247: Chapter 247 A Thousand Years Apart

Above the Taixuan Sect, the heavens were forcibly torn open by over a dozen massive rifts.

Behind each rift lay a grotto-heaven or a blessed land. At this moment, over a dozen figures with Auras as profound as the abyss and as majestic as mountains stepped out. Their Dharma Bodies supported the heavens and propped up the earth, and the Imperial Might they radiated caused the Taixuan Sect's Mountain Protection Grand Array to twist violently, while countless cracks appeared on the mountain itself.

The Great Emperor Old Ancestors of the Cangxuan Dao Domain, who had been slumbering for thousands of years, were all disturbed.

These individuals were existences that truly stood at the pinnacle of this world. Initially, they only sensed the violent turbulence of the spatial barriers and thought the Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons were attacking. However, upon sweeping with their Divine Thoughts, they discovered the source was actually the Taixuan Sect's Forbidden Ground.

Thus, they came together to demand an explanation.

Tearing through eternal space-time—such an act was enough to shake the Foundation of the entire Dao Domain.

An old man clad in a crimson-gold Dragon robe spoke first, his voice turning into rolling heavenly thunder: "Who in the Taixuan Sect is acting in such a Heaven-Defying manner here? Do you wish to see our ten-thousand-year Foundation destroyed in an instant?"

Another Old Ancestor, surrounded by Nihility Sword Qi, snorted coldly as sword shadows flickered in the Void Realm: "Come out and accept your punishment immediately! Otherwise, the Taixuan Sect shall be erased from the Dao Domain today."

The pressure of over a dozen Great Emperors intertwined, enveloping the entire Taixuan Sect. The mountains trembled, the rivers flowed backward, and countless Disciples shivered under this Divine Might, their minds on the verge of shattering.

Just then, the stone gates of the Forbidden Ground slid open silently.

Ye Qingyao, dressed in a plain white gown, walked out slowly. She did not look up but stood quietly, with no spiritual energy fluctuations around her. Her elegant face bore a trace of sickly paleness.

Above the clouds, the dozen or so Great Emperors looked down at the tiny figure, their brows furrowing slightly.

A young woman?

"Junior, who are you? Where is the Sect Leader of the Taixuan Sect? Tell him to come out and answer us," the old man in the crimson-gold Dragon robe barked, his Imperial Might pressing down once more.

Ye Qingyao finally raised her eyes.

Her gaze was very calm, like an eternal, unmelting cold abyss—no anger, no fear, not even a hint of emotion.

With just a gentle glance.

The heavenly net of pressure woven by those dozen Great Emperors instantly shattered inch by inch. A supreme will awakened within her body, soaring into the sky and piercing through the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

Mahayana Stage Peak.

This was not a suppression of power, but an absolute crushing of life's hierarchy.

The dozen or so Great Emperors felt as if their Divine Souls were being gripped by an invisible giant hand. The Dao Laws they had painstakingly cultivated for ten thousand years fell completely silent, and they could not mobilize them in the slightest. Their massive Dharma Bodies were as small as dust before this will.

In all of heaven and earth, only that white-clothed figure was the sole Dominator.

Thud.

An Old Ancestor of the Mahayana Early Stage could not withstand it; his Dharma Body dissipated, and he fell from the clouds, spitting out Imperial blood, his face as pale as paper.

The other Old Ancestors also shook violently, each showing a look of horror, their breathing becoming incredibly difficult.

What Realm is this?

This excessively young woman was actually an existence at the Mahayana Stage Peak.

As this thought surfaced, the legs of the dozen or so old monsters who had lived for over ten thousand years went weak uncontrollably. All the words of accusation they had prepared were stuck in their throats, turning into the deepest fear.

Ye Qingyao did not look at them again. She raised a jade-like finger, and a streak of spiritual light flew out, hovering before everyone.

Within the spiritual light, an ancient mark rotated slowly. That mark was woven from the most primal Dao runes, and the Aura it emitted made everyone's Divine Soul tremble and submit.

The old man in the crimson-gold Dragon robe stared intently at the mark, his pupils shrinking as he cried out in shock, "This is... the Ancient Empress's Legacy Dao Seal!"

At these words, all the Great Emperors felt as if they had been struck by lightning.

The Ancient Empress—the supreme existence who had once reigned alone over eternity and suppressed an entire era.

Was this woman her successor? No, this Dao Seal perfectly matched her Divine Soul Origin; this was clearly a Reincarnation returning.

Had they just been questioning a returned Ancient Empress? And even threatened to erase her Orthodoxy?

Boundless chill rose from the bottom of every Old Ancestor's heart.

They hesitated no longer. The dozen Great Emperors, whose mere footsteps could make the Dao Domain tremble, retracted their Dharma Bodies in unison and descended from the clouds, prostrating themselves toward Ye Qingyao.

"We were blind not to recognize your greatness, unaware of the Empress's arrival. We deserve ten thousand deaths!"

"We beg the Empress for forgiveness!"

Their voices trembled with fear, their foreheads pressed tightly against the ground, not daring to lift them even an inch.

Ye Qingyao's voice finally rang out, cold and indifferent, yet containing an irresistible majesty: "This Empress seeks a person. His name is Su Changge."

"From this moment on, all forces under your command shall exert every effort to search the entire Cangxuan Dao Domain."

"To anyone who can provide definite clues about him, this Empress shall bestow the complete Empress's Legacy and reward them with ten portions of Great Emperor Level Divine Materials."

As soon as these words were spoken, the minds of the dozen prostrate Old Ancestors shook violently.

A complete Empress's Legacy. Great Emperor Level Divine Materials.

Before they could even recover, Ye Qingyao's next sentence completely ignited their ambitions, which had been dormant for ten thousand years.

"To anyone who can bring him safely before this Empress, I shall personally protect their Dao and help them break through the barriers of the Emperor Realm."

Personally protecting the Dao, helping one become an Emperor.

The breathing of the dozen Great Emperors came to a halt. They had been stuck in the Great Emperor Realm for thousands of years, their path forward long since severed. Now, an Opportunity to break those shackles was right before their eyes.

"We obey the Empress's Decree!"

"We shall immediately mobilize all our forces. We will go through water and fire without hesitation!"

The dozen Great Emperors kowtowed once more, their voices filled with uncontrollable fanaticism. They had arrived aggressively, but they left as streaks of light, vanishing at the fastest speed of their lives, as if an Opportunity would be snatched away by others if they were a moment too slow.

In less than half a day, all the top forces in the entire Cangxuan Dao Domain received the highest orders from their Old Ancestors.

For a time, winds and clouds surged.

Countless old monsters in secluded cultivation were awakened, and countless Saints and Divine Maidens were recalled. An invisible net, centered on the Taixuan Sect, instantly spread across the entire Dao Domain.

The name Su Changge became, in the shortest time, a legend that could drive even Great Emperors to madness.

Ye Qingyao turned and returned to the secret chamber.

She sat upon the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Bed and closed her eyes. Her majestic Divine Sense, like a silent tide, instantly covered the entire Cangxuan Dao Domain.

The Eastern Wilderness, Western Liang, Southern Border, Northern Plains, and Central Continent. Her Divine Sense penetrated all Restrictions, swept through every inch of the Void Realm, and investigated the Aura of every living being.

One day.

Two days.

Three days later, Ye Qingyao opened her eyes, her face devoid of any color.

Nothing.

She had repeatedly searched the entire Dao Domain three times, yet there was still not a trace of her Revered Master's Aura.

How could this be? That fleeting glimpse from before, that familiar Aura—there was absolutely no mistake.

She spread her palm, and a ripple of space-time condensed, turning into an irregular crystalline fragment. It was the only remaining trace from when she had broken through the spatial-temporal barrier.

Upon the fragment, Su Changge's Aura was clearly imprinted.

Ye Qingyao immersed her Divine Sense into it, sensing the chaotic and mysterious spatial-temporal fluctuations.

After a long time, her trembling eyelashes stilled.

She understood.

The spatial-temporal tunnel she had opened did not connect to this era. That purifying power was the correction of the River of Time itself.

What she had touched was from a thousand years ago.

Revered Master was not in this era at all.

He was in the past, a thousand years ago.

Ye Qingyao stared blankly at the fragment in her hand. The confusion in her eyes dissipated, leaving only a determination strong enough to burn out the stars.

So, Revered Master is a thousand years in the past.

No matter.

Even if she had to shatter this River of Time and reverse eternal Karma, she would definitely find him.

Ye Qingyao raised her hand and swept across the Void Realm, laying down layers of Restrictions containing the Laws of Time, completely sealing the entire secret chamber.

She was going into secluded cultivation.

The day she emerged would be the moment she flowed against time to return to a thousand years ago.

...

Far away, in the Qingming Domain of a thousand years ago, the Lingxu Wasteland.

Su Changge knew nothing of this.

The setting sun stretched his shadow very long. He leaned against a giant rock, panting heavily.

The boots on his feet had long since fallen apart. With every step, the newly formed blisters on his soles were rubbed raw by the sand and stones, causing a piercing pain.

His waterskin was empty, and the last wheat cake in his arms was down to less than half.

Looking out, there was an endless crimson wasteland, so deathly silent it was unsettling.

Just what kind of godforsaken place had that spatial-temporal vortex thrown him into?

Su Changge took a bitter bite of the wheat cake, its coarse texture scraping against his parched throat.

He did not know that within the shadows of this dead land, a pair of eerie green vertical pupils had already marked him as prey.