512: The Enchanting Queen

The words 'Great Yu Empress' acted like a trigger.

As soon as Yang Dian uttered those four words, it was as if he had pressed a button. The aura of the little girl before him began to fluctuate rapidly.

A moment later, the person standing before Yang Dian was still the same person.

But her temperament had become completely different:

"How did you discover This Consort?"

Yang Dian did not answer her question. Instead, he accessed his information database to search for details about the little girl before him.

"Yu Yao, 7376th daughter of the Great Yu Celestial Emperor, Little Princess of the Great Yu Immortal Dynasty, biological daughter of the Great Yu's Consort Yan. Adopted by the Great Yu Empress after Consort Yan perished from Qi Deviation. Passionate about reading since childhood, having read extensively by the age of three..."

After reviewing Yu Yao's information, Yang Dian looked again at the Great Yu Empress who appeared as a little girl:

"You refined Yu Yao into a Puppet shell?"

The Great Yu Empress looked at Yang Dian in silence for a moment, then took a step forward.

Then, the little girl's body began to grow wildly.

A moment later, a figure clad in white gauze silk, only half a head shorter than Yang Dian and resembling a Heavenly Immortal, appeared before him.

Wasn't this person precisely the Great Yu Empress whom Yang Dian had glimpsed from afar through the threads of fate?

After restoring her true form, the Great Yu Empress first raised her delicate jade-like hand. Her fingers traced across the vast expanse of snowy-white skin exposed at her chest, an action that seemed both to conceal and to entice.

Then, she lifted her slender, jade-like leg and paced to Yang Dian's side.

Gazing at the snowy-white jade legs, half-concealed and half-revealed by the silver gauze silk under the lamplight of the Wenlan Pavilion, dancing as if amidst clouds and mist, occasionally offering a tantalizing glimpse, Yang Dian instinctively swallowed.

This woman... she seemed capable of snatching souls.

Observing the bob of Yang Dian's Adam's apple, the Great Yu Empress covered the expanse of fair, tender skin on her chest with the jade fingers of her left hand. She raised her right hand to her slightly pale lips and smiled charmingly:

"You jest."

"Although Yao'er is not This Consort's own flesh and blood, This Consort regards her as my own."

"How could This Consort bear to refine her into a Puppet?"

As she spoke, she made a hugging motion with her arms.

A little girl with twin ponytails, dressed in a silver princess dress, appeared in her embrace.

Reaching out to stroke Yu Yao's head, the Great Yu Empress then planted a kiss upon it. Finally, she lifted her gaze, a wifely glow in her eyes as she looked at Yang Dian:

"You see, she is alive and well."

Glancing at the little girl sleeping soundly with even breaths in the Great Yu Empress's arms, Yang Dian shifted his gaze back to the Empress herself:

"You assumed her form to hide in the Wenlan Pavilion, just to escape the Great Yu Celestial Emperor's sight and flee to another world?"

The Great Yu Empress nodded in affirmation:

"That's correct."

Patting Yu Yao's back, she answered Yang Dian's question:

"To be frank, the Celestial Emperor encountered a formidable enemy in another realm and suffered grave injuries."

"This Consort has some... grievances with the Celestial Emperor."

Seeing Yang Dian's expression shift to one of eager curiosity, she changed her tone:

"As for the nature of those grievances, This Consort will not say. I imagine a powerful being such as yourself would not be interested in trivial domestic matters."

"In short, after he was severely injured, This Consort planned to use the Crown Prince to scheme against him."

"Although it was unsuccessful, and the plan never truly began to be implemented..."

"...given the Celestial Emperor's temperament, he would not let This Consort go."

"Apart from fleeing, This Consort had no other choice."

"Coincidentally, the Taicang Realm invaded the Great Yu Immortal Dynasty. This Consort conceived the idea of taking on a child's form to win the sympathy of powerful individuals, thereby seizing the chance to enter your world."

"It's just that your Wisdom Eye is sharp, seeing through This Consort's little scheme."

Looking at the Great Yu Empress who kept her head bowed, appearing very submissive, Yang Dian once again surveyed his surroundings:

"Why choose the Wenlan Pavilion?"

"Because the Wenlan Pavilion houses the crystallized wisdom of many realms," the Great Yu Empress answered honestly.

"Within any realm, the most precious things are of two kinds."

"One is the world itself."

"The other is the crystallized wisdom born from the development of its civilization."

"When the Taicang Realm invades the Great Yu Immortal Dynasty, powerful individuals are bound to take notice of the Wenlan Pavilion."

"Although the Wenlan Pavilion's location is not at the core of the Celestial Palace, it is not far from it."

"Anyone capable of bypassing the layers of Formation protections and entering the Wenlan Pavilion right under the Celestial Emperor's nose would undoubtedly be a powerful being from another world."

At this point, the Great Yu Empress looked at Yang Dian:

"Such as yourself."

"If This Consort could secure a promise from a powerful being like you, obtain your protection, wouldn't This Consort be much safer upon arriving in a foreign world?"

Observing the Great Yu Empress whose sincere words seemed to inadvertently showcase her alluring figure, her entire face expressing a plea to 'be taken in,' Yang Dian pondered for a moment before looking out the window.

The moonlight outside the window was just right.

Cultivators from the Taicang Realm were fiercely assaulting the Great Yu Immortal Dynasty.

Yet, the mother of the nation of the Great Yu Immortal Dynasty was here in the Wenlan Pavilion, wagging her tail and begging for pity, inadvertently revealing a captivating expression, pleading to be taken in, as if yearning to be fiercely... assailed.

'The Taicang Realm, the Great Yu Immortal Dynasty, the severely injured Celestial Emperor, the Great Yu Empress who just happened to scheme against the Emperor before the Taicang invasion and now, due to failure, must wander to another world...'

Various details connected in Yang Dian's mind. Suddenly, he thought of a terrifying possibility that required careful consideration.

'Did that fellow, the Great Yu Celestial Emperor, know long ago that the Great Yu Immortal Dynasty would be invaded by another world? So he conspired with his wife and son to stage a 'bitter flesh' scheme?'

'With the son, he acts the lenient, helpless, loving father, raising the issue high but dealing with it lightly.'

'With the wife here, he plays the decisive, ruthless Celestial Emperor.'

'When I take his wife away, will he suddenly strike a vicious blow, crippling half her life?'

Though his thoughts churned wildly, Yang Dian's face remained impassive as he asked a question he had posed before, but which the Great Yu Empress had avoided answering directly:

"How did you discover me earlier?"

"With your level of strength, it should have been impossible for you to detect me."

"This Consort guessed," the Empress covered her mouth with her hand, no longer trying to deceive Yang Dian with her previous words.

"Any Cultivator capable of entering the Wenlan Pavilion undetected must be a great Cultivator who has mastered concealment Divine Abilities."

"Not long after you took the 'Greenwood Longevity Art,' the book spirit arrived here."

"This Consort guessed you might be observing the book spirit from the shadows."

As she spoke, she swayed her figure and walked up to Yang Dian. She reached out and took the 'Greenwood Longevity Art' that Yang Dian had just returned to its place.

"Based on the normal logic of how one retrieves a book, This Consort surmised you had taken the 'Greenwood Longevity Art' from this very spot."

"Holding onto the possibility that you might not have left, This Consort decided to test the waters."

"I didn't expect you to actually reveal yourself."

"Tsk," Yang Dian clicked his tongue in admiration.

"I truly cannot underestimate any of you."

"Give me a reason to take you with me."