The White Empress was a renowned Great God throughout the universe. She ruled an entire realm, and the power of her Twelve Divine Maiden Booths was immense, with countless gods under her command and an endless number of Saint-realm cultivators.
The Divine Queen Palace was the place where generations of masters of the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths cultivated and resided. It lay deep within the layered palaces of the World Divine Maiden Tower, hidden amid white mist and divine radiance.
Every cultivator in the world had heard the name Divine Queen Palace and fantasised about the White Empress who dwelt within, wondering how breathtakingly beautiful she must be, how capable of captivating all living souls.
After all, the White Empress’s reputation for sensuality and allure had long spread across the universe, enough to ignite boundless fantasies and desires in any man to spend a single fragrant night with her.
Yet even in the most lascivious legends about the White Empress, the men who had ever entered the Divine Queen Palace were exceedingly few. Every one of them had been an overlord of their era, a sovereign of a realm.
At this moment, however, Shang Hong, a god not yet one yuanhui old, stood inside the Divine Queen Palace. He gazed down at the White Empress, a Great God, with an air of lofty superiority.
“Mo Tong is dead. Wu Ma Jiuxing is dead. The Fourth Armour Blood Ancestor died under unclear circumstances. And now three true gods have been captured by Hell Realm. You won’t tell me, City Lord, that none of this has anything to do with you?”
Even now, Shang Hong’s expression remained unchanged.
But the eyes fixed upon the White Empress were filled with icy coldness. They were utterly unmoved by her soul-seizing beauty or her flawless figure, undisturbed and clear.
For this alone, calling him a future God Venerable was no exaggeration.
Though the Shang Clan held the White Empress’s greatest weakness, a single Shang Hong was still not enough to make her feel fear or timidity.
The White Empress sat upon the highest throne in the palace, draped in moon-white gossamer. Her long, jade-like legs were slightly raised, revealing their perfect curves. Her crystalline skin and firm thighs could make any cultivator’s blood surge.
Even Shang Hong dared only to meet her eyes. He did not dare look lower, afraid that the seductive power radiating from her everywhere would affect his spiritual will.
She parted crimson lips that glistened like jewels. “The one who captured Yan God and the others is a disciple of Death God Venerable. The Twelve Divine Maiden Booths cannot afford to offend Death God Venerable.”
Her voice was soft and enchanting to the extreme.
Shang Hong felt as though her gaze released electric currents. His whole body involuntarily went numb and powerless.
He would not mind if something were to happen between him and the White Empress.
But she was a Great God and an exceedingly shrewd woman who walked freely among the great powers of both Heaven Court and Hell. Once involved with her, things would never be simple.
Shang Hong quickly averted his gaze, gave a cold snort, and said, “The Twelve Divine Maiden Booths cannot afford to offend Death God Venerable, but can they afford to offend the Shang Clan? I know full well that in the City Lord’s eyes, one Shang Hong does not yet carry enough weight. Very well, then let Heavenly Lord speak to you personally.”
“Heavenly Lord has come to Xing Huan Tian?”
A flicker passed through the White Empress’s bright eyes. A trace of shock appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face.
Shang Hong stood straight as a sword. With a casual wave, he tossed out the “Yi” character token.
The token flew into mid-air, divine qi pouring forth, forming a vast sea of purple clouds. Above the clouds, the ten-thousand-zhang figure of Yi Heavenly Lord condensed, radiating a pressure that suppressed heaven and earth.
The White Empress had already descended from her white jade throne. She knelt on one knee amid the sea of clouds. “I pay my respects to Heavenly Lord.”
Yi Heavenly Lord’s eyes were like two divine suns hanging in the firmament. “A hundred thousand years have passed. You sisters have grown strong wings. Is this a desire to escape this Heavenly Lord’s control, or outright rebellion?”
“This concubine dares not,” the White Empress replied hastily.
“Dares not?” Yi Heavenly Lord’s voice was overbearing. “If Yu Rou had not intervened, how could Wu Ma Jiuxing have died? Blade Venerable is furious. He has ordered Yu Rou to go personally to Blade God Realm and explain herself, or even that drunkard will be unable to protect her.”
The White Empress suppressed her surging emotions. “This matter has nothing to do with Yu Rou…”
“No explanations needed! You need only convey the message. Whether she wishes to die or live, how she wishes to die or live, is for us to decide. Two wretched traitors of the Rebel God Race, you dare to rebel?”
Though only a divine projection of Yi Heavenly Lord had arrived, it already vented his anger and divine might.
Toward Yi Heavenly Lord she seemed to harbour intense fear. The White Empress completely forgot that she herself was a Great God.
At this moment she was like a delicate white lamb stared down by a ferocious hungry wolf, afraid to move. Only with powerful willpower did she maintain her calm and preserve the last pitiful shred of dignity as a Great God.
Shang Hong stood to the side, watching coldly.
A Great God, so what? Sovereign of a realm, so what? Before the Shang Clan, she was no more than a servant or slave.
Yi Heavenly Lord continued, “Who exactly is the spiritual-force god that killed Wu Ma Jiuxing and Mo Tong? Someone cultivated by Yu Rou?”
To kill Mo Tong and frame Wu Ma Jiuxing with such petty tricks, how could that possibly fool anyone?
“No! This concubine can swear that person is absolutely unconnected to Yu Rou,” the White Empress said.
Yi Heavenly Lord replied, “Connected or not, after the Linglong Conference, you will personally act and bring his divine heart to Shang Qiu to atone. Can you do that?”
The White Empress had no other choice. “I can.”
“Since you are still obedient, there is only one final matter. Do it, and the blame for the fall of the three gods will be set aside for now.”
Yi Heavenly Lord declared, “By whatever means necessary, Bai Qing’er can only marry my son Shang Hong.”
The White Empress’s expression remained unchanged, but terror surfaced in her eyes. She did not wish her daughter to follow in her footsteps. In a tone calm yet defiant, she said, “My daughter has already taken the Star-Sea Angler as her master. I fear she will not listen to me.”
Yi Heavenly Lord answered, “That is fine. If you cannot do it, then everything I just said proves you truly intend rebellion. In that case, Xing Huan Tian no longer needs to exist!”
“And who knows, once the cultivators of the universe learn that you are of the Rebel God Race, whether that drunkard and the Star-Sea Angler will still protect you? Oh, I forgot to tell you, the Star-Sea Angler has provoked great trouble himself. He probably cannot spare attention for you. So using him to pressure this Heavenly Lord is useless.”
The White Empress’s ten snow-white, onion-like fingers clenched tightly. Threads of blood seeped from between them.
Yi Heavenly Lord added, “If you do not wish to remain master of the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths, plenty of others do.”
“God of Many Colours!”
“Lord of the Black Heart Demon!”
Two figures radiating powerful divine might stepped forth from the vast purple clouds.
The one on the left wore multicoloured robes, had a gaunt face, narrow eyes, and looked forty or fifty years old. An evil smile perpetually hung on his face.
This was the realm sovereign of Yin-Yang Realm, the God of Many Colours.
The other, clad in black and shrouded in towering demonic qi, was none other than the master of Black Demon Realm, the Lord of the Black Heart Demon.
Compared to a thousand years ago, the divine might of the Lord of the Black Heart Demon had grown countless times stronger. He had broken through from Upper God to the Taizhen realm and could now be titled Great God.
The Lord of the Black Heart Demon had once been a follower of Empress Qian Gu and had relied on Kunlun Realm’s demonic path inheritance to reach the supreme realm.
By real-world time, his age was still less than one yuanhui.
Yet when time spent cultivating in time arrays was added, his age had long surpassed 129,600 years. He had survived the yuanhui tribulation. Thus, like Empress Qian Gu, he could no longer be called a god of this yuanhui.
Yin-Yang Realm ranked 372nd on Heaven Court’s Myriad Realms Merit List, a top-tier powerful realm.
As sovereign of a realm, the God of Many Colours was even stronger than the Lord of the Black Heart Demon, an ancient Great God.
Yet even these two realm sovereigns of immense cultivation, when passing Shang Hong, first had to cup their hands respectfully in salute. After all, Shang Hong was not merely backed by powerful connections; his own talent and potential were extraordinary.
Though the Lord of the Black Heart Demon was now a Great God, whether he could defeat Shang Hong in combat remained unknown.
The God of Many Colours and the Lord of the Black Heart Demon glanced at the White Empress kneeling on one knee. One followed the evil path, the other the demonic path; naturally they differed from ordinary gods.
Their faces were covered in lewd smiles, making no effort to conceal the desire in their hearts.
The way they looked at the White Empress was utterly naked, as though gazing upon the most exquisite delicacy in the world.
Back then, cultivators of Yin-Yang Realm, Black Demon Realm, and Myriad Evils Realm had dared to build the infamous Yin-Yang Hall in Truth Heavenly Domain, where countless beautiful women suffered cruel ravishment. One could imagine the character of these three realms.
Without the silent consent of higher gods, how could they have dared?
They paid no heed even to Truth God Hall, much less a mere White Empress.
“Oh my, is this not the legendary White Empress who can rival Moon God in beauty? A sovereign of a realm, how is it that she kneels here? Come, let this seat help you up.”
The God of Many Colours extended a pair of withered, yellow hands, grasped the White Empress’s snow-white, fragrant shoulders, and slowly lifted her. Yet his fingers lingered, stroking her soft, moist arms with reluctant fascination, as though caressing a priceless treasure.
The Lord of the Black Heart Demon merely stood to the side, eyes lowered to the ground, not acting as brazenly as the God of Many Colours.
Yi Heavenly Lord’s divine projection had already dispersed.
The Lord of the Black Heart Demon said, “The Linglong Conference is of great importance. Heavenly Lord fears the City Lord cannot manage alone, so he has sent the two of us to assist secretly.”
Ripples appeared in the White Empress’s beautiful eyes as she cast a flirtatious glance at the God of Many Colours. Inwardly, however, she felt utter revulsion. Secret assistance, my foot. He simply sent you two to keep me in check, afraid I would not obey.
Like a shy maiden, she withdrew her jade-like arm from the God of Many Colours’s hands and smiled sweetly. “You are both renowned Great Gods. If you come to Xing Huan Tian, I fear Hell Realm will grow wary. Should a Great God from Hell Realm be drawn here and conflict arise, it is Xing Huan Tian and the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths that will suffer calamity.”
“That will not happen. Hell Realm will only believe we are still in secluded cultivation at Shang Qiu,” the Lord of the Black Heart Demon replied.
Seeing the White Empress gracefully retreat, the God of Many Colours grew displeased and said coldly, “Do you still not understand Heavenly Lord’s meaning? If you disobey, the two of us will take over the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths.”
“I have long heard that the twelve booth masters of the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths are each as beautiful as celestial maidens, and your daughter is hailed as the foremost beauty of the new generation. This seat has long wished to replace you and, as the new master, suppress them all and enjoy them one by one.”
With her back to them, cold light already flashed in the White Empress’s eyes, yet she suppressed her killing intent. “You jest, elder. How would this concubine dare disobey Heavenly Lord? My very life is held in Heavenly Lord’s hands!”
The God of Many Colours nodded with a smile, staring in fascination at the White Empress’s graceful, enchanting back.
At that moment, Bai Qing’er’s voice came from outside the Divine Queen Palace. “Bai Qing’er pays respects to the City Lord. I have important matters to discuss.”
