"What's wrong with a single blow? Chen Qiye, you don't actually think you can survive a fatal strike from a giant of the Yuhua Dynasty, do you?"
"The giants of the Yuhua Dynasty are Peak Emperors with at least a thousand years of cultivation under their belts. Among the younger generation, you are indeed a rare talent, but before an Emperor, you are still as insignificant as dust! A millennium-old giant can kill you as easily as crushing an ant!"
Law Enforcement Elder Zhou Qiankun preempted the other elder and answered Chen Qiye.
He stared at Chen Qiye, as if hoping to see remorse and panic on his face. The majesty of the Law Enforcement Elder seemed to have returned to him!
For a genius who rebelled against the orthodox path, no matter how dazzling, he, Zhou Qiankun, wanted to suppress and control him!
"That's right, Qiye."
"The Yuhua Decree speaks of a single blow, but in reality, it is a fatal strike. It is phrased that way only to leave some room for maneuver in special circumstances. But now, looking at the Yuhua Dynasty's attitude toward you..."
The Qingxuan Sect elder trailed off and let out a slight sigh.
Then, he continued: "The Sect Master took that Yuhua Decree and went straight to the back mountain. It looks like he went to consult the ancestors and Supreme Elders of our Qingxuan Sect. Don't panic; let's see if the Sect Master and the ancestors can come up with a solution."
"System, System? What level of existence can I fight to a standstill using the 50-50 Battle Card I drew and the one awarded to me? Can it handle an Emperor?"
The moment the elder spoke again, Chen Qiye communicated with the system in his sea of consciousness.
He vaguely remembered the function of these two cards.
"What is an Emperor? The 50-50 Heavenly Dao fight means fighting the Heavenly Dao itself. For three minutes, you can still defy the heavens on equal terms! When fighting mortals, even if the Great Emperor Yuhua descended in person, you would still match him evenly for three minutes! As for Emperors, heh, they are hardly even worthy!"
The system's voice was as cold as ever, but these chilling words made Chen Qiye's eyes suddenly light up!
Chen Qiye's extremely tense heart also gave a violent thud!
His system was this overwhelmingly arrogant?!
"Qiye, you don't need to worry too much!"
"The envoy of the Yuhua Dynasty left right after delivering the decree. I just went to the back mountain and had a brief exchange with several ancestors. My Qingxuan Sect will absolutely not stand by and watch you march to your death!"
"For the next two days, stay in the sect and cultivate. Elder Thirteen and I will personally make a trip to the Tianqi Dynasty. As long as we can persuade the Tianqi Dynasty to intervene, the people from the Yuhua Dynasty won't dare to deal a fatal blow! A Yuhua Decree doesn't necessarily mean certain death for everyone it targets."
In the Immortal Lord Hall, the surrounding air rippled.
Sect Master Xu Qingyun had abruptly reappeared inside the hall.
A terrifying aura erupted from him at that moment, completely unrestrained!
It had taken Chen Qiye a full three days to awaken his Heavenly Dao Double Pupils, and the Thirteenth Ancestor of the Qingxuan Sect along with several Supreme Elders had already returned to the back mountain. Xu Qingyun had just been there to discuss how to protect Chen Qiye with the ancestors.
"Um, Master, if I really take that fatal blow from the millennium-old giant of the Yuhua Dynasty, will this matter be considered settled?"
"The Yuhua Dynasty won't go back on their word later, will they?"
Seeing Xu Qingyun's aura erupt and feeling the tension in his body, Chen Qiye was also somewhat touched.
Although his master was not a giant of the Heavenly Dao, Chen Qiye had seen how he had shielded and protected him over the years. His master truly looked upon him as family.
"That won't happen."
"However, Qiye, you truly cannot block a fatal strike from a giant of the Yuhua Dynasty right now. Furthermore, that single blow is divided into three stances, and almost everyone dies within the very first stance..."
"Forget it, Qiye, cultivate well in the sect these next two days. I am heading to the Tianqi Dynasty right now. Rest assured, two days from now, I will not let you die under the Yuhua Decree!"
A ruthless glint flashed in the eyes of Sect Master Xu Qingyun!
He seemed to have already made a decision. As his voice fell, his hands rapidly formed a seal, and in the next instant, his figure vanished from the Immortal Lord Hall once again.
"Ah, Master..."
Chen Qiye wanted to stop Xu Qingyun, but he was ultimately a step too slow!
Void-Breaking Technique!
Xu Qingyun's figure should have already appeared a hundred miles away by now.
The arrival of the Yuhua Dynasty had shattered the tranquility that the Qingxuan Sect had enjoyed for ten thousand years.
After inquiring carefully about the Yuhua Decree and exchanging a few words with the elders, Chen Qiye returned first to Tongtian Peak.
Along the way back to Tongtian Peak, Chen Qiye distinctly felt that many gazes around him held a strange look.
Some remained fanatical and filled with awe, but others already carried a hint of pity in their eyes.
"The 50-50 Heavenly Dao fight can match even the Great Emperor Yuhua evenly for three minutes?"
"Why didn't Master let me finish what I was saying? Still, this is fine. Master going to the Tianqi Dynasty for reinforcements adds another layer of safety. As for the favor Master owes, once I rise to prominence, I can repay it on his behalf."
Chen Qiye had always been cautious; in times like this, one could never have too many life-saving cards!
As long as he survived, and as long as he had the system, he could even help his master ascend to the realm of a millennium-old giant!
"Two days from now, I return to my hometown in Weicheng. I still have two days, so I can perhaps buy myself some more insurance."
"The Heavenly Dao Value brought by my fiancée's gratitude has already reached two hundred, which means I can draw twenty times! I'll do all the draws right now to see what I get and if there are any better life-saving items."
"Also, I should immediately write another letter to my fiancée, send her a few more things, and find a way to let my little wife accidentally see the footage that those fellow disciples recorded with the Memory Crystal in the Immortal Lord Hall today..."
In the dead of night, Chen Qiye took a deep breath and began to quickly sort through the thoughts in his mind. He needed to prepare more safety nets to ensure his survival.
The cultivation world was deep and treacherous, and Chen Qiye had no desire to take real risks unless he had a hundred and twenty percent certainty.
"E-Eldest Senior Brother, can I come in?"
"Eldest Senior Brother, you gave away your life and your future just for that woman in Wutan City... H-how can you be so utterly devoted and righteous?"
Suddenly!
Just as Chen Qiye was meticulously plotting his response strategy for two days hence, the nervous voice of a young girl came from outside the door.
Immediately afterward, under the moonlight outside, Chen Qiye saw a young girl dressed in a white long skirt, her cheeks flushed with a delicate blush, walking gracefully toward his room.
"Junior Sister, why are you here?"
Looking at the peerless beauty under the moonlight, Chen Qiye was stunned for a moment.
Having spent three years in secluded cultivation, the little girl who used to tag along behind him had suddenly grown up, and Chen Qiye hadn't quite adapted to it yet.
"Eldest Senior Brother, y-you don't have any children yet, do you? Your trip to Weicheng this time is fraught with danger... Can I come in and chat with you?"
Under the moonlight, the iceberg goddess of the Qingxuan Sect and illegitimate daughter of the Sect Master, Xu Bingyun, blushed even deeper.
The rise and fall of her chest also trembled gently under the moonlight as nervousness gripped her.
Three days ago, outside the Immortal Lord Hall, Xu Bingyun might have thought she was destined to silently adore her Eldest Senior Brother for the rest of her life—unless she could obtain a heaven-defying fortune in the forbidden zone her mother spoke of and catch up to his pace.
Yet now, faced with a life-or-death crisis, her heart was suddenly in turmoil, and driven by an inexplicable impulse under the cover of night, she had climbed Tongtian Peak.
"Did Master send you? It's cold outside, hurry up and come in."
Chen Qiye scratched his head, looking at his Junior Sister's extremely thin and light attire.
The mountain wind at night was somewhat chilly, and not fully understanding what was happening, Chen Qiye instinctively pushed the door open a bit wider and invited her inside.
"Lewd scoundrel, courting death!"
Boom!
However, just as Chen Qiye spoke, a shocking aura that instantly locked down a thousand miles of void erupted atop Tongtian Peak, tearing through space and crashing directly toward him.
An ancient and mysterious bronze tripod suddenly materialized, enveloping the entire Tongtian Peak. In a fraction of a second, that bronze tripod seemed to isolate the entire peak from the rest of the Qingxuan Sect!
"Saint-level plot? An Imperial Weapon?"
Chen Qiye's action of pushing the door stopped dead, his face changing drastically.
Who was this? A supreme giant of Saint rank—how could one suddenly appear in the Qingxuan Sect? Was this person here to kill him? Impossible; even if they wanted him dead, it shouldn't warrant the direct appearance of a Saint-level giant and an Imperial Weapon!
Especially an Imperial Weapon—those were heaven-defying treasures possessed only by dynasties and holy lands. Even an ancient powerhouse with ten thousand years of heritage like the Qingxuan Sect only possessed a half-step Imperial Weapon to suppress the sect's fortune.
What on earth was going on?
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Chen Qiye's mind, but at this life-or-death moment, he had no time to dwell on them!
"Seven Stars Tongtian Array, activate!"
"Gate of Void, open!"
"Heavenly Dao Tripod, activate!"
"50-50 Heavenly Dao Fight! Activate card!"
In a split second between life and death, pulling out all his trump cards, Chen Qiye erupted with frantic energy.
Having transmigrated into this world for nineteen years, Chen Qiye had always kept a low profile and cultivated cautiously; he certainly had more than one life-saving trump card.
Yet, even as Chen Qiye fought back with everything he had, defying the heavens, the giant before him surpassed him by a full five terrifying major realms.
The Seven Stars Tongtian Array, capable of killing opponents across realms, ground to a halt before the pressure of the Imperial Weapon.
The Gate of Void, capable of escaping from experts two realms higher, shattered instantly under the Saint's pressure.
The Heavenly Dao Tripod, capable of withstanding a fatal strike from a powerhouse three realms higher, trembled as it plummeted toward the ground before this Saint-level giant with ten thousand years of cultivation!
High above the moonlight, between heaven and earth, that Saint-level giant pointed a single finger downward!
"Clang!"
Yet, just as the world-destroying finger of the Saint-level giant was about to touch Chen Qiye, he hastily formed a seal in his panic.
As the seal took shape, a barrier appeared before Chen Qiye. Looking even more fragile, it too threw itself against the Saint-level, millennium-old giant in a hurried defense.
"Rumble!"