As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell into silence!
Ten years of lifespan might not seem so important to commoners suffering in the mortal world.
But for the nobility, they would be willing to exchange everything for their own longevity.
The Head of the Xie Family’s lips trembled uncontrollably. He wanted to say something but could not open his mouth, beads of cold sweat sliding down his temples.
He desperately wished that the person before him was not a true Ghost-God, that it was just Li Yue’s trickery—otherwise, his loss would be too great, so great it would drive him mad.
But it was no use.
Glancing around at the other aristocratic families who had come with him, they all avoided his gaze.
Yes, wasn’t it already known? The Li family had stumbled upon incredible luck, actually managing to unearth an ancestor from the depths.
They were merely envious, greedy, and resentful that it was not their own family, which was why they wanted to stake a claim in the immense benefits of a Ghost-God manifesting in the world.
He gave a bitter smile, not understanding how things had come to this.
He had only come to probe, yet he had grown increasingly reckless and offended the Ghost-God. He had thought he would at most suffer some physical pain…
The Head of the Xie Family felt as if he had fallen into a thousand-year ice cave. The area where those small hands had grasped him began to grow cold, freezing him from the inside out.
Everyone present held their breath. Li Yue tightened his sleeves and watched the scene before him with a faint smile, seemingly filled with anticipation.
Ling Xiao instructed 18888, “System, use the basic Illusion Skills. It’s about to begin—don’t mess up now.”
“Mm,” 18888 nodded solemnly.
The talisman hidden in his hand was crushed, and the System activated the basic Illusion Skills.
In the next moment, everyone around was horrified to find that the bright sunlight had vanished. The entire hall plunged into darkness.
That alone would have been startling enough, but above the lofty hall, a bright crescent moon appeared, accompanied by scattered stars, floating silently in the air.
The Emperor abruptly looked toward the outside of the hall.
Outside, the sun shone brightly, its rays pouring down generously. The bluestone slabs seemed to warp under the heat, painting a vivid scene of midsummer.
Could it truly alter the sun and moon within a single space?
Beneath the Emperor’s dragon robes, his hands trembled with excitement, his heart pounding like a drum.
He stared unwaveringly at his aunt, the unparalleled Ghost-God, unwilling to look away for even a second.
The Ghost-God released the Head of the Xie Family, letting him collapse to the ground. Her outstretched fingers were crystalline, with threads of light drawn from the Xie Family Head’s body connecting to her fingertips.
The threads of light were extremely fine, swaying in the air. As one thread after another was drawn out, the Head of the Xie Family slowly aged before the fearful gazes of the onlookers.
Fine wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes, his well-maintained skin sagged and aged, and age spots crept across it.
His once-clear eyes instantly turned cloudy and yellow. With a soft sound, the Head of the Xie Family spat out several teeth, which rolled onto the ground.
A person was aging at an alarming speed, drawing ever closer to death.
Those threads of light must be a person’s lifespan—
No one dared to breathe too loudly, afraid of disturbing the fragile threads of light or the laughing Ghost-God.
This was an undeniable divine miracle, a realm mortals could never reach no matter how hard they pursued it in their lifetimes.
The threads of light were coiled into a small ball, resting in the Ghost-God’s tender palm, capturing everyone’s attention.
The Head of the Xie Family had lost all courage. The elegant and noble head of an aristocratic family now lay on the ground like a lifeless beggar from the streets, devoid of any vitality.
“Hmph, indeed this cannot be considered high-quality life-threads. They can’t even be woven into foot-wiping cloth.”
The little girl pouted, holding the ball of light-threads, looking quite dissatisfied.
Seeing her disdainful expression, the others had an absurd thought: Could it be that the clothes worn by hell’s Ghost-Gods are all made from human lifespans?
Ling Xiao urgently urged the System in her mind:
“The curtain call is coming. Put away the props.”
The God-Lord was quite cunning, dividing a single Illusion Skill into several levels. The basic illusion was rather weak—how could it handle such a grand scene of stars and the moon appearing in broad daylight?
The System merely utilized the scene function of the props and then used illusion to hide some incongruous elements.
The assembled crowd then saw the starlight intensify as the Ghost-God retrieved an extremely exquisite dress from The Void. It looked unlike anything from the mortal world, as if it could only be found in the heavens.
The Emperor’s full sister, the Princess of Chu, who loved beauty the most, gazed at the dress with sparkling, dreamy eyes.
She tried hard to memorize the style, thinking that no matter the cost, she must have a dress like this made!
“I originally wanted to borrow some generous life-threads from the mortal world to make new clothes, but who knew they would all be such worthless things? No wonder Master laughed at me for being fanciful.”
The little girl sighed with a troubled expression, “I’ll just have to keep wearing this one.”
With a wave of her small hand, the dress, clearly sized for an adult, fit her perfectly. The charm-enhancing clothing prop made the already adorable girl appear even more ethereal and extraordinary.
She twirled around, the skirt flaring into a gorgeous arc, shedding glittering fragments.
The Emperor strode forward in three quick steps, his handsome face beaming with a sincere smile. “How could mortal things ever suit Aunt? Grandmaster was right.”
Grandmaster?
He’s already calling him that? How shameless. Some people’s eyes held contempt.
If Taizu’s deceased daughter possessed such abilities, the master who trained her must be even more formidable—perhaps a great deity from some lineage.
Wang Yi, however, raised his head high, expressing admiration for His Majesty’s opportunistic behavior.
What use is face? Can face be eaten?
Ling Xiao shot him a glare, acting like a petulant little girl. “But I just want to make a dress myself. Do you understand?”
Understand? Of course she understood! The Princess of Chu nodded vigorously. In her youth, she too had loved making dresses herself.
Li Yue, of course, didn’t understand, so he changed the subject. “Aunt, do all gods and ghosts wear clothes made from human lifespan threads?”
“Of course not. Humans are the foremost among all beings. Although many evil gods, demons, fierce ghosts, and malevolent spirits enjoy using humans as material, those who follow the righteous path dare not touch them, fearing it would harm their Merit.”
Ling Xiao explained carefully, then added, “I too seek proper enlightenment. Extracting life-threads merely advances the punishment they would face after death by a tiny bit.
When they descend to hell and receive judgment, their sentences might even be reduced!”
The little girl gestured with her fingers to show just how tiny “a tiny bit” was. Seeing Li Yue stunned, she frowned and shouted loudly, “When you die, you’re not allowed to tattle to my Master, understand?”
She resembled a mischievous child who had broken a parental rule outside, feeling some regret yet trying to cover it up.
The others snapped back to reality. Seeing the young Ghost-God’s fear of being reported to her parent, they found it amusing and, under her intense gaze, all nodded in agreement.
Wang Yi led the way, earnestly promising that after his death, he would absolutely not speak out of turn—hadn’t they seen the Princess of Qin’s elder sister make a mistake?
The System rolled around joyfully in Ling Xiao’s mind. The Host truly was a talent!
The Emperor opened his mouth to say something, but the sharp-eyed little girl caught it and immediately brightened up, grinning mischievously, “Doing bad things together is the safest way!”
The others didn’t understand what she meant.
“System, be ready to cooperate,” 18888 prepared himself seriously.
As he spoke, they saw the Ghost-God reluctantly take out a jug of clear water from thin air, kneading the light threads into something resembling a pill.
“Alright, this Longevity Pill I made is truly excellent.”