Volume 10, Chapter 679 – Blood Tear Awakening

“Senior, you… what are you doing?”

Cao Hong’s face turned ashen, his expression dark as iron. He knew that under no circumstances could the families of those baits be allowed to return home. If this matter were to spread, it would deal a devastating blow to the reputation of the Immortal Alliance.

“These people are mine now.”

Qi Huang responded casually, almost dismissively, and in the next instant, her figure vanished without a trace.

Cao Hong’s Divine Sense couldn’t lock onto Qi Huang at all. Even if he wanted to chase her, it was impossible. Rage shook his entire body, but he could only accept the bitter truth, he had suffered a complete loss this time.

“Leader Cao, what is she planning to do with those people?”

Zheng Chi approached, curiosity written across his face.

“How would I know?!”

Cao Hong snapped back, his voice tight with suppressed fury.

“Then… what should we do now?”

Zheng Chi carefully sought his opinion.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Cao Hong finally spoke in a more even tone: “Fortunately, the rest of the baits are still here. Take them and continue heading toward Kapok Valley.”

“Yes, and you, sir?”

Zheng Chi asked cautiously.

“Of course, I must return and report this to the Alliance Leader. Those rebels must never be allowed back into the country.”

A cold, murderous glint flashed in Cao Hong’s eyes, and his figure instantly disappeared from sight.

Zheng Chi immediately gathered the surviving disciples of the Immortal Alliance, instructing them to clean up the battlefield. He dispatched several disciples to transport the wounded to nearby towns for treatment using spatial rings, while he personally led the baits onward.

As for the dead disciples of the Immortal Alliance, Zheng Chi feared bureaucratic entanglements and so ordered them buried on the spot. After all, compensating the families later with some consolation payments would suffice.

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Qi Huang, meanwhile, had found a small secluded grove and dove straight into it. Overcome with excitement, she suddenly began flailing her arms and legs in an impromptu awkward dance. Only after a few moments did she finally stop, panting lightly as she sighed with satisfaction: “I have to admit, that old man’s dance moves are surprisingly addictive. No wonder he keeps doing it.”

Taking a moment to compose herself, Qi Huang recalled the earlier “heist” of the Heaven-Mending Crystal, and her lips curved into a smug smile. She couldn’t help but marvel at her cleverness, thinking that without her resourcefulness, there was no way things would have gone so smoothly.

Indeed, her reasoning wasn’t wrong. Although Qi Huang’s strength was overwhelmingly powerful compared to most cultivators, she was, after all, a crippled cultivator with very distinct weaknesses such as Killing Intent, the Nine Nether Demon Cats’ special garments, and especially the Heaven-Deceiving Water.

By sheer luck, Qi Huang had managed to overcome the first two through chance encounters. But the Heaven-Deceiving Water was a different story. Since it could shield Divine Sense, it naturally also nullified Divine Sense suppression.

As everyone knew, among cultivators who reached the Heavenly Tribulation Realm, it was standard practice to continuously drench themselves with Heaven-Deceiving Water to avoid drawing heavenly tribulation. Cao Hong, naturally, was no exception.

This meant that, at that time, Qi Huang’s Divine Sense had been unable to detect Cao Hong’s presence and therefore couldn’t suppress him. If the two had truly fought, she would have had to rely entirely on raw strength.

The problem was, Qi Huang’s true cultivation was only at the Incarnation Realm. If Cao Hong had struck first, she wouldn’t have been able to track his movements at all, placing her in a passive and vulnerable position.

Qi Huang was well aware of both her weaknesses and her strengths. So, instead of waiting to react, she chose to strike preemptively, intimidating Cao Hong in a single move and robbing him of the courage to resist. That was the only reason she won so easily.

From this incident, it became clear: although Qi Huang’s Divine Sense was arguably the strongest in the cultivation world, the existence of Heaven-Deceiving Water, coupled with her being an unbalanced cultivator, meant that whenever she faced Heavenly Tribulation Realm experts, whoever acted first would seize the upper hand.

Qi Huang had realized this flaw long ago. That was precisely why she had been keeping such a low profile, using the name of the Immortal Alliance to openly and legitimately enter the treasure land within Kapok Valley. After all, facing an Immortal Alliance Leader drenched in Heaven-Deceiving Water would be no simple matter.

Thinking about how she’d needed to rely on clever tricks just to handle an early-stage Heavenly Tribulation expert, Qi Huang’s exhilaration faded into calm. She muttered to herself: “I must find a way to overcome the suppression of my Divine Sense by Heaven-Deceiving Water. Otherwise, I’ll suffer for it sooner or later.”

At that moment, a thought-transmission from her main body entered her mind.

“What are you planning to do with that Heaven-Mending Crystal?”

It was Cheng Hongling who spoke first.

“How did you know that was me?”

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Qi Huang was surprised, wondering if her disguise skills were really that poor.

“Don’t play dumb. That awkward dance, you think anyone but my father would do that? Who else but you could it have been?”

Cheng Hongling’s tone was full of exasperation.

“Hehe…”

Qi Huang laughed awkwardly.

“You danced well. Don’t ever do it again.”

Cheng Hongling gave her blunt evaluation before continuing: “But you still haven’t answered me. How did you know that Cao Hong had the Heaven-Mending Crystal?”

Qi Huang composed herself and recounted everything she had seen earlier.

“I can’t believe that thing actually belongs to the Emperor of the Xuanwu Kingdom.”

Cheng Hongling sounded genuinely surprised.

“Exactly. He hid it inside a sachet, wrapped in a small piece of fabric made from the Nine Nether Demon Cats’ fur, making it completely undetectable by Divine Sense. Smart man.”

Qi Huang couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

“Now it all makes sense. Before setting out, Zheng Chi deliberately severed Zhao Xi’s arm. That wasn’t just to set an example, it was to lure her father into using the Heaven-Mending Crystal. That also explains why they refused to properly treat her injuries along the way.”

Cheng Hongling’s eyes lit with sudden realization.

“Indeed. It seems highly likely the Immortal Alliance already discovered that those relatives were causing trouble outside the gates before departure. So, they deliberately staged this entire trap.”

Qi Huang nodded in agreement.

“But why did Cao Hong and the others suddenly appear from Zhao Xi’s sachet? When did they even get inside?”

Cheng Hongling frowned in thought.

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“I was puzzled at first too, but after thinking it through, I figured it out. Cao Hong and the others must have hidden themselves inside a spatial ring filled with Heaven-Deceiving Water. Then, one of the supporting disciples brought them along, and while Zhao Xi was unconscious, they slipped the ring into her sachet. That’s the only way they could remain completely undetected.”

Qi Huang explained her deduction.

“Makes sense.”

Cheng Hongling nodded after a moment of consideration.

“These old foxes are unbelievably cunning. If I didn’t have overwhelming strength, I might not be able to outsmart them at all.”

Qi Huang admitted with a shiver of lingering fear.

“Alright, but what exactly are you planning to do with that Heaven-Mending Crystal?”

Cheng Hongling pressed further, unwilling to let the matter drop. After all, that thing was technically stolen property.

“You should remember,” Qi Huang reminded her, “my master Hu Bing lost an arm and three fingers to the people from the Severed Immortal Sect while protecting me. It’s severely hindered his cultivation path. Now that I’ve found a way to fix it, as his disciple, I must seize the chance.”

“I see…”

Cheng Hongling’s tone softened, her voice gentler now: “I understand your filial piety. But don’t forget, that crystal already belongs to someone else.”

“Don’t worry, I plan to negotiate directly with the Emperor of Xuanwu Kingdom. That’s exactly why I rescued them in the first place.”

Qi Huang quickly reassured her.

“Alright then. But you’d better move fast. We’re approaching Kapok Valley, and the treasure land is almost within reach.”

Cheng Hongling reminded her.

Qi Huang hesitated briefly, then added: “Actually, there’s another reason I took the Heaven-Mending Crystal. Do you know what happened when I first saw it? The blood tear on my face suddenly burned, like fire spreading under my skin. The heat surged through my entire body and straight into my heart, filling me with an uncontrollable urge to rage.”

“There’s such a thing?”

Cheng Hongling was stunned. After pondering in silence for a moment, she slowly said: “Your blood tear came from Lu Yao. She was always opposed to mending the heavens, and that crystal was created from remnants of an immortal’s attempt to do just that. Could it be that the crystal awakened her residual fury lingering within the blood tear?”

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“That… makes a lot of sense!”

Qi Huang’s eyes widened with sudden clarity. She had to admit, compared to herself, her main body possessed far greater insight.

With that, the communication between her and Cheng Hongling ceased. Qi Huang then turned and entered the spatial ring containing the Emperor of Xuanwu Kingdom, ready to negotiate.

What Qi Huang didn’t know was that, at this very moment, in a distant world within the boundless cosmos, a terrifying female corpse stirred awake atop a colossal planet.

She sat upright with a sudden, violent motion, “ BOOM!” , shattering entire mountain ranges beneath her massive body. A torrent of cold, deathly Yin energy erupted outward, instantly extinguishing all life across the planet’s surface.

The remaining fiendish specters on the planet felt the overwhelming oppressive aura and immediately knelt, facing the direction of the newly awakened female corpse.

The female zombie slowly opened her eyes, twin volcanoes of seething hatred erupting in the darkness. Gazing at the endless starry void, she murmured softly: “That aura… the blood tear… it has finally awakened.”

“Transmit my command,” she ordered coldly, her voice like frost cracking across eternity. “All fiendish specters are to depart at once. Find the woman with the crimson mark resembling a blood tear on her right cheek.”

Her voice carried the weight of irresistible authority. Though her face was colossal, her features were exquisitely beautiful, astonishingly similar to Lu Yao’s.

“Yes!”

The powerful specters inhabiting the planet bowed reverently, then surged outward into the infinite cosmos.

At the same time, across countless other worlds, innumerable female specters bearing faces strikingly similar to Lu Yao awakened from their slumber.

One after another, they too sensed the aura of the blood tear…

And they began to search.