Volume 1, Chapter 138 – What a Grand Display!

Half a day later, in the Southern Region.

The Ice Jiao Chariot tore across the sky toward the Wanjue Mountain Range.

A faint trail of frost lingered in its wake, stark against the azure heavens.

Though the chariot’s formations concealed most of its biting chill,

the invisible pressure of an Immortal Ascension expert, combined with the astonishing spectacle of ice jiao drawing the chariot and female generals serving as escorts,

still struck the Southern Region like a boulder dropped into a placid lake, sending immense waves surging outward!

Above Falling Sunset City, on the border of the Southern Region.

Several Golden Core independent cultivators traveled together on flying artifacts, discussing where new secret realms had appeared in recent days.

Suddenly, a soul-shuddering chill descended without warning!

“What’s going on?! Why did it suddenly get so cold?”

“Look up! Wh-What is that?!”

They looked up in horror and saw an ice-blue streak of light approaching from the northern horizon at an unimaginable speed. In the blink of an eye, it was already overhead.

It was a chariot drawn by a pair of winged ice jiao. Its entire body seemed to have been carved from ten-thousand-year profound ice, gleaming faintly in the sunlight.

On either side of the chariot stood ten female generals in ice-blue armor, each radiating a terrifying aura. Their gazes were sharp as blades.

The mere sweep of their eyes left these Foundation Establishment independent cultivators feeling as though they had fallen into an icy abyss. Their bodies stiffened, and even controlling their artifacts became difficult.

The Ice Jiao Chariot did not stop. With an imposing majesty that seemed capable of crushing everything in its path, it thundered into the distance.

It left behind only a slowly fading trail of frost and a chill that lingered long after.

“Gulp…”

One of the independent cultivators swallowed with difficulty, his face deathly pale.

“What… what kind of demonic beasts were pulling that chariot? They were terrifying!”

“It wasn’t just the beasts pulling it! Those guards… every one of them had an aura that made it hard for me to breathe!”

Another man’s voice trembled.

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“Judging by the direction… it seemed to be heading toward the Wanjue Mountain Range?”

A somewhat calmer independent cultivator pondered aloud.

“The Wanjue Mountain Range? Yaochi Immortal Palace?!”

The first cultivator suddenly realized what that meant and sucked in a sharp breath.

“Could… could some great figure from another region be going to see the Yaochi Empress?!”

They exchanged looks, their eyes filled with shock and lingering fear.

In a bustling town in the central Southern Region, inside a teahouse.

The place was packed with cultivators from all over. At that moment, nearly everyone had stopped talking.

They stared reverently at the ice-blue trail rapidly receding across the sky.

“Good heavens! What a spectacle! Which cultivation clan’s young master is out on a grand tour this time?”

A young cultivator clicked his tongue.

“A grand tour?”

A gray-haired old man beside him gave a derisive snort, though his cloudy eyes were filled with solemnity.

“Which faction in the Southern Region do you think can use a Tribulation Transcendence ice jiao to pull a chariot?”

“A Tribulation Transcendence ice jiao?!”

Cries of astonishment erupted throughout the teahouse.

“Elder Liu, you’ve seen a lot of the world. Please enlighten us. Just who was that?”

Someone respectfully sought the old man’s counsel.

The old man stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes at the sky before speaking slowly:

“Ice jiao drawing the chariot, profound ice forming its body, phoenix patterns as decoration, and female generals serving as escorts…”

“Across the entire Canglan Continent, those signs belong to only one person.”

He paused, then uttered a name that instantly plunged the teahouse into dead silence:

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“The ruler of the Northern Region, Empress Lingshuang.”

“Empress… Lingshuang?!”

Someone cried out involuntarily.

“That’s right.”

The elderly cultivator nodded, his expression complicated.

“She is a mighty expert at Immortal Ascension who has ruled the Northern Region for tens of thousands of years. Why would she suddenly come to our Southern Region?”

“What else could it be?”

A quick-witted cultivator lowered his voice.

“Doesn’t our Southern Region have an ‘Empress’ of its own now?”

The moment he said this, the atmosphere in the teahouse turned subtly tense.

“Hiss… You mean Empress Lingshuang came for the Yaochi Empress?”

“Almost certainly! Is the title of ‘Empress’ something anyone can simply claim?”

“Empress Qingxuan of the Eastern Region and Empress Lingshuang of the Northern Region… What kind of existences are they?”

“Now another one has suddenly appeared in the Southern Region. How could they possibly sit back and ignore it?”

“Empress Qingxuan hasn’t made any move yet, but judging from Empress Lingshuang’s approach, she clearly hasn’t come with friendly intentions!”

“It’s worse than that! Haven’t you heard? Empress Lingshuang and Empress Qingxuan have always been at odds, constantly battling one another both openly and behind the scenes.”

“Now that another Empress has appeared, how could Empress Lingshuang possibly be pleased?”

“We’re finished. If the two Empresses start fighting in our Southern Region…”

A more timid cultivator went pale.

“Start fighting? If mighty experts at Immortal Ascension truly clash, the mountains and rivers within ten thousand li could be shattered!”

The old man sighed.

“Now it all depends on how the Yaochi Empress responds. Can this newly established Empress hold her ground?”

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The teahouse erupted into discussion, with worry, curiosity, excitement, and fear…

All manner of emotions intertwined.

Atop a mountain belonging to a first-rate sect.

The sect master and several elders had gathered there, staring gravely at the ice-blue trail vanishing beyond the horizon.

“That was Empress Lingshuang of the Northern Region.”

The sect master’s voice was dry.

“She’s heading toward the Wanjue Mountain Range.”

“Sect Master, should we… do something? Perhaps send word to Yaochi Immortal Palace?”

One elder asked hesitantly.

“Send word? And say what? That Empress Lingshuang is coming, so the Yaochi Empress should be careful?”

Another elder smiled bitterly.

“We are not even qualified to intervene in a contest at this level. If we rashly send a message, we may only bring disaster upon ourselves.”

“But the Yaochi Empress is still one of us, from the Southern Region…”

A younger elder seemed reluctant to stand by and do nothing.

The sect master raised a hand to halt the argument and let out a long sigh:

“We’ll wait and see. All we can do now is keep our disciples under control and forbid them from approaching the Wanjue Mountain Range for the time being.”

“And pray that the two Empresses don’t start fighting!”

Everyone fell silent.

When Immortal Ascension experts fought, mountains collapsed and rivers overturned. That was no exaggeration.

The Southern Region had finally produced a peak expert of its own. If she were to fall because of a dispute over a title,

or if the two of them unleashed a great battle, the entire Southern Region would suffer an unbearable catastrophe.

None of the commotion in the outside world affected Empress Lingshuang inside the flying chariot.

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Her divine sense swept swiftly across the Southern Region’s mountains and rivers below, finally locking on to the depths of the Wanjue Mountain Range.

“Yaochi Immortal Palace… it’s in there?”

Empress Lingshuang’s cool voice rang out.

“Your Majesty, according to the intelligence gathered from all sides, Yaochi Immortal Palace was indeed built in the core region of the Wanjue Mountain Range.”

A female general respectfully answered.

Empress Lingshuang inclined her head slightly, a sharp gleam flashing through her ice-blue eyes.

“Not bad concealment. Even when my divine sense swept over the area, I failed to notice anything unusual at once.”

“It seems this Gu Han is quite accomplished in formations.”

She paused, tapping one fingertip lightly against the crystalline ice table.

“Pass down my order. When we are within a hundred li of Yaochi Immortal Palace, descend from the clouds and announce our arrival according to proper etiquette.”

“Yes!”

The female general accepted the order, but a trace of confusion flickered in her eyes.

“Your Majesty, why don’t we simply…”

“Force our way inside?”

The corners of Empress Lingshuang’s lips curved into an icy smile.

“Since that woman Qingxuan sent Luoshui here, if I act too overbearingly, I will only appear to be acting beneath my station.”

“Besides, I also want to see what makes this Yaochi Empress so exceptional.”

Empress Lingshuang’s voice was cool and carried unquestionable authority.

Without slowing, the Ice Jiao Chariot continued racing toward the depths of the Wanjue Mountain Range.

“Your Majesty, we’ve reached the point a hundred li away.”

The female general obeyed the order and descended from the clouds, bringing the Ice Jiao Chariot to a steady halt in midair.