"How audacious! Do you not know who I am?" Huang Ji snapped.
"Of course I know," Qiu Ji said. "You are the King of Heaven’s woman, and you have his complete trust!"
"If you know that, how dare you abduct me?" Huang Ji asked coldly.
Qiu Ji laughed. "Do you think I genuinely submitted to him? You’re sorely mistaken. I devoted my body and soul just to wait for this very day!"
Her entire demeanor had changed, startling Huang Ji. She said gravely, "So, you intend to kill me!"
"Kill you? You aren’t worthy of that yet. I have many questions for you, and you had better be honest. If you lie to me, I’ll kill you, worthy or not!" Qiu Ji stated coldly.
"In your dreams!" Huang Ji retorted angrily.
"Dreaming?" Qiu Ji made her move, and a wisp of pink aura appeared. Huang Ji, who had been spirited just a moment ago, suddenly felt drowsy.
At this, Qiu Ji said with satisfaction, "Using my Enchanting Fragrance on you is quite the waste, but if it helps me achieve my goal, then it’s worth it!"
Over the past month, Ye Fan had spread the news of her joining the Righteous Divine Lineage, even proclaiming her to be one of his consorts. The God Monarch Palace had already expelled her and vowed to execute her if she ever dared step foot outside the Outer Realm, causing the conflict between the two sides to escalate further.
At this moment, Qiu Ji’s eyes reddened. She had given up too much, yet she bore no resentment toward the God Monarch Palace because everything was going according to their plan. Their tacit understanding was merely to sow confusion; otherwise, how could Ye Fan have ever believed her? Now, the chance for revenge had finally come.
Seeing the drug take full effect, she spoke coldly, "You might be able to lie to my face, but your soul cannot hide the truth from me!"
"Hahaha!" Qiu Ji laughed flamboyantly as she asked the dazed Huang Ji, "What was happening when you returned late these past few nights?"
Huang Ji murmured, "Because... because he was injured!"
"Very good. Did you think you could have my body for free? King of Heaven, your retribution has come! You probably don’t know this, but I have filled my body with Curse Power. Now, you can slowly savor the power of these ancient curses!"
This Curse Power had been collected by the God Monarch Palace from a stronger clan. To set this plan in motion, Qiu Ji had willingly sacrificed herself. She was undeniably bold.
She then asked Huang Ji again, "Are his injuries healed?"
"No. They’ve gotten worse. He told me he plans to kill you soon to prevent you from discovering this and leaking the information!" Huang Ji replied honestly.
Qiu Ji sneered. He’s certainly no fool, even planning to kill me. We’ll see who kills whom first. Once afflicted with the Curse Power, you can just wait for death!
"Where does he keep his secrets?" Qiu Ji asked again, her voice stern.
The disoriented Huang Ji replied, "In Luo Sheng Hall!"
So he was lying to me about the Holy Martial Hall. He must have an ambush waiting for me there! Humph, what a treacherous bastard! So he never trusted me from the beginning. Just watch how I get back everything I’m owed, with interest! Qiu Ji was furious. Ye Fan had been scheming against her from the start, but this actually played right into her hands. If Ye Fan had been completely open and honest, she might not have been able to bring herself to act. This hesitation made it increasingly difficult for her to make her move.
With a single palm strike, she knocked Huang Ji unconscious. She had originally intended to kill her, but when the moment came, she found she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Afterward, Qiu Ji headed for Luo Sheng Hall.
In the entire Holy Martial City, the two most mysterious locations were Luo Sheng Hall and the Holy Martial Hall. She had been observing them for a long time; both were heavily guarded by powerful masters. Uncertain, she had been waiting for the right moment. Now that she knew the secret was in Luo Sheng Hall, Qiu Ji rushed over at once.
Upon arriving at Luo Sheng Hall, she transformed into a mysterious wisp of energy and slipped inside.
King of Heaven, you would never guess in a million years that I’d use this trick against you! As long as I find the Divine Talisman, it will be the end of your Righteous Divine Lineage! I won’t kill you then. I will slowly torture you, repaying every punishment you inflicted on me, twice over!
She navigated through numerous checkpoints, moving with extreme caution. Since she had Huang Ji’s access token, even the masters stationed here wouldn’t suspect a thing. They only recognized the token, not the person. As long as she didn’t trigger any alarms, the masters would turn a blind eye.
After unlocking the final barrier of Luo Sheng Hall, Qiu Ji sensed a pearl radiating a white light.
"The Divine Talisman!" Qiu Ji nearly screamed. She knew that the Divine Talisman was the key to Ye Fan’s control over the ominous beings he used in battle. Now, standing before it, she prepared to take it.
So this is how you managed to grow so powerful. A brilliant move, indeed. But now, this Divine Talisman is mine. I will make the entire Divine World grovel at my feet!
Qiu Ji suppressed the fervor in her heart and turned to leave. But the moment she turned, she saw a figure standing in the darkness.
It was Ye Fan. He was walking toward her, one step at a time.
She snapped at him, "You?! Weren’t you injured?" At that moment, she was in a panic. Ye Fan’s sudden appearance had caught her completely off guard.
Ye Fan said, "The power you used against me is the Curse Power. For anyone else, this power is terrifying. Once afflicted, death is only a matter of time. But I am an exception."
"What do you mean?" Qiu Ji asked.
"Because I am the natural counter to this kind of curse. Sending Curse Power at me is like a moth to a flame!"
"That’s impossible!" Qiu Ji said, incredulous.
"Nothing is impossible. At the very least, I’m standing here perfectly fine. I’ll also tell you this: that Curse Power originated from the Holy Clan, brought into this world by the ominous beings long ago. Your God Monarch Palace was lucky to obtain a small fraction of it. Unfortunately for you, the reason I can control the ominous beings is because I can heal them!"
Qiu Ji said coldly, "I see. I finally understand. It was my mistake to use Curse Power against you!"
"Since you realize your mistake, why not surrender?" Ye Fan said calmly.
From their very first exchange until now, he had won at every turn. The slightest misstep would have meant his defeat, which only proved what a terrifying woman Qiu Ji was—frightening to the extreme.
Qiu Ji retorted, "It seems you were one step ahead after all! Did you also arrange for Huang Ji to trick me?"
"My apologies. I was fortunate enough to learn the Soul Control Technique. So, while you did indeed control her soul, the one who was speaking with you... was my own!"
"So you knew all along," Qiu Ji said coldly. "You never trusted me!"
"You never gave me any reason to trust you. But you still have a chance," Ye Fan urged.
But Qiu Ji replied, "I don’t want your chance. The Divine Talisman is still in my hand. Without it, you are nothing, and those ominous beings will kill you!"
"Do you really think their loyalty is solely because of the Divine Talisman? You underestimate them, and you underestimate me even more," Ye Fan said. "The Divine Talisman in your hand is a fake. Even if you had taken the real one, I would have nothing to fear!"
"What?!"
Qiu Ji was utterly enraged. The Divine Talisman in her hand was a fake? She looked down and saw it was true—the pearl had already lost its glow.
She said coldly, "So you were the one scheming against me all along!"