Eternal First Empress Revived, White Phoenix Cries Across the World!

Late at night, Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

Outside the Imperial Mausoleum,

the heavy, rhythmic sound of military boots striking the ground echoed through the darkness, solemn and murderous.

As the resting place of emperors throughout the ages, the Heaven Dou Imperial Mausoleum housed the heroic spirits of dozens of Heaven Dou Empire's rulers.

This place was heavily guarded, the most tightly secured forbidden zone in the entire imperial palace.

Suddenly, a night breeze swept past without a sound.

A black shadow passed through layer upon layer of guards like a ghost, stirring not the slightest ripple as it silently entered the depths of the mausoleum.

Chen Luo stood quietly in the depths of the mausoleum. Before him, dozens of coffins were arranged in neat rows, each bearing a piece of the Heaven Dou Empire's history.

He slowly stepped onto the central stone stairs and turned his gaze toward the highest altar, where three jade coffins rested side by side.

The one in the center belonged to Heaven Dou Empire's founding emperor;

to its left lay a wise ruler whose achievements had shaken Heaven Dou Empire;

and to its right was Xue Yunlan, the woman hailed as the "Eternal First Empress."

Being placed alongside the Empire's founder was proof enough of this Empress's unshakable status and influence in Heaven Dou Empire's history.

Chen Luo flicked his sleeve.

The heavy coffin lid slid open in response, revealing the sight within.

A stark white skeleton lay quietly amid magnificent robes and burial treasures.

Even an Empress whose name had gone down in history

could not escape the erosion of time, ultimately becoming these dry bones, forever sleeping beneath the earth.

"Very well. Today, I shall let you see the light of day again."

The fingers hidden within Chen Luo's sleeve lifted slightly as he murmured, a trace of anticipation in his voice.

"Restore the name of your Eternal First Empress—the Heroic Soul Emperor."

"I hope you will not disappoint me."

With a thought, he activated the "Revive" option on the system interface.

The next moment,

the Shock Value in his account began plummeting madly!

Three billion...

Two billion seven hundred million...

Two billion five hundred million...

Two billion two hundred million...

The number finally came to an abrupt stop at two billion.

A full billion Shock Value had vanished just like that!

Chen Luo rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Wait—

Where did my entire billion Shock Value go?!

Back when he revived the level ninety-eight Chen Xun and healed the level ninety-nine Tang Chen, it had only cost three to four hundred million Shock Value per person.

Xue Yunlan was clearly only a level ninety-five Titled Douluo. Why did reviving her alone consume a whole billion Shock Value?!

Just as Chen Luo grumbled to himself,

the skeleton in the coffin suddenly changed!

A gentle green glow emerged from deep within the remains, tenderly enveloping the entire skeleton like spring water.

As the halo flowed, the dry bones actually brimmed with vast life force.

Crimson blood surged anew through the hollow bones, crystalline meridians grew and entwined like vines, and smooth skin covered her body inch by inch...

At that very moment,

a clear phoenix cry shot into the sky from deep within the Imperial Mausoleum. Its call shook the heavens and, in an instant, spread across the thousands of miles of Heaven Dou Empire's lands!

"Look at the sky!"

Cries of alarm suddenly erupted from the crowds on the imperial city's streets.

"Is that... a white divine bird?"

"Those wings are even whiter than fresh snow!"

"How beautiful!"

Beneath the night sky,

a completely white phoenix spread its radiant wings. Emerald-like pearls adorned the ends of its three long tail feathers, scattering starlight across the heavens.

Each time it flapped its wings, rings of light rippled through the air, illuminating the entire imperial city as though it were daytime.

When the second phoenix cry resounded through the clouds, an invisible pressure spread like a tide.

The commoners in the streets bowed their heads one after another. Soul Masters with weaker cultivation even dropped to one knee, their eyes filled with reverence.

In the Eastern Palace study, the memorial in Xue Qinghe's hand silently slipped from between his fingers.

He stared at that sacred figure beyond the window, while stormy waves rose in his usually gentle eyes.

"That aura... is absolutely not that of an ordinary soul beast."

"What exactly is it?"

On the bedchamber terrace,

Xue Ye gripped the carved railing tightly, his aged fingers trembling faintly with excitement.

As he stared at the faintly visible icy crystal pattern on the White Phoenix's brow, long-buried secrets of the imperial family suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"The White Phoenix has appeared... Could it be the martial soul of Her Majesty the Empress from two thousand years ago?"

According to the Heaven Dou Royal Spirit Records,

throughout all of history, only one person had ever awakened the White Phoenix martial soul—Xue Yunlan, the Empress who had created Heaven Dou Empire's golden age!

And where the White Phoenix now circled

was the Imperial Mausoleum.

Xue Ye suddenly swept his sleeve, his voice trembling slightly with emotion.

"Prepare the imperial carriage at once! I will personally go to the Imperial Mausoleum!"

The attendants hurriedly accepted the order and departed, and the entire imperial palace immediately descended into chaos.

Chen Luo looked up at the White Phoenix spreading its wings and crying through the night sky, his Adam's apple bobbing unconsciously.

Starlight flowed across those pure white wings, turning the entire night sky into a scene of divine descent.

"This billion Shock Value... was truly well spent!"

He muttered to himself, his eyes reflecting the brilliance that filled the sky.

The revival process alone had triggered such a heavenly phenomenon.

At this moment, the people of Heaven Dou Empire likely believed that a god had descended. Who knew how many were already worshipping the White Phoenix in awe?

In just one night, he would probably recover an enormous amount of Shock Value!

It seemed that

the Shock Value required for revival did not depend solely on the target's strength, but was also closely tied to their influence during their lifetime.

As his thoughts turned, the transformation above the coffin was nearly complete.

The grim white skeleton had long since vanished,

replaced by a slender woman.

She lay quietly amid shimmering Spiritual Energy. Though her peach blossom eyes remained closed, one could already glimpse her breathtaking features.

Her lips resembled freshly blooming roses, and her jade-like skin gleamed beneath the moonlight with the delicate luster of porcelain.

Her long black hair cascaded like a waterfall, gently drifting with the flow of Spiritual Energy.

At that moment,

the White Phoenix circling in the night sky gave a long cry,

then abruptly transformed into a streak of light and shot directly into the woman's brow.

Three breaths later,

the woman's eyelashes trembled as she slowly opened her eyes.

Within those peach blossom eyes that had once seemed full of tenderness,

there now appeared to be frost and snow accumulated over a thousand years.

Wherever her gaze fell, even the air seemed to freeze.

The majestic aura emanating from her body made the entire Imperial Mausoleum grow several degrees colder.

"I... was I not already dead?"

She looked around, fragments of memory crashing into her mind like a tide.

When she saw the familiar layout of the Imperial Mausoleum around her, a flash of understanding passed through her eyes.

Suddenly,

her gaze stopped on the figure before her.

A person stood motionlessly within the shadows beyond the reach of the moonlight,

clothed in white robes whiter than snow, with an aura as vague and elusive as mist.

Despite her cultivation as a Titled Douluo, she could not sense that person's presence at all.

Even more alarming was that

the person's face was shrouded in a haze of chaotic mist.

No matter how she focused, she could not make out even the slightest detail.

"Who are you?"

Xue Yunlan's voice carried the authority of one long accustomed to power.

Chen Luo stood with his hands behind his back, his voice ethereal, as though it came from beyond the heavens.

"I preside over the God Domain and am also the lord of all things."

"By chance, I glimpsed the river of time and saw an existence as gifted and peerless as you."

He raised a hand slightly, and a sycamore leaf transformed into stardust in his palm.

"Yet you chose the wrong path and wasted your entire life."

"Moved by pity for your talent, I have made an exception and granted you a chance at rebirth."

Xue Yunlan's heart shook violently.

Lord of the God Realm? Presiding over all things?

She subconsciously clenched her hands, her fingertips digging into her palms. The pain was so real.

The life force surging through her veins and the dusty, bloody scent filling the air all told her one thing.

This was no dream.

She had truly returned from the dead.