Chapter 1935: Resurrecting the Queen

Long Kun's fiery temper was uncontrollable by anyone except Xu Yang. His sudden, fierce outburst thoroughly intimidated these fossil-level old War Gods. Naturally, these old men dared not do anything to him, especially with Xu Yang by his side.

The shifty-looking old man in white robes respectfully approached Xu Yang, exchanging a few pleasantries. Afterwards, he led the remaining four fossil-level experts to the Old Emperor, conversing with him with the etiquette befitting a subject to their ruler.

In reality, these five old men had intended to claim credit from the Old Emperor. However, to their surprise, the Old Emperor showed no regard for these fickle individuals; his expression remained unchanged. Instead, his gaze immediately fell upon Xu Yang.

"There's no need for such formality, esteemed elders. After all, it was with Sir Xu Yang's protection that I was able to escape death and break free from the accursed seal of the Misty Mountain Range. When the five of you previously helped Xu Yang, it was as good as helping me, and I acknowledge that favor. However, as for your actions before my return to the palace, I believe everyone is well aware. I will neither punish nor commend you; your merits and demerits cancel each other out. From this day forward, no one needs to mention past events. What I demand is your attitude."

Hearing the Old Emperor's words, the five fossil-level elders immediately knelt on one knee, respectfully declaring their loyalty to him.

After all, these five old men were accustomed to living off the imperial stipend, sheltered from wind and rain within the palace, and regularly receiving crystals sufficient to enhance their cultivation. This was certainly much better than being expelled from the Imperial Palace by the Old Emperor.

Seeing that there were no benefits to be gained, the five old men wisely chose to retreat. They no longer lingered, causing further discomfort, and decisively transformed into five streaks of light, quickly vanishing into the rear mountain behind the Imperial Garden at the world's edge. That was where they usually cultivated themselves.

After resolving the issue with these five unreliable figures, the Old Emperor unhesitatingly approached Xu Yang. Before everyone, he once again knelt on one knee before Xu Yang, but was quickly stopped by a gesture from Xu Yang.

"Your Majesty, why this gesture? You are the ruler of the entire empire; I, Xu Yang, cannot accept such a grand salute." In truth, there was no grand salute Xu Yang couldn't accept. If not for him, the Old Emperor might have been perpetually sealed in the Misty Mountain Range, enduring unimaginable pain, with no chance to return to the Imperial City Palace and reclaim his dominion.

The Old Emperor, without further ado, directly stated his final request to Xu Yang: he wished for Xu Yang to help revive the Empress's soul.

Previously, Xu Yang had not been confident about this. However, he learned from the Old Emperor that a part of the Empress's soul essence was hidden within the Imperial Forbidden Zone. According to the Old Emperor, before entering the palace, the Empress had been the most outstanding female disciple of the younger generation, an inheritor of a martial arts sacred ground. She possessed a special magical artifact capable of protecting her soul essence. Before heading to the Misty Mountain Range, the Empress had infused a portion of her soul essence into this artifact, sealing it directly within the Imperial Forbidden Zone. Now that Xu Yang's team had helped the Old Emperor regain control of the Imperial Palace, access to the Imperial Forbidden Zone was naturally not an issue.

Xu Yang decisively agreed to the Old Emperor's request, as he had an even more important matter that required the Old Emperor's help: finding the third piece of purple jade crystal on the High Priest. Xu Yang absolutely did not believe that the imposter emperor had taken the third crystal to the front lines of the battlefield. His intuition told him that the High Priest was the true owner of the third purple jade crystal, merely having hidden it somewhere within the Imperial Palace.

And so, Xu Yang and the Old Emperor once again began to cooperate. Under the Old Emperor's personal guidance, Xu Yang soon followed him into the Imperial Forbidden Zone.

This place naturally contained all sorts of rare treasures and spiritual artifacts. However, these external objects held no interest for Xu Yang. He quickly used his powerful spiritual energy cultivation to locate the special magical artifact that sealed the Empress's soul essence.

It was a treasure shaped like a crown. It was clearly a rare artifact of divine quality, and being a spiritual artifact made it even more exceptional.

Without further hesitation, Xu Yang immediately unleashed his formidable spiritual power, attempting to communicate with this wondrous spiritual artifact. Indeed, within it, he detected a trace of the Empress's soul essence.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, the Empress's soul essence within this artifact is quite potent. If you give me three days, I am confident I can awaken her complete soul essence. However, even if she is successfully resurrected, she will likely never again be able to enter the ranks of martial artists in this lifetime; she will have completely lost the qualification for cultivation."

Xu Yang's words meant that even if the Empress were to be revived, she would only live like an ordinary person for a few decades or a century. In contrast, the powerful War Gods, whose strength had reached or surpassed the peak of the Grand Completion realm, could live for thousands or tens of thousands of years. Compared to such vast expanses of time, a mere century was but a fleeting moment. Yet, for the Old Emperor, as long as he could be reunited with the Empress, even just for a century, it would be a source of happiness.

The Old Emperor nodded gravely. "To be able to resurrect her is already the fulfillment of my lifelong wish. What more could I ask for? Even if we only have one day to be reunited, I would be content."

Hearing the Old Emperor's words, Xu Yang naturally felt no further psychological burden. He immediately chose to enter seclusion within the protective confines of the forbidden zone.

This place contained various rare and precious natural treasures. Xu Yang collected some necessary materials for reviving the soul essence here, then began to activate his powerful cultivation technique.

The method Xu Yang used to revive the Empress's soul essence was, naturally, his self-created Dao of Tai Chi, combined with the potent life vital energy within his body. This served as the perfect medium for reassembling fragmented souls. Of course, as the saying goes, a shattered mirror is hard to mend. Even if the Empress's soul could be forcibly reassembled through Xu Yang's heaven-defying cultivation power, its strength would be incredibly fragile, no different from that of an ordinary person. Her former powerful cultivation would naturally not be restored.

For three full days, the Old Emperor remained almost inseparable from the forbidden zone's entrance. When the portal finally reopened after three days, the couple reunited. The Old Emperor and his beloved Empress embraced, weeping.