Volume 4, Chapter 245 – Seeking Death, Daring to Steal My Doppelgänger

Hearing these discussions, even Cheng Hongling fell into deep thought. Indeed, the fact that this little doppelgänger had managed to grow to this point was already a miracle in itself, it simply couldn’t be judged by common logic.

“I understand the reasoning, but why did she fall into a coma?”

Yun Fei, standing nearby, voiced her skepticism.

“A coma doesn’t necessarily mean it’s due to a lack of brains. There could be other reasons, right?”

Ruan Lingyu replied. It was unclear whether she truly believed this or was simply trying to ease everyone’s worries.

The crowd nodded subconsciously. Rather than genuine belief, it was more that they didn’t want to accept an outcome they dreaded.

Xu Mei glanced at her senior disciple, a satisfied expression appearing on her mature oval face. Given the current state of the Honghua Sect, the most important thing was to stabilize morale, not to dig for the absolute truth.

“If it’s not caused by the brain, then that makes things easier. Elder Ruan’s medical skills are superb, he should be able to find the cause.”

Qin Quan looked toward Elder Ruan.

The poor elder froze for a moment, his aged face twisting into a smile uglier than tears.

“Alright, since Qi Huang isn’t in any serious danger, everyone should return to their duties. However, just to be safe, it’s best if you don’t spread this matter.”

Qin Quan reminded them.

The crowd acknowledged the order before dispersing in scattered groups. However, the sisters from the Orchid Garden remained uneasy, keeping watch by the bedside.

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Not long after, Qi Huang arrived at the Honghua Sect. To avoid unnecessary risks, she still refrained from flying directly in. Instead, she first scanned the area with her divine sense from outside the range of her main body’s perception. What she saw next made her hair stand on end, her bedroom was packed with people, including her main body, all of them intently observing the unlucky Heavenly Surge Soul.

“Wasn’t she supposed to be away for three days?”

Qi Huang was dumbstruck. Seeing the Heavenly Surge Soul lying on the bed like a wooden puppet, she realized that her scheme of finding a substitute had been exposed. The only question was whether these people had recognized the true identity of that Heavenly Surge Soul.

Afraid of being detected by her main body, Qi Huang didn’t dare to keep probing with her divine sense and cautiously withdrew it.

“They shouldn’t be able to recognize the Heavenly Surge Soul’s true identity. Before I left, I set up a divine sense barrier around her. Given my main body’s current cultivation level, there’s no way she could break through it.”

After some thought, Qi Huang reached this conclusion, and her heart settled slightly. However, she didn’t let her guard down entirely. She knew all too well that given enough time, her divine sense barrier would fade, and her main body would immediately see through the Heavenly Surge Soul’s true identity. Therefore, she had to switch back with that doppelgänger as soon as possible.

“But right now, my main body is guarding that Heavenly Surge Soul without leaving an inch of space. I definitely can’t use the Soul Tether directly, if she sees it, she’ll definitely grow suspicious.”

Qi Huang immediately felt a headache coming on. Currently, there were two cultivators in the Honghua Sect who had reached the Unity Realm or higher, Qin Quan and her main body. Qin Quan wasn’t much of a concern; the man was swamped with responsibilities and couldn’t possibly stay by the bedside indefinitely. Her main body, however, was a different story.

“Thankfully, I didn’t bring my two brothers along. Otherwise, this would’ve been instant suicide.”

Qi Huang secretly wiped away cold sweat. Only now did she realize that being emotionally attached had its benefits, being kind-hearted could sometimes yield unexpected rewards.

“What should I do now? Do I just have to wait until my main body isn’t around to take back the doppelgänger?”

Qi Huang paced back and forth, unable to come up with a solution. She decided to bide her time for now.

But things never go as planned. Qi Huang never expected that she would hold such importance in her main body’s heart, Cheng Hongling didn’t even consider leaving, staying stubbornly by the bedside without moving an inch.

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Qi Huang grew increasingly frantic. Two whole days passed like this.

On the morning of the third day, she accidentally noticed two people sneaking around at the foot of the Honghua Sect’s mountain, whispering furtively. When she focused her divine sense to eavesdrop, she was instantly shocked. Somehow, the news that “she” had fallen into a coma and that her main body couldn’t recall her had been leaked.

“Truly, no secret can stay hidden forever! Who the hell leaked this?!”

Qi Huang gritted her teeth in frustration. This was deeply unsettling, after all, the only ones who knew about this were her closest confidants. The idea that there was a traitor among them was something no one could take lightly.

“Brother Dai, Cheng Hongling’s doppelgänger has fallen into a coma! And for some reason, she can’t recall it back into her Sea of Consciousness, she’s just left it lying there!”

The fair-skinned young man quietly relayed the information.

“What?! Something like this actually happened? Are you sure?”

The other man, a burly middle-aged figure, couldn’t hide his excitement.

“Of course I’m sure! I overheard it using that ‘Eavesdropper’s Ear’ artifact you gave me.”

The pale-faced youth answered confidently.

“So it was eavesdropped on!”

Qi Huang let out a deep breath of relief. Still, this served as a warning, the cultivation world was full of bizarre tools for gathering information, far beyond just divine sense.

“That’s fantastic! If we destroy Cheng Hongling’s doppelgänger, she’ll die along with it. Once that happens, the Honghua Sect will be at the mercy of our Severed Immortal Sect!”

The burly middle-aged man laughed wildly, lost in his delusions.

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“The Severed Immortal Sect again! To think they’ve already infiltrated the Honghua Sect’s inner circle…”

Qi Huang gnashed her teeth so hard they creaked. She would never forget how she had nearly been ruined by the Qi-Leaking Powder developed by the Severed Immortal Sect, nor how she had almost been slain by one of their hall masters outside the prefectural city.

“Exactly! Killing Cheng Hongling is difficult, but killing a defenseless, comatose doppelgänger that she can’t even recall? Even a three-year-old could do it. That’s why I’m telling you, you need to report this to the higher-ups immediately. This is a rare opportunity!”

The pale-faced youth urged impatiently.

“Right, I’ll report it right away. If this succeeds, the hall master will definitely reward you handsomely!”

The burly man, Dai, praised him.

“Thanks, Brother Dai. But to avoid complications, remind the higher-ups to act fast. If that doppelgänger wakes up, she’s even more terrifying than Cheng Hongling, we won’t stand a chance.”

The youth warned.

“So they actually know a bit about my true strength…”

A faint sheen of cold sweat broke out on Qi Huang’s fair forehead. She had no idea just how much these people knew about her.

“Don’t worry. The Honghua Sect has always been the weakest immortal sect in Yongning Prefecture. As the saying goes, ‘When squeezing persimmons, pick the softest one’. Our Severed Immortal Sect has long wanted to make a move on them, who knew Cheng Hongling would suddenly rise to power? That’s why we’ve been waiting for the right opportunity. And now, the time is perfect. Within three days, you’ll see our brethren storm the Honghua Sect and liberate the nearly 100,000 women trapped inside!”

The burly man spoke with absolute confidence.

“Liberate? Who asked you to liberate them? Have you even asked them what they want? Shameless bastards!”

Qi Huang cursed inwardly. Without the Honghua Sect’s protection, many of those women would likely die at the hands of wandering ghosts and evil spirits.

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“Alright. For these three days, I’ll keep monitoring the Orchid Garden with the Eavesdropper’s Ear and report any developments to you via the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube. If the doppelgänger hasn’t woken up by then, you can strike. If she does wake up, we’ll lie low for now.”

The pale-faced youth proposed.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

The burly Dai gave a perfunctory reply before the two ended their conversation.

Qi Huang watched as the two Severed Immortal Sect disciples parted ways, her hands itching to tear them to pieces on the spot. But reason told her she absolutely couldn’t do that, it would only alert the enemy. She hadn’t forgotten Dai’s words: the Severed Immortal Sect had been preparing to deal with the Honghua Sect for a long time. If she didn’t take this chance to lure them out now, she’d have to live in constant fear going forward.

Of course, Qi Huang could also follow Dai to uncover more of their network, but the current situation didn’t allow for that. Ensuring her doppelgänger wasn’t exposed was the top priority, so for now, she could only wait for them to make the first move.

Qi Huang never expected that her substitute’s coma would attract the Severed Immortal Sect’s attention. For her, this was like adding fuel to the fire.

“What do I do? What do I do? If I can’t switch back with that doppelgänger soon, I’m truly finished this time!”

Sweat poured down Qi Huang’s back in her panic. A moment later, she suddenly slapped herself hard across the face, leaving a red mark on her fair cheek.

“How could I be so stupid? At this distance, I can just snatch it with my divine sense!”

With a helpless laugh, Qi Huang unleashed her powerful divine sense, sending it rushing toward her room in the Honghua Sect. In an instant, it wrapped around the bewildered Heavenly Surge Soul and yanked her straight out through the window.

Everyone in the room froze, completely stunned by what had just happened.

“Seeking Death! How dare you steal my doppelgänger?!”

Cheng Hongling roared in fury, her figure darting out like lightning in pursuit.