Chapter 6 — Nine Lives as a Living Potion

At that very moment, Xie Menghua suddenly clasped the natal soul-lamp of her deceased husband and stepped up onto the grand hall. She looked at me with a pleading, desperate gaze.

Niao Niao, your father is reaching his absolute limit.

Daozhang Thanh Hu says your father has only three days left.

Without the celestial embryo, his divine soul will scatter completely into nothingness.

If you possess the ability to cycle through reincarnation time and time again, please, save your father.

The expression of the reigning empress, my mother, grew chillingly cold.

Xie Menghua, the father of the little princess is my rightful husband and queen consort!

You dare to brazenly claim familial ties here? It seems I can truly no longer tolerate your insolence!

My brothers and sisters were kneeling densely across the sprawling floor. Every single one of them looked up at me with reddened, tear-rimmed eyes.

Niao Niao, we are the only true family you have.

I know you are merely throwing a tantrum, taking someone else as your mother, but have you truly forgotten the profound bonds we shared across our past lives?

Her Majesty the Empress instantly let out a string of cold, mocking laughs.

If you wretched beasts had not brought up your past lives, I nearly would have forgotten.

Just how horribly did you treat my daughter? Now that I am her mother, I shall personally settle every single debt with you, one by one!

The gaze of Her Majesty turned razor-sharp, and the Golden Guards stationed behind her instantly soared into the air, lunging forward. Shen Lingxiao wore an icy expression, his lips pressed tightly into a grim line.

Niao Niao, do you truly wish to raise blades against your own family?

I did not offer a reply. At this moment, I no longer needed to charge into battle on my own. I finally had a mother to shield me from the world.

Good, good, very good.

Shen Lingxiao laughed bitterly, repeating the word three times in rapid succession. Immediately following that, he leapt forward, clashing directly with the incoming Golden Guards. Though he had long since lost his Heavenly Spiritual Roots, he had cultivated on the immortal mountains for decades. His martial techniques and mystical arts were certainly not something ordinary mortals could withstand. With him blocking the path ahead, Xie Menghua managed to seize a fleeting window of opportunity. Right then, she withdrew a gleaming golden talisman from her sleeve, preparing to hurl it straight toward me. My eyes widened in sheer terror, and I screamed at the empress mother to dodge immediately. That was the Soul-Catching Talisman. The unborn celestial embryo feared this item above all else, for it was crafted using forbidden arts from the upper realms. I could only imagine the unimaginable price Xie Menghua must have paid to acquire such a cursed artifact. I knew all too well that I was in grave peril. Yet, upon hearing my frantic cry, the empress mother did not retreat an inch; instead, she lunged forward without a moment's hesitation. A blinding, fiery crimson blaze erupted within the palm of her hand, instantly reducing the Soul-Catching Talisman to fine ash. My eldest sister’s face twisted in an instant, and she shrieked furiously:

Shen Niao Niao! You actually burned that talisman! Do you have any idea that mother traded her very own soul fragments to obtain it?

I froze, a sneer of utter contempt coloring my voice as I gazed at Shen Minger.

You lot constantly have her name on your lips, calling her mother, so why didn't you use your own souls to make the exchange?

As soon as those words fell, every single one of them stiffened, unnatural expressions washing over their faces.

That... that is naturally because mother loves us dearly and couldn't bear to let us suffer.

I let out a chilling laugh.

Your mother loves you, and my mother loves me.

Before long, Shen Lingxiao, fierce in appearance but exhausted within, was pinned firmly to the cold stone floor by two Golden Guards. The empress mother gazed down at the horde of monsters gathered before her, her crimson lips parting slightly:

Hag out Shen Minger's heart and feed it to the dogs.

Pour molten lime into Shen Zhao's eyes.

Sever every single tendon in Shen Lingxiao's hands and feet.

Her Majesty the Empress watched them all with absolute detachment, her face devoid of emotion. Xie Menghua was so terrified that her legs gave out, collapsing heavily onto the floor. She opened her mouth, intending to beg the empress mother to spare her wretched children. To her utter disbelief, Shen Minger abruptly drew the dagger from her waist and plunged it straight into Xie Menghua’s chest. Xie Menghua turned her head in profound shock, staring in disbelief at the daughter she had loved the most. With a ferocious snarl, Shen Minger drove the blade even deeper into her mother’s flesh.

Mother, didn't you say you loved me the most? Take the punishment in my place, then.

You know very well that I am terrified of pain.

Almost instantly, Shen Zhao, Shen Lingxiao, and the others followed suit, each plunging weapons into the woman who had sheltered them. From her initial shock and disbelief, Xie Menghua slowly transitioned into a state of agonizing, hysterical laughter.

I actually foolishly believed I should try even harder to treat you all well.

Only now do I realize how absurdly wrong I was.

Shen Zhao kicked Xie Menghua viciously in the chest, roaring with venomous hatred:

Isn't it only natural for you to treat us well?

Back then, you gave your word to our father that you would take good care of us siblings!

Xie Menghua collapsed into a pool of her own blood, a look of profound sorrow washing over her pale face as she reached a trembling hand out toward me.

Niao Niao...

At that time, mother truly did not know you were suffering so greatly...

Mother was wrong. Can you forgive mother just this once?

She stared at me with desperate hope in her dying eyes, but I merely let out a cold, detached scoff:

The only mother I have is standing right before me.

Everything happening to you right now is precisely what you deserve.

Xie Menghua died. She drew her last breath right before my eyes. Until the very end, her eyes remained wide open, refusing to close in peace. Deprived of Xie Menghua’s protection, the remaining figures were nothing more than stray dogs in a storm. Seven months later, I entered the world. On the day of my birth, brilliant golden light illuminated the skies above the imperial capital, and countless subjects knelt in reverence.