Fairy, please don't do this!

She dreamt that she was in the realm of her own mind, once again engaging in a fierce battle with that lackey.

Sword intent surged, and true energy clashed.

After thousands of rounds of fierce fighting, she had used her martial arts skills to the fullest and was finally on the verge of victory. She was ready to take him down in one fell swoop and wipe away her previous humiliation.

Who would have thought that at this crucial moment, this lackey used some trick, and the long sword in his hand suddenly transformed into a soft red ribbon, which coiled around her like a snake, binding her into a big red dumpling, making her unable to move at all.

Undoubtedly, this attempt to avenge the defeat has failed once again.

Then, they were subjected to another humiliating and devastating ordeal.

This lackey actually used the move "Burning Red Cliffs" on the spot. The scorching true yang fire invaded her limbs and bones, burning her soul and causing her to tremble and collapse instantly.

hum-

Just then, ripples spread through the mental realm.

A beautiful woman dressed in a light blue palace dress appeared quietly.

It was none other than her personal maid, Jing Shu.

When Jing Shu saw that the Empress had been humiliated, she immediately took action to teach this rebellious minister who dared to defy his superiors a lesson.

Xiao Qingyi tried to stop her, but to no avail.

After all, even she, at the same level, was no match for this lackey, let alone Jing Shu.

The result was predictable!

Jing Shu was defeated and then tackled to the ground.

"You dog of a slave, you're asking for death!"

Xiao Qingyi was furious, and her true energy surged violently, actually breaking the red silk that bound her.

Immediately, with a light touch of her slender feet, she transformed into a streak of light and swept towards the arrogant lackey, intending to completely suppress him.

But as soon as she shoved him away, Jing Shu looked at her with teary eyes and pleaded in a mournful voice, "Your Majesty... please spare him, I did it willingly!"

"What do you mean 'voluntary'?"

Xiao Qingyi froze on the spot, unable to react for a moment.

Jing Shu held Gu Jinchao in her arms, biting her lower lip with her pearly teeth, her expression wistful as she said, "Xiao Chao and I have long harbored feelings for each other, but we were afraid that Your Majesty would not grant us our wish, so we have kept it a secret all this time..."

Xiao Qingyi's phoenix eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief: "Jing Shu, how could you... have an affair with this dog of a servant?"

In her opinion, Jing Shu was loyal to her and would never do such a thing.

But the facts are undeniable, and we have no choice but to believe them.

Most importantly, the anger and resentment she felt at this moment were not mostly because Jing Shu and Gu Jinzhao had an affair.

Instead, Gu Jinzhao, despite his ambiguous relationship with her, still went and flirted with other women.

Just like before, she told this lackey not to get too close to Luo Yirao, but he didn't listen. A surge of extremely angry anger welled up in her heart.

Jing Shu's eyes reddened slightly as she stood in front of Gu Jinchao, saying, "Your Majesty, if you want to kill someone, then kill me!"

"It was I who betrayed you..."

Gu Jinzhao pulled her behind him and wiped away the blood that had spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Immediately, he took a deep breath and said earnestly, "Jingjie and I are truly in love. Please, Your Majesty, consider the many contributions I have made for you and grant us your blessing!"

“One of you is my trusted personal maid, and the other is my favored minister.”

"Now that you have all betrayed me, do you expect me to grant your wish?"

"It's really wonderful, really wonderful..."

Xiao Qingyi's expression suddenly turned icy, and a fierce crimson glint appeared in her phoenix eyes.

She took a step forward and appeared in front of Gu Jinchao in an instant. Her jade-like hand moved like lightning, directly grabbing his neck and twisting it sharply!

click-

A crisp cracking sound of bones breaking rang out, his neck twisted, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.

The sparkle in his eyes vanished quickly, and the vitality in his body gradually dissipated.

Suddenly, spiderweb-like cracks appeared in the space within the mind's realm, and it shattered on the spot.

The dream is over!

A terrifying aura of crimson gold suddenly swept out like a dam bursting!

Boom—

The spiritual spring burst open, and milky white water splashed everywhere like a torrential rain!

All the tables, chairs, and beds in the entire miniature world shattered, and wood chips flew everywhere like rain!

The purple bamboo forest that enveloped the spiritual spring was instantly reduced to dust, leveled by the fierce, golden killing intent!

Xiao Qingyi opened her pale gold phoenix eyes, now tinged with scarlet, without anyone noticing.

She slowly stood up, her mature and graceful figure appearing and disappearing amidst the torrential rain. The icy killing intent emanating from her body surged like an abyss, causing the entire space to distort and tremble.

At this moment, the powerful Empress Dowager, who was also a martial arts master, pierced through the darkness with her lightning-fast gaze, directly penetrating the still-lingering spiritual mist and shooting towards the opposite bank of the spiritual spring.

……

Inside the Imperial Observatory!

The flickering candlelight illuminated a stunningly beautiful woman with a mature, womanly appearance.

She sat at her desk, her delicate body wrapped in a moon-white long dress that outlined her voluptuous and alluring curves.

Her fair and delicate hands gently kneaded a new clay figure, with Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches runes swirling around her smooth fingertips, like countless black and white butterflies fluttering and dancing.

Before long, a female clay figure took shape.

Her face was exquisitely beautiful, and her eyes were as dark as the boundless starry sky, with seemingly floating stars.

She was tall and slender, dressed in a long, moon-white dress, exuding an air of refined elegance and languid charm.

However, this female clay figure is out of place among the other clay figures on the table!

Why?

Because although she had a red thread wrapped around her body, the other end was not tied.

"Senior sister's marriage line has been tied into a dead knot."

"The little guy is quite hardworking."

"Looks like it'll be my turn soon... I'm actually kind of looking forward to it!"

Tantai Xuanji smiled, a slight curve appearing at the corners of her lips.

Before the words were even finished, the water-like light screen floating above the desk rippled in waves.

Immediately, a cold, murderous female voice rang in his ears: "You dog slave, you're asking for death!"

Upon hearing this, Tantai Xuanji Dai raised her head and looked at the scene in the spiritual spring through the light screen. Her eyebrows immediately twitched: "The madness has taken hold, and now they've gone too far."

"How should we handle this situation, little one?"

"If not handled properly, it could truly lead to death and the annihilation of one's soul!"

Her eyes held a hint of amusement, and her pair of slender legs, nestled beneath her skirt, were elegantly crossed, revealing an expression of keen interest…

Chapter 434, The Empress Dowager's murderous intent rises suddenly, and the rebellious minister defies his superior [Part 1] (3K)

Inside the spiritual spring, a quarter of an hour ago!

Gu Jinzhao was circulating the True Yang Sword Technique to exorcise the demonic poison from Jing Shu's body, and the moment had come.

Their auras merged, and their souls resonated.

The wisps of demonic poison were forced out by the true yang fire, turning into a thin layer of fragrant sweat that spread from the skin of the gentle young woman in his arms.

Suddenly, a cold female voice, filled with boundless rage, boomed in my ears like thunder: "You dog slave, you're asking for death!"

Has the Empress Dowager woken up?

Gu Jinzhao's expression changed slightly, his tense nerves snapped, and he subconsciously pushed the True Yang Sword Technique to its unprecedented limit.

The spiritual power that had been accumulating within his body surged forth like a celestial river, breaking through the barrier of the fifth-grade Divine Path Perfection and leaving him only one step away from the fourth-grade Golden Core Realm.

He broke through the barrier!

The True Yang Fire also transformed into a raging inferno, forcing all the demonic poison out of Jing Shu's body and condensing it into a huge fire net, sealing the seed of the demonic poison!

Si Ruoyu's skin was burning hot from the scorching heat. She tilted her head back, her eyes glazed over, and her mind went blank.

She never expected that the Empress Dowager would wake up at this time.

"Aunt Ruo, are you alright?"

Gu Jinzhao quickly embraced the delicate body that had collapsed towards him.

They breathed a sigh of relief when they found out she had only fainted.

Immediately, he took off Aunt Ruo's silver-rimmed glasses and put them on himself.

My gaze pierced through the pure white mist and I saw the Empress Dowager immersed in the sacred spring.

Her phoenix eyes remained tightly closed, but her face was covered in frost.

Not awake?

Why did you utter a sentence full of murderous intent just now?

Of course, that's not important!

Importantly, Gu Jinchao sensed a fierce and tyrannical aura emanating from Xiao Qingyi, as if she wanted to slaughter everything in the world.

'Could it be that his madness has taken hold?'

The thought had barely crossed his mind when An Wanxi's anxious voice rang in his head: "The Empress Dowager's madness has flared up, but she hasn't fully recovered yet. Husband, hurry!"

"If she opens her eyes and sees you and Jing Shu meeting in secret right under her nose, the situation could get out of control!"

Just as Gu Jinzhao was about to say something, a soft hum came from his arms.

But then she saw that Jing Shu's eyes gradually focused again, though her fair and flawless face still had a touch of vibrant pink, and her brows and eyes were filled with a captivating and alluring spring charm.

She looked up, slightly bewildered, and asked, "What happened?"

Gu Jinzhao hurriedly said, "The Empress's madness has flared up and she is about to wake up. I will leave now and return later."

"Jing-jie, stop the Empress, don't let her lose control."

As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into an invisible shadow, using the lingering spiritual mist as cover, and sped away towards the outside of the spiritual spring.

The reason he fled was naturally to avoid exposing his intimate moment with Jing Shu in the spiritual spring.

The reason for turning back later is to help Xiao Qingyi suppress her mad desires.

Otherwise, with her terrifying cultivation at the peak of the first rank, once her mind is completely corrupted, the entire Northern Territory and even the Cangyue Dynasty would probably be slaughtered.

"Is Her Majesty about to wake up?"

Jing Shu panicked immediately, but still took out an outer garment from her storage ring and hurriedly wrapped it around her alluring body, which was wearing a strapless bodycon dress.

Not long after I put it on, a terrifying killing intent swept over me like a tsunami!

Boom—

The spring burst open, and water droplets splashed everywhere like a torrential rain.

The surrounding tables, chairs, beds, and even the entire bamboo forest crumbled into dust in an instant.

The dense spiritual mist was torn apart and dispersed by the violent energy.

Jing Shu looked up and met a pair of blood-red phoenix eyes.

Xiao Qingyi opened her eyes, her graceful body shrouded in a layer of misty water, and slowly stood up from the spiritual spring.

Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, swaying in the wind.

Beneath the slender, snowy neck, the full, abundant snow-covered peaks undulate, with a faint, deep, white ravine visible beneath.

Below her flat stomach, a pair of long, slender, fair legs were still wrapped in black silk stockings, which shimmered with a crystal-clear luster under the cold moonlight.