Divine Emperor of Death

Jade Aurora and her fellow disciples descended from all sides, surrounding the black-robed woman.

Natalya watched them descend. She raised her hand ever so lightly as though becoming cautious, which caused Jade Aurora to reach out her hands.

"We're not here to attack you. If you give us the terms to let us get back our disciples, I assure you we can settle this peacefully."

She displayed her palms, appearing to not be willing to fight.

Natalya dropped her hands and panned her gaze, "It doesn't seem like that."

"…"

Jade Aurora's brows twitched, "We just don't want to lose sight of you. Now, if you can speak of your terms…"

"…"

Natalya almost couldn't help but laugh as she saw their reactions. A playful intent swelled in her heart as she felt like wanting to have some fun because of the time-consuming search for Jade Aurora and Ivy Aries.

The Jadedrite Sword Mini Realm was half as big as the Grand Beginnings Continent, and this town was nothing but a tiny part of it, so to find clues about Jade Aurora's whereabouts, she worked hard as she kept herself hidden but ended up with no results.

Finally, she managed to find the hidden Jade Lotus Valley, which had its path cut off and protected by many concealment formations, not to mention heavily guarded. She didn't want to forcefully enter as she didn't want to cause trouble, but neither did she want to leave without confirming Ivy Aries and Jade Aurora's safety, as she was aware that even sect members could betray during tough times.

She had to make sure both were safe without them spotting her as she shouldn't interfere in their lives, but now, she wasn't so sure she could keep up with that kind of plan as the Jade Lotus Valley really was only a thin line away from being destroyed.

Utmost, their Legacy Treasures, comparatively crappy than the ones she laid eyes upon, could save them some time, but she didn't see how they could survive this ordeal without outside help as it was just a matter of time before this entire mini realm gets subdued by the Northern Sphere Bandits or killed by Poison Haven.

The defending forces had limited forces and were engaging in a hopeless skirmish for resources, not uniting at all, as anyone could betray anyone at any time. This made it so that the invading forces of the Poison Haven and the Northern Sphere Bandits had the advantage no matter what counterattack the defending forces came up with.

Hence, this mini realm became their personal hunting ground, causing Natalya to believe that they were just dragging this out for fun, picking them apart one by one. She had seen her Astoria Family fall like that, as the easiest way to shatter a group was to induce doubt in each and every one of them, disallowing them to communicate properly.

Otherwise, she knew the defending forces would've already united against the invading forces.

Nonetheless, knowing that she could not meet Jade Aurora or Ivy Aries easily, she wanted to find another way in but then heard that some disciples of the Jade Lotus Valley were captured. She initially thought she could go save them and then gain entry into the Jade Lotus Valley without making much trouble, but she then saw that the ones kidnapped and sold to the Azure Radiance Slave Traders had a top disciple among them.

This meant that someone of higher stature would definitely be sent to rescue them, and it was just as she thought.

A top disciple finally appeared, and it was none other than Jade Aurora.

Natalya smiled as she was finally able to meet one of them.

"Can't do. I bought them fair and square, and I'm sending these beauties to my Young Master. If I don't return with them, my head will be chopped off~"

"…"

Jade Aurora clenched her teeth. This was precisely what she talked about and feared, but this black-robed woman was just doing that.

"Damn you! If you don't return them, I will make sure to chop your head off!"

A female disciple growled from the side as she took out a shiny silver sword with a blue handle, pointing it at Natalya.

"Don't! I will rescue your sister, so believe in me~"

Jade Aurora raised her hands, trying to stop her, but it was too late. That disciple took a step toward Natalya and rushed, her undulations booming at everyone as it caused them to also take out their armaments, all of them radiating Early Stage Immortal King undulations.

Cultivation-wise, they would've already been elected to the position of Elders as the Jade Lotus Valley was not a major power but after the descent of the Vacuous Beasts and the ambush by the invading forces, they had not been able to do any of that sort. There were no ceremonies; they did not retain the same privileges as elders, and neither were they suited for those positions, as Natalya knew why.

Their cultivations were unstable.

Natalya's gaze flashed as she saw the sword swing to behead her just as the woman said she would. She took a step to the side, lighting inclining her head, but the sword still came for her neck.

However, it sliced past Natalya, barely missing her head.

"…?"

The strange thing was the female disciple noticed she intended to strike horizontally but swung diagonally, making her miss. She couldn't understand what went on before she flipped by herself and collapsed to the ground, hitting her head on the rubble road with a bang in the process.

She couldn't believe she had just slipped but quickly tried to stand up.

However, the black-robed woman stepped on her head and dodged the other attacks that came at her, causing her to faint as her head was buried halfway into the ground.

"You-!"

Jade Aurora saw the black-robed woman stomp before she jumped back and dodged a flurry of swords and even spears.

Natalya's lips curled in mid-air as she saw their teamwork.

Just as their attacks missed, the women sent one of their fellow disciples towards her, launching her by kicking the soles of her legs, which she used to propel forward and stabbed with a spear that she delicately spun using her hands, water encompassing the spear as it made it more deadly.

"Flowing Spiral Jade Strike!"

The spear shot toward Natalya, causing her to twist her body in mid-air.

It seemed to be almost upon her, but somehow, it missed her again, barely scraping past her black robe that didn't seem to take any damage.

"Impossible!"

The female disciples cried out in shock.

Their cultivations may be on the lower side but their armaments were all High-Level Immortal King Grade Armaments! Since most of their elders were dead, they inherited all their weapons.

As they tried to get rid of this incredulous situation, the black-robed flew towards them; closing the distance, she invaded their space and unleashed a fury of pinpoint jabs that hit their pressure points, causing them to stiffen in place.

Then, lifting her leg up, she unleashed three kicks in a triangle, causing the three women to be sent flying as they had their jaws rocked and souls shaken, rendering them unconscious.

The remaining woman with the spear turned around and attacked but then suddenly felt the energy in her right hand go astray. Her eyes went wide as she realized that one of the important meridian points that helped her unleash techniques was hit somehow, causing her pores to burst from the overload.

"Aah!~"

Blood splashed from her wrist as the spear she grasped loosened, but just as she used all her power to grasp again, a kick to the side of her face brought her down, and her body twisted all the way to the side as she collapsed.

"Don't move."

Jade Aurora's voice was calm, but she pressed a dagger against Natalya's forehead from above as she hung upside down.

Her black eyes flashed in an otherworldly light as Natalya felt her movements turn sluggish, disallowing her to move properly. However, she didn't feel threatened in the slightest, as she knew Jade Aurora wasn't powerful enough to harm her.

"Reaching Mid Stage Immortal King in this short period of time while lacking resources is extremely good…"

The sudden change in the black-robed woman's voice left Jade Aurora stunned as she felt like she vaguely recognized it. However, as she saw the black-robed woman move forward while suddenly encased in a cerulean light, she saw that the arm she had reached out with the dagger twisted back on its own, making way for the black-robed woman before her arm was caught by two delicate hands, causing her to be thrown on the ground.

*Bang~*

Jade Aurora hit the ground on her back, feeling the shockwave spread throughout her body, but her mind was numb, considering she just witnessed the black-robed woman throw her down despite locking her under decreased temporal speed.

The black-robed woman was just too fast and suddenly overpowered her Time Laws, which not even a Level Eight Immortal King from the Northern Sphere Bandit was able to survive.

But despite the numbness in her mind, she couldn't help but stare at the concealed face of the black-robed woman, who then lifted the hood, revealing black hair and charming eyes that she recognized before she further removed her veil and reached out her hand to help, smiling at her.

"It's been a long time, Valley Master Jade Aurora~"

"!!!"

Jade Aurora's gaze shook as she saw the black-robed woman was none other than Natalya.