“That concludes today’s broadcast, everyone. See you all tomorrow night~”
“Ling Xian, see you tomorrow night (∗❛ั∀❛ั∗)✧*”
“Bye-bye, Ling Xian~”
Watching the thousands of bullet comments flash by, the adorable fox-immortal girl smiled and waved at the camera, then pressed the red button on the screen.
“Aww, I’m so sleepy~”
Putting down her phone, Lin Xuan stretched luxuriously. The fluffy fox ears on her head twitched twice before drooping slightly.
Last night, because her cousin was over, Lin Xuan had been on edge all night and barely slept. Why? Because after she had sternly refused to shower together, her cousin had relentlessly pestered her to share a bed!
It left her fearing a nighttime assault all night long!
‘But I don’t feel like sleeping at all~’
Ever since her body transformed into its current state, she had felt exceptionally energetic, and her steps had become much lighter.
“Sigh, with a rare school anniversary holiday, isn’t it better to just stay cooped up at home and enjoy it…?”
Glancing at the still-empty flower shop entrance, Lin Xuan sighed.
Throughout the entire morning, the flower shop had not seen a single customer. Lin Xuan had spent the whole morning livestreaming from the shop; by the time she snapped back to reality, it was already one in the afternoon.
‘It seems this will be another dull day…’
As she muttered to herself, Lin Xuan surveyed the shop once more. Every small item was neatly arranged, and the flowers in the back had just been watered, thriving beautifully.
The fox ears on her head twitched twice. Lin Xuan pulled open a drawer and took out the jade seal from the night before, beginning to fiddle with it.
She hadn’t observed it too closely last night, but now, upon closer inspection, the craftsmanship of this jade seal was truly impeccable. Its touch was cool and smooth, its color uniform, and its jade body translucent, with a surface that gleamed like glass.
Every detail was meticulously carved, a perfect recreation.
Although Lin Xuan had only seen glimpses of the true Imperial Seal on television, even the genuine article couldn’t be more exquisite than this.
‘So, I might have actually made a profit.’
After playing with it for a while longer, Lin Xuan resisted the urge to test its hardness by smashing it against the broken pots in the basin. She carefully placed it back into the drawer, closed it, and locked it.
After all, it was someone else’s possession. It was best not to mess with it; what if she broke it and they demanded compensation?
“I’ll just go to the King’s Canyon!”
****
The black death qi gradually dispersed, and the black-red, translucent throne sank back into the earth as the qi vanished.
Zhao Zheng emerged from the black mist with an impassive expression. Through the torn fabric on her chest, her fair, jade-like skin shimmered beneath her robes. The wound that had pierced her heart earlier seemed to have never existed.
She sheathed her longsword and extended her hand to catch the Death Flower suspended in the air. The pure white, crystal-like blossom radiated a clear, ethereal glow in the darkness.
The sounds in her ears were still chaotic, but the heart-wrenching roars had transformed into soft whispers.
Guided by these voices, she knew she had temporarily gained the approval of the Underworld’s will, though her current combat strength was barely at the level of a mid-tier undead.
The second stage, Undead Monarch, required gaining the recognition and allegiance of eight Undead Lords. Furthermore, she would need to devour the supreme monarch’s essence of the dark plane through the pious prayers of these eight lords.
Zhao Zheng stepped forward, picking up a fist-sized, black-purple crystal from the pulverized remains of the dark swordsman she had just annihilated.
This was an Undead Crystal, the source of energy and life for most low and mid-tier creatures in the dark plane, and a crucial item for fusion and advancement.
At that very moment, a powerful urge to devour frantically prompted her from within.
“Hmph!”
With a slight squeeze, she crushed the crystal in her palm. Zhao Zheng then swept her hand, causing the remaining crystals on the ground to shatter sequentially before flying towards the ancient city wall under an invisible force.
Streams of pale purple energy flowed into the bodies of the warriors. Simultaneously, countless black mists shrieked as they were forced out of them, emitting mournful wails.
The black veil covering their faces slowly dissipated, revealing gaunt, mummified visages and scarred white bones. Pale blue soul fires flickered in their hollow eye sockets.
“Life is a pilgrimage of accumulated suffering, but this is never a tale of death and cessation…”
Her black-red imperial robe fluttered in the wind. The young king raised her head, gazing at the pitch-black sky. Her profound eyes seemed to transform into two sharp swords, piercing through the endless clouds and the world’s barrier, straight into the deep cosmos.
Then she turned around, her dark eyes, in that instant, shining brighter than billions of stars.
“Come, join me, and together we shall change this world!”
****
Unbeknownst to her, she had been playing games until evening, yet the flower shop still hadn’t seen a single customer all day.
Lin Xuan, having just returned from the King’s Canyon, sighed. Given the situation, she feared she would have to extend her livestreaming hours.
Speaking of which, she had originally opened the flower shop to write novels, hadn’t she…
Lost in thought, she opened her novel app, clicked on a book titled “Ferryman of Ten Thousand Realms,” and checked the comment section. Unsurprisingly, it was filled with “Pigeon Cooking Manuals.”
After scrolling through the comments, she sighed and opened her writing software, but three seconds later, she quickly switched out of it again.
‘No inspiration at all~’
Bored, she slumped onto the counter, about to make a cooing sound, when her eyes darted towards the door. Suddenly, she seemed to catch sight of a faint, ethereal figure, and she instantly straightened her body, sitting up with a whoosh.
A customer?!
As this thought struck her, she immediately put on a professional smile and walked to the doorway.
Tonight was still heavily foggy. The figure slowly moved forward through the mist, their tall silhouette appearing and disappearing. Upon closer inspection, it seemed they were carrying something on their back.
But… why did this figure look more and more familiar?
Just as Lin Xuan was thinking this, a deep voice echoed through the mist.
“King Kleisius of the South Pole, here to present tribute!”
As the words fell, the figure gradually became clearer.
It was a rugged man nearly two meters tall, with a messy head of blue hair standing on end like a hedgehog. His body was as muscular as a bear’s, yet he was dressed quite formally; his ice-blue robe clearly indicated high quality!
“Oh, it’s you. You’ve worked hard!”
Recognizing the figure before her, Lin Xuan maintained a polite smile, though a hint of disappointment was unavoidable within her.
She had thought a new customer had arrived, alas…
“Just put the things here for now. Wait a moment, I’ll go get something!”
“Yes, yes!”
Upon hearing Lin Xuan’s words, the imposing, well-dressed man quickly set down the box he was carrying on his back, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and a sheepish smile on his face.
Just moments after entering the flower shop, beads of sweat quickly appeared on his forehead, visible to the naked eye.
Lin Xuan was accustomed to this. Although this simple-minded fellow looked fierce, he seemed incredibly frail and rather shy. She had struggled quite a bit to reassure him the first time.
Shaking her head helplessly, Lin Xuan took a fruit platter from the counter and filled it with dried fruits, melon seeds, and walnuts.
A guest was a guest. Although she already suspected this guy probably hadn’t brought any money again, as a shopkeeper, she still had to offer proper hospitality, right?
“Eh? Where did I put the nutcracker?”
She searched left and right but couldn’t find the small hammer for cracking walnuts. Lin Xuan looked around again, unable to find anything to substitute. After a moment of thought, she took out the jade seal from the drawer.
“I’ll use this as a substitute for now. Just cracking two walnuts, it should be fine, right…?”