"You’ve really offended me." Huawu stomped in anger, and poisonous mushrooms sprouted from the ground, representing her current mood.
"Oh, I can be even more offensive, do you want to hear it?" Yu Nianzhao calmly retorted.
"..." Huawu’s eyes were filled with thick Evil Qi as she stubbornly said, "Anyway, you’ve walked right into my mirror world; don’t think you can leave easily. This is the world I control. If you behave, I can give you everything you want. But if you’re disobedient... then this is a boundless hell, and you are merely my servant."
The words had just fallen when a seductive red light flashed through Huawu’s eyes.
The air wall twisted, and the surrounding scenery abruptly changed.
The imperial garden and the palace vanished completely.
In its place was a stifling, hot area with fiery lava, where magma was everywhere, and the ground underfoot was scorching, as if stepping into hell.
The Empress turned pale, hurriedly grabbing Yu Nianzhao’s arm, "Zhaozhao, what should we do? Are we forcibly kept here, unable to leave?"
"Empress, you must not remain here too long. The mirror world will absorb your Yang Qi, your physical body will become increasingly deteriorated, and if your fetus does not absorb enough nutrients, it will stop developing." Yu Nianzhao said seriously.
The Empress’s lips trembled as she subconsciously touched her flat abdomen, her eyes turning red with tears, "Yes, this is the child I have had so much difficulty conceiving. How can I give up now? Zhaozhao, what should I do to leave with you? Whatever you say, I will comply."
"The mirror world, after all, is just an illusion. Don’t worry, since I broke in, I will surely lead you out. First, sit here and rest, and just silently recite in your mind that all this is fake."
Yu Nianzhao helped her sit on the rock and pasted a Clear Heart Talisman onto her body, "Don’t be disturbed by illusions, Empress, I believe for the sake of the child in your womb, you will certainly understand."
As the Clear Heart Talisman was applied, the Empress felt the vexation in her heart dissipate. She exhaled deeply, nodded firmly, "I definitely will; I must leave this place, give birth to the child, and watch him grow up."
Applause sounded, Yu Nianzhao looked up but could not see Huawu’s figure.
"Truly eager to protect the child, huh? Is this the bond humans have with their bloodline? Too bad, my favorite thing is to destroy these so-called emotions. As long as I trap you here, your body in reality will quietly decay, and any descendants will vanish like smoke."
Huawu’s mocking laughter spread throughout the lava cave, reaching the Empress’s ears, and her heart, which had just calmed down, began to stir again.
"Silent, and no one will mistake you for a dumb mute," Yu Nianzhao sneered coldly.
"Princess, the time is nearly up..."
An ethereal voice seemed to whisper from Dongfang Chenyuan.
The Pentagram Array beneath flickered briefly.
Yu Nianzhao raised her palm, and the Seven Star Brush appeared. She drew runes in mid-air, "No time to argue here with you. If you want to hide, let’s see if I agree."
Golden runes appeared in mid-air, shining with peculiar golden light, quickly filling the entire area.
"What is this annoying thing!"
"Too dazzling. I don’t thing appearing in my world."
The brightness of the runes nearly blinded Huawu, forcing her to emerge from the shadows and stare irritably at Yu Nianzhao, "Are you a Daoist? No way, Daoist demon-slaying methods are too weak. Could you be a Heavenly Master? Where are you from?"
Yu Nianzhao raised her eyebrows, lazily, "Neither a Daoist nor a Heavenly Master, I was entrusted by someone to take the Empress away from here. If you insist on blocking, I will shatter your mirror world piece by piece, leaving you without a home."
"Wow, such bold words!"
Huawu’s charming face showed anger, she rolled up her sleeves, "I am a mirror demon who has lived for hundreds of years; I’ve met many arrogant Heavenly Masters who wanted to kill me, but in the end, they fled, and if they didn’t escape quickly enough... their souls ended up trapped in my mirror world."
She flirted with her hair before her forehead, smiling enchantingly, "You also said something wrong earlier; my mirror world doesn’t just contain me. Those souls left behind are still here. If you want, why not accompany them."
Huawu’s expression turned cold, a beautiful Lava Flower appeared in her palm, which she crushed with her fingers, causing an earth-shaking tremor.
Magma erupted out, stones constantly falling from above, and the Empress hurriedly stood up in panic, protected behind Yu Nianzhao.
In the surging magma, one could see faces of ghastly souls reaching out, wanting to keep Yu Nianzhao and the Empress there to accompany them.
"Such malevolent mirror demon? Then it’s easier to deal with, just kill directly, wouldn’t it be?"
Yu Nianzhao sneered, forming a sigil with her hands, a layer of barrier enveloping the Empress, protecting her within, allowing not a single fragment or lava to affect her.
"Such Spiritual Power..."
Huawu’s eyelids twitched; the fluctuation of Spiritual Power from Yu Nianzhao’s sigil felt unsettling.
A sudden premonition of something terrible arose.
Couldn’t it be that I’ve kicked some tough board?
This thought flickered away but grew more intense.
Because, she saw with her own eyes a shadow appear behind Yu Nianzhao, devouring all the souls hidden in the magma completely.
The shadow sprang up fiercely, growing bigger and stronger, enveloping Huawu within its overwhelming pressure, frightening her so much her legs went weak, losing her ability to speak or move for a moment.
Shadow turned her gaze murky, her mouth wide open, "Oh crap!"
[Master, this mirror demon seems a bit dumb.]
[Can a mirror demon be eaten?]
[Eating the soul of a mirror demon should also fill the stomach, right? I remember having eaten one before, but it’s been so long I can’t recall much.]
[I seem to remember it has to be a demon with a thousand years of cultivation to taste good.]
[Hundreds of years old demon before us is just like a child playing before a master.]
[Master, even without Divine Power, is unbelievably strong.]
[Master, can she be eaten?]
"Go ahead." Yu Nianzhao said plainly, as if commenting on a nice weather day.
Jiu Ying waited precisely for this command, nine heads simultaneously lunging towards Huawu.
"Wow, what on earth is this monstrosity? The aura of a great demon is much stronger than mine! You’re definitely not an ordinary person, nor a Heavenly Master."
Even in spirit form, Jiu Ying’s pressure was enough to intimidate Huawu, a mere hundreds-year-old mirror demon. Frightened, she quickly conjured a mirrored barrier to ward off Jiu Ying’s attack.