Laying All Cards on the Table

Before the woman in green could make a move, a cold shout rang out from afar.

Before the voice had faded, an overbearing, sharp aura swept in from the distance.

"This is bad—I've been discovered!" The woman in green frowned slightly, surprise flickering across her face. "That shouldn't be possible. Ordinary people shouldn't be able to detect my concealment skills at all... I was careless, careless. I forgot to use my innate divine ability."

Just as she was about to use a Great Divine Ability to conceal herself, a woman dressed in a white gown appeared in her field of vision. Her features were cold and aloof, her temperament extraordinary, and a powerful, domineering aura radiated from her entire body.

Xuanyuan Qingtian had originally been comprehending the Chaos Nine Forms on Qingtian Peak.

But all of a sudden, she sensed a faint, unfamiliar presence.

This aura had been hidden with exceptional skill. If she had not been quietly focusing on her comprehension, unable to tolerate even the slightest disturbance, she truly might not have noticed it.

Since she had discovered it, she had to uphold the Divine Sword Sect's dignity.

She was now an elder of the Divine Sword Sect.

"Who goes there?"

Xuanyuan Qingtian's autumn-water eyes locked tightly onto the woman in green. Her aura was awe-inspiring, and she looked ready to strike if the other woman failed to give a proper account of herself.

The woman in green remained unfazed. She merely cast Xuanyuan Qingtian a casual glance, showing not the slightest awareness of having been caught, much less any fear.

Instead, a flash of dominance and disdain burst forth from her jade-like eyes.

In her previous life, she had been a Great Emperor Realm powerhouse who ruled over an entire domain of heaven and earth.

To someone who did not even qualify as an ant like the one before her, she had no idea how many she could crush to death with a single finger.

"Hmph!"

"I am Yuwen Shengxin!"

"Ten thousand years ago, I was the youngest, most beautiful, and most powerful female Great Emperor, revered by countless martial artists as the Azure Lotus Great Emperor!"

"How dare a mere Human Immortal Realm cultivator prance about before me?"

"Hurry up and have your sect master come out to pay respects to me. I have important instructions to impart."

The woman in green overflowed with domineering presence, issuing an imperious command as though it were only natural.

"You? The Azure Lotus Great Emperor?"

Upon hearing this, a strange expression surfaced on Xuanyuan Qingtian's beautiful face. The way she looked at the woman in green was as if she were looking at a complete idiot.

Three thousand years ago, she had been a mighty Saint Realm expert, so naturally she knew of the Azure Lotus Great Emperor, whose name had shaken the Divine Continent Realm.

Moreover, she had been the only female Great Emperor. Who had not heard of her?

In the eyes of Great Emperor experts, Saint Realm experts were merely slightly larger ants—one slap could kill ten or eight of them.

By a fortunate coincidence, she had once been privileged to gaze upon the peerless back of the Azure Lotus Great Emperor.

From that day onward, she had made the Azure Lotus Great Emperor the goal she would pursue for the rest of her life.

Unfortunately, only a few years later, the Azure Lotus Great Emperor had perished in an accident.

And now, this unhinged woman before her actually dared to claim that she was the Azure Lotus Great Emperor?

Outrageous! This was simply tarnishing her idol!

Xuanyuan Qingtian was furious. Her face instantly turned livid, and the Sharp Aura around her surged violently.

What could be endured and what could not? This woman was clearly treating Xuanyuan Qingtian like a fool. Did she really think Xuanyuan Qingtian was that easy to deceive?

After all, in her previous life, she had been a peak Saint Realm expert. Though she had only recently reconstructed her body and her cultivation had only recovered to the Human Immortal Realm—

Still!

A saint could not be insulted!

Next, she would show this woman, who knew neither the height of heaven nor the depth of earth, what it meant that a saint could not be insulted!

"Heh!"

"Do you not even use your brain when you lie?"

"There's no point putting on such an act."

"With your sneaky appearance, do you think you deserve to call yourself the Azure Lotus Great Emperor?"

"If you're the Azure Lotus Great Emperor, then I'm a Venerable..."

Xuanyuan Qingtian said with a face full of disdain and an icy expression.

Her eyes were like blades, like two divine weapons of incomparable sharpness, their edges aimed directly at the woman in green.

The domineering Sharp Aura emanating from her body had become almost tangible. Even the surrounding space twisted, as though it could no longer endure the pressure and was about to shatter.

She could clearly sense that the aura radiating from the woman before her was not much different from her own.

Without question, this woman in green was, at most, a True Immortal Realm martial artist.

Yet—

She actually dared to spout such wild claims and call herself the Azure Lotus Great Emperor?

How could the Azure Lotus Great Emperor, such an unparalleled figure, possibly be mentioned in the same breath as this big silly girl before her?

Did she really think Xuanyuan Qingtian was a three-year-old child, someone who could be fooled by any random sentence?

"Hmph! This Seat is the Divine Sword Sect's First Elder. I'll give you one final chance—tell me your identity honestly, and state your purpose in coming to the Divine Sword Sect!"

"Otherwise, this elder will make sure you understand the consequences of trespassing into my Divine Sword Sect."

Xuanyuan Qingtian's tone was as cold as frost.

As she spoke, her hand slowly settled upon the hilt of a golden ancient sword on her back. Waves of faint yet heart-palpitating terrifying aura emanated from it, silently shrouding the woman in green.

This sword was none other than the Immortal Supreme Artifact Lin Feng had given her—the Xuanyuan Divine Sword!

In her previous life, Xuanyuan Qingtian had been a saint-level powerhouse who had Entered Dao Through Sword.

Not only was her swordsmanship unique in its own right, but her comprehension of the sword was also terrifying. In merely ten days, she had comprehended the first form of the Chaos Nine Forms, Unity of Man and Heaven.

The power produced by combining the Xuanyuan Divine Sword with the Chaos Nine Forms was easy to imagine.

So much so that the faint Sharp Aura it released actually stirred heavenly phenomena.

In the skies above the Divine Sword Sect, the phantoms of various Sacred Beasts flashed into view one after another, as though they were paying homage in awe to the birth of an Immortal Supreme Artifact.

The woman in green seemed to sense something and spoke.

"Eh?"

"That sword of yours is rather good. At the very least, it is of Saint Artifact grade."

"I never expected you to possess a Saint Artifact?"

"Though it isn't complete, it is still a tremendous stroke of fortune for you."

"No wonder you dared to be disrespectful toward this emperor."

Yuwen Shengxin was quite surprised, but she quickly regained her composure. She merely looked Xuanyuan Qingtian up and down with some curiosity.

In her previous life, she had been a Great Emperor who ruled over a realm of heaven and earth. She possessed countless magical treasures, and naturally lacked no Saint Artifacts that others could only dream of obtaining.

A mere Saint Artifact was beneath her notice; only an Immortal Artifact could catch her eye.

Still, she was somewhat curious. This mere mortal in the Human Immortal Realm actually possessed a Saint Artifact—it was rather out of the ordinary.

"You little girl, this emperor truly is the Azure Lotus Great Emperor."

"This emperor is magnanimous and cannot be bothered to lower herself to your level or argue with you. I'll forgive your offense on the grounds that ignorance is no crime."

"Hurry and summon your sect master to welcome this emperor's descent."

Yuwen Shengxin made no attempt to conceal the unquestionable authority in her expression.

Her tone was equally overbearing.

Yet it also carried a touch of adorably foolish innocence.

She had originally intended to secretly infiltrate the Divine Sword Sect, find some inconspicuous place, and rapidly recover her cultivation while devouring the Divine Sword Sect's vast fortune and spiritual energy.

But who could have expected that before she even had the chance to put her plan into action, she would be discovered by an elder of the Divine Sword Sect?

Since that was the case, Yuwen Shengxin would stop pretending and lay all her cards on the table.