This was the simplest, most crude, and brainless attack the Wuji Sect Master had ever seen.
The Magic Crystal transformed into the purest Spiritual Energy, without any attribute or form, relying solely on the instantaneous burst of quantity and impact to deliver a heaven-shaking blow!
The mass of Spiritual Energy residue blasted into his face left him nowhere to escape, forcing him to block head-on.
The protective barrier conjured by his Grade 7 Dharma Artifact cracked from the cannon fire, and the overwhelming impact sent his entire body flying backward.
Jiang Ke’er went flying too—she hadn’t expected the recoil to be this strong.
This strike seemed to jolt the Wuji Sect Master awake. He decisively abandoned his teammate, using the recoil to turn and flee.
The Captain of the Demon-Catching Squad was about to curse him a coward when Qiao Xiaoxian’s relentless, suffocating assault pressed in, leaving him nowhere to run.
“Mercy! I’m sorry! I didn’t want to come in the first place… It’s all that bastard from the Wuji Sect! He talked me into this!”
He couldn’t believe that he, a dignified Honored One, was begging for mercy from two mere Seven Luminaries Realm cultivators.
He had always believed that anyone below the Honored One realm was trash, not worth a flick of his little finger.
The rules and experience of Shenzhou had always proven that.
But these two were like a dimensionality reduction attack, completely ignoring Shenzhou’s rules.
Maybe it was more accurate to treat them as “peak Honored Ones disguised as Seven Luminaries Realm.”
The Demon-Catching Squad Captain wailed, “Please, just let me go like a fart. I’m just an insignificant nobody… Don’t let the title ‘Honored One’ fool you—I’m nothing but a dog of the Great Si Kingdom…”
“Don’t insult dogs.”
Crack.
Jiang Ke’er and Qiao Xiaoxian naturally ignored his pleas.
They gave him a swift death.
“So this is an Honored One?”
Jiang Ke’er shook her head. “Looks like cultivation base really has nothing to do with character.”
Either you liver, you ke, or you ou.
No matter which world you go to, the paths to power are always these few.
Dao Heart, morality—it all seems like a beautiful lie, meant to mask the cruel truths of the world, giving the weak balance and hope.
In this dark forest, the ones who climb to the top of the food chain are never anything good.
Jiang Ke’er realized this once again, deeply.
With their leader gone, the surrounding Demon-Catching Squad members scrambled to flee.
Jiang Ke’er found it amusing.
“The way you’re running away with your tails between your legs—you’re no different from ordinary cultivators.
Is this the job that children in Beiju Luzhou dream of?
Someone really ought to see this… Well, I recorded it.”
While recording, Jiang Ke’er didn’t forget to kill.
Chasing down fleeing deserters who had given up resistance was bound to earn scorn, but Jiang Ke’er and Qiao Xiaoxian didn’t care.
They were long used to being cursed.
And for Jiang Ke’er, being cursed meant earning Villain Points—why not?
They killed off most of the deserters; the lucky few who escaped quickly were fast enough that Jiang Ke’er temporarily gave up the chase.
“It’s a straight road from here to the Demon Kingdom,” Qiao Xiaoxian said.
“The next battle should be at the Demon Kingdom.”
The Demon Kingdom wouldn’t let her in easily.
The real power from the Great Sima Nation should be waiting there too.
They wanted to kill Qiao Xiaoxian and Jiang Ke’er in front of the Demon Kingdom’s people as a show of force.
—
“I heard you went to the Realm of No Regret?”
[Mm. Went to take care of some minor matters.] A young man’s voice came from the Communication Stone.
“Then… about the freezing in the northern Realm of No Regret—should we not investigate it?” Yu Wenhua Ji asked cautiously.
[Just come up with a symbolic excuse. You know how to handle it.]
“Understood!” Yu Wenhua Ji quickly replied. “By the way, I just received news that Blue Shadow and Qing Yi have appeared in Beiju Luzhou without hiding their identities…”
[Don’t bother with them for now. Now’s not the time to make a move. Just send a few people to put on a show in front of that useless Demon Kingdom ruler.]
“Why can’t we make a move…” Yu Wenhua Ji was confused.
[What? Are you brain-dead?] The young man’s voice was incredulous.
[They have the Shenzhou Tripod, the Underworld Province Tripod, eleven Grade 8 Artifacts, the Great Sima Nation’s National Treasury, and the Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce’s Supreme Treasure Vault… What gives you the right to go looking for trouble with them?]
“But they’re only at the Seven Luminaries Realm!”
[When I was at Seven Luminaries, I could already take down ten of you.]
“…”
Yu Wenhua Ji had nothing to say.
[Calm down. I’ll be going to Beiju Luzhou myself soon,] the young man said. [Killing them doesn’t require a blade.]
“Whoosh…”
Yu Wenhua Ji finally let out a long sigh of relief.
“Since Your Excellency is going personally, I can rest assured…”
[Mm. Continue with the plan.]
Just as Qiao Xiaoxian had said, there were no more overconfident blockers along the way.
Not until they stood on a mountaintop overlooking the Demon Kingdom’s border did Jiang Ke’er finally sense signs of life.
From a distance, she could see the gleaming armor, the valiant Demon Clan soldiers standing resolute on the border, glaring fiercely in the two women’s direction.
Jiang Ke’er had seen this sort of scene before.
Last time was when Li Yuan led troops through the Celestial Monitoring Instrument to save her.
They were just as imposing, but this time the blades were pointed at their own kind… Or perhaps they didn’t even consider them the same kind.
Jiang Ke’er smiled and walked down the mountain with Qiao Xiaoxian.
This time, she stepped back slightly, letting Qiao Xiaoxian walk ahead so she looked like a servant.
Qiao Xiaoxian was lost in thought and didn’t notice Jiang Ke’er’s small adjustment.
Jiang Ke’er saw on this Dragon a tangled, chaotic mess of emotions—difficult to distinguish.
Not like the simple, burning feelings she had toward herself.
Right now, Qiao Xiaoxian was like a lost child, walking into a village she didn’t recognize at all.
She moved forward step by step, yet didn’t know if what awaited her was the home she remembered.
The two women walked quietly across the wilderness.
The rosy glow of sunset reflected in Qiao Xiaoxian’s hair.
Qiao Xiaoxian stared ahead, and Jiang Ke’er stared at her.
Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they both lifted their heads and puffed out their chests.
To return home, one should do so with the most arrogant and proud posture! Proclaim one’s arrival to the whole world!
Wasn’t this the moment all that fighting, bathed in blood and flame, was for?
“I’m back.”
Looking up at the bloated figure atop the border gate, Qiao Xiaoxian bowed slightly, knelt on one knee, and spoke softly in the tone of a subject.
“You still have the nerve to come back?”
The Demon Lord sat atop the border gate, then stood up.
His movements were laborious; his massive frame was laden with so much fat that he looked like a sticky blob of lard.
“I sent you as an envoy to the Xiao Kingdom, and you? What did you do?”
“I never violated the envoy protocol, nor did I show the slightest negligence,” Qiao Xiaoxian replied methodically, even though she knew she’d never be able to explain herself clearly.
“It was they who ignored the rules of diplomacy and tried to kill me.”
“Then why didn’t you die?”
“…”
Even though she had braced herself for it, hearing those words with her own ears still sent a chill of sorrow through her heart.
The Demon Lord extended a fat finger, pointing at Qiao Xiaoxian from afar, his expression hysterical. “Die! Why won’t you die?!”
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