Volume 4, Chapter 258 – Entering the Dream Once More (Part 1)

Knowing that Cheng Hongling had been afflicted with Qi-Leaking Powder, Altar Master Xu felt no fear. He took Cheng Yuan straight to the Honghua Sect.

“What exactly do you want?”

Cheng Yuan struggled futilely, like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

“Didn’t I already say? I’m trading your life for your daughter’s!”

Altar Master Xu halted near the Honghua Sect.

“You know what? The last person who tried to use me to threaten my daughter, their grave is now overgrown with grass taller than a man. By the time this is over, you might be the one trading your life for mine.”

Cheng Yuan replied calmly.

“You seem quite confident in your daughter!”

Altar Master Xu smirked noncommittally.

“Of course. Because she has never let me down.”

A trace of pride flashed across Cheng Yuan’s face.

“Yes, I admit she is exceptional. Reaching the Incarnation Realm at sixteen, such talent is unprecedented in the Western Radiance Dynasty’s cultivation world, and likely won’t be matched again.”

Altar Master Xu couldn’t help but agree, though his tone soon shifted. “But alas! Even geniuses need time to grow. Strength is secondary, experience is what matters most. She’s still too green. First, she shouldn’t have fallen for the Qi-Leaking Powder, and second, she shouldn’t have left her parents at home.”

“She didn’t do that because she’s inexperienced, she did it out of confidence.”

Cheng Yuan defended.

“Oh? Then watch closely. Tonight, I’ll make sure she loses that confidence for good.”

Altar Master Xu sneered.

“Brother, you don’t strike me as the bloodthirsty type. Why must we resort to violence? Can’t we sit down and talk this out?”

Cheng Yuan attempted to reason with him.

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“Talk it out? I’d love to! But due to our conflicting stances, the rift between us and the Immortal Alliance can’t be resolved peacefully.”

Altar Master Xu sighed.

“What rift? Care to enlighten me?”

Cheng Yuan tried to buy time.

“Fine. Since you asked, I’ll keep it brief. In the mortal world, men struggle to find wives, while cultivators in the sects enjoy multiple partners. We live in the same world, yet it’s like heaven and hell. The only way to change this is for the sects to send those women back to the mortal realm. Do you think they’d agree?”

Altar Master Xu laid out the root of the conflict.

Cheng Yuan fell silent. From what he knew, the sects would never agree, cultivators prized bloodline inheritance. The more wives they had, the greater the chance of passing down their talents.

“You’re a smart man, Brother Cheng. You know this is impossible. That’s why force is the only solution.”

Altar Master Xu’s gaze sharpened.

“Brother, you may have a point, but let me correct one thing, those women weren’t forcibly kept by the sects. They went willingly, even paying exorbitant sums for residency. The cultivators have no right to expel them.”

Cheng Yuan appealed to reason.

“Which is why the only way to bring them back to the fields is to eliminate the sects.”

Altar Master Xu scoffed.

“Don’t you realize how selfish you’re being? For your own desires, you’d render countless women homeless. In these chaotic times, that’s tantamount to killing them.”

Cheng Yuan rebuked him.

“That’s not my concern. Their safety should be the responsibility of their future husbands.”

Altar Master Xu shrugged off all accountability.

“Figures. Lawless men like you could never be righteous. You claim to fight for all men, but in truth, you’re only serving your own greed.”

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Cheng Yuan sneered.

“I never said I was a good man.”

Altar Master Xu remained unperturbed. He then shoved Cheng Yuan forward. “Move. Tonight, I’ll show you how your ‘exceptional’ daughter loses all her confidence!”

With no choice, Cheng Yuan was forced toward the Honghua Sect’s gates.

“Who goes there?”

Four disciples guarding the entrance barked out a challenge. But upon recognizing Cheng Yuan’s face, their tone instantly turned respectful. “Uncle Cheng! What brings you here?”

“Run! Now!”

Cheng Yuan didn’t hesitate to warn them.

The four disciples exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of what was happening.

“Too late for that.”

Altar Master Xu smirked. His eyes narrowed slightly, glinting with a cold light. A crushing wave of killing intent, so dense it was almost tangible, surged toward the four.

“Ah—!”

Caught off guard, the disciples screamed as if they’d seen a ghost. Their expressions froze mid-panic, their souls instantly obliterated by the overwhelming killing intent.

That’s right. These four disciples had been scared to death, literally. Killing intent was the bane of divine sense, and divine sense was an extension of the soul. Such an outcome wasn’t surprising.

Thud…

A moment later, their lifeless bodies collapsed stiffly to the ground.

Cheng Yuan was horrified. Though he’d braced himself, he never imagined his captor was this powerful, killing four sect disciples with just a glance.

‘Can she really handle him?’

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Witnessing this, Cheng Yuan’s confidence wavered. ‘No. I can’t lead him inside, that would be betraying my daughter!’

Determined, he tried to bite off his tongue and end his life. But before he could, a sudden numbness spread from his neck, paralyzing his body.

“Trying to kill yourself? Too late!”

Altar Master Xu sneered, grabbing Cheng Yuan by the collar and dragging him forward.

“Cheng Hongling of the Honghua Sect! Show yourself!”

His voice, though not loud, resonated like a great bell across the heavens.

Meanwhile, Qi Huang was resting in her room when the call reached her. Instantly, she unleashed her divine sense to investigate, only to see her adoptive father held hostage by a strange middle-aged man, with the gatekeepers already dead.

“Not good!”

Her face paled. In a flash, she vanished from the room.

Downstairs, Cheng Hongling reacted similarly, though her speed was noticeably slower.

In the blink of an eye, Qi Huang materialized before Altar Master Xu, her eyes blazing with fury.

“Who are you? Why are you holding my father hostage?”

“You must be Cheng Hongling’s doppelgänger, right? Impressive speed, far beyond what an Incarnation Realm cultivator should possess. The rumors were true. Your divine sense has already surpassed that realm.”

A flicker of apprehension crossed Altar Master Xu’s face. He realized he might have underestimated her.

“I asked you a question! Release my father now, or I swear, even if you walk in alive tonight, you’ll leave as a corpse!”

Qi Huang’s threat was razor-sharp.

Just then, Cheng Hongling arrived, her beautiful face icy. “Identify yourself. What do you want with my father?”

“I am Xu You, an altar master of the Severed Immortal Sect. My goal is simple, I want you to trade your life for his!”

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Xu You declared arrogantly, his right hand tightening around Cheng Yuan’s throat.

‘Another altar master?’

Qi Huang’s expression darkened. She knew exactly how formidable these sect leaders were. Even if she could defeat him, it wouldn’t be easy, especially with her father as a hostage.

“The Severed Immortal Sect must really value me, sending three altar masters my way.”

Cheng Hongling mocked, though internally, she communicated with Qi Huang via soul resonance: “The Qi-Leaking Powder has left me with only a tenth of my qi. We need to end this in one strike. Can you restrain him and keep Father safe?”

“Yes.”

Qi Huang clenched her jaw. Even if she wasn’t sure, she had to be.

“What can I say? Fairy Hongling’s talent is simply too terrifying. If we don’t nip it in the bud, you’ll become our sect’s greatest threat.”

Xu You feigned admiration.

“If you know I’m that talented, why didn’t you flee after losing two of your men? How dare you come alone?”

Cheng Hongling kept him talking while strategizing with Qi Huang: “Use your divine sense to limit his movements. I’ll go for the kill. With Father in his grasp, we can’t afford to fail.”

“Understood.”

Qi Huang took a deep breath.

“Normally, I wouldn’t dare. But thanks to that Qi-Leaking Powder, tonight I’ll relish the thrill of single-handedly wiping out a sect! Once you’re dead, the Honghua Sect’s rabble won’t stand a chance!”

Xu You boasted.

“Now!”

Cheng Hongling suddenly commanded.

Knowing failure wasn’t an option, Qi Huang held nothing back. With every ounce of strength, she unleashed a crushing wave of divine sense toward the altar master.