“Ah, let me take a nap first, Princess Jade Fan. When it’s my turn, please give me a shout,” he said.
With a yawn, Qiao San curled up in the grand armchair and began snoring loudly. Everyone watched in disbelief, filled with frustration and anger, yet utterly helpless.
At the royal pavilion, Beigong Zhen, who had been deep in thought with a furrowed brow, suddenly shivered. Glancing between her majesty and Qiao San, she finally gritted her teeth and quietly left as originally planned.
With her daughter gone, the empress let out a sigh of relief. The royal beauty only now realized that her back was soaked in cold sweat. The embarrassment and fury made her clench her teeth even harder, her fists tightly clenched as she cursed that rascal Qiao San from the bottom of her heart.
About half a teacup’s time later, the Immortal Gathering officially commenced. Various sects’ disciples began their duels. Yet, incredibly, the bold Qiao San remained fast asleep.
Meanwhile, outside the imperial city, a figure suddenly appeared in the sky like lightning. The wind halted as the figure stilled, revealing Qiao San’s handsome and masculine face.
Qiao San?! Another Qiao San?!
It turned out he had learned the thirty-six celestial transformations from the Ghost Sutra. His current, alert-eyed self was the real one, while the one snoring away like a lifeless pig was merely an illusion.
Deceiving heaven and crossing the sea, feigning an attack east while advancing west—truly a clever trick!
Shortly thereafter, Beigong Zhen’s tall, graceful figure finally appeared. Overjoyed, Qiao San didn’t notice the odd glint in his lover’s eyes. He grabbed her delicate hand and joyfully exclaimed, “Zhen’er, we’re free!”
Qiao San’s happiness was genuine, and his joy infected her. Finally, she broke into a rare smile, leaning into his arms and softly murmuring, “Yes, we’re free! Qiao Lang, let’s go, and never come back here again!”
With a burst of energy slicing through the air, clouds swirling, Qiao San and Beigong Zhen soared into the sky. A wisp of ghostly cloud gently caught them as their momentum waned, and in a flash, they sped far away.
No sooner had the eloping couple vanished than the Princess of Ten Thousand Demons quietly smiled at the square below. Her eyes flicked toward the direction Qiao San had disappeared, and her lips, curving confidently, whispered softly.
“Hee, hee… Ten Yang Body, you can’t escape me!”
“Achoo!” A loud sneeze echoed across the floating clouds. The rogue Qiao San suddenly felt a chill for no apparent reason. Shrinking slightly, he turned his head to glance back at the distant Zunlong City.
“Qiao Lang, don’t you dare go back!” Although puzzled by Qiao San’s expression, Beigong Zhen stubbornly declared, “No matter what, even if the imperial city were paved with gold, you mustn’t return.”
“Zhen’er, I didn’t say I wanted to go back. I was just taking a random look behind me.”
This time, Qiao San wasn’t lying. Feeling wronged, he had intended to take advantage of the moment with his wife when suddenly, a powerful whooshing sound came from ahead of them, rapidly approaching.
“Expert!” Qiao San instinctively narrowed his eyes, but his natural alertness instantly dissipated. Recognizing the figure, his face lit up with joy. “Twelve! It’s Twelve! Ha, ha… What a coincidence!”
The three exclamations of “Twelve” clearly revealed Qiao San’s excitement. Beigong Zhen, however, wore no smile. The new lover’s jealousy toward the old one was evident, and the usually straightforward girl muttered acidly, “Hmph! What good news can come from a fox spirit? Look at your silly face!”
To enjoy the blessings of multiple lovers, one must endure the scoldings of women. Though Qiao San had only just begun to embrace both, he instinctively understood this. In response to Beigong Zhen’s jealousy, he smiled gently, first giving her a warm hug before flying toward the young fox girl.
A man’s wisdom indeed worked. After the comforting embrace, Beigong Zhen’s hostility toward the fox girl subtly lessened. Still, she lingered in place, unwilling to step forward and greet the fox girl.
Hmph! I won’t be the first to bow to her. Otherwise, won’t the fox spirit dominate me forever?
Though Beigong Zhen was a heroine among women, she was still a woman at heart. At this moment of meeting the “old flame,” her feminine pettiness was particularly hard to suppress.
From afar, Beigong Zhen watched the two embrace tightly. As she was still calculating in her mind, suddenly, Qiao San let out a deafening roar!
“Yaa—”
The clouds scattered in all directions, and an invisible, roaring gale swept through. In an instant, the sky darkened, and the world changed.
The roar still reverberated through the void when a red glow—filled with killing intent, brutality, and madness—exploded midair. Where the light passed, space itself twisted and blurred.
Beigong Zhen’s vision turned red, and she immediately cried out as she rushed toward Qiao San, “Qiao Lang—”
In a swift red streak, she missed entirely. In the blink of an eye, Qiao San and Twelve vanished, leaving only the tiger demon and bear spirit trembling before Beigong Zhen.
Back at the imperial plaza, the Immortal Gathering was in full swing, the martial contests growing increasingly intense.
Simple talismans, dazzling divine weapons, mystical treasures, and fierce battles—though the contestants were young disciples from various sects, the common folk watched in awe and cheered wildly.
“Chenyuan Heir, victory!” Chichi sent his first opponent tumbling down with a yellow talisman.
“Chenyuan Heir, victory!” Chichi dodged and defeated another opponent with a martial arts illusion.
…
When the Chenyuan Heir unsheathed the Kunlun Sword, none could withstand even three moves. The renowned young swordsman proudly raised his head, his eyes burning with anticipation as he gazed at the two senior immortals, eager for his moment of glory.
The noble and dignified Dragon Matriarch’s phoenix eyes remained half-closed, showing no interest in the martial contests on stage. Only when the Kunlun Sword appeared did her eyelids lift slightly, and she cast a sidelong glance at the two Chenyuan Mountain immortals.
Seeing this, the Wind and Rain Sages hurriedly bowed and reported, “Your Majesty, the sect leader bestowed this immortal sword upon the heir merely to uphold justice. Chenyuan Mountain has no intention of oppressing fellow cultivators with this divine weapon.”
“Hmm, exterminating demons does require a sharp blade. Although this sword’s spirit has perished and it’s no longer a supreme celestial artifact, it’s still one of the rare divine swords in the mortal realm. As long as your sect avoids excessive slaughter that might disrupt heavenly harmony, all is well.”
The ruler of the Four Seas, being much wiser than the heavenly immortals, merely smiled indifferently. Her dignified phoenix eyes slowly closed again, yet a glint of light continued to shoot forth, locked in a distant standoff with Princess Jade Fan.
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