"Chu Feng greets Senior Qiushui and greets Fairy Piaomiao." Although he wasn't afraid of them, he still showed the courtesy that was due.
"This junior, Ziling, greets both seniors." The well-mannered Ziling also offered a sweet smile and bowed to the two women alongside Chu Feng.
"Chu Feng, you really are blessed to have such a beautiful fiancée. In my opinion, the title of the Three Great Beauties of the Eastern Sea should be changed."
"This Ziling is far beyond being one of the Three Great Beauties — she is simply the number one beauty of the entire Eastern Sea now. In terms of looks, both Yafei and Qiuzhu fall short of her."
Qiushui Fuyan walked up to Ziling and examined her with a beaming smile, her eyes full of admiration. Although her face was still covered by a veil, Chu Feng could tell that she was in a rather good mood.
"Being a Heaven-Blessed Divine Body, she should naturally possess extraordinary talent. Looking at your age, you shouldn't be much younger than Chu Feng, so why is your cultivation so mediocre — merely at the first level of Heaven Martial?" Compared to Qiushui Fuyan, what Fairy Piaomiao was more concerned about was Ziling's cultivation level.
"I..." Ziling found it hard to speak, not knowing how to explain, and cast a helpless glance toward Chu Feng.
"Fairy Piaomiao, Ziling should indeed possess extraordinary talent. If everything had gone normally, it would be perfectly reasonable for her to have surpassed Murong Xun by now."
"However, her cultivation appears so ordinary because when she was born, she was fed the Heaven-Sealing Pill by people from the Immortal Execution Archipelago." Chu Feng spoke on Ziling's behalf.
"The Heaven-Sealing Pill?" Upon hearing this, Fairy Piaomiao's expression shifted slightly.
"The Heaven-Sealing Pill? What's that?" Qiushui Fuyan clearly had no idea what it was and asked Fairy Piaomiao.
"The Heaven-Sealing Pill was originally a poison from ancient times. It is said to be capable of sealing away the unique powers of those with a Heaven-Blessed Divine Body or a special bloodline. Because it strangles the talent of a genius, it is called the Heaven-Sealing Pill." Fairy Piaomiao was remarkably knowledgeable, and she indeed knew the origins of the Heaven-Sealing Pill.
"So such a poison exists. The Immortal Execution Archipelago is truly wicked. They must have been afraid that Ziling would rise in the future and threaten their position, which is why they did this." Qiushui Fuyan was furious.
"It's not that simple. As far as I know, the Heaven-Sealing Pill not only has the effect of sealing away talent, but it can also transfer that talent to someone else," said Fairy Piaomiao.
"Transfer it to someone else? How?!" Qiushui Fuyan was confused.
"Take Ziling for example. She consumed the Heaven-Sealing Pill at birth, and from that moment, the divine power that should have let her dominate the world was sealed away. As she grew older, the seal on her divine power became more and more complete. Under these circumstances, she will only become increasingly ordinary."
"When she reaches the age of twenty, the sealed divine power will reach its peak. If she then engages in intimate relations with a man at that time, the sealed divine power within Ziling will transfer to that man. Ziling will be completely reduced to a crippled person unable to cultivate, while the other party will undergo a transformation into a dragon by obtaining Ziling's power." Fairy Piaomiao explained.
"Despicable! The Immortal Execution Archipelago truly deserves to die. Not only did they strangle the talent that should have belonged to Ziling, they even want to steal it. No wonder they didn't just kill Ziling directly but instead arranged for her to be engaged to Murong Xun. They are wicked to the extreme."
Upon learning the truth, Qiushui Fuyan grew even more furious. But then she thought of something and asked, "Then what would happen if someone engaged in intimate relations with Ziling before she turns twenty?"
"Twenty years old is the limit of the Heaven-Sealing Pill — the point at which the sealed person's power reaches its peak. Only at that time is it the optimal moment to steal the sealed power. If someone engages in intimate relations with the sealed person before twenty, not only will they fail to obtain the power, but they will suffer a backlash and die."
"That is why Murong Xun dared not touch Ziling before she turned twenty, and instead set the wedding for the day she reaches twenty," Fairy Piaomiao explained.
"Fairy Piaomiao, and what about after twenty?" Chu Feng asked with concern.
"After twenty, the sealed person's body will become increasingly weak under the ravages of the Heaven-Sealing Pill. Cultivation will become increasingly difficult until they are eventually reduced to an ordinary person, aging until death." Fairy Piaomiao answered.
"The Immortal Execution Archipelago truly deserves to die!" Hearing this, the fury in Chu Feng's heart erupted like a volcanic explosion, surging through his entire body, churning in every part of him. If he could, he wished he could storm the Immortal Execution Archipelago right now and make them pay for their evil deeds.
But after a moment's thought, Chu Feng asked again, "Fairy Piaomiao, is there any way to break the Heaven-Sealing Pill?"
"The Heaven-Sealing Pill dates back to ancient times. If you hadn't told me that Ziling consumed it, and her condition truly does match the symptoms of someone who has, I would never have believed that this long-lost Heaven-Sealing Pill could reappear in the world."
"However, all things under heaven have their counterbalances. The Heaven-Sealing Pill is not without a method to break it," Fairy Piaomiao said.
"Really? Fairy Piaomiao, can you help Ziling break the Heaven-Sealing Pill inside her body?" Upon hearing this, Chu Feng was overjoyed.
"I cannot guarantee success, but I can try. However, it won't be easy. I need to find reference materials and carefully study the composition of the Heaven-Sealing Pill, then break it down component by component. This will take a very long time, because right now I don't even know how the Heaven-Sealing Pill is formulated."
"But rest assured, I will do my very best. You can safely leave Ziling in my care. Here, I will guarantee her peace," Fairy Piaomiao said.
"Then I thank Fairy Piaomiao most sincerely!!!" Seeing Fairy Piaomiao agree, Chu Feng was beside himself with excitement. It was like seeing a ray of light in endless darkness. He had to admit that Fairy Piaomiao was truly his greatest benefactor.
After this matter, Fairy Piaomiao specially arranged a place for Ziling to rest. Originally, Chu Feng had wanted to stay with Ziling a while longer, but judging from the tone the Earth King had used when sending him the message, it seemed urgent. So Chu Feng did not linger, and that very day he departed from Fairy Piaomiao's Peak and headed toward the Four Seas Academy.
However, before he even reached the Four Seas Academy, Chu Feng was alarmed. Along the way, he was shocked to discover that his portrait had been posted at every important checkpoint. Sure enough, driven by profit, someone had sold his likeness to the Immortal Execution Archipelago.
"Damn it! If I had known this would happen, I should have killed everyone inside and outside the Zither family that day."
Looking at his own portrait, Chu Feng was truly enraged. There were quite a few people within the Four Seas Academy who had seen him. Now that his portrait had been posted here, the entire academy likely already knew about his actions. Su Rou and Su Mei were most probably in grave danger.
And this was the price of mercy.