Volume 14, Chapter 875 – This Immortal Emperor Shall Leave Them Nowhere to Flee

The next morning, Qi Huang led several women to the eastern gate. By then, tens of millions had already gathered there. Most were cultivators or ordinary people who had come to watch the spectacle, but a considerable portion remained extremely mysterious, their bodies doused in Heaven-Deceiving Water. Their strength could not be sensed with divine sense, no one could tell if they were strong or weak, human or ghost.

Qi Huang’s divine sense had been modified by the Heaven-Mending Crystal, rendering the Heaven-Deceiving Water completely ineffective against her. Thus, she could clearly identify these people. A staggering ninety-nine percent of them were fiendish specters.

Qi Huang carefully observed and began to tremble slightly with excitement, because many of them possessed Assimilation Qi. If she could obtain it all, the Assimilation Qi within her and Cheng Hongling would skyrocket.

She discreetly relayed this general situation to Cheng Hongling, then remarked, “This Heaven-Deceiving Water really is something else. So many fiendish specters dare show themselves so brazenly outside Ziji City.”

“If it weren’t extraordinary, it wouldn’t be called Heaven-Deceiving Water,” Cheng Hongling commented.

“Exactly. If I hadn’t happened upon a piece of Heaven-Mending Crystal, I’d still be suppressed by that stuff,” Qi Huang said, still feeling a lingering chill.

“By the way, aside from assimilation, did you find any fragments of the Demon Ancestor’s heart?” Cheng Hongling pressed.

“Not yet,” Qi Huang said firmly, “but I believe they’ll show up.”

Cheng Hongling nodded instinctively. After all, if they missed today, it would be impossible to ever gather all thirty-two fragments of Lu Yao’s heart.

Meanwhile, the three ghost princesses also spotted their mother hanging from the city wall. Although they were wracked with grief, the emotional buffer they had beforehand kept them from losing control. With their cloaks shielding them, they drew no unwanted attention.

Qianqian was especially considerate. She buried her tear-streaked little face in Qi Huang’s thigh, sobbing softly, doing her best not to let anyone around notice her cries.

Qi Huang sighed, then gently stroked the little girl’s head.

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“Thank heavens the Ziji Immortal Emperor is finally dealing with these ‘decorations’. Leaving them hanging on the city walls like that… every few days, some fiendish specter would cause trouble. I couldn’t even sleep soundly,” someone in the crowd grumbled.

“You’re too timid. Who do you think the Ziji Immortal Emperor is? You really think a bunch of fiendish specters could break into the city?”

“Forget the emperor himself. Even the handful of Earth Immortal generals under him could make Ziji City as impregnable as steel. Haven’t you seen? Over the years, all the fiendish specters who dared attack have ended up as these wall-hung trophies. None have taken even a step into the gate.”

“This time might be different. The Ziji Immortal Emperor wants to deal with all the trophies on the wall. I heard the bodies of those three queens contain something the fiendish specters crave. Even the demons from the Immortal Realm might gather here.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’d bet money on this: however many fiendish specters come today, that’s how many will die. They’ll just become the next batch of wall hangings.”

The onlookers chatted excitedly, showing no concern for the looming storm. They clearly placed unconditional trust in the Ziji Immortal Emperor.

As for the fiendish specters, their eyes burned with hunger as they stared at their desired targets on the wall. Without the protection of sound-blocking talismans, they didn’t dare speak. After all, Heaven-Deceiving Water could only conceal their forms, not their voices.

Just as Qi Huang expected, as time passed, four powerful female zombies arrived at the outskirts of Ziji City. Each had a heart fragment inside her and similarly possessed vast amounts of Assimilation Qi.

This brought the total to thirty out of Lu Yao’s thirty-two heart fragments.

Qi Huang immediately informed Cheng Hongling of this good news.

“In this situation, for two heart fragments to remain missing… it can only mean they fell into some dead, lifeless region… places where no one ever found them,” Cheng Hongling concluded quickly.

“Then so be it. We only wanted to gather the fragments to remove future threats. It’s not like we absolutely have to complete the set,” Qi Huang gave her perspective.

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Cheng Hongling didn’t respond. Clearly, her thoughts went beyond that.

As noon arrived, Qi Huang scanned the Immortal Palace with her divine sense and found the three Immortal Emperors still leisurely sipping tea in the study, showing no signs of anxiety.

“My dear brothers, the fiendish specters of the Immortal Realm have already been wiped out by ninety percent. The remaining ones pose no threat and will be cleaned up soon enough. When that day comes, we’ll usher in an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity,” Wanhe Immortal Emperor said, his face glowing with hope.

‘Peace and prosperity?’ Qi Huang scoffed inwardly.

She had seen the methods of the Celestials in her dreams. Once a world had no more fiendish specters, a great purge would immediately follow. At that point, not only would all cultivators be wiped out, but even the Five Elements Spiritual Qi would be drained clean.

As Qi Huang recalled what she’d witnessed in those dreams, a bold idea suddenly surfaced in her mind: ‘If I could gather all the fiendish specters in the Immortal Realm and lead them to other worlds, wouldn’t that mean those old bastards would be completely wiped out by the Celestials?’

She felt a surge of excitement, but then immediately mocked herself. The idea was beautiful, but reality was harsh.

She couldn’t possibly achieve that. First, the Immortal Realm was vast and boundless, tracking down all the fiendish specters and leading them away wasn’t something that could be done in one or two years. It would be a colossal project. Second, although the fiendish specters were weakened, their remaining numbers were still terrifying. To move all of them to the cultivation world, she would need a staggering amount of Assimilation Qi… something she clearly didn’t have.

“It truly would be peace and prosperity… but without the harassment of fiendish specters, mortals will no longer depend on us. At that point, every Immortal’s income and prestige will plummet,” Qiufa Immortal Emperor spoke calmly.

“Qiufa, we all understand that logic,” Ziji Immortal Emperor said slowly. “But the issue is this: eliminating the fiendish specters is a task assigned by those Celestials above us. If we fail to meet the deadline, forget income and prestige, we might not even keep our lives.”

“Indeed, old brother Qiufa, you must think this through carefully. Wealth and fame are just fleeting things. Life is what truly matters,” Wanhe Immortal Emperor advised.

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“Rest assured, I’m just voicing my feelings,” Qiufa Immortal Emperor quickly responded. “I wouldn’t be foolish enough to actually spare the fiendish specters.”

“Good!” Wanhe Immortal Emperor nodded in satisfaction.

Just then, the voice of General Wang, commander of the Imperial Capital’s guards, rang out from outside the study.

“Your Majesties, noon has arrived. Shall we begin clearing those trophies from the city wall?”

Wanhe Immortal Emperor perked up and said, “Brothers, since noon has come, it’s time to reel in the net. Although only a few fiendish specters remain in the Immortal Realm, thanks to the Heaven-Deceiving Water, a total purge won’t be quick or easy. We must move swiftly.”

“Don’t be in such a hurry, Brother Wanhe. Haven’t you heard the saying ‘haste makes waste’? The longer we drag this out, the more fish we’ll catch in the net,” Qiufa Immortal Emperor replied unhurriedly.

“Indeed,” Ziji Immortal Emperor agreed. “Since the net is cast, we must catch a few big fish.”

As the saying goes, the guest follows the host. Wanhe Immortal Emperor had no choice but to hold his tongue.

“Commander Wang, just keep the order steady. When it’s time to act, I’ll notify you myself,” Ziji Immortal Emperor ordered.

“At your command,” Commander Wang bowed and withdrew respectfully.

Another hour passed. Outside the city gates, the crowd had grown restless.

“Strange. Noon has long passed. Why hasn’t the Ziji Immortal Emperor given the order?”

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“You don’t get it, do you? He’s clearly fishing with a long line. Those trophies on the wall are bait. The longer he waits, the more fish will bite.”

“I see. But if those wall trophies are just bait, then there’s no need to deal with them today. The Ziji Immortal Emperor could just keep using them to lure more fiendish specters.”

“You think everyone’s as dumb as you? Maybe it works once or twice, but after that, who’d still fall for it? That’s how those aerial corpsmen came about.”

“Exactly. And don’t forget who the Ziji Immortal Emperor is. He’s the emperor of the Fanxing Immortal Kingdom. You think someone like him would go back on his word like you would?”

More chatter broke out among the spectators.

Back in the study of the Immortal Palace, Wanhe Immortal Emperor finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Brother Ziji, it’s time to reel in the net. Or the big fish will get away.”

“Very well. I’ll trouble you both to quietly leave the city and set up a sealing array. This time, all fiendish specters who came to Ziji City will have nowhere to run, not to the heavens, nor to the earth,” Ziji Immortal Emperor instructed as he stood up.

“Leave it to us!”

Wanhe and Qiufa Immortal Emperors accepted the task, vanishing from the study.

Ziji Immortal Emperor then picked up a Universal Communication Tube and contacted Commander Wang at the east gate. “Commander Wang, proceed. Start with the weakest trophies on the wall. Do it slowly. One by one. This Immortal Emperor doesn’t just want every fiendish specter that came to Ziji City to die completely. I want them to watch with wide-open eyes as their loved ones turn to dust before they do.”