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

Only a wisp of strange mist, of extremely high rank, remained in place and quickly dissipated.

rustling... rustling...

The ancient tree of life sways its branches and leaves quietly.

"Ha! You men..."

Finally, Tianling looked at the spot where Tan Lin had disappeared, her cherry lips slightly pursed, her beautiful face full of resentment.

But she also knew that her man was actually quite domineering in his ways. If it were a private matter, she might be able to get away with whining or throwing a tantrum.

However, when it comes to important and serious matters, she cannot change the other party's decisions.

Of course, "she" was originally quite strong-willed, both she and Shen Yue, their birth determined this.

If the other person's social standing is roughly the same as hers, or not much different, she might not be being coquettish; instead, she might be making the decision for them directly, at most symbolically asking for her lover's "opinion" beforehand...

However, at this moment, she could only turn away dejectedly and return to the ancient tree of life, but she could not calm her mind to comprehend the Great Dao.

Tan Lin and Li Qingjue left temporarily, and suddenly all around became quiet.

Tianling sat with her knees bent, one arm resting on her jade knee, one hand supporting her cheek. Her purple-gold eyes seemed to pierce through the space, gazing at the vast starry sky beyond the ancient star, lost in thought.

Not far away, Guo Ziqian watched the whole thing from the sidelines, keeping his eyes down and not daring to interrupt.

Seeing that Tianling, the emperor's concubine, seemed unhappy, he could only scratch his messy hair, act as if he were invisible, and silently walk to the side to continue to comprehend the content of Tan Lin's sermon.

He knew that His Majesty's actions had profound meanings that he could not fathom.

He felt that such matters of love and intimacy were far too complicated, and that fighting on the battlefield was far more exhilarating.

……

at the same time,

The region bordering the edge of the universe,

A desolate ancient star field, long forgotten in the dust of human history since the early days of the primordial era.

Here, the stars are dim, life is extinguished, and only cold cosmic dust and broken star debris float.

However, it was precisely in the deepest part of this desolate star field that...

Inside an ancient star that is not large, grayish-brown in color, and covered with cracks that make it seem like it might collapse at any moment, lies a hidden world.

The ancient star's core had long since cooled and become lifeless.

But in its deepest part, a stable alternate dimension was created by someone using astonishing means.

Within this space, dense Dao patterns isolate the interior from the exterior, preventing any exploration. Furthermore, the space is filled with a deathly aura so thick it seems almost tangible, permeated by the principles of life and death.

In the heart of the region, a majestic and ancient tomb, imbued with the aura of countless ages, stands silently.

The colossal tomb was cast from some unknown divine material, and it was covered with ancient totems and patterns, emanating a chilling aura.

Around the giant tomb, countless layers of complex and mysterious formations and restrictions were set up, one on top of another.

These array patterns are all of high rank. Some are strange arrays that conceal heavenly secrets and confuse yin and yang, while others are deadly restrictions that are ready to be triggered if outsiders come and touch them.

Ordinary quasi-emperors, without special methods or guidance, would probably not even be able to find the existence of this alternate dimension, let alone approach this great tomb along the entrance.

But at this moment, the heavy stone door of the giant tomb was already wide open.

Waaah... Waaah...

A cold wind, carrying the heavy scent of death and the dust of time, slowly blew out from the depths of the tomb passage.

Inside the tomb passage, the light was dim, with only a few eternal lamps fueled by the Great Sage's corpse oil, burning with a ghastly green ghostly flame, providing a faint light.

Under the light, one can see some ancient stone sculptures standing on both sides of the tomb passage, with strange shapes.

Resembling a god, a demon, or some extinct ancient creature, it casts a twisted and elongated shadow under the flickering will-o'-the-wisps, appearing exceptionally sinister.

At the end of the tomb passage, in the most magnificent main burial chamber, the scene is even more astonishing.

In the center of the tomb chamber, there was not a coffin, but an ancient altar with a radius of several tens of feet.

The altar was built of some strange, jet-black stone, with dark red patterns flowing across its surface, resembling blood that would never dry.

Around the altar, nine enormous stone coffins were placed according to some mysterious orientation.

These nine stone coffins are of simple and ancient style and vary in size.

But each one exuded a heart-stopping aura, and the coffin was covered with dense patterns.

Now, countless years have passed, and most of these patterns have faded, some even broken, while the powerful aura of the corpse inside the coffin occasionally bursts forth.

Clang!

click... click...

Today, outsiders used secret methods to search this place. After a long time, they finally broke in. At this moment, the lids of all nine coffins have been opened and are leaning against the coffins.

Inside the coffin lay nine corpses in various poses.

Some were as imposing as mountains, with bronze-colored skin, and even after countless millennia of death, they still exuded a suffocating sense of oppression.

That was the corpse of a quasi-emperor from the Xuan Yuan Heavy Body lineage!

It is rumored that the peak performance of this physique holder was even able to withstand the initial stage of the Undying Golden Body.

Apart from this corpse, all the other corpses in the coffins were extraordinary.

Some of the corpses were slender and had divine wings. Even though their flesh and blood were dried up, faint void fluctuations still remained, suggesting that they possessed some kind of powerful void physique.

Other corpses were shrouded in a faint aura of chaos, their joints thick and large, as if they were born with an affinity for chaos...

Judging from the aura of these nine corpses, they all reached the level of Quasi-Emperor in life, and all possessed powerful and special physiques that were once able to dominate the universe!

It is unknown when or where it perished, who buried it here, and how it was sealed away with numerous restrictions until today, when it was found by this group of uninvited guests.

Da...da...

Inside the tomb chamber, there were many figures, about a dozen people.

Their clothes were different.

However, several of them wore dark gray robes that appeared to be woven from dark, nether silk, with a pattern on the robes radiating the aura of the underworld.

These people exuded a chilling aura and possessed considerable cultivation; even the weakest among them was at the peak of the Great Saint realm.

Among them, three exuded the aura of a quasi-emperor. The leader was an old man with a gaunt face, sunken eyes, and an aura that had reached the level of a high-level quasi-emperor!

They are the "corpse collectors" who have traveled out from the underworld over countless years.

Their special task was to search throughout the universe for and excavate the tombs and corpses of ancient individuals with powerful physiques, bringing them back to the underworld to satisfy the needs of several supreme beings there, either to nourish spirits with the corpses or to conduct experiments.

In short, they didn't only become active after the start of this great era of enlightenment.

Their actions spanned countless years.

However, they now have an additional crucial task: collecting the essence and true blood from various special corpses. Those on the verge of death are also within their target range.

Of course, this is not in conflict with what they have done in the past, but is only an addition. However, recently their focus has been on exploring the original blood of special physiques.

Glug... Glug...

At this moment, the dozen or so people were gathered around the altar and the stone coffin, busy but orderly.

The three quasi-emperors, each holding a strangely shaped, pitch-black bone gourd that seemed to be made from the skull of some kind of creature.

The gourd's mouth emitted a faint, dark light, which was aimed at the corpse in the stone coffin.

They formed strange hand gestures and chanted incantations, an ancient and eerie spell.

hum...

As the incantation began, the corpse inside the stone coffin suddenly trembled slightly.

Splash...

In an instant, strands of true blood, each a different color but containing the primordial Dao principles remaining within the body, were forcibly extracted from the body's brow chakra and other points where the body's secret realms converged.

Glug glug...

The true blood eventually turned into a thin stream and flowed into the pitch-black gourd.

As the true blood left the body, the powerful aura that those corpses originally exuded visibly weakened and decayed, as if their last bit of spirituality had been squeezed out.

However, the group did not completely drain the corpse of its original blood; they left some inside to maintain the body and prevent it from being destroyed. They would take it back to the underworld later, where it would be of great use...

"Tsk tsk tsk... This harvest is truly substantial!"

The remains of a Xuan Yuan Heavy Body nearing the attainment of Dao, two ancient corpses containing the origin of the void, and a fragment of a body resembling a chaotic stone body...

These few, though slightly inferior, are still rare physiques in the world!

Especially since they cultivated to the Quasi-Emperor level in life, if they were to use secret methods to regenerate their spirits from their corpses and revive their bodies, our Underworld would gain another Quasi-Emperor level combat power!

A quasi-emperor from the underworld, while manipulating a skull gourd to collect the primordial blood of a corpse, let out a hoarse and unpleasant laugh.

His eyes gleamed with a mixture of gloom and excitement:

“Bring these primordial blood and remains back to the Underworld, and the envoys sent by the ‘Underworld Emperor’ and the Emperor will surely reward them handsomely!”

Perhaps they will bestow upon us a secret treasure, or allow us to comprehend a deeper level of the *Corpse Dissection Sutra*!

Upon hearing this, another quasi-emperor from the underworld also chuckled sinisterly:

"Indeed! The protection of this great tomb is so tight that the 'materials' buried inside are of extremely high quality!"

Ordinary people would never be able to find this place, so it's no wonder that we spent decades deciphering those ancient formations on the outside.

"When we return, we'll definitely outshine those guys from the 'Yellow Springs Department' and the 'Hall of Yama'!"

Upon hearing this, the gaunt old man who was the leader, a high-level quasi-emperor, also showed joy in his eyes, but he was more cautious.

They've reaped a great harvest this time, bringing it back to the Underworld; perhaps I can…

His thoughts were in turmoil, and he slowly said in a deep voice:

"Don't be careless. Quickly collect the true blood, and then use the 'corpse-driving technique' to take these remains away as well."

Although this place is secluded, delay could lead to unforeseen changes. The universe has been restless lately. Leaving aside those self-imposed ancient beings, even those at the level of those who are about to attain enlightenment are showing signs of increasing agitation..."

"Elder Minggu, rest assured, this place is concealed by our 'Yinming Grand Array.' Even if someone like the Undying Empress, who is about to attain enlightenment, were to come to the vicinity of the outside world, they would be caught off guard."

Without delving deeper, it's even harder to deduce the specifics. By the time they notice the anomaly, we'll have already retraced our steps back to the depths of the underworld.

The first quasi-emperor who spoke didn't take it seriously, but his hands moved a little faster.

wow...

Soon, the primordial blood of eight corpses in the nine stone coffins had been completely collected.

Only one stone coffin remained, the one with the most imposing aura, suspected to be the remains of the strongest Xuan Yuan Heavy Body.

however,

Just as the elder named Minggu aimed the skull gourd at the last remains of the Overlord Body, the incantation began, preparing to extract its primordial blood and begin the "corpse-driving" ritual...

A sudden and unexpected change has occurred!

boom……

Inside the tomb, without warning, four dazzling and murderous sword lights suddenly appeared!

It did not come from the entrance of the tomb, nor did it spring from the void.

Instead, it seemed to appear out of thin air directly from the four directions of the tomb chamber itself!

Wow!

The four sword lights each had a different aura: one was crimson, another was pitch black with a hint of annihilation of immortals and Buddhas, one was a deep blue that trapped immortals in a deadly abyss, and the other was a pale white that brought immortals to their doom!

The moment the four-colored sword light phantoms appeared, the entire tomb chamber...

No, it's an alternate dimension inside the entire ancient star, where time and space seem to have frozen!

hum...

Tan Lin and Li Qingjue, who had arrived silently, suddenly launched an attack. The commotion caused the [Barrier of All Causes], which was intertwined with crimson mist, to dissipate on its own.

But for a moment, at this instant, only that high-ranking quasi-emperor from the underworld vaguely glimpsed an ancient and majestic array diagram, which exuded a terrifying and chilling aura of killing intent.

It flashed briefly above the tomb chamber before disappearing into the space.

The next moment,