Volume 8, Chapter 569 – One Against Seven (Part 9)

Qi Huang smiled faintly without confirming or denying. Since her Divine Sense could already detect those few people, naturally she could suppress them as well. But she had no intention of doing so, for a very simple reason: Mimi, as a Nine Nether Demon Cat, needed to keep her identity hidden.

Qi Huang wasn’t sure if others knew about matters such as soul reconstruction, but to be safe, she couldn’t use Divine Sense to suppress those monsters in specially made garments. Otherwise, onlookers would immediately realize she hadn’t spotted them with her naked eyes, but by other means. That was the first reason.

The second reason, if this matter came to light, her own identity would also risk exposure.

Qi Huang hadn’t forgotten: half a year ago, at the Evergreen Conference in Yongning Prefecture, she had swept through all opponents using only her Divine Sense, unmatched under heaven. Now, once again, she had thrown a continent-wide Evergreen Conference into chaos. Even though the two locations were separated by hundreds of thousands of miles, Elder Zuo had once come to the Central Continent to promote her main body. Who knew if people aware of that past incident might connect the two?

Thus, to conceal her true identity, Qi Huang had to disguise herself as nothing more than a solid late-stage Divine Realm expert, not some crippled cultivator forced to rely only on Divine Sense to fight. Only in this way could she lull others into complacency.

“She can still use Divine Sense!”

“Heavens! They’re both in the Divine Realm, how could the gap be this wide? She just used her Divine Sense to move a single hairpin, and blasted Zheng Wei so far away!”

“Nonsense! Haven’t you heard? Once a cultivator reaches the Incarnation Realm, each stage higher is an unbridgeable gulf, let alone when compared to the Divine Realm!”

“Then doesn’t this mean those seven are doomed to defeat?”

Tens of thousands of cultivators had retreated several miles away, whispering anxiously. Some floated in the air, others stood on the ground. From afar, they looked like a vast black “pot lid” covering the Immortal-Forging Platform beneath.

“Vice Alliance Leader, what should we do now? She isn’t affected by the Water-Severing Art!”

Elder Ma asked Cao Hong again, flustered.

“What are you panicking for? Each of those Seven Monsters is wearing a set of garments made from Nine Nether Demon Cat fur, they won’t be suppressed by her Divine Sense at all!”

Cao Hong snapped impatiently.

“But in sheer cultivation alone, those seven aren’t her match. The difference is too great!”

Rеаd оո KαtRеаԁiոɡCafе

Elder Ma’s face twisted into misery.

“Are you blind? Don’t you see there’s still the Supreme Domain? That brat, no matter how high her cultivation, can only use metal ornaments like hairpins as weapons. She has no way of breaking the Rock-Steadfast War Armor. She won’t be able to defeat those prodigies in a short time. Don’t believe me? Look at Zheng Wei.”

Cao Hong gestured toward the section of collapsed wall.

The elders looked to the gap in the wall, and indeed saw Zheng Wei climbing up from the rubble. Though disheveled, he appeared unharmed. His Rock-Steadfast War Armor  remained completely intact.

“Exactly. Both sides will surely fall into stalemate. With Yang Jin’s support, the seven prodigies clearly hold the advantage.”

Cao Hong concluded confidently.

“But what if she has some powerful artifact? Artifacts aren’t the same as weapons!”

Elder Ma pressed timidly.

“Will you shut your foul mouth? Do you even know where the Rock-Steadfast War Armor came from?”

Cao Hong finally roared, unable to stand it.

“Elder Ma, that Rock-Steadfast War Armor is the sect-defining treasure of the Qiankun Sect. Although it now only exists as an artifact spirit, it’s still not something a mere eighth-layer Divine Realm cultivator can break.”

Another elder reminded.

“Oh, right, right, I’d forgotten about that.”

Elder Ma smacked his own forehead in realization.

“Wife, her Divine Sense is unaffected. Withdraw the Scarlet Hell.”

Reаd оո КαtReαԁіոgCаfе

Cao Yang instructed Hua Yu.

Hua Yu’s face revealed reluctance, but she still dispelled the Scarlet Hell. With her current strength, she could at most restrain the Divine Sense of a seventh-layer Divine Realm cultivator, and that only thanks to the power of the Bi’an Blood Blade. Against anyone stronger, she was powerless.

Meanwhile, Tang Long granted Ning Wuxia a set of Rock-Steadfast War Armor as well.

Ning Wuxia unsheathed a treasured sword. Since her technique was useless, the only option was to fight alongside teammates in melee combat.

Cao Yang then turned to Qi Huang, speaking calmly: “Though your cultivation is formidable, we are shielded by clothing made from Nine Nether Demon Cat fur, your Divine Sense can’t suppress us. With Rock-Steadfast War Armor on the outside for defense, and with the Supreme Domain limiting your weapon use, breaking through our defense won’t be easy. So who wins or loses is still undecided!”

“Is that so?”

Qi Huang smiled playfully. With a thought, countless stones at her feet shot up like cannonballs, shrieking through the air toward the Seven Monsters.

“Dodge!”

Cao Yang shouted a warning, before flashing away with swift movement techniques.

The other monsters followed suit. But their cultivation was insufficient, no matter how skillful their footwork, it was impossible to dodge all the flying rocks.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several of them were struck, sent flying in embarrassment. Yet thanks to the Rock-Steadfast War Armor’s protection, their injuries were minor.

“Spring from Withered Wood!”

Yang Jin immediately cast her life-restoring technique, healing her teammates’ small injuries at once. Whenever her consumption grew too great, she took out a pill to replenish her True Qi.

Rеαd оո КаtRеaⅾinɡCαfе

Thus, though Qi Huang’s attacks looked fierce, they inflicted little real damage.

“Deputy Alliance Leader truly foresaw everything! They’ve entered a stalemate!”

Elder Ma fawned.

“Indeed. Now it’s a matter of endurance. That Holy Maiden of the Huarong Sect is powerful, but Yang Jin is Saintess of the Youxuan Sect, famed for medical arts, with vast reserves of pills. She may well have the greater chance of victory.”

Cao Hong said with utter confidence.

“Excellent! Afterwards, we can use the Immortal Alliance’s authority to reduce that Jiang Lin to nothing. That way, not only will this Evergreen Conference retain its prestige, but we’ll also safeguard the Bloodline Supremacy, the very foundation of the Immortal family’s authority!”

Elder Ma beamed with delight.

Outside the arena, Cheng Hongling grew anxious once more, and sent a mental transmission to the doppelgänger: “Don’t you have any decent artifact?”

“I only have all kinds of blades and swords, no real artifacts. Even that binding rope only works against cultivators below the Divine Realm, it clearly won’t work on them.”

Qi Huang replied casually.

“Uh…”

Cheng Hongling froze, embarrassed, before forcing a calm tone: “I don’t have any artifact either. Should I ask the Huarong Sect disciples to lend one?”

“Sure!”

Qi Huang immediately agreed.

Cheng Hongling asked the nearby Huarong Sect members. But the answer was disappointing, even Protector Yuan had nothing that could pierce the Rock-Steadfast War Armor.

Reaԁ оո ΚatRеaⅾiոɡСafе

“This Rock Armor was once the sect-defining treasure of Qiankun Sect. It was destroyed while helping their Immortal Patriarch endure a Heavenly Tribulation, leaving only the artifact spirit. Though its power has declined greatly, the temporary armor it condenses is still not something ordinary artifacts can pierce.”

Protector Yuan quickly explained.

Cheng Hongling could only shake her head helplessly, and relayed this back to the doppelgänger.

“So this thing could withstand a Heavenly Tribulation before it was broken? No wonder I can’t breach it!”

Qi Huang was astonished.

“Haha! Let’s see how long you can last. Junior Sister Yang is Saintess of the Youxuan Sect, with more pills than I have muscles!”

Tang Long mocked proudly, seeing his side unshakable.

“Exactly! You think you can break Brother Tang’s Rock-Steadfast War Armor with just some stones? Dream on! Even if you brought out the Huarong Sect’s finest artifact, it might not work.”

Zheng Wei chimed in mockingly.

“Is that so?”

Qi Huang smirked disdainfully. ‘To deal with that thing, who needs an artifact? A single strand of hair is enough!’

With that, Qi Huang reached to her temple and tugged lightly. A faint sting spread across her scalp, and several long strands of dark silk hair appeared in her pale palm.

‘I may not wish to expose the ghost-hair attack method, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use my hair in other ways.’

At her thought, the strands of hair drifted into the air.