Shen Hao gaped, the laid-back expression on his face completely gone. He was shocked to the extreme.

This was really a slap to his face!

He had just said that Ling Han and his group had to keep a low profile, and could not be too arrogant. On average, the people here were all stronger than those from outside. But now? The Empress had rendered him completely speechless with a single slap.

The Empress slowly withdrew her hand. It was precisely she that had sent the red-clothed woman flying with a single slap.

The red-clothed woman coughed out blood. She could still remain standing. After all, she had the aptitude of a king tier, and the Empress had only struck her casually. Her eyes were similarly filled with astonishment. Her precious tool had unleashed its might, and added with how she had attacked without reservations, she actually still could not withstand a single blow from this woman in front of her?

The latter had to have consumed Crimson Demonic Earth!

Or so she thought, but she could not deny that even if the latter had consumed Crimson Demonic Earth, the Empress’ own strength should be about equal to hers to defeat her in a single move.

Their strength was on equal levels, yet there was such a large gap in their appearances and bearing?

She found it hard to maintain the balance in her heart. The gods were really too prejudiced; how could they show so much favor to a single person?

“Don’t think that you are the only one who has Crimson Demonic Earth!” she humphed. In the first place, this was a local product of the Celestial Path, and could only be effective on the Celestial Path. She immediately took out a bit of Crimson Demonic Earth, and stuffed it into her mouth. It was only an instant, and the aura that was exuding from her became completely different, filled with pressure and intimidation.

This was too amazing; it had directly raised her Vitality Index by around 200 points!

The Empress disdained consuming dirt. She was confident and dominant, and merely looked down on the red-clothed woman. In her eyes, this was only a disloyal subject. If she didn’t like the look of her, she could just erase her directly.

“Die!” The red-clothed woman charged over, brandishing her twin blades, their cold glint dazzling.

Previously, she had not managed to exhibit her true strength at all. Now, with the stimulation of the Crimson Demonic Earth, her battle prowess had spiked, and also allowed this Pseudo-Celestial Tool to unleash a frightening might.

Xiu, xiu, xiu. Flash after flash of cold light turned into arrows of ice that shot towards the Empress.

The Empress was unafraid. She struck out with a hand, stimulating the Regulations of Time, and the arrows of ice that filled the skies seemed to be frozen as she easily swept them aside. Meanwhile, a freezing technique also seemed to have taken effect on the red-clothed woman. Even moving a single finger had become incredibly difficult for her, and she could only watch helplessly as the Empress came closer, about to place a jade-like hand on her.

The red-clothed woman roared in fury, her whole body surging out white light. Finally, she parried the frightening flow of time, and retreated 300 meters with a tap of her foot.

Peng!

She had still been slightly scraped by the force of the strike from the Empress, and almost spluttered out a mouthful of blood again as it caused her extreme pain.

“Wielder of Regulations of Time!” she hissed venomously, the jealousy in her eyes almost seeming to seep out.

Previously, the Empress had already shown enough to incite her jealousy, yet now she actually discovered that the former had even grasped the Regulations of Time!

This was the Regulations of Time that had a noble status above all other Regulations. As long as their cultivation levels were equal, then the person who had grasped the Regulations of Time would definitely possess an extremely great advantage, and only a Celestial King would be able to cancel out this advantage.

How could there be such a naturally blessed person in this world?

She was defiant, and her killing intent blazed even hotter, filled with a strong sense of humiliation. She took out another suit of armor, which she put on. This was a defensive tool that was forged from Crimson Demonic Earth, and allowed her to possess frightening defensive strength that could resist the power of Regulation.

She had not used it previously, because the Crimson Demonic Earth was a consumable substance. Once it was used up, this armor would also become an ordinary defensive tool.

With the treasured armor on her, and her hands wielding twin blades, the red-clothed woman’s confidence had completely recovered. She was going to battle again.

“Rather than fighting, why don’t we just have some tea and chat?” Shen Hao spoke up to mediate the strife. He had a vague feeling that even if this junior sister was completely equipped from head to toe, it was still impossible that she could match the Empress. Hence, rather than letting things progress to the point that he would be troubled to step in, he would rather just call a halt to things now.

Primarily because he was lazy.

The red-clothed woman sneered. “Sure. As long as she kneels down and kowtows in forgiveness, I will spare her life.”

To actually beat her to spitting up blood twice, how could she forget this kind of grudge?

There was naturally no way that the Empress would agree. Her eyes were malevolent. A mere lowly woman actually dared to demand that she kneeled. Just what extent of insolence was this?

“Insolent subject!” she exclaimed, and charged out headfirst. Boom, her aura surged out like an ocean.

The red-clothed woman approached. Peng, peng, peng, the two of them burst out into an intense clash.

With the protection of this suit of armor, the red-clothed woman was finally qualified to stand against the Empress. The two women exchanged blows, and it could be claimed that they had both met their match. However, one with the slightest bit of a brain could tell that the red-clothed woman’s defeat was actually destined.

…She could only stand against the Empress by depending on this suit of armor and the Crimson Demonic Earth, but the effect of the Crimson Demonic Earth had a limited period of time. Once it was exhausted, her battle prowess would fall back to its original level, and her armor would also become a pile of scrap metal. By then, how was she supposed to stand against the Empress?

What the Empress should do was very simple, and that was to exhaust her.

But if she did that, she would not be the Empress.

That was not her style. How could a dominant empress allow her opponent to last for such a long time?

She delivered a series of palm strikes against the armor. Though this could not wound the red-clothed woman, the frightening power was still endlessly pouring out, which could speed up the exhaustion of the Crimson Demonic Earth in the armor.

The red-clothed woman paled in shock. If this went on, she wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer!

But the both of them had consumed Crimson Demonic Earth, so why was the Empress so powerful, and why would the effects last for such a long time?

It should be known that the Crimson Demonic Earth could not be consumed in large quantities. When the limit had been reached, consuming just the slightest bit more would cause terrifying consequences.

Another 100-plus moves later, she fearfully realized that the might of the armor was beginning to decrease.

…The Crimson Demonic Earth was close to exhaustion.

Gritting her teeth, she took out another portion of Crimson Demonic Earth to stuff into her mouth.

“Ninth Junior Sister, are you mad!” Shen Hao couldn’t help but call out. The over-consumption of Crimson Demonic Earth would cause damage that could never be recovered from.

Yet the red-clothed woman ignored him completely. She had already swallowed the second portion of Crimson Demonic Earth, and a howl instantly left her mouth, as if a lion had been injured. Her face had originally been very smooth and pretty, but now it was covered with veins, making her look frighteningly ugly.

In only an instant, her black locks had all turned white, as if she had aged several decades in an instant.

However, her aura was soaring wildly, her frightening power even taking solid form, and becoming multiple black mountains. If one was hit by these mountains, it was guaranteed that severe injuries would ensue.

A second use of the Crimson Demonic Earth would cause irrecoverable injuries, but the boost to strength was instantaneous as well.

The red-clothed woman felt her body was filled with power. In fact, a feeling of indulgence rose up in her. She wanted nothing more than to consume the Crimson Demonic Earth continuously so that she could stay in this state without end.

She was filled with confidence, and glared menacingly at the Empress. “B*tch, you will suffer miserably at my hand!”

Ling Han shook his head. This woman was completely overwhelmed by her jealousy. She could not bear to see how the Empress was more outstanding than herself, and was determined to prove that she was better. As a result, she had pushed herself into such dire straits. If she knew that the Empress had not used the Crimson Demonic Earth at all, would she directly die from fury?

The two of them weren’t on the same level at all. No matter how much she fought, it would only be an ugly person doing deeds that were up to no good.

The Empress’s killing intent also spiked. Her sharp eyes held ferocity, and an endless imperial dominance spread out from her.

The red-clothed woman released a battle cry, and charged towards the Empress again. Her arms danced quickly like wind, her blades sweeping out in a brilliance that filled the skies. Her white hair waved wildly, as if she had gone insane.