Volume 4, Chapter 253 – If We Can’t Catch Her, Then We’ll Catch Her Parents

“Misunderstanding! This is purely a misunderstanding!”

Qi Huang laughed awkwardly, then handed the sword back to her main body. They were family, how could this be considered betrayal? Was she that kind of person? She had just forgotten in the heat of the moment while trying to look cool.

Cheng Hongling stored the sword away and asked, “Have the Severed Immortal Sect followers at the foot of the mountain been dealt with?”

“Don’t even mention it. The Severed Immortal Sect didn’t just send one expert to cause trouble, I ran into someone just as strong as that guy. I almost got wrecked and barely managed to pull through. Then I realized you needed backup, so I rushed over. The other small fry haven’t been taken care of yet.”

Qi Huang sounded frustrated. Normally, she could easily handle martial artists of that level, but her opponent’s attacks were bizarre, which put her at a disadvantage. If not for her innate talent of being able to cultivate her doppelgänger, she might have already been reduced to a breeding tool.

“What? Are you hurt?”

Cheng Hongling’s expression changed, and she immediately asked, completely forgetting her usual aloof demeanor.

Qi Huang knew exactly why her main body was concerned. The foot of the mountain was about four or five li ¹ 1 li = 500m/0.31 miles away, just beyond the Divine Sense range of an Incarnation Realm cultivator, so Cheng Hongling had no way of knowing what had happened.

This was also why Qi Huang had dared to go all out during the fight, using both her “Ghost Hair” attacks and her doppelgänger separation.

“Didn’t I say I almost got wrecked? In the face of absolute power, all schemes are useless!”

Qi Huang seized the chance to brag a little before adding, “Tell the others to come out and clean up the battlefield. I need to go deal with those small fry. If any escape, we won’t be able to sleep peacefully in the future.”

“I’ll go with you!”

Cheng Hongling suggested.

“No way! If you leave, what’ll happen to the Honghua Sect?”

Qi Huang immediately refused. She’d rather put in extra effort than risk their base being attacked.

After a brief moment of thought, Cheng Hongling didn’t insist. She had never been one to act on emotion.

Knowing that delays bred trouble, Qi Huang immediately dashed toward the foot of the mountain.

By now, the Severed Immortal Sect followers had realized Lei Zhen was dead, and their morale had collapsed. Many had already begun fleeing.

Qi Huang showed no mercy. Her powerful Divine Sense swept across a radius of several dozen li, leaving no detail unnoticed. The hair on her head lengthened wildly, spreading in all directions like a vast net before beginning its harvest.

Rеаⅾ оո ΚαtReαԁіոgCаfe

Given the overwhelming difference in strength, none of her targets survived a single strike.

It might be hard to believe, but in less than half a ke ² 刻 (kè), 1 ke = 15 minutes , Qi Huang had slaughtered all one thousand Severed Immortal Sect followers. No matter how many there were, they couldn’t outnumber the strands of her hair.

“Numbers? I’m least afraid of numbers!”

Qi Huang smirked proudly. She wasn’t some old scholar, her hair was thick and lush, nearly a hundred thousand strands. One strand per small fry? More than enough.

After eradicating the threat, Qi Huang’s next task was, of course, looting. She wasn’t generous enough to leave her spoils for others, especially not the gleaming silver taels.

And so, she began opening “lootboxes”. Though these Severed Immortal Sect followers hadn’t carried much silver on their mission, for someone as perpetually broke as her, it was still a series of pleasant surprises.

As the saying goes, those who’ve been poor for too long are easily satisfied.

“Oh my, have you gone dark side? Why are there corpses everywhere?”

At that moment, Yaoyao’s voice echoed in her mind.

“Damn it! Why is she back?”

Qi Huang was startled. She looked around but saw no sign of the catgirl. Unwilling to give up, she expanded her Divine Sense, but of course, she found nothing. Nine Nether Demon Cats could naturally block Divine Sense.

“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost? Did I hit the mark?”

The next moment, Yaoyao suddenly appeared in front of Qi Huang, holding a Nine Nether Demon Cat as usual.

“Mine! All mine! Don’t you dare take any!”

Qi Huang panicked, speeding up her looting in a comically flustered manner.

“Tch! Who wants this trash? You’re insulting me!”

Yaoyao rolled her crimson vertical-pupiled eyes cutely.

“I want it! I want it!”

Rеαԁ oո KαtRеаdіոɡСаfе

Qi Huang quickly asserted her claim.

“Such a greedy woman. One day, someone’s going to trick you into having kids with money.”

Yaoyao scoffed disdainfully.

Qi Huang didn’t respond. Sure, she was greedy, but she still had her dignity, okay? No amount of money could make her bear children, some things couldn’t be bought.

“Which sect did you steal this cat from?”

Qi Huang asked while multitasking between looting and conversation.

“Does it matter? I’ve already lost count of how many sects I’ve offended.”

Yaoyao replied nonchalantly.

“You sound proud of that.”

Qi Huang took the chance to mock her.

“Of course! I’ve saved so many of my kin and fulfilled my father’s wishes.”

Yaoyao declared proudly.

Qi Huang had no retort. From Yaoyao’s perspective, she truly was a great benefactor of the Nine Nether Demon Cat race.

“Stop picking through garbage. If people see you, they’ll think I’m abusing my servant. I give you all those cat tears every month, after all.”

Yaoyao was growing impatient.

“Who’d say no to more money?”

Qi Huang replied casually, but her hands moved deftly, stuffing every last coin into her spatial ring.

“Enough! Your spatial ring’s already tiny. If you fill it up, my kin won’t even have room to stand!”

Yaoyao was nearly frantic before suddenly remembering something. “Did you prepare the new home at Pingshan Mass Burial Ground like I asked?”

Reаԁ οո ΚаtRеαdiոgСαfе

“It’s only been two or three days! How could it be ready so fast?”

Qi Huang complained.

“Daring to talk back to your master? You’ve forgotten the pain already!”

Yaoyao’s tone turned dangerous.

“No, no! I’ll go take care of it tomorrow, okay?”

Qi Huang hurriedly begged for mercy.

“You said it yourself. If you drag your feet again, I’ll starve your future children to death.”

Yaoyao threatened.

“What do you mean?”

Qi Huang asked blankly.

“I’ll crush your chest flat! Then they’ll have nothing to eat.”

Yaoyao said viciously.

Qi Huang shuddered and quickly argued, “Don’t get any ideas! I don’t plan on having kids, so crushing my chest won’t starve anyone.”

“Doesn’t matter. I can crush them for fun.”

Yaoyao remained unmoved.

Qi Huang had no comeback. Cold sweat dripped down her back.

After finishing her looting, Qi Huang had gained tens of thousands of extra taels. She was practically giddy, this method of earning money was far faster than legitimate means. Maybe she should do this more often in the future…

Once everything was settled, Qi Huang had Yaoyao enter the spatial ring before returning to the Honghua Sect.

Rеaԁ oո ΚatRеadіոɡСαfе

In this battle, the Honghua Sect had only lost its front gate, while the Severed Immortal Sect had suffered over a thousand casualties, including two altar masters. The losses were devastating.

But that was only the visible damage. The Honghua Sect’s real losses went far beyond a gate. Cheng Hongling, their top genius, had inhaled Qi-Leaking Powder, which had dispersed 90% of her Qi. Though she could recover with time, the residual toxins would make the process agonizingly slow, months, maybe even a year. If anything happened during that time, Qi Huang would be their only hope.

And Qi Huang? She wasn’t doing so great either, at least, that’s how it looked to outsiders. Her cultivation was low, and she had ingested a large amount of Qi-Leaking Powder. If she didn’t find a way to expel the toxins, she might never cultivate Qi again.

Of course, Qi Huang herself didn’t care. Qi was practically useless to her anyway, so she had no intention of wasting effort on detoxification. Her only concern was how to sneak out tomorrow and prepare a new home for her feline overlords, otherwise, her chest was doomed.

After the great battle, the Honghua Sect entered a brief period of calm.

But no one knew that the Severed Immortal Sect hadn’t sent just two altar masters to destroy the Honghua Sect, they had sent three.

And now, in an inn within the prefecture, a tall, thin, dark-skinned middle-aged man sipped tea leisurely. On the table beside him lay a Phoenix Selection Token, a tool used by the imperial family to evaluate potential spouses. When a woman held it, her physical attributes would be converted into numerical values.

Tap, tap, tap…

A knock sounded at the door.

“Enter.”

The man didn’t even look up.

The door opened, and a young man entered, bowing obsequiously before reporting in a hushed voice, “Altar Master Xu, Altar Master Xiao and Altar Master Lei have failed. Over a thousand men, wiped out.”

“Those two trash! Like wild dogs fighting over trash, rushing to the Honghua Sect for easy gains. Serves them right!”

The man, Altar Master Xu, sneered before ordering, “Find out the current situation at the Honghua Sect. Especially that Cheng Hongling, I want to know if those two idiots died for nothing.”

“Yes!”

The young man acknowledged.

“Oh, and tell the disciples watching the Cheng residence to be ready. Once I give the order, they are to seize Cheng Hongling’s parents immediately. I’d like to see if two ordinary people can really produce such an outstanding daughter.”

Altar Master Xu added emotionlessly, his gaze drifting toward the Phoenix Selection Token on the table.