In teahouses and wine shops, Sect plazas, and even market street corners all over the Southern Region, almost everyone was discussing this matter.
"My goodness! Three Empresses gathered in our Southern Region! This is the first time in the history of the Southern Region!"
"Our Southern Region has finally made a name for itself! In the past, who didn't look down on the Southern Region when mentioning it? Now, let's see who dares to underestimate us!"
"Exactly! The Eastern Region's Empress Qingxuan and the Northern Region's Empress Ling Shuang are both supreme existences who have awed the continent for tens of thousands of years!"
"Now they have both come to our Southern Region and even went to the Jade Pool Immortal Palace! What does this signify?"
"It signifies that our Yaochi Empress's prestige and strength have already gained the recognition of those two!"
"Well said! Otherwise, given the status and temperaments of those two, why would they come to the Southern Region? Let alone appearing at the same time!"
"Hehe, I heard that Empress Qingxuan's xuan huang chariot and Empress Ling Shuang's ice jiao carriage are still parked in the Myriad Absolute Mountain Range."
"Our Her Majesty the Empress has truly brought pride to our Southern Region!"
Sentiments of pride, excitement, and shared glory spread like wildfire among the Southern Region's Cultivators.
Every Southern Region Cultivator subconsciously straightened their back and had a glow on their face when talking about this.
Even those Sects that normally harbored complex feelings toward the rise of the Jade Pool Immortal Palace
Had to admit at this moment that the existence of the Yaochi Empress had indeed faintly elevated the status of the entire Southern Region.
However, beneath this surging pride and excitement,
A hidden, barely perceptible worry was also quietly stirring in the hearts of many knowledgeable Cultivators.
Especially those Sect elders and family ancestors of ancient lineages with rich records; amidst their excitement, a trace of solemnity would always flash across their faces.
In a teahouse, the atmosphere was lively, but at a corner table, several Cultivators with steady auras and obviously advanced ages lowered their voices, their expressions filled with hidden concern.
"Three Empresses gathering is certainly a magnificent sight of the ages, but fortune and misfortune often go hand in hand..."
A white-haired old man whose cultivation had reached the Soul Transformation Stage stroked his long beard and sighed softly.
"Why do you say that, Master?"
A younger youth beside him was puzzled,
"The two Empresses coming to our Southern Region, isn't that a sign of our Southern Region's rise?"
"Not necessarily,"
The old man shook his head, a hint of reminiscence and fear flashing in his eyes.
"You are still young; you haven't experienced it, nor have you carefully read those ancient records."
Hearing the old man's words, many people around them pricked up their ears to listen.
"When I was young, I once followed my Master to the 'Great Desolation' at the border between the Eastern and Northern Regions."
The old man paused and looked at everyone,
"Do you know how that Great Desolation, which spans a million miles and is still devoid of life today, was formed?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"That was the result of a single clash between Empress Qingxuan and Empress Ling Shuang about five thousand years ago."
The old man's voice was dry, carrying deep awe,
"According to the records of the Seniors who survived at that time, in that battle, the sky shattered and the earth sank; the scope of the impact was far more than a million miles."
"Originally, that area had several large Spiritual Veins, dozens of Sects and families, and billions of lives... overnight, it all turned to scorched earth."
"Hiss—"
The surrounding crowd simultaneously gasped, their faces turning pale.
They knew that Ascension to Immortality experts were terrifying, but they hadn't expected them to be this terrifying!
Just one clash could overturn ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, and billions of lives would suffer... "This... this isn't even the scariest part."
The old man took a deep breath and continued,
"Some ancient records vaguely mention that there seems to be some kind of very deep... entanglement between these two Empresses."
"According to incomplete statistics, since they became famous, their conflicts and confrontations, both overt and covert, probably number no less than a dozen times!"
"Almost every thousand years or so, a relatively large-scale fight breaks out!"
"Every single time, it is accompanied by the crumbling of mountains and rivers and the suffering of all living beings."
"The most recent large-scale conflict was about one thousand five hundred years ago, breaking out in the Western Region."
"And that battle directly changed the geography of that area, forming the continent-famous 'Ice-Fire Absolute Domain'."
The listeners' hearts pounded with fear.
A battle every thousand years? Each time the sky falls and the earth rends?
"Then... then our Southern Region..."
A Cultivator nearby spoke with a tremble,
"They are all at the Jade Pool Immortal Palace now; if... if they start fighting again..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood.
Two Empresses who had harbored grudges for tens of thousands of years and would fight to turn the world upside down at the drop of a hat were now gathered in the Southern Region's Jade Pool Immortal Palace!
Once a conflict broke out again, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"So, I am both proud and worried."
The old man sighed deeply, looking toward the Myriad Absolute Mountain Range, the worry in his eyes deepening,
"Now the only hope lies with our newly ascended Her Majesty the Empress."
"I hope she... can truly hold down the fort and not let the old grudges of those two repeat on the soil of our Southern Region."
Similar worries germinated and spread in the hearts of many knowledgeable older generation Cultivators in the Southern Region.
On one hand, they were excited and proud that the Southern Region had produced its own Empress and attracted the other two Empresses to gather.
On the other hand, they were on edge because of the potentially destructive conflict those two Empresses with 'extensive criminal records' might bring.
This complex intertwining of emotions made the sky of the Southern Region seem as if it were shrouded in an invisible dark cloud.
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