Volume 3, Chapter 162 – Stop Acting, I Beg You (Part 5)

The fist formed by Qi Huang’s divine sense appeared small but was incomparably solid. Without any flourish, it smashed directly into the translucent mountain pressing down from above.

When divine senses collided, no sound could be heard. The massive mountain was sent flying by a single punch, tumbling wildly like a kite with its string cut. A deep fist imprint was left on its underside.

“Ugh!”

Sect Leader Liu let out a muffled groan, hurriedly retracting his divine sense as he clutched his head in pain.

Qi Huang calmly withdrew her own divine sense, her beautiful eyes sweeping the surroundings with undisguised disdain.

“H-how is this possible?! She actually defeated the Sect Leader!”

“And she did it so effortlessly! That means her strength must at least be at the late-stage Incarnation Realm!”

“How?! Even if she really did reach the Incarnation Realm, it was only recently announced. How could she break through straight to the late stage?”

“But the facts are right in front of us—divine sense intensity matches cultivation level.”

The high-ranking elders paled, stammering as they stumbled backward. If Qi Huang truly was at the late-stage Incarnation Realm, then even if they all attacked at once, victory was far from certain. At this level, even a single minor difference in cultivation was like an insurmountable chasm—one misstep could mean death on the spot.

Zheng Wei, still kneeling on the ground, looked ashen-faced. Faced with a powerhouse of the late-stage Incarnation Realm, his heart was filled with nothing but regret.

“There’s nothing impossible here! If anyone still doubts me, step forward and test me yourself!”

Qi Huang’s sharp gaze swept across the crowd, and wherever it landed, people immediately lowered their heads, not daring to meet her eyes.

“Sect Leader Qin, do you still need me to verify things with the Gathering Gold Auction House?”

Qi Huang raised her eyelids, her eyes locking onto the disheveled Liu Lei.

Liu Lei’s face was pale, still recovering from the pain.

“You won’t admit defeat until you’re staring at your own coffin, huh? Fine! Even the county office needs evidence to convict someone. I’ll contact the Gathering Gold Auction House right now and broadcast their testimony across the entire Yuxiao Sect—let’s see if you still have anything to say then!”

With a cold laugh, Qi Huang made a show of activating the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube again.

“Wait! Wait!”

Liu Lei gritted his teeth, waving his hands frantically while sucking in sharp breaths.

“Oh? Don’t want this to become public knowledge? Then you should know what to do, shouldn’t you?”

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Qi Huang relented, seeing that he had finally been cowed.

“F-Fairy Cheng! This old man admits his mistake! Whatever you want, I’ll cooperate fully!”

Liu Lei forced the words out through his throbbing headache.

Qi Huang was delighted and immediately relayed the outcome to her main body, seeking Cheng Hongling’s opinion.

“Right now, our priority is finding Father. Based on what Mu Ruoyi saw earlier, this Zheng guy intended to use Father as a hostage to extort us—so he’s most likely being held in Zheng’s residence.”

Cheng Hongling reasoned.

“And if he’s not there?”

Qi Huang asked, still uneasy.

“Then we’ll make him talk. Now that the Yuxiao Sect has surrendered, no one will interfere no matter how we deal with him.”

Cheng Hongling suggested.

“How do we make him talk? Torture? I’ve never done that before!”

Qi Huang replied awkwardly.

“Never mind. Since the Yuxiao Sect has already backed down, wait for me to arrive. I’m more experienced in… persuasion.”

With that, Cheng Hongling cut off their telepathic link.

Qi Huang shivered involuntarily, silently vowing to keep her true identity hidden at all costs.

To mask her discomfort, Qi Huang paced the hall with her chin in hand, looking every bit the stern judge. The elders around her stood like condemned criminals, none daring to speak.

Before long, Cheng Hongling strode boldly into the hall, the pink lotus-shaped doppelgänger mark on her forehead glaringly obvious.

“Another Cheng Hongling?! And that mark—she really is a doppelgänger!”

“So she wasn’t lying! She truly has reached the Incarnation Realm!”

“Our Yuxiao Sect is finished! If we can’t satisfy her, we’ll never escape this calamity!”

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The elders’ hearts sank completely at the sight of her.

“This is the man who kidnapped Father?”

Cheng Hongling glanced at the trembling Zheng Wei, who couldn’t even stand.

“That’s him! His name is Zheng Wei, an elder of the Yuxiao Sect.”

Qi Huang announced proudly.

Zheng Wei didn’t attempt to deny it—he had already provoked Cheng Hongling over the communication tube, and speaking now would only incriminate him further.

“Heh…”

Cheng Hongling let out a chilling laugh. In a flash, she drew her sword—a streak of blue light—then sheathed it just as quickly.

“AHH!”

Before anyone could react, Zheng Wei’s scream tore through the air. Blood sprayed from between his fingers as he clutched the side of his head. His severed ear lay on the ground, the wound so cleanly cut that the exposed cartilage was clearly visible beneath the minimal bleeding.

“Hiss—!”

The onlookers recoiled in shock, instinctively stepping back.

Even Qi Huang flinched—though for her, it was more out of guilty conscience.

“You dared to provoke me over the communication tube. I thought you had some backbone. Can’t even handle losing an ear? Where did you get the courage?”

Cheng Hongling looked down at him coldly.

“P-Please, Fairy! Spare me! I’m innocent! I didn’t kidnap your father!”

Zheng Wei forced out the lie through gritted teeth, knowing that admitting anything would only bring more suffering.

“Do you take me for a fool? It’s only been ten days since you taunted me over the communication tube. I’d recognize your voice anywhere.”

Cheng Hongling sneered.

Zheng Wei stiffened, his cries dying in his throat—but it was already too late.

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Qi Huang was stunned. She had assumed her main body was acting out of anger, but now she realized there was more to it.

“Now, tell me—where is my father?”

Cheng Hongling demanded.

Zheng Wei pretended not to hear, groaning as he clutched his ear like a stubborn mule.

“You think staying silent will save you?”

Cheng Hongling scoffed, then turned to the others. “Who here is Sect Leader Liu?”

“Me! I’m Liu Lei!”

Having recovered somewhat from his earlier ordeal, Liu Lei was now as docile as a dog.

“Take me to Zheng Wei’s residence.”

“Y-yes, right away!”

Liu Lei nodded repeatedly.

The group set off for the back mountains, with Qi Huang escorting Zheng Wei. Bystanders along the way stared in confusion, unaware of what was happening.

Zheng Wei didn’t resist—whether he had accepted his fate or still had some hidden card remained unclear.

Soon, they arrived at Zheng Wei’s residence.

Qi Huang immediately released her divine sense, scanning the entire compound. In a side room’s underground cellar, she found Cheng Hongling’s bound father and his guard, Xiao Zhi.

Cheng Hongling rushed inside, darting into the cellar to free her father while the others followed.

“L-Little Ling? Is… is it really you? Am I hallucinating? I-I just dreamed of you…”

Cheng Yuan struggled to open his eyes, too weak from starvation to even lift a hand.

“It’s me! I’m sorry, Father! I came too late!”

Cheng Hongling’s delicate nose wrinkled as her eyes reddened.

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“No… I should be the one apologizing. I couldn’t even kill myself… made you worry…”

Cheng Yuan’s pale face twisted with guilt.

“Who are you?! How dare you barge into private property! Do you know this is Elder Zheng’s residence?!”

Xiao Zhi, finally snapping out of his shock, puffed himself up with false bravado.

“And who are you?”

Cheng Hongling suppressed her rage.

“I’m Elder Zheng’s disciple, Guo Xiaozhi! If you know what’s good for you, get out now before my master returns—”

“Heh. Xiaozhi, is it? Good. No need to wait for your master—you can go ahead and wait for him in the underworld.”

In a blur, Cheng Hongling drew her sword and slashed. The motion was so fast it seemed like nothing had happened.

Xiao Zhi blinked in confusion, opening his mouth to retort—but then a thin red line appeared on his neck. It widened into a gruesome gash, blood spurting like a fountain.

Only then did he realize what had happened. Clutching his throat, he collapsed with a look of utter disbelief. His low cultivation meant his soul dispersed instantly upon death—not even granted the chance to become a ghost.

“XIAOZHI!”

Zheng Wei, who had just arrived, let out a roar of fury. “Cheng Hongling! How dare you murder someone in broad daylight! What of the Yuxiao Sect’s dignity?!”

Cheng Hongling ignored him, carefully helping her father to his feet.

“Sect Leader Liu! Say something! As the Sect Leader, how can you stand by while this demoness slaughters our disciples?!”

Zheng Wei screamed hysterically.

“So that’s why he was so calm earlier—he thought the Yuxiao Sect’s higher-ups would protect him.”

Qi Huang finally understood.

“Stop shouting. I’ll kill you next. Ready to die?”

Cheng Hongling smirked, her fair hand resting once more on her sword hilt.