Volume 13, Chapter 870 – Slaying the Scorpion Queen

“Master National Preceptor, judging by that voice, it should be the Scorpion Queen.”

Duan Qing stood beside Qi Huang, reminding her softly.

“The Scorpion Queen? The only one still alive among the ‘Five Queens’?”

Qi Huang sought confirmation.

“Yes. It’s common knowledge that the Sea Queen fell here on our Minghou Planet. Naturally, she wouldn’t have let go of those fragments of the Demon Ancestor’s heart.”

Duan Qing explained.

‘So this Duan Qing went to all that trouble to drag me aboard the ship, just to guard against something like this today, huh?’

Qi Huang suddenly understood. Although she now realized she’d been used, she didn’t dwell on it. She merely asked, “What level of strength does the Scorpion Queen possess?”

“Not much different from the Queen of the Underworld. Around the eighth layer of the Earth Demon stage.”

Duan Qing replied cautiously.

“Eighth layer of Earth Demon?”

Qi Huang couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh of disbelief. If her strength hadn’t just surged, she might’ve been completely screwed this time.

“What’s wrong? Can’t you deal with her, National Preceptor? If so, then please take Her Highness and leave. I will stay behind and hold the Scorpion Queen off at all costs to buy you time.”

Duan Qing said solemnly, brimming with self-sacrifice.

“No need. I was just worrying I had no excuse to go pick a fight with her, and here she comes, practically delivering herself.”

Qi Huang couldn’t be bothered with this scheming woman. She lifted her head and shouted toward the sky, “Sea Queen, is it? Since you’re here, then hand over those heart fragments and your assimilation power, will you?”

“Where did this little brat come from? How dare you speak such nonsense in my presence?”

The Scorpion Queen in the sky was instantly enraged. Countless tornadoes began forming around the Queen of the Underworld’s Palace, their devastating suction force tearing through everything around them.

CREEAAAK… CREEAAAK…

The tall and heavy palace walls couldn’t withstand the pressure. Cracks began spreading across the stone like a spiderweb, widening rapidly.

BOOM!

One section of wall collapsed, and with it, the adjacent walls followed, crumbling down and sweeping up debris as they were drawn into the tornadoes.

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With the barriers gone, the outer buildings of the Queen of the Underworld’s Palace also began to disintegrate, drawn in by the terrifying twisters.

“Ah! Help!”

Some unlucky evil spirits inside couldn’t resist the suction and were pulled in, screaming as they were shredded into bloody pulp and absorbed into the tornadoes. Their blood rose into the air, disappearing into the sky, devoured by an unseen, enormous mouth.

Seeing this, the ghostfolk of the palace were struck with terror. They ran around in a frenzy like headless flies, some even collapsed to the ground, paralyzed by fear.

“Petty tricks like these, and you dare to show off in front of me?”

Qi Huang smiled coolly. Her powerful divine sense surged from her body, forming a vast, solid shield that enclosed the entire Queen of the Underworld’s Palace.

The very next moment, all the ghostfolk in the palace realized with joy—the tornadoes’ suction had vanished.

“Hmph!”

The Scorpion Queen in the sky snorted coldly. The temperature within the tornadoes plummeted rapidly. The swirling mud and debris within them broke apart and reformed at alarming speed, transforming into massive icicles, over ten zhang in length, spinning violently.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH…

The enormous icicles suddenly shot out of the tornadoes, streaking toward the Queen of the Underworld’s Palace. Their sharp, high-pitched whistling split the air.

CRACK! CRACK!

The dense hail of icicles slammed into the divine sense shield. Though they looked terrifying, they shattered on impact, like eggs smashing into stone… not even a ripple stirred the shield.

“How… how is this possible?”

The Scorpion Queen’s tone finally changed.

“Get down here first. I don’t like talking to people with my head raised.”

Qi Huang barked forcefully. The strands of hair behind her head suddenly shot upward into the clouds. And in the next instant, they dragged a black-clad middle-aged woman down from the sky.

BOOM!

The woman crashed hard onto the square before Qi Huang, smashing open a crater over twenty zhang wide.

Dust-covered and dazed, she lay at the pit’s bottom, her body unmarked yet completely disheveled. She instinctively struggled, only to realize she couldn’t escape the seemingly delicate strands binding her.

“This is the Scorpion Queen?”

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Qi Huang turned to Duan Qing.

“Yes, National Preceptor, it’s her.”

Duan Qing replied hastily, her face alight with barely concealed excitement.

“This… is that the Boundless Demonic Hair?”

The Scorpion Queen quickly recognized the strands.

“Since you know, then you can die with clarity.”

With a thought, Qi Huang commanded the Boundless Demonic Hair to tighten.

A flicker of panic crossed the Scorpion Queen’s face. Her body began to swell and distort violently, the strain making the Boundless Demonic Hair creak. Her skin erupted with dense armored plates as she began transforming into her original scorpion-like form, clearly ready to fight to the death.

But alas, those seemingly sturdy plates were no match for the advancing Boundless Demonic Hair.

SQUELCH!

Her body was instantly sliced into chunks like tofu, scattered across the ground in a bloody mess. She hadn’t even finished transforming before she died.

Qi Huang didn’t hesitate. She rushed forward to collect the four fragments of the Scorpion Queen’s heart, then began absorbing the scattered assimilation power.

After having absorbed the Sea Queen’s assimilation power previously, Qi Huang’s internal assimilation True Qi had reached the Heavenly Tribulation Realm. With this latest intake, she broke through into the Human Immortal level.

“At last, I can use assimilation power to develop some puppets.”

Qi Huang thought gleefully to herself. Until now, she hadn’t used much of her assimilation power on puppet-making, needing to conserve it to maintain the assimilation domain. But that was no longer necessary. Now she had more than enough to burn.

“The National Preceptor has slain the Scorpion Queen and saved our Minghou Planet from catastrophe. She is the great savior of all ghostfolk on this planet! Long live National Preceptor!”

Duan Qing wasted no time, loudly proclaiming her praise.

“Long live the National Preceptor!”

The entire Queen of the Underworld’s Palace echoed with the ghostfolk’s respectful kneeling shouts.

“Duan Qing, you went through all that trouble to keep me here, don’t tell me it was just to deal with the Scorpion Queen?”

Qi Huang had had enough. She came right out with it.

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“Impossible! Of course not! I’m no immortal, how could I have known she’d attack Minghou Planet?”

Duan Qing denied frantically, but sweat was already beading on her forehead.

“You said it yourself, Sea Queen died here. Obviously, the Scorpion Queen wouldn’t let those heart fragments go. Even an idiot could’ve guessed she’d come knocking.”

Qi Huang sneered coldly.

“Uh…”

Duan Qing was instantly speechless, her body trembling.

“For Qianqian’s sake, I’ll let it go this time. But don’t let it happen again. Try to use me again, and I’ll send you to see your great-grandmother.”

Qi Huang warned her. She had to make this clear, or this woman would treat her like a fool from now on.

“Thank you, National Preceptor, for sparing my life!”

Duan Qing bowed deeply in gratitude, again and again.

Next came Qianqian’s succession ceremony. Because Qi Huang had slain the Sea Queen and established her authority, no one dared voice a single objection.

“Qianqian, stay here on Minghou Planet and behave. Help your sister cultivate and manage the ghostfolk. I’ll come check on you every few weeks.”

After the ceremony, Qi Huang gave Qianqian some advice.

“Sister… do you really have to leave?”

Qianqian asked, reluctant to part.

“Sister still has to go back and visit family, so yes. But don’t worry, I’ll come see you once a month, okay?”

Qi Huang comforted her gently.

“Alright…”

Qianqian pouted but finally agreed.

“Duan Qing, Qianqian is still young. You must assist her loyally. If you harbor any ill intent, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Understand?”

Qi Huang turned to warn Duan Qing.

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“Yes, National Preceptor.”

Duan Qing accepted the order at once.

Satisfied, Qi Huang smiled and departed Minghou Planet.

She soon arrived at Huhou Planet, and released Ni Xian from her storage ring.

Upon seeing the state of the planet, Ni Xian was instantly consumed by rage and anxiety. Her sudden disappearance and the death of General Li Xin had thrown everything into chaos. The various factions were now locked in brutal warfare, each vying to unify the world.

Qi Huang had no patience for winning hearts and minds. She directly took action, suppressing all rebellion and placing Ni Xian on the throne of the Fox Queen. She even created a peak Monarch-grade puppet with assimilation power to assist her.

After finishing all this, Qi Huang couldn’t wait to return to the cultivation realm. After all, she’d been away for months.

Midway, Qi Huang released Cheng Hongling and handed her the four newly acquired heart fragments.

“I now have eleven heart fragments. Combined, they must hold an immense power.”

Cheng Hongling smiled with satisfaction.

“Too bad that power can only be used by the dead.”

Qi Huang reminded her.

Cheng Hongling said nothing in reply. She calmly stored the fragments in her ring and asked, “So what’s your next move?”

“Now that the Five Queens are all dead, the crisis I unleashed upon the myriad worlds has been resolved. I need to focus on growing stronger, and fast, so I can storm Ziji Immortal Emperor’s place and reclaim the three queen’s bodies.”

Qi Huang laid out her plan.

“To keep your promise?”

Cheng Hongling asked, testing her.

“Keep a promise? Do I look like someone who sticks to morals? I’m doing this for power. That corpse holds over ten heart fragments and brims with powerful assimilation energy. It’s valuable for both of us.”

Qi Huang replied with a calm face, defending herself.

“No need to be so flustered. I never said keeping promises was a bad thing.”

Cheng Hongling gave a faint smile and didn’t pursue the topic.