Volume 1, Chapter 122 – The Empress of Yaochi?

Gu Han stole a glance at the dumbstruck crowd below. Her expression remained calm, but inwardly, she was delighted!

After all, she had only begun refining the quasi-immortal artifact, the Donghuang Bell, and could not yet unleash even a tenth of its power!

Her gaze then fell upon Venerable Tianqiong’s body, now utterly devoid of life following the annihilation of his remnant soul.

The body had remained intact and imperishable for sixty thousand years. Though its vitality had long since been extinguished, the physical body itself could still be considered a priceless treasure.

Just as Gu Han was considering whether to dispose of the body as well, lest it cause trouble later…

[Ding! Detected one ownerless Immortal Ascension body! Condition: Intact.]

[Host, Host! This is seriously valuable! You mustn’t destroy it!]

[This system offers a paid recycling service! A fair price guaranteed, no customer deceived!]

The system’s electronic voice rang out in Gu Han’s mind, brimming with the enthusiasm of an overeager salesperson.

Gu Han arched a brow.

“Recycle it? How much will you offer, System?”

[Ding! Following this system’s rigorous assessment, taking into comprehensive consideration the body’s integrity, the residual Dao laws, its potential value, and the deep friendship between the Host and this system…]

[Final offer: one hundred thousand Master Dao Points!]

The system’s voice was decisive, with a hint of smugness that seemed to say she was getting the deal of a lifetime.

“One hundred thousand?”

Gu Han’s eyes flashed.

That price genuinely exceeded her expectations.

After all, summoning an elder at the peak of Tribulation Transcendence cost only five thousand Master Dao Points.

One hundred thousand Master Dao Points would be enough to summon twenty Tribulation Transcendence experts, or exchange for a wealth of other rare resources!

And all for a body that was of little use to her at present.

Trading it for such a vast sum of Master Dao Points was unquestionably worthwhile.

“Deal.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Han accepted the offer in her mind.

[Ding! Transaction complete! One hundred thousand Master Dao Points have been credited! Current Master Dao Point balance: 384,350!]

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[Recycling body…]

At the system’s prompt, a nearly imperceptible, profound ripple suddenly passed over Venerable Tianqiong’s body.

The next instant, it vanished without a trace, like writing wiped from a page with an eraser.

The crowd below saw only Gu Han glance toward the spot where the body lay. Then the body disappeared into thin air.

Though they had no idea what had happened, no one dared ask, much less question it.

[Ding! Recycling complete! Thank you for your business. Please come again, dear Host!]

The system’s voice ended on a cheerful note before lapsing into contented silence.

Gu Han raised a hand. The Donghuang Bell rapidly shrank, becoming a streak of dark golden light that vanished into her sleeve.

Her gaze swept across the crowd below once more before finally settling on her disciples.

Though Liu Ruyan, Gu Luoli, and Ye Ling’er were stained with blood, their eyes were bright and their backs straight.

The more than ninety disciples of Yaochi Immortal Palace behind them were much the same.

Though they had fought for their lives, their energy and spirit had not faltered. Instead, the tempering of blood and fire had made them even more focused and resolute.

A hint of satisfaction crossed Gu Han’s eyes.

She raised a hand and flicked her fingertips lightly. Dozens of gentle, pure motes of spiritual power shot forth, each entering a Yaochi disciple’s body with perfect precision.

As the motes of light entered them, they brought relief like sweet rain soaking parched earth.

The disciples felt a warm, boundless force surge through every limb and bone, sweeping away their exhaustion.

Even their wounds began healing and scabbing over at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“Thank you, Palace Master!”

Sensing the changes in their bodies, the disciples hurriedly bowed, their voices filled with gratitude and reverence.

Gu Han inclined her head slightly, then turned her gaze toward Li Hanyi.

“Hanyi.”

“Palace Master.”

Li Hanyi stepped forward.

“Lead the disciples back to the Immortal Palace.”

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Gu Han’s voice was clear and calm, yet carried a decisiveness that brooked no argument.

“Yes.”

Li Hanyi bowed in acknowledgment.

Gu Han looked at Liu Ruyan and the other two again, a faint note of concern and inquiry in her eyes.

Understanding her meaning, Liu Ruyan said softly,

“Rest assured, Master. None of us are seriously injured. We only have superficial wounds and some depletion of spiritual power. A few days of recuperation after we return will be enough.”

Gu Luoli and Ye Ling’er nodded as well.

“Mm.”

Gu Han said nothing more. Her gaze swept impassively over the cultivators from the other sects below, who were still reeling in shock.

Her eyes lingered briefly on the groups from Heavenly Fire Valley, Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge, Xuanming Sect, and several other factions.

Her gaze was perfectly calm, yet those upon whom it fell felt as though they had been plunged into an icy abyss. Cold sweat broke out across their bodies, and they hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to meet her eyes.

Any resentment or petty schemes that might have arisen over the loss of their disciples vanished in an instant, leaving nothing but boundless terror.

Even the remnant soul of an Immortal Ascension expert like Venerable Tianqiong had been casually crushed by this woman!

What could their sects possibly use to “demand justice” from her?

Did they have a death wish?

Gu Han withdrew her gaze and did not linger.

She raised a hand and lightly drew it across the empty air before her. A spatial rift silently appeared.

She stepped inside and vanished into the rift as though she had never been there.

Only the faint trace of vast pressure lingering in the air bore witness to just how real and shocking everything that had happened moments ago truly was.

Once Gu Han was gone, the invisible pressure enveloping heaven and earth abruptly eased.

The cultivators from the various sects below, elders and disciples alike, felt as though an immense burden had been lifted from their shoulders.

Many began gulping down air. Some even collapsed to the ground, their faces pale with lingering fear.

After a brief, deathly silence, a tide of pent-up discussion erupted.

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“She’s gone… That senior is gone…”

“Terrifying… Is that the power of the Immortal Ascension realm?”

“Didn’t you see? Venerable Tianqiong’s remnant soul was utterly helpless before her!”

“And that bell… Just what rank of treasure was it? My soul trembled just from seeing it at a distance!”

“The Southern Region is about to be turned upside down…”

“The way that senior looked at us at the end… For a moment, I thought I was going to die…”

“Heavenly Fire Valley and Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge really picked a fight with the wrong people this time. So many of their elite disciples died, and even the young valley master fell. I doubt they’ll dare utter a single word of complaint!”

“That senior was already showing mercy by not holding them accountable for ganging up on the Yaochi disciples! They wouldn’t dare complain!”

“Come to think of it… If that senior hadn’t arrived in time and shattered the secret realm’s entrance, would any of our sects’ disciples have made it out alive?”

At those words, many people froze.

That was right. If the Palace Master of Yaochi Immortal Palace had not intervened and forced the secret realm to close early, fewer than one in ten of their disciples might have escaped alive!

Seen that way, what resentment could they possibly harbor?

Instead, a faint sense of lingering fear and gratitude began to rise within them.

After all, she had saved their disciples’ lives!

The expressions of the elders from Heavenly Fire Valley, Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge, Xuanming Sect, and the other factions shifted repeatedly.

In the end, all they could manage was a heavy sigh or a look of utter defeat.

They were weaker, and they had nearly brought disaster upon their own sects. Escaping with their lives was already an incredible stroke of fortune. What else could they do?

Xuanyangzi of Qingyun Sacred Land and the Barbarian King of Tianyuan Sacred Land exchanged a glance. Each saw deep gravity and a trace of relief in the other’s eyes.

With an Immortal Ascension expert emerging in the Southern Region, the entire balance of power was bound to be reshaped.

But at the very least, this “Palace Master of Yaochi Immortal Palace” did not appear bloodthirsty or tyrannical.

She had indirectly saved the disciples of every sect today. Perhaps it would not be impossible to coexist with her in the future!

“Pass down my order,”

Xuanyangzi instructed an elder beside him in a low voice tinged with weariness,

“From this day forward, our disciples are never to initiate a conflict with disciples of Yaochi Immortal Palace. If trouble arises, they are to yield whenever possible.”

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Similar orders were quietly issued among several other leading factions.

After this battle, Yaochi Immortal Palace’s standing in the Southern Region had fundamentally changed.

It was no longer a mysterious rising faction that needed to be watched and assessed!

It was now a colossus led by an unfathomably powerful Immortal Ascension Palace Master, an existence that must never be provoked lightly!

Just then, an elder from a first-rate cultivation clan gazed in the direction Gu Han had disappeared and murmured with emotion,

“The Eastern Region has Empress Qingxuan, whose might awes all sides.”

“Our Southern Region has languished for twenty thousand years and long since fallen to become the weakest of the Five Regions. Now, an Immortal Ascension expert has finally emerged. If our Southern Region could also have an empress…”

His voice was not loud, yet his words fell like a stone into a still lake, instantly striking a chord with many nearby.

“An empress?”

“Exactly. Why can’t our Southern Region have an empress of its own?”

“That senior is truly peerless. In my opinion, she is in no way inferior to Empress Qingxuan of the Eastern Region!”

“She founded Yaochi Immortal Palace, and Yaochi… Why not call her the Yaochi Empress…?”

“Indeed, indeed! That title suits her perfectly!”

“Yes! Her palace is named Yaochi, and her cultivation has reached Immortal Ascension. Honoring her as the ‘Yaochi Empress’ is entirely fitting!”

Soft murmurs of agreement gradually rose and quickly spread among the cultivators of the various factions.

Many minds began to race.

Li Hanyi acted as though she had not heard the discussion below. She turned, her cool gaze sweeping over her sect’s disciples.

“Board the vessel. We’re returning.”

“Yes, Grand Elder!”

The disciples of Yaochi Immortal Palace answered in unison. Under the direction of Liu Ruyan, Gu Luoli, and Ye Ling’er, they boarded the Cloudsea Spirit Vessel in orderly ranks.

The spirit vessel slowly rose into the air and adjusted its course.

Then it became a streak of silver light and sped toward Yaochi Immortal Palace, soon disappearing beyond the horizon.

All that remained on the Tianqiong Plains were the various factions embroiled in heated discussion and the scorched earth that had fallen silent once more.