Chapter 81: The Empress Lives On

“Oh? What’s your plan?” Night Without End asked curiously. Indeed, two people working together were far better than one alone. More and more cultivators were arriving at the Nirvana Site of the Demon Empress, and they only grew stronger; there were plenty who could easily overpower them both. What could this chubby monk possibly have in mind? Night Without End couldn’t help but be intrigued.

He would be lying if he claimed he wasn’t tempted by what lay within.

“Amitabha. The Buddha once said, ‘It cannot be spoken, it cannot be spoken!’ Let us wait a while; when the time is right, I shall naturally inform you, benefactor!” The plump monk replied with a cryptic smile, his inscrutable eyes fixed on the ancient demon palace as if the true treasures awaited within.

“No matter what, we must open it before the other powers arrive!”

The alliance of the Proud Feather Divine Dynasty and the Purple Gold Holy Land was enough to deter ordinary sects, but if one of the stronger factions, another holy land, or some ancient aristocratic family arrived, things would become far more complicated—those people would fight for the prize without restraint.

The Eastern Wasteland was simply too vast; not only were there countless powerful cultivators, sects, and factions, even the emperors and dynasties themselves could hardly keep count. No holy land would dare claim it could command the entire Eastern Wasteland.

After all, the Demon Empress was the last great emperor in history, and the temptation here was simply overwhelming. So far, only human cultivators had arrived, but if the demon race came as well, it would shake the whole Eastern Wasteland to its core.

Just now, some from the Proud Feather Divine Dynasty and Purple Gold Holy Land had seen two great demons slipping away; it was obvious they were off to seek reinforcements. Soon, a great battle between humans and demons might erupt!

Who could have imagined that the Demon Empress’s Nirvana would not take place in the Southern Wasteland—the heartland of the demon race—but here, in this tiny, insignificant Yan Kingdom of the Eastern Wasteland?

“Enough, let us force it open!”

All manner of weapons burst forth with dazzling light, bombarding the Empress’s ancient palace and unleashing wild surges of energy. Yet, to everyone’s astonishment, the Nirvana Site of the Demon Empress remained utterly unscathed; the demonic script upon it only blazed more brilliantly.

“The demonic script is moving!”

At that moment, all the cultivators were shocked as tiny dragons slithered up from the palace’s foundations, phoenixes spread their wings and soared, and black tortoises crawled slowly along…

Every character in the demonic script had come alive, winding their way upward from the base of the ancient palace, densely covering every inch as if it were inscribed with countless incantations—mysterious and unfathomable power coursed through the runes.

The Proud Feather Divine Dynasty and Purple Gold Holy Land launched several more assaults, all in vain. They lost two ancient war chariots and seven or eight primeval beasts; the inscriptions upon the palace wielded strange and terrible power, sending out divine rays that pierced right through their ranks.

“It’s over. That’s imperial script—left behind by the last great emperor of the demon race!”

An elder of the Proud Feather Divine Dynasty, pale and trembling, clenched his hands so tight his knuckles whitened. “We cannot open it with our own strength. We must wait for true powerhouses to arrive. But who knows how many factions will gather by then?”

The people from the Purple Gold Holy Land wore equally grim expressions. The Nirvana Site of the Empress was so dreadfully strange that all they could do was await reinforcements.

“Fatty, do you really have a way to get in?” Night Without End looked at the chubby monk. Despite the failed attacks, which had left several pierced through by divine light, he alone remained calm.

“Do not worry, benefactor. I have my ways,” the fat monk replied with serene confidence.

No matter how Night Without End considered it, he felt there was something odd here. For the last great emperor—one who could suppress all of creation—to have her Nirvana Site besieged by mere Golden Core cultivators was preposterous.

“What if… this was intentional?” The thought struck Night Without End, and his heart churned like a raging sea.

“The Empress is not dead!”

That was the most persuasive explanation Night Without End could devise.

Gazing at the ruins, he felt as if this place was about to become a living hell. If the Demon Empress had truly orchestrated all of this, then the human cultivators gathered here might all be doomed.

The more he thought about it, the more his heart quaked.

“I hope it’s just my nerves playing tricks on me. If not, leaving this place at once is the wisest choice!” Night Without End thought to himself.

“What are you thinking about? Your face is turning pale, then green, then white!” The fat monk eyed him curiously.

“It’s nothing. By the way, what exactly is inside? Isn’t the most precious thing the Demon Empress’s nascent soul?” Night Without End asked, changing the subject. “If her Nirvana failed and her power remains in her nascent soul, shouldn’t everyone be chasing that instead of besieging her Nirvana Site?”

“Within the Demon Empress’s Nirvana Site, there are many treasures—artifacts, secret techniques, elixirs—the bounty is beyond imagination. Most importantly, every great cultivator will leave behind a legacy at the moment of transcendence,” the fat monk explained.

“As for the Empress’s nascent soul—do you truly believe it is just a ‘nascent soul,’ and not the embryo of her rebirth?” The monk gave Night Without End a meaningful look.

“You mean…”

“Exactly. The Empress succeeded. As for why she has not awakened, I suspect something went awry at some point, forcing her to break her own seals and exhaust much of her energy. Otherwise, do you truly think a great emperor would be so weak as to be chased by Golden Core cultivators?” the fat monk said.

So it was true!

Night Without End’s suspicions were confirmed—the Demon Empress had succeeded!

“Have you come here for her legacy?” Night Without End gazed at the fat monk beside him. Throughout the fierce battles among the Golden Core cultivators, the monk’s expression had remained utterly composed—without the slightest ripple.

Night Without End could not discern the monk’s true cultivation; a misty haze seemed to shroud him. But judging by his calm, he could at least be a Golden Core cultivator as well.

The fat monk only smiled, offering no answer.

Suddenly, the whooshing sound of the air being split filled the sky, as dozens of divine rainbows streaked across the horizon.

There was no need to guess—these were the first arrivals after word had spread.

“Let’s hope not too many powerful cultivators show up,” Night Without End murmured.

A thunderous rumble shook the distance. The clouds rolled and space twisted as a colossal divine ship, forged from sacred jade, tore through the void and sped toward them.

The faces of those from the Proud Feather Divine Dynasty and the Purple Gold Holy Land changed dramatically. What they had feared most was happening—a major power was arriving.

But what shocked them even more came next: from another direction, a terrifying wave of energy swept over like a tsunami. Over a hundred divine rainbows blazed a path, and eighteen primordial beasts, harnessed to a divine chariot, thundered forward.

The spectacle was every bit as grand as the jade ship.

All present felt their hearts tremble—only a supremely powerful figure could command such an awe-inspiring arrival.

“Even someone of that stature has come in person…” the fat monk muttered to himself. At last, his calm expression shifted, turning grave…