Emperor’s Domination

News came every second at Moneyfall about successful treasure hunts and death.

Opportunities came with risks. It didn’t matter the fierce monsters appearing at a particular treasure ground. They couldn’t deter greed so people continued trying.

“Southern Border Mountain got one disciple using three hundred stones at the True Disciple’s sixth level to trade for a magical fur with a consciousness over at the wildland. It’s going to be worth so much since this is something that belongs to a legendary beast, even its fur and skin are sentient to an extent. The sky’s the limit with such an item.” An old cultivator spread this message.

“That little coins for a magical fur?!” Eyes turned red instantly after hearing this.

“Let’s go to the wildland, that’s the real gamble, maybe we can exchange one coin for something earth-shattering.” People rushed to find the wildlands.

“Clank! Clank! Clank!” This crisp sound of coin dropping resounded everywhere, almost a tune of Waterfall.

A disciple from a great sect threw a considerable amount of coins inside a valley. They dissolved and disappeared right away.

“Brother Wu, let’s stop now. You have thrown away three million coins and got nothing out of it.” A few friends asked this youth to stop.

“No, it’s not easy finding a piece of wildland, how can I give up? Two more millions.” The youth continued.

“Clank!” This large amount only took one second to disappear.

“Crack!” At this moment, the valley had multiple fissures.

“It’s coming! My treasure! I’m about to ascend!” This youth became ecstatic and rubbed his hands in eager anticipation.

“Boom!” The cracks emanated across the entire place before something made it out.

The guy excitedly dashed over and grabbed the thing. Alas, his smile quickly froze after seeing what it was.

“What the hell? Is this a joke?! I spent five million coins for a silver ore worth ten coins?! A shitty one at that! Fuck!” The disciple cursed and threw the ore on the ground.

“Motherfucker, give me back my five million!” He stomped on the ore to vent.

“Brother Wu, forget about it, this is a wildland with no price, unlike an official ground. One coin can give you everything here or a million can get you death. It’s already lucky that you’re coming out unharmed.” His friends laughed and consoled.

The more experienced ancestors didn’t waste money like this. One ancestor brought his disciples across multiple thickets before seeing an old tree. He bowed then prostrated before taking out a pouch of coins. He gently poured it into a hole on the tree.

“Clank!” The coins disappeared inside.

“Matron Tree, oh Matron Tree, please tell me where the best wildland is, I only wish for an ancient diagram, nothing more.” The ancestor begged.

His disciples were astounded since their master was a famous True God. They would never believe this if they weren’t here to witness this in person.

“Rustle.” The old tree actually stretched out its brand to show the direction.

This guiding act shocked a few disciples, not expecting for this to work.

“Thank you, Matron Tree.” The ancestor bowed again before leaving with his disciples.

“What tree was that?” His disciple inquired.

“A Matron Tree, a very unique and rare type in this land. It will serve as a guide after you give it enough coins.” The ancestor answered.

“What a place, everything here wants money.” The disciple smiled wryly: “Is it accurate? Will we be able to find a good wildland going that way?”

“Not necessarily.” To which the ancestor responded: “This tree will not be that exact when picking the wildland, but it’s better than going in blind. Moreover, the danger level is far less.”

“I see.” A different disciple thought about something else: “Moneyfall is a strange place. Money to get on the boat, money to ask for the prize and direction, what do they need money for?” 

“That’s why it’s called Moneyfall. You can go everywhere here if you have enough coins.” The ancestor said: “Many don’t get this logic. Give coins to a frog and it might give you a fortune. It’s all dependent on luck.”

His disciples could only smile about the bizarre nature of this place.

***

The wildlands weren’t the only dangerous place here. Official grounds were just as perilous. Some ruins were insane as well.

There was a massive temple built on a flat plateau. Its golden glow was apparent even from far away.

Thus, it naturally attracted the attention of numerous experts. They started palpitating with excitement.

“That temple must have treasures.” One expert wanted to run over.

“Don’t go.” His senior dragged him back and said with a serious expression: “That’s going to your doom.”

"Why?” The young expert stared at the temple and asked.

“It’s a ruin.” The senior elaborated: “Rumor has it that 80,000 years ago, an expert used a calling the land method to summon a treasure ground. However, he didn’t get the items inside. Later on, many people came and died in there.”

“Calling the land?” This was the first time the youth heard this term.

“It’s calling out a prime ground.” The senior explained: “Throw a coin to the sky and let it circle around to determine the size. For example, if you want to call out a place with a one-thousand-mile radius, then let it circle for that much. Everything inside will be yours, provided that you can pay the sky-high price shown after the coin lands. Moreover, the items in this place will be the finest, but you must be capable enough to grasp them.”

After hearing this, these disciples realized that paying for official grounds was only child’s play. Calling the land was truly going all out, buying an entire area.

“Back then, an ancestor of Pure Yang System called the land here and paid the high price. What he got was this plateau. Unfortunately, he couldn’t obtain the treasures and even died here.” The senior pointed at the temple: “Look over there, there’s a devil inside. No one really knows what it is, but many True Gods fell victim to it.”

Sure enough, the disciples looked over and saw a large shadow presiding over the entire temple. Any intruder would be torn to pieces.

“These prime grounds are different from the treasure grounds that we buy. The latter would eventually regain its original appearance after a purchase as if nothing had happened. This isn’t the case for the prime grounds. They would stay like this so people also call them ruins or historical remains. Only True Emperors and Eternals would dare to call the land. Anyone else would be courting death even if they can afford the price.” The senior continued.

Meanwhile, the rest of his disciples was still shuddering because of the shadow in the temple.

***

At the edge of a great desert was, strangely enough, a shattered ocean. The central area had been penetrated and turned into a maelstrom. This resulted in unwelcoming and raging currents.

The experts near this place naturally felt apprehension about approaching closer.

“Insane Ocean.” An ancestor said with reverence.

“Why the strange name?” An expert next to him asked.

“Because Insane Ancestor called it out.” The ancestor replied: “According to the legends, Insane Ancestor called out the land here and paid a monstrous sum, resulting in this ocean. A maelstrom of blood was the opponent here, but the furious ancestor directly killed his way in and annihilated this maelstrom, crushing this ocean completely. He took out an amazing treasure here and from then on, people called this place Insane Ocean.”

“Insane Ancestor is incredible. No wonder why he was able to create a lineage of the immortal level.” This expert showed admiration.