Volume 3, Chapter 157 – This Time, She Will Perform with Her Life on the Line

The children beside her exchanged glances, their delicate faces filled with unmistakable confusion.

“I really like your confidence! But allow me to ask—what exactly is your current cultivation realm, my lady?”

Mu Ruoyi cautiously inquired.

“My current cultivation realm isn’t important. What matters is what it will be six months from now. I guarantee that by then, even experts at the Incarnation Realm won’t dare to raise a hand against me.”

Qi Huang lifted her chin proudly. She wasn’t boasting—once those sixteen Ghost Tomatoes ripened in half a year, her Divine Sense would undoubtedly break through to the Divine Realm. What kind of courage would a mere “small-time expert” at the Incarnation Realm need to even think of fighting her?

“Though I don’t know where your confidence comes from, our father is in their hands right now. I can’t wait half a year—no, not even half a day. So waiting is out of the question.”

Cheng Hongling’s tone was calm, but her eyes were resolute, carrying an air of unshakable determination.

“But you must understand—the sect master of Yuxiao Sect is at the fifth layer of the Incarnation Realm! And we don’t even know what kind of person he is. Acting recklessly would be far too risky!”

Mu Ruoyi kindly reminded her.

“I don’t care anymore. For Father’s sake, even if he were at the fifth layer of the Heavenly Tribulation Realm, I’d still go.”

Cheng Hongling’s reply was firm.

“Let me go instead. My chances of success are much higher than yours.”

Qi Huang spoke up, trying to persuade her.

“What do you mean, ‘you go, she goes’? Aren’t you the same person?”

Mu Ruoyi asked, utterly bewildered.

“What kind of joke is that? How are you more confident than I am?”

The proud Cheng Hongling immediately retorted, unwilling to back down.

“Because I can act. Have you forgotten? My Divine Sense is strong enough to make Yuxiao Sect think twice.”

Qi Huang arched her delicate willow-leaf brows meaningfully.

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“You still want to put on an act?! That’s a fifth-layer Incarnation Realm expert! Aren’t you afraid of messing up and getting yourself killed?”

Cheng Hongling asked heatedly.

“Afraid of what? It’s a reputable orthodox sect, not some dragon’s den or tiger’s lair. As long as my Divine Sense is even slightly stronger than his, he’ll have no choice but to sit down and talk things out properly.”

Qi Huang sounded completely confident.

“……”

Cheng Hongling fell into silence, weighing the feasibility of this plan.

“Wait, hold on—what are you two talking about? What ‘acting’? I don’t understand any of this!”

Mu Ruoyi was growing frantic.

“If you understood everything, what would be the point of my acting?”

Qi Huang teased.

“Are you really sure about this?”

Cheng Hongling’s voice was grave.

“As the saying goes, ‘courtesy before force’. If the other side is willing to be reasonable, that’s naturally for the best—no need to take risks. But if the Yuxiao Sect’s leader proves to be an unreasonable brute… then for Father’s sake, this time, I’ll have to stake my life on this performance.”

After a moment of contemplation, Qi Huang answered with unwavering resolve.

“I still don’t understand what you’re discussing, but if you’re going to Yuxiao Sect to demand their prisoner, I can go with you. Though Shuiyu Valley is no longer as powerful as it once was, we’re not much weaker than Yuxiao Sect. As their Holy Maiden, I do carry some weight.”

Mu Ruoyi quickly offered her assistance.

“No need. Now that we’ve traced the clues, we won’t trouble you further.”

Qi Huang immediately declined. There were two reasons: First, Shuiyu Valley was weaker than Yuxiao Sect—this Holy Maiden’s presence wouldn’t make much difference. Second, if a conflict broke out, not only would she be unable to help, she’d become a liability.

“What’s this? Now that you’ve used me, you’re just going to cast me aside? You heartless woman!”

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Mu Ruoyi cursed bitterly, her voice tinged with sorrow.

“Sigh!”

Qi Huang let out a helpless sigh.

“Do you really need me to spell it out for you? Your cultivation is too weak, and Shuiyu Valley is no match for Yuxiao Sect. If you come, not only will you fail to intimidate them, but if things turn violent, you’ll just be dead weight.”

Cheng Hongling had no patience for sparing feelings—she laid out the harsh truth bluntly.

“……”

Mu Ruoyi was deeply wounded. Her beautiful eyes blinked rapidly, her eyelids reddening.

“Weren’t you the one who kept insisting on being the ‘husband’? If you can’t even handle a few blunt words, how do you expect to take on that role? Look at Qi Huang—her face is deathly pale from being drained by you, like she’s been overindulging in pleasure. Has she cried about it?”

Cheng Hongling glared at her doppelgänger, furious.

“Overindulging… in pleasure?!”

Qi Huang flusteredly touched her own face. Did she really look that bad? Her mind conjured up the image of a man with hollow eyes, dark circles, and an emaciated figure—utterly wretched.

‘Wait, no—I’m a woman now!’

Qi Huang quickly snapped back to reality, indignantly retorting, “What kind of description is that? Can women even ‘overindulge in pleasure’?”

Mu Ruoyi stared blankly at Qi Huang, guilt flashing across her face. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her delicate fingers and said, “Fine, I was being petty. Tell me—what else can I do to help you?”

“There is! I want to know the exact current realm of my Divine Sense!”

Qi Huang quickly seized the opportunity. She had always known her Divine Sense had reached the Incarnation Realm, but she wasn’t sure which layer.

“You don’t even know your own cultivation level? Divine Sense strength corresponds directly to physical cultivation.”

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Mu Ruoyi kindly reminded her.

“Not necessarily.”

Qi Huang smirked.

“Enough nonsense! Are you going to help or not?”

Cheng Hongling snapped impatiently.

“Of course I’ll help! It’s not even a troublesome request. Once a cultivator reaches the first layer of the Incarnation Realm, their Divine Sense can lift 200 jin ¹ 1 jin = 500 grams/1.1 lbs . With each subsequent layer, the lifting capacity increases by 100 jin. By the ninth layer, it reaches exactly 1,000 jin. Just find something heavy to test it, and you’ll know.”

Mu Ruoyi explained. After all, Shuiyu Valley had three Incarnation Realm experts, including her mother, so she was well-informed on the matter.

“In that case, my Divine Sense is definitely not just at the early stages of Incarnation Realm. The only question is whether it’s stronger than that Yuxiao Sect leader’s.”

Qi Huang murmured to herself. After all, she could carry one or two people while traveling hundreds of li in a single stretch.

“How strong do you think your Divine Sense is?”

Cheng Hongling communicated telepathically with her doppelgänger.

“I don’t know. I need to test it.”

Qi Huang answered honestly.

“I hope it’s stronger than that Yuxiao Sect leader’s—or at least on par. Otherwise, we won’t even get a chance to put on our act.”

Cheng Hongling’s thoughts carried a sliver of hope.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you down.”

Qi Huang encouraged her.

The three women soon donned veils and left, heading to a rice shop to measure Qi Huang’s Divine Sense strength—since only such places had precisely weighed objects.

Pretending to be customers, they distracted the shop attendants while Qi Huang secretly used her Divine Sense to lift the pre-bagged rice. Each sack weighed exactly 100 jin, making them perfect for measurement.

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Qi Huang started with one sack—100 jin was effortless, barely registering as a strain.

Not wanting to waste time, she went straight to lifting five sacks at once. This time, she felt pressure, but it was far from strenuous.

Overjoyed, Qi Huang realized this meant her Divine Sense was at least as strong as the Yuxiao Sect leader’s.

Holding her breath, she attempted six sacks. This time, she felt exertion—but she still lifted them steadily.

Growing even more excited, she went for seven sacks. Now, she finally reached her limit, straining with all her might just to barely move them. This confirmed her Divine Sense was around the seventh layer of the Incarnation Realm.

“Hah! Heaven really is on my side! Seventh-layer Incarnation Realm—enough to scare the pants off those Yuxiao Sect fools!”

Qi Huang was so thrilled she nearly jumped like a child. She immediately relayed the results to her main body.

For once, Cheng Hongling’s face broke into a rare, beautiful smile. Though she normally disdained such underhanded methods, saving their father took precedence over everything else.

With their course set, Qi Huang and her main body prepared to depart for Yuxiao Sect immediately.

“Hongling-mei, when can I come see you?”

Mu Ruoyi asked reluctantly, her voice tinged with sorrow.

“Once we’ve rescued Father, you’re welcome to visit Honghua Sect anytime.”

Qi Huang couldn’t help but soften. After all, she still retained a man’s heart—it felt too cruel to cut ties after using someone.

Cheng Hongling, knowing gratitude, surprisingly didn’t object.

“Alright. Stay safe—I’ll be waiting for your good news.”

Mu Ruoyi finally smiled sweetly before turning away, glancing back every few steps.

Qi Huang and her main body exchanged a glance, then swiftly headed north.

This time, she would perform with her life on the line—and her stage would be one of the top five sects of Yongning Province.