“Ahh!!!” Yang Hao knelt on the ground in agony. A stream of fiery breath erupted from his wide-open mouth.
“What’s wrong with you?” Hun Yuanzi’s voice sounded odd. “You’ve got a belly full of smoke again—are you trying to steam sausages?”
“I don’t know…” Yang Hao felt flames raging inside his body, uncontrollable and wild. Fiery heat, like true fire, was devouring his internal organs. “It feels like my insides are burning.”
“Oh no!!!” Hun Yuanzi’s tone shifted in alarm. “I forgot to warn you about the backlash of true fire.”
“What do you mean by true fire backlash?” Yang Hao gritted his teeth tightly; his body was nearly collapsing.
“The Fire Rhesus Pill is a very aggressive elixir. Essentially, it transforms all the energy in the cultivator’s dantian into true fire, then suppresses and gradually releases it, somewhat like an old-fashioned pressure cooker,” Hun Yuanzi explained. “Originally, as long as your energy doesn’t leak, there wouldn’t be any problem.”
“So what’s happening now?” Yang Hao had a bad feeling. Every time Hun Yuanzi hesitated to explain, it meant trouble for him.
“Now you’ve exhausted all your energy, meaning there’s nothing left to suppress the power of the Fire Rhesus Pill inside your dantian. As a result, the true fire is running rampant inside your body. Eventually, the backlash of true fire might even endanger your life.”
“What the hell!!!” Despite his pain, Yang Hao shouted furiously. “You bastard, why didn’t you tell me about something this important?”
Hun Yuanzi, clearly at fault, still retorted, “I completed your cultivation level thousands of years ago. How could I remember every little detail? You know I have a bit of a senior moment…”
“So what should I do now?” Though furious, Yang Hao knew he had to rely on Hun Yuanzi to save his life, so he dared not raise his voice too much.
Hun Yuanzi smacked his lips, not speaking much, but the sound of saliva dripping was clearly audible. Suddenly realizing something, Yang Hao hastily warned, “Hey, old man, don’t even think about my intestines. I ate a lot this morning, and it’s all turned to crap already.”
“Alright, alright,” Hun Yuanzi, probably after a struggle, decided not to go after Yang Hao’s intestines. “But you’re in a bit of a mess now. It would be easier anywhere else, but rescuing you inside the palace is difficult…”
“What does that have to do with the location?” Yang Hao’s entire body felt as if hundreds of steel wires were tearing through him, causing him to tremble in pain. “If you have a solution, just tell me already!”
The situation was extremely urgent, yet Hun Yuanzi remained leisurely, teasingly withholding the answer: “Someone’s coming; I’ll tell you later!”
“Hey, hey!” Yang Hao cried out desperately, but Hun Yuanzi refused to speak again, likely retreating to ponder the cooking time for the braised pork belly once more.
“What’s wrong with you?” A cold, female voice suddenly spoke.
Woman? Yang Hao was startled. He had thought the medicine might have gone wrong, leading him to be summoned for questioning. But to his surprise, a graceful, noble-looking young matron stood before him.
Around thirty years old, she might have passed her youthful days compared to young girls, but this woman exuded a mature charm. Her beauty rivaled that of Shi Mingyuan.
Her figure was full and curvaceous, hidden beneath a semi-transparent gauze dress that wasn’t very long, revealing a small portion of her smooth, tender legs. What captivated Yang Hao most were her feet, encased in wooden clogs. They were astonishingly beautiful—round, delicate, and as smooth as jade, with a silver ring around her little toe.
After admiring her beautiful legs and feet, Yang Hao’s pain miraculously eased somewhat, giving him the strength to lift his head and observe the woman’s face. Her noble aura was enough to make others hold their breath. Adorned with a crown-like headdress, she radiated a goddess-like sanctity. Just one glance at her was enough to evoke a spontaneous sense of reverence and awe.
Some women, though not particularly beautiful, might provoke lustful thoughts in men. This woman was the complete opposite. Her beauty surpassed all other beauties, yet her dignified presence kept men at a distance, too intimidated to approach.
The noblewoman said coldly, “I am Empress Ming. You’ve heard of me, right?”
Yang Hao nearly froze from her voice. Of course, he had heard of Empress Ming—even those who hadn’t heard of Emperor Danzhen likely had heard of her.
Empress Ming was the pillar of the royal family of Laimeng Star. As Emperor Danzhen’s empress, she seemed destined to become queen from birth. Emperor Danzhen had not even chosen a queen until he was fifty, as if waiting for her arrival.
Empress Ming came from humble origins, merely the daughter of commoners on Laimeng Star. Yet from birth, she displayed an extraordinary noble demeanor that astonished the entire commoner district.
Just ten months after her birth, she was adopted by a powerful noble family. At three years old, a rival faction killed off her adoptive family in a struggle to claim her. At five, she was sent to the palace for training. By the age of ten, she was officially named the Crown Empress.
The title “Crown Empress” had never existed before—it was specially created by Emperor Danzhen for Ming Empress, silencing all calls for him to appoint a queen earlier.
Upon reaching adulthood, Ming Empress officially became the empress of Laimeng Star and had given birth to a young prince last year. But what truly made her famous was a rebellion that occurred several years ago. At that time, Emperor Danzhen was leading troops outside the capital to quell the rebellion, but rebel forces launched a surprise attack on the capital, aiming to seize the palace and massacre the royal family.
The palace guards were insufficient to resist the rebels. At this critical moment, Ming Empress alone ascended the city walls. Her commanding presence stunned the entire rebel army of hundreds of thousands. For three days, she stood alone on the city wall, and the rebels dared not advance even a single step into the imperial city. Eventually, Emperor Danzhen returned in time to suppress the rebellion.
After this incident, Ming Empress’s reputation shook the entire empire. She was considered the second most powerful figure on Laimeng Star, second only to Emperor Danzhen.
Yang Hao had learned about this historical figure and the political structure in school, but he had never imagined that the famous Ming Empress could be so beautiful and youthful. Considering her age, she was only in her early thirties, precisely the age when a woman exudes mature charm.
Yang Hao was usually carefree and never cared about his commoner status, never feeling inferior in front of any beauty. But today was different. The woman standing before him was the most powerful, the most beautiful, and the most awe-inspiring figure on this planet. For the first time, Yang Hao felt self-conscious and ashamed. It was as if he were standing before an empress, unable to lift his head.
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