Chapter Seventy-Five: The Axe One Forges May Strike Oneself

The innocent Green Leaf was captured and tied to her mount’s side.

At this moment, in the distance, Yan Fei and Red Tiger revealed themselves, while Jing Shou, also piloting a flying immortal artifact, cupped his hands in greeting and announced himself: “Second Lady Qianyu of the Qian family, you too have come for the Seven Seas Fortress.”

“That’s right. When I heard there was an ownerless imperial artifact, I had to try my luck. Who knows, perhaps I can add another sharp weapon to my family’s arsenal.” Feng Qianyu stared at Jing Shou for a moment, then sneered, “Look at you—just suffered a heavy injury, I bet your life weapon is in trouble. Either it’s backfired, or been destroyed or lost. Take my advice and leave early!”

“And you two, the leopard and tiger—why aren’t you hiding under the protection of the Myriad Elephants Demon Emperor? Why come out here? My grandmother said, anyone who doesn’t heed my warning—once inside the Seven Seas Fortress, there’s no need for courtesy. Whoever gets caught will be sent home, suppressed for five hundred years, and made to mine as a slave!”

Despite her long-winded mutterings, Feng Qianyu’s actions were swift: a fourth-tier immortal hairpin, a slender fourth-tier hair stick, and a fourth-tier red ribbon each targeted one of the three newcomers. She glanced at Jing Shou, felt it wasn’t enough, then untied a handkerchief from her ankle and unfurled it to the wind. A flower-blue beast emerged. Once it appeared, the beast opened its mountain-sized mouth and spewed out a thick mist, shrouding the entire space.

Long Yi immediately realized the need to take Feng Qianyu seriously. She might seem reckless, but she let her strength speak—her methods were ready at a moment’s notice. To wield such high-grade fourth-tier immortal artifacts so lavishly, her family clearly could not be underestimated.

Yan Fei the demon leopard and Red Tiger exchanged glances and slowly retreated. Meeting such a scion of a great clan, there was no need for words. That lofty, mocking smile would forever be a thorn in their hearts.

Jing Shou gave an awkward smile. “Second Lady, you misunderstand, this—”

“There’s no misunderstanding. Are you questioning my intelligence?” Feng Qianyu’s eyes flashed twin beams of light that shot into the flower-blue beast. With the surge of light, the beast split into three.

Having done this, Feng Qianyu nodded, flicked her hand, and six throwing axes fell out—each a different color: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, and blue. Swelling with the mist, they grew to a thousand meters high, matching the three-thousand-meter beasts.

She attacked without warning; even the retreating leopard and tiger were engulfed by the spreading mist.

“I am an inner elder of the Myriad Crystal Immortal Sect! How can you attack me without cause—I—” Jing Shou hadn’t finished speaking when one of the flower-blue beasts swung an axe at him. The red axe, glowing with a sinister light, burst with circles of radiance.

The might of a high-grade fourth-tier immortal artifact was far beyond Jing Shou’s ability to withstand. His destroyed gilded sphere had only been a top fifth-tier artifact. Now, with high-level treasures unleashed, he could only flee for his life.

This was not a spectacle he could afford to meddle in.

Yan Fei and Red Tiger were in the same situation. As demon immortals, they rarely wielded powerful artifacts, focusing instead on physical cultivation. Now, with an onslaught from high-grade fourth-tier artifacts and a red ribbon lurking nearby—

Red Tiger failed to dodge in time, was entangled by the red ribbon, and swallowed whole by Feng Qianyu’s mount. Only Yan Fei, turning into a platinum immortal leopard, escaped the mist with his speed.

But before he could rejoice, danger struck. Every defensive artifact he summoned was pierced through, and before he could evade, a hairpin struck his forehead, pinning him where he stood.

In an instant, two demon immortals were subdued, and Jing Shou, though dodging, was in grave peril. He suddenly cried, “Are you planning to kill us all to seize the prize for yourself?”

Feng Qianyu burst out laughing, “How ridiculous! An inner elder of a major sect, yet you don’t even recognize the greatest treasure of the vanished Immortal Drift Sect. If I had that, why would I care for the Seven Seas Fortress?”

The Ten Heavens and Nine Earths Array Diagram was once a top-tier imperial artifact. Even in its decline, it was still stronger than lesser imperial artifacts, especially after some repairs.

Jing Shou’s face showed shock—his immortal ship destroyed, his defensive formations smashed, every talisman, incantation, and escape stone used to no avail.

“Star Extinguishing Art!”

Jing Shou spat a mouthful of blood, unleashing his sect’s greatest secret art—not to harm or defend, but to break through the mist and let his soul escape.

A blinding light burst from him, piercing the mist and darting into the handkerchief, which had been waiting. Then, the three flower-blue beasts joined in, the six axes formed one giant axe, and with a crack, the struggling handkerchief fell silent.

Under absolute suppression, all fancy tricks are exposed for what they are.

Then, from the handkerchief, an item flew out: Jing Shou, encased in a lemon-colored ice crystal. This was the Myriad Crystal Immortal Sect’s greatest secret treasure, able to form in the moment of mortal peril and resist any attack.

But within it, Jing Shou would remain in stasis forever unless rescued by his sect.

The three spectators were all swallowed by the mount, awaiting their fate. Such calamity, all for a chance at luck.

Within the array diagram, Long Yi felt a chill run through him. In such a short time, the three obstacles who had damaged the diagram were now captives, destined to be slaves for five hundred years—

Just as Feng Qianyu was about to deal with Wuyun, her mount’s four snake heads transformed into four elders, who respectfully said, “Mistress, this little snake is a relative of mine, a subordinate of the Ten-Tailed Fox Immortal King of Dragon Extinction Star, and a descendant of the Bitao Imperial Serpent, my own ancestor.”

“String, I don’t care. If you and she can’t produce another Bitao Imperial Serpent, you have no value,” Feng Qianyu replied. Her word was law; String, who had just been chatting amiably with Green Leaf, fell silent, not daring another word.

A woman’s heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea—what she says, she does. Don’t be fooled by a smile; her intentions are already set.

Just as Feng Qianyu snorted, intending to swap String for Green Leaf as her mount, Green Leaf’s eyes lit up. She pointed at Long Yi in the array and exclaimed joyfully, “Legend says the Bitao Imperial Serpent is born from the union of dragon and serpent, an egg producing a marvel. Mistress, before you stands a true dragon!”

Long Yi’s dragon head flared in anger, but before he could speak, Wuyun kicked him out with a laugh, “Don’t play coy now. Get to work—help the green snake lay an egg. Maybe a miracle will happen!”

As Long Yi emerged, before the Spirit-Severing Blade or the Xuan Beast could be summoned, the main snake head of the five-headed serpent inhaled, and heaven and earth spun—Long Yi was dragged to the front, powerless to resist.

A peak great immortal in the eyes of a peak great demon was little more than a large grasshopper—one realm apart, dragon or not, the Bitao Imperial Serpents bore a grudge against dragons!

The five-headed serpent scrutinized him for a long time, puzzled, while Feng Qianyu’s brow relaxed and the protective treasures over her eyes glimmered.

“A peak immortal king’s body, damaged down to the great immortal level—ha! Another treasure, a real one!” Feng Qianyu danced with glee, dozens of immortal artifacts spinning around her, their spirits joining in the dance.

Meanwhile, one of the ten demon-binding locks tying Green Leaf and the bowl split off to ensnare Long Yi as well. But to their surprise, he merely flicked his Spirit-Severing Blade, and the Six-Talents Ancestral Dragon appeared, bit down on the binding lock, chewed it, and swallowed it.

Though the Spirit-Severing Blade bore no immortal grade, its power was undeniable.

Feng Qianyu’s eyes brightened. Emerging from the circle of jewelry, a graceful immortal woman stood atop the serpent’s head. Light shimmered from the shields over her eyes, seeking to discern the blade’s nature but finding nothing.

“Marvelous! This blade is weak, but its construction and strange metal suggest that, with constant reforging, it could become an imperial artifact. A fine blade, and now it’s mine!”

She stretched out her hand, palm flat, and spun it gently: “World in the Palm!”

In an instant, Long Yi shrank while Feng Qianyu seemed to grow—not that she actually moved, but that Long Yi was shrinking.

Had Long Yi reached even the initial stage of the immortal realm, he could have fought back. But an entire realm apart—no matter his great immortal cultivation, he could not command the surrounding field. What use was it?

Trapped in her palm, Long Yi shouted and raised the Spirit-Severing Blade, but found that the blade, always reliable, now slept like a glutted fat man.

“You were given an important task by your elder. You should face it with spirit! You subdued a thousand concubines before—how can you wilt before a mere little snake now?”

The Six-Talents Ancestral Dragon, sated, refused to emerge. He knew that, with so many high-grade fourth-tier artifacts in play, he was no match.

This amused Feng Qianyu, and before her laughter faded, Long Yi roared, “It’s all your fault, you old thing! Always thinking about grandsons and more dragon progeny—did you ever consider my feelings?”

The Ancestral Dragon glanced at him, disdainful. “Of all my descendants, only you surpass me. Naturally, I hope to raise a grandson even greater—one who could become a Dragon Emperor. That is our family’s hope!”

“Nonsense!” Long Yi cursed, rendered speechless by the retort. Feng Qianyu and the five-headed serpent String both burst out laughing. Even Green Leaf couldn’t help but tremble, hearing such gossip from a dragon.

Without life-and-death trials, the heart remains closed. Like mortals who won’t speak truth except when drunk—once the wine flows, so do the truths and the tall tales!

“Seal!”

Feng Qianyu placed her left hand over her right, forming an empty circle, then released it—the handkerchief that had bound Jing Shou now wrapped him up completely. This divine power fused the handkerchief with her spirit; her body was the immortal artifact.

“This Thousand Star Immortal Veil is my life weapon. Once inside, only an immortal king can escape unharmed.” Feng Qianyu’s words seemed directed at Long Yi, and also served as a warning to the array diagram.

Wuyun spoke up, helplessly, “We are descendants of the Immortal Drift Sect, so of course we have some means of protecting ourselves. Just now, you said the handkerchief was your life weapon. I’m not so sure—those six colored axes are quite impressive!”

Feng Qianyu grinned foolishly, pleased. “You saw through that? Indeed, those six axes are also my life weapons!”

But the array diagram’s hum came: “Six colored weapons? That’s not right. There should be a seventh axe—the purple one, matching the purple river in your soul. That last axe is the true killer.”

Feng Qianyu finally grew serious, her immortal artifacts shifting into attack mode. She began to wonder: was the person inside an immortal emperor, reincarnated and cultivating anew?

“You’ve refined yourself into the purple axe; when facing the immortal king tribulation, the seven axes unite, and you’ll pass—clever. But have you considered that, after reaching the immortal emperor realm, only true ability counts? When the seven axes unite for the tribulation, the artifact spirits may slumber or even rebel. Relying on these axes, you’ll never become an immortal emperor!”

Wuyun’s every word struck home, and Feng Qianyu’s face changed again and again. The five-headed serpent tried to console her, but she was already furious. She shouted, “You say that every time, just like an elder’s lecture! I refuse to believe my own life axes could ever strike me down!”