Tears shimmered in Ruoying's beautiful eyes. She stepped forward and bowed, her voice trembling slightly:
"Your Majesty, have you been using your Primordial Spirit to help us overcome every hardship?"
She guessed that, in order not to disrupt their efforts to break through one peril after another, Donghuang Ziyou had released her Primordial Spirit to secretly aid them.
Only in that way would Donghuang Ziyou have perspired and shown a trace of fatigue.
When she thought of how so many crises had been resolved with Donghuang Ziyou's Primordial Spirit, Ruoying shuddered at the mere thought of such immense consumption.
After all, using one's Primordial Spirit was different from using one's cultivation.
Releasing the Primordial Spirit consumed an enormous amount of mental energy. Not to mention entering the Ancient Yuan Sky Realm and overcoming so many crises and obstacles—the losses Donghuang Ziyou had borne were easy to imagine.
To be honest, Ruoying truly felt a little heartache for this Empress now.
She had truly gone to great lengths for subordinates like us and sacrificed far too much!
Donghuang Ziyou's expression was calm, as though she did not care in the slightest:
"These are all secondary. What matters most is that all of you can surpass yourselves!"
Ruoying said, "But Your Majesty has truly worked too hard!"
Donghuang Ziyou calmly swept her gaze over Ruoying and the others:
"I merely wished for you to embrace the resolve to die as you surpass yourselves. I did not truly want you to die."
"No matter how hard-hearted I may be, I would never watch my own subordinates throw away their lives for nothing!"
Upon hearing this, Ruoying, Feng Lingfei, and the others were all moved, feeling a warm current surge through their hearts.
Donghuang Ziyou's words were cold and calm, yet beneath that calmness