Volume 12, Chapter 792 – She Might Have Reached the Immortal Realm

This time, even Cao Hui fell into a state of indecision. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the little demoness could possess such a terrifying level of power, capable of shaking an Immortal Stele with a mere mortal’s body. It was an act unprecedented in history, one that would leave no successor to replicate.

Cao Hui struggled for a long while but still could not make up his mind, so he finally said, “Let’s go back and discuss it with your grandfather before deciding.”

Hearing this, Cao Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded hurriedly.

Meanwhile, after leaving the Lü Clan, Qi Huang led her relatives and friends toward Zhizun Peak.

“Where are you going? Zhizun Peak or the Jingtian Sect?” Cheng Hongling guessed.

“How did you know I was going to find them?” Qi Huang asked curiously.

“Do I not know you by now? Though you sometimes show a bit of a woman’s kindness, you’ve always been one to repay both grace and enmity. These two sects’ Immortal Steles dared to strike at you. How could you possibly swallow that humiliation?” Cheng Hongling said with utter confidence.

“My wife understands me best! I can’t bring myself to annihilate an entire sect, but uprooting two rotten stone tablets? That doesn’t require any courage.” Qi Huang chuckled mischievously.

“That’s good. Not only will it avenge you, it will also intimidate the entire cultivation world. Our Dao Alliance has just been established, and what it needs most now is to demonstrate strength, otherwise, who would be willing to follow us?” Cheng Hongling affirmed.

“Exactly, that’s what I was thinking too. In the cultivation world, the strongest powers are the Immortal Clans. If our Dao Alliance wishes to gain a foothold, we must kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. Once those big ones fall silent, the rest of the stray cats and dogs will behave.” Qi Huang voiced her thoughts, then began to accelerate her pace.

Qi Huang soon arrived at Zhizun Peak and, in broad daylight, directly uprooted the sect’s Immortal Stele. Next came the Jingtian Sect.

Within a single day, Qi Huang uprooted three Immortal Steles, shocking the entire cultivation continent!

Of course, the three punished sects and clans would not willingly submit. After all, Qi Huang had only uprooted their Immortal Steles and not slain their Immortal ancestors, the true owners of those steles.

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The first to act was the Lü Clan. Though Lü Dao’s lineage had been completely exterminated, there were still many survivors from the other branches, such as Lü Ze’s descendants.

How could these people possibly accept their fate? That very evening, they set up a sacrificial altar before the spatial rift Qi Huang had created, placed offerings upon it, and cried out desperately into the void.

The surrounding onlookers, who had originally intended to leave, stopped once more upon witnessing this scene.

“Everyone, look! What are the Lü Clan people doing?”

“The other side of that rift leads to the Immortal Realm. They must be seeking aid from their Immortal ancestor, the owner of the Lü Clan’s stele.”

“They’re quite clever, trying to contact their Immortal forebear through the rift. This might be their only chance to turn things around.”

“Indeed, no matter how strong Qi Huang is, she can’t surpass an Immortal. If Lü Bing truly appears, it’ll be quite a show.”

The spectators watched on with keen interest.

The people of Zhizun Peak and the Jingtian Sect quickly followed suit, kneeling beside their respective spatial rifts to beg their Immortal ancestors to descend.

“Hm?”

Qi Huang soon noticed their strange behavior and informed Cheng Hongling beside her.

“They’re still not willing to yield? So what do you plan to do? Wipe them out completely?” Cheng Hongling asked.

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“The Lü Clan still has so many elderly, women, and children. As the Dao Alliance Leader’s doppelgänger, I can’t bring myself to slaughter them all. Let them be,” Qi Huang answered after some thought.

“What? Let them be?” The decisive Cheng Hongling was clearly dissatisfied with this response.

“You must understand that brute force can’t solve the root problem. The best strategy now is to do nothing. The Immortal Realm is vast beyond measure, they could never possibly receive a response from their ancestors. When that happens, everyone will realize that relying on the Immortal Stele’s owner is nothing but a fool’s dream. Once they understand that, they’ll truly become obedient.”

Qi Huang explained patiently.

Cheng Hongling pondered this, then said after a pause, “That makes sense. But as the saying goes, nothing is ever absolute. What if their Immortal ancestor happens to be nearby?”

“If things really were that coincidental, I still wouldn’t be afraid. An Immortal’s body is far too powerful to enter the cultivation world. At best, they could project their peak-level power across realms to attack me. What’s there to fear?” Qi Huang remarked calmly.

“You’re right. Even someone as strong as Lu Yao couldn’t return to a lower world, let alone those small fry.” Cheng Hongling nodded in realization.

Qi Huang no longer paid attention to those petty clowns. She took the fragments of the Lü Clan’s Immortal Stele to Shuiyu Valley and placed them at the latrine entrance as a door threshold, thus fulfilling her earlier promise.

As Qi Huang had predicted, the people of the three Immortal Clans cried and wailed for several days beside their spatial rifts, yet not a single hair of their Immortal ancestors appeared. In the end, they could only watch helplessly as the rifts healed shut.

At that moment, everyone finally understood… Immortal Clans could not place their hopes upon the owners of their steles. Their reverence for Qi Huang grew deeper than ever.

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Late at night, in the Cao Clan’s ancestral hall, though four or five people sat together, the room was as silent as a morgue.

“Grandfather, what level of cultivation is required to casually open three spatial rifts?” Cao Yang was the first to break the silence.

“Late Heavenly Tribulation Realm? That’s how Lu Lin evaluated it at the time,” said his wife Hua Yu, picking up the topic.

“If he really knew, he wouldn’t have died.” Cao Meng sneered disdainfully, then concluded, “Qi Huang not only tore open spatial rifts with ease but also uprooted three Immortal Steles in a single day. Her strength has likely reached the pinnacle of the Heavenly Tribulation Realm, or perhaps… she’s already an Immortal.”

“What?” Everyone was stunned.

“Grandfather, that’s impossible! If she’s truly reached the Immortal Realm, why would she still linger in the cultivation world? This realm can’t even contain her!” Cao Yang objected passionately. He had long coveted Cheng Hongling and Qi Huang; naturally, he was unwilling to face such a cruel truth.

“Why impossible? We’ve fallen into a misconception, assuming Immortals must ascend. But don’t forget, Qi Huang’s main cultivation path is Divine Sense… and Divine Sense isn’t bound by spatial limits!” Cao Meng reminded them.

The entire family’s expressions changed drastically, they had clearly realized something.

“If she truly has reached the Immortal Realm, doesn’t that mean our entire plan is ruined?” Cao Yang said in despair.

“Do you still harbor any foolish hopes? The difference between mortals and Immortals is like that between clouds and mud. If we provoke her, our fate will be no better than the Lü Clan’s.” Hua Yu advised, having clearly accepted that she was unworthy of competing with Cheng Hongling and Qi Huang.

“Then… what about avenging Cao Hong? Grandfather, how will you explain this to the clan?” Cao Yang asked unwillingly.

“Explain what? If we can’t even protect our own lives, what’s there to explain? If they want revenge, let them seek it themselves. Don’t drag others down with them,” Hua Yu rebuked impatiently.

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“That’s right. As the patriarch, Father’s priority should be ensuring our clan’s survival, not blindly chasing vengeance like a brute,” said Cao Yang’s mother, Madam Duan, unusually siding with her daughter-in-law.

“Ah, what a pity. Such a monstrously talented girl… If only we could marry her into our family and obtain her cultivation method, our Cao Clan could easily dominate not just the cultivation world, but ten thousand worlds beyond,” Cao Hui sighed regretfully.

“Don’t be so discouraged. It’s not impossible for Cao Yang to marry her,” Cao Meng suddenly spoke up.

“Really? How? Please enlighten me, Grandfather!” Cao Yang exclaimed excitedly.

Hua Yu frowned deeply but dared not interrupt.

“Don’t forget. Our Cao Clan’s Immortal Stele is the strongest in the entire cultivation world, and our Feng Shui site is the best on the continent. Qi Huang might be able to shake those inferior steles, but she might not be able to move ours, which is a Monarch-grade Immortal Stele,” Cao Meng reminded them.

“I understand, but still… What if, by some misfortune, she can? If that happens, we’ll be at her mercy,” Cao Yang said gloomily.

“Cao Yang, people choke on water and die from eating. You wish to marry such a monstrous genius, yet refuse to take any risks? How is that possible?” Cao Meng scolded in irritation.

“…”

Cao Yang opened his mouth but said nothing, overwhelmed with shame.

“Father, what you said makes sense, but our Cao Clan is already the foremost Immortal family in the cultivation world. We’re not yet at the brink of extinction. Must we really risk everything? Offending that demoness would bring consequences we cannot afford. The Lü Clan is proof enough,” Cao Hui said, siding with Cao Yang this time.

“I never said we had to gamble everything.” Cao Meng smiled confidently. “Those other Immortal families may not be able to rely on their stele’s owner, but our Cao Clan is different!”