Chapter 16
Note: I've gone slightly AU with the timeline but as you read you'll understand
Tap, Tap, Tap
In the deep primal forest of the illusory demon realm, a graceful figure could be seen walking among the corpse-strewn forest floor, the dry mixture of blood and mud cracked under the soles of her shoes, but the girl continued without minding it, observing the chaos that occurred here and straightening the strand of hair that fell on her face from time to time.
It had been a week since that giant tree appeared, shrouding the illusory demon realm in a fear-inducing golden light, during this period no one dared to lower his guard or step out of the city boundaries, they bolstered the defense of the city's protective formation and hoped for whatever that caused that scene to overlook them.
Compared to the regular residents of the continent the Little Demon empress carried a big responsibility being their ruler. So, after seven days she went out to see what happened in her faraway territory. Witnessing the utter destruction that was carried here didn't ease her heart at all, for she realized that whatever happened here was beyond her level, Admidtly she knew that from the start, when she saw that tree but only by coming here did she realize how lucky they were.
Huan Caiyi descended to the depth of the crater, she looked around investigating the cause of this destruction.
'There are no lingering traces of profound energy, whatever caused this must've used brute physical strength… but it doesn't add up, if that gigantic branch fell over here it should've wiped hundreds of kilometers and more from the face of this continent… Unless whoever cast that magic has immense control over his powers, it's terrifying beyond belief… '
Among her people, The Little Demon Empress was known to be a terrifying and ruthless existence but at this moment she couldn't help but show the worry on her face.
'' Little Demon Empress '' the voice of Mu Feiyan the Patriarch of the Mu family announced his arrival, as he floated down, He was a middle-aged man with long black hair and a black beard.
'' Where are the other family heads? '' the little demon empress felt a little dissatisfied with the other family heads for not being here.
'' Everyone remained for the security of the imperial city '' My Feiyan respectfully bowed.
Huan Cayi snorted but didn't respond as she continued to look around.
'' What do you think happened here empress? '' Mu Feiyan, couldn't help but feel afraid when he remembered the scene days ago
Huan Cayi took a moment before she replied '' I don't know what happened here, but it must've been an earthshaking battle, we can count ourselves lucky that we were far away ''
'' Yes, Fortunately, we- '' Before the Mu family patriarch could finish his words, he retreated several meters with the little demon empress, when before their eyes, reality revealed a long tear, that in a moment stretched for 3 meters of height. They could feel the spatial fabric tearing as if something was making its way here.
'' Little empress we should retreat! '' Mu Feiyan shouted urgently, the safety of the empress came before all.
'' It's too late '' Huan Cayi replied in a quiet voice, watching the tear in front of her expand, revealing a wasteland on the other side, then a bare-chested tall young man came walking out of the tear.
The little demon empress watched him step out and how the spatial crack behind him closed on its own. She stood on guard as she watched him raise his head and look at the sky then mutter under his breath.
''Hmm. Seven days passed here while a month and a half passed there, it does remind me that the gravity level on that planet was quite high… ''
Huan Caiyi was fascinated by what she saw, he looked young but his masculine features made him look older than he actually was, and his body was perfect as if sculpted by an artist. But the most frightening thing about him was that she sensed no profound energy from him, meaning that he was extremely powerful above her level or that he knew how to perfectly hide his energy levels, which she quickly discarded, when from the corner of her eyes and remembered where she's standing right now.
Radhan mused to himself and remembered that there were two guests in front of him, he felt curious about them since they were both monarchs, the girl was extremely beautiful, her black hair reached below her waist and her black eyes were cold and calculating, but what drew him to her was the faint bloodline he felt from the girl, which made him grin when he remember certain godly souls who were hiding.
'' And who might you two be '' Radhan cocked his head to the side and asked since they were just standing vigilant and looking at him.
The little demon empress felt a bit relieved since she didn't feel hostility from his words, she glanced at Mu Feiyan beside her and replied
'' I'm Huan Caiyi the empress of this land '' She knew that the one standing before might be stronger than she could ever imagine, but she needed to uphold her dignity as an empress. Radhan nodded and turned his head to the man
'' I'm Mu Feiyan, the Head of the Mu family, one of the twelve guardian families of the imperial city ''
'' Well met '' with that he turned his head to look at the surroundings and continued
'' You must've sensed the disturbance of the battle that happened here '' He turned and looked at the empress in the eyes.
'' You shouldn't worry too much, there was an unfortunate soul who lost his mind sleeping underneath your feet, it could've been a disaster if someone awakened him… I hope that he finds peace now after innumerable years of torture '' Radhan sighed as he recalled the fate of the giant.
Huan Caiyi and The Mu Patriarch trembled slightly, the young man's words confirmed that he was the one behind all of this. Which meant that now they were standing before a mighty practitioner. But in their eyes, the boy looked too young.
'' You have a Godly scent on you. '' Radahn's remark put the little demon empress and Mu Feiyan on guard. Huan Caiyi felt her confidence waver in front of him.
'' Esteemed Senior, our family inherited The golden crow's divine blood through generations, she's the most respected and venerated in our Illusory demon realm. Can you please tell us your name, so that we can honor you accordingly for helping avert this hidden danger? ''
Radahn looked at her and thought to himself ' She's holding herself up rather accordingly, an empress is an empress in the end… '
'' I'm Xia Yuanba, son of Xia Hongyi, I'm not that old to be called a senior by someone older than me. ''
' He's younger than me! If this is the truth does that mean he belongs to the four sacred grounds of the profound sky continent… but that can't be possible even their most powerful expert isn't as strong as him.. Where did he come from? ' She shook her head and thought about what's important to do now, and asked
'' Would you like to come to our city so that we can thank you properly? ''
'' No thank you, there's a place I must go to now, if fate permits we'll meet at another time '' Radhan floated a little and took out a Dimensional profound stone, he crushed it and in the next second a spatial tunnel appeared before him, He nodded at the two and stepped inside.
Once again the little demon empress felt what she was seeing was surreal. She looked at the Mu patriarch and sighed
"Let's go, we don't have to remain here anymore. ''
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Radahn appeared above the sky. The sun was scorching, and the heat could kill a mortal within hours. He looked down at what appeared to be a desert planet. He didn't know if this was the case in the past, but now everything appears to be dead on this planet. He could see traces of the once-civilization of the giants, the gigantic constructions he once saw, the trunk of a dead giant tree resting on the ground.
' What happened here? Didn't he say that he left a few of his clansmen here, the planet shows no signs of life What could've happened? ' Radahn was puzzled by what he saw, something must've occurred here in the past.
He went to the nearby old city and continued his investigation, along the streets he found signs of battle that happened here in the past, claw marks, sword slashes, and giant footsteps. And whatever happened here didn't bode well with him, he thought that maybe he wouldn't be able to fulfill his promise.
Radahn stopped and spread his senses in this endless desert, within moments he got a preliminary idea of the situation here. ' there is no sentient life here, all of them were claimed by the land… but there are energy fluctuations to the west ' Radahn jumped to the sky and flew for several minutes before stopping in front of a cave entrance high up the yellow mountains.
He tried to step in but felt a resistance, as if a barrier was trying to keep him from entering, Radahn didn't stop and pushed hard with his hands, but after a moment nothing happened.
' this is a strong barrier. ' Radahn thought to himself when all of a sudden his eyes started glowing golden and runes spread from his neck to the rest of his body, He reared his punch and struck the barrier with all of what he had, the mountain and the land shook severely from the impact, but the barrier swiftly cracked and crumbled into motes of profound energy.
He stepped inside the dark cave and walked along the tunnels for a quite few time, and finally after following the last turn, he was presented with a beautiful sight. A hidden world within the mountain, green vegetation and moss sprouted from the cave floor and the rocks, to the side water flowed from a crack in the cave wall and ran as a small stream, freshening up the cave. The nature of what was before him and the outside world was the complete opposite.
He walked on the slippery moss floor and stopped in front of an ice coffin. He looked for a long time at what he felt was one of the most beautiful women his eyes had ever seen. She appeared to be blissfully sleeping with her hands to her side, she had wavy silver hair, her lips were rosy and her skin was tanned and looked delicate to the touch. Radahn felt himself lost for a few seconds at her beauty and shook himself 'Better focus, let's see if she's alive ' he spread his sense toward her and felt the hibernating life force inside the woman. He opened the coffin and injected a bit of vitality into her body, but she didn't wake up.
' She must've sealed herself or someone has sealed her inside the coffin, either way, there's a mystery behind all of this. I've stimulated her life force but it'll take a bit of time for her to wake up… I'll take her back with me… it has been a long time since I went back to Frozen Cloud Asgard '
Radahn picked up the coffin and put it inside a specially made dimensional space. He looked around the cave for the last time and found nothing interesting apart from the profound formation inscribed on the rock walls.
'' Time to go '' He created a spatial tunnel and stepped inside.
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Frozen Cloud Asgard
Under the sparse sun rays within the atrium, the two palace masters sat with Xia Qingyue in discussion
'' Did you have to kick her out of the sect? You know, it won't be the first and won't be the last when someone breaks the sect rules. '' Qingyue felt quite sad as she remembered the desolate back of Chu Yuechan leaving the gates of Frozen Cloud Asgard. ''
Gong Yuxian lowered her head and replied quietly '' Qiangyue… this matter doesn't hurt anyone more than me, they were my children… i picked them from the street and raised them into beautiful young women… Sometimes I wonder if it were the right choice… should I have left them there, maybe they would've led a better life… ''
Feng Qianhui sighed and patted her head '' It's alright although she crippled her profound arts, Qiangyue followed her and protected her all the way, no need to be afraid she's safe now. But the father he won the tournament… but he won't be able to see his child. ''
Qiangyue didn't comment on her once-to-be husband, although they have no relation now, they played together when they were young so she felt sad, she sighed '' I feel that everything is becoming harder and more complicated to understand, is this the life of a cultivator? ''
'' I heard that he sacrificed his life for the Blue Wind Empire princess '' Feng Qianhui didn't reply and asked instead.
'' Yes, I didn't see it with my own eyes but the disciples told me, supposedly he was killed by the demon sealed within the Heavenly Sword Villa's sword terrace… ''
Qingyue had long wanted to retrieve his remains to at least allow his family to give him a proper burial, but one thing happened after the other, and here they are, almost two months after the incident.
They sat in silence, everyone was lost in thoughts, their heart felt heavy. The palace mistress felt conflicted and sad, the first time she broke the rules was with Xia Yuanba, so how could she not do it once again for her disciple, she wanted to at least cover the matter but before she could react her daughter released her profound arts… Fortunately, Qingyue protected her all the way to that strange place.
'' Nothing is ever easy in life, we all are standing witness to how life unfolds. Most of the time we are forced to watch suffering, this is life, and we are but witness to our suffering and theirs. No matter if you want to break the cycle or not, suffering and hardship will always be a companion.'' Radhan quite deep voice jolted them from their thoughts, they turned their heads in unison and saw him standing behind them, his eyes were deep and he seemed to be lost in thought when he muttered those words.
'' Yuanba. ''
Qingyue jumped directly and hugged her brother, she felt the world brighten up a little with her brother.
'' I'm glad that you're safe brother. ''
Radahn smiled slightly and patted her head '' Good to see you sister, i see that you've already stepped into the Overlord realm, Good job. ''
Qingyue hugged her brother for a few seconds and backed off
the old palace mistress looked at the coffin he beside him and said teasingly '' It's Good to see you Yuanba. May I ask whose coffin it is, are you preparing to to bury someone? ''
'' Haha no, unfortunately most of my enemies end up dying alone. This.. this is me fulfilling a promise i made to someone. '' Radhan replied as he wiped the crystal upper cover of the coffin.
Qingyue felt curious and looked at it, her eyebrows shot up when she saw the sleeping woman inside '' What a beautiful woman! Are you going to bury her? ''
Radahn looked at her strangely '' Why would I bury someone who was still alive? ''
The two palace mistresses, only now did they catch up with what they were saying, Gong Yuxian '' Wait there's a woman inside that coffin?! Why would anyone put her there ''
Radahn sighed and said '' It's a long story, the short version is that I made a promise to a giant, to visit his planet and check on his clansmen… unfortunately, that planet is devoided of life… most likely she's the remaining survivor of her race ''
Seeing the three women fall silent, Radahn once again repeated his words '' This is what I mean when I say that we are but mere witnesses to this world ''
'' Will she ever wake up? '' Qingyue inquired
'' Eventually yes, I don't think that it'll take that long since i stimulated her Vital energy. '' Radahn replied, then all of a sudden he spread his energy around Frozen Cloud Asgar. A purple dome quickly expanded from him as the center and covered the entirety of the sect in the next moment they felt the ground shake and heard the sound of collision.
'' What's happening? '' Feng Qianhui's expression turned solemn when she heard the sounds of an explosion.
'' A two punny overlords and ten thrones looking for death, this is what's happening '' Radahn opened a spatial tunnel, sending the coffin to his quarter, and continued while heading out.
'' Then, shall we give them what they came for? ''
The two palace mistresses's hearts palpated when they heard him call overlords punny, especially the old palace mistress because she too was only at the second level of the overlord realm.
Outside the walls of Frozen Cloud Asgard, twelve men floated in the sky, the one in lead was wearing green, and beside him was an elder in purple clothing.
He frowned and looked at the barrier ' They have a strong protective profound formation, plus that emperor young girl. Just what in the hell is this sect hiding?… but no matter, we have to finish what the young master ordered, no one can stand in the way of the Sun Moon Divine Hall.
Their young master got the news of the existence of the Nine Profound Exquisite Body from Ling Kun, he didn't wait for the body owner to get stronger as she was already in the emperor realm, he wanted to conquer her quickly before she matured, or worse get taken by another man and since their master was impatient they didn't dare to delay, and gathered a team.
'' People really don't know what's good for them ''
A deep booming voice sounded as the sect's gate opened, revealing a party of four led by a young man, behind him were three women.
The man in green frowned when he saw a man come out of Frozen Cloud Asgard. He sneered and spoke loudly '' Frozen Cloud Asgard, you truly are something else. I didn't know that you would let a man enter your sect… but this is not what I came here for, You better give us that Girl Xia Qingyue, our Sun Moon Divine Hall young master ordered it.
Having finished his words he expected them to give in to his demand, but all he felt was an encompassing terror suddenly spread from the young man.
Radhan froze in his step when he heard their words. 'How dare they utter such words before me?!! '
He turned to his sister and saw a chilling mist spreading around her.
'' They must've figured out your secret '' He said in a low voice.
'' Deliver to them what they seek sister! '' and with the fall of his words, frost expanded on the ground for hundreds of meters, promising a cold death.