Looking back now, Chen Qing really did calculate every single step so perfectly!
Shen Laoqi sighed deeply.
The reason they hadn't expected to be used as bait was because the barrier completely isolated their presence and line of sight. Under normal circumstances, they would have been absolutely safe, and the princess would have had no way of finding them.
But the eldest princess found them, like a wild beast finding them on instinct alone, and even more surprisingly, Chen Qing had predicted it!
He anticipated that the princess would find them; he was betting that the princess was that powerful!
Young people these days are really something else!
One is impressive, the other is even more impressive.
Now that he has used himself as bait to trap the princess inside the barrier, what should Chen Qing do?
This was something Shen Laoqi was very curious about at the time, but he never expected it to turn out like this.
Is this the move?
Chen Qing's second brother had actually revealed this trick to him.
When he heard it, he asserted that Chen Qing's ability to rewind time was definitely not due to his own abilities, and secondly, it definitely carried considerable risks and drawbacks.
Being in the thick of it all now, Shen Laoqi could feel it even more clearly.
After Chen Qing used Space-Time Rewind, although he didn't know the principle behind it, he could clearly feel that his body was much weaker and that one-third of his spiritual power had disappeared out of thin air!
Sensing this, Shen Laoqi could roughly figure out Chen Qing's limits.
If he wasn't mistaken, Chen Qing's method would increase in risk with each use, and could only be used a maximum of three times!
"You can't use this method too often, can you?"
Both being top-tier intelligent individuals, Shen Laoqi was able to react immediately, and the Princess, skilled in scheming, naturally was as well. After a brief moment of shock, Xiao Mingyue looked around, her shock vanished, and she looked at Chen Qing with a half-smile, asking...
"How did Your Highness come to this guess?" Chen Qing asked with a nonchalant smile.
"Because if you had that ability, there would be no need to separate me and Shen Yinian. You could keep resurrecting your people, and no matter how powerful I am, I would still be doomed against an army that can keep resurrecting. The fact that you didn't do that means you can't!"
Chen Qing: "."
Xiao Mingyue smiled slightly and looked outside, "You can't make the army do this, you can only do it on a small scale. If you could repeat this on a small scale, you wouldn't need to specifically separate Shen Yinian and me. With that strong silver-armored youth cooperating, you could also behead both of us. This means you still can't do it. You can only use this method to bluff and buy time!"
Chen Qing stared at the other person, stunned for a long time, and then gave a bitter smile.
You really can't underestimate NPCs!
That's true. The other party isn't an NPC; they're one of the top figures in the Demon World I designed. Why should I look down on them?
"Then why doesn't the Princess just make a move?" Chen Qing laughed, "Why not continue and test my limits?"
The eldest princess glanced outside, shook her head, and said, "I can't afford such a risk; I can't afford to lose Shen Yinian!"
As a top martial artist, she could tell how strong the person chasing Shen Yinian was outside. Even if she were to face that person head-on, she wouldn't dare say she could definitely win. Based on her understanding of Laowu, even though Laowu's techniques were the least likely to be killed by a martial artist at close range, he still wouldn't last long in close combat.
How many times can Chen Qing kill him here?
She had no idea how many rounds the opponent could last. Unknown information was unknown, and she couldn't afford to lose this gamble!
"Let me out, and we'll call a truce. You name your terms!" the princess said quickly. "Ten breaths. Within ten breaths, you must present terms that satisfy both sides!"
Without further ado, Chen Qing, who had been waiting for this moment, declared, "Let's forge a spell to ensure we never invade Jiangnan again!"
"Are you joking?" the princess said, amused. "Where else can I go besides Jiangnan?"
"I can lend you Nanming Prefecture for a year. Within that year, you must move out and you are not allowed to invade Jiangnan!"
"Lend it to me?" The eldest princess looked at Chen Qing: "Boy, do you really want to carve out a territory in Jiangnan?"
"Isn't this just a pie in the sky that Auntie painted?" Chen Qing laughed. "Auntie just said that if I submit, I will become the King of Jiangnan. The effect is the same now. A year is enough time for Auntie to decide the victor over the West Sea, right? If Auntie wins, I will just be a dutiful King of Jiangnan. Isn't that the same?"
"Hahahaha!" The eldest princess burst into laughter, clapping her hands. "Good, good, good, King of Jiangnan!" Then, she changed the subject, "Then how will you lend me the Nanming Prefecture, my good son-in-law? Your aunt is currently racking her brains over how to conquer the Nanming Prefecture!"
"How about I close all the zombie passages in Nanming Prefecture for my aunt, and then open a separate passage just for her?"
"Can you do it?" The princess's eyes held a dangerous glint.
"It can only be done once," Chen Qing honestly replied, "And it will come at a huge cost!"
What price?
" Shen Laoliu's life!"
The princess was taken aback, then stared intently at Chen Qing.
What does Auntie think?
"Good!"
--
A quarter of an hour later, the two armies ceased fighting. The eldest princess led the seriously injured Shen Laowu all the way to the coast. Both sides had the world's top sorcerers, and no one could fake the magical alliance they formed. However, the sorcerers on both Chen Qing's side and the eldest princess's side were extremely puzzled by this reconciliation.
"Your Highness, are you really retiring?" Shen Laowu was clearly very unwilling!
"What else can we do but retreat?" Xiao Mingyue glared at the other person. "If I had been trapped inside for more than thirty breaths, could you have survived?"
Shen Laowu remained silent. The silver-armored young general who had suddenly appeared was extremely powerful. Not only was he exceptionally skilled and incredibly strong, but he also wielded the power of thunder, which was the perfect counter to someone like him, a sinister being. It was as if he had met his nemesis. Thirty breaths... His Highness has probably overestimated him!
"I can't afford to lose you, I can't afford to gamble, I have no choice but to accept his terms. From the moment I was drawn into that barrier, we lost."
Upon hearing this, Shen Laowu lowered his head, took a serious look at Chen Qing in the distance, and made a mental note of him.
This was the first time since he was born that he had suffered such a huge setback at the hands of a human. Half of everything he had painstakingly planned had actually benefited the other party. He would remember this kid!
"They said that sacrificing the Laoliu could open a separate passage and also close the passage that once belonged to Nanming Prefecture. Is that true?"
"It's true," Shen Laowu nodded. "As far as I know, when the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley was set up, there was a reward to encourage those who came after us to kill us. Anyone who could sacrifice any one of our brothers would gain partial control of the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley. But those who knew this secret should all be dead back then."
"Is that so?" The eldest princess looked at Shen Laowu with a half-smile, "If we sacrifice you all, will we be able to completely control this Nine Heavens Mirror Valley?"
"Yes," Shen Laowu nodded.
"Interesting, hahaha, truly interesting." The eldest princess glanced at Chen Qing, who was bowing in the distance, and laughed, "I'm becoming more and more curious about that little fellow's background!"
--
"Just like that, you let her go?" Shen Laoqi asked, watching the princess leave into the distance.
Chen Qing rolled her eyes upon hearing this. "You still want to treat them to dinner?"
Shen Laoqi looked at Chen Qing: "I always felt that if you had held on a little longer, we would have had a chance to wipe them out. Once Fifth Brother dies, Lao'er can immediately take over the zombies under his command, and our power will be unprecedented. No matter how strong the Eldest Princess is, we can wear her down to death, can't we?"
"Uh..." Chen Qing looked at the other person strangely. "I didn't realize that Seventh Master was so optimistic?"
Seventh Master Shen: "."
"With Seventh Master's intelligence, can't you see that my ability can't last long?" Chen Qing sighed.
"I can see that, but this risk is worth taking!" said Seventh Master Shen.
"It's not worth it," Chen Qing shook his head. "This method is called 'Refracting Mirror.' It's not the Space-Time Rewind travel you're thinking of, but rather a future refracted by a magic array, creating a Samsara of the future for all of you. It's a form of complete hypnosis. Because the refracted image is formed from our own energy, although the Princess didn't kill any of our people, she damaged the energy within us. This method consumes a huge amount of energy. Just two more times and our energy will be completely depleted. And the result..."
"What was the result?" Seventh Master Shen frowned.
As expected, this method had significant side effects.
"The consequences are severe," Chen Qing said with a wry smile. "Your energy is completely depleted, and your souls are gone. You won't even have the chance to enter the Underworld again!"
Shen Laoqi: "."
"This magic array wasn't actually meant to confuse others. It was originally used by Nine Heavens Mirror Valley to deplete the Ancient Insect from their mutual slaughter. Because when the Ancient Insect truly kill each other, they devour each other, causing one of them to become even stronger. This method was designed to prevent them from devouring each other to replenish themselves while they were killing each other, forcing them to only consume their own resources."
"I see." Seventh Master Shen suddenly understood. "This Refracting Mirror can only be used in the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley?"
"That's how it is." Chen Qing nodded. "However, your Shen Family's formation is derived from the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley, and it also contains the method of 'Refracting Mirror.' That's why I dared to set up this trap."
"But the princess doesn't know that we can actually make more demands."
"The Eldest Princess can guess," Chen Qing shook his head. "Don't underestimate your fifth brother. He has a trump card up his sleeve. If he uses it, we'll all die here!"