Volume 1, Chapter 86 – Xuanhuang Continent? Great Emperor?

Deep within the empress’s bedchamber in the Qingxuan Imperial Dynasty.

Unlike the resplendent, solemn, and imposing imperial palace imagined by the outside world, this was an exceptionally elegant and secluded place.

The lofty dome used a formation to recreate a deep night sky, from which specks of starlight fell in a gentle glow.

The floor was paved with smooth, warm spirit jade. Its surface was polished enough to reflect a person’s image, yet it did not feel cold or hard in the slightest.

At the center stood a tea table carved from ten-thousand-year warm jade, accompanied by two meditation cushions.

Empress Qingxuan and Gu Han sat facing each other.

On the table, a small purple-clay stove was boiling spring water, producing faint bubbling sounds. Wisps of steam curled upward, carrying the crisp freshness unique to snowy mountains.

Two jade cups, as thin as cicada wings and clear with a lustrous sheen, rested quietly nearby.

The surroundings were tranquil, and spiritual energy hung thick in the air.

Yet within this stillness, there was now an indescribably subtle atmosphere.

Empress Qingxuan personally poured the tea.

Her slender jade fingers lifted the purple-clay teapot, and a stream of tea glowing with a faint sheen fell precisely into the two jade cups.

A delicate fragrance immediately spread through the room.

“The Ten-Thousand-Year Snow-Soul Spirit Tea Tree sprouts only once every thousand years, and each time it produces just nine tender leaves.”

Empress Qingxuan pushed one of the cups toward Gu Han. Her voice was ethereal, and a faint smile rested on her breathtaking face.

“Palace Master Gu, please.”

“Your Majesty is very thoughtful.”

Gu Han nodded slightly in thanks, lifted the jade cup, and took a small sip.

The tea was icy when it first entered her throat, but it soon transformed into a warm current that flowed through every limb and bone. At the same time, a refreshing clarity surged into her sea of consciousness.

Though it could not compare to her own Enlightenment Tea Tree, it was indeed a rare treasure.

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“Excellent tea.”

Gu Han set down the cup and offered her praise. She looked calmly at the woman opposite her.

“Your Majesty invited me here for more than tea, I presume?”

Empress Qingxuan also took a sip. At those words, her beautiful eyes fixed steadily on Gu Han, and she smiled softly.

“Palace Master Gu is refreshingly direct, so I will speak plainly.”

“First, what happened today was caused by the Ye family’s and the Azure Dragon Guards’ ignorance and arrogance. It was also due to my failure to discipline my subordinates.”

Gu Han gave a slight nod without commenting.

The other party’s attitude was excellent, so there was little more she could say.

“As for the second matter…”

Empress Qingxuan shifted the subject. Her gaze wandered over Gu Han with undisguised curiosity and scrutiny.

“I am… truly very curious about Palace Master Gu.”

“I have ruled the Eastern Region for thirty-five thousand years. Though I would not dare claim to know every secret in this world, I have heard of most of its leading figures and hidden Dao lineages.”

Empress Qingxuan looked directly at Gu Han and continued.

“Ever since the ‘Star River Sword Venerable’ left this world twenty thousand years ago to seek the path to immortality, no new Immortal Ascension cultivator has appeared in the Southern Region.”

“But you, Palace Master Gu…”

A meaningful note entered her voice.

“Although I cannot determine your bone age with complete accuracy, you do not feel like someone who has lived for tens of thousands of years.”

“You seem more like someone who… rose to prominence within a very short time…”

“And on the Canglan Continent, no opportunity exists that could allow someone to break through to Immortal Ascension in such a short period.”

Empress Qingxuan leaned forward slightly, her gaze seeming capable of piercing the human heart.

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“Therefore, I wish to know whether you are not actually from this world, Palace Master Gu.”

“Did you come from… another world?”

A trace of shock flashed through Gu Han’s eyes when she heard those words.

She had not expected this empress to possess not only extraordinary strength, but also such frighteningly keen insight.

More importantly…

She actually knew that “other worlds” existed?

Gu Han betrayed no emotion. Her expression remained calm and unruffled as she lifted her cup and took another sip, using the motion to steady her thoughts.

Then she raised her eyes to meet Empress Qingxuan’s probing gaze and calmly countered with a question.

“Your Majesty appears to know a great deal about… ‘other worlds’?”

She neither admitted nor denied it directly. Instead, she tossed the question back.

Seeing Gu Han’s reaction, Empress Qingxuan became even more certain, and the smile on her face deepened.

She settled back into her seat, her thoughts seemingly sinking into memories from the distant past.

“Long ago, I once left the Canglan Continent.”

“That was… a very long time ago.”

Empress Qingxuan’s voice grew more distant and ethereal.

“At the time, I had only recently entered Immortal Ascension. I was proud and arrogant, and I could not accept that the road ahead in this world had been severed.”

“While exploring the sea of stars, I happened upon a ‘void node.’ Relying on my cultivation, I took the risk of entering it.”

“After enduring countless dangers, I was fortunate enough to survive. In the end… I fell into a world completely different from the Canglan Continent.”

She looked at Gu Han, a strange brilliance appearing in her eyes.

“That world was called the Xuanhuang Continent.”

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The Xuanhuang Continent!

Gu Han’s heart stirred at the name.

When the system had previously mentioned Ye Ling’er’s Lunar Divine Body, it had said that nine other worlds existed beyond the Canglan Continent.

Could the Xuanhuang Continent be one of them?

After thinking for a moment, Empress Qingxuan continued.

“The cultivation system of the Xuanhuang Continent is entirely different from ours.”

“They do not form Golden Cores or Nascent Souls. Instead, they temper their qi and blood, open secret realms within their bodies, and awaken powerful physiques and divine abilities.”

“The highest realm there is known as the Great Emperor realm.”

“Those at that level command laws and suppress entire regions. They possess lifespans of fifty thousand years and heaven-defying power, enough to cross the endless sea of stars in the flesh.”

As she spoke, her gaze once again swept carefully over Gu Han, as though she wished to find traces of the Xuanhuang Continent’s cultivation system on her.

“Although Palace Master Gu’s aura bears some resemblance to this world’s Immortal Ascension realm, it also seems somewhat different.”

“It faintly carries the sense of having transcended the restraints of this world’s Heavenly Dao and its laws. That is why I formed this conjecture.”

Gu Han listened quietly as thoughts raced through her mind.

Since the other party had voluntarily disclosed such an important experience, she clearly harbored no ill intentions. Her questions stemmed more from the curiosity and desire for exchange shared by experts of the same level.

Gu Han’s realm had been granted by the system, so it was naturally different from an ordinary Immortal Ascension cultivator’s.

“Your Majesty has keen eyes.”

Gu Han spoke in a calm tone, effectively acknowledging that the empress’s conjecture was not entirely wrong.

However, she would never reveal the secrets of being a transmigrator or possessing the system.

“My experiences are indeed somewhat unusual and involve secrets that are not convenient to discuss.”

“Still, Your Majesty was able to travel between two worlds and witness different cultivation civilizations. Such an experience is truly admirable.”

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Seeing that Gu Han was unwilling to reveal her origins, Empress Qingxuan did not press her.

After all, at their level, who did not possess secrets of their own?

“Palace Master Gu flatters me.”

“Traveling between two worlds was a journey in which I narrowly escaped death. It was nothing more than the reckless courage of my youth.”

Empress Qingxuan waved a hand.

Then her beautiful eyes blinked, suddenly gleaming with a hint of mischief.

She looked Gu Han up and down, from her frost-silver hair to her incomparably beautiful face, and then to the simple moon-white martial attire that made her tall, graceful figure appear even more striking…

Her gaze was entirely undisguised, and even carried the interest of someone admiring a work of art.

Gu Han felt somewhat uncomfortable beneath the empress’s abruptly changed, almost burning stare.

Ordinarily, she could remain perfectly composed beneath the worshipful and reverent gazes of her disciples.

But now, being examined so directly and from such close range by an empress who was both breathtakingly beautiful and supremely distinguished…

Especially when those expressive eyes openly displayed “curiosity,” “interest,” and even a trace of… teasing amusement?

Gu Han instinctively turned her head toward the window, hoping to avoid her gaze.

Empress Qingxuan took in every trace of Gu Han’s slightly unnatural reaction, and the smile in her eyes deepened.

She suddenly realized that the mysterious, powerful, and unfathomable Palace Master of Yaochi Immortal Palace before her…

Could actually… become shy?

At their level, they had long since seen through the boundless mortal world. Their hearts were as firm as stone, and all seven emotions and six desires could be controlled.

She had never seen another existence of the same level display such an almost… innocent reaction.

The stark contrast stirred a playful impulse within her, something she had not felt in a very long time.