Huangxiu

Chapter 976 First meeting
The Empress smiled and said, "I can't say that I own the Jade Kunlun Palace."

"They hate you, Mother, and now it's affecting my husband!"

"Nonsense, how could they hate me?" The Queen shook her head and chuckled.

“Mother, you can’t hide it from me.” Li Miaotan snorted and said, “I was stupid before and didn’t see the mystery.”

The interactions between Yu Kunlun Palace and the Empress seemed normal.

The Jade Kunlun Palace frequently sent disciples to pay their respects to her.

She also often returned to the Jade Kunlun Palace to visit, and was not as restrained as the empresses of other dynasties.

But she had been with the Empress since childhood, and her talent made her far more perceptive and intelligent than ordinary people.

She had a strange feeling that her mother's relationship with the Jade Kunlun Palace was somewhat subtle.

She couldn't understand it at first, but as her phoenix bloodline awakened, she became increasingly intelligent and clear-headed, breaking free from her constraints and seeing the truth for herself.

It turns out that the relationship between the mother and the Jade Kunlun Palace was superficial, and they harbored mutual resentment.

She doesn't know the specific reason, but it must be hidden deep within, not revealed to the world.

She was certain that her judgment was correct.

The Empress chuckled softly, raising her gaze to the azure sky and looking at the few white clouds.

White clouds linger.

The breeze is gentle.

Li Miaotan stared at her fair and beautiful face and sighed, "It seems we can't enter the Jade Kunlun Palace."

"Tan'er, have you ever considered whether his love for you is genuine?" the Empress asked.

Li Miaotan smiled and said, "Mother, if I can't distinguish between feigned affection and genuine feelings, wouldn't I be letting down this phoenix bloodline?"

"Alas! ... Love is the most fragile thing. Whether it is the love between men and women, the love between father and daughter, the love between husband and wife, or the love between fellow disciples, it is like a thread that breaks with the slightest effort."

“Mother, love is the most fragile, yet also the most resilient,” Li Miaotan said. “Isn’t that true of everything?”

"...Tan'er, you have indeed grown up." The Empress gazed at her exquisite face, as if seeing her younger self, and sighed, "In this world, if you abandon emotions, life has no flavor."

A mature mind is one that sees through the ways of the world without becoming detached from it.

Li Miaotan calmly said, "No matter what happens in the future, no matter how our relationship as husband and wife changes, at least for now he is sincere, so I will reciprocate with sincerity."

The Empress looked her over and finally nodded gently: "Alright, I will tell Jade Kunlun Palace."

"Can it be done?"

"more or less."

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

"I wouldn't dare accept that. It's exhausting for you to say thank you like that."

"mother--!"

Li Miaotan hugged her arm and shook it affectionately, just like when they were children.

……

Chu Liezhao and Li Miaotan appeared in a vast mountain range, standing on a mountain peak, looking around.

A howling wind, carrying the scent of mountains, forests, and vegetation, blew against their robes, making them flutter.

"Right here?"

Chu Liezhao looked around, but he couldn't find the Jade Kunlun Palace either with his naked eye or his supernatural senses.

The vast mountains they were in were dotted with several mountain ranges that resembled green dragons lying across the landscape, their precipitous forms crisscrossing the area.

They stood atop the highest peak in the area, overlooking the surrounding mountains.

The vast expanse of clouds and mist resembles a boundless ocean, while the mountain peaks look like small islands on the sea.

They felt as if they were in the ocean.

"right here."

Li Miaotan nodded firmly and took out a small sword from her sleeve.

The crystal-clear little sword was only the length of a palm, and it shimmered with a warm luster in the sunlight.

She pointed the small sword to the sky and then drew a strange shape.

The small sword suddenly flashed.

Li Miaotan touched the tip of her sword to her own brow, then to Chu Liezhao's brow.

Chu Liezhao neither dodged nor avoided the sword tip, letting it strike his brow.

A cool sensation entered my brow and flowed into my eyes, making my pupils feel tingly. Then, everything changed.

A magnificent white palace complex floats more than 300 meters above a mountain peak.

Chu Liezhao gazed at the floating palace, the white jade palace, and couldn't help but think of the Xuan Yin Palace.

This building is more magnificent, whiter, and more imposing than the Xuanyin Palace.

He turned to look at Li Miaotan and smiled, "Without this sword, we wouldn't be able to see them?"

"This is the sword token of Jade Kunlun Palace, a disciple's token."

Li Miaotan lowered her head and played with the crystal-clear little sword. Despite her keen senses, she could not detect anything unusual about the sword.

Chu Liezhao looked around the Jade Kunlun Palace.

He shone his extrasensory perception over the area, but found it empty, devoid of any aura. He trusted his extrasensory perception, so this palace was merely an illusion.

The real palace is not here.

"Madam, do you often visit Jade Kunlun Palace?"

"This is my first time here."

"This is the first time?" Chu Liezhao asked in surprise. "Even Her Majesty hasn't returned to Jade Kunlun Palace?"

"You won't take me with you when you come back." Li Miaotan shook her head gently.

She didn't understand it at first, but now she knows that it's to guard against the Jade Kunlun Palace.

Chu Liezhao said slowly, "It seems that Her Majesty has some disagreements with the Jade Kunlun Palace."

Li Miaotan remained silent.

Chu Liezhao said, "The Jade Kunlun Palace is dissatisfied with the Empress, but we can't completely ignore her, which is why we were able to enter the Jade Kunlun Palace... However, don't expect to receive a warm welcome, right?"

Li Miaotan nodded gently.

Chu Liezhao laughed and said, "Madam, you are destined to be the number one martial arts master in the world. How dare they treat you with such disrespect?"

“They won’t care,” Li Miaotan shook her head and said, “Father is still the Phoenix Emperor, and Mother is the Empress.”

"I'm even more eager to go inside and take a look," Chu Liezhao said with a smile.

-

Demon-Subduing Palace
Chu Zhiyuan was assuming the first stance of the Lingyuan Cleansing Manual, his expression solemn.

As he drew upon the power of the spiritual abyss to cleanse his body, he also experienced the journey of Chu Liezhao and Leng Tieya.

He was Chu Liezhao and Leng Tieya, but not entirely.

They use their bodies to do things, yet because of their bodies, they are different from themselves.

This strange feeling captivated him.

He was also feeling the changes in his body, and the first form of the Lingyuan Cleansing Manual was getting closer and closer to perfection.

His connection with the earth grew ever stronger, becoming one with it.

As Chu Liezhao entered the Jade Kunlun Palace, Leng Tieya also arrived at the Lu family's residence.

He was dressed in a green robe, with Yu Chengde by his side; there were no other experts besides him.

He looked around the Lu residence.

The gate is painted red, with four rows of copper nails on each side, and stone beasts crouching on both sides.

The gatehouse has double eaves, and the glazed tiles gleam in the sunlight.

Four guards in black stood with their hands on their swords, staring coldly at Leng Tieya without saying a word.

Leng Tieya seemed not to see them, and was looking at the gate of the Lu residence.

Yu Chengde stepped forward and presented his visiting card.

The gatekeeper accepted the visiting card and went inside to report.

Footsteps sounded, and the side door on the left opened, from which a group of people filed out.

The leader was a handsome young man, with a dignified appearance and an upright demeanor; he was none other than Lu Yongchuan, the eldest son of the Lu family.

He was followed by Meng Qi and Lu Qiaozhen.

"Young Master Lu, I apologize for disturbing you." Leng Tieya clasped his hands in greeting, his gaze sweeping over Meng Qi: "Young Master Meng, we meet again. Did you send over the letter?"

Meng Qi snorted, "Just delivered. Young Master Leng is certainly well-informed!"

Leng Tieya clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Young Master Meng is a man of integrity. The Meng family is quite formidable. I admire you."

Meng Qi said, "The Canghai Handbook was written by the Supreme Heavenly Demon. For a Heavenly Demon to try to comprehend anything is nothing but a pipe dream."

Leng Tieya laughed and said, "Let me indulge in this daydream. Surely a handwritten letter can't be fake?"

As long as he can read Canghai's handwritten manuscript, Mengqi's attitude doesn't matter.

Monchi sneered: "Since it's been sent here for you to see, why bother with deception and invite ridicule from the world!"

Leng Tieya said impatiently, "Alright, let's go in and take a look."

They walked inside.

Yu Chengde walked slower and slower, feeling a chilling murderous aura that seemed to want to tear him to pieces.

Leng Tieya seemed completely unaware, and followed Meng Qi straight to a courtyard in the back.

Under the glaring gazes of several Meng family experts, he headed straight for the main hall.

Upon entering the hall, one immediately sees a calligraphy scroll hanging on the south wall.

His gaze sharpened, and he stopped in his tracks.

A moment later, his eyes widened.

"puff!"

A spurt of blood shot out, and he collapsed limply.

He struggled to steady himself against the desk, his vision blurring in waves.

(End of this chapter)