My Wife Turns Out to be an Empress of the Dynasty

"Train well, and perhaps we'll meet again someday!" Gu Lan waved, saying no more.

"Goodbye, little friend!" Mu Yuyan also waved her hand.

The two left, leaving the young Daoist standing alone amid the green mountains and clear waters, dazedly holding the lunchbox. At that moment, a white crane flew in from the north, emitting a crisp call as it landed beside him.

"Little crane, the immortal elder has left, and the immortal sister has also gone. Did the immortal elder send you here to keep me company?" the young Daoist asked, patting the crane.

The crane raised its head: "???"

It had only been drawn here by the lingering spiritual energy from the ascension, puzzled by the little Daoist's affectionate pats on its head.

"It seems you miss the immortal elder too. From now on, we'll be good friends," the young Daoist said, assuming the crane's gaze toward the distant mountains was understanding. Without hesitation, he hugged the crane and sat down on its back.

Squawk!

"Ah!"

The crane took flight with a mighty flap, while the young Daoist clung tightly, experiencing the 'joy' of soaring through the sky for the first time.

This scene was spotted by Qing Yunzi, who was leading his disciples up the mountain.

"Is little junior brother taming a celestial crane? Could he have been the one who triggered the ascension phenomenon?"

"Could it be that our junior brother is a reincarnated immortal?"

"Wasn't that day's 'immortal battle' his doing?"

The disciples of Azure Cloud Sect began to chatter, and Qing Yunzi could only smile wryly, leaving them to their guesses. The less said about this immortal, the better—major figures' affairs sometimes bring fortune, and other times, calamity.

Qing Yunzi glanced at the newly rebuilt temple, his heart settling with an answer.

"Ahhhh!"

"Master, save me!"

In midair, the young Daoist was crying out as he struggled to stay on the crane's back.

"It seems our junior brother is not an immortal reincarnation but has simply drawn the attention of a celestial crane, now stuck on a one-way ride to the sky!"

The Azure Cloud Sect disciples broke into hearty laughter.

That day, a story spread around Qingyun Mountain—the tale of the little immortal riding a crane up to the clouds.

...

The Fifth Heaven of the Immortal Realm, the Cuitian World.

This was once the domain of the Thunder Clan, one of the Seven Great Houses of the Immortal Realm.

The former sacred land of the Thunder Clan had now become a battlefield.

At this moment, Shangguan Yuyang was leading the remnants of the Yin God Palace in an offensive against the Bright Clan.

She stood atop a mountain peak, the gentle breeze sweeping across the hills and lightly lifting the veil on her face. The veil, as pure as snow, complemented her peach-blossom-like features beneath, adding an even more enchanting charm to her appearance.

"Today, we should finally capture the Thunder Clan's sacred ground," she murmured. "With that, we'll have cleansed all Bright Clan forces from Cuitian World. The remaining outsiders can be handled by the Nine Heavens Alliance."

Since the fall of Yin God Palace, Shangguan Yuyang had waited a long time for this day. The Bright Clan's arrogance, their attempt to subjugate the Six Realms by their might alone, had led to this—another lost piece on the chessboard.

And it was all because of one man.

"I wonder... how he's doing?" Shangguan Yuyang held a half piece of Yin Spirit Jade Pendant, a trace of worry surfacing in her otherwise cold gaze. Even against Divine Son Arthur, she had believed Gu Lan would be safe, but she couldn't fully suppress her worry. The Nine Heavens Alliance had told her that Gu Lan was unharmed, and that Mu Yuyan had gone to find him personally.

Thinking of Mu Yuyan brought a tinge of melancholy to Shangguan Yuyang's expression. She had reached her peak and even broken into the Divine Realm Supreme level, reestablishing the Yin God Palace. But compared to Mu Yuyan, her achievements seemed trivial. Mu Yuyan, despite her origins in the Earthly Realm, had advanced quickly to the Main God Realm, purportedly due to the Snow Clan's inheritance—a feat Shangguan Yuyang knew was no easy task.

"Report to the palace master!" A warrior approached Shangguan Yuyang, his battle armor stained with blood, though he remained composed. An elder of the Yin God Palace, he'd lost all his family to the Bright Clan's schemes and sought vengeance in this siege.

"Palace master, Thunder Clan's sacred ground has fallen. Twenty thousand Bright Clan angels and three thousand clan members have been annihilated!"

Shangguan Yuyang nodded at the report, unsurprised. This was a victory foretold by the absence of elite Bright Clan fighters, aided by forces from the Nine Heavens Alliance and local allies in Cuitian World.

This battle, however, was a small affair compared to others raging in the Immortal Realm, especially the great battle in Shentian World, where the Cloud Clan's holy grounds lay. There, the Cloud Clan goddess Feng Ruoxue and the Empress of Jing Nation had slain hundreds of thousands of Bright Clan troops before their gates, leaving a bloodbath in their wake.

"The Immortal Realm is far from at peace," Shangguan Yuyang sighed. "But now that Cuitian World is rid of the Bright Clan, it's time to reclaim the sacred grounds of Yin God Palace!"

With that command, the assembled warriors' eyes shone fiercely. One raised a horn, signaling the call to arms, as all the Yin God Palace warriors gathered. Dressed in white, Shangguan Yuyang led them, her presence undiminished amid the gathering storm.

"Set out! To Gengtian World, Fourth Heaven of the Immortal Realm!" she declared, casting an array disk to each direction. Glowing formations appeared, constructing a temporary large-scale teleportation array.

"The Lanyan Royal School's cross-realm teleportation arrays are quite handy…" she murmured with a hint of fondness as she observed the array.

With a surge of spiritual energy and a blinding white light, the Yin God Palace forces soon arrived at Gengtian World.

"Aunt Shangguan! Over here, over here!"

The moment Shangguan Yuyang arrived, she heard a young voice calling her. She turned to see a girl in a Vajra mask riding a fierce Suan Ni beast galloping toward her.

Recognizing her as Gu Simu, the little princess of Jing Nation whom she had once held as a baby, Shangguan Yuyang shook her head in mild exasperation.

"Aunt Shangguan, I brought reinforcements!" Gu Simu said with a bright smile, removing her mask to reveal her lovely face.