The Immortal Empress, Unrivaled Through Eternity

Qingzhou City.

The Sword Saint of Cangshan stood in the void, gazing into the direction where Li Yunqing had departed.

"Reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining in two months, possessing innate sword bones, and condensing a sword heart in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea... With such talent, I hope my choice was right!"

The Sword Saint of Cangshan murmured, "I also hope your choice is right."

He could indeed withstand the crime of disobeying imperial orders, but that did not mean the royal family would give up.

In ruling such a vast dynasty, if someone disobeys an imperial decree, it is tantamount to trampling the dignity of the royal family into the ground.

His Majesty is also a Grandmaster of the Mystic Realm and is quite wise; he would never allow such a thing to happen.

If Li Yunqing does not choose to go to the capital, she will inevitably face endless troubles in the future. He can block her once or twice, but he will never be able to block her three or four times.

Even for the sake of the royal family's prestige, the emperor would mobilize the hidden masters of those sects who supported the royal family.

If he were to be restrained at that time, Li Yunqing's fate would be predictable.

Only by setting foot in the imperial city, only by letting those people see his talent, see that he has the talent to challenge the dynasty and create a new path, can he make the royal family bow down.

"I should start preparing for battle too."

The Sword Saint spoke softly, and his figure vanished in a flash.

Meanwhile, in the capital of the Great Yu Dynasty.

The sky seemed to have a hole in it, and the rain poured down like a waterfall connecting heaven and earth.

The vast palace lay silent, like a giant beast lying dormant in a downpour.

The Imperial Study.

"waste!"

A gentle shout, like the sound of heaven, was as powerful as thunder.

The entire palace trembled, and invisible sound waves instantly spread throughout the world.

The torrential rain suddenly stopped, and the sky expanded rapidly like a protective shield before bursting open, unleashing a fierce and relentless gale, as if the heavens were enraged.

"Splash..."

The guards surrounding the imperial study knelt down in unison at the sound of the soft rebuke, their armor humming.

His body trembled, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

"Who has provoked His Majesty's anger so much?"

The thought arose in the minds of all the guards, but none dared to look up and peek, their foreheads touching the ground, not daring to move an inch.

Inside the Imperial Study.

"puff!"

The sixth prince seemed to have been struck by lightning, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His body flew backward for more than ten feet, then he scrambled to his feet and crawled on the ground.

His face was as pale as paper, his body was trembling, and it seemed as if an endless sea of ​​blood was appearing before his eyes.

The scene of corpses floating for miles when an emperor is enraged seems to be right before my eyes.

The two eunuchs standing to the side, their bodies radiating a mystical aura, were also kneeling on the ground, none daring to raise their heads.

It was as if the person sitting behind the desk was not a human, but a true dragon, a true dragon looking down upon the human world.

"The Sixth Prince has disgraced the royal family. He is hereby confined for three months, all his salary is cut off, and he is to be expelled!"

Yu Taiyan's voice echoed throughout the imperial study, filled with deep disappointment.

The dignified prince of Dayu couldn't even win over a woman, and even defied the imperial decree in front of everyone in Qingzhou.

This is utterly a trampling of the dignity and prestige of the royal family.

Knowing that the Sword Saint of Cangshan was behind him, no matter what method he used, even if it was by force, he would not hesitate to use any means necessary.

He would look at someone more favorably as long as he could take them down, or even just tarnish their reputation.

But now he has slunk back to the capital, becoming a complete joke.

What would be the consequences if the royal family showed weakness at this point?

Wouldn't that be clearly telling the world that the royal family is declining and the world is about to descend into chaos?

This could cause the various hidden sects to become disloyal and alienated.

Such a price is too high for the royal family to pay.

That woman must pay the price.

Besides, is it really that hard to deal with a woman?

Even a minor entanglement can lead to rumors and gossip, eventually becoming common knowledge.

Even if there is the Sword Saint of Cangshan, so what? He has the moral high ground, and he has the support of the entire royal family and the whole world. That woman has no choice but to marry him.

How dare she defy an imperial decree?

In the past, he had fought bravely for the Sixth Prince and was quite capable, but when faced with matters of principle, he suddenly lost his courage.

She was not even as good as that woman who disobeyed the imperial decree.

The sixth prince stumbled and crawled out of the imperial study, his face ashen as he stepped into the pouring rain, his eyes devoid of any light.

"It's over."

Yu Xuanfeng turned back to look at the imperial study, and his whole body slumped down.

After this incident, it will be extremely difficult to rise above others again. Even if one reaches the Profound Realm, there will probably be no chance at all.

What he couldn't understand even more was that it was so humiliating for a woman from a small family in a state capital to marry into the royal family.

Why defy the imperial decree?

It led to his own downfall.

Inside the Imperial Study.

"Your Majesty, news has spread that the Sword Saint of Cangshan will face off against the current Sword God of the Sword God Sect in a battle at the Imperial City in a month."

The kneeling eunuch spoke, his voice trembling slightly.

One can almost imagine the fury the Emperor must have felt upon hearing these words.

"Bang!"

As Yu Taiyan's eyes blinked, the desk in front of him suddenly shattered: "The showdown in the imperial city... Is that woman his illegitimate daughter? He'd risk his life for her!"

Upon hearing the Emperor's words, both eunuchs lowered their heads and remained silent.

They couldn't fathom the thoughts behind the Cangshan Sword Saint's actions.

A showdown in the imperial city—this is truly a slap in the face to the royal family in front of the whole world. To simply stand up for that woman would indeed be going too far.

The Xuanjing realm is not invincible. If one could not fly, even a hundred thousand troops could surround and kill them.

However, it is precisely because they can fly that Grandmasters of the Profound Realm have such great power and status.

Without the divine realm, one is invincible in the profound realm.

"Your Majesty, an investigation has revealed that the woman was born with sword bones and has also condensed a sword heart. Her medical skills are astonishing; she once cured the poison of the Cangshan Sword Saint, Jiuying."

"He has indeed reached the mid-level of the Qi Realm in just two months, and his talent is extremely high."

"Although we don't know the true thoughts of the Cangshan Sword Saint, given the nature of people in the martial arts world, he is most likely just paving the way for that woman."

"We should resolve all their worries so that they can focus on practicing the way of the sword."

"With a natural affinity for swordsmanship and a swordsman's heart, coupled with such talent for cultivation, his future achievements are something that even the most reclusive sects are eagerly anticipating."

"Who knows... that it might break through the shackles of the divine realm and pave the way for cultivation."

Hearing the eunuch's words, Yu Taiyan's eyes widened and narrowed. He said, "The shackles of the Divine Realm? Opening up a new path? Just with a woman?"

Yu Taiyan's tone was unreadable, but he clearly did not believe it.

It's not that I look down on women, but rather that throughout history, very few women have had such a mindset.

Every woman in the harem is a genius, including even the fairies of the Hundred Flowers Sect.

But once they enter the harem, aren't they also scheming and plotting, all for the sake of winning his favor?

A woman's mind, once she falls in love, becomes irrational.

Once a child is born, one becomes deeply preoccupied with worrying about their children.

With such a mindset, it is absolutely impossible to break through the shackles of the divine realm and pave the way forward.

Thinking of this, Yu Taiyan spoke again: "The Sword Saint was defeated ten years ago. Is there any chance of victory a month later?"

Upon hearing this, the two eunuchs exchanged a glance, neither daring to speculate, and truthfully replied, "The Sword Saint created Sword Ten, and should be able to fight him, but the outcome is hard to say."

The current generation of Sword God of the Sword God Sect, with his innate sword bones, should be invincible.

But the Sword Saint created the Sword Heart Path, and his talent was no less than that of the Sword God. If they were to fight, no one could predict the outcome.

No matter how you look at it, the Sword God has a better chance of winning.

After all, the Sword God had won once in their battle ten years ago, and with his talent, it wouldn't be difficult for him to defeat the Sword Saint again.

"The Sword Saint of Cangshan must be defeated!"

Yu Taiyan spoke up: "Detain that woman for a month, and do not allow her to enter the capital before the two of them have their great battle."

"If the Sword Saint of Cangshan is defeated, capture him and bring him back to the capital. Proclaim to the world that such talent could indeed help the royal family produce offspring."

"If the Sword Saint of Cangshan wins, he will make that woman pay the price."

"The dignity and prestige of the royal family must never be trampled on by a woman."

"The world must not be thrown into chaos because of this!"

At this point, a hint of sarcasm crept into Yu Taiyan's tone: "Slaughter the entire Yu royal family? Naïve!"

It would be laughable if such a great dynasty were to be threatened by a woman.

Even with immense talent, one still hasn't fully developed.

Without reaching the Profound Realm, there is no threat whatsoever. Under the encirclement and attack of tens of thousands of heavily armored soldiers, even a Qi Realm Perfection cultivator would surely die.

Or rather, from the moment that woman defied the imperial decree, unless protected by a divine force, her fate was already sealed.

Either marry into the royal family in grand style, or be humiliated and carried into the royal family in a small sedan chair.

The dignity of the royal family, and the entire world, could never be disrupted because of a woman.

Let alone a woman, even the Sword Saint of Cangshan wouldn't dare say he'd slaughtered the entire royal family.

Grandmasters of the Profound Realm are very powerful; they can fly and are capable of both offense and defense, posing a significant threat.

But even in the face of a god, they can still be killed with a flick of the finger.

Otherwise, a Divine Realm expert wouldn't be called a national destiny expert.

Moreover, this divine realm is the highest realm that countless remnants of immortals and gods, including martial arts prodigies, have reached after the destruction of immortals and gods, through countless efforts over ten thousand years.

"Even if someone were to pave the way for cultivation, it certainly wouldn't be here!"

Yu Taiyan stood up, his eyes opening and closing as he looked into the pouring rain.

The path to cultivation must lead to the other side of that forbidden land of the evil god, a much wider and more prosperous place.

When the forbidden land of the evil god dissipates one day, that may be the time when the path to cultivation will appear in the world.

Li Yunqing was naturally unaware of everything that was happening in the capital.

They could never have known that at that time, the royal family would not tolerate a woman who disobeyed the imperial decree.

If she had known, she would probably have been extremely grateful that she chose to travel to the capital.

Of course, if she had to choose again, she would still make the same choice.

It's a one-time solution that offers much better value for money than other options.

In particular, the matter of defying the imperial decree, once it reached the capital, would inevitably attract the attention of more powerful forces and families.

She didn't want anyone to use their power to force her into marriage again.

Inside the carriage, Li Yunqing stretched and asked, "Where are we?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lan got up and stepped out of the carriage. After asking for a moment, she turned back and said, "We've only traveled about 500 li, and haven't even left Qingzhou yet."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunqing glanced at the sky and said, "It's getting late, let's find a place to rest."

The carriage stopped at a dilapidated temple. While the guards and servants busied themselves, Li Yunqing remained half-reclined inside the carriage.

Her spirit, however, leaped up, riding the wind upwards, gazing at the surrounding mountains.

"The scenery is beautiful!"

Looking at the undulating green mountains, Li Yunqing sighed with emotion.

Just as she turned around, a strange noise came from afar.

"There are people, quite a few."

"At this time..."

Li Yunqing was startled. Her spirit returned instantly, and she opened her eyes to look at the group of guards in the dilapidated temple.

"Someone is approaching, everyone be careful!"