Chapter 425 - 424: The Human Immortal List Begins
Chapter 424: The Human Immortal List Begins
Deep within the Imperial Palace.
A young empress of breathtaking beauty stood upon a high dais.
Clad in imperial robes and crowned as befits a ruler, she held the Human Emperor Sword in her hand.
Her eyes shimmered as she gazed at the sky, where the first light of dawn was breaking, yet she spoke not a word.
After a long silence, the young empress finally let out a quiet sigh.
Just last night, something unexpected had happened to her Mortal Alter Ego.
She had not forgotten the promise she made with the Demon Sect’s Holy Saint, nor had she ever assumed that the agreed time would remain unchanged after the Human Immortal List was suddenly moved forward.
Thus, as agreed—on the "night before the Human Immortal List"—her Mortal Alter Ego did not stand watch over the northern district’s Ascension Platform formation with the other Golden-Ranked members of the Six Gate Bureau.
Instead, when the night grew late, she set out for Wandering Immortal Inn, intending to meet the Holy Saint.
But even as the sovereign of the Immortal Nation, she could never have imagined that her Mortal Alter Ego would fall prey to an illusion within the royal city itself.
What unsettled her most was that she hadn’t even realized when the illusion had been cast.
’Last night’s illusion truly locked me down completely...’
Under its influence, her Mortal Alter Ego had wandered from the north of the city all the way to the south, unable to find any exit.
It was as though space itself had been twisted.
And because the illusion also distorted her sense of time, she failed to recognize that anything was amiss until the spell finally dissolved.
Only when she awoke to a dawn that should not have been there,
and to surroundings beyond her expectation,
did her Mortal Alter Ego finally synchronize its memories with her true self.
"To achieve such an effect... not only must one disrupt spatial perception,
but also the ability to perceive the passage of time..."
The empress’ brows drew together in a sharp frown.
For someone to silently cast an illusion of this caliber within the imperial city—
their strength had to be unfathomable.
At least at the Nascent Soul ’Huashen’ level.
’But why would a Nascent Soul expert use such methods against a mere Six Doors Golden Seal?
Could it be that the one behind the scenes already knows that Mortal Alter Ego is mine?
If so, is the caster enemy... or ally?’
If it were an enemy, why use nothing but an illusion?
These questions lingered as she pondered the memory her incarnation had just returned.
Even though the illusion had nearly trapped her mortal self for an entire night—
what purpose did it truly serve?
As she began to consider, the answer came to her faintly.
The moment the illusion was lifted, her Mortal Alter Ego immediately recalled her original purpose and rushed to find Luo Wusheng.
But the Demon Sect Holy Saint had vanished.
Not at Wandering Immortal Inn.
Not at the Demon Artifact Pavilion.
Not even in the residence he had purchased.
Most troubling of all was that very residence.
When her Mortal Alter Ego arrived, the place was already in chaos—the Holy Saint’s room and the surrounding courtyard lay in complete disarray.
Not a single soul remained.
What exactly had happened?
A realization flickered in the empress’ mind.
Perhaps... the one who wove the illusion only wished to prevent her Mortal Alter Ego from meeting the Holy Saint last night.
Turning over the freshly returned memories in her mind, the empress’ expression grew more thoughtful by the moment.
But just then, a voice sounded from behind her.
"Your Majesty, the hour has come. It is time to begin the heavenly rites and activate the formation... Your Majesty?"
Wutong, wearing a mask patterned with withered leaves, approached and tilted her head slightly in doubt.
The young empress drew back her thoughts.
"I hear you," she replied, her tone calm and commanding.
Turning her gaze upon her subordinate, she raised her sleeve lightly.
"...Let’s go. To the northern district."
The coming days would be critical.
She could not allow a single unexplained incident to halt her advance.
’There’s no need to overthink this matter for now. Perhaps once the Human Immortal List begins, I might see him. After all, his junior sister is competing today...’
With that silent thought, the empress stepped forward.
Space rippled, and she vanished with Wutong into the void.
. . . .
Northern District of the Royal City.
At the site of the Ascension Platform formation, a vast crowd of contestants for the Human Immortal List had already gathered.
The grand formation would activate in stages—first transporting the competitors into the Trial Ascension Platform, then sending in those with official invitations to spectate.
For now, however, the formation had yet to open.
The Immortal Nation had dispatched people to maintain order, but most of the crowd was still eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Immortal Nation’s Empress.
All except for two people.
"...Did my senior brother reply to you yet?"
"Bleh, I’m not telling you!"
On the outer edge of the Ascension Platform’s formation, two breathtakingly beautiful girls had chosen a slightly emptier spot to wait. Yet they stood a good two steps apart, glaring at each other as if they couldn’t stand being too close.
A closer look revealed something... odd.
Both were neatly dressed, their appearances carefully touched up, and yet there was a faint air of disarray about them.
Perhaps it was the pallor in their faces.
Perhaps it was the stray strands of hair clinging to their robes, the kind one forgets to brush away.
At this moment, Bai Xiaoyao watched the younger girl stick out her tongue at her. A vein twitched on her forehead before she let out a scornful laugh and tilted her elegant chin.
"Heh. Looks like he still hasn’t written back. Otherwise, with the state you’re in right now, you’d be dying to flaunt it in front of me." Bai Xiaoyao’s smile was sweet, but her eyes were sharp.
"I—I wasn’t thinking that at all— Wait! What do you mean, ’the state I’m in’? Explain yourself!" Lu Yuliu bristled like a startled kitten.
"Why, the look of a sneaky little cat that’s stolen the cream, of course. Even now, just remembering the words you said alone in his room last night is enough to give me goosebumps."
"You—you dare say that to me? Did you even look at yourself last night? The way you dressed—shameless!"
"What about it? That’s exactly the kind of thing my senior brother likes... Grown-ups’ business. Children shouldn’t butt in."
"You little— Hmph!"
"Hmph!"
"Hmph, hmph!"
The two girls glared at each other, then turned away in perfect synchronization.
Last night, the pair of them had fought the whole night through.
At first, compared to a certain Sword Sect genius, Bai Xiaoyao had been a little more restrained—at least she remembered that their battlefield was her senior brother’s room, and that this whole courtyard was the very first property she and her brother had bought together. A place with sentimental value.
But soon enough, her composure snapped.
Still, perhaps because they both remembered not to demolish the house completely, neither girl drew a weapon.
Instead, they went at each other with bare fists.
Of course, these were the bare fists of two Peak stage Foundation Establishment realm cultivators.
They brawled their way from one room to another, crashing through furniture in a storm of flashing lights and chaotic spiritual energy.
Only when their spiritual energy was nearly drained—and the sky outside was beginning to pale—did they suddenly remember a certain someone who had yet to return all night. Mutual exhaustion forced a draw, and the demolition finally ceased.
With no time to spare, they used cultivator-level speed to clean themselves up, slapped their appearances back into order, and rushed to the northern outskirts of the capital.
Naturally, both had assumed that a certain overnight-missing Demon Sect Holy Saint would already be here.
But now, looking around...
Bai Xiaoyao’s gaze swept over the next group of spectators being allowed through the formation’s entrance. Her delicate brows drew together.
Sure enough, there was still no sign of her senior brother.
’Is it because of what he said before—that the so-called "Netherkin Uprising" would break out during the Human Immortal List? Has he already gone into hiding to prepare for the Netherkin Race?’
That explanation wasn’t impossible. But something about it didn’t quite fit.
After all, her senior brother had once told her personally that he intended to resolve the "Predestined Effect" before the Human Immortal List ended.
Logically, he should have set aside time to see her. He wouldn’t just vanish without a word.
That was precisely why Bai Xiaoyao had gone to Luo Wusheng’s room last night in the first place.
In her mind, even if only for the sake of fulfilling that Predestined Effect, her senior brother had every reason to come home that night.
This was supposed to be something everyone understood without needing to say aloud.
Yet where had Senior Brother run off to?
On the other side, Lu Yuliu found herself making almost the exact same movement as the little demon girl.
Her eyes swept over the crowd. She bit her lip—then let out a quiet breath of relief.
No sign of that annoying fellow.
But more importantly, there was also no sign of master either.
Which meant... maybe there was still a chance?
’Whatever that guy is busy with now, it doesn’t matter. As long as Master hasn’t arrived yet, and as long as I don’t get caught by Bai Xiaoyao...’
The sword fairy shifted her gaze back—only to find that Bai Xiaoyao had, at that very instant, turned her eyes toward her as well.
Their gazes collided, a spark flaring invisibly in the air.
After last night, they both knew exactly what kind of calculations the other was making.
Hmph! What happened to the promise you made before? Shameless!
Each of the two stunning girls silently cursed the other in their hearts, but in the very next breath they both lifted their chins and focused their attention on the same point.
All around them, the other competitors finally sensed something amiss and followed their gaze. The noisy square fell into sudden, complete silence.
High above the crowd, a girl clad in imperial robes and a sovereign’s crown stepped out of empty space.
She held a peerless Divine Artifact in her hand, her flowing sleeves stirring though there was no wind.
With that single entrance, the sheer force of her presence—like a ruler descending upon the world—suppressed every breath in the plaza.
The first to react were the Immortal Nation’s officials and the great powers of the capital. They bowed in unison, voices ringing out in greeting:
"Your Majesty."
Next were the sect disciples and wandering prodigies who knew proper etiquette, following suit with respectful salutes.
The young Empress alighted lightly on the high platform constructed by the Immortal Nation, her eyes sweeping calmly over the crowd below.
’He’s not here...’
The Demon Sect’s Holy Saint was nowhere to be seen.
’Has something happened to him? Or did he wait in vain for my Mortal Alter Ego last night and decide to act alone?’
If only she had pressed for more details about his plan earlier, she wouldn’t now be left guessing at his intentions.
As these thoughts churned, her gaze suddenly halted, settling on two young girls deliberately standing apart from the crowd.
...Strange. Had those two been attacked? Their spiritual energy felt hollow, and they looked decidedly bedraggled.
’Judging from their state, they don’t seem to know where the Demon Sect Holy Saint is either...’
Never mind. She had already left the search to her Daoist Alter Ego. This Imperial Alter Ego needed to focus on the task before her.
The Empress drew in a soft breath, her sleeve flicking outward.
"Rise," she said lightly.
Her eyes shifted toward the gathered Immortal Nation officials.
"The time has come. Activate the formation."
Her even, unhurried voice fell like a commandment.
In the next instant, a dazzling burst of light flared across the plaza.
From anywhere within the royal capital, one could see this radiance—brighter even than the young morning sun.
At the heart of the formation, space itself began to twist and transform.
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
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