Volume 9, Chapter 623 – Feminization, Again (Part 1)

“What do you mean by betrayal? The trouble you stirred up, shouldn’t you bear the consequences yourself? Why should we die for you?”

The short and chubby civil official from before retorted angrily.

“The trouble I stirred up? Do I even have the guts to do that?”

Hou Qing’s words carried hidden implications. Then, with a thud, he knelt down heavily before the emperor and began kowtowing repeatedly: “Your Majesty, please save me! I am but a lowly envoy, only acting under your imperial decree.”

“You mean to say all of this was arranged by your emperor?”

Qi Huang turned her gaze towards Qu Yingtian, her mind already calculating. A mere envoy would never have the audacity to openly provoke trouble inside another nation’s imperial palace; nine times out of ten, the mastermind was indeed this damned emperor.

“Nonsense! When have I ever ordered you to do such a thing? How dare you slander me! Are you not afraid of being executed along with your entire clan?”

Qu Yingtian, the emperor beside them, roared harshly, but his evasive gaze and slightly trembling voice betrayed him entirely.

“What an exquisite act of ‘a sagely emperor and loyal ministers’!”

Qi Huang sneered coldly, her tone full of mockery.

“Your Majesty, save me! Please save me! Will you really just stand by and watch him slaughter your officials? If so, how will your imperial authority endure?”

Hou Qing continued pleading desperately. He knew his chances of survival today were slim, so he clung tightly to any possible lifeline, even if it meant offending the emperor.

“How dare you! You dare to threaten me? Seems you’ve grown tired of living. Guards, execute him immediately!”

Qu Yingtian’s fury exploded. He had been trying every possible way to de-escalate the situation, but this fool insisted on dragging him into the water. Truly unforgivable.

“With me here, since when has it been your turn to order an execution?”

Qi Huang’s lips curved into a cold smile as her Cicada Wing Sword flashed like lightning.

The crowd froze, bewildered, before realizing that Qu Yingtian was clutching his throat in confusion, collapsing heavily to the floor. Blood gushed from his neck like a fountain.

“Your Majesty!”

The civil and military officials cried out in shock and terror, but not one dared resist. They could only weep bitterly.

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“Help! Help!”

Hou Qing saw that this murderous deity had even slain Beiling Kingdom’s emperor, and his soul nearly fled from his body. Stumbling, he tried to escape.

“Today, no one can save you.”

Qi Huang’s gaze was full of contempt as her Divine Sense crashed down.

Splurt!

Without any warning, Hou Qing’s body exploded into pieces, blood and flesh splattering across the ground.

“Who is the Crown Prince?”

Qi Huang’s icy voice cut through the air.

“R-reporting to the National Preceptor… I… I am the Crown Prince!”

A young man, clearly past his prime, stammered nervously.

“Since you are the Crown Prince, that makes you the next emperor of Beiling Kingdom. If you wish to enjoy a few more days on that dragon throne, then obediently fulfill every clause of the surrender treaty. Dare to play tricks, and I’ll come for your life at any time.”

Qi Huang warned coldly.

“Y-yes, yes, I will obey everything without question!”

The Crown Prince bowed repeatedly, not daring to show the slightest thought of resistance. Though the saying goes, “the hatred of a father’s murderer is irreconcilable,” survival came first.

Qi Huang didn’t waste another moment. Picking up a copy of the surrender treaty, she departed Beiling Kingdom’s capital.

Over the next two days, Qi Huang visited Gaosheng Kingdom, Xueyu Dynasty, and Feisha Dynasty’s capitals in turn, securing three more surrender treaties. By then, all four enemy nations had been subdued by her alone.

Qi Huang planned to return home, but midway, her Essence Spirit summoned her into her Sea of Consciousness for a talk.

“Big brother, the feminization of my body is progressing again. If we leave it unchecked, within a few months, the ‘pole’ below will turn into a ‘hole’. By then, both your body and mind will be completely transformed into a woman’s.”

Her Essence Spirit spoke gravely about its current state.

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“Feminization… again?”

Qi Huang had long suspected this, but still found it hard to accept. After all, she had already cultivated the Doppelgänger Method alongside her main body; if even that didn’t stop it, her only hope was to find a solution within her “dreams”.

Though Qi Huang had been living as a woman for two years, she had only adapted to the physical aspect. Mentally, she still couldn’t accept a complete descent into femininity, especially when it came to matters of sexual orientation.

A deep sense of crisis welled up in Qi Huang’s heart again. She hurried straight to the capital of the Western Radiance Dynasty, delivering the four surrender treaties to Lin Ran.

When Lin Ran saw the clauses in the treaties, her little mouth nearly dropped wide enough to swallow a duck egg. There were far more conditions than she had even dared propose, especially the demand that the four northern nations cede territory. Something she’d never imagined possible.

Lin Ran’s emotions grew increasingly complex. Personally, Qi Huang was her sworn enemy, yet from her standpoint as empress, Qi Huang was a savior. More than that, Qi Huang had become the Western Radiance Dynasty’s indisputable hero.

Lin Ran didn’t know how to face Qi Huang anymore. She could only offer an awkward word of thanks.

Qi Huang felt satisfied enough. As long as this woman didn’t remain hostile, that was all she wanted. After all, she had done everything for the people of the Western Radiance Dynasty, never expecting gratitude in return.

Qi Huang returned to the Honghua Sect and immediately plunged into “sleep”, hoping to find a way to control her Assimilation Qi. But such matters couldn’t be forced; they depended entirely on luck.

During the day, Qi Huang made a quick trip to the greenhouse, letting some of her blood drip to water the Ghost Tomatoes. She wanted to see how much stronger the effect had become after advancing to the Incarnation Realm.

A few days later, Qi Huang was overjoyed. The Ghost Tomatoes watered with her blood not only grew much faster than the others but even sprouted extra branches.

She was thrilled beyond measure. Previously, every Ghost Tomato plant she’d seen, whether wild or cultivated, grew a single main stem, producing only one fruit per season. But now, with branching, did this mean each plant could yield multiple fruits per season?

‘Heh, if that’s the case, my planting efficiency will skyrocket. I could even process my blood into fertilizer and sell it to Elder Zuo and the others. I’m sure they’d fight over it.’

Qi Huang’s mind raced with plans, a blueprint for rapid growth taking shape. But now wasn’t the time for that. First, she needed a way to protect herself; if she fully feminized, what meaning would strength even hold?

That night, just as Qi Huang was about to sleep, her main body’s thought transmission echoed in her mind.

“Cheng Ling wants to see us.”

Cheng Hongling’s voice informed her.

“She wants to see even me? That’s rare.”

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Qi Huang raised an eyebrow in surprise, then allowed her main body to summon her into the Sea of Consciousness.

“Well? Have you come around? Tell me how to control the Assimilation Qi, and I’ll overlook the past.”

Cheng Hongling stared at the bound Cheng Ling, her tone sharp.

“You are me, and I am you. Do you really think I’m the type to surrender?”

Cheng Ling smiled faintly, giving no direct answer.

“Then why did you summon me here?”

Cheng Hongling frowned, her elegant brows arching in displeasure.

“Tell me this: why are you so intent on stopping me from fully assimilating Qi Huang?”

Cheng Ling’s eyes turned cold as they locked onto Qi Huang.

“I told you before, she is her, and I am me. You have no right to strip away everything that belongs to someone else.”

Cheng Hongling repeated firmly.

“Is that so?”

A trace of disdain curved Cheng Ling’s lips. “Don’t tell me… you’ve fallen for her? Afraid that once she’s assimilated, she’ll lose interest in you?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Cheng Hongling’s composure shattered. Her eyes darted away, and a faint blush crept across her delicate cheeks.

Qi Huang’s heart skipped a beat, a giddy thought blooming inside her: ‘If she really does like me, that would be amazing!’

“Am I wrong?”

Cheng Ling chuckled teasingly, but her tone quickly hardened: “Let me remind you one more time. If she’s seen by someone with Yin-Yang Eyes, the consequences will be disastrous. Not only will the entire mortal realm of the cultivation continent covet her Assimilation Qi, but even the Heavenly Dao itself will not allow someone who transformed from man to woman to exist.”

“That’s all you wanted to say?”

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Cheng Hongling turned and walked away.

Qi Huang followed, muttering inwardly, ‘Like I needed you to remind me of that.’

“One more thing, why has your cultivation speed improved so drastically lately?”

Cheng Ling pressed further.

“And why should I tell you?”

Cheng Hongling continued forward with graceful steps.

“You don’t have to. I already know, it’s because of Qi Huang, isn’t it? Besides her, no one else around you could have made that happen.”

Cheng Ling guessed, then warned sternly: “If you want to survive, get some Heaven-Deceiving Water and use it immediately.”

“Why? I’m not even at the Heavenly Tribulation Realm.”

Cheng Hongling paused mid-step.

Qi Huang perked up too, her attention sharp. Anything concerning her main body was of utmost importance.

“You two probably don’t realize yet, my Assimilation Qi has the power to block the will of the Heavenly Dao.”

Cheng Ling countered with a question instead of answering directly.

“Well, well, finally ready to talk? I thought you planned to take that secret to your grave.”

Cheng Hongling sneered faintly.

Qi Huang replied casually, “Sorry to disappoint you, but I already know. I also know this Assimilation Qi originates from another Heavenly Dao entirely, and from a zombie named Lu Yao.”

“How… how do you know that?”

Cheng Ling’s mouth hung open, utterly stunned.