Seeing that a UR was coming out, Xu Tao quickly cleared the surroundings and erected a barrier for a brief mont of serenity.
"...Huh?"
But although he expected the figure to be summoned instantly, instead, he saw a black droplet fall from mid-air, hitting the bottom of the barrier. As soon as it touched, the droplet scattered—then erupted into ravaging flas.
"What the?!" Xu Tao recoiled in shock.
After all, black flas were ominous, even for a cultivator of his level. In the worst-case scenario, just being licked by them could an death!
But the surprise didn’t end there. The flas grew stronger, forcing Xu Tao to back off imdiately. He canceled the barrier and flew away, feeling safer among monsters than near that thing.
The fire expanded, forming into the shape of a black phoenix—its eyes burning with white flas that stood in eerie contrast to the rest of its form. Slowly, the blazing silhouette morphed.
A woman appeared, standing where the phoenix once soared.
She wore a layered imperial hanfu of black, deep violet, and imperial gold. Embroidered on it were phoenixes with inky feathers, coiled around a pale white lotus. The inner layer shimred like the night sky, with "stars" that moved and sparkled with her every motion.
Her long black hair was tied into a bun, held in place by an extravagant hairpin forged from the remains of a celestial beast. Her face was small, sharp, and radiated beauty and wisdom. On her forehead burned a pitch-black lotus-shaped huadian, flickering with white fire.
She took a single step forward mid-air—and with it ca the sound of bells.
Her sharp, jet-black irises scanned the surroundings, while her vivid red lips curled into a deep frown.
"What kind of place is this...?" she murmured, her voice low for a woman and brimming with dignity. "I should have been in my palace... cultivating..." she added, resting her porcelain fingers against her chin in thought.
Xu Tao, seeing her figure, couldn’t help but gulp.
T-That person is...! He gasped, stunned beyond words.
He wasn’t a man who liked to read books—but even he had heard about her, which just showed how infamous she was.
A mysterious cultivator who once claid to be the empress of a nation, crashing into the cultivation world like a black cot.
A monster who rose to near-godhood... and then vanished without a trace.
"The Black Phoenix that Mocked the Heavens—Wu Zetian!"
RAAAAGH!
At the sa ti that Xu Tao called her na, the nearby monsters rushed toward her. "Oh no!" he gasped, worried that moving away earlier had ended up being a bad choice—
"Brainless trash... You dare covet my, Wu Zetian’s flesh and body?" Her voice echoed, cold and diminutive. "Learn so sha! Co forth, my Astral Tower!"
—with a cold shrug and a light, almost casual wave of her finger, the situation changed.
Below her feet, a phantasmal, floating tower appeared. It didn’t manifest physically, but rather as a representation of her power. The next second, purple-black portals—hundreds of them—appeared around her.
From the portals, a beast-like figure began to pour out.
Its shape was like a giant wolf, roughly four ters from head to tail. Its body was made of obsidian, covered by powerful arcs of blue lightning. Its yellow eyes shone like stars even under the intense sparks.
It had great fangs, sharper than any sword, but that wasn’t the main threat when bitten by this creature—the Celestial Beast, Star-Eater Hound. Rather, it was the miniature black hole in its throat. Able to swallow anything and everything caught between its maws.
"Foolish creatures who know no fear..." Wu Zetian extended her hand forward, slowly and theatrically. "Relish the cost of your sin with your bodies. Prowl, my faithful stars."
And along with her command... a new massacre began.
The Celestial Beasts, numbering in the hundreds, swept across the sky and left nothing behind—literally. Their bites were like a magical eraser, deleting the flying-type Dinsional Anomalies in droves!
"Now..."
Zetian landed gracefully atop her Astral Tower, pulling out a black folding fan and spreading it wide, covering the lower half of her face. Her sharp gaze casually moved, tracking Xu Tao’s position just a few dozen ters behind her.
"Were you the one who called ? How did you—"
She was just halfway turning around, but paused as soon as she saw his face. Her fan almost dropped from her hands, her eyes wide in shock, lips trembling with uncertainty.
"Tang Taizong...?" she called, her voice mixed with disbelief and affection.
Of course, Xu Tao didn’t recognize the na. As per what he had read in the docunts, the Black Phoenix never took a love interest, living the entirety of her life alone until she disappeared.
"No, I’m...!"
But just as he was about to refute her, Zetian took two steps—and appeared before him instantly. Ground Shrink, executed with such refinent it happened without delay!
Xu Tao braced himself, preparing for the worst. He didn’t know what the strongest "monster" in the cultivation world wanted with him.
"Mmmph!"
To his surprise, she didn’t attack him. Rather, she pulled his face gently against her bosom. A casual gesture, a show of affection—actions that left Xu Tao more confused than ever.
"I spent thousands of years searching for you..." Wu Zetian whispered, her voice stripped of its divine dignity, trembling with fragile emotion. "So you were here all this ti... I’m so glad... I really am..."
Xu Tao might not have known what was going on, who this Tang person was, or why Zetian was hugging him. Still, he knew this wasn’t the ti for it.
Although Wu Zetian’s Celestial Beasts were powerful, there were just a few hundred of them—still sorely lacking in numbers.
In fact, the flying monsters realized they weren’t a match for the beasts and instead dove straight toward the civilians. Xu Tao, of course, couldn’t let that happen.
"Venerable Cultivator Wu Zetian."
He called, trying to pull his head out of her embrace—but failed spectacularly. Her grip was as solid as Mount Tai, yet as gentle as a cherry blossom touching the surface of water!
"I-I’m sorry, but I’m not Tang Taizong, the person you’re looking for. I’m Xu Tao from the Azure Dragon Sect..." he explained, struggling even harder. "P-Please let go of , I need to save the civilians below before they’re hard by these monsters!"
"You..." Wu Zetian whispered, her tone heartbroken. "...don’t recognize anymore, Taizong?"
"That’s what I’m saying, I’m not Taizong! I’m—!"
At that mont, a figure suddenly ca, waving a spear straight at Wu Zetian’s face. It was so fast that she could only let go of Xu Tao and bend backwards to dodge!
THUMP!
Xu Tao’s heart suddenly beat harder, as a familiar figure clung to him for dear life—the sa figure who had just attacked Wu Zetian monts ago.
"You..." she growled, tightening her embrace around Xu Tao’s neck. "Stay away from my husband!"
The little bunny saint, Jehanne, had descended!
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