This was a story from over two decades ago. After Tatyana conquered the [God of Light City] and reshaped it into the [Astral Sky Death City], she wasted no time imposing order. Her first step was to search for and find people at the peak of the Transcendence Realm with the Death Attribute. There weren't many, and all those she discovered, Tatyana would recruit and place them as her "saints."
The reason she chose a name that would appear blasphemous to those with knowledge was not too deep; she just felt like it. Of course, it was not completely random. If anyone came to her to complain about it, she would instantly know that they were from a higher Heavenly Layer.
In a way, it was bait she placed to see if any fat fish worth catching showed up.
Among all those people she chose, there was Xing Jimie. Sadly, among the many people at the peak of the Transcendence Realm, she was not among those who were talented.
Xing Jimie gritted her teeth as Tatyana's pure Death Energy drilled into her body and forcibly raised her [Death Intent Domain] knowledge. The process was anything but pleasant. However, the results were clearly visible just a decade after Tatyana began.
RUMBLE!
The sky shook, deep dark clouds covering the place, as one of the talented Death Cultivators broke through into the Law Creator realm.
Xing Jimie looked on with envy as Tatyana approached that man and nodded. "Good. You must break through as quickly as possible. Don't worry about having an unstable foundation. Once we find who I want to find, I will give all of you a place to enter closed door cultivation and stabilize, strengthen, and even reforge your shaky foundations."
The man who broke through spoke with mad reverence. "Understood, Lady Death Empress!"
Xing Jimie bit her lips, and after a few moments, she charged forward. Many of the Saint Candidates were stunned. After she charged forward and was struck by one of the Heavenly Tribulation lightning bolts, her body trembled, and she fell from the sky.
Above her, Tatyana looked at her with curiosity. Xing Jimie didn't bother about that. She instead steeled her mind as the Death Attributed Tribulation Lightning with traces of [Death Law] tried to destroy her from the inside out.
The man who was breaking through also didn't bother, thinking that it was an ant that had gone crazy. A year later, six people had already broken through.
During all that time, Xing Jimie was spasming on the ground, fighting between life and death as the [Death Law] attributed lightning coursed through her veins.
Tatyana left her be, neither helping nor disregarding her. And, eventually, after over 7 years had gone by, there was a reaction.
Our Death Empress's deep red eyes couldn't help but shift towards her. 'Oh? She actually managed to tame it? If that's the case…'
RUMBLE!
Tatyana looked up with faint surprise in her eyes. "Impressive. Her determination is truly palpable." Looking at the side, he asked the first man who broke through. "What's her name?"
The man looked down coldly. "Lady Death Empress, she is named Xing Jimie."
"Nice. Since the breakthrough is a bit forceful, she should be sent to that faraway world… What was its name?"
"Blue Pearl World."
Tatyana nodded. "Right. That one. It's quite far, but we can't disregard these places. Remember to tell them to participate in all Secret Realms and tournaments that have a Level One to Level Five Transcendence Realm participation range. Check all Spirit Cooking tournaments as well."
The man nodded.
Meanwhile, Xing Jimie managed to break through, becoming a Level 1 Law Creator. Once she woke up, she noticed Tatyana sitting by her unconscious body, pouring pure Death Energy into her body to nourish her dantian and meridians.
Tatyana glanced at Xing Jimie and spoke indifferently. "Xing Jimie, you are now a Death Saintess. You will be sent to the Blue Pearl World to find Yasenia Dravory. Do you understand?"
Xing Jimie nodded, and when she saw that Tatyana was about to leave, she couldn't help but ask aloud, her voice a bit weak. "That… Lady Death Empress. Who is Yasenia Dravory to you?"
Tatyana paused, and her expression instantly softened. Xing Jimie was startled. She never knew that a person like Tatyana could make an expression so gentle and loving.
"Yasenia is… someone very important to me. That's all you need to know. If you ever encounter her, make it your priority to serve her and take care of her."
That day, it was the first time Xing Jimie heard Tatyana's gentle words. It was also the first time she felt her heart thicken as jealousy almost surfaced on her facial expression. 'Someone can make Lady Death Empress smile like that…?'
She didn't like it.
For Xing Jimie, Tatyana was a godly existence far above who didn't ever bother looking down. Seeing her more human side, it felt as if there was someone smearing her perfection with earthly colors.
Still, she also knew that she had no choice but to follow her words. 'If I ever dare to do something, then Lady Death Empress will hate me… I hate that even more.'
Of course, she didn't really mind that much because the chances of being the one encountering this person were ridiculously slim… Or so she thought, until a few years passed and she felt something she never expected.
"Lady Death Empress?"
Xing Jimie looked into the distance, confused. She swore that she could sense Lady Death Empress's aura in the distance. Although it was different from what she was used to in terms of both strength and closeness. 'If the Lady Death Empress I know is like a clear black mirror of Death, this one feels muddy and hard to look into. Moreover, the reflection is also not clear at all.'
Regardless, she stepped into the air and quickly went to investigate. What she saw on the other side was a ridiculously gorgeous dragon woman standing beside a massive chasm engulfed in Death Energies.
As she was confused, she noticed a few other presences of her level. A frown appeared as she glared. "If you dare touch her, you'll be enemies without the Astral Death Sect. So, you'd better step back."
"You are too arrogant."
Xing Jimie squinted. "You'll know if I am arrogant once I call other saints to come flatten you. This dragon girl is from my power, so you don't dare touch her."
"Tsk. Not worth it, I guess."
"Yeah, they also lost a Level 9 Transcendence, which is a pity."
"That dragon girl is interesting, but not worth a war."
The presences disappeared, and Xing Jimie snorted. Looking at the dragon girl, she couldn't help but feel displeased. 'Lady Death Empress is so worried that she is sweeping the Heavenly Layer for you, and you are here using such high-profile methods. Are you tired of living?'
So, after Yasenia arrived and she presented herself, Xing Jimie confirmed her identity. She internally groaned while looking coldly at Yasenia. 'I really hit the jackpot among all of us, but I am not happy! This silly child will end up killing herself! Thankfully, no Demigod-level beings reacted that day, or things could've become complicated!'
Her gaze toward the people behind Yasenia was even more displeased. 'These people as well, what are they doing that they allow this little girl to be pushed to such critical situations? Can't they protect her and carry her home quickly!?'
So, thinking about everything, the Saintess said snappily. "You will be a Core Disciple!"
While her strength was well beyond that, Xing Jimie decided to take Yasenia as a disciple for a little while to teach her how to protect herself and act in a low-profile manner. 'I've already informed Lady Death Empress, so she should arrive in a few months.'
During their first conversation, Xing Jimie noticed that Yasenia was intelligent and even guessed that she had been personally sent to find her. 'So clever, but you can't avoid getting into problems? Even this stupid Hei Lin is pampering her! You greedy little dragon, I'll teach you a lesson later!'
So, Xing Jimie gathered everyone important and even recalled all the people scattered around the Blue Pearl World. After all, their objective was in front of their eyes.
While waiting in the main room, she noticed Yasenia's silver-colored eyes looking around aloofly. 'So strange…' Xing Jimie didn't show it, but she was curious about this girl. 'What's so special about this girl to make Lady Death Empress like her so much?'
Their orders were to find Yasenia Dravory, protect her at all costs, and carry her to Tatyana's side. Nothing any more complicated or simpler than that single sentence.
While waiting, the communication device that connected all the Death and Fate Saints kept vibrating annoyingly.
"Hey, Xing Jimie! Is it true that you found Lady Yasenia Dravory? It is not a false positive again, right?"
"Probably not. Xing Jimie is reckless but not stupid."
Xing Jimie gritted her teeth, typing out a whole string of insults dating back to his ninth ancestor. "Who is reckless, you #€@|#€!"
"The one who jumped into a Heavenly Tribulation willingly, of course!"
Meanwhile, another person typed with a laugh. "I still remember Lady Death Empress furiously slapping Junior Brother until he shed all his teeth for presenting a wrong person who didn't even resemble the description. Did he think that because the names were the same, she would be that girl?"
"Hey! Can you stop speaking about that incident? That girl was pretty and had a curvy body! Any of you would be confused!"
"Did she have, I don't know, a DRAGON TAIL? She didn't, right? You blind man! Even her hair was blue-colored instead of black!"
Xing Jimie sighed, ignoring these people. While Yasenia Dravory was a very unique name, when searching across myriad worlds with quadrillions of people, finding people with the same name was not impossible.
After that mistake, Xing Jimie and the others were given a superficial description. It seems that Lady Death Empress didn't want to lay it out straight because she was confident that, when finding the correct one, they would know. Xing Jimie, while jealous of Yasenia's specialness, also admitted that she instantly knew Yasenia was the person she had been searching for.
Her cold eyes met the cold dragon girl's, and she internally harrumphed. 'You wait, you naive girl. I'll have you suffer a bit before Lady Death Empress arrives.'
Meanwhile, Yasenia couldn't help but feel strange about the Saintess, who glared at her from time to time. 'It feels that she resents me, but strangely… I don't feel danger from her. It's like… a puffy and angry cat? Scratches hurt, but they are not life-threatening.'
Our Dragoness, unaware of the Saintess's thought process, kept feeling slightly uncomfortable and not entirely safe. Around a week later, the people who needed to gather finally arrived.
Hei Lin looked around and nodded. His dry voice spread around. "Now that we've found the person Lady Death Saintess was looking for, let's start our conversation about the immediate future."