dongxu believed in luck, but not the reason why.

“I did tell some people, but no one believed me,” Daoist Dongxu said with a bitter smile.

He had spoken to a few close friends about his dreams, but no one believed him. They thought he’d made it all up.

His friends even teased him about it often, so he stopped bringing it up altogether—he only shared it with young cultivators who had proven to have great luck, as a kind of final reward.

“You actually believe me?” Daoist Dongxu sounded a bit surprised—he had gotten the impression these two powerhouses really did believe him.

“We believe it to some extent.”

Jiang Li suddenly wondered: Could there be a world where the system didn’t activate late and he followed the path laid out by the system step by step?

If such a world really existed, he was curious to see what kind of person he’d become.

The version of him in a parallel world might already be in the Immortal Realm.

“Have you had any close calls lately—near-death experiences?” Bai Hongtu asked.

Based on what Daoist Dongxu had said, he always had those vivid dreams after nearly dying. Bai Hongtu wanted to take a look inside that dream.

“……”

Although Daoist Dongxu understood Bai Hongtu’s intention, he still felt the question was a bit off—like they were urging him to go die.

“Hard to say.”

“Hard to say?”

Daoist Dongxu nodded. “Sometimes I don’t even realize I almost died. It’s only after having the dream that I realize—‘Oh, so that was actually dangerous, and I narrowly escaped.’”

“Sect Master Bai, are you saying you want to enter my dream?”

Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu nodded. They were both very intrigued by Daoist Dongxu’s dreams.

“Can you fall asleep? Do you need help?” Bai Hongtu rolled up his sleeves enthusiastically—looking very much like he was about to throw hands.

“No, no, I can sleep on my own.”

Daoist Dongxu brought out a mattress and pillow, changed into his pajamas, hugged a body pillow, lit some incense, and prepared to sleep.

“…You’re pretty particular about this.”

Daoist Dongxu said no more and soon entered dreamland.

Bai Hongtu activated the Dao of Dreams, bringing himself and Jiang Li into Daoist Dongxu’s dream.

“What a huge fire!”

As soon as they entered, they were met with roaring flames stretching across the mountains—blazing endlessly, swallowing the sky and the earth.

Children’s cries, adults screaming for help, the crackling of burning wood, and the sound of collapsing homes—it was like the end of the world.

Jiang Li tried to extinguish the flames but discovered he couldn’t interfere with the dream. He was startled.

He had entered other people’s dreams before and fought inside them—dreams could be influenced by external forces. But this dream of Daoist Dongxu’s was unusual.

They were mere spectators, like they were watching a memory. Nothing could be changed.

Bai Hongtu noticed this too. “Could this not be a dream, but a memory?”

They walked among the flames, completely out of place. They couldn’t feel the heat of the fire, and the people in the dream couldn’t see them.

“Is this the Nine Provinces?” Bai Hongtu frowned.

Normally, even ordinary people in the Nine Provinces had some minor cultivation—why would they be screaming for help in a fire?

“From their language, it’s definitely the Nine Provinces,” Jiang Li said. “The fire isn’t normal. It’s likely caused by high-level cultivators fighting, and it spilled over to affect mortals.”

That was what puzzled Jiang Li. With the Human Sovereign Hall and himself around, how could something like this be allowed to happen?

“Where is Daoist Dongxu?”

Boom—

A loud sound echoed from afar. The ground trembled—it was the clash of cultivators.

“Come on, let’s go take a look.”

They hurried toward the sound.

Several towering figures stood tall as mountains, emanating a crushing presence.

Centered around those figures, the pressure expanded outward, flattening peaks into dust. Any ordinary cultivator who approached would be crushed to death, their soul annihilated.

“Tribulation Stage?!” Bai Hongtu exclaimed.

How could Tribulation Stage cultivators be fighting on the Nine Provinces mainland? Did they not care about civilian casualties?

“Commander Liu, Sword Sovereign, Yu Yin, Li Er… and me?!”

Bai Hongtu couldn’t believe his eyes—these were all familiar faces.

“What kind of enemy would make us ignore all consequences and battle here? Outer Demons?”

But that wasn’t what he saw.

The five Tribulation Stage cultivators were confronting someone radiating an incredibly terrifying aura—

That person was Jiang Li!

“They’re fighting you!” Bai Hongtu stared at Jiang Li in shock.

Jiang Li frowned deeply, staying silent.

The area had been leveled. They couldn’t tell exactly where on the Nine Provinces mainland this was, but one thing was certain—this was the Nine Provinces.

At the heart of the battlefield, five Tribulation cultivators stood opposite an unfathomably powerful Jiang Li.

Daoist Dongxu hid behind the five of them, trembling with fear.

“You didn’t have to go this far for me… That’s Jiang…” he muttered, but no one paid attention.

“Hall Master, why are you trying to kill Daoist Dongxu again?”

Commander Liu stepped forward to speak with Jiang Li. Among the five, he was the strongest.

But judging by how tense his body was, he was clearly ready to act at a moment’s notice.

“Commander Liu, still calling me Hall Master? I respect you as a Human Sovereign Hall elder—so I’ll spare you this once.”

In the dream, Jiang Li radiated dominance, exuding the aura of one who ruled all under heaven.

“I’ll say this one last time—my achievements surpass all past Human Sovereigns. My cultivation is peerless. The title ‘Human Sovereign’ no longer does me justice.”

“You shall now address me as the ‘First Emperor’!”

The moment he said those words, thunder rumbled across the sky, lightning crackled nonstop, and a torrential downpour began to fall—as if heaven and earth acknowledged the title.

“As for Daoist Dongxu… I couldn’t even draw my own card! His black box mocked my luck. Treason! Unforgivable!”

As soon as the First Emperor Jiang Li said “unforgivable,” murderous intent surged—it was clear that his decision was final. No one could stop him.

Daoist Dongxu looked utterly devastated.

He never imagined that simply opening a secret realm and selecting candidates with great fortune would result in this.

First Emperor Jiang Li had suddenly appeared, blocked everyone else from entering, and entered the secret realm alone—saying it was to ensure he got first place.

After the draws, displeased with his luck, he now wanted to kill Daoist Dongxu to vent his anger.