Chapter 1717: Extraordinary Elegance

This was a miracle! Empress Huang had resurrected, reappearing in the human world!

Everyone was stunned, gaping in disbelief. This was truly the most inconceivable miracle: the jar transforming into a human, once again reigning over the world.

The figure became increasingly clear, manifesting from nothingness, stepping forth from primeval ages, breaking free from the shackles of the river of time, and entering the present world alive.

With her flowing hair and fluttering robes, a slender figure of unparalleled grace emerged, as if stepping out of a mythical realm. She was ethereal, like an immortal descending upon the world.

"Empress Huang!" many gasped, their hearts inexplicably shaken.

The legendary figure had appeared, standing alive in the human world.

Her aura was otherworldly, as if she didn't belong to this realm. There was an ethereal quality about her, as if she could ascend to immortality and transcend the mundane world at any moment.

Everyone was awestruck, their eyes unblinking, fixated on this Empress—the most controversial, the most talented, and the most mysterious throughout her life.

Her hair gently swayed, and her moon-white dress accentuated her graceful and majestic immortal figure. Her skin was luminous white, like sculpted white jade, making her truly peerless in beauty.

This was a powerful Empress, long hailed as the most stunning. She single-handedly pioneered nine immortal arts, capable of rivaling the Nine Supreme Secrets of Daoism, and stood alone against the Nine Heavenly Venerates. Such was the peerless woman before them.

She slowly turned around. People nervously held their breath, looking forward, eager to see her true face. Everyone was filled with anticipation.

Instinctively, everyone knew this had to be a beauty surpassing all others.

People were disappointed. They couldn't see the Empress's true face because a ghostly mask covered her luminous white skin, revealing only a pair of beautiful, clear eyes like autumn water.

For Ye Fan, that mask was naturally familiar. It was the very symbol that had accompanied Empress Huang throughout her life, encompassing all her joys and sorrows, her partings and reunions, all that she was.

This was the ghostly face imprint from the Devouring Heaven Jar. Now, it had transformed into a mask, covering the face of that peerless beauty, preventing the world from seeing or understanding her.

This left people with deep regret. The most astonishing woman in the world, shrouded in mystery with countless legends surrounding her, had finally revealed herself today, yet her face remained unseen.

After a soft sigh, people also felt content. So many heroes, so many prodigies, had never had the chance to meet the Empress, yet they had been granted this opportunity.

She stood there quietly, like a white jade beauty—tall, slender, and impeccably pure white, without a single flaw.

It was hard to imagine that this was the powerful Empress who, throughout history, had once commanded mountains and rivers, striking fear into the hearts of all races in the universe.

It was she who suppressed and killed the Imperial Dao Fire Spirit.

It was she who, with a single sword stroke, severed the Heaven-Severing Mountain Range, turning the ancestral land of the Holy Spirit Imperial Clan into ruins, and similarly, flattened a restricted life zone.

It was she who alone resisted the ultimate moves of the Nine Heavenly Venerates, even confronting those who were still alive. Alone, she conquered the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, creating nine ultimate profound meanings comparable to the Nine Secrets.

It was also she who entered the Undying Mountain, meditated under the Dao-enlightenment tea, and before whom ancient emperors dared not speak, meeting her with silence.

And it was she who stepped into the Kunlun Immortal Ascension Land, shattered the Immortal Ascension Cauldron with a single palm, slew ten thousand ancestral dragon heads with a mere finger, transcended the world, disregarded the wish of the Ginseng Fruit Tree to follow her, and floated away.

It was still she who lived life after life, creating the miracle of longevity, not to become an immortal, but merely to wait for "you" to return in this mortal world.

And these were merely fragments of her life; much more had dissipated in the river of time, unknown to outsiders, with the truth buried in the past.

People only knew that Empress Huang's life, though fraught with controversy, was also full of legend, with countless near-immortal experiences and heaven-defying acts.

It was precisely such a person who had now reappeared!

"The Empress, a person who has already defied the heavens, she created an unimaginable method of longevity," someone exclaimed in awe.

Even the old gods trembled, silently comparing this woman to the Heaven Sovereign. To survive like this, to achieve eternal life? How truly heaven-defying.

Everyone was utterly astonished. What they witnessed and heard was absolutely unprecedented, something that would be sung about for generations to come.

The Empress possessed supreme grace, standing quietly, looking down upon the human world. Even the powerful Undying Heavenly Saber hesitated, unsure whether to attack.

It had sworn to annihilate everyone and avenge the Eight Divisions, but the woman before it was terrifying and unfathomable.

"You are not the Empress, you are merely a weapon!" the Heavenly Saber declared, glowing brightly, but it did not attack immediately; it was probing.

The woman remained silent. She raised her left hand. On one slender finger, there was a ring made of bronze, simple and not an immortal treasure, yet she cherished it immensely.

She looked down at the ring, a peculiar light in her eyes that, after a long while, faded into dimness, revealing reluctance and sorrow, making hearts tremble and break.

The Undying Heavenly Saber erupted with soaring immortal light and countless layers of killing intent, like rivers bursting forth, seas breaching their dams, or the cosmos collapsing. Thunderous roars filled the air, and scorching lightning engulfed the universe.

This place became an ocean of laws, terrifying and destructive to all life. The Undying Heavenly Saber descended, truly unparalleled and unstoppable.

People's souls quivered; the Heavenly Saber's power was too immense, defying all reason!

"Clang!"

However, facing such an earth-shattering blow, the peerless woman made no grand movement. She simply raised her right hand and gently tapped the Heavenly Saber upwards.

The sound resonated like a dragon's roar in the Nine Heavens, like a phoenix's cry in the immortal realm. The reverberations lingered endlessly, and all the vast saber qi in heaven and earth vanished instantly.

This was an abrupt change. Moments ago, there was overwhelming killing intent; now, in an instant, a luminous white palm tapped the sky, bringing complete calm to the area. It was profoundly shocking.

The Undying Heavenly Saber flew backward, vanishing from the spot in a blink, suspended in the vast sky. It was greatly astonished, sensing a hint of danger, realizing this 'weapon' could threaten it.

The Empress gently brushed her hair. Her bronze mask was cold, yet her visible facial features (chin and eyes) were soft—a contradictory combination. Her exposed beauty was captivating, while the ghostly mask itself seemed utterly devoid of life.

Time flowed, dust settled everywhere. Over two hundred thousand years were enough to bury everything, yet she could still remain in the human world, observing the mortal realm and recalling the past as if it were smoke.

Her eyes held confusion, sorrow, and dimness as she gazed towards the Big Dipper constellation, looking into the depths of the starry cosmos. Time had wrought immense changes; entire star systems had fractured and disappeared.

"You are strong. But I am the will of the Heavenly Dao, and I cannot be resisted," said the Undying Heavenly Saber. Its blade body shone brilliantly, almost transparent, then began to burn fiercely. It was the boiling of laws and order, the immortal principles.

Ye Fan was greatly startled. He saw faint divine chains of order and felt a familiar aura. Some rules of the Immortal Bell were condensed within the saber's body.

He had obtained the law and order chains of the Immortal Bell from the planet Yinghuo, and they were now imprinted within his Myriad Things Mother Qi Cauldron. Although he hadn't fully comprehended these rules, he could recognize them.

The Undying Sovereign was indeed terrifying. He had long ago imprinted a portion of the Immortal Bell's laws into the saber's body, intending to cultivate a true immortal artifact, with five-colored immortal metal serving as the perfect vessel.

The Undying Heavenly Saber descended, its attack even more formidable this time. Waves of killing intent swept across the universe, distant star seas fractured, and the saber seemed to cleave through eternity, reaching everywhere.

"Whoosh!"

This time, two astonishing beams shot forth from the Empress's eyes, a stark contrast to her previous quietude. She seemed to awaken from slumber, no longer serene, but transformed into a war goddess.

Her gaze cleaved the sky, her dark hair streamed. The Empress soared upward, actively attacking with breathtaking force, directly slapping the Heavenly Saber.

"Heavens, that's... the Power of Soaring Immortals!" many cried out, trembling with excitement, their bodies convulsing.

Rays of light rained down, like petals dancing, scattering across the universe. This was the Power of Soaring Immortals, created specifically to counter the Saint Fighting Law, possessing unparalleled offensive might.

The sky was filled with a rain of light, as if someone was ascending into the heavens, breaking through the world's barrier to enter the Immortal Realm.

Too powerful. Just the aura made people tremble, unable to bear it. Even Great Sages surrendered, kneeling on the ground in worship, involuntarily kowtowing to the Empress.

The Undying Heavenly Saber changed direction. It surprisingly did not clash, avoiding the attack. This was incredible; it was invincible, capable of destroying all things, yet today it had actively retreated.

However, the Empress's power was beyond imagination. Her body was dreamlike and ethereal; the river of time seemed to freeze, pausing for her. She transformed into a streak of immortal light, an immortal Dao law comparable to the 'All-Reach Secret', flashing past in an instant, catching up to the Undying Heavenly Saber, and gently pressing down with a palm.

"Clang!"

This sound shook the eternal blue sky, the universe cracked, and the Undying Heavenly Saber was sent flying. All the saber light filling the sky dimmed.

The divine spirit within the Heavenly Saber was shaken. If it hadn't retreated explosively at the critical moment, the power of that blow would have been many times greater. Would it have been able to withstand it completely then?

This woman was too monstrous, a truly heaven-defying existence!

Everyone was dumbfounded. The Empress had only just made a move, yet she had sent the formidable Undying Heavenly Saber flying, its blade body losing its luster and trembling slightly.

This was utterly astounding!

"Are the legends true? Can she... truly shatter the Immortal Realm barrier and wield the power of soaring immortals?"

People couldn't help but ask such questions, their hearts trembling in disbelief.

"You are clearly just a weapon, you cannot be that person from the past!" the Undying Heavenly Saber muttered to itself, filled with fury and agitation. Like a primeval beast, it swallowed the essence of the eight directions; the cosmic sea nearly extinguished as all starlight converged upon it.

The Empress did not immediately pursue. Seeing its transformation, she slowly raised her hands, interlaced as if holding a precious vase, aiming it at the Undying Heavenly Saber.

Slowly, a Great Dao Vase truly manifested in her crystalline, slender hands, adorned with 3,600 runes, its mouth pointed directly at the Undying Heavenly Saber.

The Undying Heavenly Saber, despite its sea of killing intent, felt a terrifying chill, as if a colossal beast had fixed its gaze upon it. Without thinking, it shifted its position, evading the attack.

However, the Empress's speed was too great; her slender hands seemed to control dragons, shifting direction along with it.

"Boom!"

Heaven and earth split apart, the universe collapsed. The power surging from the Great Dao Vase was vast as the ocean, with countless runes, directly engulfing the Undying Heavenly Saber and dispersing all its immense saber qi.

"Clang!"

The Heavenly Saber was sent flying, almost breaking. It had used a substitution technique; another phantom body exploded there, but it itself also suffered severe damage.

Everyone was dumbfounded. Everything changed too quickly, leaving them somewhat unable to accept it. The Heavenly Saber, which moments ago had been so arrogant, was now being utterly suppressed by the Empress.

"It makes no sense! She's just a weapon, not the real person. How can this be!?" the Heavenly Saber raged.

A slender, luminous white jade foot descended silently, appearing in the void. The Empress suddenly emerged, surpassing all of history. Her hair danced, her grace was unparalleled, and with one foot, she stepped onto the Heavenly Saber!