“Chang Yunshu,”
Her voice was sickeningly sweet, but her fingertips gripped the man’s throat tightly. “Tell me, if I drip your blood onto that corpse, will golden flowers bloom?”
The Grand Preceptor’s face instantly turned pale.
He felt an overwhelming, endless pressure from every move the Empress made. Now that Shu Ying had attained Longevity through toppling fate, whether in power or martial strength, she was truly Number One Under Heaven.
All the cultivators in the human world combined wouldn’t even fill the gap between her teeth.
Yet this old man, whose foot was already halfway in the grave, gave a resigned smile. His voice squeezed out from under Shu Ying’s fingers choking his throat: “The lifelong wish of this old servant is only to bring lasting peace to the world. This life of mine is worth it if it can exchange for peace.”
Shu Ying sneered coldly. “Who told you there would be peace? I’m telling you, you won’t get peace, nor will your name be recorded in history.”
The Grand Preceptor’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Your Majesty, why do you protect that abomination so fiercely? You personally built the Heavenly Principles Directorate to eliminate all the surviving Monsters in the world!”
Those words stabbed Shu Ying’s heart like a sharp steel blade.
Her eyes flashed with murderous intent as she suddenly clenched her palm tightly.
In the distance, Xiaozhuang gripped the dagger at her waist.
She knew that from today onward, the Empress who once reduced taxes for the Flowing People was dead.
What remained in the Dragon Robe was a tyrant, reshaped and mocked by the Heavenly Way Immortals.
Three days later, Imperial Palace Dungeon.
Shu Ying gazed intently at Lin Nan’s lifelike figure inside the Crystal Coffin, her fingertips brushing over the Curse Mark on Lin Nan’s neck.
Kneeling in the shadows, Xiaozhuang heard the Empress whisper softly, “They say you’re a Monster, but how could a Monster shed tears…”
At the bottom of the Crystal Coffin, the girl still looked so beautiful, yet she had forever lost the vitality of life.
“Xiaozhuang, how is your task going?”
Shu Ying’s tone was as cold as a winter wind, as if she were merely asking in passing.
Xiaozhuang couldn’t help but shiver. She bowed her head and replied, “Your Majesty, the entire Chang Clan Nine Branches have been executed.”
“Mm.”
Xiaozhuang cautiously exhaled, “But those Three Hundred Heavenly Tribunal Arcanists—completely wiping out the entire clan will still take some time.”
Shu Ying frowned. She glanced sideways at the woman prostrate behind her and sneered, “No rush. As long as they’re wiped out completely.”
Suppressing the complicated emotions swirling in her heart, Xiaozhuang nodded in agreement, then bowed and took slow, careful steps backward to leave.
“This, is the story of the previous Empress.”
Outside Changjing City, a tavern banner flapped in the wind, hesitating to speak. The three bold characters “Yingfenggui” creaked loudly.
At an old wooden table sat three strangers. A penniless scholar cradled a jug of wine, speaking animatedly with a bare neck.
“After that Demoness died, the Demon Emperor Shu Ying regretted it deeply and went mad. Anyone who angered her was wiped out—entire clans exterminated! What a wicked reign!”
“Such atrocities sparked countless rebellions, but the Demon Emperor had been enlightened by an Immortal. Her power was overwhelming, her martial arts peerless. Worst of all, she had attained Longevity, ruling the Great Qi Empire alone for a full millennium!”
“But evil meets retribution,” the scholar tapped his temple, “In her old age, she became senile, insisting that the Demoness hadn’t died and mobilizing the whole empire to search for her. That period in the human world was truly dark. And then…”
“What then? Hurry up and say it!”
“Ahem…”
A sensible traveler slammed a copper coin down just in time and shouted angrily, “Girl, bring me another jug of wine!”
“Alright~”
The White-haired Maiden answered lightly, swiftly clearing the empty table nearby. Draping a rag over her shoulder, she hurried to the wine jar.
“Speaking of which,” the scholar suddenly lowered his head, pointing at the maiden’s retreating figure, muttering quietly, “It’s said the Demoness back then was born with white hair and blue eyes, exactly like that woman!”
“Cut it out, just tell your story straight. You probably don’t even know the second half…”
The wine-paying traveler remained unimpressed. He watched the sweating scholar wracking his brain to invent a better ending, sharpening his knife and frowning deeply.
Suddenly, a murderous aura quietly spread, forcing the scholar to shiver. He scratched his head beneath his hat and stammered at last, “No way, brother! I swear I know it!”
“Well then, spill it!”
“Alright, alright… The Demon Emperor, full of regret, poured all the empire’s strength into forging an Immortal Pill from living corpses and bones. If that failed, she intended to craft Armor Against the Underworld to personally descend into the Netherworld and rescue that female Monster!”
“Could that work? Sounds pretty far-fetched…”
“Guests, your wine’s ready,” the White-haired Maiden gently placed down the jug, awaiting instructions.
The customers, caught up in the story’s excitement, waved the maiden away quickly.
She didn’t want to hear the rest either, so she nodded and walked back to the Boss and Boss Lady.
“Lin Nan, you seem troubled?”
The Boss was very fat but sharp; his smile revealed a row of shiny Jin Teeth. The Boss Lady was fierce—if you angered her, she’d grab a kitchen knife and chop you up.
The couple was notorious and never stayed in one place for more than two months, but recently they had wandered to Changjing City and settled down.
The city’s people were cold and indifferent. No one cared about the small tavern outside the city, and the couple had finally calmed down and lived steadily.
The girl called Lin Nan shook her head gently. “Maybe I’m just hungry.”
The couple exchanged a stunned glance. They had clearly eaten lunch just half an hour ago. Lin Nan’s excuse seemed too flimsy!
Lin Nan silently walked to a patch of grass, squatting down carelessly and plucking a foxtail grass to chew on.
Her clear green eyes stared blankly toward the towering Changjing City Gate. A massive Demon Tiger Beast’s head hung above the gate, its demon eyes dead for over a thousand years yet still emitting an eerie glow.
“Thousands of years ago, during the Song Dynasty, a female general led her army straight into the Demon Kingdom. Before countless Monsters, she hacked off the Demon King’s head. That head was then hung on the city gate of Changjing and forged into a City-Protecting Magical Tool.”
“After that, the Demon Kingdom fell. Our Human Race finally rose up to become the true masters of the Central Continent.”
The Boss patted his belly. His Jin Teeth glinted in the sunlight as he nodded and explained.
Lin Nan casually replied, “Do you think it’s possible that the Demon King willingly gave up resisting, letting the general cut off his head?”
The Boss scoffed, “No way. That beast was a great king. Why would he seek death?”
“What if it was because of love?”
“Bah, Monsters are just beasts in the end. Beasts know nothing of love.”
Lin Nan dusted off her robe and stood, casually tossing the foxtail grass back onto the grass. She glanced at the table of chatting customers and murmured, “So, why care so much about beasts…”