Volume 9, Chapter 611 – Cheng Hongling Reaches the Divine Realm

Qi Huang had weathered countless storms in her life. Though she allowed herself a fleeting moment of delight, she quickly realized the truth behind Lin Ran’s gesture. This so-called commendation was no mere reward; Lin Ran was binding her onto the same warship. Her intentions were anything but simple.

“To even calculate me into your plans! Well now, this is what it means to be a proper Empress.”

Qi Huang felt no resentment. As long as Lin Ran’s heart was truly set on the well-being of the people, she didn’t mind lending her support.

After the coronation ceremony, Lin Ran summoned Qi Huang alone to the imperial study. Barely able to contain her excitement, she began eagerly “showing off” the new policies she intended to implement for the benefit of the nation and its people.

“My first plan is to raise the minimum age for compulsory military service to thirty. That should ease some of the public resentment,” Lin Ran explained.

“Thirty? Why not abolish conscription entirely and make enlistment voluntary?” Qi Huang asked bluntly.

“I’d love to,” Lin Ran replied with a slight frown. “But you know the situation Western Radiance Dynasty is facing. We’re currently at war with several neighboring nations. If we abolish conscription immediately, we won’t have enough soldiers to repel invasions. This is the only compromise I can make for now.”

“Then aren’t you afraid that raising the age limit will leave us too weak to resist foreign forces?” Qi Huang asked curiously.

“I plan to send envoys to negotiate peace with those nations as soon as possible,” Lin Ran said firmly. “If the wars can be stopped, I’ll abolish compulsory service and switch to a voluntary system.

“And what if they refuse? Or worse, demand outrageous terms? Right now, the Western Radiance Dynasty must look like a plump, tender piece of meat to them; hard to resist and easy to bite into,” Qi Huang asked with a half-smile.

“I’ll do my utmost,” Lin Ran said, clenching her teeth. “The people of the Western Radiance Dynasty cannot bear the ravages of war any longer.”

“Then I wish you success,” Qi Huang said, reaffirming her stance. “As I’ve said before, so long as it benefits the country and its people, you only need to call on me, and I’ll help however I can.”

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Deep down, however, Qi Huang knew Lin Ran’s plan was doomed to fail. What couldn’t be won on the battlefield was rarely gained at the negotiating table. Still, she would not mock Lin Ran; from Lin Ran’s position, this was the only choice she had.

Soon after, Qi Huang departed the imperial palace. She had already done enough for the people of the Western Radiance Dynasty; she could not neglect her own priorities any longer.

Back at the Honghua Sect, Qi Huang resumed strengthening her main body. Since her Divine Sense had already reached the seventh layer of the Heavenly Tribulation Realm, her mastery of the Doppelgänger Method had grown far more potent than before.

Two months later, Cheng Hongling successfully stepped into the Divine Realm, becoming the fourth cultivator in the Western Radiance Dynasty to reach this level. As a result, she gained the ability to cultivate three additional doppelgängers.

Cheng Hongling, grateful for all Qi Huang had done for her, couldn’t wait to help her obtain a more powerful physical body. This wasn’t only Qi Huang’s wish, it was hers as well.

“What’s your plan?” Qi Huang asked curiously. Despite her involvement in cultivation, she wasn’t exactly a traditional cultivator and didn’t fully understand the process.

“Here’s what I’ll do,” Cheng Hongling explained carefully. “First, I’ll summon you back into my Sea of Consciousness. Your current body will then dissolve into pure essence blood, merging into my heart. I’ll use True Qi to refine and condense it until your new body reaches at least the Incarnation Realm.”

“It doesn’t have to be that high,” Qi Huang quickly suggested. “Even if you stop at the Unity Realm or even the Body Refining Realm, it’s fine. I don’t fight using cultivation strength anyway. You’d better save your resources to make stronger doppelgängers for those other souls inside you.”

By “those souls,” she referred to the other fragments of Cheng Hongling’s soul inhabiting her Sea of Consciousness, poor “children” who had long yearned for freedom.

“A favor must be repaid. I understand that much,” Cheng Hongling said firmly, shaking her head.

With a sigh, she added, “It’s a pity, though. Cultivated doppelgängers can’t be fully reabsorbed. Otherwise, I could reclaim your current body and refine an even stronger one for you.”

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“Why take the hard road when there’s a shortcut?” Qi Huang asked, puzzled.

“Because the Assimilation Qi resides in your current body,” Cheng Hongling explained. “If I absorb it back, the assimilation affecting your soul would stop altogether.”

“Huh?” Qi Huang blinked, stunned. Was her main body… planning something massive?

“But if you take my body back, aren’t you worried the red blotches will return on your face?” Qi Huang asked cautiously.

“This was originally mine,” Cheng Hongling replied firmly. “I won’t drag anyone else into this.”

“Don’t overthink it,” Qi Huang said, her tone unusually resolute. “You already said yourself that doppelgängers can’t be fully absorbed. Even if they could, I wouldn’t cooperate. I’d rather be completely assimilated into a woman than see those red blotches appear on your face again.”

Cheng Hongling hesitated, her crescent-shaped lashes trembling slightly. Her heart felt bittersweet. To think… her doppelgänger valued her appearance even above life itself.

Afterward, Cheng Hongling summoned Qi Huang back into her Sea of Consciousness and headed to a secluded cultivation chamber in the rear mountains. Her goal wasn’t just to refine a stronger body for Qi Huang but also to cultivate three more doppelgängers.

She wasn’t in urgent need of extra help, this was simply her way of fulfilling her promise and freeing more of the souls trapped within her. Of course, there was one exception: the rebellious “Cheng Ling”.

With Qi Huang residing inside her Sea of Consciousness, her physical form transformed into a single drop of essence blood, resting within Cheng Hongling’s heart.

Cheng Hongling sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, circulating her Profound Ice True Qi to refine the essence blood. As time passed, impurities slowly dissipated, and the droplet expanded, gradually beginning to form a humanoid shape.

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Qi Huang could hardly contain her excitement. Who wouldn’t want a stronger body? For her, increased strength was secondary. What mattered most was longevity and vitality. And, perhaps more importantly, farming would become vastly easier. The benefits were endless.

“Hehe, I can’t believe Big Sister reached the Divine Realm so quickly! She’s truly a genius among geniuses!”

“We owe it all to Qi Huang. Without her, who knows how many years we would’ve had to wait? Luckily, I chose the right side back then.”

“Exactly! Once she finishes refining Qi Huang’s new body, it’ll be our turn. I’ve waited nearly nineteen years for this moment, it’s been agony!”

“I wonder which three sisters Big Sister will choose for the new doppelgängers.”

“Obviously me! I was one of her most loyal supporters from the start.”

“You? Loyal supporter? What did you even contribute? ‘Spiritual support’? Every time a fight broke out, you hid behind everyone else and thought nobody noticed.”

“Don’t slander me! When did I ever hide? I just didn’t have a chance to intervene!”

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The fragments of Cheng Hongling’s soul grew increasingly restless. They had long yearned for freedom, but contention erupted over who would get priority, there were only three available spots after all. Those who missed this chance would have to wait until Cheng Hongling reached the Heavenly Tribulation Realm, something that could take decades.

“Enough arguing!” Qi Huang cut in. “With me here, she’ll reach the Heavenly Tribulation Realm in ten years at the shortest, twenty or thirty at most. When that happens, everyone will get their turn.”

“Ten or twenty years still feels unbearable,” grumbled the Earthly Soul, clenching her fists. “You know how long we’ve been yearning to be free.”

Qi Huang merely shook her head and decided not to engage further. Instead, she walked over to where Cheng Ling was restrained. “Jealous, aren’t you? Tell me how to control the Assimilation Qi, and I might convince the main body to set you free. Otherwise, you’ll be locked here forever.”

“Main body? You dare call her that, you counterfeit?” Cheng Ling sneered. “Better let yourself be assimilated willingly. Otherwise, once the Yin-Yang Eyes catch wind of you, you’ll be on the run for the rest of your life!”

“Oh? And what if they do?” Qi Huang replied calmly. “Tell me, who on this entire continent could possibly catch me?”

“You don’t fear for yourself, but what about others? What about our parents? Our master? Our sisters in the sect? Will you just sit back and watch them all get dragged down because of you?”

“As long as I become strong enough, I can protect them. What’s there to fear?” Qi Huang said evenly.

“Strong enough?” Cheng Ling scoffed. “Frog at the bottom of a well! Do you really think the cultivation world is the only force targeting you?”

“Oh?” Qi Huang raised a brow, testing her. “Who else, then?”