Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao Chapter 1557 - 81: Mother Empress

Within the Life Hall of the Ancient Life Clan, an eerie silence prevailed.

Despite the stillness, the hall pulsed with a potent, ancient golden Origin Life Soul Energy.

This Soul Energy, concentrated to the very essence of the Life Ancient Tree, radiated immense power.

Yet, at this moment, all beings within the hall remained utterly quiet, not daring to breathe, their gazes fixed with apprehension and dread upon the woman seated high above.

Clad in golden battle armor, her visage was concealed by a mask resembling a golden leaf.

She occupied a throne that evoked the image of a Golden Armor Battleship, her eyes sharp and forbidding as she surveyed the two Holy Spirits kneeling before her.

Yes, Holy Spirits, kneeling.

For even beings as exalted as Holy Spirits, who were akin to kings, had to bow their heads, a testament to the astounding status of the woman on the Golden Armor Battleship throne.

The vast Life Hall, despite its occupants and the presence of Holy Spirits, was as silent as a tomb, devoid even of the sound of breathing.

The scene was a paradox, filled with beings yet utterly soundless.

What was even more striking was the sight of two female Holy Spirits, royalty among their kind, awaiting unknown judgment in a kneeling posture.

"So, you finally deem it fit to return? Or have you merely returned in form, your true selves still wandering elsewhere?"

The woman with the golden leaf mask spoke, her voice laced with a chilling sarcasm.

Her words dripped with mockery, sending shivers down the spines of those present.

Upon hearing her address, the two kneeling women faltered almost imperceptibly, but neither offered an explanation. Instead, their foreheads remained pressed to the ground in a display of profound deference to their leader.

"I opened a Holy Spirit Gate and discovered a most peculiar place,"

The masked woman suddenly smiled, her demeanor shifting abruptly from cold hauteur to palpable excitement.

Her emotional shifts were sudden and unpredictable, leaving observers disoriented.

Unbeknownst to those less perceptive, such volatile shifts in their leader signaled the greatest potential for danger.

"While traversing the higher echelons of the Star River, beyond planes and Cosmic Space, I encountered a solid, cubic structure."

"I have designated this entity the 'Evil Dragon Magic Cube.'"

"A planet, by its nature, is spherical—an extreme form of a polyhedron. When a planet deviates from this form, its inherent rules become equally irregular."

"What I discovered, however, was a perfect cube, its internal structure an infinitely complex labyrinth, a realm where we ourselves are considered the highest Holy Spirits."

"Yet, what lies beyond this cube, I suspect you can scarcely imagine."

The woman’s pronouncements were enigmatic.

Her gaze then settled upon the kneeling pair. "As I cannot depart from this Emperor Ancient Clan, I require emissaries for my experiments. Your transgressions, unless rectified by bringing back valuable discoveries from your exploration, are utterly unforgivable!"

"Feng Zishuang? Zhou Lingyi? You have even forgotten your own names."

"However, dwelling on them now is unnecessary, for your true names have long been expunged from the Emperor Ancient Clan’s genealogical records."

"Should you return triumphant, new honors await. But should you fail, your demise will be sealed not by my hand, but by the void outside—your eternal resting place."

The leader, her face hidden by the golden mask, declared this with unyielding ruthlessness.

Her emotional state was a capricious tempest, capable of inducing cataclysms comparable to the creation and destruction of worlds.

Her cultivation realm was beyond easy description; even the formidable Zhou Lingyi and Feng Zishuang seemed utterly powerless in her presence.

"Mother Empress,"

Feng Zishuang and Zhou Lingyi spoke in near unison, their voices imbued with the deepest respect and extreme caution.

It was evident that uttering these words required immense fortitude.

Yet, as they spoke, their eyes met in a silent, shared understanding.

Feng Zishuang fell silent, and Zhou Lingyi continued, "Mother Empress, concerning the matter of the Purple Flame Monarch, currently, they are still—"

"Cease. For the moment, their actions do not concern me. However, the Emperor Ancient Clan is not their ultimate sanctuary. I have achieved a temporary equilibrium with the 'Evil Emperor,' and I have no desire to escalate matters."

"Furthermore, during this interval, you are granted leave to depart this Starry Sky and venture beyond the cubic world to survey the outer realms."

"If you return, your past transgressions will be forgiven. If you do not, I shall forge an alliance with the Evil Emperor, and the Emperor Ancient Clan will consequently fall under the dominion of the Emperor Soul Clan."

"Moreover, the Soul Emperor has extended certain concessions, presenting conditions so enticing that they have captured my full attention,"

The woman behind the golden mask stated calmly.

As these words left her lips, it appeared to be a fleeting truce on the surface, yet in an instant, both Feng Zishuang and Zhou Lingyi’s expressions turned grim.

They already grasped the unspoken truth.

This so-called 'external void'—beyond the celestial expanse, lies utter nothingness, an endless desolate expanse where life cannot exist.

Even a Holy Spirit, upon venturing into it and breaching the confines of our known world, would undoubtedly meet their demise.

Imagine a fish, accustomed to water, thrust into a desert; its fate is tragically obvious.

This action is tantamount to sending them to their own deaths.

Yet, it is the command of the Mother Empress, and they dare not defy it. For the Mother Empress is their true progenitor, their Sovereign Mother.

"Life Ancient Tree, Evil Dragon Soul Energy, have you both concluded this undertaking without reservation?"

"The Purple Flame Monarch dwelling within this domain must also offer a commensurate tribute; only then can this be considered a fair exchange."

"Otherwise, they forfeit any claim to remain here and bask in tranquility. Our peace is purchased with the boundless Life Origin of our kin."

The woman shrouded in a golden mask spoke these words.

At this juncture, Zhou Lingyi’s countenance noticeably drained of color.

In that precise moment, even Zhou Lingyi’s body seemed to falter, losing its stability.

"Hmm? A significant portion of your Origin has vanished? You—"

"How could you! You actually divested the Life Ancient Tree from your form, transforming it into a mere seed and imbuing it within the Evil Dragon’s essence? Zhou Lingyi! You court a death a thousand times over!"

"Mother Empress, I beg your forgiveness!"

Without hesitation, Feng Zishuang immediately prostrated herself, repeatedly bowing her head as she pleaded with tears.

Meanwhile, Zhou Lingyi remained kneeling, silent, offering no defense for her actions.

For in making that choice, she had long foreseen that this somber day was inevitable.

"Forgiveness? The Life Ancient Tree belonging to our Ancient Life Clan and the Emperor Ancient Clan is the very lifeblood, the meridian through which the endless Life Origin of our people coalesces! You ungrateful wretch!"

The golden-masked woman erupted in fury. A terrifying, destructive aura of Evil Spirit Power radiated from her being, and as this power surged forth, it plunged the heavens and earth into profound darkness.

A dense, oppressive black cloud descended upon the colossal Life Ancient Palace.

This very scenario bore an uncanny resemblance to the prelude of the Word Spirit Race’s catastrophic Soul Poison Outbreak.

"Mother Empress, you must comprehend that the Purple Flame Monarch has now attained the Thirteen Monarch Seals, wielding an independent King Immortal Principle and commanding thirteen Evil Spirit avatars. Should the Evil Dragon Inheritance reach its zenith, he will undoubtedly surpass both the Soul Emperor and the Evil Emperor!"

"At that point, cultivating an alliance with him will prove far more advantageous than any pact with the Soul Emperor or Evil Emperor!"

Feng Zishuang urgently interjected.

She harbored a deep-seated fear that any further delay would result in Zhou Lingyi being transformed into boundless Life Origin, utterly consumed by the Life Ancient Tree present.

If such a fate befell her, Zhou Lingyi would be irrevocably lost.

When the Mother Empress truly resolves to act, they could be transformed into an endless stream of Life Soul Energy in an instant, vanishing without a trace.

Their very existence stemmed from the life-giving roots of the Mother Empress.

This is because the Mother Empress is, in herself, the ancient Life Ancient Tree, the most primordial of its kind.

And Feng Zishuang and Zhou Lingyi are but branches extending from its foundational roots.

At this critical juncture, Feng Zishuang was consumed by immense dread.

Truthfully, Feng Zishuang had harbored persistent doubts regarding the origins of the Life Ancient Tree within the Elf Domain. She had believed it to be a revived entity, yet it transpired to be the very Life Ancient Tree meticulously crafted from Zhou Lingyi’s extracted meridians!

Now that the truth was laid bare, she finally grasped the magnitude of Zhou Lingyi’s sacrifice.

Feng Zishuang’s earnest explanation caused the woman with the golden leaf mask to hesitate momentarily.

"That insignificant being? Capable of nothing but destruction! I had nearly fully deciphered his past, and my assessment is that this individual will likely achieve little. Furthermore, it’s highly probable he will become hopelessly lost, utterly obliterated, within the Ancient Evil Dragon Inheritance."

"Perhaps, on the Evil Emperor’s side, another King will emerge to take his place."

The woman donned in the golden mask let out a cold, mocking laugh.

In mentioning the 'Purple Flame Monarch', the golden-masked woman's demeanor radiated extreme disdain, contempt, and biting sarcasm.

Her attitude seemed disproportionately intense.

Nevertheless, neither Feng Zishuang nor Zhou Lingyi probed further for the underlying reasons, perceiving it solely as the Mother Empress's profound animosity toward Zhou Yan.

After all, it was because of Zhou Yan that they had betrayed the Emperor Ancient Clan.

It was due to Zhou Yan that they not only failed to bring honor to the Emperor Ancient Clan but instead inflicted upon it immense shame, rendering it a spectacle of ridicule among the Emperor Soul Clan and the Emperor Spirit Clan.

He disgraced the Emperor Ancient Clan, casting a dark shadow upon them.

Faced with such a dire situation, how could Feng Zishuang possibly conceive of any alternative explanation?

Meanwhile, the woman concealed by the golden leaf mask exhibited signs of emotional disquiet.

Yet, her emotions were perpetually so enigmatic that even in this moment of turmoil, no soul would be capable of perceiving her inner state.