44 Time-Traveling to the Qing Dynasty (44)

At first, Patchy felt nothing unusual upon seeing the halfling statue, but the moment he read the inscription beneath it, he was instantly stunned.

The group followed Bai Yushi to the highest point of Dalang Village, an expansive plaza at the summit. At its center stood a statue of Chiyou, and behind it loomed a palace-like structure.

The soil here was loose and undisturbed, clearly untouched for a long time. It seemed the tomb’s owner had no kin left; otherwise, someone would have come by.

Lei Chen’s expression turned icy as he began to comprehend the situation: Fang Yuankai was deliberately provoking trouble.

The square-jawed cultivator’s face flushed slightly with anger, grinding his teeth in fury. Yet, recalling how his flying sword had been casually severed, shame and humiliation overwhelmed him; he wished he could disappear into the ground.

“Does that guy want to die?” someone murmured. Challenging the Ba Tian and the Demon God Guild was no small matter.

Lei Chen glared fiercely at Elder Xiang, silently urging him to step forward and defuse the situation. But Elder Xiang wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity. Despite noticing the gaze of the Three Witch Guards, he showed no fear, sitting there with a faint smile, determined to shatter the fragile veil between them.

Though Domam spoke in an unknown tongue, when Tony and the others below heard it, they miraculously understood his words.

“Today, you won’t leave this place alive,” Ba Tian sneered in fury, paying no heed to Gofia.

The charity auction concluded, followed by the customary banquet—a grand gathering of influential figures from politics, commerce, and entertainment.

To her, Lin Qingqing’s actions were clearly ill-intentioned. Yet, from Lin Qingqing’s perspective, if she truly had such cunning, she wouldn’t be struggling so pitifully in this circle.

Upon hearing this, the Black Witch Master’s eyes flashed fiercely before he bellowed in anger. The shock caused by Lei Long’s actions towards Chen Fan was swiftly replaced by pure rage.

***

“Lazy Cannon Thief Ji Da: Tomorrow I’m heading to the base to sign the contract, so I probably won’t be logging into this account much anymore.”

Black Snake’s presence among the group had always been low-key. As one of the lower-ranked guards, he was quiet and unassuming, neither outstanding nor conspicuous. He seldom spoke, and when trouble arose, he was rarely the first person recalled.

As Chen Yun dissolved the dimensional array, the prodigies of the ancient ten great clans turned to blood mist, dissipating across the battlefield. Whether in anger, resentment, or struggle, they vanished like smoke and clouds.

Thus, battling the heavenly soldiers and generals, everyone fought with extraordinary vigor—some might say recklessly.

Letting out a long sigh of relief, he remembered he still had to help Eunice improve her strength tonight. Although today’s performance was lacking, a true divine-level expert’s casual strike was something no one else could block.

What seemed like an insurmountable winter crisis was effortlessly resolved. The nation’s top leaders sighed in admiration; without Jiang Hao, this winter would have been unbearable. Indeed, without Jiang Hao, not just winter, but even summer and autumn would have been impossible to endure.

Yet if Shen Mingruo learned of Xiao Ran’s thoughts, would she be furious enough to come back to life?

“I’m fine. Now that I’ve avenged myself, I thank you all here!” Lin Feng smiled warmly.

Though her power was formidable, it wasn’t entirely unified. She often clashed with evil spirits, and her soul involuntarily suppressed their influence. Helping Baili Qianxun refine her own power had drained much of her true energy. Fortunately, Baili Qianxun’s purple-eyed demonic flame subtly affected the wild power within her.

According to Liang Dong’s estimation, this shard must be the largest fragment of the puppet beast’s shattered soul, about seventy percent. However, after excluding the ‘wasted’ memories, he probably only obtained half of the total. In other words, half was lost in vain.

“Gentlemen, this is a misunderstanding!” stammered the Lazy Chief God Beliel, his face contorted in a smile more pitiful than tears.

But in the past, whenever she had nightmares, she always knew it was just a dream and would awake soon. Upon waking, she’d sigh in relief, roll over, and continue sleeping.

***

Baili Qingqing sat on the highest seat, overlooking the entire great hall with growing impatience. Restlessly propping her chin on her hand, her gaze was calm and unreadable, yet her fingers tapped the armrest anxiously, betraying her inner turmoil.

In the west, Wei Feng and Zhu Li had stationed nearly six hundred thousand troops, also awaiting orders.

An elderly man, well past sixty, spoke. His eyes flickered as he stared intently at Lin Xifan, as if trying to see through him.

After a dreadful scream, the opposite riverbank fell silent. Lin Xifan and the others remained mute, seemingly afraid that speaking might provoke another onslaught.

Even exploiting rule tampering to directly attack the enemy, combined with their overwhelming strength, made their advantage formidable.

Many people snapped out of their shock, all eyes fixed on the arena, anxious to see Jiang Yi’s condition.

Yet, even with the spectral swift-step troops, they couldn’t match the speed of Jinx during her passive trigger phase.

“You think I’ll yield just because you won’t let me in, trying to drive me away? No. Today, I will make sure this door opens.”