Tang Ya slowly walked up to the altar. This time, she didn't hesitate at all. She reached out and gripped the handle of the scythe.
The instant her fingertips touched the scythe, dense black mist erupted, sweeping through the entire cave. Within it, countless mournful, unwilling howls could faintly be heard.
"Ugh!"
An overwhelming tide of negative emotions surged into Tang Ya's mind, wildly tearing at her consciousness until she couldn't help letting out a pained groan.
Even Tang Ya's Martial Soul released itself uncontrollably. Blue Silver Grass sprang up in lush swaths, covering the entire cave in the blink of an eye.
The black mist inside the cave slowly gathered, finally solidifying into a hazy human silhouette.
The figure wore a Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown and a luxurious purple-and-gold robe. Her figure was slender and graceful; anyone could tell at a glance that she was a woman.
The phantom scythe in her hand was almost exactly like the one Tang Ya now held.
"Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul? How interesting."
The silhouette's lips curled into a strange, chilling smile. Then she raised her head toward the cave ceiling, her gaze so deep and unfathomable it seemed able to pierce the rock.
"Who said... the game is over?"
By now, Tang Ya could no longer hold on. She curled up on the ground, her delicate body trembling slightly, while a pitch-black scythe mark flashed across her forehead, looking utterly eerie.
"The Iron Blood Sect..."
The scenes of her parents' gruesome deaths played over and over in her mind. Bone-deep hatred instantly overwhelmed Tang Ya's reason.
The Blue Silver Grass in the cave, originally a lush green, began to develop an eerie black tint across its vines.
And this was only the beginning. As the hatred in Tang Ya's heart grew stronger, her Martial Soul seemed to catch fire. A trace of sinister dark red seeped from the faint black patterns.
Black and red interwove, rapidly spreading along the Blue Silver Grass vines.
The Blue Silver Grass in the cave swayed wildly. Its soft vines began to twist, and its tender blades peeled away layer by layer, replaced by cold, hard branches.
Even the tiny barbs on the Blue Silver Grass leaves eventually became sharp, menacing thorns.
As the black in the Blue Silver Grass grew denser, it completely obscured the original green, until the entire mass of vines had turned an extreme black and red.
In mere moments, the Blue Silver Grass, once brimming with life, had vanished completely. In its place stood a dense thicket of pitch-black, thorn-covered brambles.
Every thorn glinted with a cold, bloody light, and seemed to carry a faint scent of blood.
Tang Ya, curled up on the ground, was trembling all over. Even her eyes had taken on a faint scarlet sheen.
Dark Blue Silver Grass!
At the same time, the once-dense forest outside the cave began to wither rapidly, as if something had drained away its vitality.
Level 23, level 24, level 25...
As Tang Ya's Martial Soul completed its transformation, the Soul Power inside her, once so thin, began to surge wildly. In just a few breaths, she broke through the level 30 bottleneck, a feat that would have taken some Soul Masters decades of hard cultivation.
"This is a gift from the Emperor. Do you like it?"
Looking at Tang Ya, who had fainted on the ground, the shadow let out a soft chuckle. Then her form shifted, and she disappeared along with the scythe, both flowing into the mark on Tang Ya's forehead.
"Ugh, my head hurts so much..."
After an unknown amount of time, Tang Ya finally woke from her faint. But the sight before her made her freeze.
Dense black brambles grew wildly all around her, and a blood-red rose had bloomed on every branch.
"Where is this?"
"This is your Spirit Consciousness Sea, little girl."
At the sound of that familiar voice, Tang Ya turned around and saw a woman dressed in splendid gold-and-purple robes seated on a throne nearby.
The woman's breathtaking beauty made Tang Ya blurt out, "Wow, what a beautiful big sister!"
Hearing this, the woman chuckled. "I suppose I can take that as praise for the Emperor."
Seeing Tang Ya's sweet, airheaded expression, the woman couldn't help clicking her tongue in wonder. "I can't believe you made it through. I thought you'd turn into a madwoman who knew nothing but slaughter."
Only then did the scatterbrained Tang Ya recognize that familiar voice. She pointed at the woman with her jade-white hand and shouted, "I remember now! You're the bad person who tricked me!"
"Ow! You hit me!"
At Tang Ya's words, a resplendent scepter appeared out of thin air in the woman's hand. She brought it down hard on Tang Ya's little head. "How rude. Since you've accepted the Emperor's inheritance, you have to call the Emperor 'teacher'!"
Seeing Tang Ya's indignant expression, the woman couldn't help finding it amusing. A trace of nostalgia even surfaced in her eyes.
Yet her cool, beautiful face remained stern as she chuckled. "You say the Emperor is a bad person? You're not wrong, but I'd like to hear what you think separates a good person from a bad one."
"Well..."
Tang Ya stroked her smooth chin with her jade-white hand, then giggled. "Of course a good person is someone like Gui Yun! He's handsome, and he's so good to Little Ya. He always buys me lots and lots of yummy food, hehehe!"
"Ow, you hit me again!"
After being struck again, Tang Ya quickly clutched her little head. Her eyes welled with tears from the pain.
"And what about a bad person?"
Ignoring Tang Ya, the woman asked once more.
"You're the biggest villain!"
Seeing the dangerous glint in the woman's eyes, Tang Ya could only swallow those words and change her answer. "Of course it's that bunch of bastards from the Iron Blood Sect!"
At the mention of the Iron Blood Sect, Tang Ya gritted her teeth. Even the brambles around her began to writhe wildly.
"Oh, right! There's one more person. She's the biggest, worst villain of all: Bibi Dong, from ten thousand years ago! Have you heard of her?"
"She was practically the greatest female devil on the continent..."
Tang Ya prattled on to herself, completely unaware of the woman's clenched fist.
Watching the chattering Tang Ya, the woman suddenly regretted choosing her.
"But she's a lot like Na'er—just as innocent, and just as stupid... hopelessly so."
Tang Ya chattered on and on until her mouth grew a little dry and she finally stopped. Looking at the woman's expressionless face, she couldn't help asking, "Oh, right, my name is Tang Ya. Tang as in the Tang Sect, and Ya as in elegance. What about you?"
"And what is this Spirit Consciousness Sea you mentioned?"
The Tang Sect...
The woman's eyes narrowed instinctively. Her jade-white hand tightened slightly around the scepter, and she sneered, "It would be better if you didn't know the Emperor's name. From now on, call me Teacher Dong'er."
"Oh!"
Tang Ya nodded obediently, keeping a wary eye on the scepter in the woman's hand.