A farmer has a shrewish wife; he's busy making money every day.

For some reason, the rain kept falling, seemingly endlessly.

Ye Qingxue wiped the rain off her face, no longer hesitating, her spiritual energy surged, and she rushed out.

"The people guarding the underground chamber are all members of the Ghost Clan, but he forcibly injected them with spiritual power, turning them into puppets who only know how to kill."

"There's no one in the secret room, but there are continuous, intricate mechanisms, and—"

"The building materials inside are spirit-concealing stones combined with special formations. It was constructed at great cost. People inside cannot use their spiritual power."

"This trip could be life-threatening if you're not careful. I don't care about your life, but I hope you can succeed."

Empress Wu's voice was still echoing in Ye Qingxue's mind when she met the gaze of the first puppet.

"Roar!"

The puppet spotted her and charged at her without hesitation, its speed reaching the bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment stage!

As expected of someone forcibly infused with spiritual power, their strength is indeed formidable.

While dodging the puppets' attacks, Ye Qingxue counted; there were eight puppets in total.

They were all at the Foundation Establishment bottleneck stage; even if Ye Qingxue were a Golden Core cultivator, she wouldn't be able to deal with them immediately.

call out!

The sound of wind breaking came from the side and behind. Ye Qingxue twisted her waist forcefully, folding her body into an amazing arc to dodge the attack.

She fell backward to the ground, and a hard fist suddenly came crashing down from directly above her.

Without a moment to catch her breath, she suddenly flipped to the side, then sprang up and slammed her leg down, striking the puppet that had just attacked her.

The puppet broke off at the waist, its bones and tendons scattered on the ground, but not a drop of blood was drawn.

"Hu-hu-"

She was panting, her arm still throbbing from a cut she had just made on the ground.

"Come again!"

The remaining seven puppets charged at her simultaneously, each fist accompanied by a tremendous whooshing sound.

Ye Qingxue rubbed her wrist, deciding to finish the job quickly.

She also sprang to her feet with force, her spiritual energy pouring out wildly from her body.

Her clothes fluttered, tracing clean arcs in the rain. Unbeknownst to Ye Qingxue, the white jade token at her waist had broken due to the sudden movement and slipped to the ground, where it was covered by withered leaves and soil.

……

boom!

The last puppet shattered with a crash. Ye Qingxue knelt on one knee, gasping for breath, while frantically absorbing spiritual energy from her spiritual field to heal her wounds.

After an incense stick had burned for a while, Ye Qingxue opened her eyes.

She stood up, walked to the entrance of the underground chamber, gathered her spiritual power in her palms, and struck down hard. The door to the chamber shattered, and the dark entrance opened wide in front of Ye Qingxue. Without hesitation, she walked straight in.

Behind him, the token buried in the withered branches suddenly lit up with a glow.

It was exceptionally bright in the deep night.

But no one noticed.

—

Inside the camp outside the capital, Emperor Wu was still chatting with Lu Chuci about all sorts of things, discussing this condition and that condition.

It was clearly not a serious negotiation.

But Lu Chuci didn't say anything, she just seriously refuted every demand he made.

The Martial Emperor lightly tapped a mountain peak with his finger: "Can we have this mountain?"

Lu Chuci smiled faintly and shook his head: "This mountain is full of rare trees and rich in minerals, with clear water and abundant medicinal herbs. You are really too greedy."

"I didn't expect the young general to know these things." The Martial Emperor withdrew his hand and slowly took a sip of tea.

He was also wondering why the person in front of him couldn't see through his obvious attempt to stall for time.

Is he really as stupid as a pig, or does he have another plan?

The Empress drank this cup of tea for a long time, as if she really liked it, savoring it again and again.

The stove beside the two tables was still bubbling with tea, creating a tranquil and peaceful scene.

Suddenly, in a split second, the Emperor Wu stopped drinking tea, and time seemed to stand still.

Lu Chuci raised an eyebrow.

Oops, it was discovered.

He smiled as he watched the incredulous look the Empress gave him, and asked lightly, "Isn't the tea good?"

boom!

The Martial Emperor's spiritual power suddenly exploded, and blood red spread from his neck to his face, with the reddest part filling his eyes.

"You're playing me!?"

His voice was so shrill it almost pierced eardrums.

Lu Chuci tilted her head and widened her eyes: "Huh? Weren't you just stalling for time?"

Another creaking sound followed, and Lu Chuci suspected that the tent was about to collapse.

Emperor Wu slammed his hand on the table and turned to fly out of the tent. Lu Chuci smiled and flashed to block Emperor Wu's path.

"Where are we going? We haven't finished talking yet."

The Martial Emperor was furious and struck him with a palm strike, so fast that Lu Chuci couldn't see it with the naked eye.

too fast!

He gasped inwardly and barely dodged the Martial Emperor's attack by sidestepping.

Emperor Wu broke free again and rushed out, with Lu Chuci following closely behind, reaching out to grab Emperor Wu's robes once more.

The Empress was furious: !!!

He unleashed a powerful burst of spiritual energy at Lu Chuci, who felt a sudden weight on her body, and a sensation of bones cracking instantly swept over her entire body.

However, in the next instant, this feeling receded by most of it, like the tide.

The antidote worked!

Lu Chuci lunged forward and delivered a heavy elbow strike to the Martial Emperor, sending both of them plummeting to the ground and startling a flock of birds in the forest.

"Lu, Chu, Ci!" The Martial Emperor stood up abruptly, gritting his teeth as he roared at Lu Chu Ci.

Lu Chuci smiled lazily, his handsome face exuding a roguish charm: "I'm here."

"The goddess created an antidote?" Emperor Wu gritted his teeth.

"How did you know?" Lu Chuci asked knowingly.

Emperor Wu was so angry that his vision blurred again. He was breathing heavily, knowing that he would not be able to leave until he dealt with Lu Chuci today.

"Don't regret it."

He spoke harshly with a grim face.

Lu Chuci stepped back slightly with one leg, her muscles tense, and chuckled, "I've been waiting for you."

Boom!

A massive bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the night sky, which was as thick as a black sea. The thunderclap slammed into Lu Chuci's eardrums, and his vision went white for a moment.

At that moment, the Martial Emperor made his move.

He unleashed his spiritual power without reservation, pressing down on Lu Chuci with all his might.

Lu Chuci's expression suddenly changed as she used all her strength to resist the overwhelming spiritual power.

He had only guessed before, but now that the Martial Emperor had unleashed his full spiritual power, he could finally confirm it.

The Martial Emperor has already stepped one foot into the Divine Transformation Realm.

Why only half a foot? Because when facing a true Nascent Soul Realm expert, Lu Chuci couldn't even withstand half a second of resistance.

The Nascent Soul and the Divine Transformation are two different realms: one is still a mortal body, while the other has already entered the realm of gods.

This is the goal that people in the cultivation world pursue throughout their lives. I never expected that the Martial Emperor would have reached this level.

No wonder he wanted to use the Ice and Fire Spirit Fruit to break through his limits.

If he actually succeeds, then all the plans will become a joke.

Lu Chuci let out a heavy breath, clenched her fists, mobilized all her muscles, and released her spiritual power to the maximum extent.

"You're courting death!" The Martial Emperor noticed Lu Chuci's resistance and threw a hook punch straight at him.

Lu Chuci dodged to the side and threw a heavy punch as well.

In the forest, the branches and leaves trembled and rustled, the whistling sound of wind breaking was incessant, and every now and then there were dull thuds of fists hitting flesh.

During the fight, Lu Chuci realized that she was indeed no match for the Martial Emperor.

Even if one is only a half-Nascent Soul cultivator, their power is incomparably strong.

His eyes gradually sharpened, his expression becoming highly focused as he stared intently at every move of the Martial Emperor.

The evening wind howled, and with another clap of thunder, the rain began to fall heavily.