The messenger thought that the ancestors would react much more harshly. However, they were all cold-faced, with a trace of concern between their eyebrows. One of them waved his hand. "We know, you can leave now. Do not share news of this with anyone, or else you'll be banished and crippled."
The messenger's face turned white with fear for a second before he nodded solemnly. "I will do as the ancestors say!"
"If you know, leave."
The messenger left, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, silence returned to the room. A woman with a cold beauty spoke, her voice full of lament and regret. "To think that Hakkan would die so unexpectedly."
One of them frowned. "Are you sure that we wouldn't have been able to breach that formation?"
The one with the most advanced knowledge in formation shook his head. "Impossible. I am not sure how she deployed it in a fraction of a second, but it would take us around an entire hour of bombardment to breach it. With such a long time to react, we can forget about saving Hakkan. If we were to rush without a plan, we might fall into one of her traps and die together with him."
The same one who had questioned asked again, the frown not leaving his expression. "We outnumber her greatly. I think we can deal with her if we use everything at our disposal." But as soon as he said that out of emotion, he paused and shook his head. "Sigh… Forget that. I spoke without thinking. If we do that, we are just making ourselves vulnerable to our enemies."
The Dragon Clan and many other beast clans were naturally averse to them. Moreover, if their cooperation with the Crimson Lotus Hall became deeper, they would also offend the entire righteous side of the cultivation sects.
The others nodded, showing that they didn't mind his small outburst. After all, they've just lost a partner of hundreds of thousands of years. "So, how do we avenge Hakkan?"
All of them stayed silent for a moment. Eventually, the cold woman suggested something. "We can make the others know that the Death Empress is a Demonic Cultivator."
One snorted sarcastically. "Oh yeah? The 'Death Empress' is an evil person! Everyone will be surprised at such a shocking statement."
The cold woman glared over. "Stop acting childish. As long as we spread her feats, it will be impossible to clear her name. Just the ridiculous number of undead creatures she controls is enough to fill cities. Remember, each of those creatures is at least one life she has stolen in the past, and that will arouse the fighting fervor in those justice-seeking people."
One that had been silent all this time finally spoke up. "I believe that Hakkan's death is a warning that we should heed. To begin with, it was our fault for allying with the Crimson Lotus Hall to try to steal that dragon. If we continue, we might be able to defeat her, but at what price?"
"Are you saying that we should ignore what happened and just stay away from them?"
"What else? If anyone else thinks we are weak because of this event, we can just show them that we are not weak by beating them. It is just not worth it to risk our lives."
"Then, what about Aeron and the other juniors we sent!?"
The woman's cold expression hardened. She had taken part in raising Selene, and her death made her quite angry. That child was probably her successor, and all the thousands of years of effort raising her were now gone.
"They knew where they were going. Naturally, if the Death Empress lets them go, they will be thankful. If not, she needs to hope that there doesn't come a day when we finally have a good enough reason to avenge those who died today."
The cold woman was silent, eventually standing up and flicking her long sleeve. "Do as you please. I'll go into a retreat for the next 10,000 years. Don't call me unless there is an emergency."
***
Back in Lan City, Tatyana was sitting cross-legged in front of Hakkan's body. Her [Innate Skill: Death Phantom] allowed her to create Undead Generals based on resentment and many other details.
Sadly, there was no resentment toward Hakkan, only disdain. Hence, Tatyana was in a bit of a pickle. 'This is the reason I usually antagonize everything under the heavens. Without a proper reason to hate, how can I convert my strong foes into my undead?'
Tatyana closed her eyes and started to manipulate her own feelings.
'Imagine, what if I were not strong enough?'
The image of her body falling down, defeated, flashed in her mind. But that didn't even make her heart flinch.
'Imagine, what after my defeat?'
She saw Yasenia looking worried, her face pale. She saw her shouting, but was unable to do anything.
'Imagine, what after our conflict?'
She saw Yasenia being taken away by Aeron and the others. At that moment, her heart began beating with uncomfortable feelings.
'Allow the Heart Demons to feed my mind. Let them show me a future.'
After being dragged, Yasenia would be enslaved, and then… Tatyana's eyes flung open, malevolent energies swirling around her. Her heart thumped with pain and hatred, and she didn't hold those feelings back. Instead, she sank into them.
"HAA!!"
BOOM!
A pillar of energy pierced the sky, her facial features looking like a ferocious beast about to rip apart everything with her claws and teeth.
"[Innate Skill: Death Phantom]!"
Her elegant voice was marred by aggression and anger, her red eyes about to cloud with hatred.
WHOOSH!
The massive hell she unleashed and all the energy in the air were pulled as if Hakkan's body had transformed into an all-powerful magnet. Death Energy, corpses, and decayed land and air drilled into the destroyed body and spear. Simultaneously, Tatyana's devouring Death Energy infected Hakkan's remaining soul, stitching everything back together as she created the consciousness of a new being.
"[Divine Lich Empress's Body Forging]!"
This skill, which Tatyana could use to "forge" any type of body, be it her copy of another, activated majestically. Behind Tatyana, the image of an ancient empress manifested, the primordial being's cold eyes looking down on all life.
This was the being from whom Tatyana inherited her powers, an ancient powerhouse whose name had been etched in the legends of countless eras and civilizations—the Divine Lich Empress.
Hakkan's cultivation level went down once, and all that energy mixed with the Death Energies that Tatyana manipulated. Hakkan's long golden hair turned white, his healthy bronze-colored skin losing all pigmentation and becoming like a polished white jade.
The mangled corpse was mended. Muscles stitched back together, bones regrew at a speed visible to the naked eye, blood vessels and meridians reconstructed, and finally, internal organs reformed.
The process was neither fast nor slow.
Tian Long and Lauren flew around Tatyana, their eyes keeping guard for any untimely interruptions. The Abyssal Dragon King couldn't help but comment. "Lauren, it seems that you might have competition. This one is ending up quite neatly."
Lauren's voice was low and phantasmal. "My position will remain as mine as long as I am stronger. If I fall behind, that's my fault, not Hakkan's."
Tian Long chuckled, his rumbling voice creating vibrations around his massive body. "As expected from the Grand Marshal. You are as strict with others as you are with yourself."
Lauren, standing on the head of his massive black armored dragon, glanced down at Lan City. "Is it okay to let the Little Princess be alone down there?"
Tian Long's glowing red eyes turned vicious. "I want to see who dares make a move on Little Princess. I'll devour their souls and those of their entire families."
Lauren commented. "I was more worried for the others. If someone dares to do something to Little Princess right now, Tatyana might transform this entire continent into a glorified burial location."
Tian Long didn't even flinch at that comment. "If they dare do something, it won't only be her who will participate in the construction of the burial site."
Lauren nodded. "Well, you are not wrong."
Meanwhile, in front of the Lan Family Manor's front gate, Yasenia was looking up with a frown. "The battle ended a while ago, right? Why hasn't Tatyana come down yet?"
Lan Shuyao tried to see through the massive torrents of energy, but she was ultimately unable to. "I am unaware. But do not worry. No one has returned from the battle in the sky, so I am sure that there are no problems."
"You are most likely right, but… What was that murderous aura a moment ago? Even I got chills from it."
A healthy-looking old man appeared by Yasenia's side. He was the Lan Ancestor. "Do not worry, Miss Yasenia. Lady Death Empress is refining something. From the undead that I've seen, I can guess that she is likely turning those she has managed to defeat."
"Ohh! That makes a lot of sense, actually." She then smiled. "I wonder how long it will take."
The Lan Ancestor shook his head, unaware. "While we don't know, you can use that time to deal with these people."
Yasenia looked in front. Aeron and all the others looked sickly, as if they were about to collapse with the gentlest of breezes. Their eyes were fixed on the sky, still hopeful that their elders would return after fighting Tatyana.
"How should we deal with these people…?" She asked rhetorically. After thinking for a few seconds, Yasenia couldn't come to a conclusion. "Let's see… If I say that we kill them, their powers will be even more resentful than they currently are. However, if we let them live, they might at least keep superficial appearances. That's basically all I need, right? We don't need to shed pretense. Moreover, killing them won't give me any benefits other than their treasures."
As Dragon Hunters and Demonic Cultivators, Yasenia was sure that their rings would be full of interesting materials and treasures. "Treasures…"
Lan Shuyao saw Yasenia's gaze gain a touch of greed, making her eyebrows tremble. 'Will she really give in to her greed?'
Eventually, Yasenia sighed and shook her head. "Hey, Sir Aeron."
"Y-Yes?" The man turned, not expecting Yasenia to call out.
"Give me all of your dragon-related materials, and I'll let you leave with your life."
Lan Shuyao clicked her tongue. 'Clever little girl. If she asks about it in this manner, no one can condemn her. After all, she can easily say that the reason is taking what should belong to her own race from evil plunderers.'
Aeron was, of course, reluctant. He had never expected anything to go wrong, so he was carrying most of his precious materials. Yasenia asking for dragon-related materials from him was taking away half his life!
"I… can't. I have too many precious items that form part of my accumulations and strength. If you force me, what difference is there with crippling me!?"
Yasenia's lips arched in a cold sneer. "Do you want to be crippled for real? Once my mother comes back down, I want to see where you can flee. And as you've seen, she is far from a gentle and understanding woman. So, leave your dragon-related treasures behind, and I will tell her not to kill you lot."
"This is extortion!"
"Extortion? You've hunted my kind happily for thousands of years with impunity. Now that I ask for compensation, you act like this? I didn't know that the revered Dragon Hunters had such a rotten character."
The cultivators who were spectating the show began whispering among themselves, many with disdainful looks.
Aeron noticed and felt hatred bloom inside his heart. "You… Alright. I hope you don't regret it."
"Regret?" Yasenia chuckled and drew a Heavenly Oath for them to pledge. "My only regret is not having enough justification to kill all of you. Now, you and the others read this oath and scram from my sight."
By the end of the day, Yasenia's Treasure World was filled with mountains of dragon materials ranging from Heaven-ranked to Supreme-ranked. 'So many Dragon Cores… I'll be able to have quite a feast after a long while.'