The old woman almost fell upon seeing the dazzling beauty, and had to use every ounce of her millenniums of cultivation to control herself.
"Holy Empress, it is my greatest honor to meet you." The Old woman could not help but say.
"Do not waste my time, speak what you are here for." The Empress warned.
The old woman shuddered and took a deep breath to build up her courage.
"We… detected the signs of that old monster." The old woman said before taking out the octagonal mirror to show the empress.
The empress looked at the mirror for a second before the mirror automatically floated up to her. She held it in her hands and gazed at it deeply, looking at the image that was imprinted in it.
The image was of a colossal creature with eight legs and Ten golden yellow eyes. It had a bony white body and countless threads made up a dense web behind him.
It was none other than the Void Weaver Spider, Xukong.
"It really is him… after all these years…" The Empress muttered.
She then looked back at the old woman and spoke.
"Where is he?" She questioned.
"He is in one of the mortal worlds… or at least that's where we got his qi signature from." The old woman answered.
"A mortal world? Him? Are you trying to fool me?" The Empress asked in a cold tone.
"I dare not, Empress. I swear upon my life and the lives of my descendants everything that I speak is truth and only the truth. I lie, I allow the wrath of the moon to descend upon me!" The old woman declared.
As soon as her oath was completed, a wave of qi came out of nowhere and surrounded her body. It imbued her body and intense pain filled her. Yet even under duress, she did not dare to show one bit of displeasure. A few seconds later the pain faded away, and she took a breath of relief.
"So you are telling the truth…" The empress said before turning her back to the old woman.
She started walking into the temple and lightly spoke, "follow."
"Yes, Empress!" The old woman hurriedly replied before following behind her.
The inside of the temple was surprisingly mundane looking, but the power contained within those walls could not be denied. The old woman felt beads of sweat appear on her forehead as she sensed the formation arrays that were present everywhere.
They came upon a hall that had a pedestal constructed in the center of it. The empress placed the octagonal mirror on it and it automatically melded with the pedestal. The pedestal started glowing and a curtain of light appeared in the air.
On the curtain of light, a scene of the night sky could be seen. Countless stars twinkled on it, and it seemed as if they were moving. Bit by bit their speed increased and it was as if it had zoomed out. Now instead of stars, entire galaxies and nebulae could be seen on it.
The empress pointed her finger at the light curtain, and it started shifting again. This time a strange multicolored layer appeared in front of them. On one side of the layer, the galaxies and nebulae could be seen and on the other side, a pitch black area was seen.
A frown appeared on the Empress's face and she shook her head.
"What's the problem, Empress?" The old woman questioned.
"As I expected, finding him would not be so easy. If it was, I would have done so a long time ago." The Empress answered.
"Does that mean…" The Old woman said with hesitation.
"We will have to wait… he is still beyond our reach." The Empress replied.
The old woman felt her heart fall, seeing the empress show a sad expression. It was only for less than a second, yet the old woman felt as if she needed to dedicate herself to the Empress.
"We… found something else, Empress. I do not know if you will find it worth your time though." The old woman spoke carefully.
"Mm? Go on speak, I give you the permission." The Empress permitted.
"Along with the qi signature of the Old monster, we found the traces of something else…" The Old woman contained.
"Traces of what?" The Empress asked.
"The Shadow Gloom Bone Lord…" The Old Woman revealed.
"Him… he is still alive?" The Empress questioned, her voice filled with killing intent.
"He has been killed many times, but his unique abilities have allowed him to survive till now. Five millenniums ago the eastern celestial court mounted an offense against him and exterminated the main body of his consciousness.
We believe that it may be one of the fragments of his avatar that had been wandering the void. The strange thing was, we felt its traces on the same world as that of the old monster." The old woman explained.
"Humph! A dead man whose time has long past dares to linger on still." The Empress uttered with malice.
"Does the Empress… want us to interfere?" The Old Woman questioned carefully.
"No… we cannot break the rules of the celestial court. As long as he stays in the mortal world, we cannot touch him." The Empress spoke with disappointment.
"Seems like fate does not favor us…" the old woman signed.
The Empress's eyes glowed slightly upon hearing her words.
"Fate, huh?" The Empress muttered.
"You said, something Empress?" The old woman responded.
The empress looked the old woman in the eyes and lightly shook her head before speaking.
"Tell me… what is the progress on the seven ancestral serpents? What has happened in these past seven generations?"
"We were able to retrieve one of the seven ancestral serpents about twenty five thousand years ago, but the rest of them are still missing." The Old woman answered.
"Which one is it? And what state is it in because I haven't sensed it?" The Empress questioned further.
"It is the… Three clawed Terra Python. But sadly it is in a fossilized state and we haven't been able to revive it." The Old Woman answered.
"Good… bring it to me. I'll do it myself." The empress ordered.
"As you command, Empress!" The old woman replied before hurrying to complete her task.
After the old woman was gone, the Empress walked out of the temple and stared at the pale green moon.
"I will fulfill the prophecy one day mother, I swear upon my honor as the Empress… And when that day comes, the Serpent Moon Sect will bathe in the rain of Glory!"