Volume 2, Chapter 125 – Acting is Much Easier Than Fighting

Qi Huang’s bold move wasn’t reckless—she knew that if she didn’t take the risk, the villagers would be doomed.

Elder Huo looked up at the imposing young woman standing atop the roof, then turned to Guardian Guo with a dazed expression. “Guardian Guo… didn’t our sect leader say she was a fake Incarnation Realm cultivator? Then how is she flying and controlling swords like this?”

“How the hell should I know?!”

Guardian Guo gritted his teeth, his eyes darting around, afraid of drawing the attention of the graceful figure above.

“So… what do we do now?”

Elder Huo, oblivious to the tension, pressed further.

Guardian Guo’s face darkened. He wished he could vanish into the ground.

“Old man, haven’t you figured it out yet? I’m the one calling the shots here, not him! Drop your weapons and get on the ground—hands behind your heads! Unless you’d rather I take your lives instead!”

Qi Huang, annoyed at being ignored, raised her voice. Her crisp command echoed through the silent village.

The entire mountain village fell into an eerie stillness. Every Heyi Sect disciple looked to Guardian Guo, awaiting orders.

With a heavy sigh, Guardian Guo finally spoke:

“Drop your weapons. Surrender. We can’t win against her.”

No one dared disobey. Weapons clattered to the ground as the disciples knelt, hands clasped behind their heads.

Qi Huang leaped down lightly from the roof and strolled forward with a carefree gait, her eyes gleaming with greed as she surveyed her captives.

Guardian Guo stole a glance at her, a deep sense of humiliation burning in his chest. Seventy-odd disciples, captured by a single girl? How could he ever show his face again after this?

“Hand it over.”

A delicate, pale hand appeared before him, accompanied by a faint, intoxicating fragrance.

“Huh? Hand what over?”

“Money. All of it.”

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Guardian Guo froze. This ethereal beauty, the pride of the Honghua Sect—was she really just robbing them?

He glanced around, seeing the same confusion reflected in his disciples’ faces.

Baffled but not daring to argue, he reluctantly pulled out his silver notes and loose taels.

“A high-ranking Guardian, and this is all you have? A measly hundred taels?”

Qi Huang counted the money, unimpressed.

“What’s wrong with that?! I’m an honest official! I don’t take bribes!”

“Who said anything about bribes? Calm down.”

Rolling her eyes, she moved to the next disciple.

Soon, her bulging money pouch made her grin so wide her cheeks hurt. Afraid Cheng Hongling would catch her, she didn’t bother counting—just slung the heavy bag over her shoulder.

Then—

Cheng Hongling arrived in a flash of movement.

Taking in the scene, she nearly tripped over her own feet.

“Why is there another Cheng Hongling?!”

“Idiot! Look at the mark on her forehead—that’s a doppelgänger!”

“That damned Zhou! He screwed us over! If we’d known she’d really reached the Incarnation Realm, who would’ve dared provoke them?!”

The Heyi Sect disciples whispered among themselves, their faces ashen.

“What… is this?”

Cheng Hongling pointed at the captives, stunned.

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“You said to leave the rest to me. So I captured them.”

Qi Huang smirked proudly.

“I was joking! You actually did it?!”

Cheng Hongling’s lips parted slightly, her usual icy composure shattered.

“Of course! I’m a mighty Incarnation Realm expert—why wouldn’t I?”

Qi Huang lifted her chin haughtily. The words served two purposes: subtly informing Cheng Hongling of her bluff, and reinforcing the lie to the prisoners.

Cheng Hongling quickly pieced it together. This idiot had tricked the entire Heyi Sect into surrendering by pretending to be an Incarnation Realm powerhouse!

‘One dares to impersonate, the other dares to surrender. Why even cultivate? Just go join an opera troupe!’

She sighed internally. Was her soul cultivation flawed? How else could she have produced such an unpredictable doppelgänger?

‘Thank the heavens I split her off. Otherwise, I might’ve ended up just as unhinged.’

The thought sent a chill down her spine.

Soon, the Honghua Sect’s main force arrived. Seeing the captives, they sighed in relief—what they’d expected to be a bloody battle had turned into a mere formality.

The disciples split into two groups: one guarding the prisoners, the other tending to the starved and mutilated villagers.

The sight inside the village horrified them.

Emaciated bodies, missing limbs—chopped off and eaten by their own families.

Rage burned in the Honghua Sect disciples’ hearts. They longed to slaughter every Heyi Sect member—but the enemy had already surrendered.

“Even if we don’t kill them, keeping these prisoners is risky. They’ve surrendered, but they’re still combat-capable. While we search for the Blue Scale Stones, who’s to say they won’t rebel?”

Cheng Hongling warned Qin Quan.

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“Then what? We can’t release them, but guarding them is a burden.”

“Not necessarily. It depends how badly they want to live.”

Her eyes glinted coldly as she motioned for Qi Huang to follow.

Though confused, Qi Huang obeyed without question.

“Listen carefully. At my signal, suppress anyone who resists with your divine sense.”

“What are you planning?”

Cheng Hongling didn’t answer, leading her to the courtyard where the prisoners were held.

“Choose. Do you want to live or die?”

Her voice was icy.

“Live! Of course we want to live!”

The answer came instantly, in unison.

“Then here’s your chance. Destroy your own Qi seas ¹ 气海 (qìhǎi), is the place where cultivators store their qi, not to be confused with 丹田 (dāntián) which is for refining, circulating and transforming qi . When we leave, you may go free.”

“What?! Destroy our Qi seas?!”

Guardian Guo’s head snapped up, his eyes flashing with defiance.

“Unwilling? You besieged Panshan Village for over half a year, indirectly killing dozens. That we’re offering any mercy at all is beyond generous. Don’t test our patience.”

Cheng Hongling narrowed her eyes.

“I’ll count to three. For each number, I’ll execute one disobedient prisoner. Choose wisely.”

“One… Two…”

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Without waiting, she began counting.

Guardian Guo and Elder Huo exchanged glances, resignation settling over them. With a bitter sigh, they gathered their Qi into their dantians—and struck their own dantians.

Agonized screams filled the air as they collapsed.

The other disciples, seeing their leaders’ example, hurriedly followed suit.

“How dull. I was hoping someone would resist.”

Cheng Hongling turned away, disappointed.

The Heyi Sect members could only writhe in pain and bitterness. How could they dare fight back against an Incarnation Realm expert?

With their cultivation crippled, Panshan Village was finally safe.

The incident left Qi Huang with a revelation: If she could flawlessly impersonate an Incarnation Realm expert, why bother fighting? Acting was much easier.

When the villagers learned she’d airdropped the supplies, they knelt and kowtowed, hailing her as a goddess.

Flattered, Qi Huang nearly distributed all her looted silver—until she remembered there was nothing to buy here anyway. “Reluctantly”, she kept it, deciding the Heyi Sect could compensate the villagers themselves.

Now, the Honghua Sect’s mission remained: Find the Blue Scale Stones.

But first, they needed to locate the Blue-Scaled King Snake to bait it with Ghost Tomatoes.

To avoid delays, Qin Quan sent most disciples to search the next day—yet after three days, they’d found nothing.

“It makes no sense. A snake that massive would leave obvious trails. Why can’t we find any traces?”

Just as Cheng Hongling voiced the question—

A terrifying shadow emerged without warning in the clouds above a western mountain.