Chapter 1824: Miss, What Brings You Here?

"Fortunately, the Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor blocked it. Otherwise, this right arm would have been useless!"

Yun Xiao, who was flung back by a powerful force, sensed the intense pain from his right shoulder. As his heart surged with surprise, a trace of relief also emerged. He thought to himself that it was lucky the Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor activated in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Not a bad defensive method, but I wonder how many more hits you can take?"

An Sou wore an expression of admiration on his face. He didn’t know how many times he had expressed praise for Yun Xiao already, although his tone carried an undertone of self-assuredness.

Perhaps it was precisely this mindset that allowed An Sou to utter those words of admiration. In his eyes, how much significance did more praise have for Yun Xiao, who was soon to fall into his hands and suffer terribly?

To be honest, whether it was Yun Xiao’s Ancestral Vein Fire, the mysterious transformation into water, or the presently formidable defensive Stone Armor, all astonished An Sou.

At the same time, An Sou somewhat understood why Xue Qi, with his Hua Xuan Realm Early Stage cultivation, would lose to this Heavenly Realm youth. Those methods, when used unexpectedly, almost caught even him—a Hua Xuan Realm Peak expert—off guard.

At this moment, even An Sou felt a twinge of relief. Fortunately, his Meridian Qi cultivation was a full Great Rank higher than Yun Xiao’s; otherwise, he would have truly capsized in the gutter today.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

A series of sounds came from the sky. It turned out An Sou was controlling his black whirlwind, continuously striking Yun Xiao, causing that roughly dressed youth to be in a sorry state.

Seeing this scene, all the cultivators watching had expressions of utmost surprise. Was he really just a Half-step Holy Rank youth? How was he able to persist for so long without dying under the means of a Hua Xuan Realm Peak expert?

Although Yun Xiao’s current state looked extremely disheveled, with patches of blood continuously emerging from his body, he ultimately hadn’t lost his fighting ability. He was still striving to persevere.

In the hearts of many, their initial jealousy had already transformed into admiration. This was the unyielding spirit of the weak facing the oppression of the strong. The weak are not innately destined to be oppressed by the strong.

However, even though these people felt admiration, they knew that the roughly dressed youth likely wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. The gap between them was simply too vast. If he could successfully escape under such circumstances, it would be too much like a fantasy.

"Strike!"

Amidst the endless black whirlwind, from An Sou’s mouth suddenly came a deep shout. Instantly, that roughly dressed youth trembled all over, lowered his head in shock, and saw a black whirlwind strike his chest.

Crack!

The sound of something breaking was heard. It turned out the Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor, which Yun Xiao forced in front of his chest, ultimately couldn’t withstand the black whirlwind and was shattered into pieces in an instant.

"Pfft!"

The vital area of the chest is far more critical than the shoulder or arm. Yun Xiao’s figure suddenly stiffened, then spat out a mouthful of scarlet blood, his entire body even being flung backward several dozen yards.

"Defeated at last!"

For some reason, although everyone knew that the youth was bound to be defeated eventually, when they saw this result, they still felt a tinge of regret, as if they were expecting something more.

"Boy, surrender now!"

In the sky, An Sou had no such thoughts. Being a wind attribute expert, he immediately caught up to Yun Xiao and, as he spoke, extended his hand into a claw.

"An Sou, stop!"

However, at this moment, a voice full of authority suddenly echoed across the vast sky, causing everyone to pause slightly. The Hua Xuan Realm Peak expert named was even momentarily frozen.

"This... this voice is..."

An Sou’s movement of grasping for Yun Xiao halted abruptly. He turned around with extreme difficulty and saw a noble figure so familiar to his core, causing his heart to tremble violently.

"Miss...? Why... why are you here?"

Looking at that noble and commanding presence, An Sou’s speech even became stammered. The lady he referred to was not Xue Qi, who had lost to Yun Xiao recently, but the eldest daughter of the Lu Family he had watched growing up: Lu Qinwan!

An Sou never imagined that Lu Qinwan would appear here. Given her status, she should be stationed at the Emperor Palace Headquarters, and wouldn’t leave easily unless something significant occurred.

"Could it be because of the emergence of the Murong Tomb?"

An Sou began to overthink as he couldn’t conceive any other reason for such a high-ranking lady to personally descend into this remote Northern Domain.

"Miss...? Could it be that she is... she is..."

While An Sou was shocked in his heart, the onlookers at a distance were already stupefied by his words, with one person stammering but unable to utter a complete sentence.

"It seems that person should be the Empress. She looks exactly like the Empress statue in Murong City!"

An old Meridian Refining Master remained composed, taking a deep breath and stating a fact that caused everyone to gasp, as if their hearts might jump out of their chests.

The Emperor Canglong Palace is the Sovereign of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud Human Territory, and currently, there are two supreme figures in the Emperor Canglong Palace, the Emperor and Empress.

The mysterious Emperor Canglong has not been seen outside the palace for nearly a hundred years. The Empress has been handling all affairs of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, keeping everything in perfect order.

After a century of establishing majesty, Lu Qinwan has become a quasi-divine being in the hearts of ordinary cultivators on the continent, sacred and inviolable, with not even a hint of disrespect in their minds when inadvertently passing by the Empress statue.

Yet they never imagined they could see the true visage of the Empress by Yingrong Lake in Rongshan—it might be considered a unique form of honor?

These people had no doubt, as the noble figure appearing suddenly resembled the Empress statue in Murong City almost perfectly. This resemblance was undeniable.

A supreme character like the Dragon Cloud Sovereign appearing before them caused some cultivators, just stepping into the Heavenly Rank Realm, to feel compelled to kneel in reverence.

"Hmph, if I hadn’t come, would I let you, an evil slave, run amok?"

In the sky, the majestic figure finally spoke for the first time, with a tone that carried an air of superiority, fitting the image of authority in many cultivators’ hearts.

"Miss, I... I..."

Rebuked bluntly by Lu Qinwan, An Sou suddenly found himself unable to speak, while a strange feeling rose in his heart, realizing the Miss had never yelled at him like this before.

"Leave, this boy’s life is still useful to me!"

Lu Qinwan couldn’t care less about An Sou’s strange thoughts, as she extended her jade arm, pointing at a ruggedly dressed young man, saying words that made An Sou feel even more peculiar.

"This palace?"

What puzzled An Sou was Lu Qinwan’s self-referential term, typically used by the latter for Emperor Palace followers but never for house slaves who followed her from the Lu Family.

An Sou had reasons to suspect, because the Emperor Canglong before him was obviously not the true body, but the Illusion Form created by Yun Xiao using the Dragon Taming Sword, which was the Second Form Illusion of the Dragon Taming Nine Swords.

Yun Xiao, knowing Lu Qinwan well, realized that despite a century having passed since his previous life’s death, with unknown changes occurring in Lu Qinwan’s life, he was now in the dark.

Initially attentive to details, Yun Xiao hadn’t anticipated that a mere self-reference would sow doubt within An Sou’s mind. As he saw a glint in An Sou’s eyes, Yun Xiao knew it would be difficult for Lu Qinwan to deceive this man.

"Why? Now you won’t even listen to the words of this palace?"

Despite Yun Xiao’s internal alarm, he remained outwardly composed, controlling Lu Qinwan to speak coldly while steering her true body closer to An Sou.

"Again with ’this palace’!"

With Lu Qinwan’s self-reference repeated, An Sou’s suspicion grew more intense, and once the thought emerged, it could not be dispelled.

"Miss, did you read the family letter I gave you before setting off?"

An Sou, who had acted discreetly for years, was meticulous in his thoughts. After suspicion arose, he casually asked while keeping his gaze fixed on Lu Qinwan’s face, showing slight disrespect.

"Family letter? Oh, you mean that family letter? I definitely read it!"

Hearing this, the controlled Lu Qinwan hesitated slightly, then responded unperturbedly, believing An Sou was probing. However, unbeknownst to him, this response elicited a cold sneer from An Sou.

"In fact, there was no family letter at all. Who are you to impersonate the Empress? What crime is this deserving of?"

By now, An Sou no longer believed this to be Lu Qinwan; his words had indeed been a test, but the result was contrary to Yun Xiao’s expectations, prompting him to shout aloud.

An Sou still didn’t realize that the figure was a weapon’s illusion, assuming someone had seen the Empress statues in major cities and was impersonating Lu Qinwan. This touched An Sou’s sensitive nerve, eliciting his wrath.

In An Sou’s mind, the Miss was sacred and inviolable. Now, someone dared impersonate the Miss and rebuke him, disregarding the Emperor Canglong Palace and the Lu Family!

Determined to capture the impostor who dared mimic the Miss, along with the ragged boy over there, An Sou intended to interrogate them thoroughly to root out their mastermind.