Lace Glory Universe King GL - Chapter 26

Seven days later, the first Blood-Replenishing Flower bore fruit, and beneath the defense tower, Wu Zetian awoke.

On the sheer cliffs, the north wind howled fiercely. The defense tower commanded an excellent view, but in autumn and winter, it became a frigid place in the wind’s mouth. Looking down from the tower, one could see Qian Ku City built into the cliffside—its perilous terrain awe-inspiring and intimidating.

Galo brought her warm clothing. Her expression was cool and distant, no longer the cordial guest she had once been in Ziwei Palace.

“If not for the Creator’s command, I’d never come to this defense tower in such cold weather.” With that, Galo turned to leave.

“Where did she go?” Wu Zetian asked.

“I don’t know.” Galo adjusted the bow and arrows on her back and walked down the path.

Nuwa had only said she needed to return to Inverted Heaven to deal with some matters. There was no need to waste words with this ambitious woman.

Wu Zetian watched Galo disappear behind the cliffs.

Nuwa, mindful that a great war was coming, knew she couldn’t simply wait in Qian Ku City for the empress to regain her strength—she had to prepare the next steps. She teleported back to Inverted Heaven and sought counsel with Mengqi and Yang Jian.

Another two weeks passed. Wu Zetian consumed the second and third fruits of the Blood-Replenishing Flower. Meanwhile, in Chang’an, construction of the six Baoxiang Flower Towers was completed.

It had been long since she felt such power flowing through her veins. Leaving the defense tower, Wu Zetian found that someone was already waiting: the woman with the canopy crown and long, flowing hair.

Nuwa had changed into her “Mending the Heavens” attire: a verdant robe that fluttered in the wind. The embroidered rainbow-cloud motif upon her trailing hem was vivid and lifelike—amid the desolate season, she stood like an evergreen pine, brimming with vitality and majesty.

Turning, Nuwa said softly, “Follow me.”

As her voice fell, a vast white ring of light appeared above the sky, slowly rotating. Nuwa extended her hand invitingly. Wu Zetian, puzzled, asked, “What is this?”

“I will teach you how to wield the power of Storm Awakening.”

Wu Zetian grasped the Creator’s hand, and instantly, the two entered that colossal circle of light. It was a void conjured by Nuwa to demonstrate—the starry nebulae swirled around them. The verdant robe was whipped by gales, and purple lightning circled Nuwa’s wrists.

When Wu Zetian looked again, Nuwa had revealed her true form. Her serpentine tail glided gently, and with a sweep across the Northern Dipper, the starlight collapsed into a whirlpool.

“Look to Alcyone,” Nuwa said, hooking Wu Zetian’s ring finger with the tip of her tail, demonstrating the technique. The Creator’s hair brushed past the empress’s ear, and between those strands danced not jewels but tiny spheres of lightning.

The galaxy beneath them billowed like a silken cloth. Wu Zetian felt a tremor of fear.

“Do not fear. The storm is but your weapon. The thunder is but the breath of stars.”

As her toes touched a constellation, the entire Milky Way inverted, and countless stars shattered into dust, sweeping toward her.

Nuwa steadied her, fingers interlocked tightly. Ferocious stardust condensed into a turquoise vortex around them.

“Now—let the gale of Kui flow through your chest’s Tanzhong point.” Nuwa’s scales brushed against Wu Zetian’s thigh, and the starstream surged into her meridians. The empress’s jade hairpin shattered, her black hair instantly dyed with Alcyone’s azure.

Thunder roared between their clasped fingers.

The broken galaxy tightened into a ring—a star-chain of the twenty-eight lunar mansions. Each star seared a mark upon Wu Zetian’s knuckles.

“Let the Lung Meridian follow Orion. Let the Stomach Meridian connect to Auriga.” Nuwa guided.

The star-chain suddenly pulled taut. The killing aura of the White Tiger’s seven stars surged into the empress’s fingertips. Their hair entwined into a net of lightning. When Nuwa pressed her brow against Wu Zetian’s, the star-chain blazed, erupting into a rain of stars—the storm’s fury transformed into nourishing rain.

…

The void faded. Wu Zetian and Nuwa descended upon the cliff.

Wu Zetian glanced at Nuwa’s restored human legs, remembering the clasped fingers and the coils of her serpentine tail. Her heart stirred faintly.

“With Sikong Zhen’s martial prowess, he will soon comprehend the power of Storm Awakening. You must not lose this technique to him.” Nuwa knew that for someone long seated above the mortal realm, Wu Zetian would need time to internalize such things.

“Thank you,” Wu Zetian said earnestly. “There is no time to waste—we must return to Chang’an.”

Nuwa nodded.

They knew: with Sikong Zhen’s tower formation completed, he would soon enact his ritual. To slip quietly into Chang’an, they disguised themselves as Galo’s attendants, entering as Qian Ku envoys for the Grand Assembly of Nations.

Every first month of the year, Heluo received the homage of all nations. It was still midwinter; though snow had fallen several times over Chang’an, the ceaseless traffic had already melted the city roads.

After entering, the Qian Ku delegation was lodged at the Dingding Gate. Yet they were not the earliest arrivals—Hai Du, Xuanyong, and Yicheng had already sent envoys.

“These people are in such haste—could it be for the Demonstone Gem?” Nuwa wondered aloud as they sat around the tea table.

Wu Zetian understood at once. “I have a way to obtain the guest registry. It will tell us.”

“You shouldn’t go out. Leave it to me,” Galo stood up.

“Yes. Do not risk exposure,” Nuwa agreed.

“I’ll write a secret letter. Deliver it to Li Yuanfang at the Dali Court. If that’s not possible… seek out Gongsun Li at Chang Le Ward.” Wu Zetian reasoned that entrusting it to those two was safer than to Shangguan Wan’er or Di Renjie.

“No problem,” Galo nodded.

True to her arrow’s purpose, the task was completed. That night, Shangguan Wan’er’s falcon landed silently on their window lattice, carrying a reply beneath its neck.

Nuwa and Wu Zetian examined the registry, and with Galo’s aid, they reviewed the skills of each envoy.

Only two had the ability to inflict concentrated small-area damage against the Dragon King’s defense line: Milady, ruler of Hai Du, and Empress Dowager Mi Yue of Xuanyong.

“Milady can summon mechanical servants, while Empress Dowager Mi Yue summons shadow minions. Different mechanisms, but both could attack the Dragon King’s defenses autonomously.” Galo explained, versed in Qian Ku’s lore.

Wu Zetian and Nuwa exchanged a glance.

“These two—we must watch carefully.”

When releasing the falcon, they included only a few words: By Radiance shall we signal.

With the tower formation complete, Sikong Zhen could act at any time. The three women remained within Dingding Gate, the festive noise of the New Year’s celebrations surrounding them, but unease clouded their hearts.

Milady and Mi Yue rarely showed themselves, but their attendants often moved through the city. Even when Galo and Nuwa tailed them, nothing suspicious emerged.

To monitor the Bureau of Weights and Measures, Nuwa slipped out the very first night and placed a Heaven-Mending Stone atop the nearest Baoxiang Tower. Should any ritual occur there, she would sense it through the stone.

For days, the tower remained still.

Meanwhile, Dingding Gate grew ever more crowded, as delegations continued to arrive. The halls and corridors bustled, and some even set off firecrackers in imitation of local customs.

Galo, restless, often slipped away to tea houses to watch the tower formation. Wu Zetian and Nuwa outwardly kept calm, though inwardly impatient.

Until New Year’s Eve. When all keeping vigil had fallen asleep, Nuwa’s eyes suddenly opened. “The Heaven-Mending Stone has moved!”

Wu Zetian and Galo woke instantly.

The empress rushed to the window, flung it open, and cast forth a sphere of Radiance. It soared like a silent firework, bursting wordlessly in the sky.

The three set off at once toward the towers.

As on the night Wu Zetian left Chang’an, the midnight city lay in shadow, with only the seven towers faintly outlined. The moment they left Dingding Gate, muted lightning flared—six streams of ghostly blue light arcing from the six Baoxiang Towers toward the Bureau’s tower.

The glow upon the Bureau’s tower intensified, pulsing like a heart as it absorbed the energies of the other towers. Though they could not see clearly, atop the spire stood Sikong Zhen—and the Gem.

The array was active, channeling demonic energy into him.

Every second wasted meant more corruption within him.

As they raced forward, Wu Zetian sensed something dart past them.

Swift as a shadow—it sped toward the Bureau’s tower.

Mi Yue, having slipped into her “Moon of Shadows,” moved like a meteor. Galo had warned of this.

At the tower’s base, Wu Zetian unleashed a sphere of Radiance at the array’s keepers. The orb blazed, precise and devastating, but those on the tower held their footing—the array, once formed, became a fortified barrier resistant to ordinary strikes. She recalled Nuwa’s warning: only Life and Death Sovereign could break it.

Meanwhile, Nuwa scaled another tower, retrieved the Heaven-Mending Stone, then hurled successive matrix spaces along the arc of blue light. She thrust the Heaven-Mending Stone into the path—its teleportation carried it instantly atop the Bureau’s tower.

Though the stone could not shatter the array, it absorbed energy, disrupting Sikong Zhen’s monopoly.

Next, Nuwa unleashed a beam of pure energy. The ray blazed like daylight, striking down upon the tower keepers. Under its brilliance, they soon collapsed.

At once, one of the six blue streams vanished.

“Boom!”

Another tower collapsed—Wu Zetian’s doing. She had invoked Life and Death Sovereign, entwined with Storm Awakening.

A third tower flickered, its light faltering. From afar, they saw ink strokes sweeping across the sky—Shangguan Wan’er’s calligraphy, soaring and sharp.

The remaining two were under assault by Di Renjie and Galo. Wu Zetian cast another Radiance signal, telling Nuwa she was moving to assist Galo.

Nuwa, seeing allies at each tower, swept her serpent tail and surged ten zhang forward. Now, before her loomed Sikong Zhen himself, cloaked in the demonic blue glow.

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