239: Chapter 239 I just feel sorry for the Empress who has no one to keep her company~

In the independent space on the first floor of the Demon Suppressing Tower, deliberately isolated by Cao Kun,

Empress Yue Chan sat cross-legged on a flat bluestone.

Beneath her dark gold palace dress, her blood-pumping, sultry figure rose and fell slightly with her breathing.

The previous refinement of the Luck Beast had yielded surprisingly good results.

Not only did it completely eradicate the hidden injuries from the backlash of the national fortune caused by her forced Breakthrough, but it also fully stabilized her Realm at the Early Body Integration Stage.

But at this moment, there was no joy on her exquisite face.

As a Body Integration Stage powerhouse, Empress Yue Chan's perception of the Laws of heaven and earth was extremely keen.

She clearly remembered that when Cao Kun had taken her into this space, the Ancient God Ruins had only just opened.

Yet in this space, where she had been refining the Luck Beast and stabilizing her Realm day and night, the perceived span of time...

had actually been a full two years!

"A spatial treasure of the Law type that can freely change the flow of time?"

Empress Yue Chan's red lips parted slightly as she whispered to herself.

While spatial Magic Treasures that could hold living people were rare,

the top orthodoxies of the Central Region weren't unable to produce them.

But a divine object that could freely change the flow of time...

not even the Great Yan Dynasty,

even looking at the top Holy Lands and Immortal Families in the Central Region, one absolutely could not be found!

Then she thought of Feng Jiuyou, the female Cultivator at the Integration Stage Peak by Cao Kun's side who called herself "this Emperor" and could ignore the suppression of the Ancient God Ruins' Laws.

Empress Yue Chan felt her scalp go numb.

This man, whom she had always treated as a shield to draw fire...

just what kind of terrifying foundation was hidden behind him?

Just as Empress Yue Chan was deep in thought, a ripple appeared in the spatial barrier in front of her.

Cao Kun's somewhat roguishly handsome face appeared before her.

Empress Yue Chan immediately noticed the change in Cao Kun's aura, and her heart skipped a beat again.

"Early Void Refinement Stage..."

How long has it been?

He broke through an entire major Realm in just two years?

This cultivation speed was simply unheard of.

"Cao Kun, is the trouble outside resolved?"

Empress Yue Chan quickly suppressed the shock in her heart. She folded her hands in front of her abdomen, regaining the composure of the Empress of Great Yan.

"Since you've come in, let this Empress out. Do not delay my proper business of collecting Luck Marks."

"Alright! Empress, please wait a moment!"

Looking at Empress Yue Chan's cold and noble appearance, Cao Kun couldn't help but feel impressed.

Her schemes were truly deep.

The shock from just a moment ago was retracted faster than turning a page.

Had it been anyone else discovering he had a spatial treasure of the time Law, they would likely have been pestering him with questions.

But Empress Yue Chan didn't mention a single word.

The more she didn't mention it, the more it showed she cared.

The more she cared, the less likely she was to speak up first.

Because speaking up meant exposing her needs.

And exposing needs meant being in a passive position during negotiations.

What a shrewd Empress of Great Yan, skilled in power and intrigue.

As expected of a woman who could fight her way out of the cutthroat power struggles of the Central Region.

In terms of psychological games alone, among all the women he had met, no one was harder to handle than Empress Yue Chan.

However...

No matter how hard she was to handle,

in the end, wouldn't she still have to obediently end up in his, Cao's, arms?

"Since the Empress has spoken, this humble one naturally obeys."

With that, Cao Kun waved his hand.

Chaos Qi enveloped the two of them, penetrating the spatial barrier as they left the Demon Suppressing Tower.

In the next second,

the two reappeared on the crimson earth of the Blood Crystal Valley.

After landing, Empress Yue Chan immediately closed her eyes and carefully sensed the aura of the Laws between heaven and earth.

It was true!

Only about a day had really passed in the outside world!

Her evaluation of Cao Kun's mysterious spatial treasure rose by another Rank.

Empress Yue Chan snapped out of her shock and was about to ask about the origin of that Magic Treasure.

But when she looked up and surveyed her surroundings,

even though she was accustomed to grand scenes, she couldn't help but gasp.

She had originally thought Cao Kun took her into the space to hide from enemies.

But now...

Looking around, the entire Blood Crystal Valley was practically a slaughterhouse!

The ground was covered with mangled corpses; judging by their clothing, they were all Core Disciples of the Taichu Holy Land!

What shocked her even more...

...was that in several deep pits at the bottom of the valley, the remains of several evil spirits emitting terrifying auras were scattered about.

"Two... no, three evil spirits at the Early Body Integration Stage..."

Moreover, judging by the characteristics of the remains, the spiritual energy attributes within these things were extremely mixed and sinister, unlike normal Cultivators or Spirit Beasts.

They seemed more like Puppets refined by someone.

Empress Yue Chan thought of Yin Tianzheng.

The aura of these evil spirits shared the same source as the sinister spiritual energy lingering on Yin Tianzheng.

This meant...

...that after Cao Kun had taken her into the spatial treasure, he had not only wiped out everyone from the Taichu Holy Land,

but had also directly confronted the army of evil spirits sent by Yin Tianzheng?

"What's wrong?"

Cao Kun walked to Empress Yue Chan's side, followed her gaze, and then slapped his forehead as if suddenly realizing something.

"Oh, you mean these?"

"That old geezer Yin Tianzheng knew I was Undergoing Tribulation, so he sent a bunch of filthy things over to try and take advantage of me."

"Unfortunately for him, he probably didn't know that I was undergoing the Seven-Colored Lightning Tribulation."

"Seven-Colored Lightning Tribulation?!"

This time, Empress Yue Chan couldn't control her expression.

Ancient records sporadically mentioned...

...that only Heaven-Defying existences who broke the common sense of the world would attract the Seven-Colored Lightning Tribulation during a Breakthrough.

And without exception, everyone who successfully survived this tribulation eventually became a peerless figure who stirred the world and rewrote an era.

Looking at Cao Kun's young and handsome face, Empress Yue Chan felt a sense of powerlessness for the first time.

She had originally thought that recruiting Cao Kun to the Great Yan Dynasty was a brilliant move.

Let him stand in front to draw all the fire while she schemed in the shadows and reaped the benefits.

But now it seemed...

...could the Great Yan Dynasty really control such a lawless and peerless Prodigy?

"What are you dazing out for?"

Cao Kun's teasing voice pulled Empress Yue Chan back to reality.

Empress Yue Chan looked at Cao Kun, her voice very calm.

But beneath that calmness was a surging tide of emotions.

"Cao Kun, this Empress wants to ask you a question."

"What exactly do you want?"

"With your strength and foundation, you don't need to depend on the Great Yan Dynasty at all. The things this Empress can give you are probably dispensable to you."

"You agreed to enter the Ancient God Ruins for this Empress, not for the Spirit Stones and Magic Treasures in the Royal Treasury."

"So what exactly are you after?"

Hearing this, Cao Kun couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Yo.

This Empress is finally starting to use her brain.

However...

What am I after?

Cao Kun silently opened the System panel.

[SSS-Rank Top-grade Jade Beast · Empress Yue Chan]

[Capture Mission Reward: 50,000 task points, Legendary Cultivation Technique Thunder Emperors Myriad Laws, Beast Tamer Rank directly promoted to Grandmaster level]

Does that even need to be asked?

Of course, it's you I'm after, Empress.

But it's a bit early to say that; I have to take it one step at a time.

First, let her get used to my existence, then let her depend on my strength.

When she can no longer leave me...

The corners of Cao Kun's mouth curled up slightly.

He didn't answer Empress Yue Chan's question directly.

Instead, he raised his hand and reached toward her.

Empress Yue Chan instinctively took a step back.

But Cao Kun didn't touch her.

He simply brushed away a green leaf that had landed on her shoulder.

"The Empress is overthinking things."

Cao Kun withdrew his hand and smiled faintly.

"What could I be after?"

"I just feel that for a woman like you to run into the Ancient God Ruins all alone, without a single reliable person by your side, it's a bit too dangerous!"

Empress Yue Chan's chest beneath her dark gold palace dress rose and fell noticeably.

She didn't dare believe it.

Because coming from Cao Kun's mouth, these words sounded far too normal.

So normal that it made her feel uncomfortable all over.

"What... what nonsense are you talking about..."

Empress Yue Chan opened her mouth, but for a moment, she didn't know how to respond.

Cao Kun had already turned around and started walking out of the Blood Crystal Valley.

The pinnacle of being a scoundrel is to flirt and then run, letting the bullet fly for a while.

"Don't just stand there like a fool, my Empress."

With his back to her, he raised a hand and waved it casually.

"Didn't you say so? Don't let me delay your proper business of collecting Luck Marks."

"Let's go."

Empress Yue Chan watched Cao Kun's departing figure.

His black and white Daoist robe swayed slightly in the wind under the gray sky; his pace was composed and his posture relaxed.

It was as if nothing in the entire Ancient God Ruins could make him nervous.

Empress Yue Chan was silent for a few seconds.

Then, she took a step and quietly followed him.

Stepping over scorched earth, treading on gravel, and walking past the scattered remains.

She came to a position half a step behind Cao Kun, maintaining a distance that was neither too far nor too close.

She didn't ask any more questions.

But a thought quietly sprouted in the depths of her heart like a weed.

It made her feel that in these Ancient God Ruins, staying by Cao Kun's side was safer than being anywhere else.

Empress Yue Chan