Crush's Cold Senior Sister is Actually Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: The Edge of the Sky Was Originally Only Empty.

Originally, there was only a vast emptiness in the sky.

An Jin ultimately failed to find her incantation.

The three-day limit was up. As she and Ling Qi came out of the training ground illusion, they bumped into a few rushing immortal attendants.

Literally bumped into.

An Jin covered her forehead, wincing in pain as she took two steps back. Ling Qi reached out to rub her slightly reddened forehead. When she looked up, she realized that Chong Guang Palace had a lot of new faces overnight.

Chong Guang Palace, which originally had only a dozen or so immortal attendants, now had more than double that number.

…Had Yang Chongguang started her plan to build an empire again?

Just as she was wondering, she suddenly heard An Jin looking at an immortal attendant in the distance and saying thoughtfully, “I think I’ve seen her somewhere before.”

“Where?”

Before An Jin could answer, the immortal attendant had already turned her head and seen them. She walked over to greet them, smiling as before: “High immortal, long time no see.”

“Weren’t you… on duty at Jiu Yang Palace?” An Jin also nodded at her hesitantly, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

The immortal attendant smiled bitterly and shook her head: “A few days ago, Jiu Yang Palace suddenly closed. It wasn’t just us immortal attendants; even the spiritual beasts were driven out. Now there’s really nowhere to go.”

Another immortal attendant passing by interjected: “Exactly. No warning at all. They just drove people out. On my first day of duty, I was kicked out and thought I had made a mistake. But when I went outside, oh boy, the palace gate was full of people.”

“You’re lucky,” another immortal attendant heard them talking and walked over to join the conversation. “I’ve been in Jiu Yang Palace for over three hundred years, and they didn’t even give me time to pack. Luckily, High God Chong Guang was kind enough to take us in.”

Ling Qi stood by, her brows furrowed, listening to them speculating about the reason. She had a bad feeling in her heart and subconsciously opened her communication device, her finger hovering over the last name on the list.

But she didn’t do anything for a long time.

Listening to the increasingly absurd discussions around her, which ranged from “Emperor Fo Ling’s sudden illness” to “the Vermilion Bird Dao Master’s attempt to usurp the throne and harm the Emperor,” Ling Qi closed her eyes and finally pressed that name.

The communication device switched to the call page. The name on the screen flashed continuously, but no one answered. Finally, the call was automatically disconnected after flashing for two minutes.

The noise around them was a cacophony. The immortal attendants were gathered together, discussing loudly. But Ling Qi seemed not to hear them. She mechanically repeated her actions from before, over and over again.

But the result was always the same.

…

At this moment, in Tian Mo Palace.

The woman leaned back lazily in her chair, her left leg crossed high over her right knee, her posture elegant.

She was playing with the communication device in her hand, watching the screen light up again and again, the smile on her lips growing wider.

With a gentle flick of her finger, the palm-sized communication device spun around her fingertips. The woman looked up at the person standing in front of her and asked with a smile: “Are you really not going to answer?”

As she spoke, she dangled the name on the screen in front of the person twice, as if afraid the other person hadn’t seen it.

“You take my communication device and then ask me why I’m not answering.” Emperor Fo Ling, who was standing in front of her, sneered. “Senior Sister is in a good mood.”

“I’m just thinking about you, Junior Sister.” Shen Tianmo, who was just rebuffed, wasn’t angry at all. Instead, she smiled even more happily. “I’m afraid Junior Sister is worried that her only disciple is being wronged outside and can’t sleep all night.”

“How about this?” She leaned forward slightly. “I’ll reluctantly pass on the message for Junior Sister, so that High Immortal Ling can rest easy.”

On the surface, she said “reluctantly,” but a happy smile hung on her lips, as if she were watching a show.

“No need.”

“Junior Sister is so cold.” Shen Tianmo leaned back in her chair with a hint of regret and crossed her legs again, swinging them twice. “We haven’t had time to catch up properly for so many years. It’s rare to have an opportunity like this, but Junior Sister isn’t even willing to say a few more words to me.”

Emperor Fo Ling’s face remained unchanged, and she said calmly: “If breaking into someone’s house and kidnapping them can be called a rare opportunity, then Senior Sister must not be short of such opportunities on a daily basis.”

The sarcasm in her words was obvious.

But Shen Tianmo acted as if she hadn’t understood, shrugging her shoulders with an innocent expression: “I’ve been deceived by Junior Sister so many times, so I have to be careful. Please be more understanding, Junior Sister.”

Emperor Fo Ling was unmoved: “I’ll naturally give you what I promised. If I really wanted to go back on my word, locking me up wouldn’t do any good. So why bother?”

“Why would Junior Sister think that?” Shen Tianmo feigned surprise. “I’m just a mere High God. I wouldn’t dare to lock up an Emperor… It’s just that the martial arts competition is approaching, and there are many details I need to ask the Emperor for advice on.”

“Then ask.”

Shen Tianmo was choked for a moment, but she regained her smile after a few seconds: “It’s not a big problem… It’s just that the Vermilion Bird Dao Master has been unwell these past few days and will probably have to be absent from the martial arts competition. How should we handle this extra spot?”

“When did Senior Sister start caring about other people’s business?”

“Others?” Shen Tianmo repeated with a soft laugh, looking up and staring directly at the other person, her gaze so sharp that it seemed to want to pierce through the person in front of her.

“Junior Sister, aren’t you the one who knows best whether the Vermilion Bird Dao Master is considered an ‘other’ to me?”

Her crossed legs in front of her didn’t move, and she leaned forward again. It was an upward gaze, yet it carried a sense of condescension.

“I feel terrible for having wronged Junior Sister for so many years.” Shen Tianmo looked at her with a half-smile. “It must have been hard on Junior Sister to take care of my daughter for so long… Such a great kindness, I should repay you properly.”

She bit down hard on the last few words.

Shen Tianmo propped her head on her hand and leaned back in her chair. Her posture seemed relaxed, but her gaze was full of pressure.

Emperor Fo Ling pretended not to see it, her expression still calm: “You don’t need to repay me. No matter who the Vermilion Bird Dao Master’s parents were, she is now in Tian Mo Palace. I hope High God can treat her well.”

“Oh?”

Shen Tianmo slowed her speech, asking word by word:

“Does Junior Sister really think that the person living in Tian Mo Palace right now… is the real Yuan Shunhua?”

She was still smiling, but her voice was extremely cold. She had pierced through the paper-thin lie when the other person was most defenseless.

And so, everything was exposed in the sunlight.

Emperor Fo Ling’s body stiffened, and her always calm face finally showed a ripple of emotion because of her words.

Their eyes met for a few seconds. She took a deep breath, dropped a “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” and turned to leave. Just as she reached the door, a cold hand suddenly grabbed her by the back of her neck from behind, pressing her hard against the door.

The back of her head hit the door panel with a dull thud. She could feel the hand on her neck tightening, the pressure gradually increasing, and even her breathing started to become difficult.

Time seemed to be stretched out indefinitely.

Then a snake-like smile came from behind her: “I haven’t finished yet. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

“What… else… do you want to say?” A vein bulged on Emperor Fo Ling’s forehead. Her words were intermittent, and her voice was trembling.

“I, I want to tell the Emperor some good news.” Shen Tianmo suddenly released her hand, admiring the way the other person was leaning against the door, gasping for breath, and her smile deepened. “Whether this Vermilion Bird Dao Master is a fake or not, the Emperor will know after the martial arts competition.”

“Are you looking forward to it?”

The woman watched with interest as the other person’s face changed and she fled in a hurry. This time, she didn’t stop her. After the other person’s back completely disappeared from her sight, she gave a look to the immortal attendants next to her, gesturing for them to follow and keep an eye on her.

When she was the only one left in the room, Shen Tianmo lazily leaned back in her chair. Her smile instantly disappeared, and her expression was indifferent.

She slowly closed her eyes.

She wanted to get some rest, but in her dream, a scarlet red color she hadn’t seen in a long time appeared.

She stood on a floating cloud, with red clouds covering the sky like a burning flame. The sky was dim, and it seemed as if the nine heavens were about to be swallowed by these red clouds. As far as the eye could see, there was no light or any other color.

The bloody clouds swept across the sky, completely blocking out the last bit of sunlight, leaving only a sense of oppression and suffocation.

The moment the red clouds descended from the heavens, Shen Tianmo felt a sudden shock in her mind, as if a thunderclap had exploded in her ears, and her mind went blank.

She staggered two steps, her steps light as if her bones had been removed, and her whole body was swaying.

A sharp pain stirred in her mind like a blade. She felt as if she had lost all ability to think, but her legs were still instinctively walking in a certain direction. Shen Tianmo knew very well what kind of scene awaited her, but she just couldn’t stop her feet.

As long as she didn’t see it, as long as she didn’t see it with her own eyes, she still held a glimmer of hope.

Until that moment.

Until she saw the fragments of the Puppet Formation scattered all over the ground, until she saw a few bloody chains lying lonely on the wreckage, and the center of the formation was already empty.

Emperor Qing Yuan’s shattered divine soul had already transformed into divine power and scattered into the world. The divine power turned into golden light, rushing in all directions for hundreds of miles. Dazzling golden light filled the sky, and wherever it went, flowers bloomed and plants grew wildly.

The energy released by the Emperor’s demise could bring decades of prosperity.

Shen Tianmo’s knees suddenly went weak, and her body swayed and swayed, finally collapsing onto the red clouds uncontrollably. She stared intently at the empty center of the formation. Her throat felt as if it was blocked, and she could only squeeze out a few whimpers.

Just then, a heartbreaking cry suddenly erupted beside her.

Shen Tianmo turned her head abruptly and was stunned for a few seconds when she saw the woman in red. Only when she caught a glimpse of the bloody longsword on the ground did she react: “You destroyed this formation?!”

“Don’t you know that she had already destroyed her divine bone and was barely hanging on to her life with this Puppet Formation?! How dare you?!”

“No, that’s impossible.” She suddenly stopped halfway through and shook her head. “You couldn’t have done it. You couldn’t have destroyed my formation. An ancient evil formation can only be destroyed by the person who created it and—”

Her voice came to an abrupt halt.

Shen Tianmo seemed to have been struck by several heavenly thunderbolts at once. Her entire body was frozen in place, unable to move.

At this moment, the woman in red heard the noise and turned around. The moment their eyes met, a hatred that wanted to grind her to dust and scatter her ashes burned in her eyes. She stared at Shen Tianmo, saying slowly and forcefully, word by word: “Did High God ever think about why my mother would destroy her divine bone for no reason?”

“…Did Emperor Qing Yuan ask you to kill her?” Shen Tianmo’s voice trembled violently. “She would rather have her soul scattered than to—”

“Shen Tianmo.” The woman in red interrupted her, gritting her teeth tightly, with a monstrous hatred in her eyes.

“You wait, and I’ll wait, to see what the world will become!”

A loud boom.

The scene in front of her was torn into fragments, falling like rain onto Shen Tianmo. It was as light as a piece of paper, but it hit her so hard that her legs went weak, and she couldn’t stand up.

Everything, including the Puppet Formation, the woman in red, the bl00d-red clouds in the sky, and the bloody sword on the ground, all disappeared from her sight.

And in the sky, there was only a vast emptiness.

Originally, there was only a vast emptiness in the sky.

The gentle heavenly light shone on the glass outside the window, sneaking into the room through the cracks in the window sill. Even the air felt peaceful.

The woman on the bamboo chair, however, suddenly opened her eyes, her back covered in cold sweat. It was a rare loss of composure.

Shen Tianmo closed her eyes and slowly let out a breath.

When she opened her eyes again, the panic in her eyes had disappeared, and her expression had returned to its usual indifference.

A light knock sounded on the door.

Shen Tianmo said coldly: “Come in.”

An immortal attendant entered in response and bowed: “High God, the martial arts competition is ready. We can depart.”