Covering the Sky: The Years I Was the Empress's Strictest Master

Chapter Nineteen: Welcoming Your Emperor (Seeking monthly votes! Please continue reading!)

"With the cultivation level of the Life Spring, to be able to persist here for so long and break through in the face of danger is truly remarkable..."

With a voice as melodious as a gentle breeze, Gu Qingying gracefully dismounted from the cloud leopard's back and came to Li Qingjue's side.

The little girl with pigtails swayed due to blood loss, but she gritted her teeth and steadied herself.

In her vision, the unfamiliar fairy was surrounded by a hazy celestial glow, possessing an ethereal and holy aura, and carrying an inviolable majesty.

The other person simply stood in front of her, as if they had become the center of this world.

She had never seen such a beautiful woman before; standing next to her, she felt like the "ugly duckling" next to a swan.

For some reason, she thought of her master.

Perhaps only someone like her master, even if only a wisp of his soul remained, could exude a majestic aura that would easily surpass the shock she felt at this moment.

And it was precisely because she had met her master that, even though she felt amazed at this moment, her mind remained incredibly calm.

Da...da...

Gu Qingying moved gracefully and looked Li Qingjue up and down.

The other person's calm and composed demeanor made the surprise in her eyes even more intense.

Ordinary people, regardless of gender, whose cultivation level is far lower than hers, would be captivated if their gaze lingered on her for more than three breaths. But this little girl, who was only at the Life Spring realm, was an exception today.

For no apparent reason, a thought flashed through her mind.

Wow!

Suddenly, she raised her hand lightly, and a gentle divine light flowed into Li Qingjue's body, instantly stabilizing the girl's injuries.

"Would you be willing to join the Spring and Autumn Pavilion and become my disciple?"

With her beautiful eyes fixed on the girl, Gu Qingying spoke directly, her tone carrying an air of unyielding authority.

She saw through Li Qingjue's mediocre nature, which was not much better than that of an ordinary mortal, but she also saw his amazing talent and ruthlessness, as well as a rare insight.

According to the rules of Chunqiu Pavilion, the Goddess of the Palm Map, as the face of the lineage and one of the top combat forces and foundations, should not be used or accepted as a disciple, as long as there is still room for improvement in her cultivation, so as not to distract her.

However, she wanted to make an exception for this girl she met today.

Even though the other person had a small, thin face, was not even ten years old, and had not yet fully developed their features, she was certain that if this rough gem could be properly polished, the other person's appearance, temperament, cultivation, and spiritual attainment in the future would definitely not be inferior to hers in any aspect.

It was her gut feeling!

However, the girl's answer surprised her quite a bit:

"Thank you for saving my life, senior, and thank you for your kind eye, but I already have a master."

Standing still, Li Qingjue looked up at the stunningly beautiful goddess of the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, his weak voice filled with determination.

"If you have a master, would your master leave you here alone? Perhaps I didn't make it clear before, but you will be my first disciple and also my last disciple..."

Gu Qingying frowned slightly, about to speak again.

She has never truly experienced the feeling of rejection in nearly a thousand years, from childhood to the present.

Even when her father, the Martial Lord Zhaotian, passed away while attempting to reach the Great Sage realm, causing turmoil in the Heavenly Martial Holy Land, she could still agree to the conditions of a few old-timers within the Daoist lineage...

Suddenly, before she could finish speaking, a strange change occurred.

boom!!!

Thousands of miles away, in the underground palace, an indescribable, terrifying pressure, after rising steadily, suddenly erupted without any concealment!

hum...

The forces of the Yin and Yang poles surged wildly here, like a galaxy pouring down as the universe first opened and the pure and turbid energies separated.

Rumble...

At this moment, the entire first heaven... no, the entire ten levels of the tower, and even the incomplete quasi-emperor array that has existed for nearly a million years, seemed to be cheering and jumping for joy.

All living beings that grow within these ten layers of heaven and earth, whether they are strange beasts, flowers, birds, fish, or insects, even every wisp of their life essence, are buzzing.

It's like they're welcoming their emperor!

"this?!"

"what happened?"

"What's wrong with this little world? Is it about to collapse?"

"..."

The sudden and shocking change caused all the cultivators who had entered the training tower, whether they were engaged in combat or exploring from the bottom up, to stop in horror.

They were deeply shaken and involuntarily looked towards the lowest level from which the commotion came.

boom……

Suddenly, the fluctuations in the Quasi-Emperor Formation Diagram became too exaggerated, causing a wisp of energy to leak out.

Pfft!

Thump... Thump...

In an instant, all the cultivators inside the tower who lacked heavy weapons to withstand the pressure had their knees bent and backs hunched over, all prostrating themselves on the ground.

Perhaps it was because it was too close to that underground palace.

Even a powerful figure like Gu Qingying, a peak Saint King level expert, had a Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden Diagram unfurled above her head, cascading down countless strands of divine light.

Even so, under that oppressive aura and a wisp of quasi-emperor array energy, her delicate body trembled slightly, and her beautiful eyes burst forth with an unbelievable, dazzling light!

Faced with that aura, all her pride and arrogance vanished, and she almost couldn't help but kneel down and kowtow in a certain direction.

Unconsciously, she seemed to feel a sense of being above all living beings, facing the supreme majesty of the ancient emperors!

Surprisingly, her spirit pet, the half-saint cloud leopard, and the girl with pigtails seemed completely unaffected.

The clouded leopard glanced at her disheveled and messy appearance, and seemed to find it somewhat boring, so it yawned.

Then it moved its four limbs to the girl's side, and under the girl's puzzled gaze, it raised its left forepaw and extended it, pressing its palm against her sac through her clothes.

"you……"

The girl took a step back, but it was too late.

The foundation of her cultivation of the Yin-Yang Great Grinding Scripture within the Sea of ​​Wheels was instantly wiped out by the other party, causing her cultivation level to regress.

The complex divine power foundation of the "Origin Devouring Scripture" seized the opportunity to occupy the source of the Bitter Sea Spring, becoming the only one.

Upon seeing the anger in the girl's eyes, the clouded leopard couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness in its vertical eyes.

Actually, it's quite innocent; it's just a tool that someone uses conveniently.

It was only because someone sensed that the girl was in danger that it happened to carry Gu Qingying "passing by" this place.

Otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen in this world?

The reason why the traces of the other party's "Yin Yang Great Grinding Scripture" were erased just now was because someone felt that the fusion of the true soul fragments was too noisy and would inevitably attract the attention of certain beings.

The girl and everything about it in her memories can be temporarily concealed by the divine power of the [Reverse Causes Vision], but the divine power it has cultivated in reality cannot be faked.

It can't withstand scrutiny; it'll be exposed with the slightest probing.

The Yin-Yang Great Grinding Scripture was created by someone.

If it were discovered, even if it was just a consumable for the gray-robed Taoist's test of magic, it would only mean certain death.

"What exactly is going on inside this tower...?"

On the other side, Gu Qingying was suppressed by the array diagram and struggled to hold on, so she had no spare mind to pay attention to the clouded leopard and the girl.

It wasn't just her; at this moment, countless people inside the tower were terrified, like clay bodhisattvas crossing a river in distress.

Fortunately, just as her long, slender white legs, barely visible beneath her plain dress, began to bend at the knees, about to give way and collapse to the ground, she was about to fall.

The strange activity within the tower stopped abruptly without warning, as if it had never happened.

……

Chapter Twenty: My old friend has ridden the yellow crane away; only the Yellow Crane Tower remains here.

hum...

Inside the training tower, as the unusual activity suddenly subsided, the ten levels of the tower seemed to fall silent for a brief moment.

The first realm, outside the Yin-Yang Stone Forest.

The anger that had been in Li Qingjue's eyes because the foundation of the Yin-Yang Great Grinding Scripture had been erased by the cloud leopard had disappeared, replaced by a faint sense of confusion.

But even this slight confusion was fleeting.

Everything about Tan Lin in her memory has now been completely hidden, and all the gaps in her memory have been neatly stitched together by a mysterious force, temporarily merging themselves together.

"Since you are unwilling, I will not force you. You are all alone here, so take care of yourself..."

Before her, the colorful silk ribbons hanging from Gu Qingying's slender waist fluttered gracefully.

As she spoke, she gracefully sat on the back of the clouded leopard, her delicate fingers tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.

Uh...

With its limbs straining and feet planted on the divine wind, the clouded leopard leaped forward, carrying its "master" into the distance, disappearing from Li Qingjue's sight in an instant.

If Gu Qingying were to ask her about her willingness to become an apprentice again at this moment, she might agree.

After all, she was just a girl who had only recently embarked on her journey and was uncertain about the future.

She was not yet ten years old, and although she was already quite independent, she would still subconsciously seek new support and direction in a perilous survival environment.

The goddess Gu, who had just "coincidentally" saved her from a desperate situation, undoubtedly met all the prerequisites.

Unfortunately, Gu Qingying's aloofness and arrogance caused the future empress's only chance to become her disciple to slip through her fingers.

Moreover, due to the rules of this training ground, his spirit pet, the cloud leopard, had already released its realm suppression and dissipated its semi-saint aura, so it had to leave this level as soon as possible.

rustling... rustling...

Li Qingjue stood still, the wind and sand whipping against her thin face.

She looked around at the endless desolation, and a strange sense of loneliness welled up in her heart.

This feeling was strange. Even though she had been living alone for several years after her brother left, the feeling of loneliness had long been buried deep in her heart.

The most important person to her is gone. Is there anyone else in this world who can evoke similar feelings in her?

"call……"

After calming his breathing, Li Qingjue cleared his mind of these inexplicable thoughts, and then touched the only metal object he kept close to his body.

The bronze ring sent a familiar, cool sensation through my fingertip.

This was the only keepsake her brother had left her, and she had always kept it safe. Even when she was injured in the previous battle, she was unwilling to let the ring be damaged in the slightest.

"Why does the ring feel so much lighter...?"

She frowned slightly, thinking it was yet another illusion.

Immediately, she took a deep breath, and her eyes regained their firmness.

No matter what happens, to survive and become stronger is an obsession etched into her bones after the blow of her brother's death.

clatter……

After quickly getting her bearings, she avoided the stone forest and headed in the direction where the goddess Gu had gone.

She has her own ideas and analysis, and perhaps following this direction will bring some unexpected gains and "nourishment"?

Moreover, most of the dangers along the way should have been eliminated.

…………

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the opposite direction from Li Qingjue.

Deep within the underground palace.

Tan Lin's remnant soul, enveloped in crimson mist, floated atop a small stone platform inscribed with the secret runes of the Tianxuan Ancient Clan.

This is a secret platform with a magical array left over from the mythical era, which was repaired by the ancient princess of the Tianxuan Ancient Clan, who did not want her clansmen and his soldiers to know about it, in order to facilitate her secret rendezvous with him here.