Douluo Continent: The Peerless Tang Sect, Angels and Rakshasa Return

Chapter 364 417418—A Trap Set for Huo Zhongxian

Surrounding this translucent purple hue was a still, dark expanse, as black as the night sky.

Qian Lingyun was violently shaken; she felt as if her head and entire body had exploded in that instant.

In an instant, her mind went blank, her thoughts stopped, and her consciousness gradually emptied.

However, she could clearly feel a connection, like a bridge, between herself and the soul core.

"It looks like it's done!" The new Evil Eye Tyrant gazed at the girl slowly entering meditation before him, extending a tentacle to invite Illusion Flower:

"If you don't mind, you can stay here for now. She is the human my father has chosen, and she is the most honored guest of our Evil Eye clan!"

With their limited perspective, how could they not see that Qian Lingyun had entered a state of deep meditation? At such a time, it's best not to move her if possible!

"Okay! Thank you for your help!" Huanhua nodded slightly, accepting the invitation from the Evil Eye Clan.

Who would have thought that Qian Lingyun's seclusion would last for more than half a year? When she woke up again, her once flexible limbs were stiff as if they had rusted!

"Don't make such big movements. You're still weak after just finishing deep meditation..." Huanhua was about to say when the words she was about to say were cut off again.

"Huh?" Qian Lingyun uprooted a large tree, tossed it in her hand, and asked, "What were you trying to say just now?!"

"It's nothing, I forgot you're not exactly a normal person," Huanhua said, lowering her head sheepishly.

"Level 95, three soul cores! And they're Yin-Yang soul cores that counteract each other! That's insanely strong! I thought with my strength comparable to a Limit Douluo, I could help you for a long time! But alas..."

"Hey, don't underestimate yourself. Although I'm very strong now, you're definitely not weak either!"

Qian Lingyun, hands on her hips, laughed loudly, "Hehehe, Shrek Academy, just wait and see how I'll deal with you!"

As her bodily functions gradually recovered, a strange power continuously emanated from her, the source of which came from her own body.

When Qian Lingyun looked again, she discovered that everything inside her body seemed to have changed.

At his chest, a crystal-clear, light blue soul core was quietly rotating, its size even larger than the other two soul cores.

Directly below it was a soul core as white as snow, and inside this soul core, there was a figure flickering.

It looks like... that seems to be Xue Di?

Looking upwards from the two soul cores in the chest and abdomen, the spiritual soul core located in the head turned into a brilliant purple.

With the ultimate ice soul core at the very center as its core, the spiritual soul core and the snow pill soul core rotate in the opposite direction.

The power they release merges at their center point.

Those two places also became the starting point for all of Qian Lingyun's power.

Small vortexes were created after the power of the three soul cores collided and flowed into her meridians. This pure compressed soul power and spiritual power were rapidly filling her empty meridians.

"You're awake!" The new Evil Eye Tyrant arrived gracefully from afar, gazing at Qian Lingyun with its enormous eyes, and slowly said, "It's clear you've completed this unprecedented fusion!"

"Then I must thank your Evil Eye clan for their help!" Qian Lingyun bowed formally to the Evil Eye Tyrant before her, and couldn't help but ask, "How long have I been here?"

"I'm not very sensitive to time, but it should be about seven or eight months!" The Evil Eye Tyrant glanced at the Illusion Flower and made a simple estimate of the time.

"That's been so long!" Qian Lingyun stroked her chin, saying softly with a touch of emotion, "Thank you all for your help these past few days! I might have to go back and take care of some things, so I'll have to go now!"

"Okay, goodbye, come visit again sometime!" The Evil Eye Tyrant raised one of its tentacles and waved it at Qian Lingyun, then turned and floated away using its mental power...

In the imperial study of Mingdu, Qian Renxue grew increasingly angry as she looked at the memorial before her, until she tore it to shreds and threw it on the ground in frustration.

After a while, she slowly picked up another book, opened it, and there was another rustling sound of paper being torn.

"Your Majesty, why are you so angry? Has some fool offended you? Should I take care of them?"

Just as Qian Renxue opened the third volume of memorials, a soft female voice came from behind the door. She looked in the direction of the voice and, sure enough, it was the Empress she had been longing for day and night.

Surprisingly, Qian Renxue's face showed no smile; instead, she turned her head away with a stern expression, clearly angry.

"The Empress certainly has a refined taste; she's disappeared without a word for over half a year!"

"Oh dear, I have angered His Majesty and deserve to die. I will return to the Empress's Palace now and wait for His Majesty to send me one of three options: a white silk ribbon, poison, or a dagger, so that I can save face!"

After speaking, Qian Lingyun, with an air of elegance and delicate gestures, ran out of the Imperial Study.

This was no small matter. Qian Renxue suddenly stood up and slammed her hand on the table. "When did I say you could leave! You're getting more and more unruly!"

"So, Your Majesty doesn't intend to execute me?" Qian Lingyun slipped in through the window, nestled into Qian Renxue's arms, wriggled a few times, and cried out in a pitiful voice:

"I didn't want to leave Your Majesty for so long! But I really have something to attend to!"

Having followed Qian Renxue for so long, Qian Lingyun had long since figured out Qian Renxue's temper. As long as she acted cute and pitiful, Qian Renxue, who was only responsive to gentleness and not force, would definitely calm down.

However, after she calms down, I still have to coax her and take good care of her, otherwise, she might relapse at any time.

"Forget it! With your personality like this, I'm too lazy to bother with you. Go, go, go back to the Empress's Palace. Just looking at you annoys me!" Qian Renxue waved her hand irritably and sat back down in her chair.

"I'm not leaving! What kind of memorial was that that made you so angry?!" Qian Lingyun picked up the scraps of paper scattered on the ground and pieced them together. Her expression changed as she looked at the contents of the memorial.

After a while, she sighed, threw the pieced-together memorial into the trash can, and helplessly hugged Qian Renxue from behind, rubbing her head against the top of Qian Renxue's head.

"Sigh!" Qian Renxue raised her arm, helplessly rubbed Qian Lingyun's cheek, and said in a deep voice:

"They say that since I made you my empress, I have indulged you in everything. They think you are arrogant because of my favor and are interfering in the affairs of the court. Most importantly, they point out that we have been married for several years and still have no children."

"What can I do? How can two hens lay eggs... uh, no, hens can lay eggs, but they can't hatch chicks..." Qian Lingyun looked at the memorial on the table and waved it into her palm.

Unsurprisingly... six out of ten memorials mentioned this matter...

"If all else fails, we can adopt a child from another prince to be the crown prince!" Qian Renxue said casually, resting her chin on her left hand and holding a pen in her right.

"Uh! You forgot, you killed all your adopted brothers. If you want to be adopted, you'll have to be adopted from a distant royal relative..." Qian Lingyun whispered a reminder.

Qian Renxue paused, her pen still in her hand, before finally replying, "Isn't there Xu Tianzhen? Once she returns from her exchange program with Shrek Academy, we'll find her a husband and then adopt her from her side!"

"Alright! That's all we can do!" Qian Lingyun straightened up, touched her flat stomach, and gazed thoughtfully at the sky outside the window.

She might be able to find a way to have a child, but... as long as that old beast in heaven who can use a child to threaten the birth mother is still there, how can she feel at ease having her own child?

"What are you thinking about?" Qian Renxue keenly noticed Qian Lingyun's drastic change in emotions. She put down her pen, picked up Qian Lingyun, and placed her on the desk.

I talked to her to learn more about what had happened over the past few months...

The next day, with panda eyes, Qian Lingyun greeted Qian Renxue and then went to Mingde Hall alone.

"Master Hongchen, it's been a long time!" Qian Lingyun knocked on Jing Hongchen's office door, led by Lin Jiayi.

"Your Majesty! It's been a long time! This old minister was unaware of Your Majesty's visit and has failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me!"

Upon seeing that the visitor was Qian Lingyun, Jing Hongchen immediately stood up from her seat, cupped her hands in greeting, and asked curiously, "What brings Your Highness here today?"

"This... needs to be explained slowly!" Qian Lingyun walked to the sofa and sat down gracefully before explaining the purpose of her visit to Jing Hongchen:

"I have come today to ask the sect leader for a favor!"

"Your Majesty the Empress has done a great favor for my Mingde Hall. As long as it is within my power, please just say so!" Jing Hongchen patted his chest and boasted to Qian Lingyun.

"Isn't our exchange program between Mingde Hall and Shrek Academy about to end? If…"

A few weeks later, in Mingde Hall…

Holding a perfectly intact metal box, Jing Hongchen said irritably, "Name your price. Do I look like a stingy person?"

Huo Yuhao looked around and, seeing that there were no unrelated people nearby, stretched out one hand with all five fingers spread. After thinking for a moment, he withdrew two fingers, leaving only his index, middle, and ring fingers.

"Three items, three level-nine soul tools, and I'll trade with you." He said it so naturally and casually, as if he were asking Jing Hongchen for three bags of rice with ease.

Lin Jiayi almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

What?!

Three level-nine soul tools? What does this kid think level-nine soul tools are?

It takes an unknown amount of effort and materials for a level nine soul master to complete a perfect level nine soul tool.

They want to sell Mingde Hall three level-nine soul tools for just this broken iron box?

Jing Hongchen fell silent. He looked at Huo Yuhao's current state and almost laughed, but he was bound by the task assigned by the Empress, so he could only keep a straight face and ask, "Boy, are you trying to take advantage of me?"

Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, "No! I just think my research is very valuable and worth the price. Besides, the price can be discussed further, don't you think?"

At that moment, he earnestly raised his other hand, pressed his ring finger back down from the three fingers he had extended, and said, "Two items, is that alright?"

Jing Hongchen was speechless. "What a load of rubbish! Two pieces? You Shrek Academy doesn't even have one in the entire Douluo Continent and Three Kingdoms!"

Huo Yuhao said, "That's true, the level 9 fixed-position soul-guided cannon shell will also work, I'm not picky."

"Don't try to rip me off, let's settle for whatever price I can accept." Jing Hongchen cut to the chase; he really didn't want to waste any more time with this bastard!

It should be noted that since Rheinmetall Arms Factory took on a large amount of business, its connection with Huo Zhongxian's mechanism-triggered technology was no secret.

Compared to other highly efficient soul tools, various other types have long been mass-produced within the Sun Moon Army. However, under the supervision of the Internal Affairs Inspection Department in recent years, the secrecy measures have been very well implemented, and they have never been used on Xingluo Tianhun and his group.

Not to mention the little gadget Huo Zhongxian gave him, he also had several complete blueprints for the Holy Spirit Crossbow and its mechanism in his storage soul tool.

And so, another round of exorbitant demands ensued, and Jing Hongchen, suppressing her anger, repeatedly and tactfully refused.

"Or... you could give me some materials equivalent to a level nine soul tool. As you know, rare materials are quite scarce at Shrek Academy," Huo Yuhao tried to say tactfully.

Hey! This should be possible!

Jing Hongchen's eyes lit up, but he kept his head down, pretending to think, before finally looking up and asking, "How much do you want?"

Huo Zhongxian once again made an outrageous demand!

Jing Hongchen felt like he was about to have a stroke if he kept listening. He stood up, walked to the kettle, poured himself a glass of water, and then another…

He didn't sit back down until he had finished the entire pot of water.

After several deep, heaving breaths, Jing Hongchen glanced coldly at Huo Zhongxian and said indifferently, "I'm not necessarily in a position to make that decision. Let me find someone else!"

Fifteen minutes later, Qian Lingyun walked calmly into Jing Hongchen's office and sat opposite Huo Zhongxian. As soon as she sat down, she began a thrilling bargaining session with Huo Zhongxian.

In the end, she managed to win over the uncertain Huo Zhongxian with the words, "Stop talking nonsense to me. I'll just not buy it."

With Jing Hongchen's subtle probing, Mingdetang reached a deal at half the price Huo Zhongxian had asked for. Seeing the fleeting smile on Huo Zhongxian's face, Jing Hongchen said, "We also need time to gather these materials. We'll exchange the money for the goods when you leave!"

"Very well, goodbye Master! Goodbye Empress!"

Watching Huo Zhongxian's departing figure, Jing Hongchen sneered disdainfully and casually threw the metal box on the table into the trash can.

Kid, you're laughing because you think you've knocked on my door!

I'm laughing because you're about to be in big trouble!

"Your Majesty, this boy is asking for such an exorbitant amount..." Lin Jiayi had just stepped forward to say a few words when Qian Lingyun stopped him with a single look:

"A transaction is supposed to be fair; he'll definitely get what he wants! But! He might not be able to take it back and use it!"

Lin Jiayi suddenly realized and exclaimed that the Empress was wise!

(End of this chapter)