Zi Yao quietly gazed out beyond the great hall, as if watching Lu Xuan’s departing figure.
After a moment, she slowly bent at the waist—her posture elegant and captivating—and spoke in a soft, unhurried voice.
“Your Majesty, this Lu Xuan’s martial talent is almost supernatural—truly a once-in-an-era prodigy.”
“And yet, he carries none of the arrogance or complacency so common in others. In fact, he conducts himself with extraordinary caution and prudence.”
“In my humble opinion, Lu Xuan possesses the bearing of a rare and peerless overlord.”
“Thus, Lu Xuan is like a double-edged sword. If Your Majesty can wield him well, he will surely bring you unexpected delights.”
“But if not…”
Zi Yao did not finish her sentence, but Empress Xia Mingyue naturally understood her meaning.
Hearing this, the Empress broke into a leisurely, knowing smile.
That smile radiated the poised confidence of one who ruled all under heaven—unmatched and unrivaled.
“Even you, Zi Yao, think so highly of this Lu Xuan?”
The Empress’s voice was like pearls falling on a jade plate—crisp and melodious, tinged with amusement.
“Interesting.”
She murmured softly, a trace of unreadable intent flickering through her beautiful eyes.
She tilted her head slightly, as if asking herself—or perhaps consulting Zi Yao beside her.
“Surprises, you say?”
“I truly wonder just how much of a surprise this Lu Xuan can deliver.”
Even so, a hint of casual indifference crept into her tone.
After all, in Empress Xia Mingyue’s eyes, Lu Xuan’s current cultivation at the minor completion of the Divine Mansion realm was merely icing on the cake—far from sufficient to influence her true ambitions.
With that, the Empress’s stunning form once again dissolved into specks of profound black light.
In the blink of an eye, she was already lounging languidly upon her imperial throne, exuding an innate nobility and authority.
“Zi Yao, how went your inspection of the seal at the northern polar region?”
At these words, Zi Yao’s usually cool and aloof expression immediately turned grave.
She lowered her gaze and spoke in a voice as calm as an ancient well, devoid of any emotion.
“Your Majesty, the seal at the northern pole is exactly as you predicted.”
“Indeed, an unknown force from beyond our realm is assailing the restrictions laid down by the Holy Ancestor.”
“Moreover, that force seems to have identified the weakness in the Holy Ancestor’s barrier.”
“I have already channeled the power of the Cave-void Sacred Crystal into the Ancestor’s seal.”
“With that crystal’s energy, I estimate we can hold for about one more year.”
“After that, the Holy Ancestor’s seal will likely be completely destroyed.”
“This realm of Great Xia will ultimately be exposed to the eyes of cultivators from beyond.”
Zi Yao’s words seemed to take on physical form, echoing and swirling through the vast, silent hall—
Until Empress Xia Mingyue, lounging lazily upon her throne, parted her vermilion lips and swept them all aside.
“Hmph. The weakness of the Holy Ancestor’s seal, you say?”
“Besides a few of my dear royal brothers, who else could know such secrets?”
“The Jiyan Sacred Gate, the Jianling Sect, the Xuanyin Celestial Palace, and those families—I will not let any of them off.”
The Empress reclined upon her throne, appearing at ease, yet her very being radiated an inborn elegance.
Then, in the next instant, her autumn-water eyes suddenly reflected a deep, unfathomable black gleam—
Like a black hole that could devour the heavens and earth, swallowing everything before it.
“Back then, I was only one step away from claiming the Spirit Ruins’ origin.”
“I never expected those wretches to catch wind of my intentions!”
Her voice was low and icy, brimming with barely suppressed fury and resentment.
Each word seemed squeezed through clenched teeth, as if she wanted to utterly crush that humiliating past.
As she spoke, the mysterious black bird emblem at the center of her forehead—
As if infused with living soul—began to pulse and tremble violently.
Suddenly, a surge of deep, dazzling black light erupted, blindingly brilliant, as if it would drag everything around it into an endless abyss of darkness.
As the black bird emblem blazed with radiance, the very space before the Empress began to ripple with strange, layered undulations.
Before Zi Yao’s watchful eyes, an immense, pitch-black cauldron—as large as a full-grown adult—slowly emerged from the void.
The cauldron hovered in midair, wreathed in thick, ink-like streams of energy that churned and coiled around it.
Upon its surface, intricate patterns wound and twisted, as if seamlessly integrated with the very fabric of heaven and earth—or as if they had been etched there at the dawn of creation itself.
Between those mysterious runes, obscure symbols and scripts flickered in and out of sight, crooked and interconnected in a way that made one dizzy just to behold.
“Hmph!”
“Those wretches never imagined that I, too, had kept a trick up my sleeve.”
“Little do they know that half of the Spirit Ruins’ origin power has long since been absorbed into my Black Bird Cauldron.”
Empress Xia Mingyue pushed herself upright with an air of lazy grace, every gesture exuding elegance and nobility.
She slowly extended her right hand, her pale fingers lightly brushing the air—and the Black Bird Cauldron seemed to respond to some mysterious summons.
In the next instant, the cauldron blazed with a piercing, eye-dazzling black light.
Then, a stream of pure, flawless white fluid—like a flowing creek—gently poured forth from the cauldron’s mouth.
The white stream moved lightly, devoid of any impurity, so pristine that it stirred one’s very soul.
It traced an elegant arc through the air before slowly flowing into Empress Xia Mingyue’s palm.
There, it swirled and drifted in a leisurely dance.
Though it appeared to follow no set pattern, this motion exuded an astonishing, vibrant energy that filled the space around it.
Zi Yao, standing below, had always maintained a detached demeanor—calm as a still, ancient pool, untouched by any ripple.
But the moment that white stream caught her eye—
Her stoic expression cracked. Her eyes, usually placid, widened in shock.
They were filled with disbelief and awe, as if she had witnessed the most impossible thing in the world.
How did Her Majesty pull this off?
I was there back then—I saw everything with my own eyes.
Wasn’t the Spirit Ruins’ origin power reclaimed by that wisp of a Earth Venerable Realm Lord’s remnant soul?
How is it that half of that origin power has now fallen into Her Majesty’s hands?
She even kept it from me!
In contrast to Zi Yao’s astonishment, Empress Xia Mingyue raised her pale chin slightly, her gaze steady and unshakeable.
She quietly contemplated the white stream resting in her palm, as if the entire world now lay within her grasp.
Back then, if it hadn’t been for the Black Bird Cauldron blocking that one blow from the Realm Lord’s remnant soul, she would have surely perished.
Even so, the Empress had suffered severe backlash, which had left her unable to free her hands to refine this half of the Spirit Ruins’ origin.
But now, with her injuries fully healed, she could finally attend to refining it.
Of course, she had brought out the Spirit Ruins’ origin power now precisely to show Zi Yao.
More accurately—to show the sect behind Zi Yao.
Because the truth was that Zi Yao was not originally from the Great Xia Empire—she was a cultivator from beyond the realm.
“Zi Yao, return and tell your master this: I will fulfill every promise I made to her.”
“All the Snow Moon Sect needs to do is help me eliminate the heretics of the Pure Extreme Sacred Sect once Great Xia fully manifests to the outside world.”
Before Zi Yao could recover from her shock, a flash of black light blazed across the throne—and the Empress had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the empty imperial seat.
“Her Majesty’s strength… truly grows more unfathomable by the day.” Zi Yao murmured, the wariness in her eyes as deep and dark as ink.
She herself was a half-step Cave Void martial artist—on the very cusp of that realm.
Yet even with such cultivation, she hadn’t even noticed when the Empress had left.
Could it be that Her Majesty has already stepped into that realm?
Zi Yao raised her head slightly, staring for a long while at the vacant throne.
Then, pressing her lips together, she lifted her foot lightly—and her graceful form instantly transformed into a streak of brilliant violet light, disappearing into the void.
Only faint traces of spiritual energy remained, slowly fading in the air of the great hall.
Heavenly Capital Black Bird Guard Headquarters!
Outside the main gate, a bizarre and eye-catching scene unfolded.
Two elderly men in crimson Black Bird Guard uniforms stood stiffly on either side of the entrance.
The one on the right looked especially anxious.
He kept craning his neck, peering into the distant sky, his feet shuffling restlessly—as if waiting for something with growing impatience.
He looked as if he might bolt off at any second.
Their peculiar behavior left the Black Bird Guards normally stationed at the gate exchanging baffled glances.
What made it even more astonishing was that these two elders were no ordinary figures—
They were both Deputy Commanders of the Black Bird Guard: the Second Deputy Commander, Mu Yun, and the Third Deputy Commander, Li Chengxing.
Thus, during this time, everyone entering or leaving the headquarters couldn’t help but feel utterly bewildered.
What the hell!
Just who is this important figure, that two Deputy Commanders would personally wait at the gate for them?
Mu Yun, standing on the left, watched Li Chengxing pace about like an ant on a hot pan, and couldn’t help but look exasperated.
“Hey, Old Li, is the information you got even reliable?”
“Don’t you dare string me along—I’ve been standing here for a full hour, put on display like some damned monkey for everyone gawking at.”
“Is Commander Lu even in the Heavenly Capital right now?”
Li Chengxing caught the doubt in Mu Yun’s words and flushed. He glared, his beard bristling, and declared firmly.
“Relax, Old Mu. Old Lu is currently in the imperial palace, having an audience with Her Majesty.”
“Given the time he entered the palace, he should be arriving here soon enough.”
“Of course, if you don’t want to wait, Old Mu, you’re welcome to head back.”
“I’m sure Old Lu wouldn’t mind such a small matter.”
At that, Mu Yun immediately backed down. He fell silent once more, standing still with his eyes closed in meditation.
Leave?
Not a chance.
Leaving was out of the question.
This Lu Xuan was young, yet his cultivation had already surpassed both his and old Li’s—he had become a genuine Divine Mansion cultivator.
Facing such a reality, Mu Yun naturally chose to shamelessly latch onto that powerful thigh.
If it were just any ordinary Divine Mansion martial artist, Mu Yun wouldn’t be nearly this enthusiastic.
After all, he himself was a half-step Divine Mansion—only a hair’s breadth away.
But Lu Xuan was a completely different kind of Divine Mansion cultivator.
Mu Yun would say outright, in front of anyone, what he truly thought:
If nothing went wrong, this Lu Xuan was destined to reach extremely high martial realms.
Perhaps even to the level of the Commander herself—who could say?
In Mu Yun’s heart, Black Bird Guard Commander Zi Yao was an invincible existence.
The fact that he would even compare Lu Xuan to Zi Yao showed just how highly he regarded him.
Li Chengxing seemed to see through Mu Yun’s thoughts, threw his head back, and burst into hearty laughter.
“Hehehe!”
“Old Mu, I never thought you—always the quiet one—would one day have such thoughts too.”
His teasing riled Mu Yun up, who shot him a withering glare.
This old bastard had the nerve to mock him?
“Hmph! Pot calling the kettle black!”
Mu Yun’s face tightened as he shot back, “Old Li, you come from a great family yourself, and here you are acting the same way—who are you to lecture me?”
Left speechless by the retort, Li Chengxing could only manage an awkward grin.
He tried to brush off the topic with that embarrassed smile.
“Old Li?”
“Commander Mu?”
“Did you two return from Mingzhou so quickly?”
Before they even saw him, his voice arrived first!
Li Chengxing and Mu Yun turned their gazes almost simultaneously toward a certain spot in the void ahead.
The space there rippled faintly, and then a glimmer of purple light flashed and vanished.
Out of those ripples stepped a young, handsome man, each stride carrying a natural, effortless grace.
“Old Lu!”
“Commander Lu!”
Faced with the two men’s excitement, Lu Xuan remained composed, giving only a slight nod in acknowledgment.
