Volume 13, Chapter 814 – A Sinister Premonition

A group of zombies plummeted from the sky in a frenzy, like a horde of bandits preparing to loot and pillage. But before they even pierced through the clouds, countless deadly threads of Divine Sense swept across the air.

Shhh… shhh…

The Divine Sense threads moved with astonishing speed, instantly binding all the zombies. Then, with a subtle tightening—

Splurt… splurt…

In the next moment, over a hundred zombie lackeys were shredded into fragments of varying sizes, falling helplessly toward the ground. Only the silver zombie leading them remained, his face full of confusion.

“What the hell is this thing?”

The silver zombie roared, struggling with all its might, but it was completely powerless against Qi Huang’s threads of Divine Sense.

“This is… Divine Sense? How is this possible? How could such a powerful Divine Sense exist in a mere lower world?”

The silver zombie was utterly baffled. At that moment, a tremendous pulling force surged forth. Its vision blurred for a moment, and when it returned to clarity, it found itself suspended in the starry void of the cultivation realm.

Dazed, the silver zombie glanced around and realized it was now floating in the astral expanse of the cultivation world. Before it stood two identical-looking beautiful women. One of them wore a veil, and on her forehead glowed a doppelgänger mark.

“Who are you?”

The silver zombie asked instinctively.

“That’s what I should be asking. Who are you? Why did you go to a lower world?”

Qi Huang replied with a cold smile.

“Hmph, why the hell should I— Arrgh…!”

The silver zombie reflexively tried to resist, but before it could finish its sentence, it let out a shocked cry. Its right arm had already been severed from its body.

Cheng Hongling flipped her hand, placing the Blue Scale Sword against the zombie’s neck. “Talk.”

“You dare harm me? If my master finds out, she’ll have you torn to pieces!”

The silver zombie growled in rage. Zombies didn’t feel much pain, which allowed it to keep up its defiant front.

Cheng Hongling wordlessly sliced off its left arm as well, then placed the sword against its neck again. “Last chance.”

“Mercy, please! I’ll talk… I’ll talk…”

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The silver zombie was finally terrified. It stammered, “My name is Cai Tao. I’m a zombie from the Immortal Realm. I went to the lower world under my master’s orders: to search for a woman with a red teardrop-shaped birthmark on her face.”

“A red teardrop mark?”

Cheng Hongling paused upon hearing this, then sent a mental transmission to Qi Huang. “He’s not talking about you, is he?”

“Who knows?” Qi Huang replied with a bitter smile.

“If this zombie came from the Immortal Realm, then his master must be powerful. If they’re really searching for you, that’s going to be a problem.”

Cheng Hongling’s tone grew grave, and she continued interrogating the zombie: “Who is your master? How strong is she? Why is she looking for a woman with a red teardrop mark?”

“Immortal Fairy, my master is named Yang Jie. She’s a zombie of the Earth Demon level. As for why she’s seeking such a woman, I don’t know.”

Cai Tao, the silver zombie, answered obediently.

“Earth Demon?”

Cheng Hongling’s expression turned even more serious. Earth Demon strength was equivalent to that of an Earth-grade Immortal. Even in the Immortal Realm teeming with experts, that level would make her a force to be reckoned with.

“The Assimilation Qi on your body, where did it come from?”

Qi Huang picked up the questioning.

“Assimilation Qi? What’s that?”

Cai Tao looked completely confused.

“I’m talking about that pinkish energy surrounding your body. Without it, you’d never be able to descend to a lower world.”

Qi Huang explained impatiently.

“Oh, that thing? That was a gift from my master to aid in our mission.”

Cai Tao didn’t hold back.

“Are there many evil entities like you descending with Assimilation Qi?”

Qi Huang asked urgently.

“About forty to fifty, all leaders of different search teams.”

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Cai Tao thought for a moment before replying.

“Forty to fifty?”

Qi Huang’s eyes lit up with excitement. If all those zombies carried the same amount of Assimilation Qi as this one, the total harvest would be quite considerable.

“Last question. Where does your teleportation gate lead to?”

Qi Huang composed herself before asking again.

“Immortal Fairy, the other side of our teleportation gate leads to Hongyu Planet in the Baiyang Star System of the second-ranked lower world. But that’s just part of the full array.”

Cai Tao replied in detail.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘second-ranked lower world’?”

Cheng Hongling interrupted.

“Immortal Fairy, beneath the Five Elements Heavenly Dao lie countless worlds, categorized into high, middle, and lower grades. You probably know that much. But within each grade, there are multiple worlds. To differentiate them, the Celestial Realm ranked them based on the richness of their spiritual energy. The world where Cangmang Planet resides ranks second among the lower worlds. It’s relatively strong, at least cultivators there can ascend.”

Cai Tao was so desperate to live he explained things with the patience of a scholar.

“I see.”

Cheng Hongling nodded in understanding.

“Then what’s the situation on Hongyu Planet? Do you have stationed forces there? How strong are they?”

Qi Huang continued asking. Since teleportation gates came in pairs, if she wanted to make use of this one, she had to secure the other side as well.

“Umm… yes… no…”

Cai Tao hesitated, clearly still clinging to some unrealistic hope.

“Well? Which is it?”

Cheng Hongling pushed the sword a bit closer, slicing open Cai Tao’s neck.

“Yes, yes! There are a few thousand ghost tribe members stationed there. The strongest is a flying bone–class skeleton.”

Cai Tao confessed quickly.

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“Flying bone?”

Cheng Hongling gave it some thought and mentally asked Qi Huang, “Do you believe him?”

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t plan to walk straight into a trap. Let’s wait here and ambush them. Once the evil things notice something’s off, they’ll definitely send scouts. We deal with them one at a time. If we can fight, we fight; if not, we run.”

Qi Huang laid out her plan.

“Alright.”

Cheng Hongling agreed. It sounded workable, so they went with it.

“Immortal Fairy, I’ve told you everything. Can you let me go now?”

Cai Tao pleaded meekly.

“You did talk, but who knows how much of it is true? Just stay in this storage ring for now. Once we confirm what you’ve said, we’ll let you go.”

Qi Huang casually gave an excuse, then shoved Cai Tao into an empty spatial ring.

“It’s good to keep him around anyway. We know nothing about these evil creatures. We’ll need a guide.”

Cheng Hongling agreed.

Qi Huang’s Divine Sense projected outward again, taking the form of a massive hand. It plunged into the spatial rift, grasping the enormous teleportation gate and yanking it into the cultivation realm.

She explained, “It’s better to bring it here. If a battle breaks out in the lower world, I won’t be able to use my full strength.”

Then the two of them retreated far away and continued to monitor the gate, which now sat safely in the cultivation realm.

“Say, why do you think those evil beings’ master has Assimilation Qi?”

As they waited, Cheng Hongling couldn’t help asking.

“I’m not sure.”

Qi Huang thought for a long while, then shook her head.

“I just have a bad feeling about this.”

Cheng Hongling murmured.

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“What’s wrong?”

Qi Huang asked, concerned.

“Think about it. That master is looking for a woman with blood tears. That means she knows the origin of the blood tear mark. And she also happens to be able to use Assimilation Qi. Doesn’t that sound familiar?”

Cheng Hongling reminded her.

Qi Huang paused to think, and then her expression changed. “You’re saying that the master of these evil things might be just like us? Someone who inherited Lu Yao’s bloodline?”

“Yes. Why else would she be seeking the blood tear? You haven’t forgotten how important the blood tear is to Lu Yao, have you?”

Cheng Hongling’s tone was more serious than ever.

“Once Lu Yao sees the blood tear, her power surges dramatically. So that blood tear is basically her power source.”

Qi Huang recalled, speaking slowly and clearly.

“Exactly. That’s why she’s after it.”

Cheng Hongling concluded.

“Then why don’t we gain any power from seeing the blood tear?”

Qi Huang asked.

“Maybe because we’re still alive. Living people can’t absorb Yin energy.”

Cheng Hongling speculated, then added, “But that’s just a guess. We’ll need to investigate further to be sure.”

Qi Huang fell silent. For some reason, a deep unease had crept into her heart as well.

Meanwhile, Cheng Hongling entered the storage ring and began absorbing the Assimilation Qi from Cai Tao.

The couple continued waiting, like hunters by a rabbit hole. When Cheng Hongling had finally gained preliminary control over the Assimilation Domain, the teleportation gate activated again, and over a dozen more evil entities stepped out.

“Damn it, wasn’t this gate supposed to be near Cangmang Planet? Where the hell are we now?”

The gold zombie leading them looked around in bewilderment.