Chapter 892: I’m Going to Steal Vegetables
Qianqian obediently took the bag of seeds. Being a child with a simple heart, she didn’t ask what they were or why Qi Huang wanted her to grow vegetables. Qi Huang didn’t let her guard down, knowing that relying solely on Qianqian wasn’t enough to make Queen of the Underworld Star her vegetable garden. Qianqian was too young, and even with greater strength, she couldn’t command respect. Whether she could become the next Queen of the Underworld was still uncertain.
As expected, Qi Huang’s worries were valid. Because Qianqian hadn’t yet inherited the title of Queen of the Underworld, many ambitious senior generals began to show their true colors. The chain of command became disorganized, infuriating Duan Qing and her loyal followers to the point of gritting their teeth.
Qi Huang didn’t act immediately. After all, those individuals hadn’t openly rebelled, so she had to wait for a suitable opportunity.
One day, the person Qianqian sent to confirm the situation returned and reported to Duan Qing.
“Princess, please accept my condolences. Queen of the Underworld has indeed been killed. The Extreme Violet Immortal Emperor also murdered two other kings and three queens from the Three Kings and Five Queens. Their bodies were hung by this person on the city walls of Extreme Violet City as a display.”
Duan Qing conveyed the news truthfully to Qianqian.
Upon hearing this, Qianqian’s last shred of hope was extinguished, and she couldn’t help but cry again.
“Adding the Sea Queen who was slain by us, does that mean only one king and one queen remain from the Three Kings and Five Queens?” Qi Huang confirmed.
“Yes, they were too far away to rush there, so they fortunately escaped.” Duan Qing replied.
“This Extreme Violet Immortal Emperor is truly ruthless. He alone has suppressed over half of the strong cultivators in the Immortal Realm’s Ghost Tribe.” Qi Huang exclaimed.
“It’s because our Ghost Tribe is weak. For so many years, none have reached the Heavenly Demon level. If the Demon Ancestor were still here, he could crush him with a single finger,” Duan Qing said indignantly. The Demon Ancestor she referred to was naturally Lu Yao.
“By the way, do you know how many Demon Ancestor’s Heart Fragments the murdered two kings and two queens had, besides Queen of the Underworld?” Qi Huang quickly asked, then added, “You know my situation. I need to find a way to collect them so I can minimize future troubles.”
“Queen of the Fox should have five fragments, and Queen of the Peach has four,” Duan Qing revealed all the information she knew.
“What about the remaining living king and queen?” Qi Huang pressed relentlessly.
“There are rumors that Queen of the Scorpion also has four fragments. As for the king, he definitely doesn’t have any, because those who possess Demon Ancestor’s Heart Fragments have historically been female cultivators of the Ghost Tribe. It’s likely due to assimilation power; even if a man obtained one, he would turn into a woman,” Duan Qing answered. Then, she suddenly realized something, “Right, as far as I know, the Sea Queen had five fragments. One was used as bait, so there should be four remaining. I wonder if they are still in her corpse?”
“I’ve already collected those four,” Qi Huang admitted, seeing no need to hide it.
“That’s good,” Duan Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
“Queen of the Underworld had five, Queen of the Fox had five, and Queen of the Peach had four. Coupled with the four from Queen of the Scorpion, if I can collect them all, plus the seven my wife has, that would be twenty-five fragments. But where can I find the remaining seven?” Qi Huang began counting on her fingers. After a moment, she realized she had miscounted and asked, “What about the one fragment the Sea Queen used as bait? Who ended up with it?”
“Naturally, the Extreme Violet Immortal Emperor. No one can snatch it from him,” Duan Qing said through gritted teeth.
“Then, adding this one makes it twenty-six fragments, with six left,” Qi Huang murmured to herself.
“Sister, if you can gather twenty-six fragments, you will be able to sense the specific locations of the other six,” Qianqian suddenly spoke up to remind her.
“Is that so?” Qi Huang asked in surprise.
“Yes. I heard Queen of the Underworld say that with five fragments, and under some clue, she could faintly sense the existence of other heart fragments. With ten fragments, even without any clues, she could sense whether heart fragments existed within a certain range. If she gathered fifteen fragments, she could roughly sense the general locations of heart fragments throughout the entire Immortal Realm. If she gathered twenty fragments, she could ignore spatial barriers and sense the locations of all heart fragments in countless worlds, let alone twenty-six fragments,” Duan Qing explained the situation in detail from the side.
“Good! Very good!” Qi Huang smiled with satisfaction, as she saw a glimmer of hope in collecting the heart fragments.
“Princess, I have something to discuss with you,” Duan Qing suddenly said to Qianqian with a serious expression.
“Auntie Duan, what is it?” Qianqian asked, wiping her tears vigorously.
“It’s like this, Queen of the Underworld is no longer with us, and our Queen of the Underworld Star is leaderless. Many people with selfish motives are stirring. The communication is very slow. It’s time to elect a new Queen of the Underworld. As the Princess, you should inherit the position of Queen of the Underworld,” Duan Qing proposed.
“Ah? But I’m still young, I can’t be Queen of the Underworld.” Qianqian showed a look of difficulty on her face.
“You must do it even if you can’t, and it must be done immediately. Haven’t you heard that a country cannot be without a king for a day? If the delay is too long, it might lead to problems.” Duan Qing was uncharacteristically assertive. Another reason for her urgency was the fear that Qi Huang might leave. Without the protection of this great deity, it would be much harder for the Princess to ascend to the position of Queen of the Underworld, as the threats were not just internal.
“Sister!” Qianqian looked at Qi Huang helplessly.
“Steward Duan is right. As the Princess, you should inherit your mother’s position,” Qi Huang agreed.
“But I really can’t do it,” Qianqian pouted. Although she had been dead for hundreds of years, a dead person’s mind stops growing, so she was like a five or six-year-old child.
“Don’t worry, Sister will definitely help you,” Qi Huang promised. She was counting on Qianqian to help her, so she naturally had to give her a push.
Qianqian was overjoyed and then excitedly said to Duan Qing, “Auntie Duan, I’ll be Queen of the Underworld then.”
“That’s wonderful, congratulations Princess,” Duan Qing breathed a sigh of relief. With Qi Huang’s support, the big worry in her heart was lifted, but it wasn’t enough.
“By the way, you have been so dedicated in supporting the Princess, we can’t let you work for nothing.” Duan Qing then spoke to Qi Huang. After a moment of thought, she proposed, “How about this? We’ll announce to the public that you are the Princess’s teacher? Once she ascends, you will be the National Preceptor of our Queen of the Underworld Star. What do you think?”
“You should think clearly. I am a cultivator, and there is nothing in cultivation that I can teach her,” Qi Huang reminded her.
“It’s okay. She is still young and needs to learn more than just cultivation. She needs to learn literacy, life philosophies, governance, and household management,” Duan Qing said very “leniently.”
“Alright then!” Qi Huang knew the other party wanted to tie her to their cause, which perfectly aligned with her own interests, so she didn’t refuse any further.
“Since you are now the teacher, the matter of the Princess inheriting the position of Queen will be arranged by you,” Duan Qing then showed her respect.
“How about this, please have Steward Duan issue a notice saying that the Princess will inherit the position of Queen in ten days. I’d like to see who dares to cause trouble,” Qi Huang immediately ordered, not wanting to waste any more time.
“Yes!” Duan Qing cupped her fists and accepted the order, then left briskly.
Qi Huang thus became the future National Preceptor of Queen of the Underworld Star, her status rising accordingly. Naturally, she also received an independent sleeping palace.
Qi Huang returned to her sleeping palace and then released Cheng Hong Ling.
“Since gathering twenty fragments allows us to sense the rest, then the Sea Queen, in a sense, has helped us greatly. She indirectly caused over twenty fragments to be gathered in the hands of the Extreme Violet Immortal Emperor. This way, we only need to deal with the Extreme Violet Immortal Emperor,” Cheng Hong Ling made a judgment.
“Yes, but the Extreme Violet Immortal Emperor is said to have the strength of early Heavenly Immortal. I cannot deal with him yet,” Qi Huang replied awkwardly.
“Don’t worry, I will help you. With your growth rate, you will soon surpass him,” Cheng Hong Ling encouraged her. Hearing this, Qi Huang felt much more settled.
The next morning, before Qi Huang had even left her palace, Duan Qing proactively visited her.
“Steward Duan, what is it?” Qi Huang asked curiously.
“Um… National Preceptor, didn’t you give the Princess a bag of seeds to plant? Those are Ghost Tomato seeds, right?” Duan Qing confirmed.
“Yes, then what?” Qi Huang frowned slightly.
“You want that thing probably to nourish the Boundless Demonic Hair, right? I heard Queen of the Underworld say that Boundless Demonic Hair grows by devouring Ghost Tomatoes,” Duan Qing continued to infer.
“What exactly are you trying to say?” Qi Huang was getting a little impatient.
“I think you can visit the territories of Queen of the Peach and Queen of the Fox. For the past few hundred years, they ordered their subordinates to plant countless Ghost Tomatoes on an unimaginable scale. Now that they are dead, obtaining them is as easy as turning over your hand,” Duan Qing suggested.
“Is there such good fortune?” Qi Huang’s eyes lit up, but she still suppressed her excitement and asked, “Why did they plant so many Ghost Tomatoes?”
“I heard Queen of the Underworld say that these two women wanted to attract Boundless Demonic Hair by doing this, as everyone knows that Boundless Demonic Hair likes to eat Ghost Tomatoes,” Duan Qing explained.
“How insidious!” Qi Huang shivered slightly, thinking how fortunate she was that she hadn’t harvested from these two women’s ‘vegetable gardens’ before, otherwise she would have been caught red-handed.
“Alright, who knows the lairs of these two women? This National Preceptor will go and steal vegetables now,” Qi Huang eagerly asked.
