Chu Zheng coldly laughed and said gravely, “Execute!”

The sharp blade instantly chopped down! In that split second, a streak of white silver light suddenly shot out from the crowd, penetrating layers of human waves and slashing viciously onto the executioner’s arm with a whoosh.

Screams immediately rang out as the long blade suddenly dropped to the ground, only inches from Lin Mubai’s neck. A bloody severed hand fell with it, splashing up large drops of blood with a splat!

“Ah!” The big man clutched his severed hand, lying on the ground screaming miserably with shrill sounds like ghostly wails. Everyone was greatly shocked – these people had lived in comfortable environments for so long that they had never seen such bloody scenes. Everyone’s faces turned pale without a trace of color.

“With just this little ability, you still want to go to battle, kill enemies, and achieve merit and success – it’s like a toad wanting to eat swan meat, pure wishful thinking!”

A clear, snow-like voice immediately rang out. Everyone was stunned and turned their heads to look toward the source of the voice.

Behind layers of human crowds stood a petite, beautiful black-clothed woman with cold eyes, a rebellious mocking sneer at the corner of her mouth as she coldly observed the crowd in the field.

“It’s you?” Chu Zheng snorted coldly, looking indifferently at the woman. His gaze circled behind her but saw no one else. His eyes were like knives, filled with the darkness of an approaching storm. “Correct, it’s me!”

Qing Xia tilted her head, answering with a smile on her face while casually walking toward the center of the field. Two Penglai disciples eager to show their merit suddenly shouted fiercely and charged at Qing Xia. Without even glancing at them, Qing Xia drew her dagger with a whoosh. Her body suddenly soared into the air and kicked explosively at one blue-robed man’s shoulder. With a crisp crack, that person’s shoulder bone immediately shattered. Before he could even scream, his arm suddenly bent to the side in a grotesque manner. Following immediately after, piercing screams shot up to the clouds!

Her arm swung horizontally, grabbing another man in a chokehold. That person looked at his companion’s terrible condition on the ground and was so frightened he nearly wet his pants, his face turning pale as he trembled all over.

Qing Xia lightly pulled out a cold, faint smile at the corner of her mouth, looking wickedly at the stunned crowd around her. She waved the dagger in the air near the man’s throat and softly mimicked the sound of a blade slicing through a throat, saying quietly, “Whoosh!”

The unharmed man immediately stiffened upon hearing this, rolled his eyes, and collapsed softly.

Qing Xia stepped on his body, the dagger flashing with sharp cold light as it spun flexibly in her hands. She smiled as she walked into the crowd. Wherever she went, everyone avoided her like avoiding snakes and scorpions, clearing an empty path.

Qing Xia stepped onto the high platform step by step, smiling lightly as she said to Chu Zheng, “Are you looking for your big brother? He’s already returned. Knowing you’re hiding here so uselessly, he specially sent me to greet you.”

After the initial shock, Chu Zheng immediately recovered his calm and composed expression, coldly laughing as he said gravely, “With just you people, you think you can escape from Penglai Valley? Pure delusion!”

“Hmph!” Qing Xia snorted coldly, raising her eyebrows, “Has two years of turtle life really made you lose your mind? Such simple mechanical Five Elements formations think they can trap us? Since I could walk in here unharmed, naturally I can also walk out without a scratch!”

“And you people too!” The petite woman suddenly turned to look at the Penglai Valley disciples, her expression cold as she said, “You don’t really naively think that relying on that bit of crude gunpowder to blast holes in frozen soil could make Southern Chu’s elite forces completely annihilated, do you? What a huge joke!”

Zhu Yuanqing’s face changed dramatically as he suddenly exclaimed in shock, “You… how do you know?”

Qing Xia stood on the high platform, looking coldly at this group of Penglai people who had lived like snails in this gorge for a thousand years. She sneered at the corner of her mouth and declared loudly, “Green mountains cannot block it – great rivers flow eastward! A thousand years have passed, and everything in the world has changed and shifted. Do you still think the outside world is exactly the same as it was a thousand years ago? Holding a few crude rifles and cannons, thinking you can go out and compete with the world’s heroes for supremacy – you truly don’t know how high heaven is or how thick earth is!”

Chu Zheng frowned tightly as a trace of alertness suddenly rose. He said to those on both sides, “Don’t listen to her nonsense – capture this woman to use for the flag ceremony!”

A gleam flashed in Zhu Yuanqing’s eyes, but before he could move, Master Mu said gravely, “Wait, let her finish speaking.”

The aged elder slowly stepped forward two paces, his white eyebrows slightly raised as he said in a low voice, “Young lady, what did you mean by what you just said?”

“You can’t understand this?” Qing Xia smiled, “Then I’ll tell you in a way you can understand. This man is a Southern Chu traitor who killed his father to usurp the throne – his crimes are heinous and he has nowhere to hide. He couldn’t survive outside anymore, which is why he came here to deceive and swindle you. It’s fortunate that you simple-minded folks could still expect this withered tree to bloom again in spring, wanting to achieve success through one person’s rise – what a fine calculation indeed.”

“I’m not asking about that,” Master Mu said gravely. “I want to ask how you know the principles of gunpowder and frozen soil? How could an outsider like you know Penglai’s secrets?”

“This is considered a secret?” Qing Xia widened her eyes and burst into laughter, looking as if she couldn’t help but be amused. “Seventy-five percent saltpeter, fifteen percent charcoal, and ten percent sulfur – this is something even street children know outside, yet in your place it becomes a secret. Who’s crazy – me or you?”

As soon as these words fell, all the Penglai people’s faces immediately changed dramatically. Though they had never known the exact proportions of gunpowder, the main components were common knowledge. The aged, hunched Uncle Qing looked at Qing Xia in disbelief, speaking unclearly, “You… who are you? Did you steal a look at our construction secrets?”

“Ridiculous!” Qing Xia shouted coldly, her voice icy as she said, “Do I need to steal a look at your construction secrets? You short-sighted frogs at the bottom of a well, blindly arrogant and self-righteous – with your meager abilities, you think you can go out and compete with various nations for supremacy, contending for the Central Plains? Absolutely the world’s greatest farce! You think your weapons are excellent and firearms fierce, but you don’t know that various nations already manufactured firearms over five hundred years ago. The reason they keep it secret now is just to avoid causing greater casualties in warfare. Besides your simplest black gunpowder, percussion caps, explosives, firearms, and cannons have long been available. Imperial armies are well-equipped – with your few troops, you’re like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, completely overestimating yourselves. I guarantee that as soon as you leave this gorge, within two hours Penglai Valley will be extinct from the world, and even this last place of retreat won’t belong to you anymore!”

Qing Xia’s voice was clear and sharp, clear as snow. Her phoenix eyes swept across the entire scene as she spoke gravely with a sneer at the corner of her mouth.

All the people of Penglai Valley stood dumbfounded, everyone staring blankly, standing foolishly in place as if they had lost their souls, unable to recover for a long time. These people had been arrogant and conceited their whole lives, always thinking that once they emerged into the world, no one could match them. Now having Qing Xia mercilessly strip away their greatest source of pride, how could they not be terrified?

“Where did this little girl come from to speak such wild words here!” The red-clothed woman named Ousi suddenly sneered, saying gravely, “I’ve lived outside for fifteen years – how is it that I’ve never once seen the firearms and cannons you mention? Could it be that the Miss, to keep her Valley Master position, has conspired with outsiders to deceive everyone? Construction secrets are the precious classics of our seven departments. If Miss acts this way, what face will she have after a hundred years to meet the old Valley Master in the underworld?”

Once these words fell, the Penglai people immediately became clamorous, seeming to find a lifeline as they all glared furiously at Tan Su Ning, their eyes almost shooting fire as they unhesitatingly accepted Ousi’s words as truth.

Qing Xia’s phoenix eyes turned cold as she stared icily at the seductive Ousi, sneering, “Old witch, don’t slander good people. I’ve never met your Miss, much less would I look at your so-called construction secrets. Every person here has lived with Miss Tan for over ten years and should understand her character quite well. She only learned today that you want to rebel for wealth and glory – where would she have time to make arrangements? If she had such scheming mind, she wouldn’t be forced to this point by you today. If you refuse to repent, feel free to follow this patricidal, fratricide shameless wretch up to fight people and see whether my words are false. However, don’t blame me for not warning you beforehand – Southern Chu’s three hundred thousand troops are on Bailu Plains, sleeping on their weapons waiting for dawn, eager for action, with bullets already loaded, just waiting for you two thousand people to come up with crude guns and gunpowder to send yourselves to death!”

The Penglai people looked panicked, their originally confident expressions immediately becoming hesitant. This mysterious woman’s words were like a bolt from the blue. For a thousand years, Penglai people had dreamed of being invincible under heaven. Now with their dreams shattered, faced with the temptation of dominating the world on one side and the price of death on the other, the cowardly Penglai people immediately split into several factions. Some wanted to retreat, some remained neutral and observant, some remained stubbornly unchanged. Voices grew louder as everyone began arguing noisily.

Chu Zheng’s face was grim, his eyes staring viciously at Qing Xia, wishing he could swallow this woman who repeatedly ruined his plans. With cold menace, he said, “Don’t bewitch people’s hearts here. Everything you’ve said is complete nonsense. I am a Southern Chu prince – how have I never seen any well-equipped imperial armies? You witch, I don’t know where you learned the secrets of this place to come here spouting nonsense. Watch me dismember you to relieve the hatred in my heart!”

After speaking, he suddenly drew his sword from his waist. In an instant, cold light flashed as the sword moved like a dragon, attacking Qing Xia like a great river.

However, Qing Xia barely even moved. Zhu Yuanqing suddenly flew forward, deflecting Chu Zheng’s sword with one strike as he said gravely, “Why is Young Master Chu so anxious? If this woman is truly spouting nonsense, we’ll naturally execute her. But now what she says clearly differs from what you say. We might as well let her finish speaking before we make our judgment.”