Volume 1, Chapter 153 – Empress Qingxuan Has Arrived

Gu Han softened her voice further, speaking as gently as she did when coaxing A-Yao, though now there was a faint, almost imperceptible complexity to her tone.

“It was only a minor disagreement while discussing the Dao. How did it leave our Ling’er feeling so aggrieved, hmm?”

She drew back slightly and looked down at Ye Ling’er, who still refused to lift her face from Gu Han’s embrace.

Reaching out, she gently caressed Ye Ling’er’s cheek and wiped away the cool tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

At the tender touch against her face, Ye Ling’er shuddered again. Yet instead of releasing Gu Han’s arm, she instinctively tightened her hold.

She longed to linger in the warmth of this moment, breathing in her Master’s cool, reassuring scent.

This was her Master, a Master who belonged to her alone.

Seeing that Ye Ling’er still had her head buried, Gu Han smiled helplessly.

She raised her other hand and, with the same indulgence she usually showed A-Yao, gently ruffled Ye Ling’er’s hair.

“You’re a grown woman, yet you’re still crying like A-Yao.”

A trace of teasing entered Gu Han’s voice as she tried to dispel the subtle tension hanging in the air.

“If the other junior brothers and sisters in the Immortal Palace saw you like this, they’d probably laugh at you.”

At that, Ye Ling’er loosened her arms slightly, though she still did not step away completely.

She raised her head. Her eyes were red, and the tear tracks on her face had yet to dry. Coupled with her delicate, ethereal beauty, they made her look especially vulnerable and forlorn.

“I… I wasn’t crying.”

She muttered the objection, but her thick, nasal voice was far from convincing.

“Yes, yes, our Ling’er wasn’t crying. The wind merely got in your eyes.”

Gu Han readily played along, brushing her fingertips over the corners of Ye Ling’er’s eyes and gently wiping away the last traces of moisture.

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Seeing that Ye Ling’er had finally begun to calm down, Gu Han breathed an inward sigh of relief.

She eased Ye Ling’er back a little so she could stand properly, gazing at her with gentle eyes.

“An unsettled state of mind will hinder your cultivation. Go back and regulate your breathing. Don’t dwell on this any further.”

“Yes, Master.”

Ye Ling’er lowered her eyes as she answered.

“Go on.” Gu Han waved a hand.

Only then did Ye Ling’er bow respectfully. She turned and left the main hall, her steps somewhat hurried.

It was not until the doors closed once more that Gu Han slowly sat back down on the cloud couch and rubbed the space between her brows.

That girl Ling’er…

For a moment just now, Gu Han had glimpsed an exceedingly complicated emotion deep within those tear-filled eyes.

It was by no means as simple as a disciple worrying about her Master.

But the emotion had vanished too quickly, obscured by tears before Gu Han could be certain of what she had seen.

Could it be…

Gu Han shook her head, dismissing the somewhat absurd thought.

Perhaps Ye Ling’er’s past experiences, combined with the sudden sight of Empress Lingshuang approaching Gu Han so assertively, had left her feeling insecure.

After all, to Ye Ling’er, Yaochi Immortal Palace and Gu Han were almost everything she had now.

As for Empress Lingshuang…

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Gu Han’s gaze cooled slightly.

The Empress of the Northern Region certainly had an unexpected way of doing things.

It seemed Gu Han would have to find some way to make her leave sooner rather than later.

While Gu Han considered how best to “see her guest out,” high above the Eastern Region, an opulent carriage drawn by nine magnificent black divine birds was gliding steadily toward the Southern Region.

The carriage had an imposing, antiquated design, yet every detail exuded imperial luxury and majesty.

Natural cloud patterns intertwined with reliefs of black birds across its body, gleaming faintly in the sunlight as though some living thing breathed within them.

The feathers of the nine birds drawing the carriage were a deep, lustrous black, their edges shimmering with a molten-gold sheen.

Their gazes were keen and their auras immense. Astonishingly, every one of them possessed the terrifying cultivation of the Tribulation Transcendence realm!

As the nine birds flew abreast, their outstretched wings were vast enough to blot out a small expanse of sky. Though they moved without a sound, they radiated a glorious majesty that seemed to command all directions.

At the sides and rear of the carriage, two full squads totaling twenty guards silently escorted it. Each wore heavy azure armor engraved with dragon patterns, and their auras were as unfathomable as the abyss.

They were the Azure Dragon Guards of the Qingxuan Imperial Dynasty, whose might shook the Eastern Region. Even the weakest among them was in the Mahayana realm.

The auras of the two commanders at their head were even more inscrutable and boundless as the sea. Both had astonishingly reached late-stage Tribulation Transcendence!

Such an entourage, such pomp, such undisguised imperial majesty…

Everywhere they passed over the Eastern Region, from cultivators and ordinary citizens in bustling cities to mighty experts cultivating in seclusion deep within remote mountains and valleys, all felt awe and terror welling up from the depths of their souls. One after another, they involuntarily stopped whatever they were doing and looked up at the sky.

“Is that… Her Majesty’s carriage?!”

“And the Azure Dragon Guards! Two entire squads! Is Her Majesty… going on an imperial tour?”

“Judging by the direction… she’s heading to the Southern Region?! Her Majesty is going to the Southern Region?!”

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“Haven’t you heard? Two days ago, an Immortal Ascension battle broke out beyond the heavens! The shockwaves spread across all Five Regions!”

“They say Empress Lingshuang of the Northern Region fought the newly risen ‘Yaochi Empress’ from the Southern Region!”

“Hiss… Is that true? Two Empresses fought? What was the outcome?”

“There are all kinds of rumors about the outcome, but apparently even Sovereign Longteng appeared!”

“What?! Then…”

“No wonder… No wonder Her Majesty is going there in person! Could she… no longer sit still?”

“Shh! Watch your words! How could people like us presume to fathom an Empress’s thoughts? Still…”

“The Southern Region will probably become the focus of all Five Regions this time!”

“Two long-established Empresses and one newly risen Empress. Nothing like this has happened in ten thousand years!”

Hushed exclamations and carefully muted discussions spread across the Eastern Region like wildfire.

Inside, the carriage was far more spacious than it appeared from the outside.

Wisps of elegant, fragrant incense curled through the air, and thick, soft spirit carpets covered the floor.

Every furnishing was exquisitely tasteful, yet each detail also proclaimed imperial nobility.

Empress Qingxuan reclined on a cushioned couch draped in a snow-white fur blanket.

Today, she had changed out of her customary imperial court robes and wore a somewhat casual purple gown.

Its hem spilled across the floor like liquid silver, while a pale silk sash rested loosely around her waist, accentuating her breathtaking curves.

Her cloudlike dark hair was partially pinned up with a simple white jade hairpin, while the rest cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. A few playful strands brushed her peerlessly beautiful profile.

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She propped her chin on one hand while the fingertips of the other idly stroked the pale azure Profound Heart Bracelet around her wrist.

Her eyes were slightly lowered, her long lashes casting faint shadows beneath them and concealing the emotions in her gaze.

Yet her gently pursed red lips and the unusually subdued air surrounding her, tinged with the faintest hint of coldness, made it abundantly clear that the ruler of the Eastern Region was nowhere near as languid and relaxed as she appeared.

“Your Majesty, we will soon enter the Southern Region.”

Beside the cushioned couch, a composed maid dressed in palace attire softly delivered her report.

She was one of Empress Qingxuan’s personal court ladies, and her cultivation was extraordinary as well.

Empress Qingxuan’s fingers paused briefly before she slowly raised her eyes.

“Pass down my command.”

Her voice was clear and steady, carrying unquestionable authority.

“After we enter the Southern Region, there is no need to conceal our movements, but neither should we deliberately flaunt our presence.”

“Observe proper protocol and proceed directly to Yaochi Immortal Palace in the Wanjue Mountain Range.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The court lady respectfully accepted the order and swiftly relayed the instructions.

The nine black birds let out clear, melodious cries and drew the magnificent carriage across the border into the Southern Region.