Empress and the Frost Moon Demon Sovereign

Eastern Continent, Qingyun Sect.

Once a sacred Daoist ground wreathed in immortal clouds and thousands of auspicious rays, it was now shrouded in a heavy, impenetrable haze of blood-red gloom.

Outside the mountain gate, the ten-thousand-year-old stone stele engraved with Ascending the Azure Clouds was now broken in two, the fractured edges stained with long-dried, dark brown blood.

The once-bustling martial arts arena was now completely deserted. Only a few scavenging crows let out maddening, hoarse caws from the withered trees.

The entire sect was as quiet as a massive tomb.

Only within the main peak's grand hall was there still a trace of living breath. But that breath felt even colder than a dead man's.

Right in the center of the grand hall, the purple-gold throne that originally belonged to the sect master had been dyed a dark, crimson red.

Xia Lengyue leaned sideways on the throne.

The gentle white dress she once wore to please Ye Xuan was long gone, replaced by a black and red long robe embroidered with dark gold demonic patterns. The robe trailed on the ground like a flowing river of blood.

Her long hair was unbound, cascading randomly behind her back. A few strands fell by her face, obscuring her bloodshot, bottomless eyes.

At her feet knelt over a dozen shivering old men.

These were the surviving elders of the Qingyun Sect, each a powerful expert at the Golden Core or even Nascent Soul realm.

In the outside world, they were regional overlords revered by tens of thousands. But right now, before Xia Lengyue, they were as lowly as livestock waiting to be slaughtered. They did not even dare to lift their heads, keeping their foreheads pressed firmly against the cold floor tiles.

Still no news?

Xia Lengyue finally spoke.

Her voice was very soft, very slow, carrying a careless, languid tone.

In her hands, she toyed with an object that seemed entirely out of place in this terrifying atmosphere—a kite with a broken string, a gift Ye Xuan had given her.

Below the dais, the First Elder trembled violently, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

R-reporting to the Sect Master...

The First Elder's voice carried a crying tone, his teeth chattering madly:

We... we have already searched through all one hundred and eight mortal kingdoms of the Qing Continent...

We have also scoured all the barren mountains and wild ridges within a radius of three hundred thousand miles...

We even... even used the sect's forbidden secret art, the Soul Searching Technique, capturing countless rogue cultivators to interrogate...

But... but...

The First Elder did not dare to continue.

But what?

Xia Lengyue sat up slightly, the kite string in her hand gently wrapping around her fingertips, carving out red marks.

But... there is still not the slightest trace of the Lord Husband.

The First Elder closed his eyes in despair and kowtowed heavily:

Spare my life, Sect Master! That was the Ten Thousand Mile Traceless Talisman! It is an ancient divine talisman! Once activated, it obscures the heavenly secrets. Unless he reveals himself willingly, otherwise... otherwise, even a mighty figure at the Tribulation Transcendence realm would not be able to find him!

Trash.

Xia Lengyue softly spat out this word.

There was no fluctuation of spiritual energy, nor was there any earth-shattering display of power.

The First Elder's body was simply seen stiffening suddenly.

The next second.

Bang!

Like a ripe tomato smashed by a heavy hammer.

The First Elder, who possessed an early Nascent Soul cultivation base, did not even have time to let out a scream before his entire person directly exploded into a cloud of blood mist!

Warm blood splattered in all directions, showering the faces and bodies of the other surrounding elders.

But no one dared to wipe it off, and no one even dared to scream. They only buried their heads lower, their bodies shaking like sieves, terrified that they would be the next in line.

Ten Thousand Mile Traceless Talisman?

Xia Lengyue looked at the blood mist drifting through the air, a neurotic smile revealing itself in her eyes:

Cannot find him?

That is just your incompetence.

My husband loves me so much and is so obedient. How could he truly leave me?

He must be playing hide-and-seek with me.

Yes... it must be hide-and-seek.

She stood up, barefoot, and stepped on the First Elder's blood, walking down the steps one by one. With every step she took, the blood beneath her feet bloomed into a seductive red lotus.

Since he cannot be found in the Qing Continent, then go to the Central State to look.

If he cannot be found in the Central State, then go to the Western Desert, to the Northern Plains, to the Southern Wastelands.

If he still cannot be found...

Xia Lengyue stopped in front of the Second Elder. She stretched out her slender, pale fingers, gently lifting the Second Elder's chin, and looked into his eyes that were filled with ultimate terror:

Then I will kill every single person in this world.

When everyone else is dead, the only one left... will not that be my husband?

Lunatic.

An absolute lunatic.

The Second Elder looked at the woman before him, as beautiful and deadly as a demon, with nothing but endless despair in his heart.

Just as Xia Lengyue's fingers applied a little force, preparing to crush the Second Elder's throat.

Suddenly.

An earth-shattering boom resounded from the nine heavens above.

The entire main peak of the Qingyun Sect shook violently. The dome of the grand hall instantly fractured, and countless crushed stones rained down.

A vast, majestic, and terrifying pressure carrying supreme imperial dragon aura cascaded down like a reversed heavenly river, instantly enveloping the entire Qingyun Sect!

This pressure was so strong that it directly forced all the elders in the hall to vomit blood on the spot, pinning them to the ground unable to move.

Only Xia Lengyue remained unaffected.

She still stood there, her figure not moving an inch.

Only the hand she had used to grab the Second Elder paused in mid-air, then slowly retracted as she looked up at the shattered firmament.

The madness in her eyes instantly morphed into cold, murderous intent.

Who dares to interrupt me while I am looking for my husband?

Above the firmament, the sea of clouds churned.

The originally gloomy sky was forcibly torn open, revealing a massive golden rift.

Nine five-clawed golden dragons, each thousands of feet long and covered in golden scales, pulled a majestic golden war chariot as huge as a mountain, slowly emerging from the rift.

Upon the war chariot, banners obscured the sun.

Embroidered on every banner was an ancient and vigorous character — Xia.

Flanking the war chariot stood thousands of divine generals clad in golden armor and wielding long halberds. The aura of every single one of them was actually above the Nascent Soul realm!

The few figures leading them emitted terrifying fluctuations that even distorted the void—that was the aura of the Soul Formation realm, or perhaps even... the Void Return realm!

The... The Great Xia Immortal Dynasty?

The Second Elder, sprawled on the ground, struggled to lift his head. The moment he saw that banner, his eyes nearly popped out of his head, his voice turning shrill from extreme fear:

That is the overlord of the Xuan Continent! The Great Xia Immortal Dynasty that rules over billions of territories!

Why... why would they come to such a remote place?!

The golden war chariot hovered in the sky above the Qingyun Sect, blotting out all the sunlight.

An old man dressed in a purple robe and holding a golden scroll stepped out from the war chariot. He tread upon the void, looking down from high above at the ruins and the woman in red below, his eyes filled with a lofty, indifferent detachment.

Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect, Xia Lengyue, receive the imperial edict.

The old man's voice was like a great resounding bell echoing through heaven and earth, carrying a will that brooked no defiance.

Xia Lengyue stood amidst the ruins of the shattered grand hall, her head tilted up, looking at the old man.

She did not kneel, nor did she even bend her waist.

She simply watched coldly, the corners of her lips curling into a mocking arc:

Receive the edict?

Where did a dog like you come from? Do you think you are worthy of making me receive an imperial decree?

The purple-robed old man's face darkened.

As the decree-bearing eunuch of the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty, wasn't he worshipped by countless immortals wherever he went? When had he ever suffered such an insult?

Insolent!

The old man shouted sternly, violently unrolling the scroll in his hands. A golden aura of the imperial dao laws instantly pressed down:

Under the whole heaven, every spot is the sovereign's ground; to the borders of the land, every individual is the sovereign's subject!

Xia Lengyue, you are but a mere sect master, yet you dare to disrespect His Majesty?

Considering that you are still of use, I shall temporarily pardon your crime.

The old man took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and his tone became serious and solemn:

His Majesty has ordered you to immediately hand over the Azure Cloud Sect disciple, Ye Xuan!

Boom!

Hearing the name Ye Xuan.

Xia Lengyue, who had originally worn a cold expression with her killing intent restrained, instantly had a change in her aura.

If she was a volcano about to erupt just moments ago, then at this moment, she was a star that had already been detonated.

She abruptly took a step forward, her figure soaring into the sky, hovering directly at the same height as the purple-robed old man.

She stared fixedly at the old man, the bloody light in her eyes so dense that it was almost dripping. Her voice was as chilling as hell:

Who are you looking for?

Did I not make myself clear?

The purple-robed old man snorted coldly and unfurled the portrait in his hands.

On the scroll was the striking visage of Ye Xuan, so lifelike that even the hint of indifference between his brows was depicted with profound realism.

Ye Xuan.

This person is a noble of our Great Xia Immortal Dynasty who was lost to the outside world.

The old man's tone became somewhat odd, even carrying a trace of unspeakable embarrassment, but he still read aloud loudly:

Through the State Preceptor's divination, the heavenly secrets have been revealed.

This child Ye Xuan is the reincarnation of His Majesty's former favored concubine, Consort Xuan!

His Majesty has decreed, ordering the special envoy delegation to welcome back the reincarnation of Consort Xuan, re-enter the imperial harem, and rekindle their past romance!

Xia Lengyue, since you are Ye Xuan's nominal Dao companion, you should understand the greater good.

Hand over Ye Xuan immediately, and His Majesty will reward you heavily. If you dare to obstruct... it will be a capital crime implicating nine generations of your family!

Silence.

Deathly silence.

The elders below were dumbfounded.

The Second Elder opened his mouth so wide that his jaw nearly dislocated.

What... what the hell?

Consort Xuan?

Reincarnation?

That freeloader son-in-law... was actually the concubine of the Great Xia Emperor in his past life?

And this Great Xia Emperor actually wanted to take him back... to re-enter the harem?

This was too much information, so much that it practically fried their brains.

But for Xia Lengyue.

This wasn't just a lot of information.

This was a declaration of war.

This was a naked, fight-to-the-death declaration of war!

Heh heh...

Heh heh heh heh...

Xia Lengyue lowered her head, her shoulders shaking violently as she let out a hair-raising low chuckle.

The laughter grew louder and more piercing, ultimately turning into hysterical, maniacal laughter.

Hahahahahaha!

Consort Xuan?

Re-enter the harem?

Rekindle their past romance?

She abruptly raised her head.

At this moment, how did she retain even the slightest semblance of a human?

Her long hair danced wildly without wind, instantly turning snow-white. In her eyes, the pupils disappeared, leaving only pitch-black vortexes. Pitch-black demonic energy surged from every pore in her body, instantly dyeing half the sky black!

Bullshit!

Xia Lengyue roared, the sound wave acting like a tangible shockwave that directly blasted the purple-robed old man back dozens of feet!

Ye Xuan is mine!

He is my husband! He is my man! He is my dog! He is my slave!

His body is mine! His soul is mine! His past life and present life, life after life, he belongs entirely to me!

What bullshit Great Xia Emperor?

Wants to steal my man?

Is he even worthy?

Audacious!

The purple-robed old man steadied himself, trembling with anger, pointing an orchid finger at Xia Lengyue:

Demoness! You dare insult the Holy Majesty! Are you trying to rebel?!

Left and Right Divine Generals! Take down this madwoman for me! Flatten the Azure Cloud Sect! Search out Ye Xuan!

Yes!

On both sides of the war chariot, two divine generals clad in golden armor shouted in unison.

They took a step forward, their figures instantly swelling to a hundred feet tall, like two golden giant spirit gods.

Die, demoness!

The divine general on the left wielded a mountain-cleaving giant axe, carrying the world-destroying pressure of the late Nascent Soul stage as he viciously chopped towards Xia Lengyue!

This axe strike was enough to split open a mountain range!

However.

Facing this heaven-shaking strike.

Xia Lengyue did not retreat but advanced.

Die!

She reached out a slender palm towards the massive axe blade and gently clenched it.

Crack!

That supreme-grade spiritual treasure giant axe, capable of slaying Nascent Soul cultivators, was actually crushed into powder in her hand like a piece of tofu!

What?

The divine general's pupils quaked violently, and before he could react.

Xia Lengyue's hand had already pierced through the sky full of fragments, plunging directly into his golden chest.

SquELCH!

Blood sprayed wildly.

A still-beating Nascent Soul, radiating golden light, was forcefully ripped out by Xia Lengyue!

Since you want to steal my husband...

Then go to hell.

Xia Lengyue was expressionless, her fingers applying force.

Pop!

The Nascent Soul shattered.

A great cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage perished on the spot!

Instant kill.

An absolute, thorough instant kill.

The entire crowd was in an uproar.

The purple-robed old man on the chariot was so frightened he nearly fell from the sky.

This... how is this possible?

Didn't the intelligence say that this Xia Lengyue was at most in the False Infant realm? Even if she had made a breakthrough in recent years, she would at most be at the early Nascent Soul stage!

How could she casually crush a late Nascent Soul divine general to death?

No! This aura is wrong!

The purple-robed old man stared fixedly at the white-haired witch bathing in divine blood, suddenly seeming to think of something terrifying, and shrieked:

Demonic energy! This is pure ancient true demonic energy!

You... you are not an orthodox cultivator!

You are a demonic cultivator! You are... you are the Demon Venerable Lengyue who disappeared without a trace for a hundred years?!

As soon as the words Demon Venerable Lengyue came out.

The thousands of divine generals on the golden war chariot simultaneously changed color, and even the nine golden dragons roared uneasily.

A hundred years ago, a peerless female demon had appeared.

She acted perversely and killed like flies. She once slaughtered three first-rate sects overnight, simply because the young master of one of those sects took an extra glance at her.

The Lengyue Demonic Sect she founded was once the nightmare of the entire cultivation world.

Until later, it was said that in order to cultivate a certain Dao of Love technique, she dispersed her cultivation to restart, hid her name, and vanished without a trace.

Who could have imagined.

This female demon had actually been hiding in the tiny Azure Cloud Sect all along, playing house with a freeloader man for over a decade?

Have I been recognized?

Xia Lengyue casually flicked the blood off her hand, tilted her head, and looked at the purple-robed old man, her eyes full of mockery and cruelty:

Since you've recognized me.

Then all of you can stay behind.

It just so happens that I'm in a bad mood.

I want to kill.

Quick! Form the formation! Summon the Patriarch's Dharma Idol!

The purple-robed old man shrieked shrilly.

The golden war chariot instantly erupted with ten thousand rays of golden light.

Thousands of divine generals burned their essence blood simultaneously. A vast surge of power converged at the top of the war chariot, condensing into a thousand-zhang-tall golden phantom of an emperor.

That was a wisp of the Great Xia Emperor's divine sense clone!

It possessed the terrifying combat power of the Tribulation Transcendence realm!

"Vile creature! You dare to commit violence and refuse to kneel before Us?"

The emperor's phantom opened its eyes, which shone like the sun and moon, and its voice boomed like thunder.

A massive golden hand that blotted out the sky, carrying the imperial laws that suppressed all things, slammed down ruthlessly toward Xia Lengyue!

This palm strike sealed space and imprisoned time.

The Qingyun Sect's mountain-protecting grand array shattered instantly like fragile paper. The peaks below began to collapse, the earth split open, and endless magma spewed forth.

This was a world-destroying strike.

However.

Xia Lengyue, who was at the center of the storm, actually smiled.

She opened her arms as if to embrace this destructive power.

The seal within her body was completely undone at this moment.

A pillar of light, pitch-black as ink yet pure to the extreme, shot up into the sky from her body. It directly pierced through that golden hand and crashed fiercely against the firmament!

The sky shattered.

The original blue sky and white clouds vanished instantly, replaced by endless thunderclouds and black lightning.

An aura that surpassed the Tribulation Transcendence realm was released without reservation.

"Kneel?"

Xia Lengyue stood within the black pillar of light, her white hair transforming into thousand-zhang-long demonic locks that danced wildly in the air.

Her eyes turned into two blood-red moons.

"Empress of Great Xia."

"Even if your true body came here in person, you wouldn't dare make me kneel!"

"A mere wisp of a clone..."

"Shatter for me!"

She pointed a finger.

A pitch-black finger beam instantly pierced through the void, ignoring all law defenses, and directly struck the glabella of that emperor's phantom.

Crack.

The emperor's phantom froze.

The next second.

Like a shattering mirror.

That arrogantly invincible dharma idol, which represented the supreme majesty of Great Xia, actually crumbled into a sky full of golden light specks!

"No!"

The purple-robed elder let out a despairing shriek.

The power of backlash arrived.

The golden war chariot disintegrated instantly.

Those nine golden dragons let out mournful wails as their bodies exploded in midair.

Thousands of divine generals spat blood in unison, plummeting from the sky like falling dumplings and crashing into the magma below.

One finger.

It broke the dharma idol, destroyed the war chariot, and annihilated an army of thousands.

This was the terrifying strength of a Tribulation Transcendence mighty figure!

This was the true face of Demon Venerable Lengyue!

Between heaven and earth, only a dead silence remained.

Along with the rain of blood drifting down from the sky.

Xia Lengyue floated in the air, looking at the Qingyun Sect below, which had been completely reduced to ruins without a single intact piece of land left.

The former mountain gate was gone.

The former sleeping quarters were gone.

That former "home" where she and Ye Xuan had lived for over ten years, which she still treasured dearly despite it being full of lies, was also gone.

In the energy storm just now, everything had turned to dust.

"It's gone..."

The red light in Xia Lengyue's eyes flickered slightly.

She slowly descended onto a floating piece of rubble, looking at the kite in her hand that was still perfectly intact.

That was the only thing left here.

"I originally... wanted to leave this place as a memorial."

"I thought that if one day my husband got tired of playing outside and wanted to come home, there would at least be a place for him to rest his feet."

She gently stroked the butterfly pattern on the kite, her voice low and carrying an indescribable sense of desolation:

"Now it seems... that won't do."

"Home is gone."

"My husband ran away too."

She raised her head and looked toward the distant Central State, where the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty was located.

The desolation in her eyes was instantly swallowed by monstrous demonic flames.

"Since the righteous path doesn't work."

"Since being a gentle wife can't keep you."

"Then I will go back to being a Demon Venerable."

"Then I will smash this world to pieces."

"Husband, do you hear me?"

She murmured softly to the void, as if whispering in a lover's ear:

"That Great Xia Emperor said you are his consort?"

"Very well."

"Then I will go to Xuan State."

"I will slaughter my way into the Great Xia Imperial Palace."

"I will twist off that dog emperor's head and make it into a wine cup."

"I will burn his palace to ashes."

"I will prove to the whole world..."

"No matter whose reincarnation you are, no matter if you are male or female, no matter if you are human or ghost."

"You can only be mine."

Boom!

Demonic energy erupted.

The red dress on Xia Lengyue's body instantly transformed into a set of ferocious black demonic armor.

She carefully tucked the kite in her hand into the position over her heart.

Following that, she took a step forward, and her figure instantly vanished from the spot.

Leaving behind only a bone-chilling sentence that echoed for a long time among the shattered mountains and rivers:

"It seems that the next time we meet, I will have to use this identity."

"Husband, don't even think about leaving me."

"No one can take you away from me."

"Not even the Great Xia Emperor!"

"Wait for me."