Chapter 87: This Big Sister is Getting Really Angry (4000 words, two chapters in one)

Inside the Zilin Main Hall, the atmosphere fell into a deathly silence!

All the Hall Masters and Peak Masters lowered their heads, their fists tightly clenched.

There was even disbelief in their eyes!

How could anyone believe this?

An Ascension Realm Cultivator! Three in the Immortal Realm! Trapped in a Secret Realm! Their fates unknown?!

How could this be possible!

This was simply too absurd!

But…

Looking at the beautiful young girl on the Zilin Sacred Lord’s jade throne, she was tightly clutching the emerald bamboo hairpin in her hand—the only piece of jewelry on the Sacred Lord’s entire body.

They knew that no matter how much they didn’t want to believe it, the reality was indeed so.

Zilin Sacred Lord Jiang Yuerou, Sword Pavilion Master Lament, Valley Master of Medicine King Valley Must Not Die, and Penglai Island Master Meng Sanqiu! Exploring a Secret Realm! All trapped at once!

Ah, this…

The Elders in the Zilin Main Hall furrowed their brows even tighter!

The reason their entrapment was discovered was that Penglai Island was supposed to hold its once-in-a-century Drunken Immortal Ceremony, but the Island Master had failed to return.

The Penglai Island Elders felt suspicious, but they didn’t pay it too much mind at first.

However, in the last two days, the Life-Death Lamp left by Penglai Island Master Meng Sanqiu in the Penglai Island Ancestral Hall began to flicker erratically. Penglai Island decisively sent out Elders to search for him.

The Penglai Island Elders found only a dark, twisted Abyss Gate at the location where their Island Master’s aura had vanished.

Just as the Penglai Island Elders were hesitating and considering whether to enter, the Sword Pavilion Elders also noticed an abnormality in their own Pavilion Master’s Life-Death Lamp and arrived shortly after.

Because the Disciples of the Sword Pavilion, from the youngest to the oldest, tended to be rather reckless, they charged straight in.

The Penglai Island Elders watched on, their brows twitching slightly.

Wait, seriously? You’re just charging in? Aren’t you afraid there’s something strange inside that weird, twisted dark gate?

But since the Sword Pavilion had already charged, they had no choice but to follow.

Otherwise, if word got out that “Sword Pavilion Master Lament’s whereabouts were unknown and the Sword Pavilion Elders risked their lives without a second thought, while the Penglai Island Master was also trapped but the Penglai Island Elders just stood by as spectators.”

That would be impossible to justify.

After the Elders of both Sects entered, they discovered a dark Small World inside, and their cultivation levels were all suppressed to the Dragon Gate Realm! (The eighth Realm for Qi Refiners, one Realm lower than the Golden Core Realm).

Inside the dark gate, the Small World was pitch black. Although there was no light, everything inside could be seen clearly.

Beneath their feet was black soil, and before them was a small river, but the river water was also black.

The forest was black, the bushes were black, and even a giant python crawling through the bushes not far away was black!

This was a world where black was the Dominator!

Just as they were about to head into the black forest to investigate, a Dharma Voice resonated within the Mind-Palaces of all the Elders!

“Leave! Do not come back! And please deliver this hairpin to my Zilin Holy Land. Tell Qinger that from this moment on, she is the Zilin Sacred Lord!”

Before they could react, just as the Dharma Voice faded from their Mind-Palaces, a violent wind blew them directly out!

The Elders who were thrown out of the Small World felt a sweetness in their chests as blood seeped from the corners of their mouths, and before them lay that emerald bamboo hairpin.

And that was everything contained in the letter.

As for why the Zilin Holy Land hadn’t noticed any abnormality?

It was because Jiang Yuerou’s Life-Death Lamp was perfectly fine, showing no signs of weakness… The Life-Death Lamps of the three in the Immortal Realm were flickering, while the Life-Death Lamp of the one in the Ascension Realm showed no abnormality.

This meant that the Immortal Realm Sword Pavilion Master and the others were in danger, but their own Ascension Realm Sect Master was fine, merely trapped.

However, being trapped like this, no one knew how long it would last, nor if the situation would worsen.

If their Sect Master ultimately met with an accident, it would be too late for everything!

“Your Highness, I implore Your Highness to succeed the position of Sacred Lord and oversee Zilin. I, Gong Juren, request to head to the Desolate Domain to investigate.”

Gong Juren proposed, his resonant voice echoing throughout the Zilin Main Hall.

In Gong Juren’s view, having Her Highness inherit the Sacred Lord’s position to oversee Zilin while he led a small team to the Desolate Domain to attempt a rescue was the best and most stable course of action.

“I, Luo Hansan, am also willing to go.”

“I, Wang Sanpao, am willing to go.”

“Fang Jianqiu is willing to go.”

…

One after another, the Elders made their requests.

Even though the Sacred Lord had told them not to return to the abyss, this was, after all, an Ascension Realm Sacred Lord!

As the Holy Land’s top-tier combat power, she was the guarantee of the Holy Land’s eternal prosperity!

Even if there was only a sliver of a chance, they had to try.

“There is no need.” Jiang Qingshang shook her head, her eyes calm and steady, showing not a hint of panic despite the disappearance of the Zilin Holy Land’s greatest pillar.

“But the Sacred Lord, she…”

“I will go personally!”

Just as Gong Juren and the others thought Jiang Qingshang was following Jiang Yuerou’s orders and giving up on the rescue, the girl spoke indifferently.

“Your Highness! Please, Your Highness, think twice!”

“Your Highness, you mustn’t!”

“If Your Highness also meets with an accident, what will become of the Zilin Holy Land!”

“Please, Your Highness, remain here to oversee the Zilin Holy Land!”

For a moment, all the Elders, Peak Masters, and Hall Masters tried to dissuade her.

“And what if you go?”

Clutching her Master’s hairpin, Jiang Qingshang swept a cold gaze over them.

“Master is in the Ascension Realm and yet is trapped. What would those in the Immortal Realm accomplish by going? Furthermore, once you enter the Secret Realm, you will be limited to the Dragon Gate Realm. Compared to my Dragon Gate Realm, what difference is there? Or are you saying your Dragon Gate Realm can defeat mine?”

As soon as Jiang Qingshang finished speaking, all the Elders, Hall Masters, and Peak Masters lowered their heads in shame.

Because if they fought at the same cultivation level, even if their original Realms were higher than Jiang Qingshang’s and their comprehension of the Dao was deeper, they would still be soundly defeated by her.

This was the confidence of the greatest Genius of the Righteous Path in the current era.

It could be said that at the same level, perhaps only that Demon Son Lin Xun would be qualified to fight Her Highness in a heated battle where neither could gain the upper hand!

“Furthermore,” Jiang Qingshang continued, “to find Master, one must rely on the residual aura of Master on the Zilin Sacred Sword, and only I can use the Zilin Sacred Sword. How would you even search?”

“This…” Everyone was speechless.

It seemed they really were useless… why did it feel like they had lived all these years for nothing?

“But Your Highness.” Luo Hansan tried to speak up again. No matter how valid Her Highness’s reasons were, if she met with an accident, the Zilin Holy Land’s Origin Qi would be truly devastated!

Losing one top-tier Ascension Realm combatant and then losing a future Ascension Realm expert! It would take the Zilin Holy Land at least ten thousand years to recover!

“There are no ‘buts’.”

Jiang Qingshang stood up, her long, porcelain-white legs moving beneath her skirt as she stepped down the jade stairs.

“I issue the Sacred Lord’s Command: no one from the Zilin Holy Land is allowed to go to the Desolate Domain. Violators will be treated as traitors to the Sect. If I do not return within six months, Senior Martial Uncle Fang Jianqiu shall become the Zilin Sacred Lord.”

“Your Highness!”

Everyone shouted in unison, but the girl had already vanished from the hall.

At the Luocheng City Lords Mansion, Qu Ke was sprawled across her desk, slacking off as usual.

For this City Lord of Luocheng, city affairs could just be handled by her subordinates. After all, this was Qingshang’s fiefdom, and there were no imperial officials coming to inspect it or anything.

Moreover, this place was less than a hundred miles from the Zilin Holy Land and was the territory of the Zilin Saintess; truly, no one dared to cause trouble.

Under Qu Ke’s vow to “sleep for just a few more billion minutes before going to cultivate,” her eyes slowly began to close.

“Keke, don’t sleep yet.”

Qu Ke, who was about to drift into dreamland, heard the voice and opened her blurry eyes. Rubbing them, she let out a yawn and stretched her arms over her head, her graceful curves winding like a river.

Although Qu Ke’s appearance and figure couldn’t compare to Jiang Qingshang or Jiang Nongqin, she was definitely considered a beauty.

“Qinger, what’s wrong?”

Blinking as she looked at her best friend, she saw a heavy expression she had never seen before! Qu Ke’s sleepiness vanished instantly.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” Jiang Qingshang reached out and tapped her finger on the space between Qu Ke’s brows.

In an instant, Qu Ke knew everything about Jiang Yuerou being trapped in the Desolate Domain.

“How is this possible…” Qu Ke’s delicate face was filled with disbelief. One Ascension Realm and three Immortal Realms, all among the world’s top combatants, trapped in a Small World?!

“It is the truth.” Jiang Qingshang’s tone remained incredibly calm. Although she was already in the Jade Purity Realm, she was ultimately only eighteen years old, yet this eighteen-year-old girl possessed a composure beyond her years.

It was precisely because of her poise and calm that Qu Ke didn’t descend into complete chaos.

It was the same in the Zilin Main Hall.

If not for Jiang Qingshang, the Zilin Holy Land would likely have lost its head upon learning that their Sacred Lord’s fate was unknown.

But because of this girl, this young woman of peerless talent and beauty—even though she hadn’t reached the Ascension Realm or even entered the Immortal Realm—everyone was willing to believe in her and follow her every arrangement.

However, Jiang Qingshang’s next words made Qu Ke’s entire body tremble.

“Keke, next, I will be going to the Desolate Domain alone.”

“No!”

Qu Ke didn’t even have to think.

Grabbing Jiang Qingshang’s hand, Qu Ke’s eyes wavered: “Qingshang, do you know what you’re saying?”

“Because I know, Keke, that is why I am telling you.”

Jiang Qingshang looked directly into Qu Ke’s eyes.

“Keke, Master didn’t just take me in during the war and save my life; she also raised me. Only I can save Master. If I don’t go, how can I be at peace?”

Qu Ke: “The Sacred Lord wouldn’t want you to go!”

“That is Master, and I am me. Master cannot make decisions for me.”

Jiang Qingshang shook her head.

“Keke, you know that I have less than two years left for my training in the mortal world. In two years, for Lin Pei, I will inevitably make choices that wrong my Master.

If I can rescue Master this time, although it won’t repay her for raising me, at least when I face off against her in two years, I will be able to feel a bit more at peace and confident.”

“Then have you thought about what will happen to Lin Pei if you don’t come back? What ‘two years later’ will there be?”

“If I cannot return…” Jiang Qingshang smiled gently, “Keke, I’ll have to trouble you to look after Lin Pei.”

“No way! I don’t even like that husband of yours, how can I look after him for you? Isn’t being single great? I’m not going to take care of your—”

Suddenly, Qu Ke seemed to realize something.

Raising her head, she looked into the girl’s beautiful cat-tailed peach blossom eyes; the girl was smiling at her.

“Qinger! You!”

“That’s right.”

Jiang Qingshang gently stroked Qu Ke’s cheek.

“Keke, Lin Pei can only be mine. Whether I am alive or dead, his wife can only be me.

Whether I am alive or dead, whether in this life, the next life, or the life after that, my man will only ever be him.

The only woman he can touch is me, and the only man who can touch me is him!”

“So…” Jiang Qingshang’s soft fingertips lightly brushed over Qu Ke’s lips, “Keke, you are my best friend. I won’t mind whatever you want, but Lin Pei is the only exception.”

Qu Ke was feeling such immense pressure for the first time; a sword pressure as heavy as a mountain filled the entire room.

“Um… Qingshang, if…” Cold sweat broke out on Qu Ke’s forehead, “If I had just agreed to help you take care of Lin Pei, would you…”

“I don’t know either.”

‘No! You definitely know! You’d definitely bury me alive! Definitely!’ Qu Ke complained in her heart, feeling a little sad.

Whether it was meeting Qingshang or becoming close with her, clearly she had been there first.

Except for that period when they were separated by the war, she and Qingshang had grown up together since they were toddlers, yet that Lin Pei had only been around for two years.

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved Qu Ke felt. Her little mouth pouted, and tears even began to well up in her eyes.

“Qingshang.” Qu Ke sniffled.

“Hmm?”

“If Lin Pei and I both fell into the water, who would you save first?”

“Lin Pei can swim, and so can you.”

“What if both Lin Pei and I couldn’t?”

“Keke.”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Qingshang looked at her with a smile: “Don’t ask questions when you already know the answer.”

“Aaaah~~~ Fake! It’s all fake! What ‘best friend’ bond? It’s all made of paper! It flips just like that.” Qu Ke threw herself onto the soft couch, rolling around and throwing a tantrum.

Jiang Qingshang gave the rolling Qu Ke a sidelong glance:

“Alright, enough playing around. I’m leaving. I’ll tell my husband that I need to go to the Qian Kingdom with you to report to the Empress, and that it will take two or three months. For these two or three months, just head straight to the Imperial Capital of Qian Kingdom. Don’t let the secret out.”

“Aaaah, not only is the friendship fake, but for your Lin Pei, you’re even kicking me out of Luocheng. Qingshang, this big sister is getting really angry.”

“You were only born one day before me, yet you call yourself big sister.” Jiang Qingshang walked to the bedside with a smile and gave her butt a slap.

Hmm, not as well-endowed as herself.

The girl, who had been feeling a bit lost after being overshadowed by Jiang Nongqin’s figure, regained her confidence.

As expected, her figure wasn’t bad; it was just that Sister Nongqin was too Heaven-Defying.

“Even one day older is still older.” Qu Ke protected her butt, sniffled, and lowered her eyes again, “Qingshang, what if… if after three months, you still haven’t come back?”

“I will.”

Jiang Qingshang’s eyes curved like crescent moons, as if touched by a spring breeze, like ripples on a spring lake.

“Even if I perish, I will return even without Reincarnation. I promised my husband that we would be together in this life until our hair turns white.”