Chapter 75: Today, I will show you what a favored daughter of heaven is.
Elder Zuo heard this, and the hesitation on his face quickly disappeared, replaced by unyielding determination. It wasn’t that he only understood this principle now, but that Qi Huang’s words had cornered him.
Elder Zuo knew very well that if he backed down now, even if he was lucky enough to keep his title as elder, he probably wouldn’t be able to command respect from others anymore.
‘This damned girl actually dared to use me!’
At this moment, Elder Zuo thoroughly understood what was going on. He truly hated her to the bone, but in front of everyone, he naturally couldn’t seek personal revenge and could only prioritize the greater good.
“Your Majesty, I’ve done all I can, but I still can’t change the outcome. That means she is destined not to be yours, and it’s the will of heaven. Why force it!”
Elder Zuo spoke again, but his face was more resolute than before.
“Is that so? Then how can a cultivator whose Qi Sea has been destroyed still use True Qi?”
Lin Tu questioned with a cold laugh.
“I don’t know.”
Elder Zuo glanced at Qi Huang with a face full of suspicion. This little girl with yellow hair was truly an unkillable cockroach. It was one thing to be able to cultivate again after being hit with Xieqisan, but it was beyond ridiculous to be able to cultivate even after her Qi Sea was destroyed.
“You don’t know? Is that your explanation? Don’t force me to dig up your past!”
Lin Tu laughed in anger.
“Let’s be upfront. I have to take her away today. Name your conditions, and as long as I can fulfill them, I will do my best.”
Elder Zuo didn’t want to completely fall out with Lin Tu, so he showed his utmost sincerity.
“Conditions? As the ruler of a country, if I let you take the Imperial Concubine I personally selected from the palace, where would my imperial dignity be? What can you do to compensate?”
Lin Tu questioned him repeatedly.
“What exactly do you want?”
Elder Zuo’s mouth twitched slightly.
Qi Huang, however, stood by with her arms crossed, watching the show. It was indeed quite infuriating that a dignified elder of the Immortal Alliance was being pushed around by the emperor of a small country. She wondered what kind of shady dealings he had been up to.
“If you want to take her away, you can. Destroy your own Qi Sea, and if you can still use True Qi afterward, then I will agree.”
Lin Tu stated his condition without hesitation.
‘This dog emperor is really quite clever. This way, even if I’m taken away, his authority will be preserved. However, it’s destined that he won’t achieve his goal. How could Elder Zuo, as an elder of the Immortal Alliance and a master of the Shentong Realm, cripple his own cultivation?’
Qi Huang clicked her tongue in amazement.
Lin Tu naturally understood that his demand was impossible to fulfill. He made this demand entirely to cut off Elder Zuo’s escape route.
“What if I refuse?”
Elder Zuo refused without a second thought, as expected. His aura began to gather, ready to strike.
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Zhong put down the roster and subtly moved closer. The masters hidden around also began to stir.
“Do you want to forcibly take her away? You don’t think you can escape this imperial palace full of masters, do you?”
Lin Tu’s face was full of disdain.
“Heh heh, the imperial palace is indeed full of masters, but unfortunately, they are all mere martial artists. Can they fly? No. Why should they stop me?”
Elder Zuo said confidently, poised like an arrow ready to fly.
“Unfortunately, when you see me, you can only crawl on the ground.”
Lin Tu said contemptuously, then took out a jade seal from his怀, gently wiped it with his right hand, and a few drops of blood seeped into it. The dragon-shaped knob on the jade seal magically came to life, then opened its mouth and let out an extremely penetrating dragon’s roar.
As everyone was full of confusion, a dark shadow descended from the sky, crashing into the center of the scene, directly smashing a large pit into the granite ground, sending碎石 flying everywhere.
“Ah!”
The timid Imperial Concubines and Palace Maids around let out terrified screams and retreated.
Qi Huang looked closely and saw a terrifying Zombie holding a long spear. It was clad in rusty armor. Because it was too worn out, a lot of its skin was exposed. Due to the corrosion of time, it had all become rotten and festering, but the golden corpse spots on it were even more conspicuous, so bright that people couldn’t look directly at them.
Qi Huang’s breath hitched, because this was clearly an extremely powerful Golden Corpse!
As soon as the Golden Corpse appeared, the rusty long spear in its hand began to emit waves of killing intent, sweeping out in all directions like waves. Although it didn’t seem particularly ferocious, it still gave people an unshakeable feeling.
Where the killing intent reached, fear spread. Ordinary people couldn’t resist it at all and instantly prostrated themselves. Even the Imperial Army guards didn’t last more than a few breaths before their swords and spears clattered to the ground, their legs gave out, and they all knelt down.
Qi Huang didn’t rush, because she could still resist the intensity of the killing intent. What caught her attention now was the spear.
‘Why does this spear look so familiar?’
Qi Huang muttered to herself. She had a feeling she had seen this spear somewhere before, so she racked her brains to recall. After a moment, she suddenly realized that this spear looked exactly like a weapon on the ‘Killing Intent Ranking’.
It was obvious that the weapon on the Killing Intent Ranking was a copy of this spear.
‘This is actually a living great weapon, no wonder the killing intent is so strong!’
Qi Huang was greatly surprised.
“Just this much killing intent? And you have the audacity to show it off?”
Elder Zuo said heroically, enveloping Qi Huang with his Spiritual Sense and soaring into the sky.
But at this very moment, the terrifying Golden Corpse suddenly trembled, and its entire body erupted with a killing intent that was countless times stronger. It was so thick that it was visible to the naked eye, swirling outwards in circles like a flood, submerging the Imperial Garden.
Elder Zuo staggered and fell down as if struck by lightning.
Qi Huang’s body trembled, and an irrepressible fear spread from the bottom of her heart, almost making her lose her footing.
‘This… how is this possible?’
Qi Huang instantly lost the ability to think calmly, and her Spiritual Sense could no longer be condensed. At this point, she couldn’t even contact her main body.
‘You’re asking for trouble. Let’s see what you can do now.’
Yaoyao, who had been watching the show, couldn’t help but complain.
‘What’s there to be afraid of? Don’t I still have you?’
Qi Huang replied, suppressing her fear.
‘Stop dreaming. Although I’m the Nine Nether Demonic Cat, I’m also not immune to killing intent.’
Yaoyao immediately clarified.
‘It’s okay. As long as you can block the Spiritual Sense, even if we can’t leave openly today, it will be easy to sneak away later.’
Qi Huang said with feigned calmness, but in reality, she was already flustered by the killing intent.
Elder Zuo wasn’t much better. Although he was a genuine master of the Shentong Realm, under such terrifying killing intent, his legs were shaking like he had old frostbite.
“Elder Zuo, you can’t even stand steadily now. Do you plan to crawl out of the imperial palace?”
Lin Tu’s mocking voice rang out.
“How is this possible? Who is this zombie? Why does it have such powerful killing intent, and why does it listen to your commands?”
Elder Zuo shivered as he spoke.
“Don’t worry, Elder Zuo. I’ll explain it to you now.”
Lin Tu said teasingly, then unhurriedly began to explain, “Everyone knows that the Xihui Dynasty has produced many outstanding generals in its history, with the founding great general Tang Xiao being the greatest. Not only was his personal strength formidable, but he was also a brilliant strategist, and he killed at least millions of Qiguo soldiers, hence he was called the ‘Butcher’ by later generations. And this sage in front of you, who makes you unable to stand, is General Tang.”
“What? This person is Tang Xiao?”
Elder Zuo was shocked, then enraged. “How dare you! As the ruler of a country, instead of eliminating evil spirits and bringing peace to the world, you’re even privately raising zombies!”
“What’s the use of being hysterical? I am not a cultivator. Can you, Elder Zuo, still exercise jurisdiction from afar?”
Lin Tu was unfazed and threatened sternly, “I’ll count to three. Either get out, or die. You choose.”
“Elder Zuo, don’t be a coward! It’s just a zombie. Go up and kill it.”
Qi Huang felt something was wrong, so she quickly incited him.
“No need to count! She’s yours.”
Elder Zuo did not hesitate and walked out with vigorous steps.
“You come back here! Does this action do justice to your title as an elder?”
Qi Huang shouted anxiously.
However, Elder Zuo turned a deaf ear and quickly disappeared from everyone’s sight. He wasn’t a fool; if he wanted to be an elder, he had to find a way to survive first.
‘Forget it, it’s better to rely on myself!’
Qi Huang shook her head helplessly.
“Heh heh, you do have some self-awareness.”
Lin Tu mocked, then let the terrifying zombie retreat. Everyone finally let out a long sigh of relief, then helped each other up. However, some had simply been scared witless and slumped to the ground foolishly.
“You really surprise me, to still be able to stand under such powerful killing intent.”
Lin Tu looked at Qi Huang in surprise.
“Although my cultivation is low, I’m luckily brave enough.”
Qi Huang said with a forced smile.
“Not bad! I like women like you who fear nothing! Alright, can we proceed with the test now?”
Admiration appeared on Lin Tu’s face.
“Since things have escalated to this point, is there still a need for the test?”
Qi Huang took a deep breath and teased.
“I said, even if you are an Imperial Concubine I personally selected, you cannot break the rules.”
Lin Tu’s eyes became sharp again.
Empress Zheng had already recovered. After a moment of hesitation, she stood up and taunted, “Your Majesty, she has refused the test multiple times. Could it be that she has something to hide? Is the rumor of her scoring perfect marks in all six categories false?”
“Yes, could it be that she has some major hidden illness and is afraid of being embarrassed if it’s revealed?”
Consort Hui also stood up to concur.
“She doesn’t even dare to take the test. It seems that Cheng Hong Ling is not as good as her reputation!”
Consort Li also joined them for warmth.
Hearing this, Lin Tu frowned slightly. Although the Imperial Concubine before him was increasingly likable, if she had some major hidden illness, he couldn’t blindly include her in the harem.
‘Oh my, they dare to say my main body’s reputation is undeserved?’
Qi Huang immediately smiled. She wasn’t taking the test just to avoid being too high-profile. Since they insisted on seeing, she didn’t mind opening their eyes.
“Come on, let me be tested today and show you all what a favored daughter of heaven is!”
Qi Huang reached out and snatched the Phoenix Selection Token from Eunuch Zhong’s hand.
The crowd around them forgot their fear and craned their necks to observe again.
As time passed, the scores for each item began to appear on the Phoenix Selection Token.
“Appearance: Ten
Figure: Ten
Body Fragrance: Ten
…”
Qi Huang had long anticipated this, so before all the scores were displayed, she impatiently threw the Phoenix Selection Token back to Eunuch Zhong. “Read it out! Louder for this Immortal Fairy, make sure everyone can hear.”
Eunuch Zhong picked up the Phoenix Selection Token and looked at it. First, he was shocked, then his face gradually showed an expression of astonishment, and finally, he asked back, “Are you sure you want to do that?”
