Volume 4, Chapter 248 – The Great Battle Begins (Part 2)

Xiao Sha’s voice boomed like muffled thunder, the sound waves rolling toward the Honghua Sect, reverberating in every corner. The echoes came one after another, unceasing, vibrating eardrums until they went numb, scattering birds and beasts in all directions.

“The Severed Immortal Sect?”

At the mention of these three words, panic erupted. Both cultivators and ordinary people alike fled in terror, this sinister sect was universally feared.

“Is that… Xiao Sha? Has the Severed Immortal Sect finally arrived?”

Qi Huang frowned slightly before relaxing into a faint smile. “Good. It’s time to settle last time’s debt.”

“Now that the snake has been lured out of its hole, it’s time to root out the traitor.”

Without a change in expression, Qi Huang rose from her bed, extending her divine sense toward a small courtyard in the Honghua Sect’s rear mountains.

At that very moment, in that very courtyard, Bi Xin, the Severed Immortal Sect’s informant, was holding an Eavesdropper’s Ear, continuously relaying the Honghua Sect’s situation to his superiors outside, especially regarding Qi Huang.

“Hand it over.”

Qi Huang’s lips curled slightly as her overwhelming divine sense enveloped the Eavesdropper’s Ear, instantly snatching it away.

Bi Xin only felt an immense force before his grip loosened, the bamboo tube-shaped artifact inexplicably flew out of his hands.

“W-what’s going on? Did this thing develop a mind of its own?”

Bi Xin gaped in shock before his expression darkened. “Damn it! This was a treasure bestowed by Altar Master Xiao! If I lose it, how am I supposed to explain myself when I return?”

“Then don’t return!”

Qi Huang snorted coldly, her divine sense descending upon Bi Xin like a crushing weight.

Boom—

The next instant, Bi Xin’s entire body exploded into a mist of blood, dissipating into the air.

“I’m… dead?”

Before his soul could even comprehend what had happened, it was obliterated by the Heavenly Dao, such was the tragedy of an ordinary person.

Qi Huang stood up and walked to the window. The Eavesdropper’s Ear swiftly flew into her grasp.

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“What I want, I take.”

She smirked triumphantly, and with a thought, the artifact vanished into her spatial ring.

At that moment, Cheng Hongling stepped through the door.

“Did you hear the challenge outside?” she asked calmly.

“I did. I know this man, Xiao Sha, an altar master of the Severed Immortal Sect. His strength is terrifying, fully comparable to a cultivator’s Incarnation Realm.”

Qi Huang’s tone was grave.

“Oh? No wonder he dares to openly provoke us at our gates.”

Cheng Hongling’s rosy lips curled slightly.

“Are you confident in dealing with him?” Qi Huang asked, still uneasy.

“Against opponents of the same level—be they martial artists or cultivators—I, Cheng Hongling, am certain of victory.”

Her declaration brimmed with absolute confidence.

“Good! Then go meet him. He’s challenging us at the front gate while sending hundreds of men to sneak up the rear mountains. Clearly, it’s a diversion. Let’s oblige him!”

After sweeping the surroundings with her divine sense, Qi Huang chuckled mockingly.

“Leave the Severed Immortal Sect disciples at the rear mountains to me. Be careful, if you encounter an enemy you can’t handle, notify me immediately. I’ll recall you into the Sea of Consciousness.”

Cheng Hongling’s instructions were meticulous.

Warmth blossomed in Qi Huang’s heart before she replied confidently, “Don’t worry. You know my strength best. In Yongning Province, no one poses a threat to me.”

“That’s not necessarily true. What if you meet someone who wields killing intent?”

Cheng Hongling countered.

“…”

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Qi Huang was instantly rendered speechless. She truly had no defense against killing intent right now.

“I’ve always urged you to cultivate steadily. Now you understand why, don’t you? Everything has a counter. For divine sense, that counter is killing intent.”

Cheng Hongling seized the moment to lecture her.

“Having a counter only proves my divine sense isn’t strong enough! If I had obediently cultivated true qi from the start, I would’ve died countless times over. How could I have relied on acting to escape danger time and again?”

Qi Huang remained unmoved, firing back with her own question.

“…”

Now it was Cheng Hongling’s turn to fall silent. Though reluctant to admit it, she couldn’t deny the truth in her doppelgänger’s words.

“What’s this? Is the illustrious Fairy Hongling too cowardly to fight? If word gets out, not only will you lose face, the entire Honghua Sect will be disgraced!”

Xiao Sha waited for a long time, but when his target failed to appear, he resorted to mockery. Yet even after his taunts faded, there was still no sign of her.

“Heh. If Fairy Hongling refuses to show herself, I’ll just have to search for her myself.”

A cold smile played on his lips as his right fist shot out without warning. The terrifying speed generated a massive fist force, streaking toward the Honghua Sect’s gates like a meteor, the friction screeching through the air.

Boom!

The granite gates shattered like brittle tofu upon impact, exploding into countless fragments that rained down in all directions. Several nearby individuals, too slow to dodge, were struck and collapsed.

“For every breath you delay, I’ll destroy one of your sect’s structures. Ten breaths, ten structures, until I find you!”

Xiao Sha’s gaze was icy as he advanced step by step toward the ruined gates. His goal today was the Honghua Sect’s annihilation, if no one stood in his way, all the better.

“Audacious fool! How dare you trespass into the Honghua Sect!”

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Several gatekeeping disciples, snapping out of their daze, charged at him fearlessly.

“Overestimating yourselves. Pathetic!”

Xiao Sha spat disdainfully. His long, powerful breath stirred the surrounding air into a gale, sending the disciples flying backward.

“Is the Honghua Sect full of such worthless trash?”

He sneered, clasping his hands behind his back as he continued forward.

“Altar Master Xiao, halt!”

At that moment, a gray-robed figure materialized before him. With white hair, a white beard, and a ruddy complexion, his age was indeterminable, none other than Qin Quan, the Honghua Sect’s leader.

“Who are you?” Xiao Sha frowned slightly.

“This old man is Qin Quan, leader of the Honghua Sect. Altar Master Xiao, as a martial artist, have you taken a wrong turn on your way to a martial hall?”

Qin Quan’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“The great leader of the Honghua Sect is nothing more than this? How narrow-minded! Martial arts seek to shatter the void and attain immortality. Cultivation does the same, different paths, same destination. How can you call it a wrong turn?”

Xiao Sha’s tone was dripping with sarcasm.

“Altar Master Xiao is quite the orator. But even the right path may lead to a dead end. I suggest you turn back.”

Qin Quan’s veiled threat was clear. Though he knew he was outmatched, as sect leader, he had no choice but to stand his ground. At the very least, that prodigious disciple of his would back him up when the time came.

“At best, you’re only at the Unity Realm. Are you certain you wish to block my path?”

Xiao Sha’s eyes glinted with malice.

“The path of cultivation defies the heavens. If I fear even you, how can I claim to defy heaven?”

Qin Quan remained unshaken.

“Very well. Then I’ll grant your wish.”

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Xiao Sha’s figure vanished, reappearing instantly before the gates. His speed was so great that a fierce wind erupted behind him, hurling countless stone fragments toward Qin Quan like a storm.

Qin Quan’s expression darkened as his sword danced, cleaving through the incoming shards.

“You? Block me?”

Xiao Sha closed the distance in a flash, his fist driving straight for Qin Quan’s chest.

Qin Quan staggered, his defenses too slow, his heart nearly stopped.

But at that moment, a streak of blue sword energy tore through the air, arriving in the blink of an eye.

“Hmph!”

Xiao Sha snorted, neither dodging nor retreating. Instead, he met it head-on with a punch.

Bang!

Fist and sword energy collided with a crisp explosion. The blue energy shattered into razor-sharp shards of profound ice, scattering in all directions.

Simultaneously, a powerful divine sense swept forth, redirecting the ice fragments toward Xiao Sha’s face.

His expression changed as he crossed his arms defensively, leaping back rapidly.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Countless ice shards grazed his arms, leaving behind bloody gashes.

“This is… profound ice?”

Xiao Sha steadied himself, staring in disbelief at his wounded arms.

“The gates of the Honghua Sect are not for just any stray dog to enter. Without a sect token, not even a mere altar master like you, let alone the Severed Immortal Sect’s elders, protectors, or even its leader, may set foot inside.”

Cheng Hongling’s clear voice rang out as she descended gracefully before the Honghua Sect’s gates. Her delicate face was serene, her hair fluttering in the wind, her skirt billowing like rolling clouds, shielding everything behind her with an indomitable presence, as if one woman could hold off ten thousand.