Chapter 349: The Ghost-Faced Burial Empress Strikes, Crushing All Around

This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard.

The minds of all the burial-land beings present were momentarily frozen, unable to process it.

Just an instant ago, the Mingwangdianqiangzhe had been towering above them—now they were reduced to bloody mist.

But what stunned and horrified the crowd was not the death of the Mingwangdianqiangzhe.

It was the one who had struck.

A peerless, elegant figure stepped slowly out from the rent space.

A black gown fluttered, clinging to her slender, statuesque frame.

Three thousand silken tresses danced in the wind; her skin glowed like polished snow, as if carved from cold jade.

Her face was veiled by a ghostly mask, hiding her features entirely.

The one who had struck was none other than the Mistress of the Senluo Domain—the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress!

Her aura was terrifying, radiating an incomparable pressure that made the surrounding space tremble incessantly.

Though her face was masked, her eyes held visions of suns collapsing and stars falling—her entire presence was utterly astonishing.

"It's the Mistress of the Senluo Domain!"

"The Ghost-Faced Burial Empress—how could she appear here?!"

The Ghost-Faced Burial Empress's appearance sent the entire arena into uproar, cries of shock echoing in all directions.

For the crowd was simply too stunned.

In the hearts of burial-land beings, the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress was a figure of mystery and icy aloofness.

Though all burial-land beings had heard of her, very few had ever seen her in person.

Moreover, since she had never claimed any faction, her appearances in the world were even rarer.

Ninety-nine percent of those present had never laid eyes on her before.

As for how they recognized her instantly—it was because of that ghostly mask.

In the burial land, no being dared wear such a mask.

Once, a prodigy had worn a similar mask—and his entire clan was wiped out in a single palm strike by the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress.

Since then, no one had dared wear such a mask again.

"Heaven, the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress has appeared—why?!"

"More importantly, she killed a Mingwangdianqiangzhe!"

The crowd remained deeply stunned.

Yet the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress acted with ruthless speed—her icy gaze turned toward the Eight-Armed Spider Demon clan's elders.

"You also opposed?"

Her frost-chilled voice sent shivers down the spines of the Eight-Armed Spider Demon elders, as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.

Even Saint Lords felt as insignificant as ants before the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress.

"N-no… we…"

Before the Eight-Armed Spider Demon elders could explain, the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress had already extended a single finger.

A terrifying beam of deathly Mingguang pierced through space—each of the Eight-Armed Spider Demon elders bore a black, gaping hole straight through their foreheads.

One by one, their corpses tumbled downward.

"And you…" The Ghost-Faced Burial Empress's gaze turned again toward the Rakshasa clan, the Death Spirit clan, and others.

For their prodigies had all been slain by Jun Xiaoyao at the Ten Kings Banquet.

Naturally, they hated Jun Xiaoyao even more.

The two clans' elders were terrified beyond words, retreating in panic, shouting: "Ghost-Faced Burial Empress! As Empress of the burial land, why are you aiding an outsider?!"

Their furious shouts did not halt the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress's slaughter.

She struck again with overwhelming force—her jade palm unleashed a torrent of star-rivers, reversing heaven and earth, boiling space, weaving together deathly Mingqi and the laws of death.

In the void, crimson Bi'an flowers bloomed one after another.

Each blossom marked the withering of a mighty life.

The entire arena fell into deathly silence.

Watching this, every burial-land being was rendered speechless.

Though death was not taboo in the ancient burial land, witnessing such slaughter still struck deep terror.

"Is this the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress's power?" murmured one burial-land being.

Not even Saint Lords, nor even several Semi-Supreme elders, could withstand a single blow from her.

Yet what stunned the crowd most was not her power.

It was why she had intervened for Jun Xiaoyao.

"Heaven, don't tell me the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress has been conquered by Jun Xiaoyao's looks?!"

"Impossible! That's absurd—the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress is no shallow creature!"

"Then explain why she's defending Jun Xiaoyao!"

"This… I can't understand it. Not at all."

Whispers and murmurs erupted all around.

They simply could not comprehend her actions.

Imagine: a woman only spoken of in legends suddenly appears, slaughtering beings of her own realm to protect an outsider.

It made no sense.

"Could it really be… that she's been conquered by Jun Xiaoyao's looks?" Some could only think this.

For no other reason came to mind.

Power?

Jun Xiaoyao might be a prodigy of his generation, but he was nothing to a being like the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress.

The only thing worth mentioning was his appearance.

"My god, no—could the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress really fall for this outsider boy?!"

"She's ranked number one on the burial land's beauty list—even Princess Langhuan is only second!"

"Are our burial land's top two beauties both falling for this boy?!"

"Envy! Jealousy! Hatred!"

Male prodigies in the crowd glared with bloodshot eyes, driven nearly mad with jealousy.

Not only had the peerlessly beautiful Princess Langhuan thrown herself at Jun Xiaoyao.

Even the mysterious, aloof, legendary Ghost-Faced Burial Empress had intervened to protect him.

Sour grapes!

Every male being in the burial land had become a sour grape today.

"No way… no way… is the Burial Empress going to compete with me for this little cutie?" Even Princess Langhuan was startled, deeply surprised.

Instantly, a wave of vigilance and dread rose within her.

A woman like the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress was precisely the type most appealing to a boy like Jun Xiaoyao.

After all, who wouldn't want to say, "Auntie, I don't want to work hard anymore"?

With the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress backing him, Jun Xiaoyao could walk freely across the ancient burial land.

This free meal? Why not take it?

So Princess Langhuan felt deep unease—competing for a man against a woman like the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress was nearly impossible.

A woman who was both mysterious and dominant—a sovereign-type beauty—was surely the most alluring to a young boy.

The entire crowd had likely jumped to the wrong conclusion: that the Ghost-Faced Burial Empress acted out of some special feeling toward Jun Xiaoyao.

Only Jun Xiaoyao himself, upon seeing the ghostly mask on the Burial Empress's face, felt a flicker of understanding.

"Again, this ghost mask—third time." Jun Xiaoyao thought silently.

The first time, it was a ghost-masked girl in the forty-ninth floor of the Sacred Spirit Academy's Heaven Dao Tower, calling him "brother."

The second time, on the Underworld Spirit Altar, a ghost-masked woman had manifested to guard and clear his path.

Now, this was the third.

Unlike the first two, this time it was not a phantom imprint—it was a real, living woman.

What was this ghost mask?

Were the women who appeared these three times the same person?

And what connection did she have with Jun Xiaoyao?

Jun Xiaoyao fell into deep thought.