After Selene disappeared, the elders who accompanied them finally reacted, their faces going from stupefied to furious. One of them glared at Tatyana, her face ugly. "What is the meaning of this! How dare you raise a hand against a junior!"
Tatyana stepped in front of Yasenia, blocking the furious aura waves of the Seventh Realm cultivator. Her face was indifferent as she looked at that elder. "If you want to follow the steps of your junior, I am more than glad to fulfill that wish. A bunch of arrogant people who want to capture my daughter, and you expect me to stay still with my arms crossed?"
Her gaze moved to Aeron, red eyes blazing with power and indifference. "Tell me the real reason you've come here for. Even if you don't want to, I have many ways to make you spit it out, so you better not try to pull any tricks."
After being ignored, Selene's elder glowered at Tatyana and didn't let Aeron speak up. Not that he would, as he was intimidated to the point of freezing. "Since you say that you want to punish me, I want to see how you do that."
Tatyana blinked and glanced over, her eyes full of questioning. "Have you gone mad with grief at the loss of your junior? You are not my opponent."
Aeron was also aware, so he spoke with a tightened look. "Elder Kaelin, please don't do anything stupid. You more than me should understand that she is not someone whom we can match with our current forces."
Kaelin, though, was indifferent. "Selene was like my blood child. I've raised her since she was four, and her parents died in battle. Yet, when she needed me the most, I allowed an arrogant nobody to steal her in front of my eyes. Aeron, do you think I can ignore this?"
A look of difficulty appeared on his face. While he was the most influential Dragon Hunter of his generation, that didn't mean that he could order around the Seventh Realm elders accompanying them. So, not to cause more trouble, he sighed apologetically. "Sorry, Elder Kaelin. Caelan, restrain her and don't let her do anything stupid."
"Yes, Lord Aeron." Caelan appeared by Kaelin's side, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't make things difficult for Lord Aeron, Kaelin. If you decide to attack, I will be forced to suppress you. Remember the reason we've come today."
Kaelin's indifferent expression cracked, showing struggle and grief. She glared at Tatyana and asked, her tone full of bitterness. "Would you be able to control yourself, Caelan? If I don't resolve today's matter, a Heart Demon might grow within me."
Caelan sighed. "I know. But even if you get stuck at your current cultivation level, it is a matter of time for you to overcome the bottleneck. I would rather have a living partner for the following few tens of millennia than visit the tomb of a friend for longer than that."
Kaelin clenched her fists, her body trembling. After reaching the Seventh Realm, this was the first time that she felt so powerless and cornered.
"Very emotional and all, but I don't have all day. Pick up the pace of your theatrics; perhaps cut down a few emotional scenes. Otherwise, I might get bored."
Tatyana's mocking tone was jarring, to say the least, and many directed glowering looks at her. Of course, Tatyana was not kind. Her eyes moved over, and she squinted. "Control your looks, or another word might slip out of my lips."
Intimidated by her terrifying bloodthirst, most of the weaker people lowered their heads, their bodies trembling. Aeron took a deep breath and recovered his calm outwardly. "May I have your esteemed name, Senior?"
"No, you may not. You are not worthy. Refer to me as Death Empress."
While he didn't expect a flat refusal, he didn't linger on it. "I shall address you as such, Death Empress. Then, this is a question I've had. Now that you've killed Selene, you should know that you've offended the entirety of our Dragon Hunting family. Are you prepared for retaliation from us and our allies?"
Tatyana glanced at Aeron with cold eyes and smiled mockingly. "Your gall and confidence are truly praiseworthy. You say that I've offended the Dragon Hunter family? Do you think that they will start a war with me for a simple junior? If she were the chosen one of your family or at least the successor, they might choose to attack me. But for a random junior? Your dreams won't come true."
Kaelin barely held back from striking, while Aeron's face became ugly. Tatyana smiled. "Of course, if your ancestor's intentions since the beginning were picking a bone with me… things are different."
As she said that, the sky darkened, and a voice that spread for thousands of kilometers boomed above them. "Who dares kill my disciple!?"
The power behind the voice was grand, while the sky rumbled with thunder and lightning, energy twisting under the might of the cultivator.
Yasenia looked up with a frown. At her level, she couldn't really measure the difference between powerhouses. So, she didn't know if the new arrival was weaker or stronger than Tatyana. 'In our current Heavenly Layer, there can be up to Level 6 Demigods. Meanwhile, Tatyana is a Level 3 one. So, it's not like she is unmatched.'
Tatyana noticed and smiled. "Don't worry. They can't do anything to me. Lan Ancestor, give me a hand and protect Yasenia."
Then, she took a single step and reappeared above the city. Her comfortable black dress disappeared, her body donning a gorgeous red royal dress. The power of the dress enveloped Tatyana's body, making her aura as profound and endless as the ocean.
A single tiara-like black crown with green gems adorned her flowing black hair, along with matching accessories made from the same materials. One snugly fit around her neck, two others on her shoulders, another blended into her red dress under and around her breasts, and the final one hugged her waist, perfectly fitting above her red dress's skirt.
A black ring curled around her finger, adorning her white and elegant hand. As she stretched her right hand, a sword materialized. It was made of unknown materials and had a hilt with complex arcs. The blade was forged sharply, a thick sword spine going down the middle.
Each treasure donning Tatyana's body emitted boundless might, twisting the fabric of reality around them. With a face that looked down on all living beings, the Death Empress fully released her might.
BOOM!
The sky shattered, Tatyana's power making all souls within millions of kilometers around her quiver in fear. Blood-red fog spilled from the corner of her eyes, and as she opened her mouth to speak, endless imagery of hellish landscapes materialized due to her influence in the world.
"You old fools dare to covet what this empress finds dear. You, who are here to test my bottom line, are you satisfied with what you are feeling? Are you satisfied as terror corrodes your souls and courage? Are you satisfied…?" Tatyana's eyes were looking at the sky as if it were dead. "...now that you've managed to anger me?"
The ancestor in the sky appeared a few thousand kilometers away, his tall, slightly muscular body looking like that of a handsome middle-aged man with long black hair. While his face was cold, there was a hint of wariness and terror in his eyes.
"Lady Death Empress, it seems that we've started with the wrong impression of each other. Our Dragon Hunting family was tasked by others to find out your precious daughter's location. As you might've noticed, those within the ground down below do not belong only to our group."
Tatyana didn't react, her cold expression freezing the souls of those looking at her. "Of course, I already know. Yet you expect me to believe that you came with no intentions? Are you looking down on me, Ancestor Dragon Hunter? What I want is not an explanation, but an action. Otherwise, I'll make sure that this small offense escalates to the point that you regret ever agreeing to the Crimson Lotus Hall's suggestions."
"You…" The Ancestor's face changed for a moment, not knowing how she knew that.
Tatyana glanced down indifferently. "What else could this be but an attempt to measure my strength? If it were something you could deal with, wouldn't you ask for a forceful 'marriage' or something similar so that you can have my daughter? Did you think that I revealed my daughter's talent to the Demons, Divines, and Dragons because I am overconfident? Or did you expect me to be an arrogant fool who knows no better than to cause trouble for my child?"
With a wave of her hand, the sky twisted, an eternal night with flashing green lights manifesting across the firmament. Her voice carried the majesty of a ruler as she spoke. "You've dared to come; now it is time for you to pay the price. It is time to show the Blue Pearl World that, if you want to mess with this Empress's Little Treasure, you must be prepared to sacrifice everything."
The Ancestor's face revealed bewilderment, not expecting Tatyana to start battling with him. His face turned ugly, and he warned. "We still have time to resolve this through talks, Lady Death Empress. If you dare attack me, things will get excessively complicated."
"Wrong." Tatyana showed a cold smile. "Once every living creature fears me, things become much easier. I want to see who dares to remain arrogant in the face of absolute strength!"
Then, the world stilled. Tatyana's voice changed, echoing with the voices of millions of lives she reaped, phantasmal and abyssal, yet carrying the majesty of an empress.
"[Underworld Law: Hell Manifestation]."
With those words, the Dragon Hunter Ancestor felt as if the sky was about to collapse on top of him as energies gathered and fell under Tatyana's control. The dark sky shattered, and the wails of endless souls resonated through the world.
Then, the surroundings twisted as reality bent under her will. The mountains in the distance became piles of endless corpses, and the rivers turned black and red, full of blood and rotting matter. Every single tree withered away, bark splitting as souls escaped from within them.
Endless horrors manifested, leaving only Lan City and other nearby locations whose protective formations could fend off against the influence of [Hell Manifestation]. They were the last sanctuary that protected its inhabitants against hell. Everything else died or transformed, becoming horrifying monsters.
Once a Demigod showed their strength, it was enough to make worlds tremble and realms quiver.
The Ancestor wasn't a nobody either, so he quickly jumped into action, ordering the other Seventh Realm cultivators as well.
"Come and assist me. Since she wants a battle, we'll see what she can do!"
There were five Seventh Realm cultivators within the group that arrived in front of the Lan Residence. All of them were Level 1 Law Creators, but their strength was not negligible. After all, control over [Law] was something that could triumph over any Intent Domain.
All six Seventh Realm cultivators quickly activated their laws, fighting against Tatyana's [Underworld Law]. Thunder, fire, chants of dragons, endless mountain ranges, and many other phenomena appeared, trying to fight against Tatyana's control.
"I haven't stretched my muscles in a while. You lot will make perfect partners."
Tatyana smirked and flicked her sword. The sky split in two, a massive red line stretching beyond the horizon.