“What solution? Tell me!” Qin Qingyue couldn’t contain herself any longer and stepped forward, her swaying dragon tail betraying the anxiety within her.
She stood before Bai Lu and Chi Hong, the two Dragon Clan elders—one skilled in celestial stratagems, the other a master of Void Formation Arts—both areas far beyond her own pure power-based expertise.
Bai Lu’s cold gaze swept over Qin Qingyue before settling on Wu Zhaohua. Her voice was ethereal yet carried a clear intent.
“Sect Master Wu, Palace Master Qin, before discussing any methods, I have a question.”
“How exactly did you both attain the Celestial Immortal Form?”
“The Three Tribulations Return-to-Truth Record, the Human Tribulation stage—I just can’t get past it.”
[This Human Tribulation looks truly insurmountable; no wonder aside from Wu Zhaohua, no one else is said to have passed it.]
Bai Lu glanced over the suggested methods and gave up immediately.
At present, without sufficient benefit, she would never waste her effort calculating void coordinates or risk assisting interrealm crossings for others.
She had already cultivated to the Supreme Saint stage, only lacking the immortal fate to attain the Celestial Immortal Form.
Wu Zhaohua turned and walked over calmly, her tone plain but laced with subtle complexity:
“The Human Tribulation is indeed no easy hurdle.”
“At the time, I was able to pass it only by borrowing Jiang Huai’s power.”
Mentioning this, memories of her time with Jiang Huai briefly clouded her heart with a hint of sorrow.
A glint of sharpness flashed in Bai Lu’s eyes as she prepared to inquire further, but Wu Zhaohua continued with a warning in her voice: “Yet times have changed. Back then, Jiang Huai could aid me, but now his fate is entangled and balanced with the calamity of a certain dragon. Whether he can still bear and resolve another’s Human Tribulation as before remains uncertain.”
Her words clearly showed a protective instinct; she was unwilling to see Jiang Huai risk himself again.
Bai Lu’s gaze shifted to Qin Qingyue.
Qin Qingyue was straightforward and quickly explained the process of how Jiang Huai’s aid in the Calamity Secret Realm had granted her the Celestial Immortal Form.
Hearing this, Bai Lu pondered briefly and then understood.
It seemed the path to the Celestial Immortal Form for both of them was tied entirely to that man named Jiang Huai.
“In that case, I will put forth my full effort to help you both calculate a stable coordinate channel.” Bai Lu raised her eyes, her gaze sharp and clear.
“But I have one condition.”
“Speak! As long as we can find Jiang Huai, everything is negotiable!” Qin Qingyue replied eagerly.
Bai Lu looked at her, her voice still icy but tinged with hesitation and resolve: “I think… at that time, we will need to borrow Jiang Huai for a period.”
“During that time, I ask that neither of you disturb him.”
Borrow your husband for a bit, but neither of you are allowed to interfere.
“No!” Wu Zhaohua immediately refused, her tone firm and resolute.
“I have already made it clear: his situation is special now. He cannot bear others’ tribulations so easily anymore! If something goes wrong, who will take responsibility?!”
If anything happened, how could Jiang Huai endure Bai Lu’s Human Tribulation again?
Bai Lu did not respond to Wu Zhaohua but instead looked at Qin Qingyue.
Qin Qingyue’s dragon tail anxiously tapped the ground once, hesitated a moment, then surprisingly changed her stance: “Fine! But I need your promise that nothing harmful will come to him!”
She seemed to weigh the pros and cons, deciding that finding Jiang Huai was the urgent matter, and everything else could be settled later.
Wu Zhaohua abruptly turned her head and stared at Qin Qingyue in disbelief.
What do you mean? You’re just selling out Jiang Huai like that?
Do you know how deep the foundation of the Northern Plains Dragon Palace is? What if they do something to Jiang Huai?
Qin Qingyue remained expressionless, as if it were no big deal.
Why not? Bai Lu wants the Celestial Immortal Form, so just give it to her.
Even stronger, in fact.
Jiang Huai’s yin-yang essence fully qualifies to grant her the Celestial Immortal Form.
You just need to offer your yin essence; let her serve.
Then leave handling the Red Dragon Clan matters to Bai Lu.
Bai Lu completely ignored Wu Zhaohua’s murderous glare and nodded slightly to Qin Qingyue:
“Deal.”
With the agreement reached, she wasted no time. Ice crystals swirled around her fingertips as she divined the hexagrams.
“The fragment of the world where Jiang Huai resides has no known, stable spatial channel connecting it to the Five Provinces Continent.”
“It is like an island in the void, drifting beyond the boundaries of our realm system.”
These words dampened the faint hope that had just sparked in Zhuxin’s eyes.
“Without a channel, forcibly crossing the void is like searching for a needle in the ocean—nine deaths for every life,” Bai Lu continued.
Her tone shifted as her gaze swept over Qin Qingyue and Wu Zhaohua:
“But fortunately, both of you have left unique marks on him.”
“Using these two marks as guides, the clearest coordinates, and combining your power, it may be possible to forcibly tear the void, briefly opening a temporary passage directly to his location.”
“I will handle the formation.”
It would be like a beacon suddenly shining clearly in the endless darkness of the boundless ocean.
“What about you?” Qin Qingyue tilted her head toward Wu Zhaohua.
Wu Zhaohua’s expression darkened but she still said,
“First, find him, then we’ll talk.”
The two women agreed to cooperate for the time being.
Jade Bracelet Realm, Mystic Polaris Immortal Sect.
The next morning, Jiang Huai had barely gotten up when a disciple arrived to say the Sect Master requested his presence.
His heart sank slightly as he followed the disciple back to the secret chamber adorned with strange reliefs.
Tang Zhaoxue remained barefoot, lazily reclining in a large chair. Upon seeing him enter, a playful smile curled the corners of her lips: “Did you enjoy your stroll through the city yesterday? Have you figured out the ways of my Jade Bracelet Realm yet?”
Jiang Huai’s heart jolted—sure enough, their every move was under surveillance.
Yet his face betrayed nothing as he calmly replied, “A little. Since the Sect Master already knows, why ask?”
Tang Zhaoxue laughed lightly, rising gracefully to approach him with an oppressive aura.
Her figure was voluptuous; today she wore only a thin gauze, white waves undulating as her jade-like legs stepped lightly forward.
“Why bother with such trouble? If you want to know something, just ask me directly. Why waste time among those mundane places?”
Her eyes roamed Jiang Huai’s body with unabashed scrutiny and a hint of morbid amusement.
Jiang Huai only smiled faintly, saying no more.
Some things were still more real when seen and heard with one’s own eyes and ears.
Tang Zhaoxue came close, almost pressing against him. A cold, subtle fragrance invaded Jiang Huai’s senses.
She extended a slender finger as if to caress his cheek—bold and full of teasing intent.
“Do you want to know why I summoned you here?”
Jiang Huai stepped back sharply, avoiding her touch. His voice chilled.
“Sect Master, please conduct yourself with respect.”
Who was this? Coming at him so forwardly?
“Respect?” Tang Zhaoxue seemed to find the words amusing, laughing more brightly but with growing danger.
“Respect? Everything is mine if I want it—why would I respect anything?”
She had refrained from men for years to keep her impotence secret.
But now there was a male cultivator; having him in her chamber would bring face.
As long as she could make him obedient enough.
Tang Zhaoxue closed the distance step by step, approaching the defenseless Jiang Huai, studying the disgust in his eyes.
Though she could no longer act fully due to her condition, the process of controlling someone and teasing them still gave her a twisted pleasure.
Jiang Huai’s revulsion surged anew. Thinking of Qin Qingyue, he stepped back again and looked her squarely in the eye: “Sect Master Tang, you seem to have a hidden ailment—disharmony of yin and yang, perhaps?”
Tang Zhaoxue’s expression abruptly changed, an uncontrollable blush flooding her pretty face and ears burning with shame.
He noticed my impotence?