“Oh, I was just thinking, Your Holiness, with such trust you’ve placed in me, what if I mess this up…”
Shui Miao improvised quickly, reacting swiftly.
Upon hearing this, Holy Mother Shuitianyi immediately relaxed. “I thought you were thinking something foolish. So it’s about this! To be honest, I’ve even prepared a third more materials than needed. Just go ahead and forge with confidence. As long as you do your best, how could I possibly blame you?”
“In that case, I feel reassured,” Shui Miao also let out a sigh of relief.
Holy Mother Shuitianyi nodded and then turned to Honglian, “Little sister, accompany Brother Qingqing to my Shuitiangong Palace. Whatever Qingqing needs, do your best to provide it.”
“Yes… yes!”
Honglian found the command extremely awkward to hear, but still agreed.
Shui Miao also felt a bit embarrassed, his mind involuntarily wandering…
“Hmph!”
Just as Honglian and Shui Miao left, Xiao Xiao, the handmaiden serving Holy Mother Shuitianyi, hurried back. Her face was pale with panic, and her clothes were stained heavily with blood. “My Lady, something terrible has happened in the mortal realm…”
“What!?”
Upon hearing this, Holy Mother Shuitianyi was immediately shocked.
Shui Miao and Honglian also stopped in their tracks.
Xiao Xiao anxiously continued, “It’s the Kunpeng Immortal Emperor. He has gone to the mortal realm intending harm upon Shui Miao’s family. I and others from Jiutian Xu Men tried desperately to stop him but were severely injured. I had no choice but to rush back for help. My Lady, if you don’t go rescue them soon, it might be too late!”
“Kunpeng Immortal Emperor! How dare you threaten my loved ones! I’ll fight you to the death!”
Upon hearing this, Shui Miao immediately became frantic, quickly pulling out the Sky-Stepping Talisman given to him by Jueying.
In the blink of an eye, the talisman was activated, and Shui Miao vanished.
Seeing Shui Miao leave, Holy Mother Shuitianyi, bound by celestial laws preventing her from entering the mortal realm, screamed frantically at Honglian, “Honglian, why are you still standing there like a fool! You are responsible for Qingqing’s life. If he dies, you won’t live either! What are you waiting for—go after him now!”
Holy Mother Shuitianyi threw five Sky-Stepping Talismans into Honglian’s hands.
My life is worth so little in her eyes, Honglian thought, shaken. In an instant, she understood the true attitude Holy Mother held toward her. But under the current circumstances, she had no time to dwell—she quickly activated the talismans and rushed directly to the mortal realm.
As soon as Honglian left, Xiao Xiao suddenly threw her arms around Holy Mother Shuitianyi.
Taken aback, Holy Mother Shuitianyi asked in confusion, “Xiao Xiao, what are you doing?”
“Boom!”
Suddenly, Xiao Xiao self-detonated. The entire imperial capital exploded instantly. Roaring shockwaves and thick, rolling smoke filled the sky. The explosion’s power was at least equivalent to the self-destruction of a supreme artifact. However, immediately afterward, heavy rain began to fall over the capital, extinguishing the smoke and leaving behind only a scene of utter devastation.
Holy Mother Shuitianyi retracted her rain-summoning artifact and hovered in the air. Her clothes had all vanished, leaving only a turtle-shell-shaped armor—a holy artifact for protection. The massive explosion had damaged a third of the formation within the armor, significantly reducing its defensive power.
“What just happened?”
Realizing this, Holy Mother Shuitianyi mentally summoned a brand new robe onto her body.
With a wave of her hand, she summoned a severed arm from the ruins—the remains of Xiao Xiao moments ago. Examining the limb, Holy Mother Shuitianyi uttered two words: “Puppet!”
Xiao Xiao was not the real Xiao Xiao, but a puppet.
Her mind raced. Suddenly, she was struck with realization: “Could it be that someone is trying to steal my blacksmith away?”
“Boom!”
Suddenly, another explosion shook the heavens, echoing through the skies.
This time, it came from the direction of Shuitiangong…
“No! Someone is trying to steal my materials!”
Realizing this, Holy Mother Shuitianyi snapped back to her senses and immediately flew toward the explosion site.
But the detonations didn’t stop—again and again, one after another!
Only after six consecutive explosions did Holy Mother finally manage to unleash her powers to dispel the smoke. By then, however, Shuitiangong had been completely destroyed, and all the countless materials for forging were gone.
“Who did this? Who could it be!?”
Holy Mother Shuitianyi screamed furiously, never imagining that someone would dare to target her.
“Despicable coward hiding in the shadows—I will tear you apart piece by piece when I find you…”
Holy Mother Shuitianyi never let an offense go unpunished. She was an extremely ruthless character. Hidden on her was another holy artifact—a mirror called the “Dongtian Mirror.” She immediately summoned it, activated the formation, and used the mirror to reverse the flow of time and trace the clues. Gradually, the mirror revealed the silhouette of a figure dressed in black stealth attire. Only the figure’s eyes were visible, and his tall, upright figure moved with extraordinary agility. The mirror locked onto his aura, operating at full capacity to track his movements.
“This place… it looks like the First Heaven!”
Seeing the scenery in the mirror, Holy Mother Shuitianyi was suddenly alarmed. The First Heaven was where all the supreme experts resided.
Suddenly, the figure used an extremely advanced stealth technique. White mist surrounded his body, and then he activated a Sky-Stepping Talisman, continuously teleporting to obscure his trail and deliberately hiding his aura.
This was definitely someone familiar to Holy Mother Shuitianyi; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to conceal himself.
Without the Dongtian Mirror, there would have been no way to track him.
Suddenly, the black-cloaked figure in the mirror seemed to sense the tracking attempt. He abruptly stopped, turned around, and those eyes hidden in the mist—sharp as an eagle’s, exuding a chilling, murderous aura—stared directly at Holy Mother Shuitianyi!
Yes, those eyes seemed capable of seeing through the mirror, even of killing through it.
“Crash!”
The Dongtian Mirror suddenly shattered—but not from an explosion, simply breaking apart.
“Those eyes…”
“Could it be him? Was it really him!?”
Holy Mother Shuitianyi was suddenly seized by fear. At the same time, she shook her head, as if unwilling to believe that the one who had stolen her materials could actually be him.
“Ahh!”
Suddenly, Holy Mother let out a scream of pain.
Her fingers dug forcefully into her scalp, her face contorted in agony, her eyes rolling upward. It felt as if two needles had been driven into her brain—one burning hot, the other freezing cold—and were now twisting violently inside her head.
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