CHAPTER 259: MOVEMENT

[Where did you find such a scripture?] the empress’s voice appeared in Xiang Yu’s mind after he handed the scripture over to Li Yao.

"I made it, is something wrong?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

The empress paused for a moment. [No. No problem at all, in fact, it’s perfect for her situation. It’s exactly what I was thinking of,] she finally replied.

"So, will it work?" he asked.

She paused for a moment before responding.

[Should work]

Hearing this, Xiang Yu exhaled deeply in relief. He really hoped it would work. If Li Yao remained terrified of using her transformations, they would really be in trouble.

Li Yao examined the scripture in her hand curiously, turning it over. "What is this?" she asked, studying the manual.

"Just try learning it. It might solve your problem,"

[Yeah, what he said,] the empress added.

Li Yao stared at the scripture, and with trembling hands, she finally opened it. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she gazed at the first page. Quickly, she began flipping through the pages. With her heavenly grade enlightenment she absorbed the entire lengthy manual almost instantly.

After finishing, her expression remained one of wonder. The empress had informed her that her senior brother had created this scripture himself. She concentrated deeply, attempting to activate the scripture. In her mind, she reflected that her senior brother must have crafted this specifically for her situation, given how perfectly suited it seemed. Creating such a complex scripture couldn’t have been easy. She couldn’t disappoint him.

Her face contorted with strain as she tried to activate the scripture. Then suddenly, she leapt forward and embraced Xiang Yu, tears streaming down her face.

"Senior brother, you must help me! I don’t want to go back there. Yao Yao will be a good girl from now on, please..." Before she could finish her plea, she abruptly fell silent.

"You switched?" Xiang Yu asked in surprise, holding her shoulders and gently pushing her away to examine her expression.

"Umm, yeah," she responded, also surprised.

"What happened? Did you go back to ’that place’?" he questioned, concern evident in his voice.

She shook her head, and Xiang Yu sighed with relief. It appeared the scripture had worked as intended. It seemed that only the inactive consciousness was sent to that place. As long as she partitioned her mind to allow multiple consciousnesses to remain active simultaneously, they would avoid being sent there.

"Wait, the other..." Before he could complete his sentence, the empress interrupted.

[She’s in here,] the empress confirmed. [She’s still screaming out for her "senior brother" though,] she added with a hint of exasperation.

Well, at least she’s fine, Xiang Yu thought, another wave of relief washing over him.

[So, what do we do with her?] the empress asked.

"With who?" Xiang Yu asked, momentarily confused.

[Of course this kid. She is so loud my ears are bleeding. You’re not planning to have her stay here screaming all the time, are you?] the empress asked in irritation.

"Umm, well, why don’t you let her have the body for some time?" Xiang Yu suggested to Li Yao.

"No," Li Yao responded flatly.

"Yeah, figured as much," Xiang Yu thought to himself.

"Are you really going to let a kid cry?" he asked, trying a different approach.

"So what, skill issue. She has bad rng, rip bozo lol," she replied dismissively.

Xiang Yu looked at her with a disappointed expression.

"Well, umm, I mean, I’m busy with sect work so I can’t give her the body," Li Yao hastily amended, her tone shifting upon seeing Xiang Yu’s reaction.

Xiang Yu sighed deeply. "You are both the same person, yet you act like this," he thought to himself.

He then extended his hand, and a small dark blob materialized above his palm.

"What’s this?" Li Yao asked, eyeing the blob with suspicion.

"Give her this," Xiang Yu instructed.

Before Li Yao could react, the empress’s hand suddenly materialized from nowhere, snatched the blob, and vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

...

The empress appeared before the small Li Yao in the spiritual sea who was crying at the top of her lungs, her wails echoing throughout the vast expanse, causing the spiritual sea to visibly shake.

[Here, you can stop crying now,] she said as she extended her hand, revealing the dark blob she held.

Li Yao paused mid-sob, her tear-streaked face frozen in surprise. Her nose twitched as she detected something familiar. Slowly, she rose to her feet, drawn toward the Empress.

As she approached, she leaned forward, sniffing at the strange blob in the Empress’s palm. Recognition dawned on her face. "Senior brother?"

"Yeah, that’s me," Xiang Yu replied from within the amorphous form. His blob-like body shifted and extended, protruding a tentacle-like arm that waved at her with an awkward motion.

"Senior brother!" Li Yao squealed with delight, her previous distress completely forgotten. She snatched the blob eagerly, clutching it to her chest before breaking into an enthusiastic run. She spun and twirled throughout the spiritual sea, waving Xiang Yu’s blob form through the air like a cherished toy.

"Wait, stop, slow down a bit, noooooo..." Xiang Yu’s protests grew increasingly desperate as he was swung wildly through the air, his blob form stretching and contorting with each movement.

"I guess that works," the Empress thought to herself, watching Li Yao’s joyful antics with a mixture of amusement and relief.

Outside in the physical world, Xiang Yu reflected on this unexpected development. While he couldn’t create a tenth clone as he had originally planned, this arrangement had its own advantages. It meant he would maintain a constant communication network with both Li Yao and the Empress.

...

In the Central Continent,

Ten individuals sat around a circular table. These were the sect masters of the ten holy lands. The atmosphere seemed quite tense. Some remained lost in contemplation, others made no effort to hide their hostility toward their peers, while a few observed the proceedings in amusement.

"It’s finally time," declared one of them, the sect master of the Heavenly Palace Holy Land. He extended his hand toward the center of the table. "Let the purge begin."

"Tch. Why are you being so pretentious?" another man scoffed as he reluctantly extended his own hand. This was the leader of the Celestial Ascension Holy Land, not hiding his disdain for the Heavenly Palace sect master.

The others chuckled at the exchange before extending their hands as well. The moment all ten palms met at the center, a surge of dark energy condensed at the meeting point. It pulsed ominously before shooting upward, tearing through the roof and disappearing into the cloud-filled sky above.

"Catch you later, losers," a woman called out casually as she rose from her seat and leapt through the newly created opening, vanishing into the clouds with remarkable speed.

As she soared through the sky, another figure appeared beside her, matching her pace effortlessly. "What’s the report?" she asked without turning.

"The Li family is no more," the man stated flatly.

A cold smile spread across the woman’s face. "Now that’s what I like to hear," she replied, satisfaction evident in her voice.

"Do you have any other instructions?" the man inquired.

"Go and tell everyone that all the other continents have been infected by demonic aura and we must cleanse them," she commanded. "Tell them they can plunder everything they find."

The man nodded and prepared to depart.

"Wait, one more thing," she called out. The man paused expectantly. "Also spread the information that there is a divine level artifact in the eastern region and a young spirit. Don’t let other sects beat us to it."

"As you command," the man acknowledged before flying away to carry out her orders.

"Keke, Li family girls," she mused to herself, her voice becoming more menacing. "Don’t let me catch you."

...

A/N: Finally ik