Wang Ba and Zhou Tong had witnessed the scene just now. Aside from panic, there was no other emotion in their eyes.
That white-haired, white-robed woman with horns had made over ten thousand people vanish with nothing more than a snap of her fingers. The Misty Cloud Sect was completely empty.
"What exactly is this woman's background?" Wang Ba asked, still shaken, as he wiped his forehead.
Zhou Tong said, "Hall Master, I think we should report this to our superiors immediately. The changes in the Misty Cloud Sect have far exceeded our expectations. This is completely beyond our ability to control."
Wang Ba and Zhou Tong had also heard every word of Kaguya-hime and Ye Qianqian's boasting.
The ancestor of the Misty Cloud Sect and her senior sister had once possessed realms above the Great Emperor Realm. It was simply unbelievable.
"That's right. Elder Zhou, you're right." Wang Ba finally recovered from his terror and said, "I'll return and send a message to headquarters right now."
He was genuinely afraid. The battle between the Misty Cloud Sect and the Heavenly Snake Mansion today had been instigated by him from behind the scenes. Given the Misty Cloud Sect's abilities, they would discover who was responsible sooner or later.
If that woman named Kaguya attacked them, his strength as a Two-Star Dou Venerate would be utterly insufficient. Therefore, he had to report this matter and request reinforcements from above.
"Hall Master..." Zhou Tong stared at the countless souls drifting over Misty Cloud Mountain. His eyes lit up as though he had been injected with stimulants, and he impulsively licked his cracked lips.
These souls were of excellent quality. If they collected them all, they might even have a chance to compete for first place among the various branch halls in this year's collection rankings.
How could Wang Ba fail to see what Zhou Tong was thinking? He shouted harshly, "Forget it! The two of us can barely keep our lives, and you still have the mood to collect souls?"
With that, Wang Ba flew back in the direction of the Hall of Souls. Zhou Tong sighed and flew away reluctantly.
The instant the two of them left, the space above Misty Cloud Mountain twisted violently. Kaguya-hime brought everyone back from the ice plain.
Everyone was filled with emotion. Was this the unique ability of those above the Dou Emperor Realm?
"Why did you attack my Misty Cloud Sect?" Ye Qianqian sat in the main hall and asked She Qingqing and the others.
Although she knew that the Hall of Souls had orchestrated this, some matters still needed to be clarified.
"This..." The others hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
"Speak freely. I won't take offense."
She Qingqing let out a sigh of relief and said, "It was because an outer disciple of my Heavenly Snake Mansion was killed, and the culprit left traces of the Misty Cloud Sect behind."
She explained the cause and entire sequence of events in detail. Xie Biyan, Yan Luotian, and the others were left dumbfounded.
This was clearly a frame-up. If the ancestor's senior sister had not appeared today, the Misty Cloud Sect would probably have ceased to exist.
"First destroy the Heavenly Snake Mansion, then destroy the Lion Nether Sect. Only my Misty Cloud Sect shall rule the northwest." Ye Qianqian repeated the words several times. Her expression changed, and she burst out laughing.
The Hall of Souls was truly talented.
Yun Shan said, "Senior She Qingqing, my Misty Cloud Sect has never sent anyone to slaughter your disciples at the Heavenly Snake Mansion. I guarantee this as the sect master—there must be some misunderstanding."
Xie Biyan also said, "If my Misty Cloud Sect truly wished to dominate the northwest, we wouldn't rashly do something so foolish and sacrifice the lives of two Dou Zong experts in the process.
"Some major power must have been unable to tolerate the rise of the Misty Cloud Sect. That's why they plotted this scheme behind the scenes."
After hearing Xie Biyan's words, She Qingqing and the others looked dejected. They realized they had been deceived. At this point, regret was useless, and all they could do was sigh repeatedly.
"You don't need to blame yourselves so much. If you join my Misty Cloud Sect, I certainly won't treat you poorly."
After giving them a slap and then a sweet date, Ye Qianqian tempted She Qingqing, saying, "I see that you're already over a hundred years old, yet your cultivation remains stuck at the Five-Star Dou Venerate level. Don't you want to break through again?"
"Senior, are you saying..." A gleam of light appeared in She Qingqing's aged eyes.
Ye Qianqian nodded in response to her thoughts and said, "With your aptitude, no matter how you cultivate for the rest of your life, you'll probably only reach around the Seven-Star Dou Venerate level at most. But you're fortunate to have encountered me. Helping you advance to the Half-Saint Realm won't be difficult."
The empty promise left She Qingqing gasping. The Half-Saint Realm was the pinnacle of power on the Dou Qi Continent. This ancestor of the Misty Cloud Sect could actually raise her to that level?
Seeing that She Qingqing did not believe her, Ye Qianqian said to Xiao Yi Xian, "I remember that we encountered the Eternal Evergreen Tree at the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate last time. You snatched off a piece of its bark, didn't you?"
Xiao Yi Xian looked embarrassed and hurriedly took that rotten piece of bark out of her Storage Ring.
She had once eaten a little of the bark and recited Ye Qianqian's lousy incantation countless times, but it had never had any effect.
Thus, Xiao Yi Xian had never gone to find Ye Qianqian. She had always suspected that Ye Qianqian was a swindler, until she heard that the four kingdoms had submitted under Ye Qianqian's divine might. Only then had she come with the attitude of giving it a try.
Ye Qianqian said, "Because you didn't consume this bark correctly, its effects on you are now useless. I'll awaken its medicinal efficacy again right now."
Xie Biyan's eyes bulged wide as he watched without blinking. He had secretly eaten some of this bark as well and recited the incantation, but it had never worked. Today, he intended to see exactly which step he had gotten wrong.
Ye Qianqian looked like a little divine swindler. She formed hand seals repeatedly and shouted:
"One Lü, two Zhao, three Wu Song; four Guan, five Ma, six Lin Chong; Dongxie, Xidu, Wei Xiaobao; Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar, Linghu Chong. None can defeat Sun Wukong, who ultimately lost to Cang Shuikong. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—let the Dedication Fortune begin! Urgent as the command!"
Yun Shan "..."
Xiao Yi Xian "..."
Xie Biyan "..."
Why was this incantation different from the one before?
How could Ye Qianqian remember the nonsense she had spouted back then? She casually made up another string of internet slang. When she saw the three of them looking at her suspiciously, she coughed and changed the subject.
"The essence within this bark has already been activated by me. She Qingqing, consume it quickly!"
She Qingqing's face darkened. You want me to eat tree bark? Are you messing with me?
"Senior, are you mistaken? No matter how I look at it, this is just an ordinary... piece of tree bark!" She Qingqing's aged face stiffened.
She did not want to gnaw on tree bark, completely overlooking the burning gazes of Yun Shan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Xie Biyan. They looked as though they wanted to bite into that rotten bark immediately.
"Oh? Then forget it if you don't want to eat it." Ye Qianqian casually tossed it aside, and it landed in Yun Shan's arms.
"Thank you, Ancestor!" The old man Yun Shan wept tears of joy. His entire body trembled with excitement as he picked it up and began gnawing without a word, eating with indescribable relish.
She Qingqing's aged face twitched repeatedly. Was it really that delicious?
"System, raise Yun Shan's cultivation to the One-Star Dou Venerate level."
"Ding."
Congratulations, Host. You have successfully consumed 50,000,000 Shock Points.
In an instant, the Dou Qi within old man Yun Shan surged explosively. Starting from the Three-Star Dou Zong level, he broke through layer after layer of bottlenecks. Under everyone's stunned gazes, his cultivation soared to the One-Star Dou Venerate level.
Endless waves of energy erupted from old man Yun Shan's body, displaying the radiance of a Dou Venerate expert.
"Ding."
Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 10,000 Shock Points from She Qingqing.
Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 30,000 Shock Points from She Xiuyue.
Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 20,000 Shock Points from Xiao Yi Xian.
Congratulations, Host. You have obtained...
This change left She Qingqing utterly dumbfounded. It completely overturned her understanding of the world.
"Ah!" Xie Biyan looked like an envious, jealous old child as he pounded his chest and stamped his feet. He regretted that he had casually eaten the bark back then. If only he had brought it to Ye Qianqian to activate its medicinal effects!
Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face was also filled with resentment. She should never have been so careless when consuming such a miraculous medicinal ingredient!
"Ahahaha... This old man has advanced to the Dou Venerate Realm! I'm a Dou Venerate expert now! Brother Xie, aren't you happy for me? Look, this is the spatial power unique to Dou Venerates. Isn't it fun?"
Old man Yun Shan laughed wildly and shamelessly showed off his Dou Venerate strength in front of Xie Biyan. He angered Xie Biyan until his face turned the color of pig liver.
Ye Qianqian deliberately wanted to strike She Qingqing. She said, "With Yun Shan's aptitude, eating this piece of bark could only allow him to advance to the level of a trashy Dou Venerate. But if you had eaten it just now, thanks to your accumulated foundation, you could have advanced directly to the Nine-Star Dou Venerate level."
She Qingqing's heart suddenly ached. She cursed her own foolishness inwardly. She should never have doubted it. This had been a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, yet it had slipped away right beside her.
"Don't be discouraged. As long as you wholeheartedly work for the Misty Cloud Sect, you'll all have opportunities to advance in the future."
After deceiving them thoroughly, Ye Qianqian earned quite a few Shock Points. She now felt that it was time to settle accounts with the Hall of Souls.
She, Ye Qianqian, was not someone to be trifled with. She did not take a mere small branch hall in the northwest seriously. Taking Na Lan Yan Ran and Mo Youyou with her, she walked out of Misty Cloud Mountain.
"Hm? Qing Lin!"
Just then, Ye Qianqian suddenly noticed a cute little girl among the Heavenly Snake Mansion's forces. The girl was at about the same level as Na Lan Yan Ran, both possessing the strength of a Da Dou Shi, and her eyes were extraordinarily unusual.
"You, come here." Ye Qianqian beckoned to Qing Lin in the crowd.
Fear arose in Qing Lin's heart. She had seen Ye Qianqian's terrifying power clearly just now and was afraid that the Misty Cloud Sect's ancestor would butcher her.
Qing Lin said, "Senior, why have you called this junior?"
Ye Qianqian said, "I find you quite pleasing to the eye. From now on, follow me."
Qing Lin was overjoyed and hurriedly nodded her little head.
The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils seemed like a pretty good cheat ability. They could control certain snake Magical Beasts, so Ye Qianqian naturally would not pass up this opportunity to gather talent.
And so, Ye Qianqian left Misty Cloud Mountain with the three girls.
"Ancestor, where are we going?" Na Lan Yan Ran hugged the long sword in her arms and hurried after Ye Qianqian, somewhat confused.
Ye Qianqian smiled and said, "We're going to have some fun at the Hall of Souls today—the four of us."
Before you continue