Chapter 78: Traitor of Great Wei

The two cultivators followed Blue Lantern out of the remote hall and returned to the plaza where they had once been. With the Compass of Fixation beneath them, no one could see any member of the trio.

"Elder, do you know who established this hidden realm?" Xiao Nanfeng wondered.

Blue Lantern was a man of few words. He stared before himself for a long while before slowly replying, "Emperor Wei excavated this hidden realm using one dragon-quelling spike, which is now under the control of the empress. The empress is in control here."

Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight glanced at each other in shock. The empress was in control?

Emperor Wei was in the middle of addressing the courtly officials. You Shi, the black-robed man that had just attacked Xiao Nanfeng, was among their number. He respectfully bowed toward Emperor Wei and the empress.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The empress was looking at her consort with a besotted expression on her face. It was filled with gentleness—but Xiao Nanfeng could also sense a sliver of pain through her gaze.

"Your Majesty, might I ask as to the reason for this summons?" You Shi spoke up.

Emperor Wei looked toward You Shi with an icy gaze, as did all the members of court. It was as though he had suddenly become a pariah, an outcast. He was so scared that he subconsciously took a step back and looked at the empress.

"Empress? Might I ask what I've done wrong?" You Shi immediately bowed toward the empress.

He knew that she was the ruler of this illusory realm, that all those present here were only illusions and facsimiles. Their enmity toward him was the will of the empress.

"The copper doors have just been opened. A man known as Blue Lantern reported to me that my consort's truesoul failed to seek revival in the divine domain." The empress' voice was tinged with sadness and desolation.

"Your Majesty? No..." You Shi cried out, as though expressing his sorrow toward Emperor Wei.

The empress wiped at the illusion of Emperor Wei with a handkerchief. Her infatuation and gentleness transformed into irrepressible grief. She wanted to imprint her consort's face in her memory, even if he were a fake.

"You Shi, you've never believed that the emperor would return, have you?" The empress suddenly turned toward him with hatred.

"Empress! Yes, I always have! I was willing to be interred with Emperor Wei, and my soul entered this illusory realm as a result. This was part of my belief that His Majesty would be able to return. Of course I would believe in him!" You Shi cried out. He then continued, "Your Majesty, I too am heartbroken at the fact that His Majesty's truesoul revival was unsuccessful! Might I ask where Blue Lantern is? I can't believe that His Majesty has failed in this undertaking. I insist on confronting Blue Lantern myself!"

You Shi might not have been able to see Blue Lantern, but the empress certainly could. She looked at Blue Lantern, a hint of expectation in her eyes, in hopes that Blue Lantern had been lying to her.

Not far away, Blue Lantern sighed and waved his hand. The Compass of Fixation to his feet vanished, revealing himself, Xiao Nanfeng, and the Lady Arclight.

When You Shi saw them both, he was so excited that he was trembling. Neither of these cultivators had managed to leave! However, fearful of Blue Lantern, You Shi didn't strike at them immediately.

"Are you Elder Blue Lantern of the divine domain? I heard His Majesty mention your name frequently, stating that you were ever a guardian of the realm. Elder, you and His Majesty are acquaintances that have known each other for years, and His Majesty sings your praises whenever you are brought up in conversation. Just what happened to His Majesty during his excursion to the divine domain?"

"You've already guessed the outcome. What more is there to know?" Blue Lantern replied calmly.

"How long ago was this? Why have you only shown up now, Elder? Has His Majesty only just perished?" You Shi asked urgently.

The empress also looked toward You Shi hopefully.

"Emperor Wei has been dead for quite a few years. I was entrusted to bring Her Majesty to another illusory realm as residence when this realm shows signs of breaking down. You are the one who caused such damage to it, aren't you?" Blue Lantern asked.

"No, no, it isn't me!" You Shi cried out.

"Don't worry. I don't intend to interfere in your affairs, and I don't mean to criticize you. I am simply here to inform you that Emperor Wei has perished, and all has come to an end. Empress, will you venture to another realm with me?"

The empress' eyes were red with tears. She replied, "Before his departure, His Majesty told me that, if he were to fail, he would send Blue Lantern over with word. Why have you not come sooner? Why have I had to wait for so, so long?"

"Empress, His Majesty has since perished. Will you follow his will?" You Shi asked.

The empress let out a pained smile. "I won't go anywhere. I perished that year with the emperor, but my truesoul was unharmed. If the emperor's truesoul has been destroyed, then there's no need for me to live on, either."

You Shi's eyes widened as he fretted, "Empress, what about me?"

"Are you finally afraid, now?" The empress' eyes flashed with hatred.

"Your Majesty, what have I done? Please, inform me of my mistakes!" You Shi cried out.

"His Majesty established this illusory realm for me but, worried that I would be lonely, asked for a thousand volunteers to be interred with me. All of you sent your yin bodies into this illusory realm to accompany me for a millennium. For the first five hundred years, everyone served me well, but over the next five hundred years, you began to split into factions, to plot and scheme. I did not wish to see your confidence that the emperor would never return, and hence retreated into the depths of the palace, with only the illusion of the emperor keeping me company. What have you done these five centuries past? Where is everyone? Why has no one responded to my call—why are you the only one left?!"

"I—" You Shi was silent for long moments.

"You've killed them all, haven't you? You've distilled their essence for spiritual power! All these spiritual avatars that now populate the remote halls of this realm—aren't they all yours?!"

You Shi was silent again. The empress had seen through everything; he didn't know how to explain what he had done.

"I don't care about their deaths, because they lost my confidence five centuries ago. What I care about is the fact that someone has betrayed my consort a millennium ago! You Shi, have you been against my consort from the start?"

"No!" You Shi cried out.

"I could hear your conversation with the two of them in that remote hall. While laying out this formation, you prepared a backdoor, a way out—sending cultivators from beyond the array within, so that you might escape on your own! Had you been planning for His Majesty's demise from the beginning? And yet you still pretended to be loyal and entered this grave with me!"

You Shi's eyes widened. "Your Majesty, I did set up a backdoor, but the chest within which I kept my records would only be accessible after a thousand years! Am I not loyal enough for having dedicated a thousand years of my life to this realm?"

"Loyal? Were you the one who stole my consort's dragon-quelling spikes while he was weak? Was it you?!" the empress demanded.

"I—" You Shi hesitated again.

"The others waited for five centuries, until they were certain that His Majesty had perished in his attempt at revival, before losing their loyalty in the Great Wei Empire. Even if my consort were alive, he would not blame them. You, however, are different. You became disloyal even before my consort made his trek to the divine domain—you even killed the loyal retainers who were willing to suffer this millennium of waiting with me! For what purpose did you consume their spiritual power? To kill me and seize control over this realm, too?"

"Your Majesty, I had no choice! If not for the backdoor, the copper doors might not have opened for ten thousand years! Would you have waited that long to learn of His Majesty's demise?" You Shi made excuses for himself.

"I would!" the empress replied, her eyes red.

"You are the ruler of this illusory realm. You might be able to wait, but none of the rest of us can! Our spiritual power dissipates by the second. We would die if we were to keep waiting—so why not struggle to live, instead? You can hardly blame me for that!"

"If you wanted to leave, you could simply have told me!" the empress cried out.

"Would that have been effective? Before we were interred, His Majesty informed us that, before his return, nobody would be allowed to leave the illusory realm. Would you have let us go?"

"I would!" the empress shouted.

"What?"

"Before my consort departed, he told me that he bore all of you his gratitude for being willing to accompany me, instructing me to treat you well and not to kill a single person regardless of what happened. Had any of you mentioned your desire to leave, I would have let you go—but no one ever said a word to me!" the empress continued.

"Your Majesty, would you be willing to allow me to leave, then?" You Shi's eyes brightened.

"All others but you! You betrayed His Majesty from the beginning, you even stole his dragon-quelling spikes, and you took advantage of his planning. You traitor to the empire—how dare you dream of leaving? On behalf of my consort, I'll kill you first before joining him in eternal slumber!"

"No, Empress! You—how much I've given for the Great Wei Empire, how many formations I've laid out! I've been loyal for countless years. You can't treat me like this!" You Shi cried out.

"His Majesty had you prepare three tombs, a sign of greatest trust in your character. You erected a backdoor in my tomb—so what might you have done to that for His Majesty? You might even have corrupted his quest for a truesoul revival! You've betrayed my consort and desecrated his corpse. I won't let you go. I promised my consort not to kill any of you, but with his departure, I need not hold myself to my vow any longer."

"Empress, I haven't! The only modifications I made was to this tomb. I never touched the other tombs, never! I didn't desecrate His Majesty's corpse," You Shi quickly exclaimed.

"Empress of Great Wei," Xiao Nanfeng jumped in, "according to the information I have obtained, the records he passed to the external realm describes four locations of natural treasures, to which were affixed four array-breaking treasures. This tomb was only one of them."

You Shi: ...

This lad dares foil my plan?!

Upon hearing Xiao Nanfeng's claims, the Empress of Great Wei grew more resolute. With a wave of her hand, dark clouds suddenly filled the sky. A frightening aura resolved itself around You Shi.

"Elder Blue Lantern, we are students of the same school of formations. Please, Elder, save me!" You Shi suddenly begged Blue Lantern.

"As I've stated, I will not interfere in your affairs. I am only here to bring the empress away. Live or die, I shall not intercede," Blue Lantern replied.

You Shi's eyes lit up as he turned to the empress. "You won't intercede, Blue Lantern? Then I can relax!"

You Shi waved a hand, causing a thousand black figures to rush out from the remote halls all around the realm and into his body, combining their strength with his own. You Shi's aura grew rapidly as he attempted to resist the empress' will.

"Consort, bear witness: I have maligned no one. The formation master you trusted was a traitor to the realm!" the empress cried out, glancing at the illusion of Emperor Wei.

"Empress, if the copper doors had been unopened, you would have been able to suppress me with power over the array, but now, this realm has grown weaker from repeated exposure to the external realm. You may be no match for me now. I hadn't wanted to sour relations with you. If you had let me go, everything would have been fine—but if you decide to sentence me to death, then let's see if you have the power to back that up!" You Shi rushed toward the empress.

With a wave of her hand, a huge bolt of blue lightning fell from the skies, forcing You Shi back and smashing a huge crater in the plaza before him.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the sky, only to see a giant copper spike hovering amidst the dark clouds, sending lightning flashing down as punishment in accordance with the empress' will.

Bolts of blue lightning shot toward You Shi, who defended with a surge of black aura. He was struck by a bolt of lightning, and the resulting shockwave caused the whole dragon's head mountain to shake violently.

"Did you see that? With the copper doors open, your power in this realm weakens. I can deflect the attacks with the gathered souls of all thousand loyal servants! Empress, you won't be able to kill me today. The one who should die is you!" As You Shi defended against the rampaging lightning, he slowly began to walk toward the empress like a demon of the ages.

The empress glanced mournfully at the dragon-quelling spike in the air, then turned to Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight. "My consort has perished, and all of heaven and earth has turned to grayscale for me. I loathe this traitor to the empire, but don't have the will to make a move any longer. If I lend you my spiritual power, would the two of you be willing to rid this traitor on my behalf? I'll repay your efforts," the empress promised.

"I am Arclight, and I would be more than happy to rid you of this traitor, Your Majesty!"

"I am Nanfeng, and I would be more than happy to rid you of this traitor, Your Majesty!"

The two cultivators stood forward near-simultaneously. They had already developed a feud against You Shi, and had no intention of backing down now.