Volume 14, Chapter 918 – I Just Wanted to Stall for Time

Qi Huang felt increasingly impressed by her own brilliance. She danced awkwardly in glee for a moment, then released her doppelgängers, Huang Tian and Huang Ying.

“Big Sister, what are your orders?”

Huang Tian and Huang Ying asked respectfully.

Qi Huang handed over a teleportation crossbow and gave her instructions: “You two are to head to Low-Rank World No. 23 where Cangmang Planet is located. Use the teleportation gate there to arrive at the opposite side of Lishui Planet’s spatial barrier. Understood?”

“Yes. And then?”

Huang Tian asked instinctively.

“Then… just follow Lishui Planet’s movements. If there are further instructions, I’ll inform you.”

Qi Huang gave them the task.

Though the two doppelgängers didn’t fully understand, they obediently followed orders. Using the teleportation gate, they swiftly traveled to Cangmang Planet. From there, they could access Low-Rank World No. 23 through its spatial rift.

Meanwhile, in a cultivation chamber within Honghua Sect, under Feng Jiu’an’s assistance, Cheng Hongling had already fully refined Fengxiang Bow. The next step was to fuse the shattered heart fragments.

Although Cheng Hongling had extraordinary endurance, fusing over twenty heart fragments wasn’t something that could be completed in a day or two.

Qi Huang, not entirely at ease, stayed in the chamber every day as a guardian.

Before long, the two doppelgängers sent word that they had arrived on the opposite side of the spatial barrier.

“Stop dawdling. Use your swords to break through the spatial barrier and create a ring of spatial rifts around Lishui Planet and Yin Planet. Think of it as a quarantine zone. Got it?”

Qi Huang promptly instructed.

“Big Sister, what does that mean?”

Huang Tian asked Huang Ying in confusion.

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“I get it!”

Huang Ying’s voice grew excited. “That Lu Hong may have sacrificed his cultivation, but his physical body still has the strength of a cultivator. If we open up a ring of low-grade spatial fractures, he won’t be able to get close to Lishui Planet and Yin Planet unless his strength drops below the Spirit Gathering Realm.”

“So that’s it. Big Sister, you’re so smart.”

Huang Tian couldn’t help flattering her.

“Hehe. If this immortal hadn’t had such a high IQ, how could I have made it this far?”

Qi Huang smiled smugly, then told the doppelgängers to get to work.

One of them drew a sword and crisply pierced the spatial barrier. The sword energy shot out like a rainbow piercing the sun, emerging directly from the cultivation world and lighting up both planets as bright as day.

“What’s that? Why are there suddenly two ‘suns’?”

“They’re not suns… looks like a rainbow?”

“What kind of rainbow glows like that?”

“Look! The sky’s torn! The sky’s torn! Oh my god!”

People, cultivators, and ghosts on the two planets looked up uneasily at the strange phenomenon in the sky, whispering in alarm.

Qi Huang didn’t bother explaining to each of them. Truthfully, after dragging the two planets around for so long, barely anyone on the surface had noticed anything unusual. As far as they were concerned, the only change was the constantly shifting starry sky. It hadn’t had much direct effect.

As for the temperature, she had taken the Solar Tree with her during her escape. It now hung in the sky, emitting light and heat.

Of course, others had no idea about this. So when Qi Huang returned to the cultivation chamber, she saw that Cheng Hongling had stopped her fusion process.

“What happened?”

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Cheng Hongling quickly asked.

“Well, here’s the thing…”

Qi Huang explained the situation outside.

“You created a circular spatial rift to shield both planets—that’s actually a clever idea. But don’t forget, Lu Hong most likely has a teleportation gate. That’s an inanimate object, not bound by spatial rules. He can still bypass the spatial rift using that.”

Feng Jiu’an thought for a moment and pointed out the flaw.

“No problem. All I need is to stall for time. Otherwise, if he attacks the moment he arrives, we wouldn’t even have time to react and escaping would be impossible.”

Qi Huang explained.

“So? What good does buying a bit of time do?”

Feng Jiu’an asked in confusion.

“She intends to use the same trick again, to drag both planets into an even lower-ranked world.”

Cheng Hongling, looking somewhat worn, spoke up.

“My wife knows me best!”

Qi Huang immediately pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her beloved.

“What? You’re planning to pull these two planets into an even lower-ranked world?”

Feng Jiu’an looked incredulous, then his eyes lit up. “Right! Why didn’t I think of that? He might’ve made it into the cultivation world by sacrificing his cultivation, but he’s still a cultivator. If we descend into a lower world, even if he finds us, he won’t be able to do anything. Those worlds can’t even tolerate strong cultivators, right?”

“Exactly. That particular world only supports those in the Spirit Gathering Realm at most.”

Qi Huang answered, struggling to hide her pride.

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“That’s perfect! Even if that old bastard manages to catch up with us, there will still be enough of a buffer until his body degrades below the Spirit Gathering Realm.”

Feng Jiu’an was delighted, but then something occurred to him. “But then… why not just drag both planets into the lower world right now? What’s with this ring of spatial fractures?”

“Oh, come on, Your Majesty the Empress. Don’t forget, there are countless powerhouses on these two planets. To drag you all into a lower world requires an enormous amount of Assimilation Qi. You think it’s as easy as snapping your fingers? If we burn through our Assimilation Qi while still in the lower world, what do we do when that old bastard really catches up?”

Qi Huang shot back irritably.

“Oh… I totally forgot about that.”

Feng Jiu’an smiled awkwardly.

Qi Huang then summoned the Dao Alliance leadership for a meeting, explained recent events, and instructed them to issue public announcements to reassure the populace.

With everyone calmed, they threw themselves into their respective tasks. Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

Qi Huang didn’t dare slack off, constantly scanning the surrounding space with her Divine Sense.

Then one day, a teleportation gate suddenly appeared in the void near Lishui Planet, and out stepped a hunched figure.

“So he found us after all?”

Qi Huang gave a bitter smile. Only an immortal could cross the planets within the cultivation world, and at this moment, there could be no one else but Lu Hong.

Qi Huang’s figure flickered and vanished, reappearing at the edge of the spatial rift in the next instant.

Lu Hong, moving quickly, also reached the opposite side of the rift. He stared blankly at the scene before him. It was obvious he hadn’t expected this.

“If I’m not mistaken, you must be Lu Hong, Grand Elder of the Immortal Alliance?”

Qi Huang asked directly.

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Lu Hong didn’t speak. He simply extended a withered hand into the spatial rift and watched as the space within crumbled like tofu—completely unable to withstand even his now frail physical body.

Startled, Lu Hong quickly withdrew his hand.

“Elder Lu, do you like the gift I prepared? This is a lower world. Even a cultivator’s body can’t withstand it. No matter how much your body has declined, it can’t be weaker than the lowest tier of cultivators, right?”

Qi Huang teased.

“No wonder they let you slip away time and again. You do have a bit of wit.”

Only then did Lu Hong shift his gaze onto Qi Huang. “But one thing puzzles me. Judging by your aura, you’re not one of the evil spirits. Why are you siding with them?”

“Because I’m rebelling against the heavens. If you don’t rebel, you’ll never escape fate, never obtain true immortality or freedom. Surely even you understand something that basic.”

Qi Huang retorted mockingly.

“If it’s immortality you want, you don’t have to rebel. You could just submit. As long as you ascend to the Celestial Realm, there will be no more aging or illness.”

Lu Hong calmly reasoned.

“Really? Elder Lu, why lie to yourself? Sure, once you ascend, you escape the burden of the flesh, so there’s no more ‘aging’ or ‘illness’. But what about death? Isn’t your life still at the mercy of the Heavenly Dao, or even the Heavenly Court? I’m not the kind of person who’d hand over my life and my loved ones’ lives to someone else.”

Qi Huang stated her stance firmly.

“Truly, the ignorant know no fear. Do you think you can shake the order of heaven and earth? You’re hopeless. Beyond verifying your destined calamity, there’s nothing else you can do.”

Lu Hong casually pulled out a teleportation crossbow, inserted a Gathering Spirit Talisman, and said, “This teleportation gate is an inanimate object. It’s not bound by spatial laws, and its material is so tough it can’t be destroyed. Do you really think this little cesspool of yours can stop me?”

“It can’t. But all I ever wanted was just a bit more time.”

Qi Huang smiled calmly as her Divine Sense and Assimilation Qi surged out, quickly enveloping the other planet.