229: Chapter 229 The Illusory Image Takes Form, Its Power Overwhelms the Heavens

The phantom devoured the surrounding blood Qi, its outline shifting from blurry to solid, every complex pattern on the imperial robes rendered in vivid detail.

She wore a Blood Phoenix Imperial Robe, her three thousand strands of dark hair tied high by an ancient golden crown. Her facial features were seventy percent similar to Ye Qingyao outside the hall, but in those phoenix eyes, there was not a hint of vitality, only the deathly silence of ancient glaciers and a resentment that could burn the world to ashes.

Her skin was white without a trace of Life Qi, and her lips were blood-red, exuding an unsettling, demonic aura.

The Empress Phantom opened her eyes.

Two beams of blood light shot from her pupils, sweeping across the entire main chamber.

The blood-colored runes inscribed on the stone walls were touched by the blood light, their glow flaring violently, emitting a low hum as the Formation of the entire tomb was instantly pushed to its limit.

When that gaze landed on Su Changge, the Qi and blood in his body nearly froze.

An overwhelming pressure descended, intangible yet heavier than a mountain, pressing directly onto his shoulders. Under this pressure, his fragile Qi Refining First Layer Physical Body could not even hope to breathe.

His bones groaned under the unbearable weight, his legs trembled, and his knees bent uncontrollably; he was on the verge of collapsing to the ground.

Su Changge bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain clearing his mind. He straightened his spine, even slightly lifting his chin, and met the Empress Phantom's gaze with a calm expression, trying his best to maintain that unfathomable demeanor.

His inner roar was about to pierce the heavens.

"Is this pressure trying to crush me into meat paste?!"

"My bones are about to shatter!"

Lin Waner had long been crushed to the ground by this pressure. She hid behind Su Changge, without even the strength to lift her head. The cold ground pressed against her cheek, and every breath felt like the final struggle of a drowning person.

The Empress Phantom's gaze finally fixed on Su Changge and did not move again.

She tilted her head slightly, her lifeless eyes examining Su Changge, the blood color in the depths of her pupils growing richer.

Without warning, she opened her mouth.

A shriek erupted.

The sound was extremely shrill, piercing metal and splitting stone, causing rubble from the tomb's dome to fall in a rustle. On the hard stone walls, those complex runes actually cracked with spiderweb-like fine lines.

Su Changge felt his Divine Soul in excruciating pain. There was nothing else in his ears, only the demonic sound that could tear apart his Divine Soul, causing him to almost faint from the pain.

He bit his back molars tightly, a metallic taste filling his mouth, but his expression remained as calm as an ancient well, and not even his eyebrows twitched in the slightest.

In the shadows, The Three Princes all spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching their ears and curling up on the ground, their faces pale as paper.

Prince Jimie wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked toward the main chamber, his eyes full of horror.

"The Remnant Soul of the Empress is actually this terrifying! A single shriek is enough to severely injure us!"

Shadow Kill Prince also coughed up blood. He looked up at the back that remained upright amidst the blood light, his admiration evident.

"The King is actually unscathed! He didn't even sway! Such a Divine Ability is far beyond our reach!"

Prince Jimie gritted his teeth, struggling to stand up.

"I will go in to assist the King! We must not let the King face such a vicious soul alone!"

Shadow Kill Prince pressed his shoulder, shaking his head firmly.

"Do not act rashly! Look at the King's back, his aura is as steady as a mountain; clearly, he has everything under control!"

"If we rush in now, we will only disrupt the King's layout! If something goes wrong because of this, can you or I bear the responsibility?"

Prince Jimie paused, looking back at Su Changge, the anxiety in his eyes turning into deep awe.

"You are right! It was my recklessness! How could we possibly fathom the King's Divine Ability?"

Succubus Prince clutched her throbbing head, but her charming eyes were shockingly bright, gazing infatuatedly at Su Changge.

"The King... is too magnificent! I want to bear one hundred successors for the King!"

The Old Priest prostrated himself, kowtowing continuously toward Su Changge's back, the ancient prayer in his mouth becoming increasingly loud and devout.

The shriek finally stopped, and the main chamber returned to dead silence, but Su Changge's mind was still buzzing incessantly.

He had already cursed everything he could curse in his heart.

"Everything under control, my foot! My legs are cramping!"

He was frantically calling the System in his heart, screaming at the top of his lungs, but only cold void responded to him.

The System had completely lost connection.

Su Changge's heart sank little by little.

The Empress Phantom raised her hand, her fair, slender fingers tracing through the air, and the blood Qi and resentment in the main chamber gathered frantically in her palm.

A touch of blood light extended in her hand, eventually turning into a three-foot-long sword. On the sword body, Blood Phoenix patterns flowed, and the sword tip spat out dazzling red light. The resentment that had condensed for eternity caused the temperature of the entire main chamber to plummet.

The moment the long sword took shape, Su Changge even saw the breath he exhaled turn into white mist.

The Empress Phantom held the blood sword, pointing it at Su Changge from afar. The resentment around her, which had almost turned into substance, swept toward Su Changge like a broken dam of blood-colored torrents.

The torrent of resentment struck, and Su Changge felt as if his Divine Soul was about to be frozen. His body involuntarily took a step back, nearly falling.

Just at this moment, the heart of the realm in his arms activated on its own, and a circle of pure white light spread out, forming a light curtain that protected him within. The surging resentment crashed against the light curtain, making sizzling sounds of dissolution, but it could not advance any further.

Su Changge secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had this thing to protect his body; otherwise, this resentment impact alone would have caused him to Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Seeing the white light, the deathly violence in the Empress Phantom's eyes grew even stronger.

She gripped the blood sword, her toes lifted off the ground, and she floated toward Su Changge silently.

Su Changge watched the figure constantly approaching, his heart pounding wildly, his palms full of cold sweat.

He wanted to run, but found that he had long been locked by an invisible energy.

His feet felt like they were filled with ten thousand catties of raw iron. Forget about moving; he couldn't even form the thought of lifting them. His entire body's muscles were stiff.

"Who can save me! Am I really going to die here!"

Thoughts raced through his mind, considering every possible chance of survival.

"Keep pretending? This Remnant Soul of the Empress obviously doesn't buy it; she's impervious to reason."

"Smash her with the heart of the realm? This item is a thing of ultimate Yang and purity; perhaps it has a restraining effect on such resentful evil spirits?"

"Dead horse as a living horse doctor!"

Su Changge reached into his arms with difficulty, took out the warm heart of the realm, gripped it tightly in his hand, and prepared to smash it into her face with all his might the moment the Empress approached.

The Empress Phantom stopped five meters away from Su Changge.

She tilted her head again, her gaze passing over Su Changge and landing on the heart of the realm in his hand. The violence in her eyes faded slightly, and a trace of confusion appeared.

She opened her mouth, and a few dry, broken syllables came from her throat. The sound was like two rough rocks rubbing against each other.

"Heart... of the realm..."

Su Changge was stunned.

"She can talk? And she recognizes this thing?"

The Empress Phantom's gaze moved away from the heart of the realm and re-examined Su Changge's face, the confusion in her eyes becoming even heavier.

She spat out two more blurry syllables, and this time, it sounded like...

"Mas... ter..."

Su Changge's heart skipped a beat.

"Revered Master? She called me Revered Master?"

He immediately thought of Ye Qingyao, the young girl who followed him around all day, calling him Revered Master, and insisting on becoming his disciple.

This Empress was Ye Qingyao's past life, and her Remnant Soul had also mistaken him for her Revered Master?

Su Changge's tense nerves suddenly relaxed. It seemed... his life was saved?

Just as he was about to say something, the confusion in the Empress Phantom's eyes was instantly replaced by deeper violence, and the blood Qi around her boiled again.

A shriek came from her mouth, this time shorter and more shrill. Her figure flashed, and the blood-colored long sword in her hand drew a beautiful, sorrowful arc, straight toward Su Changge's neck.

Su Changge's eyes widened.

"What is going on! Turning hostile faster than flipping a book!"

He didn't have time to think too much. The instinct for survival made him raise the heart of the realm in his hand and block it in front of him.

"Clang!"

With a deafening loud noise, the blood-colored long sword slashed solidly onto the light curtain supported by the heart of the realm.

A tremendous force came, and Su Changge was shaken back three steps. His whole arm lost feeling, and the heart of the realm almost flew out of his hand.

The Empress Phantom was also forced back a step by the recoil. The violence in her eyes was nearly crazy.

She raised her sword again, pressed forward, and slashed down at his head again.

Su Changge's back was already against the cold stone wall, with nowhere to retreat.

He looked at the blood-colored sword edge that kept enlarging in his pupils, his mind blank.

"This time, it's really over..."

In the shadows, The Three Princes saw the Empress make a killing move and could no longer hold back.

Prince Jimie clenched his fists, Devilish Qi surging around him.

"The Empress wants to harm our King! Protect the King!"

Shadow Kill Prince also had a pair of poisoned daggers in his hands, his figure turning into an afterimage.

"Go together! Even if we die, we must protect the King!"

Succubus Prince followed closely, her long whip dancing in her hand, and the Old Priest also stood up tremblingly, holding the sacrificial jade tablet, preparing to risk his life.

Su Changge looked at the sword tip that was less than a foot away from his brow, the shadow of death having completely enveloped him.

"It's over!"