Chapter 359: The Empress: I'm Not Pure Anymore…
Even though the Empress had already guessed who the bride in the vision was—no one knew that figure better than she did—watching the veil being lifted still made her inexplicably nervous.
There was no doubt that this image was a continuation of the impression formed from the dream her Mortal Alter Ego had left when she entered the Demon Sect Holy Saint dream.
But… he'd never seen her Mortal Alter Ego face before.
So then… whose face would be under the veil?
The Empress watched the image intently, already bracing herself for a face eerily similar to her own to be revealed.
But...
Nothing.
No beautiful face.
Instead, there was... a mask.
A familiar, intricately detailed mask with scaled patterns.
The Empress's eyelid twitches.
Seriously? He imagined a wedding scene... and still managed to be playful at a time like this?
She had mentally prepared herself to see her own face reflected back—possibly with some emotional impact—but this? It felt like a joke had been played on her.
Fortunately, the scene wasn't over.
The groom's hand, having just lifted the red veil, now moved again—this time gently pressing against the mask.
It's coming off!
The Empress held her breath once again.
But, to her surprise, he didn't actually remove the mask.
Instead, in the next moment, the bride's figure wavered slightly... and then—the mask simply vanished.
In its place was a meticulously made-up face, glowing under the warm light of bridal candles.
Bright eyes. Pearl-white teeth. The delicate flush of rouge added a bashful charm.
Boom!
SPLASH—
A column of water shot up from the Imperial Pool outside the vision. Drops of water sprayed everywhere, falling like rain back into the glowing waters.
It was caused by the Empress losing control of her spiritual energy for a brief moment.
Because that face—there was no one she recognized more clearly.
It was her face.
Not just similar. It was hers.
She had expected this, in theory—but this wasn't just her face.
The bride in the vision… she wasn't dressed like her Mortal Alter Ego. She had completely transformed into her current Imperial Alter Ego.
Golden silk robes, phoenix hairpins.
From head to toe, she looked exactly like the Empress herself—just as she was now.
Ho— How could this be?!
(He shouldn't know about my Empyreal Qi Synthesis… At most, he thinks my Mortal Alter Ego is my "younger sister," like his master said.)
(If that's the case, then even if he lifted the mask to show my real face, it would've made sense… But instead, the entire "bride"—originally meant to be my Mortal Alter Ego—was reshaped into me. The Empress.)
(That leaves only one explanation…)
This Demon Sect Holy Saint… is interested in the "big sister" too?!
"This… this isn't so bad," the Empress muttered to herself, cheeks pink, trying to rationalize. "It was I who stirred his mind and heart today… And I am rather beautiful. Plus, he drank all that Dao Spirit Immortal Tea. Having such thoughts… is not that unreasonable."
Besides, she was the ruler of the Immortal Nation.
From any angle—appearance, power, charisma—her Imperial Alter Ego had far more allure than a masked, low-profile Mortal Alter Ego.
She knew her own charm very well.
Yes, very normal. Totally normal.
For some reason, her panicked thoughts began to calm down.
(It's fine… I'm the Empress. I've seen it all. With the experience of all my three Alter Ego combined, what haven't I faced?)
(Wait. What's he about to do now—)
Just as she was starting to recover her composure, her face suddenly froze.
Because she'd been so caught up in thinking about the unveiling, she had completely overlooked something obvious.
They were married, weren't they?
Which meant… wasn't there one last step?
The bridal chamber.
"You damn scoundrel!!"
The moment she saw the groom and bride—herself—falling together onto the bed, their robes gradually slipping out of place…
The Empress felt all the blood in her body rush straight to her head.
Her normally regal, breathtaking face turned so red it made the version of her in the vision look pale by comparison.
She was blushing so hard it seemed like her cheeks might literally start steaming.
The Empress's uncontrolled spiritual energy continued to cause eruptions across the surface of the fishpond.
In the chaos, she even forgot to forcefully shut off the water screen in front of her.
And by the time she remembered…
It was already too late.
That's when she discovered something terrifying.
Even with the accumulated life experience of three lives, there are still things she had never seen before.
Like the… thing she was currently staring at in a daze.
Yes, that thing the Holy Saint used to pierce her dream self—she had never seen anything like it in her life.
Two thoughts flashed through her head:
First: So this is what the forbidden texts referred to… But… why is it this big?! Could it be because this scene was formed from his thoughts, exaggerate it's size?
Second: I… I'm not pure anymore!
Immortal Calendar Year 114. On the equivalent of June 23rd.
On this day, the Empress of the Immortal Nation grew up.
She was no longer the clueless little girl she used to be.
From stealing glances to the forbidden text image with drifting eyes, to boldly peeking at it a couple of times, to pretending not to care while sneakily watching people do it with her spiritual sense…
This Empress of the Immortal Nation would never have imagined—this was how her enlightenment would happen.
In an era with no advanced technology, no rampant adult media—a sovereign Empress watched a steamy mind-generated fantasy play out through sheer talent and mental strength.
The fact that the main characters were her and the boy she'd recently begun to feel intrigued by only made things worse… or better? She didn't know anymore.
Her breath became ragged, her entire body growing hot.
She couldn't keep watching…
Over and over, this thought echoed in her mind. She raised her palm toward the water screen.
Only to gently lower it again.
Her gaze filled with conflict, a tinge of bewilderment.
Why had things become like this?
(Reflected thoughts… the mirror reveals what's in the heart...)
(So this—this was what he was thinking about just now…?)
He wants to sleep with me?!
Her face instantly flushed crimson.
Wh– why did it turn out like this?! Could it be a side effect of the Dao Spirit Immortal Tea?
No— that tea only makes internal flaws more vulnerable and thoughts more easily amplified—but it doesn't conjure up desires out of thin air…
As she continued to steal glances at the increasingly heated images in the water screen, the Empress—so elegant, so dignified—spat for the first time in a very unladylike fashion.
Ptui! That Demon Sect brat really is the same kind of person as me! All that flawless image—it's all an act!
No— he's even worse!
Fuming internally, she still… kept watching. Every now and then she'd mutter curses, but her eyes remained glued to the screen.
And when she saw the pace and creativity of the Holy Saint moves—not stopping, only escalating—
She cursed some more, but she still watched.
If she were to really think about it, she'd realize that the thoughts leaking out of that Demon Sect Holy Saint weren't completely without cause.
After all, hadn't she just seduced him to the brink of a mental breakdown?
Still… the sheer discrepancy between his public image of aloofness and what was now playing out was too much for her to handle.
(Ho– how can a human body even bend like that?! His waist should snap! No—why am I still watching such shameless filth!?)
(No! I must stop! I'm the Empress! The Empress of the Immortal Nation! How can I—how can I…)
Her cheeks flushed even deeper.
Her gaze—almost instinctively—drifted back to the water screen again.
As time passed, her mental defenses slowly began to crumble.
(Anyway, the Imperial Pool is under my control. No one can see this… just a little longer. Just one more moment…)
(Hmm, the first stage doesn't consume much spiritual energy anyway… just a little longer won't hurt.)
(It's fine. I'm just thoroughly vetting a potential future imperial consort… for official purposes.)
Unnoticed by her, in the shadows behind, a single eye—normally deep, solemn, and mysterious—had long gone completely blank.
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD[1]
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[1] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
[2] https://www.patreon.com/user?u=93297024
[3] https://www.patreon.com/user?u=93297024
[4] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-487-cry-149583539
[5] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-487-cry-149583539