Empress Ling Shuang interrupted her, her gaze still locked on the distance.
"This is the Jade Pool Immortal Palace; she is a guest, and I am also a guest. We shall simply watch how the host receives her."
She paused, her lips curling into a cold arc.
"However, since she's here, I should at least say hello."
About half a cup of tea's time later, the xuan huang chariot had arrived a hundred miles outside the Jade Pool Immortal Palace's Mountain Protection Formation.
The chariot did not force its way in but stopped according to etiquette.
The nine black birds folded their wings and hovered quietly. The Azure Dragon Guards stood in Formation, silent yet exuding a suffocating pressure.
The chariot curtains moved without wind, pulling back to both sides.
A figure dressed in a purple long dress, with hair like a waterfall, an unparalleled face, and a lazy, noble temperament, stepped slowly out of the chariot.
It was indeed Empress Qingxuan.
She looked up slightly, her gaze sweeping over the Immortal Palace ahead, which was shrouded in spiritual mist and Formations, with a half-smile.
Ultimately, she seemed to penetrate space, her gaze meeting another gaze within the palace from afar for an instant.
Then, her lips curled upward as she took a step forward.
Beneath her feet, pale golden lotus platforms, seemingly condensed from pure dao rhyme, supported her as she moved forward slowly.
With every step, a lotus platform extended forward like a stair, lotuses blooming with every step, pointing straight into the depths of the Jade Pool Immortal Palace.
The passage leading to the white jade square in front of the Main Hall opened once more.
Gu Han already stood on the square before the Main Hall, wearing a moon-white palace dress, her silver hair like snow, cold and otherworldly.
Yun Yun and Li Hanyi stood on either side, followed by Core Disciples such as Liu Ruyan, Gu Luoli, and Ye Ling'er.
Ye Ling'er stood beside Gu Luoli, her eyes fixed on the entrance of the passage, her small hands unconsciously clutching her sleeves.
She had heard from her Eldest Senior Sister about the Eastern Territory Empress sending a bracelet to her Master, and the string in her heart tightened even more.
Empress Qingxuan stepped on the golden lotuses, slowly walking to the square and stopping ten zhang in front of Gu Han.
Their eyes met.
Empress Qingxuan's eyes were full of smiles, carrying her usual laziness and inquiry, as well as a very faint ambiguity that only Gu Han could perceive.
Gu Han's gaze was calm as she nodded slightly:
"Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan has come from afar; please forgive my lack of a proper welcome."
"Why so formal, Sister?"
Empress Qingxuan let out a soft laugh, her voice soft and seductive, as if it carried hooks.
"I have come uninvited. I only hope Sister won't find me too bothersome."
As she spoke, her gaze seemingly unintentionally swept over Gu Han's entire body, lingering for a moment on her lips and left wrist, her smile deepening.
Then, her gaze bypassed Gu Han and looked toward the East Courtyard guest house, her expression instantly becoming meaningful and even carrying a bit of coldness.
"It seems I've come at just the right time to have a 'reunion' with an old friend."
Just as she finished speaking—
A cold voice came from the side:
"I wondered who it was with such a grand display. So it's you."
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw that Empress Ling Shuang had appeared at the edge of the square at some unknown time and was walking over slowly.
In her ice-blue palace dress, her expression was cold and proud, and her entire body radiated a freezing chill.
Her aura was completely different from Empress Qingxuan's lazy and noble one, yet it was equally captivating.
The two Empresses, famous across the continent, met once again on this white jade square of the Jade Pool Immortal Palace.
In the air, invisible forces began to collide and friction.
On one side was the Lord of the Eastern Territory, brilliant as the sun and containing a galaxy within.
On the other side was the Lord of the Northern Territory, freezing all things with extreme cold.
Though they had not made a move, the spreading sense of oppression made the Disciples on the square turn pale, their breathing becoming difficult.
Only Gu Han remained standing in place, her expression calm.
She looked at these two Empresses, one from the East and one from the North, who had fought for tens of thousands of years, and the helplessness in her heart grew even stronger.
As expected, what was meant to come would come.
Empress Qingxuan turned around to face Empress Ling Shuang. The smile on her face remained unchanged, but her eyes sharpened slightly:
"Ling Shuang, it's been a long time. You're still as icy as ever."
"What? Did you get tired of the Northern Territory and run to the Southern Territory to feel the spring flowers bloom?"
Her words carried a tease, yet they were confrontational.
Empress Ling Shuang gave a cold snort, cold light flashing in her eyes:
"Why should I explain my actions to you?"
"Rather, why aren't you staying in your Eastern Territory instead of running to the Southern Territory?"
"The Southern Territory is a land of spiritual excellence, and with a wonderful person like Sister Gu here, I naturally felt drawn to visit."
As Empress Qingxuan spoke, her gaze shifted, glancing at Gu Han with an intimate tone.
"On the other hand, you came uninvited and are still lingering at Sister Gu's place. Could it be... you have ulterior motives?"
"I am discussing the Dao and sparring with her. What does that have to do with you?"
Empress Ling Shuang countered, refusing to back down.
"On the contrary, did you think sending a bracelet would accomplish anything? Simply laughable."
"Oh? A bracelet?"
Empress Qingxuan raised her left wrist. The Profound Heart Bracelet, identical to Gu Han's, shimmered with a warm luster under the sunlight.
"I share a connection with Sister Gu. What's wrong with giving her a token of friendship?"
"It's better than some people, at least."
These words clearly poked at Empress Ling Shuang's embarrassment from yesterday.
Her face turned cold, and the aura around her plummeted. A layer of thin ice instantly condensed on the ground of the square.
"Qing Xuan, do you dare to battle me?"
Empress Qingxuan raised an eyebrow, her lips curling up, but the smile did not reach her eyes.
"If you want to fight, then let's fight. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
As she spoke, golden light flared around her, and the faint image of a Great Sun appeared behind her, radiating a brilliant holy majesty as deep as the abyss and as vast as the sea.
"Fellow Daoists."
Gu Han's clear and calm voice rang out at the right moment, interrupting the argument that was about to escalate.
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