Before Chen Kuang even turned his gaze toward her, Ji Wangquan's expression had already changed drastically. She produced two extraordinary Spiritual Treasures in rapid succession.
One was a fine-gold Tiger Tally, capable, depending on the user's cultivation, of summoning up to five thousand divine soldiers, all of Innate Realm cultivation. Among them were two Divine Generals at the Tower Ascension Realm, and one Divine Commander at the Sea-Cleaving Realm.
The other was a Sun-grade Linglong Preciouswood Mountain, which could both defend and attack, serving as an integrated shield and weapon. No spiritual artifact below Upper Third Rank could break it.
These two rare Spiritual Treasures were Ji Chengtian's personal life-saving gifts to her.
Were it not a matter of life and death, Ji Wangquan, the Crown Princess of Great Zhou, would never have used them.
Not for lack of power, but because she prided herself as being no lesser than Prince Ji Wenxuan or Second Prince Ji Yanwei.
She had once commanded Zhou's military and won numerous victories, yet had only ever been posted on frontier stations plagued by low-level demonfolk, her achievements largely unrecognized.
By contrast, Prince Ji Wenxuan was placed in charge of vast annexed territories, managing all affairs with ease and gaining broad acclaim.
In fact, Ji Wangquan should have been the one assigned to reinforce the Northern Plains Front.
But Ji Wenxuan, unwilling to let her steal his credit, petitioned Emperor Ji Chengtian to go alone. Unfortunately, a logistical blunder led to a breach in the line, and ultimately cost him his life.
Ji Wangquan held her abilities in high regard. But her status as a woman kept her from being truly utilized. That was a humiliation she could not bear, hence her refusal to show weakness.
Her decision to directly threaten Chen Kuang was a calculated one, made after sensing that her imperial father had begun to doubt Ji Yanwei... and she sought to seize her own opportunity.
She understood Ji Chengtian's intense longing for the Elixir of Immortality. If she succeeded here, she might finally receive the treatment she deserved, not as just another princess, but as something more.
She was, in essence, gambling her life.
And she'd nearly succeeded.
What Ji Wangquan could never have anticipated... was that even the Master of Liberty Mountain would choose to intervene, on Chen Kuang's behalf.
Though Chen Kuang had borrowed the title of a Liberty Mountain disciple to enter the Ancient Battlefield of Meditation, Ji Wangquan was aware of his association with Liberty Mountain's eldest disciple, Zhang Zhizhou.
She had assumed some private transaction between the two explained his borrowed status. That was a reasonable deduction.
But why would a Sage, one with no connection whatsoever to him, descend the mountain for his sake?
To Ji Wangquan, this was utterly absurd.
After all... it hadn't even been half a month since Chen Kuang's name first entered the public consciousness.
His rise had simply been too meteoric. And cultivators usually operated in decades-long timelines. Many people simply hadn't caught up yet.
In Ji Wangquan's eyes, Chen Kuang, aside from being the vessel of the Elixir of Immortality, was still just a Middle Third Rank cultivator. All his accomplishments must be due to luck or help from others.
What she failed to consider... was that the time he had spent cultivating was far too short, to the point of being nearly impossible.
For a Sage to take interest in him was only natural.
Still, no matter how little she understood, Ji Wangquan knew the tide had turned against her. Now, preserving her life was the top priority.
She didn't even think of begging for mercy, after all, she had threatened Chen Kuang's parents and family.
To still hope for forgiveness after that? She would have to be hopelessly naive.
"Divine Soldiers, aid me! Precious Mountain, shield me!"
In her left hand, Ji Wangquan grasped half a golden Tiger Tally; in her right palm floated a miniature precious mountain, on whose peak stood a lush divine tree, emanating five-colored radiant light, clearly extraordinary.
As she began to retreat, she chanted incantations under her breath. A golden flash lit the Tiger Tally, and five thousand armored divine soldiers, each over three meters tall, manifested.
The instant they appeared, they formed a tactical formation under Ji Wangquan's will.
The Divine Commander stood at the vanguard, the Divine Generals guarded both flanks, and the Divine Soldiers, fully armored and weaponized, pointed their blades forward and shouted as one:
"Kill!"
In a flash, the combined battle will surged skyward, forming an enormous longsaber, which cleaved down at the group like a crashing mountain.
Ji Wangquan sought to walk the path of a "Leader Dao."
Before entering the Ancient Battlefield of Meditation, she had already established her Dao Foundation, and after enduring slaughter within the secret realm, she had grown further.
Now, she resolved to burn her bridges and advance directly into the Grandmaster Realm!
She took a deep breath and focused her will on the soldiers bound to her Divine Sense.
The tighter their bond, the more condensed her aura became, rising rapidly.
The Linglong Preciouswood Mountain hovered above her head. The divine tree stretched its branches and rained five-colored light, encasing her in a seemingly misty, yet utterly unbreakable, barrier.
"Boom!"
The longsaber slammed down with crushing weight. Even the surrounding Grandmasters blanched. They hastily formed seals and chanted incantations, not daring to take it lightly.
Ji Wangquan's personal cultivation might not have been high, but her command of battle formations was elite.
And this time, she held nothing back, her momentum surged, utterly peerless.
But Chen Kuang struck faster than any Grandmaster. Before Ji Wangquan could fully form her battle array, he had already closed the distance.
Drawing his three-foot sword, he unleashed a blade light toward her.
Ji Wangquan remained composed. The divine tree above her gently swayed, and branches grew at unnatural speed, intercepting the incoming sword light.
That strike was infused with the power of Time, yet upon hitting the branches, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, utterly ineffective.
Ji Wangquan's eyes narrowed. She sneered,
"Save your strength. This wood is an ancient relic, no sword can harm it, and no age can decay it!"
She glanced at Chen Kuang's head of white hair.
"Your soul is gravely damaged. If you dare activate treasures of this level, it's nothing more than killing one thousand while wounding yourself by eight hundred!"
"You've got a bright future. Why destroy it for nothing?"
She mistook the power of Time for the ability of Chen Kuang's sword.
And she wasn't entirely wrong. Chen Kuang's soul was indeed severely damaged. Activating the Dao of Time personally would harm him as much as his enemies.
At this moment, he was relying on the Three-Foot Sword as a conduit.
Chen Kuang's gaze was calm, his eyes deep.
"You know, you remind me of someone."
A sudden unease gripped Ji Wangquan.
"Who?"
Chen Kuang replied,
"Li Hongling."
He spoke slowly:
"You're the same. Both doing Ji Chengtian's bidding. Both came for the Elixir of Immortality. Both failed and fled. Both so concerned about the future."
"But she, she cared about her own future."
"A disciple of the Martial Sage. Ranked thirteenth in the Canglang Evaluation. She said, 'Give me ten years, and I will inherit the Martial Sage's title and achieve unmatched greatness.'"
"Incredible, isn't she? Outwardly she was talking about herself. But actually, she was reminding me how important she was to the Martial Sage, telling me not to ruin my future."
Chen Kuang smiled.
"But I still killed her."
"Do you think I don't care about my future?"
He shook his head.
"It is important. Long ago, someone told me, if I was willing to give up, I could have wealth, fame, status... My life would be smooth sailing."
"And guess what I chose in the end?"
Ji Wangquan didn't want to guess. Because she already knew the answer.
The Crown Princess of Great Zhou widened her eyes, instinctively trying to escape, only to find her entire body immobilized, like being crushed under sleep paralysis.
W-what is this?!
Ji Wangquan screamed internally. Even the Preciouswood Mountain was motionless.
Her eyes darted in panic. She struggled with everything she had. But the terror and confusion began to overwhelm her.
Then, she saw something... bizarre,
She saw herself!
Right before her. When she raised her gaze slightly, she saw a version of herself standing there, from a low, upward angle.
No! Impossible!
Who is that?!
If that's her, then who is she?!
Ji Wangquan screamed in voiceless insanity, but no sound came out. Her vision was slowly swallowed by darkness.
Then, within the dark, another person appeared, this time from that same upward angle.
It was Chen Kuang.
The youth looked down, eyes shadowed, his face hidden in darkness. His expression, half-pity, half-mockery.
Ji Wangquan froze.
She finally understood what she had become,
She... had become her own shadow!
Just before she was completely engulfed in darkness, she saw, despairingly and in terror, that Chen Kuang stood with hands behind his back. His shadow manifested behind him, and unlike him, it wore a twelve-streamed imperial crown, an Emperor.
"Sealed Soul in the Shadow..."
Chen Kuang murmured to himself. He stared at Ji Wangquan, frozen in place like a statue, and felt a violent spike of headache and vertigo.
That... was not his own power.
Neither a passive ability, nor a learned Divine Ability.
"Benefactor Chen, are you alright?!"
Chen Kuang turned his head slowly and saw a group of people running toward him. At the front was the young monk Xiuzhu from Garan Temple.
At the back, surprisingly, was Shen Meinan, standing silently, head lowered, gently stroking the hilt of her sword.
He could almost hear her grinding her teeth.
Chen Kuang shuddered.
Right. Now that this matter was resolved, how was he going to explain to Shen Meinan his connection with her sister's master?
He quickly collected Ji Wangquan's belongings, then seized the young monk's sleeve.
"Master Xiuzhu, I wish to return to Garan Temple. Do you happen to have a Return-to-City Scroll?"
"R-Return to what?" the monk paused, then quickly understood.
"Ah, you mean a Teleportation Charm? I do have one, but..."
"It's urgent!" Chen Kuang said sternly. "Please assist me, Master Xiuzhu!"
The monk scratched his head.
"Alright then."
He produced a Buddhist prayer bead, recited:
"Amitabha."
The world changed around Chen Kuang. Before he could even catch his breath, his soul gave out from exhaustion, and he lost consciousness.