Chapter 602: The Fierce Daughter-in-Law

Hold onto this!

He He Pingsheng pulled out another Earth Root Talisman and handed it to Qiao Qiao Huizhu.

With this in hand, you're virtually guaranteed safety.

Unless Ao Ji dares to kill you in one blow.

But that's unlikely, because Qiao Qiao Huizhu's physical strength is extraordinary—even stronger than He He Pingsheng's own cultivated body.

After receiving the Earth Root Talisman, Qiao Qiao Huizhu looked at the dragon-jiao Ao Ji: "Brother Ao Ji, I'm Qiao Qiao Huizhu, and I challenge you!"

"Hahaha…"

Ao Ji burst into laughter.

A human?

And a woman at that?

Challenging me?

"Good, good, good…" Ao Ji leered at Qiao Qiao Huizhu. "You're human, and though your face isn't stunning, your skin and figure are quite appealing!"

"Hahaha…"

"You'd better be prepared!"

"If I defeat you, hehe… when you beg for mercy, you'd better offer something substantial—I won't let you off easily!"

"Perfect!" He He Pingsheng nodded. "I'll remember that. When you beg for mercy later, if you don't offer something substantial, we won't let you off easily either!"

"Enough noise!" Ao Ji glanced at He He Pingsheng. "Stay behind your woman and don't come out to embarrass yourself!"

"Let's go…"

Boom…

Ao Ji shot straight out of the corridor.

Qiao Qiao Huizhu followed right after him.

Then, including He He Pingsheng, the other eight people also stepped out to watch the battle.

"You're human, huh… and only at the first level of the Spirit Transformation Realm?"

"Whatever…" Ao Ji said arrogantly. "Since your cultivation is so low, I'll let you strike first!"

Qiao Qiao Huizhu shook her head.

With a wave of her hand, she summoned a small ice shield: "You go first!"

Throughout her journey from Qi Condensation to Spirit Transformation, Qiao Qiao Huizhu's cultivation had grown steadily, yet she had rarely engaged in actual combat.

Her fighting experience was practically nonexistent.

It wasn't that she was holding back—she simply didn't know where to begin.

So she chose defense over offense, waiting to see what would happen.

"Fine… if that's how you want it, I won't hold back!"

"Divine Dragon's Sky-Shattering Claw…"

Boom…

Ao Ji, no doubt the eighth-ranked warrior on the Sacred Flame List, unleashed a powerful force of cosmic law the moment he moved. This force coalesced in midair into a colossal black claw, three hundred zhang wide, hurtling toward Qiao Qiao Huizhu.

Qiao Qiao Huizhu felt a surge of anxiety.

Fortunately, after years of practicing the "Mystic Stillness True Scripture," she had excellent emotional control.

In an instant, she suppressed her fear and unleashed her ice-elemental spiritual energy, channeling it into the ice shield in her hand.

The shield was a top-tier artifact named "Ice Dance."

It bore only twelve sealing arrays.

Bang…

The Ice Dance expanded!

It grew to nearly three hundred zhang in size, appearing thick and solid.

"Pfft…" Ao Ji sneered upon seeing Qiao Qiao Huizhu's artifact. "How dare you display such a pitiful artifact?"

"Humans really are impoverished!"

The next moment, Ao Ji's Sky-Shattering Claw struck the ice shield.

The clash of attack and defense unleashed a torrent of energy that surged outward in all directions.

The desert-like sand and stones on the ground were flung violently in every direction.

The black claw instantly tore through Qiao Qiao Huizhu's ice shield, then continued with residual force toward her body.

He He Pingsheng's heart leapt into his throat.

But Qiao Qiao Huizhu gradually calmed down. She flipped her hand and uttered: "Lustrous World…"

"Lustrous World" was a spell.

He He Pingsheng had once taught it to her.

Though a spell, it was extraordinarily potent.

Bang…

Instantly, a hundred-zhang block of ice materialized, freezing the now-shrunken black dragon claw, which had dwindled to roughly that size.

But it wasn't over yet.

Ao Ji's Dragon Claw technique was too powerful.

Bang…

The Lustrous World ice shattered.

The claw, now reduced to fifty zhang in size, struck Qiao Qiao Huizhu directly.

Qiao Qiao Huizhu absorbed the final blow with her bare body.

Result? Not only did she suffer no injury—she merely stepped back once before regaining her stance.

"This…" Everyone present was stunned.

"Impossible…"

"How could her body be so incredibly resilient?"

"Is she even human?"

"No… could she be from the Wu Clan of the Four Divine Races?"

Not just others—even He He Pingsheng was shocked by Qiao Qiao Huizhu's astonishing physical defense.

"Again!"

Qiao Qiao Huizhu roared.

Her hands danced in intricate patterns as she cast a series of incantations.

In the air, countless water-elemental spiritual energies converged, instantly forming seven ice arrows.

Spell: Ice Chain Arrow Technique!

Whoosh…

The first arrow shot forth.

It was ten zhang long!

The ten-zhang-long blue ice arrow tore through space, plunging toward Ao Ji.

Though merely a spell, Qiao Qiao Huizhu had infused it with a trace of spatial technique, disrupting space so the opponent couldn't escape—only stand and fight.

Of course, whether from pride or strength, Ao Ji wouldn't flee.

He would stand his ground.

"Such a mere spell? I don't even need an artifact to counter it!"

Overconfident, Ao Ji simply waved his hand, condensing his spiritual energy into a thick energy shield.

This too was a spell—called "Solidify Energy."

And it was of extremely high rank: Heavenly Grade Lower Tier.

The shield stretched a hundred zhang wide, with three layers stacked front to back.

Crucially, this spell was earth-elemental, matching Ao Ji's own earth affinity.

Earth overcomes water.

In the Five Elements, he was perfectly positioned to crush Qiao Qiao Huizhu's water-based attacks.

Relying on these two advantages, Ao Ji felt utterly secure.

But then something terrified him.

As the ice-blue arrow neared his shield, it suddenly shifted color—from ice blue to emerald green.

Qiao Qiao Huizhu had secretly activated her "Creation Supreme" technique: water generates wood, transforming water-elemental energy into wood-elemental energy.

And wood overcomes earth!

The six following arrows also turned green.

Puff…

The first shield shattered instantly.

The second!

The third!

The remaining four wood-elemental arrows struck Ao Ji before he could react.

Though he had no time to summon an artifact, he could still flee.

But he didn't run!

"Roar…"

In an instant, Ao Ji transformed into his true form.

It was a divine dragon hundreds of zhang long.

No… it should be called a monster that was neither quite dragon nor quite jiao.

Of course, because his body had grown enormous the moment he transformed, Qiao Hui Zhu's arrow struck his body but missed vital points.

Ao Ji was merely wounded.

"Damn it…" Ao Ji circled the void, his dragon head facing Qiao Hui Zhu: "How dare you injure me? Today you will learn the full extent of my power!"

"Roar…"

The brute let out a mighty roar, and within that roar truly lingered a trace of dragon breath.