Volume 12, Chapter 783 – Not Even the Immortal Alliance Can Save You, Let Alone the Dao Alliance

“Yes, Father. As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold; if the Cao family can absorb her, dominating the cultivation world would be child’s play.”

Cao Yang also stood nearby, “earnestly” persuading them. His concern for the greater good was fake, he was mainly catering to his vanity; after all, conquering a more powerful woman would give him a greater sense of accomplishment.

Hua Yu beside him instinctively glanced at her husband, a flicker of wariness crossing her face, but she didn’t voice any objection.

Cao Hui, after a brief consideration, bit his lip and said, “Very well, then proceed with the original plan.”

“Good. Decisive!”

Cao Meng praised, then arranged, “When you have time, notify the head of each branch of the Cao clan and tell them I have an announcement tomorrow night.”

“Yes, Father!”

Cao Hui accepted the order respectfully.

“Grandfather, that woman’s name is still carved on the Lü family’s Immortal Stele. Should we carve it directly? If we do, the Lü family will suffer the stele’s suppression. We have some ties with them; that wouldn’t be proper, would it?”

Cao Yang suddenly remembered that matter.

“Of course not. We should wait. Didn’t that girl say she would pull down the Lü family’s stele on the first day of next month? If she can manage it, we’ll save a lot of trouble.”

Expectation lit Lü Meng’s eyes.

“That’s impossible. An Immortal Stele is something humans can hardly contend with.”

Hua Yu interjected.

“Not necessarily. Don’t forget she also has the Huarong Sect’s stele for protection, and the Lü family’s stele has only been restored for six years, it may not have reached full strength. Which is stronger is uncertain. There might indeed be a sliver of a chance.”

Cao Meng speculated.

“But if she fails? Then she’s dead for sure.”

Reаԁ οո ΚatReаⅾіոɡСafе

Cao Yang said anxiously.

“No. Have you forgotten why the Lü family carved her name? If she fails, those people will surely capture her alive and use her as a breeding tool, far more valuable than killing her. We can move later; it won’t be too late.”

Cao Meng’s inference was very certain.

“But once the Immortal Stele is activated, can they really control it?”

Cao Yang remained worried.

“You’re quite concerned about her.”

Hua Yu couldn’t help but taunt.

“Uh… it’s for your own good, my lady. Once we get her secret techniques, you’ll certainly cultivate faster than her.”

Cao Yang quickly fawned.

“Little Yang, if you really can’t bear it, you can go watch the battle. If things go wrong, notify the family at once and we’ll carve her name onto the stele immediately.”

Cao Meng proposed.

“But the Lü family won’t be suppressed by the stele immediately. We have some ties; if word gets out, it might harm the Cao family’s reputation.”

Cao Hui hesitated again.

“To gain such a wife, what does a little reputation matter? The cultivation world has always been about the strong triumphing over the weak. How can you achieve great things by hesitating? Isn’t that a simple truth you understand?”

Cao Meng lectured, displeased.

Cao Hui drew a deep breath and then said, “Then follow Father’s plan.”

Rеαԁ oո ΚatRеαdіnɡСαfe

In fact, among the nine Immortal clans, far more than one or two would want Cheng Hongling and Qi Huang as their wives, but because it involved confronting Immortal Steles, a single misstep could invite annihilation. No one dared act rashly.

That night, Qi Huang dreamed again. In her dream she once more saw Lu Yao’s memories.

Lu Yao’s body was blasted to death by a lackey of the Heavenly Dao; flesh and blood scattered across a thousand worlds, and Qi Huang’s consciousness clung to that drop of blood-tear.

That blood-tear drifted in the cosmos for who knew how long until it was captured by Lishui Star and fell into the territory of the Western Radiance Dynasty. At that time, a thousand years ago, the land still belonged to the Great Qi Kingdom.

Coincidentally, the blood-tear gradually neared the ground and finally smashed onto the roof of a pavilion in the imperial palace.

Because the blood-tear was highly corrosive, it pierced the tiles in the blink of an eye and fell unobstructed, dripping onto the tender sleeping face of a young girl below.

That girl was Jiang Feng’s daughter, the then Princess Yingyue.

Strangely, although the blood-tear was fiercely corrosive, it did not harm the princess; instead it gently seeped into her skin.

From then on, Qi Huang’s consciousness attached to Princess Yingyue, and later experienced the fall of the Great Qi Kingdom. The details match what Mu Ruoyi had learned.

Not long after Qi Huang inhabited Princess Yingyue, Prince Jiang Feng led troops to punish the Pingshan Mass Burial Ground for the sake of the empire, but he never returned.

With the prince gone, the imperial sons fought bitterly over the throne, and the Lin family seized the opportunity to revolt, overthrowing the Great Qi Kingdom and establishing the current Western Radiance Dynasty.

Princess Yingyue, aided by several loyal maidservants, escaped the palace and later married and bore children, ensuring the continuation of the Jiang bloodline. That is how events unfolded.

Cheng Ling suddenly woke within her dream. Qi Huang no longer despaired as before, she now knew what she needed to know and no longer clung to attachment.

Rеаⅾ oո ΚαtRеαԁiոgСаfе

Just as Cheng Ling came out of sleep, she heard a commotion at the cave’s entrance. Following the sound, she was terrified: a hungry wolf stared at her with thirsting eyes, slobber pooling on the ground.

Cheng Ling never imagined that even hiding so well would not keep her safe from a wild beast; her mind went blank.

The wolf wouldn’t give Cheng Ling a chance. It charged at her like the wind. Although it was only a piece of human face-skin, its temptation was astonishing; after all, beasts suffered in this world, too.

Startled, Cheng Ling forced the human skin to float away. Because her divine sense was weak, she couldn’t move it quickly and fled in a bedraggled fashion.

The “person” and the wolf raced, one escaping, one pursuing, crossing mountain after mountain. Cheng Ling barely slipped free from the wolf, but she passed out from the severe depletion of her divine sense.

‘So that’s why. No wonder I once found such an uncanny face-skin in the wilderness.’

Qi Huang’s last doubt was completely resolved, this place was where she had previously picked up that skin.

Qi Huang’s suspicion proved correct. When she regained consciousness again, that human face-skin had reappeared in her earlier hands; namely, the male body Huang Qi’s hands.

Qi Huang awoke from the dream feeling suddenly hollow. With all the mysteries solved, she found that she no longer had many expectations.

“Heh, a person should look forward. How can one always live in someone else’s memories?”

Qi Huang gave a self-mocking smile, then composed herself and got up to wash.

Her guess had been right. At noon, Mu Ruoyi contacted to tell her that the Lü family had come to claim people.

Qi Huang knew Shuiyu Valley couldn’t stand against the Lü family, so she rushed there at once.

Rеαԁ on ΚatRеaԁiոɡСαfе

“You wretched women, how dare you seize members of the Lü family? You have the gall of a bear and the heart of a leopard! Don’t you know our status?”

“You’ve already been suppressed by our Lü family’s Immortal Stele once. Do you want to taste that feeling again?”

“Hand over the elder and the young master at once, or when the stele’s Immortal Might descends, your Shuiyu Valley will be left with no one.”

“Indeed. The reason you’re still breathing is because the Lü family was merciful last time. If you’re ungrateful, you won’t be so lucky next time.”

“Clear out now. If you don’t, I’ll charge in and slaughter.”

Relying on their higher cultivation, the Lü family crowd tried to intimidate the women of Shuiyu Valley, shouting and jeering at the gate.

“The Dao Alliance’s headquarters are nearby. You dare act? Aren’t you afraid of death?”

Wen Yunmei warned them.

“Heh, when even the Immortal Alliance couldn’t save you back then, don’t talk about the damned Dao Alliance. If they were truly powerful, they wouldn’t have placed their headquarters in such a godforsaken place.”

The Lü leader sneered, having never witnessed Qi Huang’s prowess, he felt no fear.

“Right. Clearly they’re afraid of retribution from the Immortal Alliance’s old forces, so they can only cower.”

A follower agreed beside him.

“Heh, you all seem to look down on this place.”

Qi Huang appeared in an instant at the gate, then said to the Lü crowd, “Rest assured. I guarantee that after today, you will hold this place in deep awe.”

After she finished speaking, dozens of hairs behind her surged, and without a sound they pierced through the Lü family people.