Spirit Vessel

The area outside the capital was stained with blood and filled with bones. The lakes and rivers nearby became red.

"So fast, I can't keep up." Long Luofu landed next to Jin River and stared southward, losing all traces of Feng Feiyun and Yao Ji.

The two have flown out of her divine intent range.

Luofu had a serious expression and a complicated glint in her eyes. Suddenly, an oppressive aura appeared behind her, causing her to turn around and shoot out a golden dragon energy from her finger. A deafening draconic roar erupted.

"Boom!" Supreme waved her sleeve and destroyed the dragon, turning it into yellow particles.

Luofu realized who it was and bowed her head: "Excuse me for not knowing that it was you, Empress. Please forgive me."

She knew that it was Long Jiangling, the strongest expert of the royal clan. However, she still only bowed because an emperor wouldn't kneel before anyone.

"Emperor, why are you not presiding over the war effort? Why chase after Feng Feiyun?" Supreme had a radiance around her, looking both arrogant and dignified.

"The war is in full swing yet Feng Feiyun and Yao Ji left the battlefield. I thought that they were up to something and wanted to be sure." Long Luofu slightly bit her lips.

Supreme nodded with great insight in her starry eyes. Her lips slightly curled as she suddenly teleported in front of Long Luofu and caught her wrist. Her jade fingers pressed down on Luofu's veins.

Luofu looked up and felt fear for the first time, getting down on her knees.

"Do you know who you are right?" Supreme's expression turned cold as she let go.

"Yes, the current Jin Emperor." Long Luofu clenched her fists.

"Then why did you kneel? An emperor kneels to no one, neither the heaven nor the earth and definitely not men. You have utterly disappointed me." Supreme said.

"I understand, this is the last time." Long Luofu stood up.

These were the two most excellent female cultivators in the royal clan, the emperors of two eras.

After a while, Supreme finally asked: "Who is the bastard's father?"

Long Luofu didn't answer while continuing to stare towards the south.

"Feng Feiyun?" Supreme coldly said, her fingers clenched tighter.

Luofu didn't deny it.

"Ridiculous, the emperor of Jin impregnated by the demon's son. You've thrown away your face and the royal clan's." Supreme took a deep breath and sneered.

Luofu remained quiet.

Supreme was furious. If it wasn't for the damages suffered recently by the royal clan, she would have abolished Long Luofu and let someone else be the emperor. Alas, the present situation disallowed doing so.

"How long?" Supreme closed her eyes. This accentuated her long and thin eyebrows with a perfect curve.

"Almost two months." Luofu gently touched her stomach and spoke.

"Two months? I was there in the palace then. This Feng Feiyun! Not bad at all! Able to do it under my watch." Supreme scowled: "Refine and kill this embryo."

"I tried, not possible." Luofu panicked after finding out about her pregnancy since she knew about the feud between the empress and Feng Feiyun.

If she were to find out, Feng Feiyun would be finished and she would be dragged down with him too.

Thus, she decided to refine her embryo before it could take form. However, the embryo seemed to be divine. She tried numerous methods to no avail.

As time passed, she found that she had become unwilling because she could sense its life force. In fact, the embryo seems to have its own emotions and thoughts.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to keep this a secret.

When she saw Feiyun again, she thought about telling him this and asking him for advice. Alas, the empress was also present. Thus, she wanted to chase after Yao Ji and Feng Feiyun.

In the end, the empress still figured it out.

"Can't refine it? You just can't bear to do it." Supreme raised her hand and gathered powerful radiance before pressing on Luofu's stomach. She wanted to personally refine this bastard.

Her power was immense right now. No one in this land could stop her, not even the heretical king.

Luofu wanted to resist but the cultivation disparity was too much. She could only watch the death of her child.

"Boom!" A violet energy inside her stomach looked like the burning of a divine black. It destroyed Supreme's attack and surrounded Luofu, pushing Supreme away.

One could see a small yet magical vessel inside the violet light, the size of a leaf on an ocean. There was an embryo on deck engulfed in chaos - impossible to see.

Both women became frightened by this strange phenomenon.

The violet energy then receded back and disappeared from sight.

"It's really a divine embryo?" Supreme murmured.

"I believe I saw an equivalent artifact, only a divine embryo can have this." Long Luofu rubbed her stomach with happiness on her face. However, she quickly hid this expression from Supreme.

Supreme pondered for a bit, moving her glance between Luofu and the horizon. Her eyes kept on shifting back and forth. After a while, she smiled and said: "This is a blessing to the royal clan, a sign of prosperity for Jin."

She changed her tone too quickly.

"What do you mean, Empress?" Luofu asked.

"We have stopped the coalition but still suffered grievous losses. Instability is still there. Now, the coming of this divine embryo shows that this is the will of heaven. Everyone else must submit." Supreme said.

"You wish to spread this news?" Luofu was smart enough to understand right away.

"Everyone would know that the emperor is pregnant before marriage in that case. The royal clan can't handle this blow to its reputation. We can just leak certain things, just that the one pregnant can't be you." Supreme smirked.

Luofu thought that the empress' goal wasn't this symbol. She certainly had ulterior motives.

"Plus, how is Feng Feiyun going to run from us after hearing this?" The empress added.

I knew it. Luofu thought.

***

Huang Feng Ridge, Grand Southern Prefecture.

Feiyun was still surprised at the information given to him by Housekeeper Liu. Perhaps the truth would only come out after meeting his mother or Shui Yueting.

He hoped that it was only a coincidence.

"Grandpa Liu, is there another way out of this land other than the portal from Sacred Spirit Palace?" Feiyun asked.

"The lady created a portal formation outside of Jade Pavilion Station before. It can transport someone to the western border of Central Dynasty. Then from there, there's a worm-hole leading to the demons' territory." Housekeeper Liu elaborated.

He quickly added next: "However, the lady hopes for you to train in the humans' kingdom. Don't return to Timeworn before reaching Heaven's Emergence or there'll be a disaster waiting. In fact, don't go there even after reaching this realm."

"Why?" Feiyun didn't understand.

"The lady didn't say why, but it must have something to do with the clan." Housekeeper Liu paused for a moment before answering.

He didn't tell Feiyun the real reason - that humans and demons were different. Half-blood had no chance of reaching Heaven's Emergence regardless of how talented they were.

That's why powerful demons forbade their descendants from marrying humans. Nothing good would come from it.

Housekeeper Liu didn't want to hurt Feiyun's confidence so he hid the truth.

Of course, if Feiyun could actually destroy this curse with his talents, then no one in the clan would dare to utter a single word of opposition then.

Feiyun naturally knew about this phenomenon. If his mother had this condition, there must be a big challenge waiting for him in Timeworn.

He himself also believed in the eternal feud between demons and humans. Shui Yueting killed him in his previous life.

However, he absolutely didn't believe in the curse. It just meant that those before him weren't strong enough.