The Mad Woman Gives In

The mighty figures of the Jiang Family had been subdued.

The Jialan Empress had already been a top-tier powerhouse at the Third-Life Emperor Realm before her seclusion. Now, having emerged, she was half a step into the Immortal Realm, and with the protection of her ancestral immortal artifact, the Jialan Trident, even ordinary immortals wouldn’t dare oppose her.

After all, she could summon the Immortal Tribulation at any moment. Though, given her current state, attempting to endure it would be a death sentence.

But the sheer terror of the Immortal Tribulation, coupled with its karmic weight, meant that if other immortals were caught in it, even Second-Tribulation Immortals risked annihilation.

At the level of an immortal, conventional means could hardly kill them—only forces like karma or the power of the Heavenly Dao could do so.

Even if the Jiang Family’s immortals weren’t afraid, this was their territory. If the tribulation were unleashed… their descendants wouldn’t be able to evacuate in time, suffering devastating losses.

The Jiang Family indeed had many immortal ancestors, but most of them slumbered within the Immortal Sources of their ancestral tombs. The Third-Life Emperor Realm and Half-Immortal Realm were the limits of their active combat strength.

Very few were as reckless as the Jialan Empress, daring to storm the Jiang Family for a suicidal showdown!

Ahem. “Empress Jialan, your daughter’s matter was indeed our Jiang Family’s fault. But our Jiang Family’s Imperial Scion, Jiang Che, possesses the rare Dual Immortal Physique—hardly unworthy of your royal bloodline! A union between Dual Immortal Physique and royal blood could birth a supreme genius with both traits, securing your Jialan Clan’s prosperity for millennia!”

Yet, no matter how much the emperors pleaded, the Jialan Empress remained unmoved.

“You seem to have forgotten one thing—I came here as a mother demanding justice!”

“A human trafficker who abducted my daughter dares to think of her bearing his children? Is he worthy?!”

Her words sent chills down the spines of the Jiang Family’s emperors.

This woman… was utterly unreasonable!

Jiang Hong and the others exchanged glances, their scalps tingling with dread.

Truly, one should never provoke a woman—especially a tigress like the Jialan Empress… no, a tyrannical dragon!

She’d self-destruct at the slightest provocation, and reasoning with her was impossible.

“What do you want?!” Jiang Hong was at his wit’s end. Even when he’d attained the Emperor Realm, he’d never been this exasperated—yet now, a woman had broken him.

The empress sneered. “That shameless wretch must die by his own hand!”

“Bullshit!” Jiang Hong laughed in fury.

Jiang Che, kill himself? After all the resources they’d poured into him? He’d nearly spent his entire fortune on that investment!

Moreover, Jiang Che now had an even more monstrous descendant—a supreme genius born with the Heavenly Dao Physique.

If a Half-Immortal madwoman forced their Imperial Scion to his death… where would the Jiang Family’s dignity go? They might as well rename themselves the Coward Clan instead of the Eternal Family.

“Empress Jialan, I respect you as a Half-Immortal powerhouse, but you’ve repeatedly insulted our Jiang Family… Do you truly take us for pushovers?”

From a misty cliff within the Jiang Family, an elder riding a crane slowly approached, his voice laced with anger.

And the crane he rode—was an Emperor-Realm demon beast!

“Family Head!!”

Jiang Hong’s confidence surged at the elder’s arrival.

Jiang Zhentian, the Jiang Family’s patriarch, had reached the Half-Immortal Realm ten thousand years ago and was their strongest active combatant.

The Jialan Empress’s eyes flickered with caution at the sight of Jiang Zhentian—especially when she noticed the unassuming wooden ruler in his hand.

The Ruler of Heaven and Earth, the Jiang Family’s immortal artifact, was no less formidable than her Jialan Trident.

“Empress Jialan, you wish to summon the Immortal Tribulation? Go ahead!”

“Our Jiang Family has an Immortal-grade clan-protection array. Why not test whether your tribulation is stronger, or our array?”

Jiang Zhentian’s words made the empress’s pupils shrink.

A clan-protection array!

She truly didn’t know which would prevail.

But as an Eternal Family, the Jiangs’ ancestors must have included supreme immortals.

If the array had been set up by a First or Second-Tribulation Immortal, it might not withstand a True Immortal’s tribulation.

But what if it was Third or Fourth-Tribulation?

If she summoned the tribulation only to perish without avenging Ling’er, her daughter would be left to suffer endless humiliation.

No!

She couldn’t act so rashly!

Blinded by rage earlier, she now realized—if she fell, Ling’er would lose her last protector, and the Jialan Clan wouldn’t risk annihilation to shield her.

“Patriarch Jiang, my stance remains unchanged. I demand justice—Ling’er is my only daughter.”

Jiang Zhentian chuckled. “Our Imperial Scion is at fault, but are you blameless? We never forced your daughter to descend to the lower realm. Her legs were her own—if she got lost or abducted, who’s to blame?”

“Isn’t this your Jialan Clan’s own failing?”

“The Jiang Family neither seeks trouble nor fears it. If you insist on mutual destruction, then come!”

The empress seethed, but just as she prepared to strike—

“Your Majesty, no! Patriarch Jiang speaks reason! Mutual destruction benefits no one—if we perish here, what becomes of the Jialan Clan?”

A Jialan Clan emperor intervened.

What a joke! They’d come to support their empress in her quest for vengeance, only to find she planned to summon the tribulation and blow them all up?

They’d be caught in the tribulation and wiped out!

Had they known, they’d never have come!

“You—!”

The empress was left isolated, her allies abandoning her.

“Fine! Since the Jiang Family colludes in shielding a criminal, I’ll settle this my own way!”

With that final threat, the Jialan Empress turned and left.

Watching her retreat, Jiang Hong muttered, “Family Head… we can’t let her go! Should we join forces to kill her here?”

Jiang Zhentian shook his head. “Pointless. With her immortal artifact, only an immortal could stop her. But our ancestors cling to the last wisps of their lifeforce—using their immortal energy would kill them. Not worth it.”

“What if she targets our descendants?”

“Unlikely. Knowing her, she’ll focus solely on Jiang Che. Under the Heaven-Severing Edict, her options are limited. It’s fine.”

“What a madwoman! To think she’d dare threaten our Jiang Family with the Immortal Tribulation… Thankfully, our clan-protection array scared her off. Otherwise, the consequences would’ve been dire.”

“No.” Jiang Zhentian suddenly spoke.

“No what?” Jiang Hong was puzzled.

"There is no clan-protecting grand formation. The golden age is about to arrive, and our clan's grand formation must be preserved until the day the immortal realm descends. Our immortal formation was jointly established by the six most powerful Six Tribulation Immortal Emperors of ancient times—a supreme defensive array created precisely for the day when the immortal realm coalesces... to safeguard our clan's peace. It must not be used lightly!"