Volume 3, Chapter 143 – The Holy Maiden of Shuiyu Valley

“Who are you? I am Cheng Hongling of the Honghua Sect. I advise you not to lay a finger on my father—unless you wish to suffer a fate worse than death, no matter where you flee.”

Cheng Hongling’s breathing grew heavy, her voice laced with barely restrained fury.

“Cheng Hongling? Oh no! I’m so scared! I’ll be waiting for you to come bite me!”

The middle-aged man sneered mockingly.

Cheng Yuan was no fool. If the enemy dared act so brazenly, he must have powerful backing. If his daughter sought revenge, she would undoubtedly be walking into grave danger.

“There’s no escape for me today. If that’s the case, why drag my daughter into this? I can’t let her recognize this man’s identity.”

With that thought, Cheng Yuan immediately shut off the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube.

At the same time, a crisp crack echoed as the ice barrier around him shattered completely.

“Father!”

Cheng Hongling’s heart burned with panic. She bolted out the door.

Meanwhile, Qi Huang was still tinkering with her ghost tomatoes in the greenhouse. Logically, she knew guarding them obsessively was pointless—but she couldn’t help herself.

“Come with me! Father’s in trouble!”

The voice of her main body suddenly rang out from the doorway.

“What?!”

Qi Huang leapt to her feet. Before she could even process the situation, a Soul Tether coiled around her waist, yanking her back into the Sea of Consciousness.

Once inside the mental space, Qi Huang felt a surge of anxiety—but also fear that the other souls would pester her. After all, she had promised to help them open the Heart’s Door.

Yet, to her surprise, the other nine souls remained eerily subdued, their faces etched with worry.

‘Ah… I overthought this.’

Qi Huang quickly realized her mistake. These souls weren’t heartless. They merely wanted freedom. And strictly speaking, Cheng Yuan was their father too.

“What exactly happened?”

Qi Huang urgently sent a mental message to her main body.

“F-Father… went to the prefecture to restock and ran into trouble. He just contacted me through the… the communication tube.”

Cheng Hongling was already darting down the mountain at full speed, her voice trembling despite her forced composure.

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Qi Huang froze.

In both dreams and reality, her main body had always seemed as unshakable as the eternal night sky—calm, boundless, and untouchable. This was the first time she had ever heard such instability in her voice.

This must be serious.

“Did he tell you the exact location or what kind of trouble?”

Qi Huang’s mood plummeted, infected by the urgency.

But Cheng Hongling fell silent, pouring all her energy into sprinting northward.

Sighing, Qi Huang strode forward and pushed open the Heart’s Door, emerging into reality. Strangely, none of the other souls tried to interfere this time.

“What are you doing? This isn’t the time for games!”

Cheng Hongling snapped, her emotions flaring.

Qi Huang blinked—then noticed something shocking.

Her eyes… are slightly red.

Her breath hitched.

“I’m not playing around. I just think you’re too slow. Let me carry you.”

Without waiting for a response, Qi Huang wrapped her Divine Sense around her main body and took to the skies, flying north.

Though her Divine Sense was formidable, carrying another person strained her limits. Her speed wasn’t much faster than Cheng Hongling’s full sprint—but flying in a straight line cut the distance significantly.

Worried for their father, Qi Huang pushed herself relentlessly. After three hours of flight, they finally neared the prefecture.

But now, a new problem arose.

Neither of them knew where Cheng Yuan was.

“Let’s follow the official road. No one dares take side paths in these times.”

Cheng Hongling’s voice was tight with tension.

Nodding, Qi Huang swept them along the road—until she spotted something below.

“There!”

She descended rapidly, landing amidst a gruesome scene.

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Dozens of corpses littered the ground, alongside riderless horses still laden with goods.

“This… this is our family’s caravan! Father really was ambushed!”

Cheng Hongling’s voice shook violently, her delicate frame trembling.

Qi Huang’s face drained of color. Ignoring her exhaustion, she expanded her Divine Sense, scanning every inch of the area—but found no trace of Cheng Yuan.

“Why isn’t Father here?”

Qi Huang voiced the glaring inconsistency.

Cheng Hongling snapped out of her daze, confirming the absence.

“How…? That man said he’d kill him on the spot!”

Panic seeped into her words.

“He spoke to you directly?”

Qi Huang frowned.

Cheng Hongling quickly summarized the earlier exchange.

“Who in this world would dare provoke you so openly?”

Qi Huang was stunned. Even if their ruse about being Incarnation Realm had been exposed by Elder Zhou, they were still genuine Unity Realm experts. In the Western Radiance Dynasty, that alone commanded respect.

Who would dare provoke them so brazenly?

“Forget him. Finding Father is the priority.”

Cheng Hongling cut her off impatiently.

“Right, right!”

Qi Huang nodded hastily.

The two began combing through the nearby forests, but after an exhaustive search, Cheng Yuan remained missing.

“Fine. I’ll release the other souls to help search.”

Cheng Hongling bit her lip hard.

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“What? Just like that? Are you sure it’s safe?”

Qi Huang gaped.

“They know what’s at stake. If they act up now, they’ll never see the light of day again.”

After a veiled warning, Cheng Hongling opened the Heart’s Door, releasing the other three ethereal souls and six corporeal souls. However, she kept the Soul Tethers firmly attached.

Better safe than sorry.

After all, if Qi Huang—the Spiritual Wisdom Soul—was any indication, the others might also be… eccentric.

“You all know the situation. No need for explanations. Spread out.”

Cheng Hongling commanded.

“But if we all emerge, the Heavenly Dao’s suppression will crush you,” the Human Soul cautioned.

“Enough! Our Divine Sense has been nourished by the Tongming Comb—it’s stronger than most cultivators at our level.”

Cheng Hongling waved her off.

Exchanging glances, the other souls dispersed without further protest.

“What’s ‘Heavenly Dao suppression’?”

Qi Huang asked, puzzled.

“Cultivation seeks immortality—to defy the natural cycle of life and death imposed by Heaven. The body is the vessel that bears this punishment. If the soul leaves the body, it rebels against Heaven’s will, drawing suppression. That’s why so few dead become wandering spirits—most souls are too weak and are instantly erased by the Heavenly Dao.”

Cheng Hongling’s explanation was rushed, her mind still on her father.

“So… to avoid suppression, we need to cultivate doppelgängers?”

Qi Huang began to understand.

“Yes. But this isn’t the time for lessons. Find Father!”

Snapping back to focus, Cheng Hongling urged her on.

Nodding, Qi Huang joined the search.

Within moments, Cheng Hongling, her doppelgänger, and the nine souls had scoured a ten-mile radius—yet Cheng Yuan was nowhere to be found.

As time passed, Cheng Hongling’s breathing grew labored. Her face paled, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

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“Recall them! Now!”

Qi Huang urged, her own head pounding as if split open. If she felt this way, the strain on her main body must be unbearable.

Cheng Hongling, reaching her limit, hastily pulled the souls back. Clutching her head, she sank to her knees, teeth sinking into her bloodless lips.

“Are you okay?”

Qi Huang asked through her own pain.

Cheng Hongling shook her head stubbornly, taking a long moment to recover.

“What do we do now? The longer we wait, the more any clues will fade. There are no witnesses—this will become an unsolvable case.”

Qi Huang paced anxiously.

“No witnesses?”

Cheng Hongling’s icy gaze swept the surroundings. “What about the plants lining the road? Aren’t they witnesses?”

“W-What? They’re inanimate! How can they be witnesses?”

Qi Huang stared in disbelief. Was her main body losing her mind from grief?

“Who said they’re inanimate? Haven’t you heard that all things possess spirit?”

Cheng Hongling countered. “They can’t speak only because their cultivation is insufficient to become spirits.”

“You can… turn them into spirits?”

Qi Huang asked cautiously, her identical face full of skepticism. Even if her main body claimed it, the idea sounded like pure fantasy.

“I can’t. But someone else can.”

Cheng Hongling lifted her gaze.

“Who?”

Qi Huang pressed.

“The Holy Maiden of Shuiyu Valley.”

Cheng Hongling’s eyes fixed on the distant horizon.