Otherworldly Desert Dust

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The wind struck the wooden window, toppling a jade vase on the windowsill, and a delicate Rain Orchid fell to the ground.

The shattering of the vase startled Ruan Muhuan, who was entering into a state of emptiness; though she did not look back, she heard an unusual sound in the wind.

It was like the sound of footsteps, wet and squelching on the clean wooden floor.

Ruan Muhuan knew that the person approaching was not the familiar one, and at the same time, the Ominous Bronze Spear guarding her side had entered into a state of alert, emitting bursts of chilling breath.

"Indeed, as I expected..."

A voice sounded, its tone laced with a tinge of cold mockery.

"How could the Corner Tower restriction formed jointly by eighteen Martial Gods be easily broken? No external enemy is as powerful as having a true traitor born within our own Wuting—Ruan Muhuan, Ruan Muhuan, you truly do not regard me, the Rotating Martial God, with any respect. To steal the ten-thousand-year Dan Jade within Wuting, are you so eager to become a Valkyrie and take my place?!"

Jiang Qi, dripping with cold rainwater, stood there; the wind outside the wooden loft was like a flock of vicious eagles, ravaging the modest wooden structure with relish.

And the murderous intent released from Jiang Qi’s eyes was like countless punishment blades, already subjecting the woman before him to a brutal Lingchi execution on the spot!

"Why have you colluded with the Demon Clan?" Ruan Muhuan asked in return.

"Collude?" Jiang Qi suddenly let out a laugh, looking at the diminutive Female Warrior as if she were a dead convict, "At every stage, a Martial Artist domesticates mounts, from the most ordinary wild horses to the rare Xuanma Saint Riders. Do I, Jiang Qi, need to consort with the Demon Clan? It’s merely domesticating the Demon Clan—in my eyes, they are no different from tameable wild horses and mounts."

"You hid away the last Demon Bone and then framed the East Bright Alliance?" Ruan Muhuan said.

"Heh, you’re trying to say you were guarding but actually stealing, to take revenge on me?" Jiang Qi slowly stretched out a hand, talking as he grabbed the Ominous Bronze Spear hovering in front of him.

The Ominous Bronze Spear, grasped in Jiang Qi’s palm like a twig, suddenly transformed into a fleeting shadow, thrusting towards Jiang Qi’s brow.

A flicker of surprise crossed Jiang Qi’s eyes, but he still extended his finger and flicked the eerie bronze spear away.

The Ominous Bronze Spear simply returned to Ruan Muhuan’s side, its ancient bronze inscriptions lighting up. These inscriptions seemed to form some kind of spatial domain, turning the surrounding area of the wooden loft into a black swamp.

The distance between Jiang Qi and Ruan Muhuan was only a few steps, but Jiang Qi found himself sinking into a dark morass.

"This weapon, quite interesting, but you’re just wasting time." Jiang Qi said, continuing to step forward, his body enveloped by a faint Holy Light that protected him from the swamp’s miasma—unable to penetrate his Martial God body.

Ruan Muhuan could not see the Black Swamp Waters released by the Ominous Bronze Spear, but she felt Jiang Qi was bound by some force, his movements becoming extremely sluggish, as though a short distance had become a thousand miles apart.

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Ruan Muhuan also understood that the Ominous Bronze Spear was buying her time for Ascension.

"Just be an obedient True North Queen, do as I say during my rotation, and when I step into the Cang Chu Divine Realm, how could you not become the nineteenth Martial God? In the past, you had the self-awareness, knowing the pros and cons—solving many of my troubles during my rotation. Why would you commit such folly in these few days, secretly consuming the ten-thousand-year Dan Jade? Such a crime in Wudou is no less than colluding with the Demon Clan, and with the evidence here, I have no need to consider the Martial God Alliance’s rules. I can execute you on the spot!" Jiang Qi said.

The black swamp in front of him slowed Jiang Qi’s advance, but he was steadily approaching Ruan Muhuan. His terrifying murderous intent had long since transformed into countless axes, hanging over the still-sitting Ruan Muhuan.

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"Do you know the taste of death by a thousand cuts, as a woman, you will be stripped naked and suspended high in the center of Wudou. A thousand punishment blades will shave over your skin. To ensure that you remain fully conscious and feel each of these thousand blades, the executioner must have superb skills, neither harming your vitals nor allowing you an easy death. Every slice must be thin enough, until your whole body is shredded into a pool of bright red flesh and bone, and every inch of your foundation will be trampled by a hundred horses..." Jiang Qi detailed the cruel torture he was about to inflict line by line.

He said these words, naturally, to disrupt his opponent’s state of mind.

Jiang Qi appeared here because he had detected an abnormally strong energy through the Martial God’s surveillance.

This energy was like a scorching sun hidden behind clouds. No matter how thick the clouds were, one could always feel its warmth spreading across the heaven and earth.

This was a sign that she was about to climb the Martial Artist’s Heavenly Ladder and become a supreme Martial God!

She was stepping into the Martial God Realm!

Martial God surveillance was a Divine Sense array jointly set up by nineteen Martial Gods within Wudou. It could single out members of the Alien Race among the billions of beings that passed through and could also probe the energy levels of others to guess their capabilities.

This surveillance didn’t just envelop foreign visitors; all citizens within Wudou were also covered by it.

If someone were to break through to the Martial God Realm, a powerful Qi Ming Vortex would form around them. To the Rotating Martial God, this Qi Ming Vortex was as conspicuous as a rainbow cloud appearing somewhere!

Initially, when Jiang Qi saw this Qi Ming Vortex, he was confused, mistaking it for that Sky Patrol Martial God.

There are nearly a hundred Martial Gods on the True Martial Continent. Without establishing a covenant among the Martial Gods, the entire continent would be in chaos due to these supreme Martial Gods, who enjoy offerings from their people...

Thus, nineteen Martial Gods established the Martial God Covenant, which required adherence from all Martial Gods. A breach would result in enforcement, and those who enforced it were known as the Sky Patrol Martial God.

Jiang Qi thought that the Sky Patrol Martial God had noticed his actions and released Qi Ming as a warning.

But this Qi Ming was vague and weak; if it was a warning, why did it look so frail?

Finally, Jiang Qi realized someone was taking the step toward the Martial God Realm. During this process of ascending the Martial God Heavenly Ladder, her body’s unrestrained powerful energy had disturbed the Martial God surveillance!

How laughable.

Wudou was sealed, not even a fly could escape.

Ruan Muhuan couldn’t take the ten-thousand-year Dan Jade out of Wudou; she had to absorb it here.

And once she touched upon the Martial God Realm during the absorption, she would inevitably trigger the absolute surveillance, and he, as the Rotating Martial God, would definitely know in advance.

It was a dead end.

Ruan Muhuan knew it would be like this and yet chose to do so...

Perhaps, once she became a Martial God, she would have the qualification to confront him.

But could he let her become a Martial God right under his watch?

(I’ve been suffering from insomnia lately; my biological clock is completely reversed. I’ll just update a short chapter for now. I need to sort out my thoughts and I’ll continue writing in the early morning, also to adjust my biological clock. I will make up for the updates owed~ After writing intensely for over a hundred days in a row, it’s inevitable to hit a slump, but I’ll be adjusted in a day or two.)