Volume 1, Chapter 85 – The Palace Master and the Empress

Above the Ye family estate in Tianfeng City.

The golden imperial phantom manifested by the Imperial Talisman remained locked in a stalemate with Gu Han’s invisible power of spatial collapse.

Although the Imperial Talisman’s light had dimmed somewhat, it had ultimately managed to withstand that destructive strike.

The Azure Dragon Guard captain and the others were still unable to move.

However, the despair in their eyes had lessened, replaced by the lingering fear of having narrowly escaped death and boundless reverence for Her Majesty the Empress.

Gu Han did not exert any more force.

She simply watched the golden phantom in silence, as though waiting for something.

Ye Ling’er and A-Yao stayed close beside her.

A-Yao curiously looked at the “pretty golden shadow” in the sky and asked softly:

“Master-Mother, what is that?”

Gu Han gently rubbed her head and smiled faintly.

“You could call it… a mildly interesting little trinket.”

Just then, the space above the Ye estate suddenly rippled in expanding circles, like the surface of a lake disturbed by a falling stone.

A pressure even vaster and more tangible than that of the mystic-bird imperial phantom quietly spread outward, as though it stood level with heaven and earth.

The pressure was not overbearing, yet it carried an unquestionable supremacy.

Everyone who sensed it felt an urge rise from the depths of their souls to prostrate themselves in worship.

Then, beneath countless gazes frozen in shock, a peerlessly magnificent figure dressed in nine-colored palace robes embroidered with phoenix patterns slowly stepped out from the rippling space.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, as though she embodied every imagining of beauty and nobility in the world.

Her brows were like distant mountains brushed with dark color, her eyes like autumn waters stirred by gentle waves. Her skin was lustrous and fairer than snow, while her lips were naturally crimson without rouge.

Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall. Part of it was gathered with a simple phoenix hairpin, while the rest fell naturally to her waist.

Simply standing there, she seemed to become the center of heaven and earth.

The sun, moon, and stars dimmed before her, while mountains and rivers seemed to bow their heads.

The newcomer was none other than the ruler of the Eastern Region, Empress Qingxuan.

“Greetings, Your Majesty!”

“May Your Majesty be in good health!”

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Ye Lingyun and the other Ye family higher-ups, along with the many cultivators in the distance who recognized the Empress, instantly dropped to their knees, their voices trembling with excitement.

Even the unruly rogue cultivators lowered their heads deeply and did not dare look directly at her.

Although the Azure Dragon Guards could not move, fervor and devotion blazed in their eyes.

Empress Qingxuan paid no attention to the crowd’s worship.

From the moment she appeared, her gaze had been fixed on the silver-haired woman standing in the plaza below, whose cold and transcendent bearing set her apart from the world.

Their eyes met.

Spacetime seemed to freeze at that moment.

One was a peerless empress who had ruled the Eastern Region for tens of thousands of years and whose name resounded throughout the world.

The other was a mysterious and unfathomable Palace Master from the Southern Region.

Their gazes met in midair. There were no sparks and no hostility, only calm scrutiny as each appraised the other.

Empress Qingxuan looked at Gu Han and into those eyes, which were as tranquil as an ancient icy pool yet seemed to contain an endless sea of stars.

Her surprise deepened.

Even at such close range, she still could not see through Gu Han.

An impenetrable veil of mist seemed to surround her, blocking all attempts at investigation.

What made Empress Qingxuan’s heart tighten even more was the sheer calmness in Gu Han’s gaze.

There was no reverence, no surprise, no hostility, and hardly even a ripple of emotion.

It was as though Gu Han were looking at a stranger of equal standing.

That calmness only made Empress Qingxuan more certain that Gu Han’s strength was absolutely no weaker than her own.

“I am Qingxuan.”

Empress Qingxuan slowly spoke. Her voice was ethereal and pleasant, yet carried an innate majesty.

“Are you Gu Han, Palace Master of Yaochi Immortal Palace?”

Gu Han inclined her head slightly, her expression remaining indifferent.

“I am.”

“Palace Master Gu has journeyed a long way to the Eastern Region, yet you have come into conflict with my Azure Dragon Guards. May I ask what caused this?”

Empress Qingxuan’s tone was mild, revealing neither joy nor anger, as though she were merely asking an ordinary question.

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However, those familiar with her knew that the calmer Her Majesty appeared, the more unfathomable she often was.

Gu Han raised her eyes and glanced at the Azure Dragon Guards imprisoned in the air.

“I came here only to settle a private grievance between my disciple and the Ye family.”

“These subordinates of yours tried to arrest me without first distinguishing right from wrong.”

“I merely retaliated in kind. What is wrong with that?”

Her reply was direct and composed, even carrying a trace of matter-of-fact certainty.

It was as though suppressing the Azure Dragon Guards had been nothing more than a trivial matter.

A faint light flickered in Empress Qingxuan’s beautiful eyes.

From Gu Han’s words and demeanor, she sensed the confidence and composure born of absolute strength.

She had seen such ease in only a very small number of beings at her own level.

“A private grievance?”

For the first time, Empress Qingxuan’s gaze fell upon Ye Ling’er behind Gu Han.

When her eyes touched the dark-blue moon-wheel mark between Ye Ling’er’s brows and she sensed the pure, ancient aura emanating from the girl, even someone of her knowledge and temperament could not stop a clear flash of amazement from crossing her eyes.

“Nine Yin Severed Meridians… No, this is…”

Disbelief entered Empress Qingxuan’s voice.

As the ruler of the Eastern Region and an existence who had lived for tens of thousands of years, she had naturally encountered the Nine Yin Severed Meridians before.

It truly was an incurable condition. At least in this world, none of the methods she knew could treat it.

Yet the girl before her had not only been rid of her severed meridians, but had also transformed them into some kind of powerful constitution.

Such a heaven-defying method of changing fate and remaking one’s very nature…

Empress Qingxuan looked back at Gu Han, the probing intent in her eyes growing even stronger.

“This girl is a disciple I recently accepted,” Gu Han said without denying it.

“As for how the Ye family treated her before, Your Majesty can ask them yourself.”

“I brought her away to settle her karmic ties, yet the Ye family obstructed us again and again, even resorting to threats.”

“What does Your Majesty believe I should have done?”

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Empress Qingxuan fell silent for a moment.

The Ye family had coveted another person’s disciple for her talent and tried to seize her by force.

Such things had happened before and were not uncommon.

It was simply that this time, the Ye family had kicked an iron plate.

“The Ye family was indeed at fault.”

Empress Qingxuan spoke slowly. Her voice remained calm, yet Ye Lingyun and the others below felt their hearts tremble.

“It was only reasonable for Palace Master Gu to punish them.”

Then her tone shifted slightly, and she looked again at the imprisoned Azure Dragon Guards.

“Would Palace Master Gu be willing to show me some consideration and release them first?”

“As for today’s matter, I will naturally give you a satisfactory account.”

Gu Han looked at Empress Qingxuan, then at the ten Azure Dragon Guards, and began weighing the situation in her heart.

Two Immortal Ascension experts presided over the Eastern Region. If she truly fought Qingxuan, there was no guarantee the other one would not intervene.

Ye Ling’er and A-Yao were beside her, so she would inevitably be distracted.

It was not worth placing her two disciples in the middle of such a storm for the sake of a few filthy rats.

With that thought, Gu Han quickly made her decision.

“Very well. Today, I will show you that consideration.”

She slowly relaxed her hand, and the frozen, collapsing space instantly returned to normal.

The confinement was lifted.

The azure dragon phantom formed by the Nine Revolutions Coiling Dragon Formation silently dispersed.

The ten Azure Dragon Guards suddenly felt the restraint around their bodies vanish, along with the destructive pressure.

They staggered as they steadied themselves and gasped for breath. The terror of narrowly escaping death still lingered on their faces.

When they looked at Gu Han again, their eyes held unprecedented fear.

Empress Qingxuan nodded slightly.

She raised a hand and waved, enveloping the ten Azure Dragon Guards in a curtain of radiant light.

“Withdraw for now and return to the imperial capital to await further orders.”

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“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The Azure Dragon Guard captain felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He hurriedly led the others in a bow, after which they transformed into ten streaks of light and fled without looking back.

What had happened today would likely remain an indelible memory for the rest of their lives.

Only then did Empress Qingxuan turn back to Gu Han. A faint smile, breathtaking enough to captivate anyone who saw it, appeared on her peerlessly beautiful face.

“Palace Master Gu, would you be interested in moving elsewhere for a private conversation?”

She extended a hand and pointed eastward, toward the heart of the Qingxuan Imperial Dynasty and her seat of power.

“I have ten-thousand-year Snow-Soul Spirit Tea in my palace. Perhaps we could share a cup.”

Gu Han looked at the powerful empress before her, who was now openly expressing goodwill. After a brief moment of thought, she nodded.

“Very well.”

She also wanted to see what the ruler of the Eastern Region intended to do.

“Ling’er, A-Yao, wait here for a while.”

Gu Han instructed her two disciples.

“Yes, Master!”

“Master-Mother, come back soon!”

Gu Han cast another indifferent glance at Ye Lingyun and the others.

Her gaze was calm, yet it sent a chill through the Ye family. They hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to meet her eyes.

After today, the Ye family would never dare mention Ye Ling’er’s matter again.

Seeing this, Empress Qingxuan smiled faintly and raised a hand, drawing it through the empty space beside her.

A spatial rift wreathed in nine-colored light quietly appeared.

“Palace Master Gu, please.”

“After you.”

The two peerlessly magnificent women stepped into the spatial rift one after the other and vanished.

All that remained was the devastated scene before the gates of the Ye estate and countless gazes filled with shock and speculation, their owners unable to recover for a long time.

It seemed the skies of the Eastern Region were about to undergo a change.