Chapter 72

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Chapter 72

If it had been anyone else, they would have been crushed long ago.

Two sharp nails pinched suddenly, like iron gates slamming shut, and it would have been a miracle if she hadn’t been reduced to a puddle of blood on the spot.

While Cui Chengying boasted about her methods of controlling her husband, she secretly exerted force, trying to crush Gong Wu.

This little girl! What’s wrong with her?! Why can’t I crush her?!

The umbrella wouldn’t budge, and the girl wouldn’t budge either—damn it!

Even her carefully nurtured nails were on the verge of breaking, yet Gong Wu remained unscathed. Cursing the beast who invented the golden bell and iron shirt, she swallowed Gong Wu whole.

The Colossal Demon’s stomach was forged in a pit of ten thousand poisons.

Not just centipedes, human-faced millipedes, or five-step snakes—even living Daoists had fallen prey to its insatiable hunger!

Once something entered its throat, the saliva and stomach acids turned into a furnace, capable of burning weapons and robes to ash in an instant!

At this moment, Gong Wu held her umbrella, stuck in the middle of the throat, marveling at the usefulness of spiritual items.

Her incense pouch had long since corroded, and her clothes had disintegrated completely, forcing her to use her spiritual energy to conjure a new outfit.

She refused to drop further, but what could she do now?

As the little girl pondered her next move, Lady Cui’s towering figure began to shake violently, her body convulsing as she tried to cough Gong Wu out!

Gong Wu’s temper flared, and she shouted back from within the throat, “Feeling choked now? You didn’t think about that when you were eating me!”

“Cough—cough—cough—”

More stomach acid surged up from below, like a tidal wave, but thousands of crane feathers swirled into action, blocking the corrosive flood and wrapping her into a thick, pristine egg.

I’m not great at being a person, but I can certainly manage being an egg!

Gong Wu formed a hand sign, and the umbrella sprouted more sharp, spiky feathers, layering over the egg’s outer shell, making it grow larger and larger.

Cui Chengying coughed so violently that she could barely breathe. Earlier, she had managed a few gasps, but now her face was turning blue and purple. Dignity forgotten, she struggled to her feet, desperate to spit Gong Wu out.

Why is it getting bigger and bigger?! I can’t break through at all!

A normal metal weapon would melt into iron water the moment it entered—so why isn’t this working?!

She couldn’t think straight; as she stood, choking and gasping, her face turned purple, and she staggered, collapsing to the ground. The impact shook the already unstable main tower.

At that moment, Tu Xuixin and Kan Jixuan both sensed that reinforcements from their factions were on the way.

Both the Immortal Sect and the demon sect had received urgent news and immediately dispatched their strongest forces to deal with the unprecedented Colossal Demon.

The Immortal Sect sought to uphold justice and eradicate evil, while the Demon Realm aimed to claim the spoils and devour their formidable foe.

In the chaos, the two factions collided, their first sight being the ominous Demonic Energy emanating from the main tower, and the two massive armies, bristling with Blades, facing off against each other.

The last time it was this lively was during the confrontation with the Wuxuan Sect.

Kan Jixuan said, “Let’s not turn on each other just yet; focus on the Colossal Demon!”

Tu Xuixin exchanged glances with several leaders of the other Immortal Sects and shrugged.

The situation was dangerous, but it didn’t seem that dangerous…

Before everyone could cautiously approach the main tower, sharp, piercing screams erupted from within, unisex and shrill.

“Ugh—cough cough cough—uh—”

Cui Chengying rolled and crashed down on half of the tall building, clutching her throat and screaming in agony as she tumbled.

Qin Cuohua raised her sword warily and said, “Which Immortal is fighting this Colossal Demon? Let me lend a hand!”

“It’s Little Wu,” Tu Xuixin pointed out. “She’s stuck in his throat.”

Qin Cuohua was ready with her sword stance but was a bit shaken.

“This thing…” She struggled to describe the colossal monster, “Is this thing only able to breathe through its lungs?”

“Exactly! Anyone at a certain level of cultivation should be able to circulate air through their skin, right?” someone else chimed in. “Could it be that this terrifying monster is just a big bag of empty threats?”

Kan Jixuan felt embarrassed and wanted to dispute this, but she kept her mouth shut for the sake of the bigger picture.

Their dark path would never breed such evil!

The Colossal Demon was a creature of extreme poison and darkness, possessing the cultivation to consume ten thousand poisons; a single breath of its toxicity could wipe out countless lives!

But… having turned to evil, what other benefits could it gain?

Although many people had gathered, they were like flies swarming around a giant elephant, unable to do anything.

Who would dare to approach at this moment? One kick could make it impossible to even retrieve the body!

Gong Wu sat steady amidst the tumultuous shaking, showing no intention of moving.

In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the evil creature staggered and fell, completely unconscious.

The crowd surged forward, with Tu Xuixin leading the charge.

“Little Wu! Master is here to pull you out!”

“Be careful, everyone! This monster isn’t completely dead yet!”

Someone rushed forward, weapon in hand, aiming to pierce its wall-like, thick chest. Before they got close, their clothes caught fire.

“That’s as fierce as a mother of poisons; how dare you approach!” a person behind quickly pulled him back. “Do you want to die?!”

Ordinary weapons couldn’t cut through the skin of this giant woman. Instead, they were corroded and penetrated by her poison.

“What a toxic creature! Is that girl really still alive inside?!”

“She must have some powerful magical abilities… that’s incredible…”

Fortunately, several Immortals on site wielded spiritual items and worked together, using their hands and feet to subdue the unconscious Cui Chengying, rescuing the feather-wrapped Gong Wu.

Once Cui Chengying died, the miasma within a ten-mile radius dissipated instantly, and the thousands of servants in the manor suddenly woke up, staring in disbelief at the bloodletting scars on their arms.

Gong Wu felt relieved that she had used her spiritual energy to change into new clothes and shoes. While being supported by her master, she remembered something.

“Master, is her husband, that sect leader or whatever, still alive?”

Tu Xuixin slapped his forehead and called the others to capture the sect leader alive.

The main tower was more than half destroyed, with the highest few floors swaying like leaves in the wind, barely holding up.

There was no need for several sect masters to act; the strong and sturdy higher-ranking disciples quickly dragged him out from his huge bed, efficiently locking him up with spiritual restraints.

The sect leader, having fallen into his demonic form, was still drunk and thought he was dreaming when he opened his eyes.

“Are you awake?” Tu Xuixin pointed at the broken tower that looked like fish bones and said, “Did you know your wife is a man?”

The sect leader struggled to make a sound, “Huh?”

The mastermind was thrown into heavy confinement, and it was said that his assets were completely sealed up to compensate the countless victims.

After Gong Wu returned to Moonfire Valley, she immediately took a refreshing bath, making sure every strand of her hair smelled heavenly with fragrant tung flower water.

After resting for a few hours, she went to ask about the follow-up.

Kan Jixuan got splattered with poison while leading a group of demons to divide the corpses and was soaking in her second bath of the evening, with a maid beside her feeding her chilled grapes.

“What happened next?”

“After the one named Cui died, the resentment in that place dissipated by more than half. It’s likely that many of the trapped souls can finally find relief.”

“His partner will have to pay with blood for the blood he owes; even if you righteous ones arrested him, life in the Demon Realm won’t be easy.” She yawned lazily and said, “The Demon Realm is lacking in everything, and former cultivators will be robbed of their paths, which will surely lead to hatred.”

“Your master made a divination before going down, saying it was auspicious. I didn’t believe it at the time,” Kan Jixuan pinched her cheek. “You little girl are quite lucky; you’re still alive and managed to take down the Colossal Demon.”

Gong Wu nodded and asked, “So, what happened to his demon pill?”

“It was initially offered to me by a subordinate,” Kan Jixuan replied, “but Qin Cuohua came to discuss it with me and suggested using the demon pill to refine medicine and make some talisman water to help those who were manipulated by puppets. It would compensate them for the years they lost in lifespan. I figured I didn’t need that little bit of power, so I gave it to her.”

Gong Wu agreed and leaned on the edge of the bathtub, falling into deep thought.

Kan Jixuan offered her grapes to eat, playing with the flower petals in the water. “Are you thinking about how to die next?”

“Actually, there is a quick way, but I don’t know the consequences.”

“You’re quite smart for a little girl,” Kan Jixuan said. “What have you come up with?”

Gong Wu hesitated for a few seconds, but eventually spoke.

“I can just go walk the Immortal Ascension.”

—The only Thousand Cloud Celestial Stairs in the world.

She first heard about the Celestial Stairs while riding in Hu Fengyu’s carriage.

Practitioners could witness the Thousand Cloud Celestial Stairs from the northernmost point, a sight resembling a rainbow of light, something countless people dream of.

Every person who gains Dao must ascend step by step, ultimately reaching the thirty-sixth layer of heaven, where they undergo the final transformation into their immortal body.

At one point, Qin Mianjiu borrowed a fox’s heart to step onto the Celestial Stairs just to catch a glimpse of Qin Jiangyu before her ascension, but he ultimately only saw the corner of her robe disappear.

Each step is the ultimate test of one’s spiritual energy roots and the final stages of shedding the mortal body and heart.

Ordinary people cannot see the appearance of these long steps, and those below the Jade Balance steps do not dare to approach; stepping on them carelessly could lead to their souls scattering, heading straight to rebirth.

Gong Wu had died many times before, each time managing to leave behind some remnants of her body.

Even when she was refined into a pill, she slowly revived with the remnants inside her, eventually turning back into her original form.

If she truly had to die completely, she would still be afraid.

Kan Jixuan remained silent, her hand gently caressing Gong Wu’s face.

“I’m terrified that I might truly die like this,” Gong Wu confessed. “I’ve read countless ancient texts, and there are tales of devoted couples stepping onto the Celestial Stairs together, only to dissolve into blue smoke, vanishing forever.”

“Senior, I don’t want to disappear completely. I long to live, to ascend to immortality, and to save my senior brother.”

She had believed that after enduring so much, she would grow mature and composed, able to face life and death with the same detachment as Master Ancestor.

But now, it seemed she was still the little girl who wept in the fox den, showing little progress.

She was genuinely afraid, terrified of vanishing into nothingness.

Each time her consciousness scattered, she feared she might never awaken again.

This time, her fear was deeper; the more she dwelled on the details, the more she wished to retreat.

Kan Jixuan, rarely troubled, spoke softly to comfort her.

“Alright, little girl, if we’re afraid, we won’t go. Let’s find another way to save your senior brother.”

Gong Wu shook her head, wiping her tears with determination.

“I don’t want him to wait any longer.”

“Senior, let’s go tomorrow. Whether we live or die, it’s in heaven’s hands.”