Liu Ruyan no longer hesitated. She prepared to step toward the stone stele and claim the opportunity that awaited her.
Just then, a gusting wind suddenly rushed up from behind her.
She was puzzled. The imperial tomb was completely cut off from the outside world, so where could this wind be coming from?
Sensing that something was wrong, Liu Ruyan’s heart jolted. She spun around sharply.
Before she could clearly see the newcomer’s face, a dark shadow descended from above, and a large mass of black, viscous liquid splashed directly over her, enveloping her completely.
“What?!”
Liu Ruyan was horrified and tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
The Nine-Turn Soul-Calming Soup splattered onto her without missing a drop.
Fortunately, the protective robe she wore instantly formed a faint spiritual barrier, keeping the Nine-Turn Soul-Calming Soup from touching her body.
What Liu Ruyan failed to notice was that wisps of black vapor from the soup still seeped through her spiritual barrier and entered the ring on her hand.
“Ugh—”
The stench was utterly horrifying, an indescribable reek that nearly made Liu Ruyan faint on the spot.
Under normal circumstances, whenever Liu Ruyan encountered a danger she could not withstand, her master would automatically protect her.
But to Liu Ruyan’s horror, the moment the ring came into contact with the liquid, she completely lost contact with her master!
“Master? Master!”
She called out anxiously in her mind, but received no response.
“You... who are you?!”
Bang!
Before she could see the attacker’s face, Liu Ruyan felt the world spinning around her. Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness completely.
The newcomer was none other than Ye Wushuang.
At that moment, Ye Wushuang was holding a palm-sized black iron brick.
This was the secret weapon she had prepared earlier at the blacksmith’s shop.
As the saying went, no matter how skilled someone was, they could still fear a kitchen knife.
The simplest, most unremarkable weapons often possessed astonishing power.
Based on the countless novels she had read in her previous life, Ye Wushuang knew that children of destiny were protected by immense luck. If she tried to kill Liu Ruyan outright, something unexpected might happen.
For example, a divine thunderbolt might suddenly descend from the heavens, the old grandpa inside the ring might forcibly awaken, or Liu Ruyan might break through to a higher realm at the critical moment.
Therefore, to ensure everything went smoothly, knocking her unconscious with a brick was the best option.
However, the Nine-Turn Soul-Calming Soup could seal the ring for only the time it took an incense stick to burn. Ye Wushuang wasted no time and hurried toward the stone stele.
Just then, the luminous pearl embedded in the ceiling suddenly began producing layers of illusions. Within them, a peerless female emperor could be seen conquering all directions and ruling over the eight wildernesses, though her features remained indistinct.
“So that was the Liu Empress? Truly a woman of extraordinary talent...”
Ye Wushuang sighed inwardly. One day, she too would become a female emperor who transcended heaven and earth.
Having witnessed Liu Ruyan’s misfortune, Ye Wushuang did not dare look at the ancient seal-script characters engraved on the stone stele.
On a platform before the stele sat a crystal-clear jade bottle. A single drop of golden blood floated visibly inside it, radiating an immense imperial might.
“Is this... the Divine Empress’s heart blood?!” Ye Wushuang’s eyes lit up.
She hurried forward and reached out to take the jade bottle.
Yet just as her fingers were about to touch it—
“Stop.”
A cold and authoritative female voice rang out beside Ye Wushuang’s ear.
Ye Wushuang immediately retreated several steps and warily scanned her surroundings.
On the platform, a hazy figure slowly took shape.
It was a woman dressed in a cyan imperial robe. Her beauty was peerless, and her bearing transcendent. A disdainful majesty that looked down upon the world filled her brows.
Although she was merely an illusory projection, she was so imposing that no one dared meet her gaze.
“Are you... the Liu Divine Empress?”
Ye Wushuang asked cautiously.
The illusory empress did not answer. Instead, she scrutinized Ye Wushuang from head to toe, her brows knitting slightly.
“Why do you not possess the bloodline aura of my Liu clan? Without any bloodline resonance, how did you find this place?”
Ye Wushuang’s heart tightened as her mind raced.
She had anticipated that something like this might happen. After all, this was the tomb of the Liu Empress, so a bloodline verification was only to be expected.
Fortunately, she had prepared an explanation long ago.
Ye Wushuang took a deep breath. She put on an expression of grief and indignation, her voice trembling with emotion.
“Ancestor, this junior has suffered terribly... This junior is a descendant of a collateral branch of the Liu clan. My name is Liu Ruyan.”
“Liu Ruyan?”
The illusory empress repeated the name.
“That’s right.”
At that moment, Ye Wushuang seemed to have become a veteran actress.
“This junior should have possessed the complete bloodline of the Divine Empress. Unfortunately... unfortunately, a hundred years ago, my branch’s ancestor was deceived!”
“Tell me everything.”
The illusory empress’s brows furrowed even more deeply.
“Yes!”
Ye Wushuang’s eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face as she continued.
“A hundred years ago, a group of cultivators claiming to come from the Northern Myanmar Sacred Land sought out my ancestor. They told him that they possessed a secret technique capable of awakening the Divine Empress’s bloodline. As long as he was willing to go with them, he would be able to awaken his complete bloodline and restore the Liu clan’s glory.”
“My ancestor believed them and followed them to that place called the Northern Myanmar Sacred Land. Who could have known... those damnable people! It wasn’t a sacred land at all, but a den of demons!”
The more Ye Wushuang spoke, the more impassioned she became. She gave the performance her all.
“They drained the Divine Empress’s bloodline from my ancestor’s body and... and even harvested one of his kidneys! My ancestor fought desperately to escape. After enduring countless hardships, he finally made it back to the clan, but his cultivation was completely crippled and his bloodline had withered. He died of despair only a few years later.”
“Before he died, my ancestor recorded everything that had happened and warned his descendants to beware of the disaster of Northern Myanmar. Since our branch had lost the Divine Empress’s bloodline, we gradually declined. By my generation, I could no longer sense even the slightest trace of its power...”
“As for the bloodline power needed to open the tomb, our entire clan had to pool everything we had just to gather enough.”
After finishing her story, Ye Wushuang even dabbed at her tears at just the right moment, looking utterly heartbroken and outraged.
The illusory empress remained silent for a long time, apparently trying to digest this somewhat... tragic tale.
“Northern Myanmar... bloodline extraction... kidney harvesting...”
She quietly repeated those key phrases, a trace of doubt flashing through her eyes.
“I, this empress, ruled the Spirit Domain Continent for tens of thousands of years and have never heard of such a place.”
“Ancestor, I swear it is true!”
Ye Wushuang hurriedly said, “That Northern Myanmar Sacred Land is extremely secretive. They say it lies in the barbaric lands at the extreme south of the continent. It specializes in luring cultivators with special bloodlines there, extracting their bloodlines, and selling their organs. They commit every evil imaginable! I only learned that such a sinister place existed in this world because my ancestor passed the story down by word of mouth.”
“My ancestor’s final instruction before death was for his descendants never to go to the southernmost region. He also told us to search for something called an anti-fraud app. Apparently, it was an immortal treasure of the Heavenly Rank!”
The illusory empress stared at Ye Wushuang for a long while before slowly saying, “Your story is rather far-fetched.”
Ye Wushuang’s heart tightened. As expected, gaining the other party’s trust would not be so easy.
The next moment, Ye Wushuang raised her right hand high.
“This junior, Liu Ruyan, calls upon the Heavenly Dao as witness! Every word I have spoken is true! If even a single word is false, may heavenly retribution strike me down, may my soul be scattered, and may I never be reincarnated!”
Rumble—
As the oath was spoken, some unseen rule seemed to be stirred in the darkness, yet the Heavenly Dao did not deliver any punishment.
Instead, Liu Ruyan, not far away, seemed to twitch slightly.
It was also Ye Wushuang’s good fortune that the Ninefold Soul-Calming Soup was so potent. Even the soul of the Empress herself could not detect Liu Ruyan’s presence for the time being.
Otherwise, Ye Wushuang’s lie would have been exposed long ago.
Seeing this, the Empress’s phantom finally let most of the suspicion in her eyes fade away.
On the Spirit Realm Continent, a cultivator’s oaths were subject to the scrutiny of the Heavenly Dao. This was especially true of deadly oaths concerning one’s own life. Anyone who broke such an oath would inevitably suffer the wrath of Heaven.
Since Ye Wushuang had dared to swear such an oath, it meant that the young woman before her had to be a descendant of the Liu Clan.
“Rise.”
The phantom of the Empress softened her tone slightly. “If what you’ve said is true, then your branch of the family has indeed suffered greatly. Extracting bloodlines, harvesting people’s kidneys… Such deeds are no different from those of fiends. If I were still alive, I would personally travel to Northern Myanmar and wipe them off the face of the earth!”
