I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 184: In a Different Realm

Knock Knock

With that done, Elder Jing stood outside, waiting.

Seconds soon turned to minutes, but despite that, no response came from within.

However, Elder Jing didn’t worry and just patiently stood there, her head tilted downwards in a reverential manner throughout.

Exactly ten minutes later, a sharp voice resounded from within the room.

"What is it?"

"Greetings to the Empress!" Elder Jing said respectfully and quickly addressed the question. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"The Fire Dragon Emperor has arrived and is requesting the Empress’s audience."

Silence.

A few minutes later, the imposing door in front of Elder Jing slowly opened, and from its dimly lit interior, Feng Yu’s figure walked out.

Step.

Step.

Step.

With steady, measured steps, she made her way towards Elder Jing.

She was wearing an elegantly designed hanfu, which was a combination of red and black. As she took each step, its flowing ends gently caressed the marbled floor like water trickling down a stone.

Her lush black hair was neatly tied in a bun on top of her head. It was adorned with a phoenix crown, clearly portraying her status.

"Lead the way."

Her authoritative voice reverberated as she reached Elder Jing.

"Yes, your Highness!"

Giving a ninety-degree bow, Elder Jing respectfully turned around and led her to the courtroom.

While Feng Yu was being led through the hallway, all the guards standing on the sides saluted her by slamming their fists against their chests in respect.

However, this grand display of respect didn’t produce any change in her emerald eyes, which carried a sharp and imposing glare.

The loving gaze which Yi Chen was familiar with could no longer be traced in those eyes now.

Underneath her eyes, a translucent veil flowed all the way to her neck, covering the features which were still burnt.

A while later, two huge doors were pushed open by the guards, and a large courtroom with several seats on both sides appeared in Feng Yu’s vision.

All the Great Elders who had been waiting for Feng Yu’s presence stood up and greeted her with utmost respect.

"Greetings to the Empress."

"Mhm."

Subtly nodding to their greetings, she was soon led by Elder Jing towards the Phoenix Throne placed at the end of the courtroom.

The next second, Elder Jing stood to the side and gestured for her to take her seat.

Feng Yu nodded and, turning around to glance at the ten Great Elders, finally took her seat.

It was only after this that the ten of them respectfully took their seats.

After all the Great Elders were seated, Feng Yu glanced towards Elder Jing, who stood right next to her throne and said, "Lead him in."

"Yes, Your Highness." Elder Jing bowed, and the next second her figure disappeared.

A few moments later, the door to the courtroom was once again pushed open.

The first to enter was naturally Elder Jing, and she was closely followed by a man.

He was dressed in golden robes and had a charming and domineering presence. This was only complemented by his naturally sharp gaze and a symmetrical face, which made him stand out even among handsome men.

It was an appearance which naturally made everyone hold a sense of goodwill and admiration towards him at first sight.

However, the temperature inside the entire courtroom fell by several degrees the moment everyone’s eyes fell on him.

Feng Yu’s eyes also narrowed and turned to a sharp glare as she saw him walk towards her with that hateful smirk on his face.

Seeing the changes inside the courtroom, the subtle smirk on the man’s face widened.

Completely unaffected by their opinions, he shamelessly walked forward until he was just a few metres away from Feng Yu and greeted her with a short bow.

"I, Long Huo, greet the Phoenix Empress. Even though it’s been more than two thousand years since we last met, the empress still exudes the same charm."

A playful grin formed on Long Huo’s face as he raised his head the next moment.

His eyes were especially focused on the thin veil that covered Feng Yu’s face.

’A veil? This is my first time seeing her use one. Makes me want to check her new appearance even more. It definitely would be even more heavenly than last time...’

Long Huo’s thoughts started running wild the next moment.

Meanwhile, seeing how blatantly he was observing her appearance, a scowl formed underneath her veil.

The next second, an imposing aura enveloped the entire court before fully concentrating on Long Huo’s figure.

"It seems that the Empress still holds great regard for me," Long Huo said with a grin while resisting her pressure without any signs of struggle on his face.

He felt that Feng Yu was just testing him, but in reality, she had used all her current strength to overpower him and had failed.

’Even though I’ve yet to fully recover my power, the past him would still have been shaken by that attack,’

Realising that the man in front of her had grown several times stronger compared to before, she slowly withdrew her pressure and said in an impatient tone.

"State your intentions. I don’t have all day to waste on you."

"Of course, since the Empress’s time is valuable, I’ll make it quick." Long Huo chuckled the next second and spoke.

"I’ve come here today as a representative of the Mythical Sect Union to award the Empress for her achievements in the last Demonic War and for her sacrificial nature, which ensured the safety of several Celestial Worlds."

As he said that, he took out a white and black amulet from inside his storage ring and offered it to Feng Yu with both his hands.

"This amulet is the Union’s official recognition of the Empress as one of the Fifteen Great Heads. Along with this, it also holds several treasures inside to compensate for the Union’s oversight of the Eternal Phoenix Sect during these years of uncertainty."

Hearing the bunch of flowery words, Feng Yu glanced at the amulet that was being presented to her and snorted disdainfully.

When the Eternal Fire Sect was being besieged by the nearby sects a few months ago, the higher-ups had pleaded this very Mythical Sect Union several times for help. However, not one of its members had responded to it.

If not for her timely arrival, the protective arrays would have all been completely exhausted, and the Eternal Phoenix Sect would have been wiped out.

Despite this feeling of misgivings, she gestured towards Elder Jing the next moment, who accepted the amulet in her stead.

The sect had gone through several tumultuous times during her absence and was severely lacking in resources. Even though things had stabilised after her return, it would take several hundred years to make it attain its former brilliance.

With this in mind, she decided to accept the reward even though she held no goodwill in her heart.

"The Empress is indeed wise." Long Huo grinned as he handed the amulet to Elder Jing.

"Since you’re done with your task, leave." Feng Yu declared. Being familiar with the man in front of her, she held no good feelings towards him.

"As the Empress wishes...ah!"

Long Huo was about to take his leave, but exclaimed in realisation the next second. Glancing towards Feng Yu, he soon said with a playful smile on his face.

"I just realised that there was another news I was tasked to inform the Empress. Surely the Empress won’t mind my little mistake, right?"

"What is it?" Feng Yu asked with her eyes narrowing subtly.

"So, it’s like this," Long Huo deliberately paused for a second longer than normal and finally said with a smile, "All the Fifteen Great Heads had previously estimated your return in at least a thousand years, but seeing that you didn’t return, we all had assumed that you were dead.

Initially, it led to great panic as you were the strongest among us all at that time. However, with the next Demonic War coming near, we had no choice but to think of a plan to counter their wave, which is going to be even stronger this time.

After careful consideration, everyone finally came to a conclusion. All the cultivators who had fully assimilated with their martial spirits were to bestow a portion of their essence to a cultivator voted by the Fifteen Great Heads."

When Long Huo finished this much, the smile on his face turned to a grin as he continued, "Since you were assumed to be dead. Being the second strongest cultivator, I was naturally chosen for the task.

Not bothered by Feng Yu’s frowning brows, he kept speaking.

"I’ve already absorbed the essence of the Thunder Tiger Emperor, Eight-Legged Elephant Empress, Grey Hound Emperor.... and am currently assimilating the essence of the Vermilion Empress."

"And they all willingly gave you their essence?" Feng Yu asked with a frown after hearing the names of several people, some of whom she even knew personally.

"Of course not," Long Huo said with a grin. "However, under the combined pressure of the Mythical Sect Union, they had no choice but to bend."

"Wait." A frown suddenly formed on Feng Yu’s brows as she questioned, "Didn’t the Vermillion Empress already give a part of her essence to her husband? Then how were you able to..."