A year later!
The skies above the capital were covered by a massive dome. A column of golden light of ten thousand zhang soared straight into the sky from the direction of the imperial palace's main hall, continuously feeding spiritual energy into this golden-red dome.
The Qixian State's highest air defense alert—the Primordial Universal State-Protecting Grand Formation—had been activated.
The grand formation resembled an inverted, glittering golden cauldron, protecting the ordinary citizens of the capital within its bounds. Outside the formation, a stagnant shroud of gloom lingered. Tens of thousands of demons, monsters, and ghosts bared their fangs, enveloped in gusts of black wind and demonic aura, charging relentlessly and desperately against the golden cauldron, their earth-shaking roars echoing without end.
The sunlight was reduced to a weak, flickering cluster, far from enough to dispel the gloom that filled the heavens.
Everywhere on the streets of the capital, citizens were running for their lives. The ground was littered with scarred corpses: some turned a bluish-black from corpse poison; others had their vital essence sucked dry, leaving behind only shriveled husks; and still others had exploded from within, leaving a gruesome mess of flesh and blood. The bizarre and wretched ways of death were too numerous to count.
At the center of the palace plaza, three grand protectors—Master Ziwei, Hermit Xianyun, and Lord Doumu—served as the core of the array. Encircling the outer perimeter were three hundred and sixty-five cultivators at the Primordial Spirit level or above, standing in positions corresponding to the three hundred and sixty-five primary stars in the sky. Holding their breath and focusing their minds, they drew upon the spiritual energy of the five directions of heaven and earth, harnessed the majestic might of the four realms above and below, absorbed the refined splendor of the sun, moon, and stars, and fused the wondrous divine forces of earth, water, fire, and wind, slowly channeling spiritual energy into the array's core.
This formation was unfathomably profound and reeked of killing intent. It was the first time it had been activated since the founding of the Qixian State.
Prime Minister Turtle, having already shown the five signs of decay, could only lead a troupe of imperial guards atop the palace tower, waving flags and shouting at the top of their lungs!
"Protect the capital with our lives!"
"While the city stands, we live!"
"Shed our last drop of blood for His Majesty!"
Amidst chaotic shouts, countless massive, dark-brown crossbow bolts tore through the invisible membrane of the grand formation like a violent rainstorm, shooting straight through the fracturing gaps.
These crossbow bolts possessed terrifying might. Made of unknown materials, they actually pierced the barriers of the state-protecting grand formation without the slightest resistance!
The earth shook, sank, and melted. The infinitely vast space shuddered like an angry sea whipped by a gale.
Dai Qianfan's eyes were bloodshot, her temples throbbing. With her hands clasped behind her back, she paced back and forth in the center of the main hall like a donkey turning a millstone.
A sword cultivator, covered in blood, crawled in stumble after stumble, knelt, and kowtowed. "Reporting to Your Majesty, word from the Underworld is that dynasty changes have their own karma. Because of this battle, the Great Emperor of Fengdu has reaped countless wandering souls. The Ten Kings of Hell and all the ghost marshals are overwhelmed and unable to lend a hand!"
Dai Qianfan's breath caught, and she collapsed onto the dragon throne.
Another heavy-armored sword cultivator limped inside, kowtowed, and reported, "Your Majesty, the cracks in the state-protecting grand formation being ripped open by the enemy are multiplying. The three grand protectors appear exhausted and can no longer hold out much longer. Prime Minister Turtle sent me to urge Your Majesty to leave first and take refuge!"
Bad news rolled in like continuous claps of sudden thunder. Dai Qianfan felt as though her very vitality had been sucked out in an instant, leaving her slumped upon the dragon throne. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair disheveled, and waves of terror swept through her heart time and again.
Could it be that she was destined to become a sinner through the ages?
To become a ruler of a fallen state—how could she face her ancestors even in death?
A hurricane swept past in a swirling vortex, forming a massive funnel above the palace. The wind grew increasingly ferocious the further outward it spread. The trees on the back mountain of the palace swayed wildly, and a voice like a great bronze bell rang out across the skies above the palace: "Dai Qianfan, isn't it time to come out and fight me to the death?"
The Underworld King Hubalake floated mid-air, completely enveloped in a ball of pitch-black, dense fog, his ferocious visage faintly discernible.
The true essence that Dai Qianfan had previously kept firmly suppressed within her inner dantian was unleashed in a single instant. The pent-up emotions of fear, anger, and shock from the past few days rushed out like a mighty, overflowing river. An ice-cold chill that pierced to the bone rose from the ground, causing the teeth of the two nearby sword cultivators to chatter incessantly.
She suddenly leaped to her feet, reached out to grab her precious sword, rushed out of the main hall, and looked up at the sky. "You've finally come," she said coldly. "Today, either you die, or I do!"
With a single sword strike, she cleaved an opening in the grand formation. Tipping her toes, her sword followed her movement, and a dozen Primordial Spirit swords escorted her as she chased after Hubalake like lightning. Her dazzling purple dragon robe fluttered violently in the wind, while behind her came the heart-wrenching cries of Prime Minister Turtle and the others: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, do not be rash!"
Like a frenzied lion, Dai Qianfan chased Hubalake all the way to the summit of Daxian Mountain behind the imperial palace.
In former days, Daxian Mountain possessed mesmerizing scenery and was a wonderful place for citizens to admire flowers and go on spring outings.
Today, the mountain retained faint traces of geomantic energy, its tree shadows swaying, but there was no light. The world seemed as though its lamps had been extinguished. Vast expanses of forest stood motionless, and the rivers that should have surged appeared frozen. There were no animals, only demonic qi lingering and weaving through the surroundings from time to time.
Hubalake abruptly turned around, revealing a sinister smile. "Dai Qianfan, the Qixian State's fate is sealed. If you are willing to surrender obediently, out of pity for your beauty, this seat will grant you a place in my harem. If you please me well enough, who knows, perhaps I might even make you my empress in the future. What do you say?"
Dai Qianfan grabbed him by the collar, drove her knee hard into his waist and abdomen, and gritted her teeth. "Pah! Wishful thinking! If it weren't for the fact that you wear a face identical to his, the Nether Kingdom would have been crushed to dust by me the moment it was founded. Tell me, what relation do you bear to him? Where is he now?"
Hubalake was not angry at all. Instead, he slowly slid the back of his hand across Dai Qianfan's hair and let out a slight sigh. "Who? Shi Hensheng? That good-for-nothing has nothing to do with me. If you insist on dragging a connection into this, you could say we are competitors—competing for the heavens, competing for the earth, competing for a woman. In the end, winner takes all, loser is vanquished, and he was suppressed by me!"
His tone of voice was completely casual, as if he were casually making small talk with an acquaintance.
With a sharp *crack*, Dai Qianfan delivered a resounding slap across his face, leaped back several zhang, flicked her hair, and said, "Competitor? Heh, you aren't even worthy of carrying his shoes, so how could you be his competitor? Tell me, what venomous method did you use, and where have you imprisoned him?"
Though she had kicked and struck him, Hubalake showed no anger. Instead, he smilingly stepped forward a few paces. "Want to know? Unless you submit to me. Once you submit to me—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a flash of gray crossed his eyes. *Thwack, thwack, thwack*—more than a dozen heavy, vicious, resounding slaps struck his face like lightning, and his cheeks instantly swelled high.
With lightning speed, Dai Qianfan closed in on Hubalake, delivered a flurry of lightning-fast slaps, and retreated with equal swiftness back to her original spot. Her majestic aura, heavy as Mount Tai, stood inviolable, erecting her formidable and eerie figure resolutely in the cold wind.
Hubalake was finally provoked to anger. Tearing away half of his pretension of refined grace, his gloomy pupils shot out two bloodthirsty beams of cold light as he roared, "You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeiture! Since you are so unappreciative, today I will send you to meet your ancestors!"