416 - Senior Sister Is on Top

Next time, perhaps she should remind her junior sister not to pretend to be stern. With her round little face, even when tense, she can only be described as "feigned severity, cutely charming." Tang Muxi had just taken her seat when an elderly man, past fifty, entered from outside. He wore a gray-blue long robe and a silver crown, with a simple silver pin bundling his slightly dull hair. Though plain and unadorned, every move he made was courteous, and no one dared to overlook him. It was as if a lurking behemoth, just by existing, could induce trepidation. "Your servant, Xun Yi, pays respects to His Majesty the God Emperor." He spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, confident and poised, casting Tang Muxi's tense demeanor into stark contrast. Hmm… This is interesting. Jiang Yin couldn't help but narrow her eyes, noticing that although he didn't reveal any conspicuous sharpness, a hidden murderous intent suppressed her junior sister with a dominating presence. This isn't a visit for an audience; those unaware might think he is the reigning sovereign. She didn't believe for a second that this old trickster couldn't see through her junior sister’s facade. Displaying such a potent oppressive aura was definitely intentional. Jiang Yin remained expressionless as she retrieved the Demon-Imprisoning Sword, using the might of the divine weapon to force him into a bow. Sensing the pervasive killing intent hovering around his neck, Xun Yi's face slightly changed, not daring to actually clash with the divine weapon. Reluctantly, he bowed further. "Very well, loyal subject, please rise. May I know the reason for your visit today?" Tang Muxi hadn't noticed the subtle exchange between the two, only feeling a sudden diminishing of tension in the atmosphere, which brought her relief. She smiled kindly. However, after her voice fell, waiting for a while yet seeing Xun Yi remain prostrate, she couldn't help but inquire, "Elder Xun, why do you not rise? Is there something wrong with your health?" Xun Yi twitched at the corner of his mouth, about to explain, but Jiang Yin standing silently at the side, interjected first, "His Highness the Eastern Demon King is grateful for the God Emperor's gift, filled with reverence and thus dares not rise. Your Majesty should accept his respect, letting him remain bowed." Xun Yi's expression stiffened, casting a side glance towards an unyielding Jiang Yin and replied coldly, "Please, allow me, my lord." Tang Muxi looked confused, seeing no sign of gratitude in Xun Yi, but since both her senior sister and the subject involved had said so, she couldn't refuse, thus nodded in agreement. Having lost the secret confrontation, Xun Yi knew he couldn't cross the line any further and began to explain the purpose of his visit. "Does Your Majesty still recall the previous disturbance in the Eastern Territory's magical formation that affected the entire Demon Realm?" Tang Muxi's expression grew serious, "At that time, I stabilized the barrier with the Qian-Kun Trigrams, sending the Demon King and generals to the Eastern Territory to persuade surrender. Later, the commotion in the magical formation gradually subsided... Could it be they had succeeded?" She hadn't directly explored the magical formation these days but had sent others, finding nothing aside from the White Tiger's trapping array. That was why Tang Muxi felt so at ease. Xun Yi shook his head, "I barely managed to fend off the ghost demons and found no anomalies in the magical formation, only that the formation had been manipulated." Tang Muxi was shocked, "How could it be! That formation was personally established with Qian-Kun Trigrams, unbreakable except by a divine weapon!" But before she finished her words, she seemed to realize something, "The fragments of the Soul-Consuming Seal..." Xun Yi nodded, "Indeed. Yun Yuchen obtained fragments of the divine artifact from the Ghost Emperor, manipulating the formation and imprisoning me within the White Tiger's formation for months. After the Grand General rescued me, I suddenly remembered this matter. Since he could manipulate the formation, why use only the White Tiger's power? Thus, I personally investigated and indeed found that the Azure Dragon's magical formation had also been tampered with. My abilities are limited, unable to decipher the complexities of the barrier, only detecting changes in the formation, the specifics of which may require Your Majesty to see personally." The Demon Realm's barrier was sustained by the four Divine Beasts' formations, each having a smaller formation beneath them. These four small formations interlocked, ensuring the barrier’s integrity for millennia. "Furthermore, though Your Majesty emerged victorious in the recent war, the Eastern Territory suffered considerable losses. With the closure of Ghost Gate, the souls of the deceased will eventually get lost, turning into vengeful spirits. As now all three fragments of the Soul-Consuming Seal are with Your Majesty, I implore you to handle them properly. If the divine artifact is irreparably broken, at least erase the souls of those people, lest they become the claws of the Ghost Emperor." Tang Muxi nodded and, seeing Xun Yi was unharmed, dismissed him. * The Demon Emperor and Ghost Emperor restlessly eyed the Demon Realm, making several attempts to invade. Tang Muxi was unaware of their plans, but to protect the Demon Realm's citizens, she would not idly watch the barrier's destruction. Upon receiving the information provided by Xun Yi, she shed her lazy demeanor, immediately setting off with her senior sister to the Azure Dragon's formation. The formation stood over a hundred meters tall, looking like a giant mountain from afar. Lush vegetation and abundant spiritual energy surrounded it, unable to obscure the divine light of the formation. Arriving at the base of the Azure Dragon's formation, Tang Muxi performed the Qian-Kun Trigrams and carefully inspected it, indeed finding slight anomalies. In the golden flowing lines of the incantation, there were some tiny black spots. So minuscule and weak that they would be hard to detect without careful examination. No wonder those she sent out couldn't find them; such concealment could only be noticed by someone like Xun Yi, who was on guard. The black spots were composed of the ghostly power from the fragments of the Soul-Consuming Seal—abundant energy that, if manipulated, could cause a massive explosive impact. This wasn’t manipulation; it was destruction. Had it been some other artifact laying such a method, Tang Muxi would have scoffed. How could a divine formation be easily damaged? But this was the Soul-Consuming Seal, one of the nine divine artifacts in existence. Its nether flames could tear through the void, let alone this gradually weakening barrier. Should it succeed, the barrier that had protected the Demon Realm for tens of thousands of years might indeed be destroyed. Tang Muxi's heart raced, chills running down her spine. Not daring to be careless, she immediately used the Qian-Kun Trigrams' power to meticulously clear the black spots. The spots were numerous, and not wanting Tang Muxi to exhaust herself, Jiang Yin also used the Demon-Imprisoning Sword to help eradicate them. While they worked diligently here, the Demon Emperor on the other side grew restless. "According to reports, the God Emperor has already taken control of the Demon Realm and discovered the anomalies in the formation, starting to cleanse it. And yet the Ghost Emperor remains indifferent!" Yan Sheng fumed, growing more dissatisfied with Chao E.