"..." To his question, Virgo Empress did not answer.
A few seconds of silence intervened before Feng Luotian started speaking again with a wry smile: "If there is nothing, I will be going now. Please release this suppression on me, will you?"
Virgo Empress began to converse this time: "Tian'er, come to my side, and everything will be just fine. Don't follow Demon God Emperor. He's not who you think he is."
Feng Luotian's expression darkened as he listened.
Virgo Empress: "Only with His Majesty's grace will everyone be able to live without fear. We can be free to do what we want. And you will be able to rule over the universe as you once desired."
Now, being reminded of this 'grace,' Feng Luotian was utterly out of control of his emotions. He remembered the countless lives lost, his wife among them, and felt a surge of anger and sorrow.
He angrily glared and roared at the empress: "Free? You called that "free"? After you massacred millions and crippled trillions, you still have the nerve to say, "everyone will be able to live without fear"?! Even Yue'er ..."
More and more memoirs of heart-rending tragedies entered his mind as he ran his mouth, forming a drop of tear that slowly slid down his cheek.
Ding.
Like a switch, the sound of his tear hitting the ground wiped out the sadness in his heart as the young man regained his composure, but not enough to held down his continuous rage.
"And what of Father? I don't know what point you want to make with that statement, but at the very least, he fights to protect everyone. He is a protector, not a cold murderer like you!!"
"How dare y—!!" One of the kings angrily rebuked because he felt Feng Luotian was being disrespectful to his empress, but he paused when the goddess raised her hand.
Without her permission, everyone had to wait for Feng Luotian to calm down, which took quite a while.
Few minutes later, he finally adjusted his mind and refused: "Virgo Empress. Thank you very much for your kind invitation. However, I have to reject your offer. I want to rule all because I want to protect the peace of all innocent beings. But now, what's left to protect?"
Seeing an unyielding attitude from Feng Luotian, Virgo Empress did not press the issue, but she did not release her suppressive force on him.
One of the kings noticed the magic pattern right in front of Feng Luotian and voiced his opinion: "Your Highness, they were performing some sort of ritual. It may pose some risks and problems later. Shouldn't we stop them?"
Virgo Empress shook her head: "No need. The ritual is complete. And Demon God Emperor has already crossed over, meaning that they are already half-successful, but Tian'er has to cross over as well. If we bring him away, the ritual will only be for naught."
"Then, shouldn't we attack right away? Kill them off to prevent further complications!!" The king who rebuked Feng Luotian's transgression earlier was eager to take action and was filled with killing intent.
However, one of the queens could not help but irritably remind the king: "Do you not realize who Young Emperor is to Her Highness?! Did you drop your brain somewhere?"
"This ..." The realization cooled down most of his killing intent.
Feng Luotian, despite his inner turmoil, let out a dry laugh: "So very kind of you to prepare such a great fanfare to send me off, Virgo Empress. I am deeply grateful for this, but as a matter of fact, I am quite busy at the moment, so can you please release m—"
"No. You're coming with me." Virgo Empress declined his request straightaway.
Feng Luotian frowned: "And if I say no?"
"Currently, you don't have any negotiation power whatsoever." Virgo Empress indifferently replied. She raised her hand to make a grabbing motion, then Feng Luotian's body started to levitate and rapidly drift toward her.
"Damn it!!" Feng Luotian bellowed with unwillingness and despair.
At that moment, all twelve elders sprang into action. They launched their attacks against the empress, but it was to no avail because her kings and queens stepped in, completely negating the elders' attacks. With their inferior cultivations, they had no hope of fighting such force.
"My kings and queens." Virgo Empress lightly beckoned.
All kings and queens: "Yes, Your Highness!!"
"Kill them." The command from the empress had descended.
"As your commands, Your Highness!!" Upon receiving the order, a fierce killing intent flashed in all of their eyes. All kings and queens moved at a speed a normal person could not track with their eyes, which approached the twelve immortals in no time.
Seeing their enemies charging toward them, all elders looked at each other and nodded.
A crystal of different shapes and colors appeared in front of each elder with a thought.
"Seniors, you all!!" Knowing what they were trying to do, Feng Luotian, who was floating before the empress and unable to move an inch, became flustered and saddened at the same time.
"Just finish what your father started!!" The leading elder said with determination.
Right after that, twelve elders crushed their own crystals in front.
Following a series of explosions of light, they all turned into twelve enormous immortal beasts with power levels overwhelming those of the kings and queens.
Virgo Empress frowned a little: "The forbidden transformation skill: Last Breath to Insanity. The skill that grants the user enormous power until they become thousands of folds stronger by transforming them into a beast, but the point is, soon after that, they will gradually lose their control over their body, losing all rationality and becoming a real animal until the day they die."
The empress instantly recognized the transformation and mumbled its description before she let out a chuckle and contemptuously asked them: "Is this the way you choose your death? As the Immortal Zodiacs, do you think it's worth it?"
The leading elder, who was now a gigantic dragon, said with a low voice that sent a trembling ripple onto the world in every word he uttered: "Worth it? Not worth it? That's not for you to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
Every one of the twelve immortals knew in their heart that whether the plan was a success or not, one way or another, they would soon cease to exist. So why would they care if they would forever become mindless beasts?
Dragon Immortal looked at his comrades in beast forms: "Let's give our best!! If any of you can grab Feng Luotian, immediately throw him inside the array at the cost of your life!!"
With that, Dragon Immortal leaped out, followed by the rest of the bestial elders.
With a few exchanges, the kings and queens were forced to retreat toward the empress and Feng Luotian's position. It was apparent that the Last Breath to Insanity gave the twelve elders enough power to fight against their enemies.
Once they were within one thousand meters from Feng Luotian, the elders burst out their energies to the maximum power and divided their force into three groups.
Four of them rushed toward the kings and queens, pushing and stalling them from intervention.
Another four used all their power to restrict the empress from any action while the last four launched themselves at Feng Luotian.
Virgo Empress felt her body being restricted and gradually losing her control over Feng Luotian. Nevertheless, she still had the power to counterattack the four elders that came for him.
She waved her right hand, and four wisps of light were formed and shot toward the elders at lightning speed.
One of the four, which looked like a marten at least ten thousand feet long, formulated his own plan and said: "You guys use the opportunity to reach Feng Luotian as quickly as possible, okay?"
Marten Immortal quickly flew in front to take total damage from the four wisps of light.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Subsequently, Marten Immortal was reduced to a bloody mist upon being struck by the attacks. Even after executing Last Breath to Insanity, he could not contend with the empress's simple skill.
All of the elders gritted their teeth in agony with the death of Marten Immortal. However, not even one moment of pause, the remaining three were constantly moving toward Feng Luotian.
The empress's movement was getting slower due to the restrictive force from the other four elders. She summoned a silver sword to her right hand and channeled her power into it.
Seeing their deaths were imminent, two of the remaining three, Hare Immortal and Python Immortal, swiftly joined hands and together sent the last bestial elder away from the line of the attack.
Once the silver sword's light was unleashed, the two beasts were sliced into tens of thousands of pieces, while the surviving Ape Immortal barely escaped the slaughter.
At the sight of their deaths, Feng Luotian gave a final struggle in a fury to break free of the empress's suppressive force, which left her no time to attack anymore.
Virgo Empress had no choice but to focus all of her power on suppressing Feng Luotian again, giving Ape Immortal a chance to close in.
When Feng Luotian was within the reach of Ape Immortal, with a vision of success appearing in their minds, the four restricting Virgo Empress detonated their bodies in unison.
Those four elders decided to use their last bit of energy to boost their restrictive power. And ultimately, they cut off the empress's suppressive power from Feng Luotian.
Young Emperor quickly dashed into Ape Immortal's hand.
Now, Ape Immortal finally had Feng Luotian in its grasp. It was the only one full of energy.
With a simple toss, the task will all be complete.
Right before being thrown, Feng Luotian looked at the empress and said: "Farewell, Virgo Empress. I will talk to you over this matter when I see you ... again?"
When he wanted to say goodbye in his usual nonchalance, Feng Luotian suddenly noticed a cold gaze from the empress before he heard a slashing sound.
Upon realization, Feng Luotian's eyes were widely open in shock as he turned and looked over at Ape Immortal, but the head was no longer there.
The full-force suppressive power with the sacrifice of four immortals was only able to restrict the empress while she was in her normal state. Alas, once she activated her power to another step, she could move as easily as she could breathe.
It made one wonder: "Just how strong is she exactly?"
"Tian'er, be obedient, and come with me." The empress's gentle voice woke Feng Luotian up to a cruel reality.
Eight of the twelve elders were dead.
The other four were about to give in to their exhaustion while battling against their foes. Although they had gained tremendous power with the transformation skill, they were outnumbered by the kings and queens three to one.
The stars within Young Emperor's eyes were getting dimmer. There was no longer hope within them.
"...!!" Suddenly, the hand grabbing Feng Luotian moved.
It seemed that even after being beheaded, Ape Immortal could still move, which sparked the last glimmer of hope in Feng Luotian's eyes as he exclaimed: "Thank goodness!! This must be a unique ability to Ape Immortal's bloodline!!"
"No!!" Virgo Empress agitatedly shouted. This was the first time today that she acted out of her calm manner, but at this moment, she could do nothing but watch.
With that, Feng Luotian was thrown down by Ape Immortal into the ritual array and disappeared from the current world.
Weng.
As the final notes of the divine hymn resounded upon the completion of the ritual, a profound silence settled in, pregnant with anticipation. Then, with a deafening boom that echoed through the very cosmos, a blinding flash of light erupted, bathing the entirety of the present universe in its brilliant radiance.
In the wake of this luminous spectacle, a surreal transformation unfolded. Everything that had existed, every iota of matter and energy, was transmuted into infinitesimal specks of radiant light particles. These minuscule embers, like celestial fireflies, scattered and dispersed, vanishing into the void as though they had been completely expunged from the annals of time itself.