Chapter 62: The Emperor’s Gaze

Standing in mid-air, swaying with the wind, Chao Xiaoyu was bathed in a faint, holy halo. It was not like the moon reflecting the sun’s radiance, but rather like a star, possessing a light of its own.

A white lotus mark bloomed on her forehead, and her entire being was shrouded in that sacred glow, flickering in the wind, making it impossible to pin down her exact position.

The Empress stood upon a broad lotus leaf, her eyes flashing with divine light as she scrutinized Chao Xiaoyu hovering before her.

That last maneuver had been a display of profound skill—unadorned yet perfect. Among the cultivators in the world who had not yet reached the "Returning Elixir" stage, very few could have evaded it.

Facing such overwhelming martial power, the armies within the Imperial City were little more than a joke. When a cultivator truly transcends the mortal realm, mere numbers are no longer enough to bring them down. Only by forming the ancient, esoteric battle formations—which tapped into the unknown, hidden forces of heaven and earth—or by relying on the collective bloodlust and baleful energy of an entire army, could one hope to contend with such transcendent beings.

"The clear breeze and bright moon need no master, together bringing a cool respite to the Southern Pavilion."

Shen Lian was not on the pavilion, but on the willow branch; the bright moon rose slowly behind him, yet he did not look at it.

The Empress’s formidable aura was even more striking than the moon, while Chao Xiaoyu was like the breeze, impossible to contain.

The Empress’s eyes shifted, her gaze seemingly becoming a tangible force that enveloped Chao Xiaoyu, stripping away any possibility of concealment. Even Shen Lian felt a chill, sensing that the very circulation of his own inner energy was being observed by the Empress, despite her focus not being on him at all.

Chao Xiaoyu’s soft voice drifted through the wind: "Your Majesty’s 'Emperor’s Qi-Gazing Art' is truly formidable."

Her form merged into the formless wind; since a breeze has neither shape nor substance, any ordinary attack from the Empress would have been in vain. But with the "Emperor’s Qi-Gazing Art" active, even though she had truly become a wisp of wind, she could not escape the Empress’s discerning eyes.

Observe the Qi, control the form.

In ancient times, the holy emperors observed the qi of the four seasons to govern the mountains and rivers. Shen Lian had not expected the Empress to have mastered this art. He could not identify her lineage, as the mystical powers she displayed were far removed from the orthodox Daoist schools.

Her physical body, as evidenced by the footwork she had just employed, was terrifyingly powerful. To move at the speed of a sonic boom required an astonishing level of physical constitution. It was also clear that the Empress’s dragon robe and imperial crown were extraordinary artifacts, as they remained intact despite such harrowing speeds.

While practitioners of Qi can harness the essence of heaven and earth to temper their bodies, there is a limit. To truly refine the body into a "Diamond Dharma Body" requires not only immense energy but also access to the corresponding techniques. Furthermore, in the final stage of cultivation—the attainment of immortality—the physical body becomes dispensable. Upon breaking through the illusions of the mortal coil, one achieves the primordial spirit; then, one can condense into form or disperse into qi, wandering the world for ten thousand miles, no longer troubled by the cycles of birth, aging, illness, and death. Thus, Daoists refer to those who have not yet attained immortality as "corpse-guarding ghosts," illustrating that the body is only of maximum utility before immortality is reached.

The formless wind was pinned down by the Emperor’s Qi-Gazing Art, and Chao Xiaoyu slowly descended. She had not projected her Yin Spirit, nor was she a practitioner of the "Void-Walking" stage; to stand upon the void was nearly impossible. While cultivators can use techniques or artifacts to fly, moving without a trace to defy gravity usually requires the "Void-Walking" realm of the Daoists, a high level of Buddhist "As-You-Will" spiritual power, or innate divine abilities.

Although Chao Xiaoyu followed the path of the Divine, she had not yet reached the stage of abandoning her physical body. In her fair hands, she held a handful of pitch-black soil, its texture lustrous and its aura inexplicable.

Upon seeing this, the Empress retreated rapidly, but it was already too late.

Shen Lian, standing off to the side, suddenly felt an indescribable sensation. The scene before him shifted violently, and his soul was momentarily lost in confusion. Yet, his Daoist heart remained tranquil, devoid of panic. The moon was no longer visible, nor was he on the willow branch. Here, the space was dim, and beyond a hundred paces, everything was lost in a hazy blur.

His body drifted down from the air, as light as a feather.

When he finally stood steady, he saw the Empress and Chao Xiaoyu standing more than ten yards away, with less than five yards between them. They were much closer now.

The Empress said coldly, "I did not expect you to possess Divine Soil. You are willing to use such a precious treasure."

Only then did Shen Lian understand why the Empress had recoiled upon seeing the black soil. It is said that in ancient times, sages, immortals, and Buddhas were numerous. Though their paths differed, the great masters shared certain similarities.

If an immortal or Buddha reached a high enough level, they could carve out a dojo in the void, independent of the Great Thousand Worlds. The celestial palaces of myth were the dojos of the Heavenly Emperor, though the Emperor’s power was so boundless that his palace was almost comparable to the Great Thousand Worlds; the Pure Land was the dojo of Amitabha Buddha, also vast and limitless.

Beyond these famous sites, the great masters of the Divine path also had their own dojos, known as "Divine Kingdoms." Correspondingly, the ancient holy emperors had their "Imperial Homelands."

Whether it was an Imperial Homeland, a Divine Kingdom, or an immortal dojo, these were spaces created by human effort. Large as Mount Sumeru or small as a mustard seed, they possessed mysteries different from the Great Thousand Worlds and gave birth to many precious items.

The Divine Soil in Chao Xiaoyu’s hand was merely fragments of a certain master’s Divine Kingdom. In the hands of a skilled craftsman, it could be used to forge an artifact capable of storing items or trapping enemies. Although Shen Lian possessed the "Universe in the Sleeve" technique, it required constant infusion of energy to maintain. If his energy were to fail, or if he were to die, the spell would collapse, and whatever he carried within it would likely vanish forever.

There were several famous spatial artifacts in the world whose interiors were comparable to entire worlds.

The space created by the bit of Divine Soil in Chao Xiaoyu’s hand was not particularly large, serving only as the final battlefield for the two women. Moreover, as it had not been refined into a proper artifact or treasure, the space created by the soil could not be taken with her.

It was not that Chao Xiaoyu did not want to refine it; she simply lacked the skill. Furthermore, spatial artifacts required not only Divine Soil but also many other rare materials and the exhaustive efforts of a master craftsman.

Though she offered no harsh words, it was clear that she intended to decide the victor between herself and the Empress this night.

Having refined the Divine Soil, Chao Xiaoyu naturally held dominion over this space. Even a cultivator who had reached the seventh turn of the "Returning Elixir" would be at her mercy here.

Originally, with the Imperial City as the Empress’s home turf, Chao Xiaoyu would have had no chance of victory. But by disrupting the Empress’s preparations, she had forced a fair duel. What the Empress had not anticipated was that Chao Xiaoyu possessed something as precious as Divine Soil, placing the Empress at a disadvantage.

Shen Lian watched the two women calmly, saying nothing. Chao Xiaoyu could clearly have left him out of this, yet she had chosen to include him. Was she hoping to eliminate everyone at once, or did she have another motive?